Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I grew up with small cars.

Mitsubishi Expo LRV - Subcompact Culture

People ask, "So why small cars?" I typically give them the same response, which is it's what I've always had (among a bunch of factors I prefer in a car/truck). But it's true. Growing up, we always had one subcompact/compact and a larger vehicle, which was usually my dad's company car. Although there was some overlap, my family's car history looked something like this:




Small CarLarger Car
Ford PintoFord Torino?
Dodge ChampBuick Century
Dodge OmniOldsmobile Cutlass Sierra
Dodge ColtPlymouth Voyager
Mitsubishi EclipseJeep Cherokee
Mitsubishi Expo LRVJeep Cherokee (still)


Some time after the Eclipse was bought, my parents split (I blame Mitsubishi). My dad got a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, mom took the 1990 Eclipse.

However, after two years of having a leased Eclipse, it became apparent to my mom that it wasn't the optimal car for a single mother of two living in the snow belt. So, after showing her an article in Car and Driver about the '92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV (it was teal, I remember), she checked out the Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport and bought an Amazon Blue version (with a gold pinstripe, thank you very much). I ended up with this car from 1994-1999 (still the longest I've owned a single car), mom bought another Eclipse (a '94 GS) and the rest was history ... kind of.

The Expo wasn't a "cool" car to me at the time (despite the custom exhaust and intake I put on it. Wait was it ever "cool"?), and I really liked the upcoming sport-compact scene. I ended up getting a '99 Nissan Sentra SE Limited (SR20DE-powered; at left), then going on a habitual car buying/selling spree until 2005, which is when I bought my Scion xB—the car that reinvigorated my appreciation for the smallest of small cars. The rest isn't history—more like the present. I now own a 2007 Toyota Yaris, a 2010 Suzuki SX4, and a 1995 Suzuki Sidekick.

1 comment:

murphyseanm said...

I drive my wifes 2001 Nissan Sentra SE (SR20 powered). At 85K miles the only repair needed has been fixing the door latch so the light will not drain the battery. The car has KYB shocks and Eibach Pro-Kit springs and a Progress rear sway bar. The handling is amazing on it, and if I was not going to sell it some time soon then I would work on an intake and exhaust for it.