Fujmobile I: 1980 Plymouth Horizon TC-3
2+2 hatchback, automatic transmission
This is where it all began. Shown later in the Fall of 1990 in Southgate, MI with the Fujmobile II (to the right). Remember when rear window louvres (shown above) were cool? Rust under the door was there when I bought the car, alloy wheels were $10 apiece from a salvage yard in Ypsilanti, MI, and the trailer hitch was added to tow a laser sailboat trailer I used to own. And yes, those are drywall screws holding on the rear bumper's silver rub strip (hey, I was in college and didn't have much $$$!).
KEY STATS:Fleet Service:
1987-1989
Color:
White
Acquisition Cost:
$1,200
Mileage at Acquisition:
67,000
Sale Price:
$150
Mileage at Sale:
109,000
Plate(s):
PUY-912 (PA)
080-WYR (MI)
ABQ-648 (MI)
The very first Fujmobile. Purchased in 1987 so I didn't have to walk 38 miles each way to my summer internship at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn. This started my long-running affinity for hatchbacks, although the auto tranny was on its way out (shift into reverse, wait 2 seconds, and it engages with a loud "clunk"... not good). It had a Volkswagen 1.7 liter engine in it because Chrysler was still trying to learn how to make fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines back in the 1980's when the Omni/Horizon platform debuted (some may argue they still are) so they imported them from Europe for a few years. Awesome engine mounted in a really crappy car. This is the car that got me started in auto mechanics as a hobby after waiting three hours once for an oil change. I decided after that to do it myself, and have done so ever since. This is also the car that I learned the joys of, among other things, replacing struts, a wiper motor, and rebuilding a carburetor (I had a couple of parts leftover but the car ran fine after that) outdoors (no garage) during fierce Michigan winters. Sold it in 1988 for $150 and to my girlfriend at the time. That proved, in retrospect, to be arguably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done ("guess what that car you sold to me did today… fix it"). I probably should have just abandoned it in downtown Detroit with the keys in the ignition and the engine running.
I
purchased this car just before I left to go back to get my MBA full-time at the
University of Michigan, while I still had the Ford employee discount. I ended up
paying $12,400 out the door, including tax, for a car with a $16,000+ sticker price. Yes, that’s
a lot for an Escort, but this baby was loaded with every option possible, plus a
special limited-run appearance package "Cayman Package" which
was one of the first cars in the 90's "green" trend. Manual tranny,
of course. This car holds the record for most miles I’ve ever put on a single
vehicle. Until 1995 when I bought the Jeep (can you say 17 MPG is usage
disincentive) it had very light usage. I ended up selling it in 1998 with
112,000 miles on the odometer (when I purchased my second Celica) to, catch
this, my girlfriend at the time (yes, I made the "mother of all mistakes",
twice). She had still been driving this car as of the Summer of 2004, with over 130,000 miles. Because I had this car
so long, to many people, this car still remains the definitive Fujmobile. To the
left is a bonus pic of Fujmobile IV at the "1025 Packard Party Central" in Ann
Arbor. Nothin' like Festa's buried in Chicago snow Acura
pic though.
Purchased in August 2001 for
$1,300 with 102,000 miles on it from my friend Kara's roommate. My first "luxury" car, as well as my
first European car. Also probably the biggest "White Elephant" car I’ve
ever acquired. Also my first experience with the price of replacement parts for
unusual European cars - the equivalent of many (!) beers. This thing was $28,000
when new and has all the bells and whistles. Most of that stuff still worked,
too. Aside from the Jeep and the cop car, it’s the largest, heaviest, and most powerful (190
HP) Fujmobile ever. Drop the hammer and let the turbo spool
up and this thing really
launched. As a bonus, I was able to get five kegs in this baby. As a negative
bonus, it was a maintenance nightmare as I think I dropped nearly $4,500 in
repairs into this $1,300 car to keep it running including such minor things as
new tires, new clutch, new head gasket, lots of new suspension components, etc.
etc. I ended up donating this beast in February of 2003 for yet another tax write-off as I could not sell this "money pit" to anyone in good conscience. But
check out the hauling capacity of a true hatchback - yes, that is my
former roommate and still very good friend Dave's (pictured) queen-sized
sleeper sofa wedged in there on Fullerton in front of Party
Central in Lincoln Park. Try that with your sedan!
This is
the latest flagship of the fleet. Wasn't looking to get a wagon, just for an
exit strategy from the Saab! It's a high end EX model loaded with every option except
the built in cell phone (thank heavens for that too, just what I need is a circa
1994 cell phone!). All dealer-serviced, very little rust, and previous owner was
a CPA (can you say, meticulously maintained). Accord wagons are rare animals in and of themselves, and five-speed
Accords in general are also quite rare, let alone manuals in EX (high level)
trim so when I found an EX Wagon with a five speed manual tranny, I was all over
this like a pack of dogs on a thee-legged cat. And of course and enough cargo capacity
to haul at least six kegs! To the left is all the food and
other suppliers for the PPC's 12th Annual
Fourth of July BBQ & Scavenger Hunt Pub Crawl (except the
kegs) packed in there. Its service for the 5th Annual Post Air &
Water Show Party at Party Central cemented its role as a official PPC beer truck! In the summer I use the cavernous
cargo capacity to make it like a rolling gym locker, packed with equipment
for beach volleyball, softball, kickball, running, and whatever other
sports I get dragged into playing. Not to mention an awesome tailgate
party machine in the Fall. And with 72" of length between the back of the
front seats and the tailgate it could double as an RV with the rear seats
folded down, like in the Jetta commercial, though I have yet to test this
capability in an actual camping situation. 
