Calling all New Zealanders! TooManyPeopleMovers' Car "history" featuring ....too many people movers

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

Good Afternoon AutoShiters! 

Well, I should actually say good morning, because the internet tells me it is very early in the morning in the United Kingdom at the moment, but in New Zealand, it is a cold and dreary mid winters' afternoon. 

I did promise a car history in my introductory post...so here we are. Please bear with my modest ramblings of averageness. 

So as I've alluded to, I live in New Zealand, on our South Island - I wonder how many other AutoShite members are in New Zealand? Please chime in if you are!  In fact, anyone who wants to chime in about some fabulous people movers may do too  . 

Where to begin?!? 

For as long as I can remember growing up, our family has had people mover cars - my parents are very practical folk, who don't really give a toss about cars so long as they are quiet, not terrible on petrol, and can be used for carrying the family, tip runs, road trips et cetera.

That being said I'm sure my Dad was something of a car nut in his youth, because whilst studying he worked part time at a car dealership, and re-built the engine completely on the second car he owned, what I believe was a Datsun 1200 (but looking at timelines I'm more inclined to think it was a Datsun 1000 (B10)). So maybe being an average car nut is in the blood? 

.....Anyway, back to our people movers!

The first car I can remember us having was a 1992 Mitsubishi Chariot MX All Wheel Drive - if you're into Mitsubishi people movers this was truly some Chariot (In the more abstract sense), with a 2.0 litre Mitsubishi 4G63 motor (This is vaguely related to what went into the Lancer Evo series of cars, but with turbocharging, and many, many more powers), 5 speed manual, and all wheel drive! I truly grew up with that car, we did heaps of road tripping all over the South Island in it, however sadly I don't have any photos of it during our ownership - only ones from when I've seen it around town in more recent years. It was a very comfortable car, but not powerful by any means - if I look up the specifications, it had just 100 hp, to haul around 1450KG  . But no matter , it was a great car. Sadly in 2011, it blew its radiator - which Dad got fixed - after fixing the radiator - the head gasket blew (Unusually for a 4G63 as I understand) - almost certainly as a result of radiator trouble - though I never remember Dad cooking it - but I was a lot younger. Here's a photo: These were sold as the Mitsubishi Space Wagon in the United Kingdom. 

 

This car almost certainly started  my passion for Mitsubishi's, and people movers. After all, with a sound like this, who couldn't resist:  (All 4G-engined Mitsubishi owners may recall the cheerful whine/scream of those engines!). 

Concurrently, Mum also had a couple of Honda Odyssey's, between rep cars. Those who have owned an Odyssey, or Honda Shuttle, as they are called in the UK, will know what fabulous cars they are. Pity about the reliable* automatic transmission! Gearbox asides, these are a great car for the whole family! Big Captains' seats up front, column shift automatic, and a windscreen with clap-hand wipers and pantograph action on the passenger wiper arm, what more could you possibly ask for* in a people mover? Driving one is like driving your sofa, except your sofa has 150 hp, and an automatic transmission - and armrests! A very accomplished motorway cruiser they were. These had the SOHC Honda F22 2.2 litre motor, which tended to sound very dieselly and clattery on a cold start - all adding to the character! The one I post photos of here would become car number 5 of mine later - but that story will come!

 

So after our first Mitsubishi Chariot blew its head gasket, and we found out that repairing this would cost more than the value of the car, we moved on to....our next Mitsubishi Chariot - this was a Mitsubishi Chariot Grandis! Because why wouldn't we, when we had such a good run with the first one? In fairness, the radiator and head gasket problems were the only ones we had across 11 years, and 120,000Km's of ownership - so not bad in my book!

However this car was not quite so trouble free as the first Chariot. Those who know this shape of Chariot well will know that they run a 2.4 litre 4G64 Gasoline Direct Injection motor. Whilst the 4G64 is a decent motor, and makes those lovely Mitsubishi sounds as above, the GDI system is awful. In spite of having the throttle body cleaned out, coils replaced, a computer run over the car, and using the highest grade of fuel commercially available in New Zealand, we could never get it to run right - it always seemed to lack power, or be missing horses, in way that was hard to describe. It shouldn't have been, as it came with 165hp from the factory, but the gearbox was limiting - the four speed auto ran at just 2,250rpm at 100kmh (62 miles per hour) in top, and so on hills (Which we have heaps of in New Zealand) it just lost steam, and was reluctant kick down at all when needed. 

