Saturday, August 11, 2012

My First Car: 1984 Cutlass Ciera

Some people get really cool cars for their first car.  Some people get really junky cars for their first car.  Some people get no car for their first car.  My first car was none of these.

My first car was the exceedingly adequate Cutlass Ciera.  A 1984 Cutlass Ciera in some sort of sky blue color.  I remember loving it prior to driving age as I thought it was cool that it had that little multi-flag emblem on each side of the front fenders.

I was given the car late in my high school days and took it with me to college shortly thereafter.  As I said above, it was...adequate.  It held a lot of cargo in its trunk, carried people around fairly well and my father had added a decidedly aftermarket Radio Shack tape deck that hung below the dash.  The Ciera was slow.  God was it slow.  I didn't realize just how gutless it was until today when I looked it up and saw that the '84 Ciera in its 2.5L 4 cyl. form only produced 92 hp.  Pretty weak for a 4-door sedan though likely adequate...at the time.  Can't blame my parents for purchasing such an adequate vehicle though.  It was Oldsmobile's perennial best seller, was a good value and deemed a "safe" car.

The Ciera rusted away pretty quick with its trunk and fenders being perforated with numerous rust holes by the time I got my hands on it in 1991-92.  Flying the car over some train tracks and lawndarting it into the asphalt didn't help the electronics early on, nor did its numerous offroad excursions to random unlit fields.  In college it got left in snowbanks and squeezed in between trees in order to park in an area neither the campus police or town police would touch you (within the privately owned right of way zone on either side of the local train tracks).  By the end of my freshman year of college the "Blue Bomber" had exhausted itself and proceeded to snap a CV, tie rods, and a whole host of front suspension/driveline parts when rounding a slow left hand turn on my way to pack the car for my return trip home.  I left the old girl in the middle of the road and walked the half mile back to my dorm where my parents would meet me and I would relate the Bomber's fate.

By the time we finished packing my parents minivan and went looking for the old girl, the police had nicely had her towed to a wrecking yard I knew well (as the Bomber had been towed there a couple times for illegal parking that Freshman year).  My father walked in, heard what the bill would be to repair her and off we went, never to see the Blue Bomber again.  She was a good...adequate car for the time I had her.  My kids won't ever be wishing I kept her for them to have but I'll always remember her adequacy...

5 comments:

Carson Ahlstrom said...

Well, I guess the damage was too severe that the repair costs soared. So what car did you replace it with? Did you buy that car or did your parents give you a new one? I guess Blue Bomber at least thought you a lesson: To give your children a safe and adequate car as well.

Sebastian Gaydos said...

Hey, that’s nice that you see your first car as adequate for the you years ago. Many of us didn’t get our dream cars the first time, right? But that isn’t a reason not to be appreciative. :] A Cutlass Ciera is not bad for a first car. And I don’t think there is a junky car for a true blue car lover. I know you’d get what I mean. The ’84 model is the only one with manual transmission. That’s cool!

Stelle Courney said...

“Some people get really cool cars for their first car.”- I think I belong to this group. When I bought my first car, I definitely made sure that I’m going to have a car that’s really gorgeous. I really kept an eye on a Proton Savvy. It took me three years to save money for my dream car, and did my best in order to have it. ;)

Carson Wininger said...

A person’s first car is usually the most remarkable one, and the one that has the best story, right? That Radio Shack tape deck must have been the coolest thing that time. Ha. Whoa, I can imagine how tough it was to walk half a mile because of a car glitch. Well, your 'adequate car' served you well.

Sara Anthony said...

@Carson: You said it right! I will never forget my first car and my experience before I finally signed on the dotted line and got hold of the key! Haha. Likewise, those tremendous moments that we had, our car is like our friend, through thick and thin, she’s always there with me! :)