For your consideration today, I have a pair of General Motors coupes with some strange similarities. Both were owned by elderly women from new, both are from orphaned brands, and both just need someone to love them and treat them properly. Which one would you give a good home to? Let’s check them out and see.
But first, there is the small matter of yesterday’s scruffy Toyotas. This wasn’t much of a contest at all, as it turns out; not many of you wanted anything to do with that beat-up Lexus LS 400. I don’t blame you. The Previa was just too cool; how else are you going to brag that you drive a mid-engine, forced-induction, all-wheel-drive vehicle without spending supercar money?
Oh, and I should have mentioned, because the ad did, that the Previa is being sold because the owners are moving overseas. That’s all. No one is trying to ditch it before something catastrophic fails. It’s just not worth shipping a 30-year-old van to their new home.
I thought I had today’s cars all figured out. It was going to be the Geo versus something else, but then Matt forwarded me the ad for this Pontiac from member phyrkrakr, and the more I looked at the ad, the more parallels I could draw to the Geo. It was too good of a pairing to pass up. Maybe it’s time to set up some kind of shitbox hotline email for suggestions. (I know there’s a channel on the Discord, but I never seem to be on there.) Anyway, for today, we’re good to go with a couple of grandma-owned GM two-doors. Let’s check them out.
1990 Geo Storm – $2,150
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter OHC inline-4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Redondo Beach, CA
Odometer reading: 58,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
If I told you a car was “low mileage” and “elderly owned,” what sort of car would you picture? A Buick of some description, probably, or a nice simple Plymouth or something. What you probably wouldn’t imagine is this little red number. The Geo Storm was the sportiest member of Chevy’s captive import family in the ’90s, and probably mostly sold to younger buyers. But this one is owned by a 92-year-old woman who recently hung up the keys after putting just 58,000 miles on its odometer.
This is the base-model Storm, with a single overhead cam engine that sends 95 horsepower to the front wheels through a five-speed manual. So not exactly “go granny go,” but quite a bit more amusing to drive than a LeSabre or something. It runs and drives exactly as it should, according to the seller (the owner’s neighbor), and has no mechanical faults. With such low mileage, though, I have to imagine it could use a little exercise; it has probably spent the last 36 years puttering around the same neighborhood.
It’s mostly in good condition inside, but there is this big tear in the seat bolster. The owner likely had some trouble getting in and out, which accelerated wear on the fabric, and once it wore through, it wasn’t long before it looked like this. But if that’s the worst of the wear, that’s not bad at all. It has air conditioning, by the way, but the seller says it “needs a charge at minimum.” At least they’re not trying to downplay what it might need. The door locks are also “wonky,” whatever that means, and the radio is dying.
The paint is pretty faded; I get the feeling this car was parked outside. But there isn’t any rust except on the steel wheels, and those are easy to clean up and repaint if you wish. Otherwise, it should polish up nicely with a little time and elbow grease.
1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: Supercharged 3.8-liter OHV V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Sedalia, MO
Odometer reading: 130,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
This Grand Prix is also a one-owner car, owned by an elderly woman who passed away. “Her grandkids had it for two weeks,” the seller says, “and then we took it away.” That explains a lot about this car’s condition. I have a feeling that it was a lot nicer before those fateful two weeks. Now, it’s banged up, dirty inside, and the old owner would probably be appalled. But if you prefer to look at it from a glass-half-full perspective, because of what the grandkids did, it’s a lot cheaper than it might have been.
It’s a GTP model, with the 240 horsepower supercharged 3800 engine, which I think is part of the problem. Of course the kids got in trouble with it. You can’t trust young drivers with powerful cars and expect things to be hunky-dory. The good news is, it takes longer than two weeks to do any lasting damage to a 3800. The 4T65E-HD transmission may have suffered a bit, but I’m hoping it had good regular maintenance before all this.
Inside, it needs a good cleaning, but it’s in good shape. The GTP came with all sorts of bells and whistles, along with leather seats, which show a little wear but nothing serious. The seller does say everything works, but I think it’s worth verifying that.
One word adequately describes the outside: Ouch. The photos in the ad are not all that good, but we get the general idea. It’s dented on both sides, some of the plastic cladding is coming off, the windshield is cracked, and one taillight lens is broken. The damage is repairable, but is it worth bothering? Apparently the seller doesn’t think so, which is why they’re unloading it cheap.
Neither one of these is what you’d expect an older woman to be driving, really. One is a base model of a sporty economy coupe, and the other is a factory hot rod. It would be interesting to know why the original buyers chose them, but I’m afraid that curiosity is going to go unsatisfied. All we can do now is look at the condition they’re in, and choose which one we’d rather have. So what’ll it be?
