Memories + "Uncool" Cars

It's sometimes ironic what will trigger a memory.

On Halloween, I went with my sister, nephew and friends to watch the kids trick or treat. One of the houses we visited was the one in which my grandparents lived during their "retirement years". Standing in front of it, I "flashed back" to scenes from Halloweens long ago of my sister, our cousins and me as kids eager to show Gram and Gramps our costumes ... and, of course, to get candy. As we walked away from the house and walked past the driveway and the telephone poll that damaged my 1981 Monte Carlo Sport Coupe, I caught a glimpse of the garage behind the house ... and almost immediately flashed back to a few "uncool" cars ... that sparked different types of memories.

I have plenty of memories of/with "cool" cars, including...
...Dad's 1968 Impala...
...my parents' 1976 MC...
...our neighbor's 1972 Impala coupe and 1976 Buick Regal sedan...
...my aunt/uncle's 1970s LTD...
...my grandparents' 1972 Impala sedan...
...(and) my MCs and Caprice Classic...

...BUT here are a few with some "uncool" cars....



1978 PLYMOUTH HORIZON hatchback sedan, FWD, orangish
= Grandparents purchased new, right before they retired and moved to Elgin
= replaced their "blue Chevy" (Gram's nickname for it), a 1972 Impala sedan
= Somewhere, I have a pic of this car with my parents' ("my") 1976 MC that Gram took while we were all in Wichita KS one summer.


1982 CHEVETTE hatchback sedan, RWD, tan
= Parents purchased used, September 1984
= replaced "my" 1976 MC...and thus, I hated this Chevette.
= When I got my permit to drive, I had to drive this car [not the 1981 MC SC that I wanted to drive], if I wanted to drive at all. I soon grew to like it....
= I was a bit disappointed when they traded it in for a 1990 Corsica.


1987 CELEBRITY Eurosport sedan, FWD, silver
= next door neighbor purchased used, early 1990s
= replaced a light green 1976 Buick Regal sedan
= I washed/waxed this car every summer. A 1998 Lumina sedan replaced it in the early 2000s.
= The FWD Celebrity sedan and coupe (which replaced the RWD Malibu, ~1983) were replaced by the new FWD Wbody Lumina sedan and coupe. The Lumina sedan had 2 generations (1990-1994, 1995-1999) before the "impala" name took over, 2000-today. The Lumina coupe had one generation (1990-1994) before the "monte carlo" name landed on the FWD Wbody platform, 1995-2007.
...HONORABLE MENTION:
"Blue Bandit" 1988 CELEBRITY WAGON owned by college friends.


1988 TOYOTA NOVA / Ch#$r%*et COROLLA sedan, FWD, light blue
= Grandparents purchased new
= replaced their 1978 Plymouth Horizon
= Just about every car my grandparents had purchased were ones that my grandfather wanted. This time, Gram got to choose...and she wanted her Nova. I couldn't persuade her to buy a MC....
= I cleaned this car every year. Once, the day after I cleaned it, they were hit in a local grocer store parking lot.
= We took this car to Pine-Apple Orchard in Maple Park IL a few years in a row and to Milwaukee WI one summer.
= My parents bought this and kept it for a few years before it died completely.


1990 CORSICA LT hatchback sedan, FWD, malachite metallic (green/grayish)
= Parents purchased new
= replaced their 1982 Chevette
= During our 1991 road trip to California, Oregon and Washington, we traveled through, among others, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park, and I did MOST of the driving. At the top of the drive through Glacier National Park, it was quite foggy. Someone behind us was right on my tail the entire drive up, so I pulled over at the top to let that car by ... and then we traveled SLOWER with them leading than we had with me leading...!


1997 Corsica/malibu sedan, FWD, "old man tan"
= I purchased new, late 1996, so my 1979 MC could be stored during the winters
= Perhaps my fondest memory of this car was a road trip my sister and I took, headed to PA for the family reunion. Through Chicagoland, the car got an orange "dust" on it. In PA, we were stuck on the Turnpike for over an hour due to an "overhead erection".....



3 of the cars mentioned above are in this pic:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/collection/DSC07708r8_jpg.html

...1 is in this pic:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/collection/DSC07705r8_jpg.html



What memories do you have with "uncool" cars?




