"Cars - Autos - Voitures" by rmdw

This is the 1987 VW Golf Diesel that I bought in 1990 with about 60,000 km on it at that time. In this photo it was parked in my driveway at 407 York Street in Sudbury, Ontario. Temperatures there ranged from about -15°C to -40°C much of the winter.

Diesel engines are particularly difficult to start in such cold temperatures. So to help it out (and lengthen the life of your engine & battery!) you "plug in" the car to an electrical outlet. This activates a heater that keeps the oil in the oil pan from turning solid.

The white stuff you see on the car is mostly road salt, not snow.

Here's my Golf, in the mid-nineties, showing itself off in better times!

My car had many license plates during its time. I moved from Vancouver to Chicago in Jan '95 and had to get the plates switched over. For my own patriotic reasons I tried to get the personalized plate "CANADA 1", but this was taken. So instead I opted for the German version shown here!

For reasons I still don't understand, the two ladies at the Illinois Car Registration office were quite offended that I would want such a plate. They kept on asking me if I was happy to be living in the U.S. "Ecstatic," I exclaimed, "but is it so wrong for me to still appreciate my Canadian heritage?"

Here's my car in 2002, now parked in front of my home office in Victoria, B.C. By this time it had accumulated 301,000 km, the last spurt a momentous month long trip across the U.S. and Canada, consisting of 15,000 km!

The car, now nicknamed "Fifi" by my mom had been a wonderul travelling companion. It's fuel economy was legendary, getting about 800 km per fill-up, costing about Cdn$20 - $25 during most of the 1990's.

I donated Fifi to a local high school automotive class. They merged it with a VW Rabbit they had, building a "new" car to offer someone else further years of enjoyment!

When my VW Golf entered the car hospital and came out with the prognosis: "You can still drive it, but drive it slowly, because the driver's seat is litterally ready to fall through the floorboard", I sadly knew it was time to get another vehicle.

This photo was taken in Sept. 2000, the day after I bought this 1979 Oldsmobile from Mr. Haji, the father one of my best friends. The headband was given to me by his son, Tarek. To this day I don't know if it spells out "Kamikaze" or "Great Driver"!

So how this Percival get his name? A few months after I bought it, I was visited by my friend, Rachel, from Everett, Washington. Upon seeing it she asked, "What's your car's name?" In a typical male fashion, I responded, "Huh?!"

"Oh, so your car doesn't have a name yet. Let's see . . . we shall now call him . . . 'Percival'! An honorable older knight."

And for the entire time I drove him, this name stuck.

Laugh all you want about someone under 80 driving this car but I did ... for two years: Sept 2000 - Oct 2002.

This photo was taken right near the end of my time with Percival, just before passing him on to his next proud owner!

I've never been a believer in buying brand new cars. Oh sure I'd love to drive a Porsche one day but even then, it's going to be a used model!

Here are 3 beautiful yellow sports cars (a Lamborghini Diablo, a Ferrari, and possibly another Ferrari - thanks to Robachu1 for identification!) parked on Ocean Drive in the heart of Miami Beach. While not everyone drives such an expensive car, there are more than a few beautiful ones to salivate every automobile afficionado!

Okay, I know that all women think that a fellow over 40 buying a Porsche is a clear sign of a mid-life crisis, but I have always loved these cars ... never owned one, only once got to drive one, but I do love them! I think it's my German half screaming at me!! :-)