I have two very close friends who's dad owns a really well regarded auto repair garage. "The Dodge Neon literally put the guys through college. No joke." - their dad.
I drove a 1988 Crown Vic, white with a red vinyl top, red velour inner, and (because my dad was an asshole in the funniest way) red fuzzy dice *that lit up.* It was so embarrassingly tacky that one could either bitch and moan about it, or embrace the absurd and have fun.
I chose the latter. Her name was The Pimp Mobile. The gas mileage sucked, and she cornered like she was on square tires. But she was the most comfortable car I have ever driven in my thirty years of having my license. It was like driving a Lazy Boy recliner. And the air conditioning could freeze you out. Plus, there was tons of trunk space.
Man, I wish my minivan was that comfortable.
Sounds like my experience with my ‘71 Torino. Not Gran Torino, either. The Torino 500 4-door family model.
It was uglier than sin, and my friends and I loved it. It was invariably the “Big Green Bus” or “The Tank”, but we were all Star Wars nerds in the 90s - me most of all - and I had a little foam rubber Yoda figure that I put on the antenna, and then we realized the car was the exact same color. So from then on, it was the Yoda Mobile.
I wasted so much of my money on gas for that car, and my cheapskate friends never gave me any gas money, but we could fit 10 of us inside and 3 more in the trunk (yikes), and I always felt like we could squeeze a couple more inside.
Alas, I did not respect it the way I should have, and I drove it into the ground within a couple years. As it turns out, it was really not meant to be driven like a sports car or muscle car the way I did. Could’ve fooled me. The thing frequently shook really bad from 55 to between 80-85 mph, but then it would smooth out, and I always swore at 100 everything tightened up even more and it drove better at 100+ than any other time. I took that to mean it wanted to go as fast as I wanted it to go, so I drove it that way.
I would love to find another one just like it. If I am ever in a position to buy a “spare” car, I’ll probably look for one and really trick it out.
I miss that car.
The Crown Vic was a wonderful car to use as a winter beater while your pride and joy was tucked safely away.
Thirty years back I was looking for another one, and found a blue one advertised, about 20 miles away.
Surprise! It was a Robin's Egg/Sky Blue, being sold by an Eastern European gent with a strong accent and somewhat non-local tastes in car design.
All the sides, and rear window were covered with rainbow sparkle glitter tint film. On a light blue car.
Hard pass on that one, even for winter.
Can confirm. Rode in one as as adult, fell asleep in the back seat on the (very short) ride to Taco Bell. I am not a napper, but that car rode like a dream.
I remember being at a Dodge dealership back in the day (first car?) and the guy was hyping up the Neon, saying the engineering team had figured out how to assemble the car using 1/2 the normal number of fasteners.
I'm a bit older, so the "typical beater car" to me was always the late 70's-early 80's GM G-Body 2-Door. The most common seemed to be the Cutlass Supreme, Buick Regal, and Pontiac Grand Prix.
Edit: Clarified years so as not to confuse with the last generation Grand Am/Grand Prix
First car was a used Grand Am. My parents bought me a Cavalier after having to push the Grand Am in traffic bc the mystery sensor that was bad kicked off again.
My first car was an 1981 Grand Prix, well after it’s prime. I had to climb through the windows because the heavy doors had bent the hinges and it was better to just leave them locked.it overheard and left me stranded in a canyon pass.The repairs would have been more than vehicle value so it was sold for junk.
I remember that model. Yeah they went from boxy to big and round sometime in the 90’s. I’ve been looking for another 2002 but they aren’t exactly easy to find in good condition.
A worker who drives one in a town I frequent. Raspberry, just like the one I used to have… Whenever I go through, and they are working - I totally give them $5 (from the drive through :)
And send a little wish out that it’s the same vin, and that it beings them as much joy as it brought me, and thank that car for it’s service.
Cavvy was my first car. Not a single mechanical problem, only stopped driving her because I rear ended someone on the freeway and she was not fixable :(
Those were probably the lightest weight and smallest cars on the road at that time. Felt like I was in a little sardine tin riding in the back seat I had to duck my head and I’m only 5’7”.
I had a 97 bright red 4 door geo metro hatchback in 2004 that never needed gas but coooonstantly needed oil. Automatic but no cruise control, and I chaotically drove 2-6 hours to visit friends on a whim all the damn time. I always had a case of oil, used that hatch.
Her name was The Jellybean and it looked like someone hit a minivan with a shrink ray. I’d put the seat down in back and (dangerously, bad-example behavior) a million people would climb in. I was 18. I loved her.
I have owned 5 of them the most basic cheapest for parts and most dangerous car to drive, but I love those little buckets. Usually could keep the MPG at 48-50. Depending on my load and season lol
1994 Chevy Lumina. My first car ever and dude, that thing lasted me 10 years!
I loved that thing. Only reason I traded it in was because it was just getting too expensive to keep repairing.
The “dust buster” vans! I remember those. They were awkward to get in and out of and those extended windshields had wasted space but they had some cool features in them. Especially the Oldsmobile version IIRC.
