The Ford F-150 is a popular pickup truck known for being tough and reliable. Many people use it for work or everyday driving because it can handle a lot of different tasks.
Infrastructure means the systems and buildings that help support electric cars, like charging stations. If there aren't enough charging stations, it can be hard to use an electric car.
The Chrysler LeBaron is an older car that some people loved because it looked nice and could have a roof that folds down. It's a classic car that reminds many of fun times in the past.
A turbo is a part that helps an engine get more power by pushing in extra air, which lets it burn more fuel. This makes the car go faster without needing a bigger engine.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people buy because it lasts a long time and doesn't use much gas. It's popular because it's easy to drive and not too expensive.
The Ford Maverick is a small truck that can carry stuff in the back and is easy on gas. It's a newer model that people like because it combines being useful with saving money on fuel.
The Jeep Cherokee is a type of SUV known for being good for off-roading and everyday driving. It's been around for a long time and has many different versions, making it a popular choice for many drivers.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a bigger car that can go off-road and is comfortable for families. People like it because it can handle rough terrain and still feel nice inside.
The Ford Taurus is a car that was very popular in the 1990s. It was known for being comfortable and having a lot of space inside, making it a good choice for families.
The Ford Escort is a small, simple car that many people bought because it was cheap and easy to drive. It was popular for a long time, especially for those looking for a basic vehicle.
Car
Ford Topaz
The Ford Topaz was a smaller car made by Ford that was not as popular as the Taurus. It was known for being simple and affordable.
Car
Chrysler Barracuda
The Chrysler Barracuda is a classic American car that was made to be sporty and fast. It was popular in the 1960s and 70s and is still admired by car fans today.
Car
Volvo station wagon
A Volvo station wagon is a type of car made by Volvo that is spacious and safe, making it a great choice for families. Many people love them for their comfort and reliability.
The Subaru Outback is a car that looks like a station wagon but can handle rough roads and trails. It's popular for outdoor adventures and family trips.
The Subaru Ascent is a big car that can fit a lot of people and their stuff. It's great for families and is built to handle different types of weather and roads.
BMW is another brand that makes luxury cars. They are known for being sporty and fun to drive.
LIVE
Welcome back, America. This is your podcast about your past and your cars, where American
history and automotive history meet your history. CarsLove.com, this is to all the cars I've
loved before where you get to chat about cars that made a difference in your life, could
have belonged to your parents, your first car, second car. Did your mentor, did your
best friend drive a car? Did you have the best time in high school in this car? That's
what we do. These are the conversations that we have, and I can't wait to introduce our
very special guest today. I will kick it over to my co-host, Mr. Doug. Good morning, good
afternoon, whatever the case may be. How are you doing? Anything in the automotive
news today? Good morning, good afternoon. Only thing I saw is that Ford crushed
their estimates and their reporting numbers, so they didn't really well. I haven't dug
in to see where that is. Obviously, it's not in electric vehicles. As soon as they stop
making the electric truck, yep. Yeah, well, they certainly cut back. So, yeah, Ford
is doing really good. It's probably F-150, like everything else that Ford makes. That's
their baby. Nobody does it better. Yep. And it could be some limitation on now
that the cyber trucks come out and everybody's disappointed in it. They're like,
we're just going back to gas and diesel. And Ford's the one to go. Did you see that
Hertz, I think this was a week or two ago. I can't remember if we talked about it.
Hertz is selling most of its fleet of electric cars just going to flood the
market because I rented an electric car last time I was up in your neck of the
woods, and it was not a pleasing experience from an infrastructure perspective. So Hertz
just is about to dump, I'm going to say, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of
thousands of vehicles on the market. So interesting times, early days in the
EV realm, we'll see. So we move forward. I agree. Mass adoption, just imagine if
you couldn't find a gas station back in the day, or there was no gas. On the
east coast have experienced that, and that's when myself as an electric car
owner didn't run into an issue. But on traveling, yeah, it's tough. It's tough.
A lot has to happen, certainly from early adopter standpoint. But hey, that's
what America is about. We innovate. We regroup. We go back. We start podcasts.
