Faults:

Very poorly constructed.

Parts of the taillight assembly fell off when I closed the trunk.

Terrible MPG for its small size and V6. I was getting about 15 city and 17 highway.

It rode like a lumber wagon.

Lots of road noise.

Difficult to find tires and wheels, because the fronts were 14 inch and the rears 15 inch.

Power windows in the back were not operable.

General Comments:

It really shouldn't be anyone's first choice:

It lacked luxury.

It lacked fuel economy.

It lacked utility.

It lacked performance.

It lacked purpose.

It had that infamous early '90's white paint that F.M.C and G.M. also used. The joke is it starts peeling upon the car's first visit to a car wash.

The brakes spontaneously went out while my mother was driving it in the grocery store parking lot. She ran into a vehicle and the air bags deployed, filling the car with dust and a smell of expired fireworks. She was otherwise unharmed, but she was wearing the seat belt and the car was travelling MAYBE 10 mph.

The good?

It had a cool hood ornament.

The A/C still worked.

Faults:

Gas line was leaked, had to be replaced.

Rear bearings had to be replaced.

Transmission leaking.

General Comments:

I think there are times when you "bond" with a car in a way that always stays with you. This was one of those times.

With four doors, a white paint job, and admittedly "grandpa" styling, this was no sex machine. Still, I loved my Barry (that is what I called him. I don't know why I just did)

This car was a TANK in the four years that I had it, not once did it fail to start. Faithfully roaring to life (and I do mean roar, the exhaust was iffy) whether it be 95 degrees out, or 8 below. Many people seem to have problems with excessive smoking with this engine, I just had routine oil changes, and put in STP oil treatment, and the car seemed quite content. Decent gas mileage, the engine performed reasonably well, but hills were a source of frustration. It was a heavy car, he took a while getting to the top.

I had known that the "Ultra-drive" transmission might be an issue when getting the car, but I did it anyway. You had to drive the car a certain way; Hit the gas and the tranny would become confused and slam shifts. If you went to slow, it would slip between gears. If you drove at a moderate acceleration it delivered crisp, concise shifts. Maybe that's just my thinking, but it worked for me. Toward the end it did leak really bad, which I took it to somebody who said it the transmission pan needed welded. 3 weeks later it started leaking again. Whatever.

I would still be driving this car today, in fact I planned on driving in into the ground, but this past January I slid into a chain-linked fence. The air-bag still worked! And as a testament to his toughness, the car was still running, didn't miss a beat!

I miss my Barry. He was more than a car, he was my amigo. I shall think of him often.