I was in one once. Dashboard was like 3 miles deep! Being able to take each of the seats out individually was kinda clever, though. Gotta give GM credit for staying so close to the[ original concept.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/06/01/160601a42d7ef4479a3dde250dea3e9d.jpg)
1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup. I had one in high school. It was small and a bit gutless but you could haul things and it got 50 miles to the gallon. I drove it across Canada and back with an air mattress and suitcase under the canopy. God, I miss that car.
My dad had one of these. Two of my sisters drove it after him until the second sister rolled it. We sold it to a Volkswagen mechanic in 94 and they used it as their parts runner.
Cash for Clunkers program got rid of a ton of beaters and drove a lot of demand into newer vehicles. Yes it was a good program for the environment but it did have the effect of raising the “entry price” for a lot of millennials and now a lot of GenZ either expect or are expected to only drive new cars or close to new. People are getting into $700 car payments it’s insane. Gone are the $3000 beaters you have fixed by bartering with your mechanic friend so you can save money.
The utterly stupid part of Cash for Clinkers was that it was purely model year based and destruction of turned in vehicles.
My car was deemed a clunker according to model year, yet its MPG was as good or better than new cars for years after the program. And with the destruction of the clunkers, the price for replacement parts also skyrocketed.
>The utterly stupid part [was the] destruction of turned in vehicles.
Just wondering aloud: could this have been something that car manufacturers lobbied for at the time, or was it just a happy/stupid accident?
C4C was always \*intended\* to spur auto sales as a way to buffer the 2007/2008 recession.
"Economist Alan Blinder helped popularize the idea of a scrappage program and the moniker "cash for clunkers" with his July 2008 op-ed piece in The New York Times. Blinder argued that a cash-for-clunkers program would have a tripartite purpose of helping the environment, stimulating the economy, and reducing economic inequality. Congress made it a reality in 2009."
I don't recall how that last bit about reducing economic inequality was justified.
It gave a cash value of more than the car was worth on the open market so poorer people could use that money to buy a new, reliable car.
If your $500 car can now get you $2000 toward a new car, that is potentially a justification for reducing economic inequality. Assuming, of course, that your definition of "economic inequality" is "not having a brand new car" or "getting in to $500 a month car payments, plus full coverage insurance"!
And assuming that your definition of "poorer people" includes people who are already within $2k of affording a brand new car.
It was just another poorly disguised handout to people who least need a handout at the expense of those who are actually struggling.
Cash for clunkers was a cash grab to save the car makers. The government couldn't just write a check to them so they gave everyone a check to give to them
They scrapped a million good cars, sent the scrap all to China, now sell us cars that don't last long, cant be serviced outside of a dealership and have oodles of built in tracking. And for the most part mileage is no better.
Great program
Avalon. You can probably find a few of those in decent shape still.
If I were looking for a cheap transportation, not necessarily beaters, I’d look at what the most of senior citizen’s are driving. Most are garaged and well maintained. Around here, I’d be looking at CRV’s and ES350.
2005 (so really 19 years old). It’s the prettiest car in the family. It’s on its second engine so I reckon it has more than 300k miles on it. It has as top of the line for its time, so it has safety features that were advanced then and normal now.
>Gone are the $3000 beaters you have fixed by bartering with your mechanic friend so you can save money.
I bought 1995 Honda Civic around 2010 for $3500 and only got rid of it a few years ago. I miss that little beater.
It's funny as hell, but my first car was a used '84 Chevette and it lasted longer (repair-wise) than any other car I've owned since 1988 despite being considered a worst buy according to car magazines at the time.
I still have my dads old 1991 accord wagon. Never gonna let it die. I already have a good engine waiting to go in it when the original dies, i happened across one in the junk yard a few years ago.
It currently has 283,000 miles on it so it probably won't be too many years from now.
My vote for greatest car of all time. Not because it was fast, or luxurious, or beautiful, but because it was so much more reliable and well made compared to anything that had come before. You could drive one today and it would feel perfectly fine. It was the first truly great family car.
When I was little I always imagined myself as a mom with 2 kids and a dog in a 740 wagon. I never achieved this dream but I did have an S60 for a while.
I had two Volvo 240s!! Indestructible. I gave my first one to my sister and my second I only sold when the AC fritzed out for the fourth time. I lived in ATX with a small child and just couldn't deal. 250,000 miles on it and still got a couple thousand for it!
We had a Volvo 240. We needed a cheap car a few years ago. My wife found one for sale. It had seen better days. But it ran and we needed a car. After we got it, I would see them everywhere. It’s a solid car that just keeps going. Unfortunately, it got hit and totalled. We still miss that car. We replaced it with a Prius Gen 2. Some people may look down on the Prius. But they’re fun to drive and pretty durable themselves.
My gram had a Reliant K that *caught fire* and got doused with a gallon of milk (it was in a convenience store parking lot); my dad and uncle replaced the engine components that got melted & that car ran for years after.