We invade. Absolutely. Yeah. So let's Christian, if you would introduce our
wonderful guest today. Well, she goes further back into your past than mine,
but I'm very pleased that we have Melissa, who is a tech executive from
the great state of Texas, the Lone Star State. Welcome. How are you, Melissa?
I'm great. Thank you. Not a tech executive, but that's okay. I'm
currently a personal assistant, but I am. I also run my household, which is
basically like being an executive. Domestic chief executive is how I
would say it is. But thank you so much for joining us and very pleased. And
she is surrounded by her phalanx of gnomes that is her security detail. Everywhere
she goes, she takes them with them to protect her from stalkers. Anyway,
welcome to the show. And as you know, as is our want, as is our habit,
we have people on and we talk about their first few cars. But it's
really your bit of a fielder's choice as to what you want to do. You can talk
about your last three cars, your first three cars, your folks cars, cars that
made a difference to you, a car you want to buy. And we will just kind of sit
that at your feet. Could be a car you hate. Okay. Okay. Well, I'll start
with my first car. Yay. I like that. Which was a 1988 Chrysler
LeBaron hatchback turbo. And it was burgundy. And it had burgundy velour,
not just cloth, like velour interior. Very nice. The story behind the car. So
I got it when I was 16, which was not in 1988. It was when was I 16,
whatever, 93, I guess. And my grandfather bought the car in 1988 with
the intention of because it was in his mind, like a super cool car that like
it is a super cool car. Well, yeah, but I mean, but it was really cool in 88 93
wasn't so cool. And it was also burgundy and really ugly. And however, he
thought it would be like the best coolest car for me for his granddaughter.
My parents had no intention of getting me a car. So he bought the car
with the intention to give to me after driving it for a few years and
he did. And it was it was a car. My grandfather was pretty rough on the car
before it got to me. So by the time it got to me, hmm, and it was not, I
believe they only made these cars for like, maybe one, two cycles, because
most of the barons at that point were convertibles. This was not. And it
was also this turbo. Yeah. So just an example, like I would be driving
down the street, I'd be at a light, a red light and the car would just like shut
off. That was turbo. And so basically, it said turbo, like on the bumper, you
know, in letters, people at my high school, I mean, my nickname was turbo. I
mean, it was a whole thing. Oh, really? Most of the kids by the time I like,
I was kind of in a my high school was sort of like, I'm not not a wealthy
high school, but like a upper middle class kind of thing. And so like a
lot of like the cool popular kids had brand new like Ford probes or Honda
Civics. And like those were like the cool or little Toyota Corolla is like just
cool new cars, 40 cars. Yeah. And I came in with my turbo burgundy turbo
turbo. So it's interesting. Did your parents have any concerns about you
having a car with a turbo? And if memory serves, I think it's still this
way today. For young folks, cars that are faster have a turbo big V8 insurance
costs more. I think back then, I don't think my mom, we're not honestly,
like, I love I'm not such a like a car person. So and I wouldn't have
complained. I was just happy to have a car. And I think my mom didn't even
care like it wasn't even like a thought. That's how I was. Yeah. So I feel
like it was funny. I mean, I think the funnier part about the fast
car is that my grandfather was the one that drove it because it really was not
a car that you would picture Papa, who's that's what we called him Papa
driving. Like it was like this little, it was just funny. And he was a tall
guy, and he's in smushed in this car. And I mean, I think he just did it
because he thought I would love it. So I mean, as far as past, I mean,
yes, it was definitely it was like, you know, it would it had some pickup.
But like I said, it would turn off or like sometimes the door wouldn't
open. I mean, it was the crazy car. And I dug you did remind me that it did
talk. Oh my brings back those memories of Ricardo Montalban doing those
commercials. I kind of forgot about it, but it would say the door is a
jar or blinker on. What kind of voice was it? Was it kind of an
electronic voice? Was it a woman's voice? What is it a man's voice?
Do you remember? I don't think it was super electronically, but I don't
think it was a man either. I think it was just like a, you know, a
standard voice over kind of voice. It was kind of robotic woman voice.
