What (GM) cars have you owned....?

[The O.C.]

I was thinking the other day about ALL the GM cars that I've owned.....you know with the GM discount, I was able to get a new car like every 9-12 months.... I know I kinda have a rap on here for ragging on GM products (hopefully it's seen more as constructive criticism....) so here's some of the stuff I've had..... FIRST ever car bought.....1984 Buick Skylark T-Type w/the 2.8L H.O. V6 and that horrible, tacked-on, bar-graph tachometer above the gauge cluster....remember that? Silver/Grey two-tone with the light grey interior. Loved the throaty exhaust note though... 1989 Buick Skyhawk Coupe....with the 2.0L OHC L4, 5-speed manual tranny, "T" package with the "Shelby" 14-inch alloys. White with grey interior. This car had those flip-under hidden headlights. I put 84,000 miles on this car, and can't remember a problem I EVER had with it. 1991 Saturn SL1, 5-speed manual. Dark red with grey interior. I LOVED this car and at the time, really thought it was more like an import than any other domestic small car out there. (don't remember year) Oldsmobile Achieva W41 SCX.....white with red cloth. This car was FUN...with the 190hp Quad4 and 5-speed manual. MAN though was the engine rough and loud..... (don't remember year) Chevrolet Beretta Base, but with V6 and 5-speed. Dark red with grey interior. This car was a nice change from the Olds. V6 was way smoother and quiet and was decently punchy. The suspension on this base Beretta was pretty floaty though. This was the first GM car that I had MAJOR quality problems. It was in the shop like every week it seemed like. 1994 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe.....3.4L V6 and 5-speed (couldn't afford insurance on the V8.) This was a nice car, dark green with graphite interior....uplevel alloys and t-tops. Loved this car too....but it was gutless, and had MAJOR quality problems like the Beretta. Optional Bose sound system on this car had only THREE (3) speakers...???? WTF? (don't remember year) Buick Regal Gran Sport coupe, 3800 V6, GM-10 chassis. This was one of my favorite cars so far. Mine was white with the red leather interior.....which looked good with the red "pinstripes" set within the black moldings that came with the GS package. Mine DIDN'T have the "4-seater" package though. I had a few others....but shortly after that, GM gave me a company car.....and didn't own a new GM vehicle until I picked up the C6 this last October. Edited December 23, 2005 by The O.C.

[razoredge]

Thats an interesting list OC. An SCX ey ? I read that pulled .89G on skidpad. Great looking cars with not so great looking back panel. I loved the round nose with the grills rolling up and over. I have a question on the Skylark T - are you sure that wasnt the HO 3.0 90* Buick engine ? Myself I consider my 75 Delta 88 Royale convertable somewhat special as well as my 76 Delta 88 Royale 2dr. hardtop, which is more rare than the vert thses days as well as my 86 Buick LeSabre 2dr. Limited, it was a first year, new style, new technology and its kinda plush being a Limited the 97 L67 LSS was pretty rare and the 90 Regency with 328,000 miles is definantly special I too had a W Regal (91 TP3800 Limited) and it was my favorite and Im still annoyed that I traded it for another "rare" 99 50th Ann Eighty Eight. I should have put a thousand into the Regal rather than the 1000 down on the '99. It fit me like a glove and was pure pleasure to hammer down the mountains into work everyday and back up at night. I bought none of these new but the 86 Lesabre and 97 LSS were in like new condition at purchase and are still close to excellent. The two old Deltas are projects in fair but excellent running condition. The 90 Regency is a poor old dayly drivin sod.

[knightfan26917]

Out of the ordinary?

*pauses to think*

Well....all 5 of my current MCs....he he he.

But, out of the ordinary for me would be my former '97 malibu ... and perhaps even my former '00 mc LS....

*shrugs*

Don't think that's what you're lookin' for though...sorry :(.