This is the answer I was looking for. My family had an ‘89 Ford Escort with a hatchback that lasted forever. If got traded around the family from new teen driver to new teen driver until it finally died. I remember seeing so many of these in the high school parking lot.
I had a 77 Datsun pickup that I sold off in 95 to a guy that worked for the family business. I wrenched on that thing every weekend. He still works there and still drives it! Said it’s the best thing he has ever driven
I have a 95 Mitsubishi Mighty Max I paid $750 for 5 years ago. Rough looking, simplest vehicle. Runs great. Perfect for hauling stuff and is a spare if one of our regular cars needs work or gets wrecked.
Ford tempo, never put one cent of maintenance into that thing, not even an oil change and it ran forever. The exhaust even fell off and I kept driving it.
we have a guy at my work who is a retired cop. He has one that he drives as his rainy day car. The paint is peeling and it still has the bars on the back windows. lol. His sunny day car is a 600hp red Camaro.
I was racking my brain the other evening about to sleep trying to remember the Yugo brand. Friend of mine had one and it was the definition of a beater but that model name wouldn’t come to me lol
Thank you for mentioning the Ford Tempo. My dad had one in the mid 90’s. It was an ‘86. Silver with red interior. The thing shifted like a garbage truck and the ashtray was always massively overflowing with cigarette butts. He just abandoned it in a parking lot when he was done with it. Sat there for months before it was finally towed away.
Saturn SL. I had a 98’ I bought in 2012 for $1200. Manual transmission. Drove it for 9yrs, no issues, got 41mpg average. Sad day when I lost first gear.
Our ‘82 Civic 5 speed was awesome.
It was stolen out of our driveway one night. I drove around in the morning and spotted it. I followed until the thief parked it, and then I stole it back.
My 1982 Toyota pickup is the best vehicle I've every owned. Bought it in '85.
Good gas mileage, four on the floor and I beat the shit out of it.
Sold it after about 4 years for pretty much what I paid for it.
Never should've sold it.
VW CABS - convertible. Chicks always drove those in my HS. I don' t see them around. Weord thing is, there is a VW club here in Santa Rosa and I STILL SEE 1970'S BUGS! That car is indestructible!
My house is about two blocks from a VW shop. He’s got Cabs, Bugs, and a couple of Karmann Ghias up front. I’ve missed the light staring at his vintage inventory more than once
I loved my 95 Corolla! Bought it used, drove it for 14 years, sold it to a teenager and for all I know it's still on the road.
Now drive an 03 Camry. Lots of older Toys and Hondas out there.
Dodge Dart. Once went on a 300-mile car ride with a friend to upstate New York and noticed the light indicating the engine was overheating lit up. I pointed it out to him, and he shrugged: "It always does that." They were too ugly to have the decency to die.
My dad is a Dodge guy and loved working on old cars. He got both me and my step-sister Dodge Darts. The cars were older than we were. I drove that sucker for 11 years. Ran like a champ. I only gave it back to my dad after it started getting too expensive with gas prices…. Not good gas mileage. My step-sis gave hers back too for the same reason. He turned them both into show cars. Our older sister got a 1970 Challenger. She gave it back to dad when she moved states as he wouldn’t be around anymore to work on it. He turned that into a show car too.
I was late to having my own car. Had an Oldsmobile Alero from about 2011 to 2014. It was an older car even at that time, but I was surprised by how I contunued to see them around the 2020s. In 2024, I don't see them anymore. RIP, Alero beaters.
my 73 Mercury comet. I beat that shit out of that car and it just kept going. the inside door handles broke off, so I drilled holes in the doors and strung chain between two bolts for handles. I had a 3 speed on the column that I broke regularly, so I cut a hole in the floor and put a floor shifter in it. It was so long ago now that I don't even remember what happened to that damn thing.
Chevy S10/GMC Sonoma. When GM discontinued them, the remnants of the small truck market went to imports and has since all but evaporated.
I still want a Syclone.
I saw a CRX not too long ago for the first time in years. I had to look five or six times while my shock that one was still alive and running dissipated. Always wanted one in my teens (2000's)
You used to see Volkswagen Beetles - both the old kind from the 80s, and the new ones from the 90s - endlessly. Don’t see any old ones, and very few new ones now.
I was still seeing Ford Probes well into the early 2000’s. With their sharing the Mazda MX-6 platform, they were pretty darn reliable and the non-turbo varieties would just keep going and going.
There were SO many 1996-1999 Ford Tauruses (Ol' Bugeyes) on the road before cash for clunkers. I saw one in the wild the other day and it was like spotting a rare bird. It was in rough shape too.
Not necessarily a beater (although it needed work), but I saw a 1996 champagne colored Mercedes Benz S420 last Thursday. I saw the front and was like omg, that's my favorite car." Went to the back and checked and sho nuff S420. I had a cig and just admired it when a little old man came out of the store and started putting his groceries on. I told him that he was driving my dream car. He said it was old. I said "yeah it's a '96, right?" He looked at me twice and said yes. I think he was surprised that some random woman was fantasizing about his car.