Robotic woman. It was definitely female. No. Okay. It wasn't it wasn't
kit from what do you call it? From wasn't that calling from
Nightrotter, but we could all hope that we couldn't have a
conversation with it. It was not Siri. Okay. Didn't give me
any information that was useful. I just want to know why it
called the door a jar. A door is a door. Oh, that's not a jar.
Good one. Not really. Those were the times when I probably had
some digital instruments as well. Yeah. Laying these. And I was
also like a big deal because mine was four door and a lot of my
friends just had two door cars. So like having a four door was
like a pretty like, it was a pretty cool deal. Plus it's
a turbo on it. So were you older than did you drive
before most of your friends? Were you the ones ferrying them?
That was the big thing when I was a kid to kind of get us to
711 so we could pump quarters in the video games, get us to win
Dixie so we could just buy raw cookie dough and eat it out of
each hand.
I was mid year my birthdays in January. So as far as like the
school year goes. So like I had some friends that were older
than me, some friends that were younger than me, I do
know. So back in the day we had Dallas Maverick's tickets,
season tickets, and it was like a big deal that I could drive, I
could take a friend to the arena and like drive there. So yeah,
but actually this is kind of yeah, this is kind of a funny
little tidbit. Also, when I was learning to drive, my mom
did not like me to drive with the radio on. So and especially
in the highway, so like when I would go and I was a really big
rule follower. So like when I would take my friends to the
Maverick's games, we would be driving and I would have to
turn the radio off. We got on the highway and everybody made
fun of me. But it was I was so worried about Oh, wow, following
directions. So I was radio off on the highway, open silence,
proven silent. So what why was your mom concerned about
that? I'm I've heard a similar story from my dad via my
grandfather. I think just the paying attention, you know, it's
like the pre precursor to no texting and driving was like, if
you're listening to the radio, and there's other people in the
car, and you're on the highway, like, you're not going to be
able to pay attention. So it was just funny. Yeah, my dad's
view was, you know, if the song is fast, you're going to
go faster to keep up with the song. So you see that I was
not a rule follower. So I just listen to radio anyway. So
yeah, that was that was turbo. Turbo. Good old burgundy
turbo. And so what happened to turbo? Oh, poor turbo. So
turbo, when I went to college, I did not take my car my
freshman year of college. So this would have been in 95, I
guess winter break, and came home from college and turbo would
not turn on. No matter what we did, we could not get
turbo turbo went turbo took a tumble. So we ended up like
selling, I think we looked long story short, we ended up
selling turbo, but it was basically like pleased by the
car and get it out of our garage. How did you sell a car
that wouldn't start?
Turbo did not fare well.
Yeah, okay. That's a fee.
Yeah, that's a fee. I mean, someone came and like bought
it and carded it off like in a they trailed it off. Yes. So
that was that somebody wanted that. So she's out there
somewhere, I guess, or she's in a junkyard. It's sad.
I know she's a cube of metal about of two feet by three feet
by two feet. Oh, it's been recycled into it's been reborn
as a like a toaster or maybe who knows? Yeah, you could be
using it at home right now for all you know.
And so then after that, my second car was a Jeep
Cherokee. And it was a it was like right around when like
that grand Cherokee came out. But mine was just the Jeep
Cherokee I think it was called a sport. And it was probably
my favorite car I've ever had. And I still am sad that I don't
have it. But it was kind of an emerald green. Oh, nice. And it
had gray leather interior. And I got it my sophomore year of
college show that would have been 97. And it was the best.
I loved it so much.
And, you know, those cars have a cult following not the
grand Cherokee, but the Cherokee. Yes. People I have
a friend who has a probably similar vintage at least she used
to put 100,000 miles on it never really had any problems. And
she could get premium bucks for it if she hasn't sold it
already. Because people people love those cars they and
they are bulletproof Jeep Cherokee. I think it is the XJ
internal name.
