OK Friends, What Was The Lemon You Owned?

I've owned a number of vehicles over the years. Most of them were great, ran well, did their job just like they were supposed to. The very first one is among my all-time favorites because, well, no matter what your first one is, you loved it. For me, it was a 1963 Two-Door Chevy Impala. The fact that it was 10 years old when I got it didn't matter. It was my first and I loved it.

Then there were a few through the years that, ah...weren't so good. The Lemons. The 'less than good' ones that ended up costing the proverbial arm and a leg. The one(s) that were cheap to buy and then 'nickeled and dimed' you to death.

The reason I bring this up is I noticed the Pinto and the Vega were both introduced to the American Public 50 years ago.

Now, if you're not familiar with the Ford Pinto and the Chevy Vega, well, you weren't around in the 1970s. While the Pinto latest until 1980, the Vega vanished by the late '70s. I never owned either one of them (although I did tool around in a Chevette for a time), but both had a less than stellar reputation. Hence, they didn't last a whole long time.

Oh, I've had great Chevies and Fords through the years. In fact, one of the best cars I've ever owned is one that I motor around in these days, a Malibu. On the edge of 100,000 miles, it still runs great (Geez, I hope I haven't jinxed it). And I'm thinkin' every make of vehicle has had their missteps through the years.

One of these days I'll tell you about the worst I've had through the years...maybe about when I drove around in a used bread truck, or the year or so I motored around in an old Rambler Ambassador that didn't have any paint on it.

Yep, those were the days. Kind of.