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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsDid you or your family own a car from a company that doesn't exist anymore?
AMC, Packard, Studebaker etc.
d_r
(6,907 posts)does that count?
Tabasco_Dave
(1,259 posts)my wife came to car buying age at the time Saturn was doing their thing, and she's had four of them. I've had a pontiac and an oldsmobile.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,835 posts)It counts when you need a mechanic.
Bombero1956
(3,539 posts)My Dad drove a 53 Desoto and later we had a Nash Rambler.
doc03
(35,337 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)It looked like this (but more grey than bluish)
Sophiegirl
(2,338 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)MH1
(17,600 posts)Until my bf wrecked it.
I actually liked that car.
mykpart
(3,879 posts)My son has a Saturn, as does my sister. In the 1950s we had a Nash Rambler.
Joe Bacon
(5,165 posts)Got 12 years out of it.
Archae
(46,327 posts)Loved that car, it so easy to work on when I needed to.
Flaxbee
(13,661 posts)Daewoo is still a huge company, of course, just not here...
The Daewoo was an incredible commuting car - very very low gas mileage.
Pool Hall Ace
(5,849 posts)I always like Daewoos. I didn't know they aren't here anymore!
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)It stands for "Das Kleine Wunder" (the little wonder). They were made in Germany by Auto Union, which was made up of four makes, including Audi, which is the only brand to still be making cars. Audi kept the Auto Union logo of the four linked rings.
A lot of DKWs were also made in Brazil and South Africa which is where you can still find parts.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)I'd drive that around and be happy.
I've had a couple Pontiac Firebirds and my grandpa still has his 65 Pontiac LeMans that he bought brand new. We occasionally drive it to the classic car shows they have around here.
This is a pic from last summer:
He has the original wheel covers - they were in the trunk for some reason during this pic.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)Besides the DKW I have a '61 Renault 4CV, a '73 Saab 96, and a 69 Citroen DS. I dont have a digital camera to post pics. I don't own any modern cars.
Turbineguy
(37,329 posts)they were called Duitse Kinderwagen (German Baby Carriage).
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)The Daf. It had a continuously variable transmission instead of conventional gears, a system with pulleys and bands. Ive only seen a couple in the U.S but they were remarkable little cars. Id love to have one. The passenger car division of Daf was sold to Volvo in the 1970s but they still make trucks.
graywarrior
(59,440 posts)It never worked right.
WhoIsNumberNone
(7,875 posts)graywarrior
(59,440 posts)hunter
(38,311 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)I have a thing for Nashes and think they were beautiful. I love the unusual shape of the Nash Ambassador, which reminds me of the amazing Czechoslovakian car, the Tatra.
hunter
(38,311 posts)I think ours was the Ambassador
It was the first car my mom's parents bought after WWII.
My parents got it as a hand-me-down.
The beast drove like a boat, drifting all over the place.
Our family used to go camping in it until my parents bought a Volkswagen van and my dad sold it to a neighbor.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,693 posts)I like it, was disappointed when GM killed Saturn.
rug
(82,333 posts)GoneOffShore
(17,339 posts)And I still have it.
And I did have a Saturn for awhile.
HarveyDarkey
(9,077 posts)Not the car, but just like it:
elleng
(130,905 posts)'50s?
truegrit44
(332 posts)I think about a '57. I loved it even tho it was super ugly but the back made into a bed and I talked my dad into letting me take it to the drive-in with my bf. Use your imagination on the rest
840high
(17,196 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)And I've owned a Plymouth, but that's really just a defunct brand rather than a defunct company.
GoCubsGo
(32,083 posts)AFAIK, she's still driving it.
Mr.Bill
(24,289 posts)Still driving one today.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)Owned some, and still drive some.
One a pampered object of my affection from the days of yore, which probably sees 300 miles/year at the most.
One my daily driver from just before they stopped building them.
JoeyT
(6,785 posts)Until I hit a deer and tore the transmission and engine out of it. They weren't known for structural strength.
My second car was a Datsun station wagon, which I think are just Nissan now.
Archae
(46,327 posts)(Old joke)
sarge43
(28,941 posts)bluesbassman
(19,373 posts)'63 Austin Healey 3000. '67 Triumph Spitfire. '65 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, and a '68 Firebird 400. A '68 Olds 442.
Wish I still had any one of 'em.
Tobin S.
(10,418 posts)And our family owned an AMC Gremlin as well.
Concord
Gremlin
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)Not too long ago you could buy this vintage English sports car for relatively little money. I prefer the look of fastback sports cars to convertibles.
sakabatou
(42,152 posts)Buick, Toyota, Nissan and Volvo.
tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)But the car my family had when I was growing up was a Pontiac.