Yeah, I loved that car so much. I felt so cool. Like
everyone thought I like all my friends were jealous of my
cool Jeep. I went to college in Ohio. So it was like a good
driving around the snow kind of car. And I had it I only had it
I had it like, maybe two and a half years, three years until I
graduated. Yeah. And then when I graduated, my it was leased off
my dad had leased it. So when it was great when I
graduated, he took it away. And I ended up with the they my
parents bought me a different car for graduation. But it
was that was my favorite of all my cars. Yeah, that's a great
vehicle. And good, good story. Did you ever go off roading
since it was a Jeep? Do you think I would go? No, I'm not an
off road. Yeah, rule follower on rotor. Yeah, exactly. I mean,
this is tech, you know, Texas is people go off road.
Didn't go off roading. But I did definitely like it had a
sunroof. And it had, you know, I'd like blast the
music. And nice. Yeah, Jeep people are definitely like, Jeep
people love other Jeep people. Jeep people love Jeeps. Like,
yeah, Jeeps have a following and a wave. And yep. Yes. You
know, it's a quintessential America. We were talking about
Ford F-150 Jeep, same, same thing. Yeah. So speaking of,
since we mentioned college and a little bit of high
school, given you graduated college, I believe 1995. No,
that was graduated high school. High school. Pardon me. Sorry.
Yes. Got that totally wrong. I take that back. It's okay. Don't
age me that much. So for our listeners and you, the top
selling car in 1995 was Ford Taurus. Hey, unexpected. Those
things were selling like crazy back then. That was yeah,
everybody had one. We talked about Ford Escorts on a
previous episode. Ford Taurus. Yeah, same thing. Those were
amazing cars. So it's funny, my brother, my older brother, my
grandfather did the same thing with him, and got him got a car
and then gave it to my brother. But it was a Ford Topaz, the
much the younger and smaller sibling of the Taurus, and
probably not as popular. And it was super dorky. So I think
I really lucked out honestly, even though I make fun of my
turbo, like the Topaz was like the dorkiest of all cars.
Well, because his was gray, and it had gray cloth interior.
You've really stumbled on something brilliant. Think of all
the cars in a product line for a manufacturer and cast them in
terms of siblings. The overachiever, the sporty one, the
slow one, the dunce little brother, I think you're on to
something here. I love it. There's a podcast happening
or a sitcom or something. Maybe my grandfather knew that my
brother was more Topaz, and I was more Chrysler Barron.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And then it would be great if they sized you
up at the dealership. And you said, I want to drive this
sporty one in the sales guys like, yeah, I don't think so. Take
the Topaz. So it's interesting. That's an
interesting thought. So it brings me to my current car,
which is a Subaru Ascent. And I've long, okay, so let me just go
back for a second. I love a station wagon. I've always loved
station wagon. Like I always wanted one. My dream is like a
Volvo station wagon. Always. Like I just love them. And I've
never had one. And so cut to like, I also love a good
Subaru Outback. Love them. I just, they just, I feel like
they're me. And but I need that third row because I have kids.
That's right. And because we travel from every summer, we go
from Texas to Florida on a vacation. So when we like to
drive anyway, bring in the Subaru Ascent, which is like the
perfect melding of my dream for the Subaru Outback, but also
the third row SUV. So that's my current car. And I have to
say I feel for the first time, I feel like me in my car.
Oh, now wait a minute. I feel like I am a Subaru person.
Now you lit up when you were talking about the Jeep. The Jeep.
Are you just you know, but the Jeep, I know, but I feel like the
Jeep was like an era. Yeah. Oh, Taylor Swift. That was my that
was my Jeep era. Yes. And then, you know, you go through
like your chain, like you'd have this and you have that
and then like this car and I've been through a multitude
of SUVs over the years. But I feel like I finally hit my
sweet spot with my Subaru. Highly recommend. Nice. And what do
you love about the Subaru besides the fact that it's a
Subaru, which also has a very good cult following? I just
feel like it's it's just, you know, I'm not super like, I'm
not super crunchy and like hippie. But I feel like it's, it's
just a cool car. I don't feel like I have to keep it
clean on the outside all the time. If I don't want to, like
it doesn't say like, you know, people I've never been one to be
like, Oh, I need a Mercedes or I need a BMW or I need this. Like
I just like a car that gets me to hear from here to there, but
also is like comfortable and looks good. And I just think
it's a cool looking car. It just fits my personality. And I do
think Subaru people, it's sort of like that Jeep people like
Subaru people, you know, you know, a Subaru person. Maybe
I'm not like the, you know, there's like a stereotype,
obviously, like sort of the, I would say, like, meryl, tennis
shoe lesbian woman that lives in Vermont stereotype. That's not
me. But I mean, not that it matters. But like, I think
that's cool.