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker
MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html
"How much longer will they be around?" ... Don Williams ... 'Old Coyote Town'

[ToniCipriani]

For me, 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL. A fully loaded one, including the FE3 sport suspension. Near identical to the International Series, but it wasn't for some reason. It's the first car we got when my family first landed in Canada. Also my 2002 Cavalier, it's the first car I drove, and I had a big fight with my parents when we got it. And of course, my G6 ;), my first own car. Here's a list of all our cars (chronological order) and some signficance 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL - First car in Canada. Primarily drove by my ma, and she constantly brags about the "good ol' days" with it. It was the best car we ever got and nothing really replaced it (well, maybe my G6 will... but so far nothing is better). 1990 Chevrolet Corsica LT - Second sis' car. We had problems with this one. The steering constantly vibrated and we were told it could be something wrong with the suspension that it was incorrectly fitted out of factory. But we ain't no mechanics so we don't know. 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier VL - First sis' car. Originally my sis wanted to get a Tercel, because she was lured by people that imports were good. After test driving and looking at it, it was completely unjustified because we could get a fully loaded Cavalier for the price of a barebone Tercel. Also the only coupe we ever got, and probably will be the only one because of stupid insurance companies. Male driver + 2-door = money pit. 1995 Chevrolet Lumina - Replaced the Ciera because there was major transmission work coming up for it. First car we had with keyless entry. Sold a few years later as our family moved back to Hong Kong. 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier VLX - First car we got when me and my ma came back to Canada. Also the first car I drove. Had a big fight with my parents because I wanted an Alero instead. Still in production, for another few days... Also the first car with insurance exceeding the cost of the car itself. 2006 Pontiac G6 - First time I switched to PBG from CO. Got sick with Chevies, and Olds was gone. Also my first own car purchase. Wasn't a pleasant purchasing experience, but nonetheless I'm getting the car at the end. As you can see this is how I got hooked onto GM... Edited December 23, 2005 by ToniCipriani

[ocnblu]

Well, I owned a '65 Corvair Monza coupe as a second car. Dark green metallic/fawn vinyl interior. 110 hp/Powerglide. I bought it with 93k original, documented miles. It had a bit of rust here and there when I got it. The trunk floor was gone. I bought a '68 donor car (just a shell, not worth saving at that point) just for the trunk floor. I had the bodywork all done and the original paint color resprayed. The bumpers were rechromed, and I cleaned up the aluminum trim. The interior was in good condition, it just needed a cleanup. The engine leaked oil, so I had it taken out and resealed with a gasket kit from Clark's Corvair Parts. I had the wheel cylinders replaced. I put rebuilt carbs on myself (two one barrels). It had skinny 165 tires on it, so I put 185/60R13 blackwalls on it.

This car was such a fun cruiser after it was all done. I lived about an hour from Annapolis, MD at the time, and I used to love driving it around the historic district in that beautiful town. I also drove the 4 hour round trip to visit family here in PA several times. I really loved that little car, but alas, I had no place to keep it out of the weather over the winter, just a shallow shed (three feet of the car was not under roof) with a car cover. After two winters like this, I could see I couldn't really preserve the car the way I wanted to, so I made the heartbreaking decision to sell it. I'd love to one day be able to afford another one. Edited December 23, 2005 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

I've owned 12 GM cars, but the one I would have to call 'out of the ordinary' would be my triple black '64 Grand Prix, ordered as a 'brass hat' car out of Chicago, loaded (major options: PS, PB, PW, cruise, tilt, AM-FM, PAnt, A/C, Cordova top, 8-lugs).

[Cory Wolfe]

Screw out of the ordinary... I'm posting them all (as in that were my parent's.... :P ).

Well, my first and so far only car was a 95 GAGT coupe with a Quad4 and 5spd as you all should know. Now it's for sale becaused the Quad4 was a serious POS of an engine (but it ran great) and the GA was full of little inconviences that drove me nuts. Did I mention that it's for sale? (someone buy the damn thing already!)

Anyways, of what I can remember...

My dad had a 60s Skylark when he was young. Might have been his first car. Anyways, one night he was drunk and had parked along the road and passed out. One of his buddies came along and woke him up (bad idea). So my dad goes on his way... about 1/4 mile until he hits a bridge. Ruined it and got the first of his however many DUIs.

He also had an old 70s Mustang II. According to him it was a huge rustbucket and had major mechanical problems

After that he had a jacked up 80s Chevy pickup, red. I don't remember it, but I was a baby when he had it. He appearantly sold it to his brother sometime.

And after that he had an 80s Cutlass, yellowish and brown two-tone. I remember it in a few instances. I have some pics of it, too. Don't know the story about it...

Next up was the 77 Chevy Scottsdale p/u. It was silver with light blue strips and lots of chrome. Had the awesome 350ci small block V8. That truck ran great and went through anything. I remember going through 2ft+ deep snow and mud as well over all sorts of logs. He also hit quite a few deer with it, but never did any damage (had a chrome push bar on the front). He also wrecked it once. After a while, though, it started to rust and have problems. He painted it camouflage, then flat black, then he finally parked it and sold it.