So that sums up the cars that I've grown up with before I could drive! Next post: My first car 

Craig 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

So, my first car. 

In 2013, I sat my learner license test, and became eligible to learn how to drive on what you call in the UK, the "Queen's Highway"  How terrifying that must have been for the inhabitants of my domicile. 

Given my automotive upbringing above, when the time came, what car do you think I would have purchased? We had long since sold the first Mitsubishi Chariot (Blue car) but of course I had an emotional affinity with this vehicle, yet Dad wanted me to buy something a little smaller (Like a sub-compact car). So of course, I knew there was a smaller version of the Chariot, the RVR - and in true people mover fashion, it had a sliding rear passenger door, and none on the driver side! These were sold as the Space Runner in the UK. 

And wouldn't it be just my luck, whilst having coffee in town with Dad one day, I saw one parked on the street side, with a for sale sign in the window. And it looked in decent nick, for the $1500 being asked for. But having no real funds of my own, I was reliant on Dad buying me my first car, and getting me up the automotive ladder. However, he didn't want me to buy a car yet, as I hadn't sat my test. 

A month later, learner license in hand, Dad suggested I should ring the vendor of that RVR, to see if it were still available! And it was. But he mentioned that he was reducing the price to $500 because it had sat for a while, and needed a bit of work doing on it - it needed a new thermostat as it was running very cold, and the clutch was stuffed, so we were told. 

So we went along to test drive it, and we were actually pretty impressed by it for $500 - we certainly couldn't make the clutch slip, even with hill starts, and hard pulling in high gears from low speed. Being my first car, and Dad not having privately purchased cars before, we sent it off to our mechanic for a quick appraisal - and whilst the mechanic didn't say we shouldn't buy it, he raised some points I absolutely should have take more heed of - more on that later - but at $500, (Just 250 Pounds) for a 19 year old car with 170,000KM - that was a bargain in New Zealand's over priced car market. He noted that he was able to to make the clutch slip, but that it should last at least as long it would take to teach me to drive, but more concerningly, which we ignored, the compression readings on the cylinders weren't great - 2 cylinders at 120 PSI, and 2 at 160 PSI..

What did I buy? Here a couple of photos of the car at the end of my ownership:

These were from the last week I owned it, when I did a little gravel road driving - though there is a sealed road right beside where I've pulled off in this photo!  Being another 2.0 litre 4G63 Mitsubishi engine, with a 5 speed manual, like the first Chariot we had, it was terrific fun to drive! And this had the twin cam 4G63 - with around 160 hp, and awesomely powerful car to have as a first car!

However, it wasn't all happy times. Asides from needing to do the clutch, which thankfully we were able to do after I had done much of my driver training, so as not stuff up the new one, it chewed through petrol. I live out of town, and so often ride in on the motorway each day, yet the best fuel consumption I was able to achieve on a tank of gas was around 13.7 litres per 100 km!  And it burned oil - almost as much as it did petrol - I would be topping up one litre of oil for every 250km of driving! You could see the oil being left behind, in roiling blue clouds of smoke that would have made the engineers aboard an oil fired steam battleship proud! Lots of clag. And it pinked away - there was loads of detonation/pre-ignition - knowing now what I know about cars and how they work, I suspect it had been cooked in the past, and that in the process of skimming the head, too much came off and so the effective compression ratio was increased? Feel free to disabuse me of this notion. The roof was also very badly rusted - not right through, but with very significant bubbling - that typical mid-1990's Mitsubishi roof glue that was hydroscopic. 

So I was getting fed up with it all (Ahh, the mistakes of youth), and to be honest, with a fuel consumption like that, I simply could not afford to run it. And so I sold it, for $1500 - which barely covered my costs after the clutch work was done.

I have to say now, that it is one of my biggest regrets, selling that car. Especially as Dad was quite keen that I keep it, and even offered to subsidise my fuel expenditure to the tune of a more economic vehicle if I kept it! How silly was I to turn that offer down?!?! 

I'm still on the low down look out for one, and if a New Zealand member sees one for sale with a manual transmission, that isn't borked, please let me know! Sadly there are very few these now that aren't borked - the driveline out of these is very similar to that of the Mitsubishi Evo series of cars, and so many cheap ones get snapped up and then stripped to keep some Evo running.. 

