You know what they say about a sucker being more every minute. I really felt like one the minute I drove this thing home from the dealership in December of 1993.
Back in late 1989, I replaced my wretched but fetching, 1982 Buick Riviera with my first (and only) brand new car purchase; a 1990 Chevrolet Lumina Euro. I don't have any pictures of myself with the Riviera car but I do have this picture with a Riviera drop top I came across on a jaunt in the Hamptons in 1988 or 1989. Not my car but those are my shorts and Reebok high tops.
My 1990 Lumina was rock solid reliable compared to my Riviera and of course, I took it for granted. I didn't have any trouble with it in the four years I owned it: the Riviera couldn't go four weeks without a major repair. I thought it quite handsome as well at least in comparison to anything else on the road at the time that I could afford.
If I had any issue with the car it was with it's 3.1 liter, "MultiPort FI" V-6. Making just 135 horsepower and 175 pounds of torque, while it moved my fairly light Euro amply, it motivation was far from sporty. When GM introduced the "Twin Dual Cam" V-6 for 1991 with a rib snorting 210 horsepower, a scant year after I dropped $15,000 for my new car, I was steamed because had I waited, I would've skipped the Euro and grabbed a "Z34". One more year would've meant one more year with the Riviera and that was not going to happen and what with a monster commute I had at the time, the prospect of driving another used car didn't sit well with me. So, while I drove my Euro I had my eye on a "Z".
I test drove several "Z's" before I traded in the Euro for my '94 in December of '93. On test drives, I thought the Z34 a very strong performer as well as a great looking upgrade to the Euro. Most importantly, the "Twin Dual Cam" V-6 provided great fun. It could really go...when I crushed the gas pedal from a dead stop. I don't recall if I noticed just how unresponsive the gigantic engine was when I wasn't burying the gas pedal.
Well, when the car is your own, you don't slam the gas to the floor every time you get behind the wheel of it. In fact, I've never done that to any car I've owned. That's what your car or rentals are for. In everyday driving, the "TDC" had very little of torque at the low end of its power band. That was typical of overhead cam engines years ago and in particular the "TDC". What's more, the "TDC" was a noisy engine. When running, it sounded as though a bunch of marbles were banging around inside the valve covers. To makes even worse, the "TDC" was far less fuel efficient than the 3.1 was.
On the drive home from the dealership I was immediately beside myself with buyer's remorse. I had traded in my paid off, trusty Lumina Euro for a sluggish, expensive, less fuel efficient lump that would go back to the dealership so frequently it reminded me of the Riviera. When the lease was up I happily returned it when the term was up. "Twin Dual Cam V-6 and all.
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