Got The Top Pulled Down, Radio On Baby!

Once upon a time, in early 1990, on a whim I test drove a red turbo-charged convertible of some sort from a dealership in Boerne, Texas. I don't even remember what kind of car it was but I knew from that moment that I needed a convertible and would not rest until I had one.

Later that year I saw this stunning blue Pontiac Sunbird convertible for sale at a Chevy dealership in Kerrville and I knew right away that it and I were meant to be .... except that it was way out of my league, price wise.

1990 was also the year that Geo came out with their 2 seater Metro convertible that they built so that the average person could enjoy the fun of driving a Miata, just without the hefty price tag and, well, luxury.

The 1990 Geo Metro was just under 10K and there was a waiting list for them before they even hit the sales floor. I had decided that I wanted a yellow one and as soon as the dealership in San Antonio had one in stock I was there to buy it with pre arranged financing. The thing was though, they wouldn't sell it to me! They were in such high demand that the dealers were hoarding them, waiting for people to buy them that didn't have a trade in or who were willing to pay more than the asking price- the strategy worked, for them anyway.

Meanwhile the stunning blue Pontiac in Kerrville was still for sale and I had been by to visit it several times. It had also accrued several thousand miles from the staff borrowing it so the price had been reduced... not enough though. By winter it was still there and I actually talked to a salesman about it and he told me that convertibles were impossible to sell during the winter and I could certainly get a deal on it. He then took me for a test drive and had me drive by a store front with huge picture windows so I could admire the cars reflection and me in it. The tactic worked but the car was still too expensive for a single mother dispatching for a living.

By February, and me continuing to stop by the dealership, the price of the car had been lowered several thousand dollars. I took possession of it on February 28, 1991 which was coincidentally the one year anniversary of my divorce. I called the car a present to myself for surviving the prior year. (Just as I was taking ownership of the car the dealer remembered they had promised it to someone to be used in a parade and they offered to take another thousand dollars off of it if I would consent to the parade deal! I ended up paying about 10,000 for this car- the same price as the Geo Metro!)

The convertible was immaculate all of the time. I waxed it so much I probably added 10 pounds of extra weight to it. I bought it all of the latest cool car accessories of the time, it was our mode of transportation for Haleys first trip to Disney World and I drove it to Maine and back a time or two. It was very well loved. Plus it was HOT, and so was I when I was driving it. We were attention seekers and finders, I needed that then.

It seems like I owned the blue Pontiac Sunbird convertible for a very long time, but that's probably just because time passes so much slower when you're young. Really, I only owned it until November of 1992. I traded it in on a Pontiac Trans Sport mini van, partially for practical reasons, but more so for emotional ones. It was a very hard but necessary decision.

For years and years after trading that car in I dreamed about it. While I loved the Pontiac Trans Sport too, (and I still have it 19 years later!) there is nothing quite like your first convertible... except for maybe the second one! To be continued.