Other cars I have owned recently:

The Race Toaster: A '96 Plymouth Voyager base model. I bought it used in '99 with about 30,000 mi on it. It had the Mitsubishi 3.0L v6 engine. We were about to move to Puerto Rico and I knew good suspension and brakes would really help us avoid a collision down there. I added Eibach springs for the front with lowering kit for the leaf springs in the back, that lowered it about 1.5" and drastically improved the handling. I installed a set of Monroe Sensatrac shocks and struts. The 15x7 wheels and 225/60/15 Bridgstone tires rounded out the suspension upgrades. It handled amazingly well for a minivan and I surprised more than one "sporty" car on freeway on/off ramps. For brakes I added Porterfield R4S carbon/kevlar brake pads to the front and stainless flex hoses front and rear. To help the 3.0L engine make a little power I replaced the huge, restrictive stock muffler with an aftermarket performance muffler and resonator. It sounded pretty good for a v6. To make it a little user friendly on long trips I added a Pioneer radio/CD stereo, alarm system with remote door locks and OEM roof rack. It was a pretty good vehicle for a family and we put over 100,000 miles on it in 7 years including a couple cross country moves. The only problems we had with it were a stuck thermostat, a transmission rebuild at 85,000 (that was my fault, I shouldn't have been doing burn outs!) and a blown head gasket at about 100,000 miles. I ported the heads while they were off to make the repairs. Both my daughters learned to drive in it and it hurt a little to sell it but the kids were grown and we didn't need a van any longer.

1988 BMW M5: This is possibly the best car on the planet for my money. I bought it the last time I was stationed in Hawaii. It was purchased new for $46,000, I bought it for $16,000 in '95 with very low mileage. The transmission went out shortly after I bought it, the dealer had serviced it when it was traded in by the PO and the tech forgot to refill the transmission. They bought a new trans and I installed it. It was a hard days work. I'm glad I didn't own this car on the mainland, I would have been thrown in jail for sure. It is VERY easy to drive VERY fast. On Oahu there is little room to stretch it's legs but in the Pacific North West I would have had plenty of room and I would have absolutely used it to full advantage until I was in VERY deep trouble! A beautiful car with fantastic performance to match. I sold it before I left Hawaii due to the cost of parts, insurance and the monthly payments. I regret that sale to this day. I have a few pics of this car but can't find them, I'm sure they will show up when I move next time. This is a nice one I found on the internet-there were no options and only 1 color so they all look the same unless modified by the owner.

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