1987 Plymouth Sundance

I swore after 1975-76 driver's education that I would never drive a Chrysler product because the Fury that we had was broken all the time. It was a challenge to get ones hours in sometimes due to the frequency of the car's mechanical problems. My family drove VWs and Saabs and Ford four wheel drives for winter.

My first car after the family hand me down was a 1982 Ford Escort. It wasn't a bad little car, pretty reliable and fun to drive. I found it squirrelly in the winter--the back end felt like it wanted to come around when driving on snow packed roads. So when it came time for a new car, I was willing to look at other cars.

I saw the ads for the Dodge Shadow on TV and thought it was a cool looking car and so went to the local dealer. I was so ignorant of the ways of Chrysler that I stopped at the Plymouth dealership not knowing the difference. There I test drove a 1987 Sundance, with two doors and the turbo. It was great, felt more stable than the Ford. I took it, thank you very much. Price: $6500 after trade. Since then I have owned two more Chrysler products. It handled well, the turbo made it plenty peppy, the transmission was strong, it was pretty reliable. I did blow the turbo after my long cross country drive to move to Kansas City but it was under warranty and Bud Brown Chrysler (RIP) fixed me right up.

A good car that I wish I could have managed to keep.