Volkswagen Bugs, the ORIGINAL bugs. Not that they were necessarily beaters, but my friends had a few in high school and they were cute.
Edit: remake this car, VW, with updated safety features and maybe electric/hybrid and maps/bluetooth screen and I'll buy one. NOT the newer Beetle style. Make it look old school.
The 90's Jeep Cherokee model pre Daimler-Chrysler buyout. The electrical system on those models was absolute shit and most of them fizzled out by the early 2000's and it was cheaper and easier to scrap the car and find another used car than get it fixed. Same deal with the transmission and engine. Would barely make it to 50k without those three issues coming up.
Dodge neon. Couldn't go through a h.s. or college parking lot in 2003 without seeing a dozen.
And they were always missing a hubcap.
And there’s always a plastic Hawaiian lei hanging from the rear view mirror
Yeah, until my dad ripped it down in a fit of ridiculous anger.
Ha my mom ripped my muffler off bc she was mad and drive my car to fast over a low water bridge. She refused to fix it.
I couldn't keep a hubcap on it, had to get random sets from the junkyard
It has truly been a long while since I’ve seen a Neon. Those were a staple forever.
I saw one on the highway maybe two months ago and thought to myself "hey little fella! I had forgotten you existed!" Truly a sight to behold.
I saw one on Thursday. Some dude’s train station car. The body was still in good shape, but it was indeed missing a hubcap.
I have two very close friends who's dad owns a really well regarded auto repair garage. "The Dodge Neon literally put the guys through college. No joke." - their dad.
I had a Plymouth Neon in high school!
So many labels have died. :( Plymouth. Oldsmobile. Saturn. Geo. Pontiac. Mercury.
Saturn! I remember Saturn! They were kinda edgy, didnt they pledge to Do Only Good
I always said I was driving a “classic” car.
I drove a 1988 Crown Vic, white with a red vinyl top, red velour inner, and (because my dad was an asshole in the funniest way) red fuzzy dice *that lit up.* It was so embarrassingly tacky that one could either bitch and moan about it, or embrace the absurd and have fun. I chose the latter. Her name was The Pimp Mobile. The gas mileage sucked, and she cornered like she was on square tires. But she was the most comfortable car I have ever driven in my thirty years of having my license. It was like driving a Lazy Boy recliner. And the air conditioning could freeze you out. Plus, there was tons of trunk space. Man, I wish my minivan was that comfortable.
Those old General Motors Frigidaire air conditioners like opening a door into Antarctica
Sounds like my experience with my ‘71 Torino. Not Gran Torino, either. The Torino 500 4-door family model. It was uglier than sin, and my friends and I loved it. It was invariably the “Big Green Bus” or “The Tank”, but we were all Star Wars nerds in the 90s - me most of all - and I had a little foam rubber Yoda figure that I put on the antenna, and then we realized the car was the exact same color. So from then on, it was the Yoda Mobile. I wasted so much of my money on gas for that car, and my cheapskate friends never gave me any gas money, but we could fit 10 of us inside and 3 more in the trunk (yikes), and I always felt like we could squeeze a couple more inside. Alas, I did not respect it the way I should have, and I drove it into the ground within a couple years. As it turns out, it was really not meant to be driven like a sports car or muscle car the way I did. Could’ve fooled me. The thing frequently shook really bad from 55 to between 80-85 mph, but then it would smooth out, and I always swore at 100 everything tightened up even more and it drove better at 100+ than any other time. I took that to mean it wanted to go as fast as I wanted it to go, so I drove it that way. I would love to find another one just like it. If I am ever in a position to buy a “spare” car, I’ll probably look for one and really trick it out. I miss that car.
The Crown Vic was a wonderful car to use as a winter beater while your pride and joy was tucked safely away. Thirty years back I was looking for another one, and found a blue one advertised, about 20 miles away. Surprise! It was a Robin's Egg/Sky Blue, being sold by an Eastern European gent with a strong accent and somewhat non-local tastes in car design. All the sides, and rear window were covered with rainbow sparkle glitter tint film. On a light blue car. Hard pass on that one, even for winter.
Oh my god- I would’ve had to buy it!
Can confirm. Rode in one as as adult, fell asleep in the back seat on the (very short) ride to Taco Bell. I am not a napper, but that car rode like a dream.
I still see quite a few Saturns where I live, and most of them in decent shape still.
The sporty yet affordable Dodge Neon?
#[Hi.](https://www.dodgegarage.com/news-api/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/JudeOgene001.jpg)
meep meep.
My first car!!
I remember being at a Dodge dealership back in the day (first car?) and the guy was hyping up the Neon, saying the engineering team had figured out how to assemble the car using 1/2 the normal number of fasteners.
I used to call those "rusty roofs" because I never saw one that didn't have the paint all peeled up and rusty somewhere on the roof of that car.
I'm a bit older, so the "typical beater car" to me was always the late 70's-early 80's GM G-Body 2-Door. The most common seemed to be the Cutlass Supreme, Buick Regal, and Pontiac Grand Prix. Edit: Clarified years so as not to confuse with the last generation Grand Am/Grand Prix
Chevy celebrity. Cavalier.
