A long time ago (I'm going to guess 30 years) a friend and co-worker of mine kept asking how many cars I'd had over the years and I'd always reply, "I don't know; more than most people I guess." She'd say, "You should make a list." In fact she probably told me that a few dozen times. One day I decided to do just that... and it was hard! I found the only real way to remember was to list them chronologicall
y, first to most recent. In most instances, I traded one in on another so each memory basically led into another. Adding information such as color and who I purchased it from helped too. While it in no way affected that original list, there have been some oddball deals as well which stand out, like in 2012 when I traded in a 2008 Lincoln Town Car, a 2008 Chrysler Sebring convertible, and a 2004 Cadillac Escalade EXT to Obaugh Ford-Lincoln toward the purchase of a new 2012 Lincoln MKT crossover. Not everything I've owned has been a primary source of transportation . I've bought a number of convertibles both new and used that were never more than a summertime cruiser. There have also been duplicates; my current '74 Pinto Runabout is basically a carbon copy of the one I purchased new back in 1974. I also acquired a duplicate of my '79 Continental Mark V many years after the first one had been traded away. It was white with a Wedgewood blue landau vinyl roof, pinstripes, bodyside moldings, and velour upholstery. It had the wire wheel covers. I ordered the original one to my specs after seeing a photo of one in the '78 Continental Mark V sales brochure. The colors were still available and I went for it. That car turned heads anywhere I went but an opportunity to resell it a year later for more than I paid for it prompted me to do just that and replace it with a new downsized 1980 Continental Town Car. That decision always haunted me so in the early to mid 2000's I started searching online for another one. Finally, in 2007, I found one for sale in Tiskilwa, Illinois. The only real difference in the two cars was that the second one had a factory-installed CB radio. Prior to locating that car, and fully feeling quite discouraged, I bought a beautiful one-owner '79 Continental Collector's Series sedan. Anyway, my point is that once my list was complete, I rearranged it by model years so it makes more sense. Therefore, on the list, those three '79s all come between the '78 Zephyr and the '80 Lincoln Town Car, although they were purchased over a near thirty year spread. My original list way back in the late-eighties to early-nineties was hard to put together but since then, I've simply added to it whenever I buy something, new or old. I have a pretty good memory (at least when it comes to cars) but I seriously don't know whether I could accurately reproduce that list now. I look at it sometimes and see something that will prompt an, "OMG, I haven't thought about that one in years!" reaction. The first Pinto, the first Mark V, and my first Ram 1500 pickup are the main ones I regret not keeping. Live and learn!
Dwayne