Cort | 37.m.IL.pigValve.pacemaker | 5 Monte Carlos + 1 Caprice Classic |* 06/2011.RT=us66+NW USA*
** RE-LAUNCHED 3rd gen MC (1978-80) FORUM! ** > http://thirdgenmontes.proboards.com/index.cgi
"A dead end street is just a place to turn around" ... Wynonna ... 'Rock Bottom'

You aren't alone in being exposed to Chevette's Cort, those things were everywhere for a long time. Kinda like VW bugs.
Then suddenly they were all gone.
I did see an auto mechanic driving one about two weeks ago at the local Stop-n-Rob station. First one I had seen on the road since the late eighties.

Luckily I don't have too many memories of uncool cars. I do remember (I'm ready to take heat for this one) my mom's big ugly banana which was a creamish yellow 76 Caprice four door. That was so embarrassing to be taken to school in. Looking back it wasn't all too bad of a car when compared to the 96 Corsica that she traded it in for.

Dad always had cool cars, but my step mom had an Astro van for a while. After it rolled down a hill & into a creek while camping, she got a Tahoe & no more uncool cars from that side of the family.

When I got with my wife, she was driving a four door 1980's or early 90's Cavalier. The thing stunk, barely had interior, & had a bad exhaust leak. It seems her previous BF had tore the car to hell & left her with nothing. As soon as I decided to get serious with her, I helped her get a decent Honda Accord. To my knowledge, the Cavalier is still stuck in a culvert at a buddy's farm with a couple of other ugly cars.

knightfan26917 wrote:1987 CELEBRITY Eurosport sedan, FWD, silver
= next door neighbor purchased used, early 1990s
= replaced a light green 1976 Buick Regal sedan
= I washed/waxed this car every summer. A 1998 Lumina sedan replaced it in the early 2000s.
= The FWD Celebrity sedan and coupe (which replaced the RWD Malibu, ~1983) were replaced by the new FWD Wbody Lumina sedan and coupe. The Lumina sedan had 2 generations (1990-1994, 1995-1999) before the "impala" name took over, 2000-today. The Lumina coupe had one generation (1990-1994) before the "monte carlo" name landed on the FWD Wbody platform, 1995-2007.
...HONORABLE MENTION:
"Blue Bandit" 1988 CELEBRITY WAGON owned by college friends.

I'll be honest, I think those Celebrity Eurosports are/were decent looking cars. I don't go all gaga over them, but compared to a standard Celebrity, it looks fairly sharp.


1984 Celebrity Eurosport.

I love the first generation Lumina Euro as well, also the Lumina Z34.



1990 Lumina Euro Sedan & 1991 Coupe.

I have always been a fan of the "underdog"...the cars most other people do not like. I like to stand out when it comes to my cars. That's part of the reasons I love my Monte Carlo & Plymouth so much...they are the ONLY ones like them at shows

A z34 could be a decent sleeper with a modified 3.4 tucked in it. Then again I like super sleeper shiiitboxes like a Mirage/Colt with a 4g63t or a Metro with a turbocharged Swift GTI engine. Heck I'd even drive a Festiva with a B6T swap. Uncoolness can always be overcome with enough power.

How about an 80 Citation .We used to ride around in it what a piece of crap that was.

Don't forget the crappy Chrysler "K" cars. Real junk. The Chevette was a real jewel alright. Some friends bought their daughter one, against my advice. The girl got killed in it while on a slippery winter road. more junk......

how about the pontiac T1000

How about the plethora of junk foreign cars back then. Those first Subarus were awful and the Datsun B-210 what a gem that was too and the little Civic
bucket car,man we had some junk around,they all rusted away.

Mazda GLC My aunt had one and it was horrible!

Ohh how about a LeCar

I go we go how about a YUGO

I have no memories of uncool cars. I guess I never owned one.

Limey wrote:I go we go how about a YUGO

dont even start with this one, i can remember 10 years ago there were still plenty of these on the roads over here. what a piece of crap! i will post a picture of my grandmas car, an old fiat 750 (yup that means 750cc). she learned how to drive on that kind of car and never owned anything else. its so small that my grandpa and his brother, both quite big, had to open both front windows in order to have enough shoulder space.

pila wrote:Don't forget the crappy Chrysler "K" cars. Real junk. The Chevette was a real jewel alright. Some friends bought their daughter one, against my advice. The girl got killed in it while on a slippery winter road. more junk......

