[elky] Memories + "Uncool" Cars

  • From: faithcubsmc2691@xxxxxxx
  • To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:10:09 -0500 (EST)

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'

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