My First Car: 1992 Pontiac Sunbird SE

"CodyVella" (codyvella)
04/18/2014 at 03:18 • Filed to: None

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about how amazing Pontiac was at selling cars in the late 80s/early 90s made me a little nostalgic. Primarily, it made me miss my first car. Now, I believe everyone misses their first car to an extent. No matter how terrible it was, there's still a small part of you that wants that car back. So, I'll share with you the experience I had with my first car, and I encourage you all to do the same.

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My first car was a salmon pink (or burgundy, whatever) 1992 Pontiac Sunbird SE Coupe. I acquired it from my father, who was about to scrap it (for good reason) and he got it from a long time family friend who bought the ol' girl brand spankin' new in '92.

Under the hood was GMs trusty 3.1L OHV V6, which found its way into every GM ever made between 1985 and 1995. Ever. It was mated to a 3 speed automatic that shifted about as smooth as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Probably the coolest thing about the car (besides its name, obviously) was the interior. I still believe the dash is one of the coolest dashboard, ever. From the wraparound styling to those massive, colourful circular gauges and it's "aviator" e-brake that resembled an aircraft throttle I still love the Sunbird's interior (only the V6 though). It even had an oil pressure gauge alongside a voltmeter. Like GM was saying "In the future, you will need to pay attention to these gauges". It also had a "Check gauges" light to double remind you something had broken. And it had a "SHIFT UP" light.

Now, my Sunbird did have a lot of problems. It had no functioning heat (I live in Central Ontario) and thankfully it never made it to winter. The suspension was shot, in fact, it felt more like a Cadillac listing lazily from bump to bump. The headliner was coming unglued and falling down onto your head. The upper dashboard pad decided it wanted to separate from the rest of the dashboard and start a new life elsewhere. The right front CV shaft had been humming for the entire 25,000kms I had owned the car, and it did the same for the 15,000kms my dad had owned the car. Finally, about two weeks after getting the car the 3,1L V6 decided it wanted to become a 5 cylinder; Volvo style. I never looked into this as a 4 cylinder was more suited to the cars needs. Cylinders 5 & 6 were just added bonuses.

In the end, some guy in a Sunfire (ironic, I know) decided he wanted to see me do a barrel roll, and ran me off the road, thus ending my Sunbird's time on this earth (I only gave it another month anyway). I eventually wound up replacing it with a '98 Neon, which was a whole other world of disappointment.

So, that's my first car story, and I'd love to hear yours!

Parting shot: A Sunbird we tuned into a dune buggy/pickup because why not?

DISCUSSION (10)

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > CodyVella
04/18/2014 at 03:43

The '92 Sunbird was the first car my parents bought new. It shit the bed right after the warranty expired, and I think my parents even had it repo'd at one point because they weren't great with holding on to money.

I used to make designs for cars when I was young, and my brand was called Sunbird, because it always held a special place in my heart. I'm pretty sure my ideas were better than whatever GM was putting out at the time.

In any case, the car sucks objectively, but subjectively it's a gem.

jkm7680 > CodyVella
04/18/2014 at 06:35

Interesting little car. I don't exactly mind it, except the wheels.

Ducky > CodyVella
04/18/2014 at 08:14

my first car was a miserable piece of shit automatic 99 civic coupe. i paid way too much for it ($4500 at 139k and a rebuilt title) it drifted hard to the right, the automatic was awful, and it blew up at 152k. i'm so glad i got rid of that car and bought the mustang. the civic did teach me a lot about what not to do in the car buying process, however

RacecaR > CodyVella
04/18/2014 at 09:25

My first car was a '93 Sunbird. Blue. It was fantastic!! I do believe it was only a 4 cylinder though. But I beat the ever living shit out of that car, and it took it. The engine did lock up on me after it overheated. We had a salvage yard drop in another engine for a little under a grand (about half of what the car was worth!). It ran, kind of, until the day I traded it in. I think the head gasket was going though because it was blowing out a ton of white smoke as I would go down the road. Actually, I remember on the way to trade it in, it was so bad people behind me had to stop to let the smoke clear so they could see where they were going.
But when they took it for a ride to get the value, it did "okay". They gave me $2,000 for it. Suckers.

nevergonnahaveapermanentaccount > RacecaR
04/18/2014 at 10:02

My first car was a sunbird! A white '93 coupe automatic. It was short lived in my inexperienced hands. Rally racing, flat foot driving and abscent minded driving insured it didn't make it one year with me. To be 16...

RacecaR > nevergonnahaveapermanentaccount
04/18/2014 at 10:06

I took mine gravel road driving a lot. A lot of rally type driving. driving through huge puddles, getting sideways on gravel, dipping the rear wheels into a ditch and jumping back out, neutral drops, going full speed then slamming on the brakes in an empty parking lot at 2 in the morning. Fun times. It lasted me a couple years. That car still lives as legend in me and my buddy's memories.
I learned how to really drive in that car.

Oh, and when we hit a big bump, or land after jumping a hill, the glove box would open. It was great.

nevergonnahaveapermanentaccount > RacecaR
04/18/2014 at 10:24

At first I wasn't going to admit to doing neutral drops. I did neutral drops.

These cars, like Neons, were destined for misuse and abuse. Mine took it well and only died when it was struck by a full sized pickup at 50 mph.

DrivenChannel > CodyVella
04/19/2014 at 10:44

My first car was an 86 El Camino, but when I totaled it after a few weeks I got a Jamaica yellow 92 Sunbird base 2 door automatic. Gutless wonder was that cars nickname. I bought it my sophomore year with 22000 miles and sold it to my uncle my senior year with 24000 miles. Why you ask? Because my girlfriend at the time drove an 86 Supra.

Jason Reece > CodyVella
04/19/2014 at 21:57

A friend of mine got a 1991 Sunbird SE (new) for her 16th birthday. It was gray with gray interior, 2.0L 96hp 4-cylinder and 3-speed automatic. The interior was actually one of the relatively few redeeming qualities, I actually liked the design. But it was dreadful to drive, especially compared to the '91 Civic DX that I had at the time. Somehow it we nicknamed it the "Sun-chicken" and she drove that thing all the way thru college. In 1998, she finally traded it for a new Honda Accord.

Brumos59-2 > CodyVella
04/21/2014 at 09:51

My best friend's first car was a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. It was pretty much an indestructible tank except for the head gaskets that would blow like clockwork every 10,000 miles. I bought him a sticker for it that said "Warning: This vehicle may wreck or explode for no apparent reason."