1962 Pontiac Tempest
My first car.  My dad bought it for me to take to college for a couple hundred bucks.  A bit unusual actually: Had a 4-cylinder engine, 4-barrel carb, and 4-speed transmission - we called it the "4-4-4".  Lasted for both my and brother John's college careers, and then the front end collapsed.

1969 Chevrolet Chevelle
Needed a car when we graduated from college, and my grandfather sadly passed away just before, and so we inherited his Chevelle.  (We had a '69 Corvair convertible on order, but GM stopped making them just in time.)  Six cylinder automatic (ho-hum).   Sold it to Vi's brother when we bought the Vega.

1971 Chevy Vega Hatchback
Our first new car.  Thought it was pretty sporty.  We were young and innocent back then.  The only thing actually sporty about it was that it was red.   Discovered the MG and sold it to Vi's brother (there's one born every minute) who kept it until the engine disintegrated.

1969 MGB Roadster
Our first sports car.  British Racing Green of course.  Nice British feel, although a lot of little things always needed attention.  Brothers John and Joe also bought MGBs (John still has one).  Drove it year-round, sold to buy Alfa Spider when it got too rusty.

1970 Pontiac Tempest
The first Vi-mobile.  Bought from Vi's father Howard.  Looked and felt like, well, a banker's car.  Had a 350ci V8, was pretty reliable.  Traded in on a new VW Rabbit.

1975 Toyota Pickup
Bought new so we'd have a vehicle for hauling things and to take some of the wear and tear off the MG.  It was a Toyota, so it was reliable and started rusting away immediately.  Unless you actually had a half ton in the back, the ride was extremely harsh.  Sold to Vi's brother (of course) - was nephew Mike's vehicle through college.

1974 Alfa Romeo Spider
Purchased from an electronics equipment salesman.  Not all that fast but nimble and makes all the right sounds - always fun to drive.  Starting to get rusty, sold to make room for Porsche 944.

1978 Chevy Van
Bought a year old to replace the Toyota pickup with something more comfortable and enclosed.  Had a 350ci V8 and automatic.  Was just too big, though, for every-day driving.  Traded in on the VW pickup with a cap (which had a better ride than the Toyota).

1980 Volkswagen Rabbit
Purchased new as the Vi-mobile II.  After all, we'd just been through two oil shortages, right?  Ordinary but relatively reliable transportation.   Traded in on Alfa GTV6 so Vi could have a more exciting motoring experience.

1981 Volkswagen Pickup Truck
Bought new when the Rabbit was still pretty new and hadn't caused many problems yet.  Thought it was better than the other mini-pickups available.   Fuel pump died and stranded us in the woods at 100 miles.  Added a cap.  Sold to Vi's brother (again), became niece Sheri's vehicle.

1983 Volvo DL Wagon
Purchased new as the main workhorse vehicle.  Replaced the VW Pickup truck, since we lived in Wellesley and HAD to have a Volvo.  Solid car but really not all that reliable, lousy in snow, slow and boring to drive.  Sold, when a little rust started to develop, to buy more drivable Audi.

1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6
Purchased new from High Performance Cars as Vi's car.  Pretty fast, nice Alfa six-cylinder sounds, but a little heavy steering and a challenging clutch.  Brother John took it over after only a year - it broke way too often for Vi's taste.  Was John's year-round driver until he sold it in 1996.

1983 Mazda RX7 Limited Edition
Purchased from a young lady in Newton to replace the GTV6.  A sporty car (but not a sports car) that Vi found much more civilized.  Fairly reliable and the rotary engine was VERY quiet.  But boring.  Sold in 1988 when Vi took over the 944.  

1983 Porsche 944
Purchased to replace the Alfa Spider, it became Vi's car in 1988 when we bought the 911.  Solid, good handling, somewhat under-powered.  Sold to a Digital Vision employee who kept it for another few years.  Shown here next to brother Joe's '86 - note the MA and CT "I-BREW" license plates.