After that was an 89 Cavalier he got off my grandparent's. It was white and used to be my aunt's. He drove it for a little while and ended up hitting a huge buck with it. He gave it to another brother.

Around the same time was an 89 Chevy C/K Cheyenne he got off the same brother he gave the Cavvy to. It was red and was a POS. The engine had to be replaced twice (4.3L V6) and had a multitude of problems. After a while, he sold it back to his brother.

That, somehow, was the last vehicle he owned and it was about 4 years ago. Since, he's been driving company trucks. Ford company trucks, at time...

My mom's first car was an 83 Plymouth Turismo. I don't remember much of it, but it started out black until my dad painted it white. It got traded in for her next vehicle...

An 89 Regal Limited coupe. It was silver and loaded. I always loved that car. The styling, the digital dash, the power everything, and just the sheer coolness of it (well, when I was young, that's what I thought). It was a deer magnet, though. My mom hit two deer with it while my dad hit one too. After that, he painted it gray metallic and it looked pretty nice. He ended up selling it to another brother. I didn't like that since I always wanted it...

Next was the car that started my love affair with Pontiac, a 96 Grand Am SE 5spd, purple. That car was fast (and is still the fastest she has owned, and faster than my GA) and it was fun. She drove the hell out it. It ended up getting the transmission replaced since my mom ruined it (she learned to drive a stick with it). Brakes were always a problem too. In 2000 she traded it for...

An 00 Grand Am SE, bright blue. I liked it. Basically, I wanted it too. It was leased, though. Anyways, brakes were always a problem with it too, but it was generally problem free until the accidents. First, she was coming home from a party for the Business she was in (Quixtar, I think) and she was drunk. She somehow took a wrong turn onto a dirt road, not knowing it was a dirt road. Driving too fast on dirt and gravel resulted in her hitting a bank and sliding into a bridge. She, amazingly, wasn't caught for a DUI but received some traffic violations including leaving the scene of the accident and not calling the cops before the tow truck (first off, how was she to get help if she didn't leave the scene and how was she to know to call the cops first when she just thought her car was stuck, not undrivable?). Anyways, that set the car up for loads of problems. The second accident was strange. Basically, one of my teacher's daughters rear ended her while she was turning onto a road. That set the car for problems as well. Once we got our exchange student, Esteban, we turned the car and and bought...

The shitty-piece of shit-POS Blazer! Talk about worst vehicle ever owned. The problems started on the first day and have never ended. Since I don't want to write a novel, I'll won't list the problems we've had with this stupid f**king thing... God, I hate it and because of it, my parents will probably never own another GM vehicle. I don't blame then even though I'll stand up for the POS. :angry:

[Flybrian]

My '96 Aurora has a Concert II Sound System from a Regal.

[Drew Dowdell]

Out of the ordinary: 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado Brougham Caliente. Had every option except the CB radio. Had the "Classic" grill and stainless steel body mouldings. The previous owner had rigged up the rear air suspension to work with a toggle switch under the dash. I could raise and lower the rear end on command. The novelty wore off kind of quickly and after about a year I switched it back to the automatic leveling system. Not out of the ordinary, but somewhat rare: 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible with the 3.4 DOHC

[NOS2006]

Only owned one, personally. Parents have had many. Well, my dad. He's had a '67 and '68 Camaro, '68 Firebird, '87 Camaro, '89 Z, '90 Cavalier, '98 Camaro, a Cavalier wagon, and a Celebrity.

[Sixty8panther]

I've mentioned this car before:

A few years ago I bought a "winter beater" 1983 Firebird since my daily driver for that Summer was my 1968 Camaro.

I paid exactly $500 for it. It was towed and impounded twice before I finally registered it instead of just "transferring plates". I was taking this whole budget beater thing a little too seriously.

Anyway this is the story of this glorious machine:

The car was bought new for $12,XXX in 1982. It had a two tone white-over-black paint job like so many Firebirds & TAs from that era. T-tops, Stereo with cassette and automatic trans were the only options. Very spartan. It was probably bought by some Secretary. I can just imagine a 27 year old professional assistant with big hair buying this car when it was shinny and new. Going to the gym in it with pink & purple sweat bands on her head and arms... leg warmers & a Walkman the size of a Bible in her gym bag. He-he.