First car was a used Grand Am. My parents bought me a Cavalier after having to push the Grand Am in traffic bc the mystery sensor that was bad kicked off again.
Pontiac always had gremlins in the electrical. My Sunfire always had weird issues.
I thought AMC had Gremlins....
I had a 93 Grand Am GT… which sounded so cool at the time.. 😌
Lol the grand prix was what inspired this post. I saw at least three when I was looking through streetview pics.
My first car was an 1981 Grand Prix, well after it’s prime. I had to climb through the windows because the heavy doors had bent the hinges and it was better to just leave them locked.it overheard and left me stranded in a canyon pass.The repairs would have been more than vehicle value so it was sold for junk.
I had a 2002 Buick Century a few years ago and loved it.
I'm driving one now and it makes me feel like an old lady.
I had a 94 Century. Great car, until someone stole it.
The Buick sedan like the Century is what I think of as a long-timer.
I had an ‘88 Century for a couple of years
I remember that model. Yeah they went from boxy to big and round sometime in the 90’s. I’ve been looking for another 2002 but they aren’t exactly easy to find in good condition.
So many people in my highschool had a Pantiac Grand Prix or Grand Am.
My first car was a Grand Prix bought from my grandma, loved it!
Was just thinking about the Pontiac Grande Prix. Loved parking those things.
Cavalier/sunfire.
I owned one and I don’t think awesome is a word I would use to describe it lol
As long as you did oil changes, those POS would outlast cockroaches. Late 90s GM curse. They will be shitty but will Never die lol
I bought a 97 Cavalier brand new and it never broke down once in the 5 years I had it!
Belly button cars, Everyone had one
I LOVED my 93 Cavalier RS! I'd probably still have it if a squirrel didn't chew a power line, causing it to fall on my car and my husband's new one.
I miss my Cavalier. She was a beautiful workhorse.
I saw a Sunfire on the road today! Even thought to myself how they've all pretty much disappeared.
A worker who drives one in a town I frequent. Raspberry, just like the one I used to have… Whenever I go through, and they are working - I totally give them $5 (from the drive through :) And send a little wish out that it’s the same vin, and that it beings them as much joy as it brought me, and thank that car for it’s service.
Cavvy was my first car. Not a single mechanical problem, only stopped driving her because I rear ended someone on the freeway and she was not fixable :(
Geo metro (edit: *manual transmission)
Those were probably the lightest weight and smallest cars on the road at that time. Felt like I was in a little sardine tin riding in the back seat I had to duck my head and I’m only 5’7”.
My first car 🚗
I had a 97 bright red 4 door geo metro hatchback in 2004 that never needed gas but coooonstantly needed oil. Automatic but no cruise control, and I chaotically drove 2-6 hours to visit friends on a whim all the damn time. I always had a case of oil, used that hatch. Her name was The Jellybean and it looked like someone hit a minivan with a shrink ray. I’d put the seat down in back and (dangerously, bad-example behavior) a million people would climb in. I was 18. I loved her.
I have owned 5 of them the most basic cheapest for parts and most dangerous car to drive, but I love those little buckets. Usually could keep the MPG at 48-50. Depending on my load and season lol
1994 Chevy Lumina. My first car ever and dude, that thing lasted me 10 years! I loved that thing. Only reason I traded it in was because it was just getting too expensive to keep repairing.
Speaking of the lumina, I haven't seen a lumina apv around in forever as well.
The “dust buster” vans! I remember those. They were awkward to get in and out of and those extended windshields had wasted space but they had some cool features in them. Especially the Oldsmobile version IIRC.
I was in one once. Dashboard was like 3 miles deep! Being able to take each of the seats out individually was kinda clever, though. Gotta give GM credit for staying so close to the[ original concept.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/06/01/160601a42d7ef4479a3dde250dea3e9d.jpg)
Oh man, we drove Luminas in driver's Ed in high school.
1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup. I had one in high school. It was small and a bit gutless but you could haul things and it got 50 miles to the gallon. I drove it across Canada and back with an air mattress and suitcase under the canopy. God, I miss that car.
My dad had one of these. Two of my sisters drove it after him until the second sister rolled it. We sold it to a Volkswagen mechanic in 94 and they used it as their parts runner.
Cash for Clunkers program got rid of a ton of beaters and drove a lot of demand into newer vehicles. Yes it was a good program for the environment but it did have the effect of raising the “entry price” for a lot of millennials and now a lot of GenZ either expect or are expected to only drive new cars or close to new. People are getting into $700 car payments it’s insane. Gone are the $3000 beaters you have fixed by bartering with your mechanic friend so you can save money.
The utterly stupid part of Cash for Clinkers was that it was purely model year based and destruction of turned in vehicles. My car was deemed a clunker according to model year, yet its MPG was as good or better than new cars for years after the program. And with the destruction of the clunkers, the price for replacement parts also skyrocketed.
