- Local time
- 11:40 AM
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2011
- Messages
- 70,585
- Reaction score
- 101,612
- Location
- NorCal Sierras
If you could go back in time
- Thread starter ESOXER
- Start date
- Local time
- 2:40 PM
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2020
- Messages
- 9,354
- Reaction score
- 22,415
- Location
- western Maryland
I grew up in a pretty poor era for performance automobiles - I got my drivers license in '88 and other than a couple (pricey!) standouts like the Buick Grand National and the GNX...there just wasn't a whole lot of oomph out there in American Auto Land.
Dad? Had (and sold, and regretted selling it) an Impala SS 409.
Mom? Had her '70 Charger 500, and we all still regret she gave it to her brother's family, enabling his son (my cousin) to total it.
Me? I bought my first new car in 1991, my '91 Daytona C/S competition package car. 4 cylinder turbocharged, 152hp factory rating, 210lb-ft. 5 speed manual. 4 wheel vented discs. 16" directional wheels with Goodyear Gatorback tires. No ground effects (less weight), only a rear wing and a turbo-bulge hood. Lowered suspension. Quick ratio rack. Performance shocks and struts and spring rates. Fat sway bars. Limited option availability (weight savings). Total production in '91? 150 units. My color combo? 26 cars. Not HemiCuda Convertible territory...but, its original, its unrestored, its under 100k miles, and its mine.
And...30 years later...I still own it. And I still love it. Will it ever be a six figure collectible? Probably not. But...it is what it is, and at least I don't have sellers remorse (and I still have what I think is a damned cool car, that's a blast to drive).
(my mom still refuses to believe I learned from hers and dad's mistakes....but she does admit she loves my car!)
If I could do anything differently? I'd have saved the extra money, and bought that GNX that Peacock Buick in Tysons Corner couldn't sell for nearly 2 years....instead of focusing on Mopars. Dad drove Cutlasses when I was starting to drive (he had a pretty sweet '87 in black, 307, console/buckets, factory t-tops, factory laced alloy wheels), and he would have probably stolen the GNX if I'd bought it...mom, was all Mopar. Her Charger, her Volare wagon...and as soon as I bought my Daytona, she had to get out of her Olds wagon and made dad trade it on a '91 LeBaron GTC convertible in white, maroon interior with white leather seats, and a black top. It was a V6...or I'd have made her sell it to me when she finally got rid of it and got her first 300 (LX platform).
I love boost, the GNX proved that to me on a short test drive with a salesman I knew, but all the turbocars they got at Templeton Dodge (Tyson's Corner, VA) when I was shopping were automatics. I ended up waiting a couple more years until my C/S showed up on the lot, and they gave me a hell of a deal because nobody in Northern Virginia (DC suburb) wanted a stick shift. 30 years, and I still don't regret buying this car.
Dad? Had (and sold, and regretted selling it) an Impala SS 409.
Mom? Had her '70 Charger 500, and we all still regret she gave it to her brother's family, enabling his son (my cousin) to total it.
Me? I bought my first new car in 1991, my '91 Daytona C/S competition package car. 4 cylinder turbocharged, 152hp factory rating, 210lb-ft. 5 speed manual. 4 wheel vented discs. 16" directional wheels with Goodyear Gatorback tires. No ground effects (less weight), only a rear wing and a turbo-bulge hood. Lowered suspension. Quick ratio rack. Performance shocks and struts and spring rates. Fat sway bars. Limited option availability (weight savings). Total production in '91? 150 units. My color combo? 26 cars. Not HemiCuda Convertible territory...but, its original, its unrestored, its under 100k miles, and its mine.
And...30 years later...I still own it. And I still love it. Will it ever be a six figure collectible? Probably not. But...it is what it is, and at least I don't have sellers remorse (and I still have what I think is a damned cool car, that's a blast to drive).
(my mom still refuses to believe I learned from hers and dad's mistakes....but she does admit she loves my car!)
If I could do anything differently? I'd have saved the extra money, and bought that GNX that Peacock Buick in Tysons Corner couldn't sell for nearly 2 years....instead of focusing on Mopars. Dad drove Cutlasses when I was starting to drive (he had a pretty sweet '87 in black, 307, console/buckets, factory t-tops, factory laced alloy wheels), and he would have probably stolen the GNX if I'd bought it...mom, was all Mopar. Her Charger, her Volare wagon...and as soon as I bought my Daytona, she had to get out of her Olds wagon and made dad trade it on a '91 LeBaron GTC convertible in white, maroon interior with white leather seats, and a black top. It was a V6...or I'd have made her sell it to me when she finally got rid of it and got her first 300 (LX platform).
I love boost, the GNX proved that to me on a short test drive with a salesman I knew, but all the turbocars they got at Templeton Dodge (Tyson's Corner, VA) when I was shopping were automatics. I ended up waiting a couple more years until my C/S showed up on the lot, and they gave me a hell of a deal because nobody in Northern Virginia (DC suburb) wanted a stick shift. 30 years, and I still don't regret buying this car.
Similar threads