Anyway back to the car: In the early 90s it was left for dead in a Junkyard with about 130,000 miles when the engine (305) ceased to run. I wish I had the real details but I just have only bits and pieces of the car's tale.

Someone saved the car. (give them a medal!) And here's the best part... after they bought it off the junkyard with a salvage title (even though the car was never hit) they dropped a GM 350 truck cate engine into it. The passanger side exhaust was C-clamped to the manifold. No joke. The whole car was a loud, obnoxious exhaust leak.

When I bought it the car had some wiring issues and it got to the point that I could be driving down the street steering with one hand while replacing a 25 amp fuse with the other without ever taking my eyes off the road. I went through about 70 [25 amp] fuses before I found the short circuit in the tail lights.

I loved it though. '83 is the last year of emmissions exemption in Mass. That's all I cared about.

Since someone had "touched up" the paint with a can of cheap white spray paint and it had leaked all over the side of the car and down onto the balck it was NOT a cosmetically pleasing car. One day I did some stop-gap bodywork to it and just decided to buy 4 cans of "Canary Yellow" Spray paint at Wal*Mart. The results of that can be seen in the photo below. It's not like I have any dignity or self respect. :P

In the year and 14K miles I owned that Firebird there was only one time I opened the hood except to check/change the oil. I hit a speed bump at like 30mph and the cable fell off the battery. I replaced the cable, reprogramed my stations inot the radio and set the clock and that was all I ever did for maintenece.

I did open the hood here and there to show off the shinny almost new "Goodwrench 350" stickers on the valvacovers and the underhood documentation by a Chevy dealer that it was a fresh 350 crate motor.










Later in the spring when the car had 190+ thousand miles I painted it flat black. I took off the t-tops and drove it to the Worcester Summer Nationals Burnout Contest in 2003 and did a world class smokeshow. Thick, white, noxious smoke mixed with hot carbon monoxide and sticky chunks of tire rubber flying through the air. On the back of the car I wrote in glass chalk:

$700 o.b.o.

As I was removing the blown rear tires with a 4-way a kid even younger than me approached me and said he loved the burnout, he asked if I'd take $500. I ended up throwing in a set of 25th Anniversary seats and installed them in place of the worn ones that were all faded and under TWO sets of seat covers.


I hope that somewhere out there a flat black '83 Firebird is still driving around with 1992 Camaro seats (with Camaro stitching) and doing burnouts in Dunkin Donuts parking lots.













Balthazar: Love that double-bubble in your sig. :)

Edited December 23, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[avant1963]

1967 Camaro RS - Deluxe interior with fold-down rear seat 1986 Fiero SE with the GT bodywork 1987 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe - the one with the bubble rear window for NASCAR we also had a Vega with a 350 and Z/28 branding on it. Otherwise the rest of the GM troupe was general fare.

[Paolino]

Let's see... including family's cars (and I don't know the dates of some of the early ones), the GM cars are: 1960's Pontiac Bonneville 1982 Chevrolet Malibu Classic 1987 Buick Park Avenue 1992 Buick Century Special 1992 Buick LeSabre Limited 1994 Buick Century Custom 200? Buick LaCrosse CXL :P

[mightymouse]

I have had dozens of GM goods but only two I thought were special. My very first was a '68 Chevy II which looked like a nova, but had Chevy II tags (the first and only year for that style Chevy II) It had a 153 cu in 4cyl with a whopping 90 hp. 3 speed on the floor. My "friend" left some hots from his smoke in the back seat and it caught on fire the last day of high school. Nice. My other and bestest unique car was a '68 Chevelle SS 396 auto slapstick red w/ black SS stripes and black leather interior. Bought in Alabama from a drunk guy in a trailer park for $1200! (In the late 80s) I'll bet he felt bad the next day. He put the for sale sign out, and took the cash, so I didn't feel bad.

[cmattson]

Here's my car history, in-order: 1974 Olds Cutlass Supreme (5.7l) 1979 Chevrolet Camaro (5.0l) 1983 Olds Cutlass Supreme (3.8l) 1984 Pontiac Sunbird (1.8l) NON-GM: 1988 Chrysler Lebaron 2.2l Turbo II 1990 Olds Cutlass Supreme International (3.1l) 1993 Pontiac Grand Am (2.3l) 1995 Pontiac Grand Am (3.1l) 1996 Chevrolet Blazer (4.3l) NON-GM: 2000 Dodge Stratus 2.7l 2003 Chevrolet Suburban K1500 (5.3l) 2004 Chevrolet Malibu (2.2l)

[knightfan26917]

1987 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe - the one with the bubble rear window for NASCAR

*grins*

I remember you mentioning this one before!!!! IIRC, you even included pictures of it...just for me :).

