![For the final entry (for now) in my COAL series, I’d like to introduce you to the only car I’ve owned that has not served as a multi-purpose daily driver, […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/untitled-115x115.jpg "My 1985 Pontiac Trans Am – Living With, And Upgrading A Teenage Dream")
![This installment will bring us almost to the end of my COAL series, and today I’ll cover two of the three vehicles we currently have in the pit and paddock […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Captura-de-pantalla-2026-02-24-23.24.43-115x115.png "My Current Dailies: 2024 Cadillac Lyriq and 2025 VW Atlas")
![My wife likes to say that “expectations are premeditated resentments.” While she usually applies this to having expectations on people, it is certainly applicable to automobiles. Sky-high expectations of the […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Leaf-dash-115x115.jpg "My 2020 Nissan Leaf – Low Expectations, Great Results")
![They say you should never meet your heroes. My wife experienced this truism when she was spending a weekend in New York City and spotted one of her favorite music […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BMW-cover-shot-115x115.jpg "My 2010 BMW 328i xDrive: Never Meet Your Heroes")
![In my last installment, I detailed my experience with a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT, which for a low acquisition cost, was a fun reliable vehicle for 3 years and about […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PTKOEKCBA11YYE-115x115.webp "My 2005 Subaru Outback – Practically Luxurious")
![Before taking a brief detour to document my recently-departed Dad’s stable of vehicles, I shared my experience with a 1976 Mercury Cougar that, to this day, is my one ex-car […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2000_volkswagen_jetta_gls_vr6-pic-3203043935785123274-115x115.jpeg "My 2000 VW Jetta GLS VR6: Far From Grüven")
![Like many of us, my dad was a big part of my early COAL history. If you’ve read any of my previous entries, particularly the pieces on my LTD II […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Mustang-115x115.jpg "Remembering The Cars of My Father")
![Cars have been a common source of inspiration for rock and pop musicians for as long as the genres have existed. “Rocket 88,” an ode to Oldsmobile released by Jackie […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1024,height=1012,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/03_streetlifeserenade_1100px-1024x1012-1-115x115.jpg "CC Album Cover Art: What’s In Your Hall Of Fame?")
![In late 1997, I acquired a 1976 Mercury Cougar XR7 with the intent of driving it cross-country in the heart of winter. I reasoned with myself that I would drive […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/678acc7d80373f8e39a4bde622d087d0-115x115.jpg "My 1976 Mercury Cougar (Part II): Road Trip Of A Lifetime")
![It was late 1997, and after nearly a year and a half of struggling to make it in Seattle, I was throwing in the towel. The job market was great […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/n_1976-Mercury-Marquis-Cougar-Montego-10-e1762282298997-115x115.jpg "My 1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7: Prodigious Pussycat Becomes A Surprisingly Classy ’90s Daily Driver (Part I)")
![Shortly after graduating from college in the spring of 1996, I packed up everything I had into my beloved but terminal 280ZX and set out to start a new life […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/just-like-mine-1-115x115.jpg "My 1982 Dodge Rampage: Oddball Charm And Mixed Results")
![Rust Never Sleeps is the title to a legendary 1979 album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, which has been cited by some as the seminal proto-grunge record. I also […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Captura-de-pantalla-2025-10-08-15.02.11-115x115.png "My 1982 Datsun (by Nissan) 280ZX: Rust Never Sleeps (Part 2)")
![Like many of us, my first car was a short-term affair. As I documented in my first COAL, we sold my LTD II at the end of my senior year […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Captura-de-pantalla-2025-10-08-15.01.52-115x115.png "My 1982 Datsun (by Nissan) 280ZX: Rust Never Sleeps (Part 1)")
![“You never forget your first girl…” was the tagline for St. Pauli Girl beer in the late ’80s/early ’90s. St. Pauli was one of the top German imports at that […]](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1977-Ford-LTD-II-10-115x115.jpg "My 1977 Ford LTD II – You Never Forget Your First Girl")
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American Brands: GM 
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Automotive Histories and Misc. 
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