Skip to main content

Flashback Friday - My Cars

In the final entry of my cars growing up, we end with my best (read: fun) driver, a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix.  After the disaster of the AMC Pacer, it was nice to get ahold of a big barge again.  Where the Pacer was a nice idea without the execution, the Grand Prix was a pedigree of excellence that was evident in every aspect. 

Pontiac had ridden the style and performance of the Grand Prix/Bonneville/Catalina stable since a major remake in 1965.  The style had remained virtually the same since that time with minor adjustments along the way.  

Plush, luxury-oriented, my new gorgeous car even had a T-Top.  Plush interior, bucket seats, push-button trunk, electric windows, this was a sporty, large luxury car.   And was a car that was a pure joy to just hop in on a day off and cruise.  Not since my first VW and the Fury after that have I simply driven a car with enjoyment instead of as a means to get from here to there.   



The picture above was taken by someone to show a dashing kid leaning on my Prix.  It was probably taken by the Wombie for some unknown reason or perhaps I used a timer shot.  I was never "cool" but looking at me behind the wheel with the tops off one might think I was.  And why not?  It was a cool car.  It wouldn't be a stretch to assume the driver was too.  



 I did find another picture of my Prix, here in an unposed head-scratcher where someone else is driving?  Doesn't look I'm heading to the grocery store in this picture and words and memory fail me.  But then we aren't concerned with the what was happening as much as the wheels.  I loved this car, and perhaps I was marrying it on this day.  For those who may be wondering where this was taken, it is at the Seaton Presbyterian church and that is the water tower in the background.  And, as luck would have it, a much newer Pontiac Grand Prix or Bonneville is in the background, with the updated square headlights and a less stylish updating.  

 It was a bridge car:  it spanned my last bachelor days to the next stage of life of marriage and kids.  It spanned carefree to responsible.  It spanned fun to practical.  It spanned kid to man.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida.  There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife.  In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride.  He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much.   He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A.   But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here.  If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying.  He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed.  No...
1 comment
Read more

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week.  Except for me.  I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers.  These pics need no words.  Why muddy the waters?   They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley.  The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter.  If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one.  But, please, no more.   
Post a Comment
Read more