[ocnblu]

There's a white Monte SS with red graphics and t-tops on a used car lot near my work. I am sooo tempted....

[knightfan26917]

There's a white Monte SS with red graphics and t-tops on a used car lot near my work.  I am sooo tempted....

*raises eyebrow*

As in 4th gen MCSS? Hmmm.....could you be tempted for me....to find out what they're askin'? He he he.....

[The O.C.]

Thats an interesting list OC. An SCX ey ? I read that pulled .89G on skidpad. Great looking cars with not so great looking back panel. I loved the round nose with the grills rolling up and over.

I have a question on the Skylark T - are you sure that wasnt the HO 3.0 90* Buick engine ?

Myself
I consider my 75 Delta 88 Royale convertable somewhat special
as well as my 76 Delta 88 Royale 2dr. hardtop, which is more rare than the vert thses days
as well as my 86 Buick LeSabre 2dr. Limited, it was a first year, new style, new technology and its kinda plush being a Limited
the 97 L67 LSS was pretty rare
and the 90 Regency with 328,000 miles is definantly special
I too had a W Regal (91 TP3800 Limited) and it was my favorite and Im still annoyed that I traded it for another "rare" 99 50th Ann Eighty Eight. I should have put a thousand into the Regal rather than the 1000 down on the '99. It fit me like a glove and was pure pleasure to hammer down the mountains into work everyday and back up at night.

I bought none of these new but the 86 Lesabre and 97 LSS were in like new condition at purchase and are still close to excellent. The two old Deltas are projects in fair but excellent running condition. The 90 Regency is a poor old dayly drivin sod.

[post="62636"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Yeah....the W41 SCX was a rare bird.....and what was funny was that the wheels were smaller 14-inchs (versus 15-16inch on uplevel Achievas) but wider tires....that lead to the handling advantages.

Even with 190hp, though, it wasn't that fast. Sure it was peppy....but I remember a VERY embarrassing stoplight grandprix where I got my ass handed to me by a Merkur XR4Ti turbo.

The Skylark T used the Chevy-corporate 2.8L V6 carb with the H.O. induction system (135hp.) Same engine that was in the Citation X-11, et al.

Speaking of LeSabre coupes....my mom had two.....one of the first '86 coupes to come out.....a Limited Coupe with the Gran Touring Package.....black with tan cloth interior. Then she had two LeSabre T-Type coupes.....one of my FAVORITE Buicks still.....(Mom worked for Buick at the time as well.....)

[Turbojett]

I'v only ever owned two cars: a '97 Z28 and my Cobalt. both GMs, niether are very out of the ordinary.

[Sixty8panther]

I'v only ever owned two cars: a '97 Z28 and my Cobalt. both GMs, niether are very out of the ordinary.

[post="63301"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

A 1997 Z28 may not be super rare but it IS a future classic!

[capriceman]

i have a 59 buick with 55,000 miles paint blaze red with fair interior and perfectly running V8 thats for sale at $10,000. but i dont think thats "out of the ordinary" but what was is that 85 scottsdale with a 572 in it was probably "out of the ordinary". but its gone *tear* at the paint shop and heads to a acution on i think febuary 9th. but you better have a deep pocket. projected sale was around $157,000. Edited December 27, 2005 by capriceman

[Sixty8panther]

Caprice: ....................................huh?............................... Do you REALLY have a '59 Buick? If os why are we hearing about this now AFTER I've been yaking about them for months and Balthzar mentions his every so often. Are you pulling out leg? :blink:

[capriceman]

Caprice:

....................................huh?...............................
Do you REALLY have a '59 Buick? If os why are we hearing about this now AFTER I've been yaking about them for months and Balthzar mentions his every so often. Are you pulling out leg? :blink:

[post="63863"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I knew it would catch your attention. No I dont but I would like to own one. I could of bought one tho but way to much at the time the guy wanted $29,000 and it was rusty and all. what made me think of it was that i saw one being load into a trailor. I think it was heading to a autorama or somthing. beatiful paint, like looking in to a bottemless well of red paint. But if i ever come across one and its cheap i will buy it. I think like what you said its the most agressive and coolest styling from the 50's.

