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I used to be an unapologetic import snob.
After my Dad's 81 Citation and my 84 Celebrity when I was younger, I swore that I would never own another American car. By 2000, my wife was driving a Lexus GS-400 and I was driving a Porsche 911.
I impulse bought the Porsche off the showroom floor in a moment of stock bubble exuberance. At the time, there was a waiting list, but this was an extra allocation to the local Porsche dealer from the Seattle Auto Show (the window sticker said that the dealer was the Seattle Auto Show).
After almost a year with the Porsche, it just wasn't doing it for me, especially considering the amount of money I had tied up in it. So with less than 9000 miles on the odometer, I traded it (at a huge loss) for a 2000 Corvette convertible.
Since that Corvette, I haven't looked back. I *loved* that car, and would never have believed that GM could build it. I've since upgraded to a 2008 Corvette convertible for summer driving and have the 2011 Camaro SS for my daily driver.
I also have a 2004 Cavalier that I bought to tow behind our motorhome. Actually, I should say that I think I have a 2004 Cavalier. Somehow, my 17 year old son has - with the help of my wife - adopted it as his own.
My owning a Camaro is actually an offshoot of my son starting to drive. We live in an area where it's not practical to get along without a car (even though I live in near Seattle, we are 10 miles from the nearest grocery store, and there are no bus stops anywhere near). I wanted to get him a beater car so that he could learn to work on it. But my wife insisted that he use my Cavalier because she wanted him in a reliable car. Since I was using the Cavalier as a daily driver in winter, I told her that if she gave him the Cavalier, I would need to get myself a new daily driver. I was clear that I was going get a nicer car and not just a straight replacement. I told her that I was thinking BMW 3 series or the like. It was a bit of a bluff because I really didn't want to spend that much money on an extra car, but she called my bluff. I gave myself a $25k budget and started shopping. I drove lots of cars, but fell in love with the Camaro. I was originally going to get a V6, but my Chevy dealer (who had, by now, sold me 5 new cars previously) made me an offer that I couldn't pass up on a 2SS/RS that had been on the lot for a while. It was optioned exactly the way I would have ordered it and was my first choice in color.
So now I am a reformed import snob and am happy to have 3 Chevrolets. I am also happy to be buying from an American company. My wife's current Acura MDX is over 220K miles and will need to be replaced soon. You can be sure that we are going to look at GMs offerings in our search.
-Wade
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