Your Car Stories and Experiances

[GreenMachine]

Been going threw old pictures and find that I remember more about what vehicle got me to the events than the events themselves, that combined with Body By Fishers post with his list of vehicles got me thinking about all the cars I remember.

I remember working on...ok well my dad wasn't really too handy so it was mostly staring at and wondering what could be makeing this sound or why that thing is doing that and negotiating the price of repairs down.

Plus I was little at the time (heck I'm just turning 19 on the 19th ) so handing him what he needed was all I remember, also remember getting the cars fixed at the car shops, watching threw the window the car get fixed.

We had "the bomber" and "the tank" as the first cars I remember. Tank was a big gray, two door 1988 Olds Delta 88. "The bomber" was a banana type color 85 Pontiac Perisanne (spelling?) Sedan with a blue interior, actually still remember the day when I gave up the car seat I was real into the plastic Army men, (kinda funny, I used the green as Army, gray as Marines, and then the multicolored and uh...well Native American men as the enemy). So the name tank, for the big gray vehicle and in a lot of pictures planes are painted in a light brown or banana color, so bomber was named. Remember the tank developing a tick for almost its whole life after it got an oil change at one of the fast oil change places.

I still remember my dad taking my brother and I to parking lots, having us in the back seat, spinning the car round and round doing donuts in the winter snow with that big RWD sedan. It had a sunroof to and I remember watching fireworks and all sorts of stuff from it. Going to the train yard in and watching the rail cars get sorted, was a big Thomas the Tank Engine and Shiny Time Station fan.

My mom wanted a new car, decided on a 94 RWD V8 2 door Cougar as a replacement to the Delta 88. Don't think that really had a nickname, but I did like it...mom didn't, get to that in a second. It was a silver color, the same looking as the Delta 88 except sparkly paint and a nice clear coat.

Dad received the Delta 88 because the Pontiac was traded in, as a traveling salesman cars get ripped up and abused. Remember it eventually having a whole rust right from the wheel well into the trunk, buffalo salty winters will do that.

Couple years later 94 Cougar was traded in for a 92 Cadillac Deville, beautiful car that I rarely see a duplicate color of. At first to see the cougar go made my little young self sad and tears came to my eyes, but on the ride home there was no mistaking that I had become hooked on Cadillacs, everything in that car made my eyes wide, the chrome, fancy lettering, especially the graphic equalizer on the "Symphony Sound" radio. All the buttons, digital gauges, fuel economy read outs.

Delta 88 finally dies and dad buys a used 89 Lincoln Town Car in White. That thing was once again subjected to traveling sales, and since it was white it was easy to abuse. I remember in the winters with plenty of snow, we used a plastic shovel to get all the snow of the huge hood, that was its duster.

I still remember the site of those big cars filling the driveway, well when my mom didn't have the Caddy garaged...Lincoln was the work horse, mom loved that caddy so much she hesitated to take it out on rainy days in fear of getting the tire shine wet but I do remember her not being afraid to use all 4.9 Liters of the engine Both of them could really move pretty quick.

The Lincoln was sold off, Tranny was beginning to give up had ALOT of miles on that thing, lasted for a while like that but it eventually was either sold off or junked, can't remember, just remember a bee nest forming in one of its doors and getting stung. Remember my had had to double (foot on brake and gas) at red lights to keep it running. When it was sold off the caddy became the daily driver.

At some point , in 2003, the 92 Deville was involved in an accident that it was ruled totaled (one bad thing about low re-sale values but a blessing in disguise).

During the hunt for a new car the insurance company sprung for a brand new 2003 Deville rental, very nice car, a wonderful way to introduce someone to the Northstar engine is a rental car...I'll let you figure out why....

After that rental period my dad has always wanted to eventually get one of them (he really loves the LEDs in the side view mirrors) but the CTS, DTS and all the new fancy lines are changing his mind about what to get next, he is starting to be stubborn about giving up the 98 Deville so I'm reading the classifieds

It hurt to have the 92 sold and parted but the money from that went to the down payment of the current addition to our car family, the 1998 Cadillac Deville, its still affectionately called "the caddy" like the previous car. Compared to the rental it was still vary nice, I remember looking at a Silver 99 and salesman wouldn't budge for upgraded tires on it so we went to another dealer and found this one, what it had over the other was the Sun Roof, CD changer, and the color was...at the time thought to be unique...now it seems every 97-99 is in this color.

So far so good and besides wrenching on snow blowers, lawnmowers, and minor stuff on cars like adding oil, anti-freeze, washer fluid, the 98 is the first vehicle where I've actually taken it apart and marveled at the different parts of the design.

I do remember after going between the 98, 92, 2003, the general feel off the Northstar and ride was smoother, but generally speaking the 92 was still better than most rides on the road. Nothing rides like a Cadillac.