Yeah, I was, I was blown away the first time I went to
Vermont being a car guy. I saw Subaru is everywhere. I'm
like, Whoa, this is weird.
I don't know what it is. It's some kind of thing. And
like people when they even when I first got it, they're like
super, you know, my friends would say like Subaru. I'm like,
Yeah, listen, a Subaru. Do you want to? Are you moving to
Vermont?
They don't have a factory up there. I think it's just like a
I think it's like a thing like people in Vermont like
Subaru. Yeah, no, I'm there. People in Texas, like they're
four F 150s or they like their stuff. Yeah. It's like
that where I am. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I love my
Subaru. And I mean, I'm really, when I think about, you know,
all the cars I've loved, I've loved pretty much all of my
cars. I've only had one real lemon. So I'm really, I mean,
I've had good luck, I think through the years.
So would you see when the lease is up getting another
Subaru?
Yeah, I think so. I think I would get another one. Maybe
different. Currently, she's the one I have now is white
with black leather interior, which I like. But I would
like to get I would I like the white, but I would like
to get like a maybe a brown interior, like a brown leather
tan leather. But it was at the time when I was getting
that like this one was bought during that crazy mayhem, you
know, when there were like no cars anywhere. So I took
what I could get.
Yep. And you got to take what you could get and you
pay a premium. Yeah. Yeah.
But it's still it's a really comfortable. My kids love it.
Like when I say kids, you know, my kids are 18 and
14. So they're they're big kids. But there's enough
room for everybody. Nice. Nice. Well, yep. And you feel
safe in it, right? Subaru's are known for safety as
well. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Excellent. So I
know it's not the most exciting car history, but
that's what I got. I don't know if you know your
Subaru has a turbo in it. Well, it doesn't say turbo, but
it does. So see, there you go. We've gone full circle
back to the turbo. We're back to Melissa turbo.
Circle of life. So are you disappointed that we didn't get
to any true crime or that there's not been death
mentioned in this conversation at all?
A little bit. Okay. I don't know. I do definitely like I
would love to like put, you know, I as we're
sitting here talking, I'm thinking wherever turbo is
out there, did she ever have, you know, a body
carried in her back? We don't know. Hopefully
not, but you never know. So for our listeners who
don't know, right, you are a podcast, you're a friend
of the pod, I think is the right term, right? Yeah,
thank you. And you're and you are, we were chatting
about it before the recording, but you are big
into podcasts and what's your favorite type of
podcast besides to all the cars I've loved
before? I mean, definitely true crime. Am I allowed
to shout out other podcasts or now? Sure. We'll
have to check with our legal. We just hired a
couple of lawyer. Okay, well, I would say this. Okay,
I, I basically listen to podcasts that come, you
know, that are like weekly, that either talk
about different cases, or it's like, you know,
like a multi arc, you know, eight week
episode thing. I don't like I'm not so into
like podcasts that are like, you know, 12
episodes about one case. And that's it. I
like, I like, I like the change. Yeah. Why is it
always the rule followers who are so interested
in true crime? You ever noticed that? It's also
weirdly, it's not only that it's also like adult
women, like in their 40s. We all love like murder
and like, like grizzly, like. You all want to
murder your husbands. I mean, that's clear,
or significant other to open up the field.
But you know what, this might be a, this
might be a line of discussion for season two
when we have you back, Melissa. Yeah, anytime.
And I can, when we, when I, the next time I can
tell you about, I'm going to do a teaser. Okay.
