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My first love-hate relationship — the Chevy Vega
TweetSEE ALSO:Vega Bonds
By William D. Lewis
Most people have owned a car they fondly look back on. For me, that car was a 1971 Chevrolet Vega.
In many ways, it was both the best and the worst of cars.
The Lordstown-produced vehicle, which was the first car I purchased with my own hard-earned money, had a much maligned reputation, but for me it was quite a special vehicle.
While a student at Kent State University in 1974, I found myself in need of a vehicle. A co-worker at a summer job had a used Vega for sale and said it ran great but needed a little body work. After looking the car over and finding he was only asking $200, it seemed like a good deal.
I bought the car, and for the next few months, my evenings and weekends were spent applying body filler and sheet metal to the Vega. After most of the rust holes and dents were filled, I found a local auto painting shop advertising they would paint anything for $49.95, and the Vega was painted bright yellow.
A few days later a heavy rainstorm washed off most of the paint, but I had a car.
The little yellow car hauled me back and forth to KSU and was the vehicle of choice among my friends for road trips.
The most memorable of these road trips was a spring-break ski trip to Vermont. A roommate and I piled the Vega full of skis, clothes and food and took off for a week in Vermont. The little car made the journey just fine, although it did use quite a bit of oil crossing the mountains.
After finishing college I worked as a substitute teacher but took plenty of time off to ski. I still owned the Vega and it made 40-plus trips to Peek n Peak Ski area in New York State that winter.
During all those many miles, the little yellow car never left me stranded on the highway until I decided to sell it. The Vega was starting to show its age, so I bought another car and parked the Vega in my parents’ driveway. They said it had to go, so I put an ad in the newspaper classifieds to sell it for $50.
A buyer came along, and we took it for a test ride. During the ride a tire went flat, and I had no spare so we had to walk. Needless to say the buyer didn’t take the car. After a few more “thanks but no thanks” from prospective buyers, a nearby junk yard offered me $35 if I could drive the Vega in. I did and said goodbye to little yellow car and went on my way.
That should be the end of this story but the saga continues.
A few weeks after junking the Vega, an auto parts store in my hometown of Warren decided to mount a Vega on the store roof as a promotion. This was quite the talk around town so I drove by and closely inspected the car on the roof.
All of the rust spots and dents on the airborne Vega looked strikingly familiar to the one I just junked. So for the next several years, every time I drove by the store, I fondly remembered my Vega.
Comments
20,000 Delphi Salaried retirees fight for their earned pensions AND health care, while GM AND Obama reward the UAW for their VOTES. America, GM does not deserve your patronage until this issue is solved. We urge you to support this just cause. We don't expect anything we weren't promised for our entire careers, only EQUAL treatment among ALL retirees. We urge that YOU do not purchase ANY GM product, service, or stock until this is made right. The same treatment that the UAW would have given GM with a STRIKE if this happened to them. If GM and Obama get away with this, YOUR PENSION & HEALTH CARE are NEXT! The solution is swift, if MILLIONS of buyers REFUSE to buy their product. It will FORCE them to settle.
Fairandequal ,you sound like the little boy that cried Wolf. Posting almost the same words over and over again , it starts to lose its meaning and people will quit listening to you. If you want GM to hear you , you need to write to them or your Congressperson. Your credibility is lost when you keep repeating yourself
Casper77, thank you. FairandEqual does not seem able to accept reality and will respond it is also the White House's fault. Fact Check: Delphi moved most assets overseas to eliminate high legacy employee cost then went belly up to structure overseas where most of their business in now located. Under the old Delphi web site it directly said as much. GM did the same to eliminate cost. Union contracts were legally honored and salary had no legal guarantee. Morally bankrupt yes; but legal. Have Congress change the bankruptcy laws if not happy. Oh, the PBGC is just following its charter of maximum payouts: If not happy have Congress change that as well. Here is a tax tip: health care can be deductable (anything over 7 1/2 percent of the AGI). Suggest F & E save receipts.
I had a 1974 Vega. I LOVED it. I bought it in 1976 for $700 & sold it in 1980 for $1700. Never used any extra oil, either. I really miss that car--was a nice ride!
CompMan,
Points well taken but not complete or totally accurate. Issue is about fairness and not union vs. non-union. In fact, union leaderships have publicly expressed agreement and support for the salaried retirees. Once the US government took over control of GM (61% ownership by taxpayers) the expectation of fairness for ALL is amplified and becomes a Constitutional issue. Our government should NOT be in the business of picking winners and losers, yet they did just that with car dealerships, salaried workers, union workers, and others -- with salaried employees and many profitable car dealerships deemed and treated as "losers" by our government. This should concern all Americans!