When Did Your Family Go GM?

[Phoenix]

mikmak, that's a clean looking 2001 Executive, great powertrain too. With the death of Pontiac, Holden is becoming my favorite brand.

[mikmak]

Originally Posted by F14CRAZY

was that the Commodore wagon that wore out the rear tires quick when it had a load?

Yep. All I did was put 5 kgs on the right pedal and the rears basically vanished

Originally Posted by Phoenix

mikmak, that's a clean looking 2001 Executive, great powertrain too. With the death of Pontiac, Holden is becoming my favorite brand.

Thanks Phoenix. It was a pretty good car, but after having the wagon (FR1), I don't think I'll ever be happy settling for standard suspension again.

So tell me again King Riffle; what's teh difference between your current Taurus and the previous one? :confused?

[BrickTamland]

Originally Posted by mikmak

Yep. All I did was put 5 kgs on the right pedal and the rears basically vanished



Thanks Phoenix. It was a pretty good car, but after having the wagon (FR1), I don't think I'll ever be happy settling for standard suspension again.

So tell me again King Riffle; what's teh difference between your current Taurus and the previous one? :confused?

A 2004 has a different grille, bumpers, tail lights, and steering wheel.

Picture for reference:

[King Riffle]

Originally Posted by BrickTamland

A 2004 has a different grille, bumpers, tail lights, and steering wheel.

Picture for reference:

Correct, although your list is incomplete. From what I can gather on the mid-cycle change:

Exterior:
-Front bumper changed
-Grille changed
-Rear bumper changed
-New base alloy rims
-Taillights redesigned for amber turn signal (never installed)
-Thicker door handles
-Improved springs (older Tauruses have issues with coils breaking)

Interior:
-New steering wheel
-New IP with trip computer
-New interior colors
-Better materials on some surfaces (the biggest change being the panel underneath the steering wheel)
-Chrome door handles now black plastic
-Fabric/leather door panel surfaces replaced with soft plastic material
-Redesigned head restraints
-Better sound insulation
-carpet removed from trunk lid
-3rd brake light changed to LED

Engine (Vulcan):
-Redesigned intake
-Compression changed from 9.3:1 to 9.5:1


It's odd really. I get the feeling they were halfway through designing the mid-cycle refresh model when they were told to start cutting costs for fleets. They improved upon some things, and cheapened other things.

As far as the difference between my current Taurus and my '01 (aside from what's listed above of course):

-Sunroof
-Auto-dimming rear view mirror
-Heated wing mirrors
-Console shifter
-wing
-4 intact coil springs
-working power windows
-70,000 miles (when I bought it anyway)

Slightly off topic, but I've also recently been informed that if you paint the center portion of the lower front bumper black, it adds a nice touch.



I wonder if it wasn't supposed to come from the factory like this, until the cost cutting patrol arrived. There's a spot on the rear bumper that many have painted black as well.



Both sections are slightly indented, and suspiciously similar to areas found on a certain Aussie product.

[a_v_s]

When my dad first immigrated to the US, the Ford Mustang had just come out... My dad said he remembers seeing it on display at SFO. He said it was the ugliest thing he's ever seen, and because of that, decided against buying a Ford... So he bought a used chevy nova to get himself through college. Then bought a Chevelle-SS when he landed himself a real job when he graduated. (The car I learned to drive on). Apparently he loved the Chevelle so much, he bought a couple more over the years... That's how I got into cars... When I was younger, I used to watch, then later help, my dad work on the car, rebuild the engine, etc. There's even a picture of me still wearing diapers helping my dad buff the wax off the chevelle, lol...

[ral1960]

After the US entered WW I, GM stopped shipping cars by rail. My grandparents (who weren't yet married) and several other couples took the train from NC to Flint to pick up four or five new Buicks. Some of the roads were so muddy, they had to wait for them to freeze during the night.

My grandfather later bought a big, black 1930 Buick, which my grandmother and father loved. They were embarrassed to be seen in the 37 Plymouth that replaced it. Dad hates the late 30's streamlined look to this day. They had several postwar Buicks (all black), but after my grandfather died, Grandma bought three Cadillacs: 64, 70, and 72 (all black). My dad still has the 72, which I used to drive around her driveway when I was 13. My DeVille is black, BTW, blood will tell.

My Dad's first car was used mid 30's Ford, and he refused to buy another Ford until my stepmother wanted an F150 in 91.

