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.
1972 Toyota Corolla | ||
Owned: Oct. 1985 - Nov. 1986 | Color: Mustard Yellow & Rust | Purchased: From a neighbor |
This was my first car, and I paid $100 for it. It was a stick-shift, so I had to learn how to drive stick before I could start driving it. Once I learned, I drove the heck out of this car! It was so rusted out that when driving on a rainy day water would slosh around the floorboards and if I hit a puddle I had to "cover" the clutch with my left foot to keep from getting splashed. In the Winter it wasn't so bad because all the water froze and sealed out the water until it thawed. At one point a valve spring broke and I was able to replace it cheaply. But without the proper spring tool, it wasn't all the way down on the lifter so it ran terribly after that. I didn't trade it in on my next car, and eventually had to call one of those junk yards to come pick it up for free. :) |
1974 Buick Regal | ||
Owned: May 1986 - Nov. 1991 | Color: Brown | Purchased: Rizza Chevrolet |
My next car was this
Regal. It was a real step up in size and power, having a Buick 350ci
engine. Stupidly, I didn't check it out as much as I should before I
bought it. When I went to change the air filter the first time I
discovered the filter was completely caked with oil. You couldn't even
see the metal mesh or paper. It was sucking the oil in through the
breather. Once I got that corrected, it ran pretty good for awhile. But
it eventually developed a problem that was difficult to diagnose - it
would sometimes stall and become hard to restart. This lead to one of
the scariest events in my life. It died on Christmas night 1988 leaving
myself and my girlfriend stranded on one of the coldest nights of the
year. We were almost frost-bitten before someone finally let us in
their house to call family to come rescue us. This was before cell
phones! It turned out to be an issue with the radiator and it would
vapor lock. So I learned how to change the radiator and it ran ok after
that. The other issue it had was the vinyl top was trapping water underneath it and cause the roof to rust out. So with the help of a friend we spent a weekend doing amateur body work. Those pictures are below. |
1991 Oldsmobile Calais | ||
Owned: Nov. 1991 - Nov. 1994 | Color: Metallic Gray | Purchased: Rizza Oldsmobile |
My first new car. I finally decided I needed something more reliable and could afford a new base model Calais. Since it had very few frills I added some myself, learning how to work on newer cars in the process. I borrowed the shop manuals from the library and installed cruise control, an alarm with power locks, and a remote trunk release. |
1992 Oldsmobile Achieva SC | ||
Owned: Nov. 1994 - Aug. 1996 | Color: Bright Red | Purchased: Rizza Oldsmobile |
Shortly after getting my first IT job, which was up near O'Hare and required a lot more driving, I upgraded to this Achieva. It had the Quad4 engine which was much livelier and quite frankly it just looked a lot cooler! This car was a lot more fun to drive, and with the new job I did that quite a lot - putting on over 25k miles in the first year. That did include several road trips to northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, because the Quad4 was prone to head gasket failures, it also spent a fair amount of time in the shop. Luckily, I had an extended warranty that covered the cost of these repairs. It was over $3,000 each time! The second time it happened, the car got hit in the dealership arking lot and the rear bumper and taillights had to be replaced. The third time the head gasket blew, I traded it in on the Grand Prix below. |
1995 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP | ||
Owned: Aug. 1996 - Oct. 1998 | Color: Summit White | Purchased: Village Pontiac |
This was one of my favorite cars of all that I have owned. It was a great combination of power, luxury, and looks. It had the 3.4l V6, leather interior with heated seats, and one of the earliest implementations of Heads Up Display which projected the speedometer on the windshield. It was fast and handled great. It wasn't so good in the snow, but it did alright. This was when I learned to like white cars as it didn't look dirty even when it was. The white wheels were difficult to keep clean though, especially the fronts with the brake dust. |
When clean, it looked outstanding! |
I think I talked my sister into taking this picture of me standing through the sunroof. |
1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo | ||
Owned: Oct. 1998 - June 1999 | Color: Bright White | Purchased: Rizza Oldsmobile |
Because I was starting to shop for a house, I wanted a smaller car payment on my credit report so I traded the beloved Grand Prix on a Monte Carlo. I figured since it had the same engine and was in the same GM line it would be ok. But I hated this car. It just didn't have the handling or looks of the Pontiac. As you can see, I didn't own it for long and don't have any pictures of it so I found this one on the internet. |
Decent looks, but not much more. |
1997 Oldsmobile Bravada | ||
Owned: June 1999 - Nov. 2001 | Color: Burgundy | Purchased: Rizza Oldsmobile |
Once I had my first house, I wanted and needed something better that I could also haul things in for home improvement projects. I liked the 4-door SUVs, and John found me this one. It was my first 4-wheel drive vehicle which made it good in the Winter but the mileage wasn't so great. I loved the utility of it, but since I didn't have it that long I also didn't have any pictures. So I found these on the internet and they look just like the one I had. |
1999 GMC Yukon SLE | ||
Owned: Nov. 2001 - Feb. 2002 | Color: Summit White | Purchased: CarMax Kenosha |
Bigger is better, right? Sometimes. I decided I wanted a full-size SUV and found a Yukon at CarMax in Kenosha. It was a nice vehicle, and had the double doors in the back instead of the liftgate. I ended up liking that feature as it made it easier to open in the garage and I could fetch the dog I had out of the back without him jumping out as soon as I opened the door. But it wasn't as fancy on the inside as I like and after a few months I decided I'd rather have heated leather and a sunroof. Since I only owned this four months I didn't have pictures. These were found on the internet. |