The only good thing to come out of the K platform was the Daytona... if that even counts. The sad thing is that there is actually a "club" for these POS:

http://www.chryslerkcar.com/

This cracked me up though. In the first paragraph, here's what they say about the cars:

"The Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engines are solid reliable power plants that continue to make the K car a fun, cheap, and reliable ride for the person who is either low on funds, not wrapped up with the power or looks of a car, or just admires this car in general for the fun reliable economy car it is."

Hey, whatever floats their boat. Some people may think we are ridiculous for liking these huge underpowered boats of the 1970's.

There are a couple K cars I like...I've liked the Chrysler LeBaron(not the 'woodie'!) and the New Yorker...

Rago wrote:

pila wrote:Don't forget the crappy Chrysler "K" cars. Real junk. The Chevette was a real jewel alright. Some friends bought their daughter one, against my advice. The girl got killed in it while on a slippery winter road. more junk......

The only good thing to come out of the K platform was the Daytona... if that even counts. The sad thing is that there is actually a "club" for these POS:

http://www.chryslerkcar.com/

This cracked me up though. In the first paragraph, here's what they say about the cars:

"The Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engines are solid reliable power plants that continue to make the K car a fun, cheap, and reliable ride for the person who is either low on funds, not wrapped up with the power or looks of a car, or just admires this car in general for the fun reliable economy car it is."

Hey Kyle,

Didn't Shelby tinker with the Daytona and Plymouth Laser?? I seem to remember some of those being turbo-charged and given heavier suspension or something?

Yes, he did quite a bit with MoPar.

Here is a complete list: (Pulled from Wiki. Too much for one to remember)
* 1983-1984 Dodge Shelby Charger
* 1985-1987 Dodge Charger Shelby
* 1984-1986 Dodge Omni GLH

The following cars used Shelby-modified parts, but were not overseen by Carroll Shelby:

* 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S
* 1987-1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z
* 1988-1991 Dodge Daytona C/S
* 1989-1991 Dodge Daytona Shelby
* 1988-1989 Dodge Lancer Shelby
* 1989-1990 Dodge Shadow Competition
* 1991-1992 Dodge Spirit R/T
* 1992-1993 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T

The following cars were modified and sold as Shelbys:

* 1986 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Omni GLH)
* 1987 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Charger Shelby)
* 1987 Shelby Lancer (based on the Dodge Lancer)
* 1987 Shelby CSX (based on the Dodge Shadow)
* 1988 Shelby CSX-T (based on the Dodge Shadow)
* 1989 Shelby Dakota (based on the Dodge Dakota)
* 1989 Shelby CSX-VNT (based on the Dodge Shadow)

Roadcaptain S3 wrote:

Rago wrote:

pila wrote:Don't forget the crappy Chrysler "K" cars. Real junk. The Chevette was a real jewel alright. Some friends bought their daughter one, against my advice. The girl got killed in it while on a slippery winter road. more junk......

The only good thing to come out of the K platform was the Daytona... if that even counts. The sad thing is that there is actually a "club" for these POS:

http://www.chryslerkcar.com/

This cracked me up though. In the first paragraph, here's what they say about the cars:

"The Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engines are solid reliable power plants that continue to make the K car a fun, cheap, and reliable ride for the person who is either low on funds, not wrapped up with the power or looks of a car, or just admires this car in general for the fun reliable economy car it is."

Hey Kyle,

Didn't Shelby tinker with the Daytona and Plymouth Laser?? I seem to remember some of those being turbo-charged and given heavier suspension or something?

I'm not Kyle, but glad Kyle got that one for me. The Daytona/Laser was the predecessor to the Eclipse/Talon/Laser & with some tinkering can be quite a powerhouse.

BTW, I'm told that the GLH in the Dodge Omni GLH stood for "Goes Like Hell". No joking.

The shout was to Kyle because he is the local mopar enthusiast, not because I thought you were Kyle.

If I was asking a question about Vette wheels or the Jayhawks or tornadoes, I would've said "Hey Rago"

I'm old, but I ain't senile yet.

Kyle is glad you aren't Kyle

Lmao.

You must be senile because you quoted me & then asked him. Just saying.......

Now go make up a batch of fried chicken & drink your bourbon.



Ziiing!

Rago wrote: You must be senile because you quoted me & then asked him. Just saying.......

Now go make up a batch of fried chicken & drink your bourbon.



Ziiing!

I quoted you because you mentioned the 80's chargers, you whippersnapper
Ya got me again...my nose is bleedin'.

Don't mess with the .