![My final COAL installment brings us to the present day. After selling the Forester and trading in the MKX, we acquired two new vehicles with the knowledge that we would […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_2138.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL Twofer – 2019 Kia Niro And 2021 Honda CRV – New Beginnings")
![This COAL series has been a really rewarding journey for me, as I re-live the memories of owning, loving, and occasionally swearing at the cars of my past. I’ve realized […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Miser-1.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – Flashback – The Cars Of My Childhood 2 – 1981 Dodge Omni Miser, The Modern Model T")
![Before the grand finale of my COAL series I thought I would pause for an interlude to talk about two cars from my formative years. This week is the first. […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Aspen-cover.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – Flashback – The Cars Of My Childhood 1 – 1977 Dodge Aspen SE – Peak MOPAR Malaise Machine")
![Our garage in 2015 contained my Fusion and the Subaru Forester as described in the previous COAL. My wife, now gainfully employed at Ford, was driving the Fusion while I […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/sync_logo_small-2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – 2011 Lincoln MKX – The Goldilocks SUV, Not Too Small, Not Too Big, Just Right"){kind=logo}
![The new company that I joined after leaving GM decided that my prior experience working in China was useful, so they proceeded to send me and the family back to […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/679f0c60b2e0d161825488cefba326a0.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – 2010 Subaru Forester – Green, It’s What Makes A Subaru, A $ubaru")
![In late 2004 GM sent me on a 3 year assignment in China, bringing the whole family along. We sold our house and our vehicles, and settled into expat life […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2003_Ford_427Concept3.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL: 2006 Ford Fusion – My Second Favorite")
![There comes a time in many a growing family’s life when function rules over style and getting a minivan was in order. That was the realization that my wife and […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/images.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – 2001 Pontiac Montana – Yes, Lemons Come In Red Too")
![In 2001 my rapidly growing family outgrew the Pontiac Sunfire coupe that had served us faithfully and reliably for 6 years. We had a GMC Jimmy that was about to […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Malibu-3-4-front.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – 2001 Chevy Malibu – It Was Good Enough For Me")
![My Beretta GTZ had been an enjoyable car but going on 6 years the Quad 4 engine was starting to emit the little telltale wisps of white smoke signaling an […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/647201e7-184b-4d1d-9a62-cdd5850e1403.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL: 1996 GMC Jimmy – I Jump On And Then Fall Off The SUV Bandwagon")
![My first years working at GM I was assigned to work on the much maligned J-car Chevrolet Cavalier. But by 1990 it was much improved from when it was originally […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sunfire-1.heic?ssl=1 "COAL: 1995 Pontiac Sunfire – I “Married” A Sunfire And Came To Love It, Grudgingly")
![It was 1996 and I was the not-so-proud owner of a lumbering GMC Jimmy. That will be the subject of another COAL, but suffice to say that once the new […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1995-Saturn-SW2-Station-Wagon-Station-wagon-Old-trucks-Wagon.jpg.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL: 1995 Saturn SW2 – My Brief Fling With The Enemy")
![photo by W. Stopford It was June 1990, and I had just graduated from grad school and started my first week as an engineer at General Motors. For someone […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/pict0111-edited.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL – 1990 Chevrolet Beretta GTZ – Trying Hard To Be A Genuine Sports Coupe")
![(Welcome Gene, our new Wednesday COALer) In my 2nd year of college, I scored an engineering internship at a company out of state, in neighboring Indiana. That meant that I needed […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/E06871D0-6BEC-4E42-BE63-57F677C91392-e1672368355949.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1 "COAL: 1980 Honda Civic GL1500 – You’ll Never Forget Your First Love")
-
-
-
American Brands: GM 
American Brands: Ford 
American Brands: Chrysler 
American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others 
Automotive Histories and Misc. 
Asian Brands 
UK Brands 
Australian Brands 
European Brands 
Cars Of A Lifetime & Auto-Biography 
Buses 
Trucks, Pickups and Vans 
Design 
Trains, Planes & Ships 
Motorcycles, Trikes, Bicycles 
Engines, Transmissions and other Tech 
Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment 
RVs, Motorhomes, Trailers, Campers
