Spring is in full bloom, and on Sunday it was time to celebrate the warmth and sun with another trek to Skinner Butte. I always pull out my camera as I approach the summit, because inevitably there will be something to shoot. And once again, I’m not disappointed; a fine Chevy Celebrity (never mind the Sunfire). Maybe we should petition the city to change its name to CC Butte.
We haven’t done a lot of Celebrity-ing around here for a while; it was exactly two years ago that it had its CC here, by Tom Klockau. It’s been rather under-represented, considering how many Olds and Buick A-Bodies of this generation we’ve indulged in.
Of course, the Celebrity wasn’t built seemingly forever like the Century and Cutlass Ciera. 1990 was the Celebrity’s final year, while the Buick and Olds fleet queens were made all the way through 1996, an unbelievably long run by Big Three standards; maybe even a record of sorts.
I’m not an expert on divining the years of these cars, but I do know it’s from the latter part of it run, given the 2.8 MPFI badge, composite head lights, and the interior, which looks a bit different from the early ones. Doesn’t that bring back happy memories of being given a Celebrity at a rental counter? That distinctive roarty exhaust sound, totally out of character, and that inimitable feel of the front subframe moving slightly sideways under hard acceleration? Or at least feeling like it did? Sweet memories indeed.