[m100]

My grandfather sold Chevrolets during the Great Depression in Houston,Corpus Christi and East Texas.


After a 20 year hiatus (Fiero) I came back to see what The General had to offer, and picked up an Astra.A little over a year I still love it very much.

[RedVee8]

Originally Posted by a_v_s

When my dad first immigrated to the US, the Ford Mustang had just come out... My dad said he remembers seeing it on display at SFO. He said it was the ugliest thing he's ever seen, and because of that, decided against buying a Ford... So he bought a used chevy nova to get himself through college. Then bought a Chevelle-SS when he landed himself a real job when he graduated. (The car I learned to drive on). Apparently he loved the Chevelle so much, he bought a couple more over the years... That's how I got into cars... When I was younger, I used to watch, then later help, my dad work on the car, rebuild the engine, etc. There's even a picture of me still wearing diapers helping my dad buff the wax off the chevelle, lol...

great story A V S

Originally Posted by mikmak

Looking through some old pics I found the only images I have of my previous Commodore. Accordingly, let this thread hold images of your fallen warriors (whether they were destroyed or just departed).....

2001 VXII Commodore Executive, with the trusty 38004A combination.

Mik,
My son has now got his Ls and is looking for a job to buy a car (I think he is going to beat his sister who after 2 years has managed 10 hours).
Anyway, he was telling me he wanted a Lancer or Celica all sik, but I must have disappointed him by telling him he can buy any car he wants. Now, some months after that conversation I was showing him some ricers for sale on the net and he answered that he actually wants a Commodore, (sedan, not a ute which surprised me). Anyway the spec he narrowed it down to was a VY or VX S manual, now he has got down to a VX S in white - much like your old car above ^. He wants the S because it already has the bodykit and he only wants a manual. I think he wants a VX so he can put Monaro tail lights on it....

I'll have to dig out some old photo albums and see if I can find some photos of my old warriors.

[MyImpalaSS]

Talking to some of my older relatives, my family has been GM for about 5 or 6 generations. They are loyal to a fault. I tell you that it would be like treason if I were to ever buy a Ford(which there is no way in hell I would) and they will be simply disappointed if I were to buy any other non GM.

[MaxLegroom]

My grandparents on my mom's side of the family were GM faithful. Pictures I've seen (now see if I can find them) showed them beside a '41 Oldsmobile 98, my mom and her sister in front of a '35 Chevrolet, and her parents also owned a '55. I recall them having a black and white '57 Bel Air 4 door sedan. They stayed with Chevrolet when buying new, having had a '65 Bel Air, a '68 Impala (both wrecked before I could get them as a first car), a '73 Chevelle Malibu, and a '80 Mailbu. My parents had their fair share as well, starting married life with a '49 Chevrolet De Luxe fastback, and including a '59 Impala 2 door hardtop and a '63 Bel Air 3 seat wagon. Their last GM car was a '91 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme sedan that mom got rid of when radiator and electrical problems got the better of it. I kind of miss that car, as it tended to hit me in the right place in a quite a few ways.

It will be a while, I think before they return to GM, though. Usually Chryslers are cheaper used, and dad is on his third Dodge minivan, and when mom isn't in her Ford truck, she drives a Peugeot that I once bought as a project car, but she managed to put on the road again.

[skylark68]

My family goes back pretty far with GM. My Dad's side of the family had Ramblers and Studebakers mixed with a few Chevrolets up until '59 when my Grandpa picked up a '59 Bonneville 2 door hardtop, white with blue interior. Then they had a '65 red on red Pontiac 2+2 convertible, a '68 Olds 442 convertible (fully loaded minus a limited slip differential for some odd reason) and plenty more thoughout the '70s and '80s. My Dad had a Vega which was a complete piece of junk, and he defected for a short time to an Austin Marina in the mid '70s (Morris in most of the world) because the Honda dealer ticked him off when he tried to buy a Civic (so he went across the street). Then he came back to GM and had a Buick Skyhawk in the late '70s, along with a used '70 Grand Prix. We had a new '85 Sunbird GT for about 4 or 5 months because the computer went out on a family trip and my Dad sold it quickly after that. He bought a '86 Suburban new and we had that until the mid '90s. He went to VW in 2000 with a Passat but now has an '01 Tahoe and a '08 Kia Sorento. My Mom's family was Buick for her whole life growing up except for a Plymouth in the mid '50s and a Toyota in the early '70s (which was promptly sold after my Grandpa figured out that he was being suicidal trying to get on the freeways in it).