Subaru better not go anywhere anytime soon.
mysuzuki2
(3,521 posts)Good car. It's not really defunct though since it is the same as a Toyota Matrix which is itself basically a hatchback corolla.
WhoIsNumberNone
(7,875 posts)'77 Delta 88. I loved that car.
Is MG still in business? We've had a few of those in the extended family over the years...
Panasonic
(2,921 posts)And my sister used to own a Gremlin.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Red of course. Loved that car. Drove it til it died and then replaced it with a 4 door because the car seat contortions were a pain in the ass.
Pool Hall Ace
(5,849 posts)Google isn't very helpful, though.
Moondog
(4,833 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)The Simca Sport 8 was a very nice little hardtop sports car. So was the Simca Oceane convertible.
When I lived in Georgia back in the late 60s, a high school friend had a Simca 1000. Great little fun car with terrific gas mileage.
Moondog
(4,833 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)The letter "k" is not commonly used in French. Maybe it was an alternative spelling in foreign markets selling it. Here are a few logos of the car. The name "SIMCA" was a French acronym for "Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile". I believe Simca was eventually bought out by Chrysler.
harmonicon
(12,008 posts)Both were purchased and then destroyed by GM.
Moondog
(4,833 posts)ZX86
(1,428 posts)Got it free from my brother. I loved that car but I was young and needed reliable transportation. It had more issues than I had money. I loved the way the headlights flipped over.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)and I learned to drive on on a 1965 Opel Kadett
Here is a current Opel.
and the one I learned to drive in. 5-speed manual.
handmade34
(22,756 posts)my second brand new car was an Eagle (1st was Pinto)
(close approximation)
I loved that car!!!! (repossessed when I lost my job )
Redfairen
(1,276 posts)It looked similar to the one in this pic, good ole farm truck.
yewberry
(6,530 posts)Gramma was a wild child.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)rurallib
(62,415 posts)the likes of an air cooled rear engine haven't been on the market for decades. And the Corvair did die a rather infamous death.
The last one I owned was a truly rare Corvair van. Gotta get some points for that.
I had a red one that was the spitting image of this little death trap.
Throd
(7,208 posts)benld74
(9,904 posts)TheMightyFavog
(13,770 posts)End of Line.
GoCubsGo
(32,083 posts)My first vehicle was an AMC Jeep. I gave it to my brother. It is still running. My dad has a 1957 Plymouth and a 1959 Studebaker. He has had other Plymouth, AMC, and Studebaker vehicles, as well.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)which I bought in 1972 for about $235.00. Looked like this picture.
I later blew a piston on it, and sold it for $25.00.
My father's first car was a 1947 Kaiser, which was bought somewhat in that era.
like this, but green.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Only vehicle I've ever had with a hand throttle on the dash.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)I thought it was the coolest thing ever when I was a little kid.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)along with the lights.
I really don't think it was supposed to do that, but it was a novel feature.
Initech
(100,075 posts)kudzu22
(1,273 posts)Two were good, one was crap. But they were cheap and available at the time.
Taverner
(55,476 posts)liberal N proud
(60,334 posts)LeftinOH
(5,354 posts)then another Plymouth, then an Eagle, and then..... a Saturn.
It's true: None of the vehicle brands they've owned since they got married are still around today.
raccoon
(31,110 posts)Spike89
(1,569 posts)The DKW was cute enough, but pretty spartan inside and it smoked like crazy in the morning. I do think my Dad may have run it rich--you had to mix in 2 stroke oil--but it was cheap and he finally got a mammoth Ford LTD station wagon to replace it.
My 1970 Javelin is still the favorite car I've owned. It looked great, ran great, and was a joy to drive. The 360 engine was a pain to work on though--I blew a head gasket and discovered that not only had AMC put about twice the number of bolts onto each head as common, the specs called for each to be tightened to 125-130 pounds (most cars of the era called for about 80 foot pounds of torque)--I busted 3 "unbreakable" (2 snap-on and 1 craftsman) sockets trying to get the heads correctly tightened down.
AMC just didn't quite have the engineering chops needed to compete in the pny car era--the Javelin had the looks and the raw performance, but rather than really fix a problem, they just added bolts and hoped things would hold together.
kaiden
(1,314 posts)Old Troop
(1,991 posts)when I was a kid and, earlier, a Studebaker with a hole in the floor that you could watch the passing road through!
ProdigalJunkMail
(12,017 posts)biggest POS that ever rolled...
sP
sinkingfeeling
(51,457 posts)Metropolitans in the late 50s-early 60s.