Cars, Memories, and Experiences

                I currently drive a 2017 Ford Fiesta ST. When looking back at the history of cars I’ve owned and driven, it’s probably objectively the best car I’ve ever had. I could go on about why, but it would just be one of thousands of other “slow car fast” articles combined with, used car guy owns a newer car for the first time, so I’ll spare you. 

Despite being the best car I’ve owned, I often find myself longing for past cars that are in many ways objectively worse. The 2 I miss the most are of course, my baby, the 1994 Acura Integra LS that is my online namesake, and the 1995 DSM I owned a few years after the Integra. Lately I’ve been trying to figure out why this is. Were they better cars than I realized and I just wanted the latest and greatest, failing to realize what I had? Is the Fiesta not really all that great? The more I thought about it, the more I realized, there was one difference much larger than the performance gaps in the cars, my life…

When I bought the Integra, I was 19 years old and I was working a job that paid in the high $5 per hour range. I “modded” it as a 19 year old with no money would, axle back exhaust, short ram intake (which I later traded for a cold air) and lowering springs… JUST springs, not struts, no camber kit, just lowering springs. I feel like I should get some credit for not cutting the OEM springs though, that was a very big “free mod” at the time. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I did have a lot of time. I put MILES on that car. Back road drives, suburban cruises, weekend trips to the mountains and beaches, we were always out and about! I discovered the Team Integra forum in the early forum days and started going to meets and meeting people through that, and saw a LOT of cars that were much nicer and faster than mine. I spent a lot of time with and without people working on that car, admiring that car, and creating great memories with that car.I finally sold it after 4 years and putting 100K miles on it. I bought it with 140K miles and sold it with 240K. 

I sold it because I wanted to shift focus away from cars a bit. I was dating a girl who I wanted to impress and show that I was “growing up” so I replaced it with an equally old and even more clapped-out Accord. (Spoiler, the girl is now my wife, so everything worked out!) I kept the accord for a couple years, but it was getting boring, I was watching other friends still in the game, and I finally had a “good” job now that was not only paying better, it was also full time with options for overtime. This is when I sold the Accord and got the DSM.

The DSM was a great life lesson in a few ways. It taught me a few important things that I pass along to people all the time. 

• There’s no such thing as a “good deal” when it comes to buying cars. If something is cheap, there’s a reason. 
• When buying a car that’s 8-15 years old, if that car has an internet reputation or profile as being a certain way, it most likely IS that way.
• Realistically, and I mean very realistically, think about your cash flow and if you can truly long term afford a certain type of car.
• Lastly, realistically know your own mechanical ability if you’re planning on doing some things yourself.

    Before settling on the DSM, what I was looking for was something higher performance than I had owned in the past, and something that was more easily modified. My best friend had a heavily modified SRT-4, and seeing the turbo potential, I knew I wanted to give that a try, but still, even my “good job” wasn’t that good. Forums all warned of lots of issues, even with unmodified examples, but I figured it really can’t be as bad as everyone is making it out to be. (Long story short, it was…) Since I was now older, and working a 40+ hour per week job, I didn’t put a ton of miles on it, I didn’t go on a bunch of adventures, I didn’t immerse myself into the culture and scene, I mainly went to work and back and wrenched here and there on the car. I got a lot of experience wrenching, both in the driveway and unplanned roadside. I learned a lot about the tools and skills I didn’t have, but overall looking back, as stressful as some of the times were, getting the car back together to get to work, or frustrating when I couldn’t get something or found out mid job I needed more parts, it was a fun learning experience. I like to say that this was the right car at the wrong time in my life. I did a lot of maintenance on the car and never actually got to any mods. I purchased a turbo back exhaust but was never able to get the seized bolts off to install it. Being young and in retrospect uneducated, I also bought one of those very old school manual boost controllers. Luckily, I didn’t end up putting that on. I did have a good boost gauge, but I didn’t have a wideband A/F gauge, and that would have 100% blown it up. After I began getting promotions at work and reliability started to take over as my primary need, I finally sold the car and got another Integra, a 99 this time. That car is an honorary mention, and I did have an axle back exhaust on that as well, but that car was always more of a commuter than something fun. 

    Fast forward to today. I’ve had the Fiesta since 2018, so about 8 years as of this writing. I’ve only put 40K miles on the car compared to the 100K on the Integra in 4 years. Every time I drive it, I like it, it does what it’s supposed to, it feels tight and new, its low miles, but the memories just aren't there. And that’s not to say there aren’t any, it’s been on a handful of backroad drives, and one of the best memories I do have of it is going out with my wife and just going back and forth across one of our favorite backroads, seeing her enjoy it was a lot of fun! 

    I’m not sure what the fun car future holds for me, but I do know one thing. Now that I’m older, have a family, and am mostly going to work and back or to other obligations and back I now need something that’s more comfortable, larger, and has a better ride. When you’re a young person, with fewer responsibilities, fewer aches and pains, more tolerance for BS, and more time, a 1 car solution can work. Who needs good ride quality when you’re having fun on the weekends! The older I get though, the more I understand the people I viewed as older when I was younger who had a Miata as a weekend car. Sure, they’re slow, and they’re not the best handling, but they’re budget friendly for the masses, and they are dedicated. And that is the direction I see myself going in the future.