1986 Audi 5000 Wagon
Purchased to replace the Volvo wagon.  Had more power, better handling, and great heated seats.  Solid and reliable, although a bit pricey to repair when required.  Sold to Mike Counihan who kept it until 1998 and ran it up to 165,000 miles.

1984 Porsche 911 Targa
Purchased when Vi sold the RX7 and took over the 944. What can you say - it's a 911. Sold it after only a year because 1) I thought I might kill myself with it and 2) I couldn't pass up the chance to own another Alfa Spider.

1974 Alfa Romeo Spider
Purchased from an Alfista who had too many.  Look familiar? Yup, exactly the same as the car I sold in 1986, except this one came from California and had no rust - it was like deja vu!  Rebuilt the engine, added some go-fast goodies, gave it a bare-metal respray. It was a kick to own - but it's been replaced by a '61 Giulietta! More details and pics.

1991 Alfa Romeo 164L
Bought new in 1991, this was a marvelous car - fast, quiet, reliable. All the amenities of, say, a BMW or Lexus but with the great Alfa V6 engine. Was gonna be Dave's year-round driver, but Vi took it over 'cuz she needed something more fun than the Jag. This and the Jeep were replaced by Vi's Subaru Outback.  More details and pics.

1986 Jaguar XJ6
One of the most gorgeous body styles ever, in my mind, so I figured we should own one before they all fell apart.  Bought for Vi, but too big for her, so she took over the Alfa 164 and Dave took the Jag. Couldn't get up the driveway when it snowed and got rusty, so sold to a lady with a very pronounced British accent

1991 Jeep Cherokee Limited
Had a couple of bad winters and decided we needed something that would actually make it up our driveway when it snowed.  Sturdy, fairly powerful, but not too quiet and kinda bouncy on potholed city streets.  Haven't really had a bad winter since.   Replaced with the more genteel Outback.

1973 Alfa Romeo GTV
Purchased from a guy in Maine.  I always loved this body style.   Same guts as the '74 Spider in a sports coupe.  Less squeaks and leaks than the Spider and nearly as much fun.  Sold to buy a Ferrari 308, which I never did, bought the Lotus instead.  Why did I ever sell this car?

1989 Lotus Turbo Esprit SE
Purchased from Lotus Motorsports in Boston.  I was looking for a Ferrari 308 but discovered Lotuses in the process - they're faster and less expensive.   It's basically a street-legal race car and thus is too much car for me.  It's been sold to a guy in NYC - hope he has lots of self-control!  More details and pics.

1967 Corvette Coupe
Obtained from a guy who had five of them!  Of all the cars we've owned, this is the one that got the most attention!  Everywhere we took it we'd get stares, waves, hoots.  Gobs of American muscle-car torque.  Handling?   Well...  I love my Alfas, and this fella's been sold and can now be found cruisin' the streets of Rochester, NY.  More details and pics.

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV
Like it says three cars above this one, I really missed my Alfa GTV, so I bought another!  Total bare-metal restoration of a rust-free Arizona car - exterior (dark green), interior (tan) and engine.  Brother John and I drove it back from Phoenix in June of 1998 - check out the Travelogue!  What fun!  But all good things must come to an end, and it's been sold.  Time for another road trip?  More details and pics.

1999 BMW Z3 Coupe
We decided that, since we planned to be taking more long-distance trips, a newer, dealer-supported, safe - but fun-to-drive - car was in order.  So the GTV was replaced by our first bimmer.  Second fastest car we've owned behind the Lotus, best-handling car, lots of amenities, controversial good looks.  Third green/tan car in a row! More details and pics.

1999 Subaru Outback
The new Vi-mobile!  The 164 was still a great car but didn't hold all Vi's "stuff"; the Cherokee did, but was starting to show its age.  So we sold them both and got an Outback, to Vi's delight.  Full time 4WD, lots of room, nice suspension, automatic transmission, heated seats, jaunty appearance.  OK, so it's not like some of our other cars. Gave it to niece Abby when her far more ancient Subaru blew up.

