My current toy...

2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

White, 4-door. Pretty much loaded.

The Story:
My beautiful paid-off 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix was totalled in October 2007 (no, I wasn't even in the car). After a week, I figured I needed to start looking for a new car but I wasn't psyched since I really couldn't afford a new car and I've always bought new cars. I went back to my previous dealership, Hodgdon-Noyes in Arlington, and told my sob story to the salesman, that I wasn't emotionally ready to buy a new car but I needed to start looking. Amazingly enough he just gave me a bunch of brochures and let me go without trying to sell me anything!

However, just before the exit in the showroom was a shiny white Grand Prix. I figured, what the hell, I should look at it. I got in: it had leather seats and looked all shiny and new. The salesman came over and told me it was a used (rental) 2007 car, not 2008, and he let me take it out for a test drive. Flooring this car on the Route 2 hill from Alewife to Park Street is...*fun*. I did the same thing on the first day I got my previous Grand Prix.

The salesman told me that a new 2008 version of this car would be around $26-$28K. As a GM-certified used car, it was shown in the Kelly Blue Book to go for about $20K (the salesman even printed out the information off their website. The dealership was pricing this car at $19K. They had the car on sale at $16K *that week* (I saw the local ads). I got over $4K back from the insurance company for my totalled car. Final cost? $12K for a one-year-old Grand Prix GT. Bottom line? I got the same car, but 10 years younger! I guess some things were meant to be.

My requirements were still the same: roomy, 4-door, automatic, practical. It's comfortable to ride in, yet I have power to move. It's not a hybrid, but I use the MTBA most of the time anyway.

Pros:

• The heated leather seats, greatest thing since sliced bread. You'll never go back.
• The 260-hp supercharged engine. Also I wasn't required to use 93-octane gas.
• Two power outlets.
• The back seats fold down for carrying large items from Home Depot.

• Not MP3-player-ready.
• Doesn't have the automatic-darkening rear-view mirror.
• No external attenna. I liked having a place for my Jack-In-The-Box attenna ball because it was easier to find my car in a full parking lot.
• Needed a third power outlet.

Previous Cars

1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP	Dark Metallic Teal (to me, it was "green") on February 15, 1997 from Hodgdon-Noyes in Arlington. I wanted a room, 4-door automatic. Cool stuff: The Heads-Up Display puts the speedometer, directionals, and radio station on the windshield so I don't have to look down at the dashboard. The roof goes up and out so I don't lose any headroom. I have 4-wheel ABS disc brakes; braking is very smooth. I'm sure I'm going to hate it when I have to get the rotors turned. 240-hp supercharged 3.8L V6 (see caveat below). This is a really quiet engine but it moves when you stomp on the gas. Acceleration is very smooth. The rear-view mirror automatically adjusts for night-driving. The dashboard lights come on when I'm driving in the Pru tunnel or anytime it's dark outside. Two power outlets Should have gotten: The gold-colored rims with the teal car. A CD player Heated leather seats Cons: Had to use Super gas for the entire time I had this car. The 2004 model could operate on normal gas.
1989 Chevrolet Beretta	$12,000 car, what I paid for my Pontiac 6000 and had more features. White two-door car with a red-stripe trim/door guard along the sides. 2.8L multiport engine was a little loud, but good for the ego. A lot of car. The stick shift was smooth, but the doors were heavy. Plenty of of room for road trips. Bought at Porter Chevrolet in Cambridge. Finally sold it to my neighbor's cousin in 1997.
1984 Pontiac 6000	Maroon, 4-door. My first car. First thing I missed was the power windows. The radio kept failing and was finally replaced after many visits. Bought this car from Columbia Pontiac in Dorchester. Gave it to my mom after I got my Beretta. Finally sold it to my neighbor around 1993 or so.