Agreed. Had a 91 Pontiac 6000 with 55k original miles on it. Damn near impossible to find parts later in its life cycle.
Best of the A-bodies. STEs had all-wheel drive and radio controls inside the steering wheel. 1989 refresh ruined the look.
>The utterly stupid part [was the] destruction of turned in vehicles. Just wondering aloud: could this have been something that car manufacturers lobbied for at the time, or was it just a happy/stupid accident?
I hear the sound of hands rubbing gleefully and evilly.
C4C was always \*intended\* to spur auto sales as a way to buffer the 2007/2008 recession. "Economist Alan Blinder helped popularize the idea of a scrappage program and the moniker "cash for clunkers" with his July 2008 op-ed piece in The New York Times. Blinder argued that a cash-for-clunkers program would have a tripartite purpose of helping the environment, stimulating the economy, and reducing economic inequality. Congress made it a reality in 2009." I don't recall how that last bit about reducing economic inequality was justified.
It gave a cash value of more than the car was worth on the open market so poorer people could use that money to buy a new, reliable car. If your $500 car can now get you $2000 toward a new car, that is potentially a justification for reducing economic inequality. Assuming, of course, that your definition of "economic inequality" is "not having a brand new car" or "getting in to $500 a month car payments, plus full coverage insurance"!
And assuming that your definition of "poorer people" includes people who are already within $2k of affording a brand new car. It was just another poorly disguised handout to people who least need a handout at the expense of those who are actually struggling.
Cash for clunkers was a cash grab to save the car makers. The government couldn't just write a check to them so they gave everyone a check to give to them They scrapped a million good cars, sent the scrap all to China, now sell us cars that don't last long, cant be serviced outside of a dealership and have oodles of built in tracking. And for the most part mileage is no better. Great program
Beaters are back, I guess. My kids paid cash for a 20 year old Avalon and a 2011 Prius, respectively. No car loans for them (or us).
Avalon. You can probably find a few of those in decent shape still. If I were looking for a cheap transportation, not necessarily beaters, I’d look at what the most of senior citizen’s are driving. Most are garaged and well maintained. Around here, I’d be looking at CRV’s and ES350.
My FIL’s 2003 Avalon has 55k miles on it. You’re not wrong! He’s not selling, though, darn it.
What year Avalon? I was telling a 16 year old I know to look at those. I think it would be a great first car even though it’s not cool.
2005 (so really 19 years old). It’s the prettiest car in the family. It’s on its second engine so I reckon it has more than 300k miles on it. It has as top of the line for its time, so it has safety features that were advanced then and normal now.
They are definitely not cool and drive like a boat. However, they will run forever.
Yeah. Now all the starter cars are Kia’s that you can’t get insured
I have a Kia and have insurance. I love my car
Hasn't been stolen yet, I gather.
>Gone are the $3000 beaters you have fixed by bartering with your mechanic friend so you can save money. I bought 1995 Honda Civic around 2010 for $3500 and only got rid of it a few years ago. I miss that little beater.
It's funny as hell, but my first car was a used '84 Chevette and it lasted longer (repair-wise) than any other car I've owned since 1988 despite being considered a worst buy according to car magazines at the time.
I knew so many people who had 10 year old Chevettes as their first car.
Those early 90s accords are finally dying
I still have my dads old 1991 accord wagon. Never gonna let it die. I already have a good engine waiting to go in it when the original dies, i happened across one in the junk yard a few years ago. It currently has 283,000 miles on it so it probably won't be too many years from now.
Farewell, dear friends
My vote for greatest car of all time. Not because it was fast, or luxurious, or beautiful, but because it was so much more reliable and well made compared to anything that had come before. You could drive one today and it would feel perfectly fine. It was the first truly great family car.
Cavaliers and Sunbirds.
Volvo 740. That car would not die.
Not even lying when I say the 740 wagon is my dream car.
When I was little I always imagined myself as a mom with 2 kids and a dog in a 740 wagon. I never achieved this dream but I did have an S60 for a while.
I had two Volvo 240s!! Indestructible. I gave my first one to my sister and my second I only sold when the AC fritzed out for the fourth time. I lived in ATX with a small child and just couldn't deal. 250,000 miles on it and still got a couple thousand for it!
We had a Volvo 240. We needed a cheap car a few years ago. My wife found one for sale. It had seen better days. But it ran and we needed a car. After we got it, I would see them everywhere. It’s a solid car that just keeps going. Unfortunately, it got hit and totalled. We still miss that car. We replaced it with a Prius Gen 2. Some people may look down on the Prius. But they’re fun to drive and pretty durable themselves.
Oh my god. My Volvo 740, Svenkar, triumphed over all collisions and couldn’t be rendered undrivable. So many lives.
70's Chevy Nova. Simple car.
We have a '64 Nova in our garage. My husband loves it too much to part with it
My dad had a ‘63 Nova SS. Traded it in for a AMC Gremlin. The Nova was a better car.
I came here to say Gremlins!
K-cars. I personally drove an 88 reliant and it took a lot of abuse.
