The Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima have been receiving a lot of acclaim since the new models surfaced. And it is well deserved, as the cars have really upped their game in the mid-size sedan segment. They are both available in three flavours: normally aspirated, turbo, and hybrid. Also, they have some of the most unique and pretty sheet metal in comparison to their competitors.

Underneath it all, the Sonata and Optima are basically the same architecture. However, they answer the mid-size sedan question in very different ways.

 Loading ...

Thanks to Mike Bumbeck over at the Hemmings Blog, my memories of driving around in a Chevette as a child have been reignited.

Our Chevette was a lemon by any standard. It would occasionally break down for no reason, smell as if it were setting itself on fire, or self-destruct certain gauges, causing the driver to misjudge current vehicle conditions, such as the fuel level.

But, our Chevette was much more prone to sickness than others, for whatever reason. We knew of other families that had Chevettes that rarely had issues. I even had friends later on in life that used them as daily beaters, still reliable as ever.

These days, I hardly ever see a Chevette on the road. When I do, I kind of get a little excited. Sure, they had next to no power and they handled like a shopping cart with a wobbly wheel caster. I just think back to the days when my mother would let me sit on her lap, holding the steering wheel, as we drove down the road close to our home. At that age, I actually thought I was driving the car. Maybe this is the one defining moment in my childhood that got me addicted to cars in the first place.

So, for that, thank you Chevrolet for building the Chevette. Maybe you will build another car that is as memorable (to me) as the Chevette someday.

[Photo by mark.mitchell.brown]