[hairnet]

20 to the gallon lmao

do you weigh 400 kilos

or was the handbrake on all the time  or sneaky v8 conversion

@STUNO @xkjagnz @Jon

[xkjagnz]

Aren't all cars by definition "people movers"? Any hoo welcome to the NZ chapter of autoshite.

20 mpg. 14 l/100km, had a few of them over the years. Finally bit the bullet and bought something a bit more economical as I do 800km (500 miles) a week just going to work. So have a Nissan cube cubic and a Ssangyong Rexton for the wife.

Am about an hour north of Auckland 

[Parky]

Mrs P is from Christchurch and I lived there for a couple of years around 15 years ago.  Not sure if Autoshite existed then but if it had I definitely would have qualified with my ‘87 Microwave back Civic and the ‘91 Corolla.

There is talk of us moving back - the thought of a 300kms Camry as a daily is quite tempting!

Her nickname was Torana Girl after her dad’s Holden.  Her bro used to run some interesting stuff including a Fiat 128 Coupe which would have been pretty unusual.  

[STUNO]

1 hour ago, Parky said:

 - the thought of a 300kms Camry as a daily is quite tempting!

Parky !  Why not buy a used one, like this, 450,000 km's, it's even a Hybrid !

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2264680513.htm?rsqid=7104a909794644b0aa18bac8951edd14-002

Mr Peoplemovers, welcome to the place for odd ones and misfits from North Island

 

[Parky]

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2241154343.htm?rsqid=59a6614d1b554c8a9366bd0190a2bc7a-002

How can you stay, with a fat girl, who’ll say ohhhhhhhh

Would you like this old Camry?  From Waitakere, I don’t dream about anyone...

Would you like this old Camry that I just found on Trademe, I don’t care about anything....except the WOF

Oh yes, at a mere $1100 NZD, i’d say William, it was really nothing.

 

 

 

[Parky]

Anyway TMPM whereabouts on the Island are you? I saw a hill in the first pic so I am guessing Dunedin?

[STUNO]

1 hour ago, Parky said:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2241154343.htm?rsqid=59a6614d1b554c8a9366bd0190a2bc7a-002

How can you stay, with a fat girl, who’ll say ohhhhhhhh

Would you like this old Camry?  From Waitakere, I don’t dream about anyone...

Would you like this old Camry that I just found on Trademe, I don’t care about anything....except the WOF

Oh yes, at a mere $1100 NZD, i’d say William, it was really nothing.

 

 

 

My boss has one of those !

[Parky]

Mrs P’s Grandad had one.  It was offered to me when I was there but I couldn’t scrape the cash together for it.  It was grey, Automatic, and low mileage and would have been a cracking buy for someone.

 

[hairnet]

that 11 camry who used it as a taxi and does it have current wof?

 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

9 hours ago, hairnet said:

20 to the gallon lmao

do you weigh 400 kilos

or was the handbrake on all the time  or sneaky v8 conversion

@STUNO @xkjagnz @Jon

I'm actually very lightly built, I promise   And I wish it had a more powerful engine, maybe the 4G63 Turbo? Alas, it was just the naturally aspirated one.

I think part of the reason for the OMGMPG was that, as alluded to above, the engine was totally stuffed - I recall it had to be worked very hard to make much progress - for example, if you were on a gradual uphill on the motorway in 5th gear, it would begin losing speed quite fast - so down to 4th, which wouldn't hold it at 100KMH, so down to 3rd - where it would hold 100KMH but was screaming at something ridiculous like 4900RPM or more. 

It's funny though, in spite of that I still reminisce about that car? No logic whatsoever. 

Craig

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

4 hours ago, xkjagnz said:

Aren't all cars by definition "people movers"? Any hoo welcome to the NZ chapter of autoshite.

20 mpg. 14 l/100km, had a few of them over the years. Finally bit the bullet and bought something a bit more economical as I do 800km (500 miles) a week just going to work. So have a Nissan cube cubic and a Ssangyong Rexton for the wife.

Am about an hour north of Auckland 

You're quite right! All cars are really people movers  However, the one's I'm used to move more people than most I guess. 