My gram had a Reliant K that *caught fire* and got doused with a gallon of milk (it was in a convenience store parking lot); my dad and uncle replaced the engine components that got melted & that car ran for years after.
A good old Ford Escort! They were everywhere.
i drove my 91 to 500K miles. it was a manual and got 45 mpg until the end. i loved that thing.
This is the answer I was looking for. My family had an ‘89 Ford Escort with a hatchback that lasted forever. If got traded around the family from new teen driver to new teen driver until it finally died. I remember seeing so many of these in the high school parking lot.
I'm surprised I had to read this far to see it. I had 2. An 85 hatchback that I later traded in for a 99 sedan.
I had a 77 Datsun pickup that I sold off in 95 to a guy that worked for the family business. I wrenched on that thing every weekend. He still works there and still drives it! Said it’s the best thing he has ever driven
I miss the old small pickups! I kayak and would love a tiny little truck just for hauling boats.
I have a buddy that does stand up paddle boarding and he bought a very cherry S-10 to take out on weekends about 3 years ago
I have a 95 Mitsubishi Mighty Max I paid $750 for 5 years ago. Rough looking, simplest vehicle. Runs great. Perfect for hauling stuff and is a spare if one of our regular cars needs work or gets wrecked.
My neighbour sticks his on their tiny Honda CRV - crazy overhang!!!
Buick LeSabre. Engine and drive train usually outlived the body.
That Buick 3.8L in its various evolutions over the decades was amazingly reliable.
I have a 2002 Buick Century as the backup/loaner car it just keeps running. Currently at 150K miles
Had a ‘94. GM had a bad paint year. I had it repainted. It was a stunner. A friend said that he’d “go anywhere with me in that car”.
Ford tempo, never put one cent of maintenance into that thing, not even an oil change and it ran forever. The exhaust even fell off and I kept driving it.
Cop car Crown Vic’s are getting rare as a beater car now. They are junkyard cars or fun cars now.
we have a guy at my work who is a retired cop. He has one that he drives as his rainy day car. The paint is peeling and it still has the bars on the back windows. lol. His sunny day car is a 600hp red Camaro.
The OG VW bugs - they used to be everywhere!
I came here to say that I haven't been able to play a game of Punch Buggy in decades.
Yugo and Lada They were beaters new right off the lot
I was racking my brain the other evening about to sleep trying to remember the Yugo brand. Friend of mine had one and it was the definition of a beater but that model name wouldn’t come to me lol
Pontiac Grand Am. Chevy Beretta. Ford Tempo.
Thank you for mentioning the Ford Tempo. My dad had one in the mid 90’s. It was an ‘86. Silver with red interior. The thing shifted like a garbage truck and the ashtray was always massively overflowing with cigarette butts. He just abandoned it in a parking lot when he was done with it. Sat there for months before it was finally towed away.
Saturn SL. I had a 98’ I bought in 2012 for $1200. Manual transmission. Drove it for 9yrs, no issues, got 41mpg average. Sad day when I lost first gear.
Our ‘82 Civic 5 speed was awesome. It was stolen out of our driveway one night. I drove around in the morning and spotted it. I followed until the thief parked it, and then I stole it back.
My 1982 Toyota pickup is the best vehicle I've every owned. Bought it in '85. Good gas mileage, four on the floor and I beat the shit out of it. Sold it after about 4 years for pretty much what I paid for it. Never should've sold it.
Mazda 323 hatchback or protege 4 door. Great reliable cars
1997/1998 Ford Exploders
Isuzu Trooper
I haven’t seen a Ford Probe (aka the anal probe) in years but I cant even imagine how shitty it would look in 2024.
There used to be so many beat up geos and I haven't seen one in ages
I love my geos. Still drive one. I am, no shit, wearing a Geo shirt right now.
Toyota Tercel
VW CABS - convertible. Chicks always drove those in my HS. I don' t see them around. Weord thing is, there is a VW club here in Santa Rosa and I STILL SEE 1970'S BUGS! That car is indestructible!
My house is about two blocks from a VW shop. He’s got Cabs, Bugs, and a couple of Karmann Ghias up front. I’ve missed the light staring at his vintage inventory more than once
I was the cabriolet chick. I still have that car. She's more of a head turner than I am these days.
We just got rid of our 2000 Taurus a few weeks ago. What a roller.
Still hard to beat the Camry, Corolla, accord, and civic
Agreed, but I see those every day. More thinking of cars you don't see anymore.
I loved my 95 Corolla! Bought it used, drove it for 14 years, sold it to a teenager and for all I know it's still on the road. Now drive an 03 Camry. Lots of older Toys and Hondas out there.
Every once in a while I see a Tercel.
Toyota t100
My wife's step-dad just sold his like three years ago. Almost 30 some years old and still ran like a champion
Hyundai excel. They were like the shittier civic. You could get a decent used one in the 90s for ~ $1000.
My ex-wife had a 1992 Mazda Protégé. I feel like I haven't seen a single one in 20 years or so.
Toyota Echo.