Man I thought this was going to be a hard vote. I love w bodies, and a GTP with the SC 3800 is a great drive train, but man what did those kids do the body?
I’m with Angry Bob, drop that into a fiero!
That said I voted storm, 5 speed, new seat (or cover) and would be a fun little run about!
I’ll take the Pontiac, then swap the supercharged 3800 into a Fiero and junk the rest.
Don’t think it’s some kind of magical power plant. It’s not. It barely put out 4.5-5 psi, giving it just a little extra push over the normally aspirated engine, about 40 hp. When my last transmission was showing signs of distress, I pulled the belt on the supercharger, hoping the slight power reduction would extend what life transmission #2 had left in it. If you’re wondering, the car passed smog. The supercharger not spinning doesn’t affect emissions or anything else. Fuel and air intake isn’t affected.
Yeah I had a former co-worker with the Buick Regal version, and he did the same thing so he could run cheaper gas and get slightly better fuel mileage. Stock these things are surprisingly docile, but you can turn them up quite a bit before they go boom.
I do like the Grand-Prix,but that Geo is a great little thing. Are you able to get replacements seats for them still? I vote for it regardless.
Storm for sure. Those were neat little cars.
Also, the High on Fire album Cometh the Storm is fantastic, and I’m seeing them next week.
I get grandmother vibes looking at both cars. And a realization that my maternal and paternal grandmothers were very different women.
I was ready to come in here and say Grand Prix all day! I owned a red ’97 GTP. It ran like a champ with 225,000 miles when it went to the junkyard due to rust. I love that car and wish I still had it.
But…
I don’t like cars that are all dented to hell like the GP is.
If I was desperate, and was looking for a good daily driver for cheap, I’d go with the GP (as long as stuff checked out).
I’m not desperate right now, so my money would go to the Geo.
I’d rather ride in a Storm than look like I rode through one.
Both of these are good deals and I don’t say that often.
The Poncho would be good for hooning or Lemons, but not as a daily. It’s a great powertrain wrapped in a dented tin can and a soiled Depends. Yuck.
For my money, it’s the low mileage Geo. Low-powered but light, it’ll be a fun and reliable little errand-runner thanks to granny’s choice of tranny. And remember – this wasn’t really an old woman’s car. She was only 56 when she spec’d this.
Grand Prix. Whatever is going on with the bodywork will buff right out.
Storm.
Slowcarfast. I would absolutely smash through all forward gears as fast as possible at every traffic light – I’m sure I’d never get a speeding ticket, either.
The Grand Prix is the midwest’s predecessor to the Altima in terms of the kind of 2nd/3rd/4th owners they tended to attract, especially the blown ones. See: what these grandkids did to this one. The Storm, even in base form, seems like the more fun choice. Just gotta find a new seat.
Grand Prix!
Gaaaaaaah! Can I have both? $3700 investment for a good bodied Storm and the driveline of the GTP, a few hundred $$ for ancillaries and cold snacks while I weld the two together? Sounds like a dream.
Had to go with the Storm simply due the Altima-esque body of the GTP.
The Storm. Impulse decision. Plus, even after just two weeks, the grandkids probably made sure the GTP reeks of raspberry vape.
Storm. Manual, lightweight, easy on fuel, decent condition.
They can blame the grandkids if they want, but the amount of embedded grime in the interior of that Grand Prix shows it was neglected long before they got ahold of it. They didn’t do all of that in 2 weeks. I think that car lived a hard life, and it may well have been Meemaw who put all the body damage on it before passing on.
My conclusions as well.
I’ll take the Grand Prix. My sister has a non-supercharged version that was also an old lady car and it’s been great to her. Shame about the grandkids but it still looks good enough to me for $1500.
Surprised that Geo is still listed. Even as a base model it would be a fun little car to drive around.
Initially I was a torn as the Geo’s front seat. Then I saw the body damage on the Grand Prix.
A little 2-door, 5-speed Storm looks more fun today.
I’ll be a rider of the Storm. Easy choice.
Yep, I’m ridin’ the Storm out, too.
I’ll take the rebadged Isuzu Impulse, please, and with the money left over in the Strictly For Fun Car budget I would add a few minor handling enhancements to a car that really needs very little in that department, and freshen up the interior and paint.
The faded Isuzu – it’s a no-brainer.
I want to go for Grand Prix, but damn it is beat to hell. The Storm is more honest and probably easier to fix.
For the money I feel either one of these would be a solid choice, but the better color and 5 speed is what made me pick the Storm
Both?
Both.
But since that’s not an option today, Grand Prix. The Geo is a double orphan. Geo and Isuzu have been gone waaaaay too long for anything but oil to be available at a parts store.