drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  531,504

Odometer (ILX):  94,796

Some people collect coins, or stamps, or baseball cards.  I guess you could say my hoarding tendencies revolve around objects that are a little bit bigger.  I’ve owned multiple cars concurrently for about the last 10 years. 

I don’t remember what compelled me to arrange my 3 cars around my family’s house in St. George, Utah on the morning of March 14, 2005, but I have a series of pictures that were taken with my Canon PowerShot SD400 that are still bringing a smile to my face over 9 years later.  My trio of cars at the time was rather diverse.  Let’s take a closer look at each of them.  To my parents, thanks for putting me up with me driving on the lawn as an eager car-loving 23-year-old.

Celebrity:

The 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity has a story all its own, which I’ve shared on the blog before.  Purchased brand new by my parents from Axtell Chevrolet in Logan, Utah, it became my first car about 11 years later.  The Celeb was my first taste of life on the open road, and I proudly drove it during my sophomore year of high school.  I even dumped $500 into a Maaco paint job and cleaned its 14″ wire wheel hubcaps in a bathtub with a scrub brush.  #OCD

Years later, I bought it back in ragged shape with 194,000 miles on it for a few hundred bucks and I wasn’t sure what to do with it.  The sentimental value alone prompted me to scoop it up when I had the opportunity, but my (second) time with it was short-lived.  I got rid of it for $800 and its 2.8 liter carbureted V6 was tired and dying.  The Celebrity has surely by now been scrapped and melted down to liquified steel.  It still holds a special place in my heart.  Though its quirks were many – and every vehicle I’ve owned since has been a far more reliable Honda – it had the comfiest bench seat in the world. 

Confession:  I’m a member of a GM “A-Body” car enthusiast forum.  Yes, there exists such a thing.

Prelude:

One of 5 Honda Preludes I’ve owned, this one was perhaps my favorite:  a Phoenix Red 1991 with 4-wheel-steering.  It had 144,750 miles on the odometer when I bought it in December 2004 for $3,750 with the intention of using it as a “winter beater” at Utah State University and keeping the Legend in storage. Key hand-off!  I still have that hooded sweatshirt…

Dare I say, that Prelude handled as nimbly as my current NSX and the driving experience was damn near just as fun.  This car, however, sucked my wallet dry.  Having purchased the car with zero maintenance history, it succumbed to a timing belt failure and ended up requiring a new engine right away due to bent valves.  I also dumped a few dollars into an adjustable coilover suspension and those oh-so-flashy 16″ chrome 5-spokers.  I was struggling to juggle cars around and too tied up with full-time college and work to devote to the Prelude, so I put a “For Sale” sign in it at a car show.  It sold that very same day for quite a bit over book value.  Oddly enough, I bought that car back years later, too.  What is it with me and never being able to fully let go? 

Legend:

The 1994 LS coupe was just a wee babe, with 164,660 miles on the odometer when this photoshoot took place.  I’d upgraded the car at some point with brighter headlights, Catz XLO foglights (later swapped for OEM), and some Ebay-riffic clear corner lenses.  Don’t judge me; I was in my 20’s and still had a bit of “boy racer” in me.  I’d had the car for only two years and intended to keep it awhile, but probably never dreamed I’d still be driving it 9 years later.

So, here we go with my morning photoshoot from the mid-2000’s!

What were the neighbors thinking as I scampered around arranging these?

1991, 1994, and 1986 respectively.  Will vinyl roofs ever come back?

Yes, my friends, my license plate on the Celebrity said “HUGGIE’S.”  Laugh it up!

Back when a half-bra was all the rage.

Doors open for artistic effect.  Or something.

Oops, I was missing some hubcaps on the Celeb.

My babies.

Nice shot of the 4WS in action.  Check out that back tire!  The 1988-1991 Prelude with this option handled like nothing else.  I could U-turn anywhere.

License plates, read left to right:  HUGGIE’S 4CRUIZN UTAHST8.  (I was attending Utah State Univ at the time)

Okay, that velour interior on the Celebrity.  SO PLUSH.  Comfortable seating for 6.

Thanks for taking a drive with me down Memory Lane.

This entry was posted on September 4, 2014 at 7:33 pm and is filed under Legend, Prelude, Throwback. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.