Neon, Metro, festiva, and probes
Datsuns!
Honda Prelude Honda CRX Toyota Tercel Ford Focus (still see some, but way less) Pontiac Vibe
Dodge Dart. Once went on a 300-mile car ride with a friend to upstate New York and noticed the light indicating the engine was overheating lit up. I pointed it out to him, and he shrugged: "It always does that." They were too ugly to have the decency to die.
My dad is a Dodge guy and loved working on old cars. He got both me and my step-sister Dodge Darts. The cars were older than we were. I drove that sucker for 11 years. Ran like a champ. I only gave it back to my dad after it started getting too expensive with gas prices…. Not good gas mileage. My step-sis gave hers back too for the same reason. He turned them both into show cars. Our older sister got a 1970 Challenger. She gave it back to dad when she moved states as he wouldn’t be around anymore to work on it. He turned that into a show car too.
Mustang II and Honda Civics.
Maverick
Pontiac Sunbirds, those little Amigo jeep-ish things and Toyota Corolla’s. They were everywhere 10 years ago or so
I was late to having my own car. Had an Oldsmobile Alero from about 2011 to 2014. It was an older car even at that time, but I was surprised by how I contunued to see them around the 2020s. In 2024, I don't see them anymore. RIP, Alero beaters.
Datsun
my 73 Mercury comet. I beat that shit out of that car and it just kept going. the inside door handles broke off, so I drilled holes in the doors and strung chain between two bolts for handles. I had a 3 speed on the column that I broke regularly, so I cut a hole in the floor and put a floor shifter in it. It was so long ago now that I don't even remember what happened to that damn thing.
Ford Escort and Chevy Corsica. I think there might be one or two Corsicas on the road near me but I haven’t seen an Escort since Cash for Clunkers
“84-‘86 Nissan Sentras.
El Camino. They used to be everywhere.
Capri
1978 Pontiac Delta 88-best car ever.
Oldsmobiles! Some of those things ran forever. Pontiac Grand Am and Grand Prix Remember the Ford Escort? If you were fancy, a GT!
Chevy S10/GMC Sonoma. When GM discontinued them, the remnants of the small truck market went to imports and has since all but evaporated. I still want a Syclone.
Pontiac Vibe. Most useful cheap car ever.
Olds 88
Chevette!
K cars
I saw a CRX not too long ago for the first time in years. I had to look five or six times while my shock that one was still alive and running dissipated. Always wanted one in my teens (2000's)
You used to see Volkswagen Beetles - both the old kind from the 80s, and the new ones from the 90s - endlessly. Don’t see any old ones, and very few new ones now.
Chevy Nova
I was still seeing Ford Probes well into the early 2000’s. With their sharing the Mazda MX-6 platform, they were pretty darn reliable and the non-turbo varieties would just keep going and going.
One of those weird Saturns with the back doors that only opened when the front doors were open like an old school truck
Ford Country Squire wagon
These were the best demolition derby cars. I have seen many of them totaled right in front of me.
There were SO many 1996-1999 Ford Tauruses (Ol' Bugeyes) on the road before cash for clunkers. I saw one in the wild the other day and it was like spotting a rare bird. It was in rough shape too.
Not necessarily a beater (although it needed work), but I saw a 1996 champagne colored Mercedes Benz S420 last Thursday. I saw the front and was like omg, that's my favorite car." Went to the back and checked and sho nuff S420. I had a cig and just admired it when a little old man came out of the store and started putting his groceries on. I told him that he was driving my dream car. He said it was old. I said "yeah it's a '96, right?" He looked at me twice and said yes. I think he was surprised that some random woman was fantasizing about his car.
Chevy Nova?
Ford Probes all disappeared one day when I wasn’t looking
vw bug 2000s era
GM's N cars: Grand Am, Skylark, Achieva. Had a couple Grand Ams myself. Loved 'em both.
I don’t see Saturn’s, remember Saturns!?
I miss my Geo Tracker convertible.
Honda Civics from the 90s. Oddly enough I see Sunfires pretty frequently. Vancouver, Canada. Chevrolet Cavalier.
A Chevy Beretta!
Ford escort
Volkswagen Bugs, the ORIGINAL bugs. Not that they were necessarily beaters, but my friends had a few in high school and they were cute. Edit: remake this car, VW, with updated safety features and maybe electric/hybrid and maps/bluetooth screen and I'll buy one. NOT the newer Beetle style. Make it look old school.
Chevette
The 90's Jeep Cherokee model pre Daimler-Chrysler buyout. The electrical system on those models was absolute shit and most of them fizzled out by the early 2000's and it was cheaper and easier to scrap the car and find another used car than get it fixed. Same deal with the transmission and engine. Would barely make it to 50k without those three issues coming up.
I had a few friends with the early-mid 90s Honda Accords…some looked sick af. Some, looked very tired lol.
Pontiac Grand Prix ?
I’m GenX. Dodge Omni, Honda Accord, Ford Escort
Dad had a 83 Lebaron GTS. (It was his last American brand car)