The old-style "jalopy" car seems to be a dying breed. You really don't see too many people driving Dodge Darts or Ford LTDs or other such big boats from the 70's (mostly because a car that old won't run anymore).

The jalopies of today are the compact cars from the early to mid 1980's. Ford Escort, Honda Accord, Plymouth Horizon and pretty much any given Volkswagen. You see college and high school kids and single mothers driving them because they're cheap to buy and for the most part, reliable.

That's how my 1987 Plymouth Horizon was for me for a few years - reliable and cheap. It was actually my parents' car, they bought in the late 80's from a dealership for a pretty cheap price (I can't remember how much it was, probably less than $5,000 I guess). They bought it as a FAMILY car and it held up pretty well considering it was used to escort two adults and three children around pretty much on a daily basis. I drove it when I first got my learner's permit and it was a great car to learn how to drive. You can't exactly tear out with this thing but it's nice and small enough to give you a good feel of the car's presence so making turns and fitting into cramped parking spots are no problem for you.

After high school and once I got my license my parents let me use the car as my own and I drove it to college and to work (I went to a community college). I noticed so many other students had Horizons or their Dodge counterpart, the Omni. And I didn't feel bad about driving a lipstick-red colored car because I saw other guys driving the same thing. In fact, I noticed that guys tended to drive red or black horizons and women drove white or gray ones (they didn't come in an assortment of colors).

That car held up many years and I was amazed I didn't have to drop a lot cash on getting it fixed and keeping it up. My dad took car of the oil changes and inspections and what not. I had little money during the Horizon years, if I had to spent as much as $100 on it that would have made me so mad! Fortunately that only happened like once.

I even jazzed the car up a little too. I bought a brand new stereo with a tape deck and as old as those speakers were they rocked the car pretty hard! Really, a lot of bass filled songs vibrated the car if I cranked it loud enough. I also put stickers of bands all over the thing to make sure everyone knew this was a college kid's car!

But a car can't last forever, especially when you put about 30 city miles on it a day, never do any highway driving and buy the cheapest gas possible. The last year that I had this car (1996) the engine really started to deteriorate. You'd have to leave it in neutral at stop signs and red lights or it'd stall (so many p!ssed off drivers behind me!). During the winter you'd have to put a blanket over the hood even INSIDE the garage or it wouldn't start up in the morning. The rear windshield wiper and spray stopped working. You had to prop open the hatchback with a stick because the strut broke.

I only got into one accident with this car and it held up surprisingly well. I was driving on a country road in the winter when I went over some decommissioned railroad tracks and started to spin out of control. I narrowly avoided hitting a big delivery truck head-on and instead hit him in his rear corner as he went by. The only damage to the car was that the driver's side headlight was smashed and the bumper was bent down. I can't remember how much it cost to fix it, I mean my insurance covered most of it, but I think I only shelled out $200 or less to get it fixed and it was back on the road again in no time.

The only reason I got rid of my Horizon was because I wanted a new car. My parents would have let me drive that thing as long as I wanted, but it was getting close to 125,000 miles and the whole stalling at red lights thing really annoyed me. I got a 1991 Pontiac Sunbird and the dealership, by some miracle, actually accepted my Horizon as a trade-in! I think they knocked off $500 for it! Wow!

So that's the story of me and my Horizon. A lame little car that somehow had the strength of an import. If you're a high school or college kid today looking for a cheap car to get you around I'd recommend considering a Horizon. It'll get you where you want to go and if you have the money you can get it fixed up so it'll last even longer.

SEE ALSO:
1987 Plymouth Horizon

1991 Pontiac Sunbird

1997 Mitsubishi Mirage

2006 Honda Civic

2008 Toyota Yaris
Amount Paid (US$): 5,000?
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1987