Gosh, 800KM a week, that's not bad at all! How do you find your Cube? That would be a CVT and no cruise control right? I applaud your dedication! I've become very soft and now I'm used to cars with cruise for those sorts of long trips and commutes - myself, I live about 30 minutes south of Dunedin if traffic is heavy. 

If you're North of Auckland, gosh, it must be warm! Here I am, shivering away in cold, windy, and wet Dunedin. 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

3 hours ago, Parky said:

Mrs P is from Christchurch and I lived there for a couple of years around 15 years ago.  Not sure if Autoshite existed then but if it had I definitely would have qualified with my ‘87 Microwave back Civic and the ‘91 Corolla.

There is talk of us moving back - the thought of a 300kms Camry as a daily is quite tempting!

Her nickname was Torana Girl after her dad’s Holden.  Her bro used to run some interesting stuff including a Fiat 128 Coupe which would have been pretty unusual.  

Thanks Parky! I didn't know about Autoshite until it came up in HubNut's (DollyWobbler's) video series - I feel like it's a shoe-in community for me, full of people who enjoy the average and unloved vehicles of days gone by!

1 hour ago, Parky said:

Anyway TMPM whereabouts on the Island are you? I saw a hill in the first pic so I am guessing Dunedin?

I've got friends up in Christchurch so I try go up somewhat frequently, I think it's a city that's coming up quite nicely after the earthquake.

And besides, there's more to do than in Dunedin, where I'm based - that was a good guess - Dunedin - the place of many hills, and much hill starts 

Where are you based, North or South Island? I haven't been around the North as much as the South, but Wellington is very appealing. 

Craig

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

2 hours ago, STUNO said:

Parky !  Why not buy a used one, like this, 450,000 km's, it's even a Hybrid !

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2264680513.htm?rsqid=7104a909794644b0aa18bac8951edd14-002

Mr Peoplemovers, welcome to the place for odd ones and misfits from North Island

 

Gosh, the mileages on Toyota Camry taxi's never ceases to amaze me. I wonder how much life those cars have left, once taxi life is finished? 

Thanks STUNO! I'm actually in Dunedin - I see that your profile picture is from Baldwin Street - did you live in Dunedin at some stage? Or at least you've visited what is now the "Second Steepest Street in the World" 

[xkjagnz]

The cube is OK, although the heater is blanked off as has a leak. Bit cold this week down to 5/6C overnight

Its 50 k as the crow flies 80 k by road to work but all bar 15k is back roads really not a fan of cruise control had it on both mercs and the W8 Passat and never felt connected with it

The cube of mightyness is a 7 seated (allegedly) though you would have to be Douglas Bader to use the third row, the Rexton is also 7 useable seats

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

6 minutes ago, xkjagnz said:

The cube is OK, although the heater is blanked off as has a leak. Bit cold this week down to 5/6C overnight

Its 50 k as the crow flies 80 k by road to work but all bar 15k is back roads really not a fan of cruise control had it on both mercs and the W8 Passat and never felt connected with it

The cube of mightyness is a 7 seated (allegedly) though you would have to be Douglas Bader to use the third row, the Rexton is also 7 useable seats

Gosh it would be cold without a functioning heater! Even being a recent Japanese import, too difficult to get a new heater matrix? Or maybe too difficult to get the dash out to get to the matrix probably I guess? ...Grasping at straws. 

Cruise is a matter of personal taste I guess - my parents are similar to you - they're not a fan and chide my useage of it. 

I wondered about the seven seater abilities of the Cube - the Odyssey and white Chariot were true seven seaters, if only for short trips, but the blue Chariot was similar I guess to the Cube - there was enough length for legroom - but the third row of seats just sat on the floor - no footwell to speak of - so was essentially useless. I guess the Cube Cubic falls into the category of micro-people movers like the Honda Freed and Toyota Sienta series? They're somewhat common around Dunedin!

[xkjagnz]

Yes changing the heater is a huge pita so not going to happen, I just put a coat on. I have ordered one of those cigarette lighter plug in heaty things, it'll either work or be crap, will find out on Tuesday I guess

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

On to the next car! And it was all change. 

So once I sold my RVR, the plan was to get something smaller and better on petrol. So I got myself a little Toyota Starlet EP91 series (HubNut has owned one of these too). Whilst the car served the purpose, being small, easy to park, and very economic on petrol, I never really "clicked" with it. And in the end, I grew to rather hate it a bit I guess. 

