Memories + "Uncool" Cars

[knightfan26917]

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'

[knightfan26917]

It's also a bit ironic how cars you hated ... you kinda wish you had back. That '82 Chevette is one of 'em for me. I HATED it because it replaced "my" 1976 Monte Carlo ... but, wouldn't mind having that Chevette back, either...lol.

Cort | 37.m.IL.pigValve.pacemaker | 5 Monte Carlos + 1 Caprice Classic |* Chicagoland Meets, 2011?

MCs.CC + CHD.models.HO.legos.RadioShows + RoadTrips.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Remember that fat boy, bring that kid, if you want to see New Year's Eve" ... Mona Abboud, native/resident of Sleepy Hollow IL ... 'The Pretty Little Dolly'

[PurdueGuy]

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".....

I'm pretty sure 1996 was the last model year for the Corsica (not sure what the "/malubu sedan" means). I liked the '94 Chevy Corsica I drove for 3-4 years starting in '99, but I had previously been driving a '76 Mercury Monarch (straight 6), so comparatively the Corsica was way fast (3.1L) and way modern. Sadly, the auto trans took a dump out of state, and rather than haul the car home & pay for repairs, I got $50 for it at a junkyard.