History of John's Cars - Part 1

Just as the post says, I am writing a history of my cars. What follows is a history of the cars I have owned and some fun facts about them. If you have known me for a while, this will be a trip down memory lane. At the very least, hopefully my history will bring a smile to your face. If you have any specific memories of these cars, please post them in the comments area. I would love to hear them.

1979 Pontiac Lemans – This was my first car and boy was it a fun one. It had a ton of power and got like 12mpg. Gas was less than $1.00 per gallon, so it only took $12 to fill it up. My Dad bought this car from Independence Township for $2000. Right after getting the car, I swapped out the AM/FM Radio with push buttons. It only had one front speaker, so I had to change that too. Since I was low on money, I bought a Realistic AM/FM/Cassette Stereo and 2 6x9s from Radio Shack. You haven’t lived until you have heard KMC Kru on Realistic 6x9s. Anyway, shortly after getting the car, the driver’s side door handle stopped working, so I had to get in Dukes of Hazzard style. I wasn’t complaining because it got me to and from school. No more riding in Joel Melon’s Chevette. I did like pulling the parking brake while the car was moving though. Anyhoo…some fun facts about the Lemans:
-My friends and my first trip to Canada was in the Lemans. I was at LTU and we just decided to go spur of the moment. We went to Don Cherry’s and walked around downtown Windsor. On the way back, the border guard asked all of us for our IDs. Well, Skunk didn’t have his, so the border guard had lots of questions for him. When Jamie asked why the guard was being such a “prick,” that was all she wrote. We were pulled over and the customs agents searched the car. I never would have believed that a customs agent and a dog could fit in my trunk.
-When I was 16, I worked for Independence Parks and Recreation as an umpire. In the fall, we were also called to work at the Haunted Forest at Clintonwood Park. This was always fun because we all got to dress in black costumes and scare people. Well, Nathan, Stu (I think), Darrin, Mull and I were going to pick up Jamie at his house. Jamie lived right by DTE Music Theater…err…Pine knob, so I had to drive down a dirt road to get to his house. Well, I was driving kind of crazy and hit a washboard, slid out of control and off the road. The car got stuck in a ditch and the mirror got ripped off the side door. After we got out of the car, Jamie’s neighbor came out and asked us if we needed help getting our car out of the ditch. Because of the way we were dressed, he thought we were going to play a prank on Jamie and parked our car in the ditch. Well, in order to hide my reckless driving, I went with the neighbor’s version of the story. So when I got home, I told my parents that I swerved to miss a skunk and went in the ditch. My mom bought it, but when she went upstairs, my dad told me he thought I was driving crazy. When I asked him why he thought that, he said, “I lived on a dirt road when I was a kid, I know how it is.” I admitted to my driving mistake and my Dad said he wouldn’t tell my mom if I slowed it down.
-Two words Brake Torque!
-Finally, when I was in 10th grade, Jamie broke his leg sledding and his parents paid me to bring him home every day so he didn’t have to ride the bus. Well one day, I couldn’t stop at the corner of Waldon and Pine Knob Road. We slid into a snow bank and I couldn’t back out. Since Jamie was the only one with me, He had to drive while I pushed. When I pushed the car out, Jamie wasn’t in a position to stop the car with his huge cast, so I had to chase him down the road, jump in and stop the car. It was probably very funny to watch.
Well, the Lemans went a little longer than I thought it would. Tune in next time when we will cover my 1982 Buick Skylark. You also won’t want to miss the info on my 1986 Escort Wagon!