It had 230,000km's and I guess was pretty tidy asides from terrible paint peel on the bonnet, and lovely* wheel trims. But it leaked and burned oil too, and needed a clutch by the time I came to sell it. 

When I look at photos now, I notice it had one of those Japanese Market air-purifier fans on the parcel tray in the boot! A little unique I guess? 

However the sale of the car left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth: I sold to an older gentleman who claimed he was buying the car for his daughter, as a runabout due to her old car having blown up. Because of this, and because I hadn't had much interest in the car/having been mucked around by people viewing it (Or not, as it turns out), I was probably more receptive to a lowball offer than I should have. Whatever, my mistake. Probably my pricing was off too. 

But 2 months later, I saw the car for sale on the roadside, with a price around $500 more than I was asking. Not only that, but the advertised mileage had been reduced by around 40,000KM's, to bring it just under 200,000KM's. I confirmed it had been wound back by using CarJam to look at the Warrant of Fitness mileage records. I was furious, but what could I do?

Live and learn I guess.

[Parky]

8 hours ago, TooManyPeopleMovers said:

Thanks Parky! I didn't know about Autoshite until it came up in HubNut's (DollyWobbler's) video series - I feel like it's a shoe-in community for me, full of people who enjoy the average and unloved vehicles of days gone by!

I've got friends up in Christchurch so I try go up somewhat frequently, I think it's a city that's coming up quite nicely after the earthquake.

And besides, there's more to do than in Dunedin, where I'm based - that was a good guess - Dunedin - the place of many hills, and much hill starts 

Where are you based, North or South Island? I haven't been around the North as much as the South, but Wellington is very appealing. 

Craig

I’m back home in the UK now, have been for years but a move back to NZ is on the cards.  Mrs P wants to go back next year.  We lived in Christchurch (Russley, near the airport) but weren’t there for the big quakes.  Our old house largely escaped but her Mums place practically needed rebuilding.  One of the offices where Mrs P worked ended up completely flattened, a lot of folk died in there.  Terrifying.

Our thinking is Wellington might work better for us but her Mum is in CH and her Dad in Auckland so it would make more sense if we went to one of those.  I have spent time in both and Auck would be my preference because of the chances of my Camry conking out on a bridge and guaranteeing an appearance  on “Motorway Patrol”

[STUNO]

22 hours ago, TooManyPeopleMovers said:

Gosh, the mileages on Toyota Camry taxi's never ceases to amaze me. I wonder how much life those cars have left, once taxi life is finished? 

Thanks STUNO! I'm actually in Dunedin - I see that your profile picture is from Baldwin Street - did you live in Dunedin at some stage? Or at least you've visited what is now the "Second Steepest Street in the World" 

Mr too many,  born and bred Northerner, although my father was from Caversham, Do have a cousin in Mosgiel. Tried Baldwin st in a Corolla 1300 Auto but not even half way before the struggle was beyond it ! The Welsh claim must be dodgy .

 That Camry is stuck at a bid of about $1000.00 so there is not much to lose when it dies.

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

On 8/11/2019 at 9:03 PM, Parky said:

I’m back home in the UK now, have been for years but a move back to NZ is on the cards.  Mrs P wants to go back next year.  We lived in Christchurch (Russley, near the airport) but weren’t there for the big quakes.  Our old house largely escaped but her Mums place practically needed rebuilding.  One of the offices where Mrs P worked ended up completely flattened, a lot of folk died in there.  Terrifying.

Our thinking is Wellington might work better for us but her Mum is in CH and her Dad in Auckland so it would make more sense if we went to one of those.  I have spent time in both and Auck would be my preference because of the chances of my Camry conking out on a bridge and guaranteeing an appearance  on “Motorway Patrol”

Wellington seems like a really cool place! I've got friends up there too so try to go up at least once or twice a year. Sadly missed Wellington On A Plate this year. I'd definitely move there if a job opening arose. 

On 8/12/2019 at 10:23 AM, STUNO said:

Mr too many,  born and bred Northerner, although my father was from Caversham, Do have a cousin in Mosgiel. Tried Baldwin st in a Corolla 1300 Auto but not even half way before the struggle was beyond it ! The Welsh claim must be dodgy .

