These are all the cars I have owned over through the years.

Click on any picture to open a slideshow. Once there, you can click the link in the caption if there is a full-size picture.

Isn't she beautiful?! My first car! One hubcap, two-tone of mustard yellow and rust, and missing a fender.	The other side wasn't any better! Taken at Orland Square Mall, a frequent destination since now I had freedom and wheels.
Taken from my bedroom window on Fairfield.	I have no idea why I took this!

After I spent the day washing, waxing, and detailing.	It certainly drove and handled like a mid-70's Buick!
	The interior was comfortable and spacious.
This isnt long after I bought it. For a 12 year old car it didn't have a ton of miles on it yet.	After I used ArmorAll on the top, it shrank and split in the sun. But it had been getting water under it for years. I suspect it was a full-vinyl top that someone had cut back to landau at some point.	This was in October 1987.
After pulling the top and trim, a ton of rust.	My best friend Bill. His dad was away for the weekend, so we did this in his garage. And it took all weekend, too!	We sanded down what we could. This section was completely rusted out. There was a good-sized hole here, but this is after we cut away back to somewhat solid metal.
Our amateur metal work. We cut it and bent it into shape, then riveted it on where we could. There were smaller holes below the rear window we decided to just fill with Bondo.	Starting the Bondo. I don't remember how much, but we used a LOT of it! You can see the patch was just laid over the body so I had to blend that lip in.	We also used a POR over the rust, then used more Bondo to smooth out the pitted surface. Lots of sanding!
Here it is when we were done. The primer was still wet. We used red primer because I intended to paint over it with brown. We ran out of time that weekend, and I never did paint it.	The red primer quickly faded to pink, and I drove it like that for 4 more years. But it didn't leak any more!	March 1990. When I got close to 100,000 miles, I grabbed my camera and drove around the neighborhood so I could take these pictures.

My first new car. Small, efficient, plain.	I hated those hubcaps. I always wanted to upgrade to the nicer rims.	Somehow we managed to fit almost all of the luggage for 3 people in it though! I took this so I would know how I did it when it came time to pack to come home!
One morning in Winter '93-94 I spun out on the 95th & Harlem ramp in a snowstorm and ended up in the ditch. I had to climb out the passenger side and have it towed out of the ditch. It did this damage to the front left corner, which I never did have fixed.

My first sporty car! The red was eye-catching!

And it had aluminum wheels which looked SO much better than hubcaps!

It also surprisingly held a lot of stuff too. I could fold the seats down and haul lumber when needed.

When clean, it looked outstanding!

I think I talked my sister into taking this picture of me standing through the sunroof.

Decent looks, but not much more.

At first I was a little worried it would be too much like a station wagon, but I liked the looks.	I did like the burgundy color too.
		The gold accents on the wheels worked nicely with the gold pinstripes.

I didn't have the bug shield, but the running boards were stock.

This thing weighed a ton!

The two-tone with the silver lower was actually really sharp looking.

These were taken at Moraine Valley when I was going to put the car for sale on eBay.	There was a plastic body molding on the sides that had yellowed with age. It took me hours to remove it and the glue residue, but the car looked a lot better because of it.	The plastic nose never quite matched the fenders and hood.
I liked taking the t-tops off.	I added the white TransAm vinyl on the back and the black ones on the doors.
	When I first got it, it ran rough. It turned out to be a plug wire that burned against the exhaust manifold. After replacing them it ran great!	Changing the plugs on this car was a real chore though!
It was more like a cockpit than a dashboard. Getting in and out wasn't easy though, especially when I was used to climbing UP into an SUV!

The body molding on the 98 didn't look as bad to me. I really liked the styling changes Pontiac did for 1998 with the new nose.		I had to lighten these pictures up a bit. You can actually see the 2000 GMC Jimmy parked in the garage in this one.
No changes made to the rear end for 98 though.	I did make a few minor modifications under the hood - a K&N air filter and red split loom wire guides.	I wasn't a fan of the tan and gray interior, I never have been. But I got used to it.

It wasn't a bad little car, it just wasn't anything special.

In 2000 GM refined the full-size SUVs and trucks. They were no longer squared-off large boxes. I loved this look.	If it weren't for the greedy oil companies I would still be driving a full-size truck like this. (only newer! LOL)	With the lifgate and the vehicle's height, The only way I could open the rear in the garage was if I was pulled all the way forward. Which worked well, since that was the only way the truck fit anyway!
It was really comfortable for long trips.	This is actually mine, I made a mount for my satellite radio since this truck didn't have XM built in.

It wasn't bad looking, just kind of plain. And there are millions of silver small crossovers on the road.

It ended up being uncomfortable for long trips. The center console infringed on my legroom.

Below the gearshift lever is the window controls. Stupid! They have been on the doors since cars were invented - where most people expect them to be! GM did eventually change this.

The Acadia is actually quite long, only 1.5" shorter than the Tahoe. It is less than 1" narrower, but you can feel that difference. And it actually has more cargo capacity than the Tahoe in cu. ft.	There was a problem with the sunroofs leaking on the 2007 and 2008 model years, and I did have to take mine in to have the rear sunroof resealed. I also had to have the engine pulled and the water pump & gasket replaced. Another common issue with the earlier models.	The liftgate is an issue now that I have shelves in the back of my garage. The gate is powered, but I have to manually stop it because it will hit the top of the door frame. I also had to add padding to the frame.
Steering wheel controls, heated seats, XM radio, sunroof. Nicely optioned.	Mine had these 18" aluminum wheels. Unfortunately, there aren't many choices for replacement tires and they cost $230 each.

The Denali package has chrome trim, 20" chrome wheels with charcoal inserts (that Michelle calls "pimp daddy" wheels), special lower fascia, chrome grille.	The exhaust tips are different too.
	The wheels. Ironically, these tires are cheaper. Maybe because there is less rubber?	Heated AND cooled perforated leather seats. I didn't need the cooled part, but I did use it a lot over the summer!
Notice the chrome trim around the dash vents? I hated them on the first Acadia and found out on the internet that GM will replace them with flat black for free if the owner asks. I had it done on the '08 and did it again on this one right after I bought it. The chrome reflects the sun into my eyes. How did people manage in the 50's?? I think the black looks better besides.	Imitation walnut woodgrain on the dash. I'm not a fan of imitation woodgrain, but it looks better than the brushed aluminum look in the non-Denali versions.	Touch screen navigation with a backup camera. I didn't need the nav though - I still use my Garmin. I don't like the built in one interrupting the radio to tell me to turn left!
Heads-Up-Display. Sweet! I think all cars should have this.