6/1/2006
CARSPOTTING, 6/1
Saw a Pontiac T1000–the utterly redundant version of the Chevette–on the drive home today. This one looked to be a survivor, with nice, glossy paint the approximate color of pork gravy.
I’ve always loved what Consumer Guide had to say about the Chevette back in the day: “Millions of people bought Chevettes, and millions of people were happy with them.” They went on to explain that just about any subcompact was a better choice than the Chevette, but if it was all you could afford, it beat walking. And I guess that explains my weird, grudging affection for Chevettes. They promised little, but they made good on all that they promised.
I had a classmate/co-worker once who, in the mid ’90s, was still driving his ‘83 Chevette and feeling a little self-conscious about it. I pointed out to him that there weren’t all that many American cars of the early ’80s which could even last a dozen years. He should’ve been proud to have squeezed so much life out of a humble car. I think he actually was proud, but he was afraid to admit that an ‘83 Chevette suited his needs so well.
I’m sure by now he’s driving the nice extended-cab pickup he wanted . . . and I bet it’s a Chevy.
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I drove an ‘85 Chevette CS (with automatic, PS & A/C) for several years. I hated that car, but it was so reliable that I drove it for years in spite of its utter lack of style. It was a gutless wonder compared to my father’s ‘78 no-frills 4-speed. I believe that the Chevette’s longevity was a thorn in the side of GM’s marketing folks for a long time. If you had to make just one reliable model for half a decade, you would hope that it wasn’t the Chevette.
Comment by Tom G — 6/5/2006 @ 1:04 pm
I had the same sort of experience with my ‘89 Plymouth Reliant. That thing lasted about three years beyond the point when I was thoroughly sick of it. But how do you hate a paid-for car that gets 25 MPG and doesn’t break down, ever?
Comment by Scribleris — 6/6/2006 @ 10:10 am