 That Camry is stuck at a bid of about $1000.00 so there is not much to lose when it dies.

Ahh nice! Friends of mine have just moved house, on to Baldwin Street....I haven't yet taken my Honda Fit up as I'm not sure would be very much fun, with the CVT. That said, I always used to take my cars up once a year - it tended to give a bit of an "Italian Tune Up" so to speak; my automatic gearboxes shifted better afterwards certainly!

Apologies for the late responses..the real life (What's that?!?!) is a touch busy. 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

The next vehicle in my "fleet" was "Dangerzone", as one of my work colleagues called it, on account of the number plate, a 1998 Toyota Caldina 1.8E (For Economy...super base spec, climate control, but no map lights?) Station Wagon. These were sold as a Toyota Avensis in the UK! That said, in spite of how basic it was, I really liked it! I don't regret selling it, as it allowed me to purchase "bigger and better" cars, but I had some terrific adventures in that car. I particularly liked the two-tone! Like my first car, the RVR. 

The only issue of note I had with this car was that it used some fancy fuel injection technology (7A-FE motor) to allow it to run very lean, on the premise that where it was sold in Japan, you could use very high octane petrol to avoid detonation...I think. What I am sure about is that it always had a miss-fire/shudder when pulling at lower revolutions...eg whilst cruising on a slight uphill on a motorway. Never went away, even after an auto-electrician claimed to have modified the ECU to use a bit more fuel, to richen up the mixture. 

It was however, one of the plushest cars I have owned - I haven't come across a car since with such plush velour, and such thick carpets! Gosh I wish they made cars with the same interior quality today, as they did in the late 1990's. I think that has to be the high water mark for plushness. 

It even came complete with all the Japanese manuals and ownership documents!

However, I'm not sure if I'd call my next car bigger, it certainly was better. 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

So what next? 

I came across my next car due to a family friend suffering a death, and needing to leave the country to access support from wider family, very sad circumstances. With leaving New Zealand, they needed to sell their car, and asked us to sell it - they left us all the documentation, and a valuation on the car. 

I was a little bored with the Caldina, and couldn't get past the miss-fire, so I jumped at this opportunity for....a 2008 Mitsubishi Colt Plus! The friend was fine with us buying it, as we offered her the market valuation price, which we thought was a very fair price. It's a 1.5 litre car with a CVT transmission. 

It does seem a little insane to trade my wagon for this, but it was a car that was 10 years newer, quieter, and used much, much less fuel. 

And it has been a very reliable car indeed! Probably one of the best purchases, objectively speaking, I have ever made.

Of course, I ended up not liking it. It uses a foot operated parking brake, which I could never get used to, with the many hill starts in Dunedin. However, my mother liked the car much...and I liked hers more at the time! 

Onwards. 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

And now on to an actual people mover! 

I had had always liked mum's Honda Odyssey, of which she had two during my early childhood - and who wouldn't - with 145 of Honda's  finest horses, column shift automatic, and claphand wipers? With pantograph mechanism on the passenger side wiper arm. Oh yes! It was a top of the line Odyssey (For its time) but no tachometer?

As it happened, the Odyssey was getting on in years, and mum didn't need the people moving capacity of the Odyssey (Nor did I, for that matter), but an arrangement was reached whereby some monies changed hand (The Odyssey being worth significantly less than what I had outlaid on the Colt)  and I received the Odyssey and mum the Colt! 

I have to say this is one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever owned, in spite of horrific fuel consumption, and needing work done to pass warrants of fitness every year (And just general maintenance - I was spending around $500-750 a year outside of general servicing - to keep it going), I really liked that car. Maybe the sentimental connection from childhood? I would go on to own this car for 4 years, the longest I've ever owned a car. 

However, at about the same time as I received the Odyssey, I became obsessed with driving a car with a manual transmission! And sadly this would not be the last time I would be afflicted this obsession. 

[TooManyPeopleMovers]

Next came a car I have no idea why I purchased.

Being a little obsessed with driving a manual transmission car (Not all that common in New Zealand anymore) I thought it would be terrific to get a small, manual transmission car - a 2000 Mazda Demio 1.3 !?!?

Not sure what I was thinking, and I had sold it within 2 months of purchasing it. Not a bad car I'm sure, but I should have known I'm much more into bigger, more powerful cars.