1997 Geo/Chevy Metro
I'd always been very fond of the Geo Metro. It's a pretty unremarkable car, but I liked the proportions and the lines. By the time I started looking for one, they had already long been out of production. I scoured the used car lots and the classified ads, and kept my eyes peeled for anything on the side of the road with a for sale sign on it.
I was able to find one on cars.com that was right in my area. The site listed it as sold, but since it was on a lot just up the road from me I went and checked it out anyway. It was in like-new condition, but unfortunately it was, indeed, sold.
I kind of gave up looking, but then one day I was out and about driving the Z3 around the Finger Lakes. While out on a road that I never drive, I went past a sketchy little used car lot, and there I found a nice little maroon Metro. It was older and more beat up than what I would have hoped for, but there it was and it was exactly what I wanted. Within 48 hours I'd purchased it and driven it back home.
Since it was a slightly junky, older car, I was able to indulge an old habbit and put some fun stickers on the back. Of course I had to do the obligatory Deadhead sticker. The one I used, the "Skull & Roses," was a particular favorite of mine. Then I got a little whacky and stuck a big old BMW insignia sticker I'd had for years. And to make the effect complete I put on the "BMW Palm Springs" license plate frames that came with the Z3. And as the final touches I stuck on the "1.7L" plaque from an old Alliance and the "Turbo" plaque from my old Fuego. You wouldn't believe how many people got fooled by that. On a disturbing number of occasions, someone would ask me, "Is that really a BMW?"
The car served me reasonably well for about a year, but it was subject to electrical glitches. I had to leave the O2 sensor circuit unplugged or it would stall. Finally one day just before I got home the engine cut out on me. I coasted into my own yard, and it let it sit where it lay for a couple years. Eventually I started cleaning house and went looking for those "We'll tow your car away for free" ads, but to my surprise they'd turned into "We'll pay cash for your yucky old car" ads. I got a hundred bucks for it, and was glad to be rid of it.
