| Luminator |
07-24-2012 12:45 PM |
Who let that Lumina guy in here?
Yes, I currently own one of those "family friendly fifth gens". I'll elaborate on that later, but first, here's my past ownership pedigree.
I was a late bloomer in the first car category. I didn't jump in until one week before I turned 23. It was a one-year-old 1997 Monte Carlo LS, with alloy wheels and finished in Torch Red.
I owned that from 1998 to 2000, when I traded it in on a brand new 2000 Monte Carlo SS. Black with black leather interior, fully loaded with everything. That was back when the the sixth gen first came out, and I was one of the earliest in Calgary to have one. It was my first, and to date only, brand new car. I was determined to keep it until it was a future collectors' item.
That all changed in August 2006 when an inattentive moron in a Volkswagen Golf blew past a yield sign and wiped out most of the passenger side. It was repairable, but a writeoff. I bought it back with intent to fix and keep it, but then decided I didn't want to deal with all of the hassles and BS associated with rebuilding a salvage vehicle. I sold it to a guy who did rebuild it, and it's still around as far as I know.
For the next six years I was Monte Carless, as I focused on my first love which is AMC products. I drove an AMC Eagle daily for six years and loved it, and still own a few of them. I should also add that during this same time frame I got married and had two daughters, now ages 2 and 5.
In 2012 I started looking more and more at fifth gen Monte Carlos, and thinking about how well the design held up 17 years later. But, now that I was no longer a carefree twentysomething and supposedly a mature (yeah, right) and responsible thirtysomething husband and father, I would have to compromise... and compromise had a name. Lumina.
I could find base and LS Luminae all day long, but I wanted an LTZ - specifically a 1998 or 1999. I knew finding one wouldn't be easy, but this month I finally landed one at a very reasonable price. I paid a hefty sum of $350 for it, so needless to say, it's a bit of a project. It runs, though only on five cylinders at the moment. It's a 1998, in a turquoise greenish color.
Boy, that was a long winded intro. Kudos to those who hung in there long enough to read it all. :thumbsup:
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