Pleased to for my next appearance. I'll tell
you about the brown bomb, which is my family
car that was growing up. We haven't had that
yet. But I thought when we started the
podcast and we get tons of mail, snail mail
and regular hundreds and hundreds. And they
say, you know, why don't people talk about
family road trips that they took in their
their cars? And, you know, I want to talk
about my folks car. But so yeah, definitely.
Maybe we can have, maybe we'll do a season
of family cars and you can be episode one.
I love it. I mean, because I think those
are truly, I think that's the story.
Those are the stories that are the best.
Yes. That made us, that made America.
Nothing stuffing 12 kids in a carpool
in one car back in the, you know, in no
seatbelts. Yeah. No seatbelts.
Who cares? He builds up. Good luck. Who
cares? You would just hang on to each other
in the event something happened like a barrel
of monkeys, you know, and just keep each
other like a tesseract or whatever the word
is from bouncing around. Outstanding.
It would be like a clown car that you
would see at the circus, right? When the
door opens and 4,000 kids run out.
Yeah. People just keep coming out.
Well, thank you for having me.
Well, thank you. Thank you.
America. Thank you.
America say thank you to Melissa for her
time and her insight and all of her
wonderful storytelling. Thank you,
Melissa. We're going to have to have you
back. Thanks guys.
It was fun. Thank you.
Yes. And if anybody else, how easy
was it to be a guest? Can you tell
the our millions of literally like the
easiest? There you go.
Not a big deal. Right. Very fun.
Right. Yeah. So easy.
Even a caveman could do it.
So America, this is your podcast about
your cars. Check us out at cars.com.
You can see pictures of us, our guests,
the cars, some ads that you could
click on, which make us millions of
dollars a year. I will pass the
baton gently to the outstretched
hand of my co-host who can close us
out here. Thank you, Christian.
Melissa, thank you so much for the
honor of doing this podcast.
I appreciate that it was so easy.
And can't wait to have you back.
My co-host mentioned our website,
carslove.com, but you can find us
on your favorite podcast platform to
all the cars I've loved before.
And if you have a question, if you
have some thoughts, if you want to
be on our show, back to the
website, there is a intake form, as
my friend would say, or a contact us.
And there is a form.
We'd love to hear from you.
Yeah. Or get a Bitcoin and
write your question on it in
Sharpie and mail us the Bitcoin.
We will accept that also.
We get millions of those a week.
That would work too. Yeah.
If you could get at the non-fungible
Bitcoin, that would be great.
A token of appreciation.
Thank you. Yes.
All right. We're going to sign off.
Thank you, America.
Thank you, Melissa, Christian.
Wonderful. See you next week
with another brand new episode
to all the cars I've loved before.
About this episode
Melissa shares her nostalgic journey through her automotive history, starting with her quirky 1988 Chrysler LeBaron turbo, which earned her the nickname 'Turbo' in high school. She recounts the challenges of owning a car that often shut off unexpectedly and the fond memories tied to it. Transitioning to her favorite vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, she highlights its reliability and the joy it brought during her college years. Now, as a proud owner of a Subaru Ascent, Melissa reflects on how it perfectly fits her lifestyle and personality, emphasizing the importance of cars that resonate with our identities.
Melissa revisits the automotive adventures that defined her youth and beyond. She earned the nickname “Turbo” in high school with her first car – a hand-me-down ’88 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo – and shares how that zippy hatchback gave her confidence and car culture cred.
From surviving college in a trusty, indestructible Jeep Cherokee (the classic XJ with a cult following) to embracing modern family life in a Subaru Ascent, Melissa’s story is packed with automotive nostalgia and personal growth. Listeners will feel the emotional connection in her car memories – the freedom of teenage cruising, the restoration of a broken clutch, the promise never to drive a minivan – and learn how each vehicle became a life lesson on wheels. It’s a turbocharged trip through time that highlights automotive history, family bonding, and the enduring love we carry for our cars.
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
Listen on your favorite platform and visit https://carsloved.com for full episodes, our automotive blog, Guest Road Trip Playlist and our new CAR-ousel of Memories photo archive.
Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.