[AM6_Cutlass]

I've only owned two cars so far, both GM '96 Cutlass Supreme SL coupe, Series II, the only thing rare about it was that it has the split bench front seat along with only 3844 (or approx 13%) of the other '96 coupes. Only 310 were in the same color combination as mine (Dark Teal metallic/med. beige cloth) and my new ride: '03 Impala base 1SB, with the uncommon (nothing rare about Impalas) blue deluxe cloth interior looking nice inside the Superior Blue exterior paint.

[AM6_Cutlass]

... I traded it for another "rare" 99 50th Ann Eighty Eight. I should have put a thousand into the Regal rather than the 1000 down on the '99. It fit me like a glove and was pure pleasure to hammer down the mountains into work everyday and back up at night.

[post="62636"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Do you still have the '99 50th Anniv Eighty-Eight? What is the color/current miles? If you do and are EVER interested in selling it, drop me a line, I'll be here.

[Turbojett]

A 1997 Z28 may not be super rare but it IS a future classic!

[post="63367"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

that it is. :) Edited December 27, 2005 by Turbojett

[XP715]

The XP715 fleet, in chronological order, has consisted of: 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme- driven hard and totalled twice. Loved it so much I was retarded enough to fix it the first time. Three weeks after it was done (painted and everything, oh boy) I was hit by a kid that was high out of his effing tree. Hit a granite curbstone doing about 35 and tweeked the engine cradle. Now holds the title of shiniest car at the junkyard. Penney's Towing in Tewksbury if you're ever in my little asscrack of Massachusetts. Rest in peace, little buddy... 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado- this car probably takes the cake as far as straight up weird is concerned. Burgundy with a burgundy velour interior and more buttons and gadgets on the dashboard than most commercial airliners. Wasn't a Trofeo though, so I was sadly without the nifty screen. Bought it with 89,000 miles and roasted the transmission by 93,000, but not before I put a flowmaster on it and spent summer of 2004 bombing around town and freaking out the neighbors with it. Also came with the FE3 sport touring suspension, which, in those years probably just consisted of the emblem on the trunk. Found again in summer 2005 in some local pothead/online poker addict's driveway not a quarter of a mile from my house; he bought it off of the guy I sold it to after he blew the tranny completely :lol: 1996 Buick Riviera- This car is my baby. Affectionately called The Egg by my family and friends (it's bright white diamond metallic), this car was purchased for $2000 from a lady who had just lost her husband a few months previous. For such a high-end car it's very interesting how its options turned out. Non-supercharged, sunroof-delete, no memory or heated seats, no memory or heated mirrors, yet somebody felt the need to spring for the homelink system, bright white diamond metallic paint ($750 extra) and, strangest of all, chrome turbine wheels. I have never seen another one in person, online, or otherwise that has had this set of wheels on it and quite possibly never will. The story I was told by local Buick dealers and service managers is that General Motors only cast a thousand sets of them before realizing that the wheels wouldn't make it to warranty (the chrome cracks around the sharp edges of the turbine spokes) and abruptly killed the run, changing the finish to satin silver and never superceding part numbers or anything (Can any of you GM dudes out there either confirm or deny this for me; even members of the Riviera Owners Association don't know what to make of the set of wheels on this car). The wheels on this car were in very bad shape when I bought the car but had them reconditioned because I knew they were something special and couldn't get rid of them. I also have the full-size spare that came with the car (still chrome, still original, still effed up) in case people ask if I had a set of the identical satin silver wheels chromed. Pictures are forthcoming in their own thread because I really would like to learn more about these wheels as well as see if there's another car out there with them still on it. 1979 Cadillac Coupe Deville- Hubba hubba. Factory firethorn red with a white padded quarter roof and white leather seats. Classic Detroit luxury for the most discerning pimp, hustler, or aging leisure suit-wearing swinger with an orange spray-on shopping mall George Hamilton suntan. The only disappointment is that it didn't come with the matching white belt and white shoes. Currently forming a large oil spot in sixty8panther's driveway where it awaits the tuneup of a lifetime. I'm not down with nicknaming cars, but if I was, I think "unburnt fuel" would be a wonderful choice for her at this point. I don't care what anybody says; it was the impulse buy of the century.

[Sixty8panther]

the FE3 was NOT just an emblem on the trunk.... it also consisted of a mention on the window sticker! :P