1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal
Named after the 1967 World's Fair at which it was introduced, this is a limited-production Alfa (less than 4000 total) never sold in the US (there are now about 100 in the country).   It has the only V8 engine that Alfa ever put in a production car, derived from their famous Tipo 33 race car.  With its funky style, this is a unique Alfa, which is what I was after. More details and pics.

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV
I just can't get away from GTVs - this is my third one!  Rust-free California car, driven back from there with brother John in May 2001—check out the Road Trip!  Treated to a gorgeous bare-metal respray and has many mechanical upgrades, it's even nicer than my green one was.  Superb!  More details and pics.

1992 Alfa Romeo 164L
Listened to my own praise of our first 164, and bought another one.  Front wheel drive and galvanized body make it the perfect year-round car for someone who must drive an Alfa (me).  Another green/tan car!  Had only 47K miles, in nice shape, strong mechanicals, and quite pretty.  Sold to buy the Saab for our cross-country road trip.  More details and pics.

2003 Saab 9-3 Arc Sports Sedan
Bought to do a 2004 cross-country Road Trip that fell a little short.  Has plenty of scoot (the 210HP feels like a lot more), 6-speed, handles great, phenomenal brakes, huge trunk plus rear seats that fold, 300W/13-speaker CD/radio, heated leather power seats, Onstar, lots of other amenities.  Same league as BMW/Audi/Lexus but not as "me-too".

1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 2000
The styling and nimble handling of earlier Alfas melded with the power and drivability of later ones.  Has a two-liter engine, 5-speed, disk brakes, etc. from a '76 Spider.  "The car that Alfa should have made".  This car ain't for purists, but, well, I ain't a purist.  You can check out the eventful Road Trip in April of 2004 during which we brought her back from Portland, Oregon.  More details and pics. And you can see it in autocross action. But, alas, the engine threw a rod — time to move on!

2005 Mini Cooper S
I'd found my holy grail—a car I could drive year-round that's as fun as my Alfas!  Made nice noises, lots of power, solidly built, and cornered like the proverbial go-kart.  'Nuff said ...  except that, with all my other cars, it never got used, and I traded it in with only 14K miles on it!  More details and pics.

1970 Jaguar E Type Fixed Head Coupe
Ever since I was a high school kid, I'd told myself that I wanted to own an XKE before I died, but it had to be a FHC in British Racing Green with a biscuit interior.  Finally got my chance and grabbed it!  Fulfilled that dream for a couple of years but needed my garage space back, so it's now being cared for by a gentleman from Ontario. More details and pics.

2000 Jaguar XK8
Got involved with the N.E. Jaguar club because of the above, and got intrigued by XK8s.  Great looks, 290HP V8, good handling & brakes, quiet as a coupe with the top up.  Used ones can be had for pennies on the dollar!  Mine's BRG/tan, of course. More details and pics.

2003 Jaguar XKR
Same great car as the one above, but supercharged with 390HP, three years newer, 10K fewer miles, 15 months left on factory warranty, 6-speed auto trans, and nav system. BRG/tan, of course. Did I mention the supercharger? :) Sold it only because they only come with automatic transmissions. More details and pics.

2005 Jaguar X Type Sport Wagon
A Jaguar station wagon? That was our reaction too. But Vi fell in love with it (and Vi does not tend to fall in love with cars). Plush, plenty of power, remarkably agile, all-wheel drive, nice-looking for a wagon (and Vi needs a wagon). BRG/tan, of course.

1974 Alfa Romeo Spider
No, it's not a mistake. Yes, it's the same car as about half way back up the page. After my Giulietta blew up, I was in contact with the guy who owned my previous yellow Spider, and he was looking for a Giulietta. So we did a swap! Got my yellow Spider back with new paint, top, brightwork, rubber bits, etc. -- deja vu all over again!  More details and pics.

2005 Porsche Boxster S
Oh, my - what a car! 280HP, 3100 pounds, mid-engine, 6-speed, 0-62MPH in 5.2 seconds, amazing handling, stellar brakes, fantastic seats, lots of comfort features and gadgets, Bose sound. Whoof! More pics.