All Aboard the Banana Boat: 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

Here she is, my new old daily driver. The "Banana Boat," as it is called by my family and friends, is a Naples Yellow 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Bought from a gentleman in Milford, New Hampshire (the same town where my 1971 Cadillac Coupe DeVille was bought for those keeping score at home), the car originally came from Oklahoma and it is absolutely unbelievable how spotless it is top to bottom and inside and out. Seeing the overall condition of this car and my old 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which was an Idaho car, makes me never want to buy a vehicle from New England again. The average used car around here that is described as "extremely solid" has roughly as much rust as the Titanic. That's why I have to search high and low to find cars like this Coupe that haven't been completely consumed by the tin worm. It's remarkable, really; even things like the fuel tank straps that rot away on EVERYTHING here in New England are not rusted and there are still factory chalk marks clearly visible on the rear differential cover! It's got 84,000 miles on it and merely needs stupidly simple cosmetic things like a new headliner and a set of rear fillers like every other car that was ever made with ABS plastic fillers does. I'm a sucker for the first generation of the "baby" Cadillacs (1977-1979), and this one was way too good to pass up. Since selling "Big Red," my 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, I've never been able to get the desire for another of this generation out of my head, and this one being in the same color as my mother's '85 Eldorado that I spent a good chunk of my childhood riding around in was certainly an added bonus. A virtually spotless, relatively low mileage, ice cream-colored two-door Cadillac with a white leather interior couldn't be more me. And for $700, I wouldn't even think of chancing the fact that it might not get to sit in front of my house. I'm not even going to suggest that I would never sell the car because I'm tired of putting my foot in my mouth, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. And for the time being, the big yellow Cadillac will do just fine for my transportation needs. Gas prices be damned!

Sold: 1996 Buick Riviera

Yes, you read it right; my 1996 Buick Riviera has been sold. The one vehicle that I thought I wouldn't be selling any time soon is in the hands of a new owner in southern New Hampshire. Not to worry, though, because I sold it to a gentleman who is very much like myself. My Riviera will be a daily driver for his daughter and will be living amongst a dozen interesting vehicles, including a 1969 Pontiac GTO convertible and a half-dozen first series Chevrolet trucks. What was the reason for the sale, you ask? Well, lots of things. She may have had the heart of a teenager, but the rest of it was showing and acting its age. Despite all the preventative maintenance I have always done as well as addressing problems when they arose, it kept acting up. It wouldn't always shift into gear in the morning on the first try, every now and then it would backfire through the plenum and blow all of its vacuum hoses off, and on rainy days it liked to start on half its cylinders. That coupled with the fact that I was about 99% sure the fuel pump was on the way out because of the way it would intermittently cut out at random moments finalized my decision. I ended up getting about $500 over book value for the car with the ABS light on, the traction control light on, full of dings and dents from two and a half years of everyday service including spending major time in the every man for himself parking lots at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and its set of winter wheels on it. That's right, I got to keep the chrome turbines with the whitewalls! They are safely locked away in storage with my '67 Eldorado and all my other spare parts and other such automotive treasures.

As for a new ride, don't worry, I found one. I got to put a lot of money in the bank and am back in a car that is far more what I'm into than this car was. A mid 90's transverse-mounted V6-powered front wheel drive vehicle just doesn't cut it anymore, no matter how cool-looking and unique it may be, especially when as many problems arise in such a short time as in the case with this one. Now it's in the hands of another true enthusiast that will give it whatever it needs to give another 150,000 miles of faithful service. It may be gone, but the memories of all the good times had with the car will last forever. Who knows? I may even cross paths with it again as it only moved about twenty miles north. And until that day comes, I wish it and its new owner all the best. Godspeed, little egg.

"Big Red" on My Cadillac Story

Remember my Firethorn Red 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille? Well thanks to my friend Silvester I have just one more reminder of why I never should have sold it. Unbeknownst to me, he sent a photo of "Big Red" along with some photos of his 1986 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham to My Cadillac Story. For those of you that don't know, My Cadillac Story is a website published by General Motors where proud Cadillac owners can post photos and share their stories of why they still believe the marque to be the Standard of the World. I had toyed with the idea of sitting down and writing a nice long story on how I came to be interested and submit photos of my '79 Coupe, '71 Coupe, '67 Eldorado, my mom's '85 Eldorado she had when I was a little kid, and all the others I had some sort of personal connection to over the years. Apparently, however, my friend Silvester has beaten me to the punch on at least one of them. So get on over to My Cadillac Story, scroll down till you see a Firethorn Red 1979 Coupe DeVille with the name Silvester Humaj, and get reading. Then read the others and submit your own if you're fortunate enough to own one of these fine machines!