I didn't have the bug shield, but the running boards were stock. |
This thing weighed a ton! |
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2000 GMC Jimmy SLT | ||
Owned: Feb. 2002 - Nov. 2003 | Color: Blue/Silver | Purchased: CarMax Naperville |
I traded the Yukon on a fully loaded Jimmy. This was a really nice truck and I loved the color but it was hard to keep clean. Again, I had no pictures but these are just like it. |
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The two-tone with the silver lower was actually really sharp looking. |
1994 Pontiac Trans Am | ||
Owned: Spring 2002 - Aug. 2002 | Color: Bright White | Purchased: Private party |
In 2002 I finally bought my all-time dream car, a Trans Am. A relative of a friend was selling this 1994 and I got it for a decent price. It wasn't in the best shape, but I spent a lot of time and some money to clean it up. I found it was actually cheaper to buy "take off" wheels and tires (ones that were taken off new vehicles when owners upgraded) over the internet than just tires at retail, so I did that. This car was a stick shift with the LT-1 350ci engine rated at 275hp. It flew and handled very good. But I tired of the stick shift and wanted a newer version so I traded it in on the 1998 below. |
1998 Pontiac Trans Am | ||
Owned: Aug. 2002 - Jan. 2003 | Color: Bright Red | Purchased: Hawkinson Nissan |
I traded the '94 TA on this red '98. It had an automatic with the LS1 350ci engine rated at 325hp. It wasn't quite as much fun to drive with the automatic, but was easier in traffic. This car was a rocket ship on wheels! It was so tempting to drive with a heavy right foot that I got terrible gas mileage. LOL But when Winter rolled around and I was making a second car payment on a vehicle that was sitting in hibernation I decided I'd better get rid of it. This is another car I wish I had kept, though I'd probably have speeding tickets on my record if I had! |
1993 Chevy Beretta GT | ||
Owned: May 2003 - June 2003 | Color: White | Purchased: From a friend |
I purchased this as a high-mileage used car from a friend, knowing it had been extremely well kept. I figured I'd use it as a short commute car to run errands and such. But I didn't like it a whole lot and really preferred bigger cars. I also figured I'd rather not have the double insurance payment so I donated it to charity. My insurance guy probably had to lay someone off when I went back down to 1 car! Again, these pictures came from the internet since I didn't have any pictures of it. |
It wasn't a bad little car, it just wasn't anything special. |
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2003 Chevy Tahoe Z71 | ||
Owned: Nov. 2003 - May 2007 | Color: Dark Green | Purchased: Miller Chevrolet |
After having the Jimmy for a year and a half I decided I again wanted something bigger, and since I no longer had the 2nd cars or motorcycles I could afford to splurge. So I bought a Tahoe and loved it - you can tell by the fact I had it longer than any vehicle in the last 20 years! I could haul a ton, it was great in the snow, and I loved how much room I had in it. I put a grille guard on it, a Flowmaster exhaust which made it sound great, and eventually a Hotchkis sway bar kit front and rear which made it handle better on dry pavement. I even contemplated putting a supercharger on it but the price tag kept me from doing that! Unfortunately, after I got married and moved to a more expensive house gasoline prices started to soar. The combination of the high payments and low mileage forced me to trade it in on something more efficient. And I still miss it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of mine so I had to get these off the internet. |
2007 Pontiac Torrent | ||
Owned: May 2007 - May 2010 | Color: Silver | Purchased: Haggerty GMC |
This was certainly a compromise for efficiency. But by dropping down two sizes I went too small. I was cramped and never really liked driving this crossover. I have to say it handled great in the snow and got good mileage. But some goofy engineer at GM thought it would be a good idea to move the window controls to the center console to save room on the doors. That was a problem for me the entire time I owned it! Again, pictures taken from the internet. |
2008 GMC Acadia SLT1 | ||
Owned: May 2010 - March 2012 | Color: Carbon Black Metallic | Purchased: Dan WOlf Chevrolet |
After 3 years of enduring the Torrent I decided I really wanted to step up a size. I had admired the looks of the GMC Acadia so I started shopping for a used one. I looked everywhere thanks to the internet, and finally found one I liked at the right price. But it was black. Metallic black, so it looked sharp, but I was a little concerned about owning a black vehicle. I grew to like the color, but I will admit it is hot in the summer. And with two sunroofs these Acadias are like terrariums in the summer months! The nice thing about this was the mileage. It was FWD, and only got 2 or 3 less mpg than the Torrent. And the size was "just right"! LOL I could haul what I needed, including half sheets of plywood, could squeeze 7 people in it, and I had more legroom and hip room. Again, none of the pictures are mine but this is what it looked like. |
2010 GMC Acadia Denali | ||
Owned: March 2012 - ?? | Color: Carbon Black Metallic | Purchased: Sullivan GMC |
The used 2008 was approaching 80k miles and was going to need expensive new tires, so instead I started shopping for a newer Acadia. I started out looking for a 2010 and again thanks to the internet was looking all over Chicagoland. I even found one I liked in Niles and shortly before signing the paperwork I noticed the top had damage above the liftgate. Luckily, I saw it in time! While waiting for that dealer to fix it, I came across this 2011 Denali version with low miles for not much more money. So I drove up to Arlington Heights and fell in love with it. With the help of internet access and an iPad, I was able to drive a great deal and three hours later it was mine. I only had to drive 50+ miles home! The Denali is fully-loaded with navigation, heated and cooled seats, and I now have Heads Up Display again. The only thing it is missing is a DVD player, but iPads make up for that on trips! These are the internet pictures from the dealer. |