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"Oh, what a feeling—Geo!!"
(ha, ha)




 
  

The second new car I ever bought was in 1991... I traded in our Miata (along with my old 1976 Ford F-100 pickup) to get something completely different, this 1991 Geo Tracker (now Chevrolet Tracker). Frankly I would've preferred the Suzuki Sidekick (identical car by the actual manufacturer, Suzuki) but turns out an old NCR buddy Jack Winrotte was selling cars at Love Chevrolet so I figured, What the heck—I could live with the ridiculous "Geo" nameplate if it would support an old pal... (Geo was Chevrolet's brand name for inexpensive Japanese cars they sold; in this case they resold the Suzuki Sidekick as the Geo Tracker.)

It was a great car! Perfect segue from my recent sports cars to more utilitarian vehicles yet without feeling like I was giving up any fun... Driving to the beach with my surfboard sticking out the back impressed even Brad (and he lived at the beach)!





 
It was also the first truly trouble-free car I'd ever owned... That probably "ruined" me in a way, as now I don't think I can ever go back to dealing with constant maintenance & routine breakdowns like I did in the early days (I'm talking about you, Tempest & Fiero)... I don't even carry a toolbox anymore! Now I've gone all soft... On the other hand it helped clarify my eventual realization and acknowledgement that I don't so much like working on cars as I like knowing how to work on cars... Big difference.

 


 
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  And hey, it really was a fun car, too... When I moved to San Diego the removable jeep-style top would just stay in storage from July thru November (roughly our 'fire' season when rain simply doesn't happen). You can't lock/secure a Tracker anyway, top or no top... (Really, the top is just another item to be stolen.) I kept the glove-box locked but simply learned to keep nothing in the car that couldn't easily/cheaply be replaced.

I kept the Tracker for a good 10 years, until finally the onboard computer went out, to the tune of $900. I figured its reliable days were just about over so I promptly replaced it with the RAV4.

        Fiero

        Miata

        BMW 320i

         Tempest

         Gearhead

         Current Car

 



 

 

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