My wife's grandfather's (born in 1917) earliest memory of cars was when he painted his Dad's 1919 Buick when he was real little (about 4 or 5). Needless to say his Dad wasn't happy about that!

My first car was a '69 Skylark in high school. Then I had the '68 Skylark in college (which I still have), and picked up a '71 Riviera (sold). My uncle gave me his '72 Electra (took the motor and transmission out and sold the body). I bought a '02 Miata because the Pontiac dealers wouldn't negotiate on a '02 Ram Air Trans Am (my wife said that was biggest mistake of my life) and sold that 2 years later. Now I'm driving an old '89 Suburban for a daily driver to work and have a '72 Corvette LT-1 for a weekend car along with the '68 Skylark. Eventually we are going to sell my wife's '04 Mazda 3 and maybe get back into a GM. It'll be that or a Dodge more than likely.

[OLDSCHOOLGMFAN]

My maternal grandpa was the first Acadien (Cajun) man in his neck of the woods to get a car, and it was a Chevy in the 1930s.

[RedVee8]

Originally Posted by skylark68

My family goes back pretty far with GM. My Dad's side of the family had Ramblers and Studebakers mixed with a few Chevrolets up until '59 when my Grandpa picked up a '59 Bonneville 2 door hardtop, white with blue interior. Then they had a '65 red on red Pontiac 2+2 convertible, a '68 Olds 442 convertible (fully loaded minus a limited slip differential for some odd reason) and plenty more thoughout the '70s and '80s. My Dad had a Vega which was a complete piece of junk, and he defected for a short time to an Austin Marina in the mid '70s (Morris in most of the world) because the Honda dealer ticked him off when he tried to buy a Civic (so he went across the street). Then he came back to GM and had a Buick Skyhawk in the late '70s, along with a used '70 Grand Prix. We had a new '85 Sunbird GT for about 4 or 5 months because the computer went out on a family trip and my Dad sold it quickly after that. He bought a '86 Suburban new and we had that until the mid '90s. He went to VW in 2000 with a Passat but now has an '01 Tahoe and a '08 Kia Sorento. My Mom's family was Buick for her whole life growing up except for a Plymouth in the mid '50s and a Toyota in the early '70s (which was promptly sold after my Grandpa figured out that he was being suicidal trying to get on the freeways in it).

My wife's grandfather's (born in 1917) earliest memory of cars was when he painted his Dad's 1919 Buick when he was real little (about 4 or 5). Needless to say his Dad wasn't happy about that!

My first car was a '69 Skylark in high school. Then I had the '68 Skylark in college (which I still have), and picked up a '71 Riviera (sold). My uncle gave me his '72 Electra (took the motor and transmission out and sold the body). I bought a '02 Miata because the Pontiac dealers wouldn't negotiate on a '02 Ram Air Trans Am (my wife said that was biggest mistake of my life) and sold that 2 years later. Now I'm driving an old '89 Suburban for a daily driver to work and have a '72 Corvette LT-1 for a weekend car along with the '68 Skylark. Eventually we are going to sell my wife's '04 Mazda 3 and maybe get back into a GM. It'll be that or a Dodge more than likely.

He must have been pissed at GM and Honda to have bought a Marina!

[skylark68]

Originally Posted by RedVee8

He must have been pissed at GM and Honda to have bought a Marina!

Definitely pissed. The Vega rusted out within a couple of years of ownership (Houston - Gulf Coast salty air) and the engine constantly overheated. The Honda dealer said something to my Dad that pushed him over the edge (he stormed out of the dealership) although I don't remember what it was (even back then Honda dealers were arrogant). My Dad said the Marina was a fun car to drive but something happened to the engine within a few months of ownership. It was fixed under warranty but he didn't keep it that long. He bought the Skyhawk a few years later (I think it was a '78 or '79 model) when he went back to GM. I forgot about the Pontiac LeMans wagon we had too that he bought it in '79 for my Mom. That was a good car, even with the 301 Pontiac.

[Aura XR]

First GM in the family was my dad's 56 Belair. It replaced his.....1929 Nash. He bought it new after he married my mom. Then it was the 74 Impala, 84 Caprice and 91 Caprice.