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How I Became Cadillac and Then Came to Hate Cadillac
I was working in Facilities Engineering at IBM at the time and my car buddies there started calling me Cadillac. Especially Wubba. It kind of stuck. I guess its one handle I didn't mind having. Anyway, I worked on it with a very limited budget until about 1985 when I sold it for $300. I had it running, and had the front seat rebuilt so there was at least a seat to sit on. You can read all about it here. Owning this car and working on it earned me the nickname Cadillac amongst my co-workers. I learned abou the history of Cadillac, and Henry Leyland. I came to admire the marquee. About 1992, I was invited to go up to Northfield Park in Cleveland and test drive new Cadillacs in the parking lot. They had all models of Caddies with the new Northstar Systems in them. Those cars were very impressive. I fell in love with the STS and wanted one ever since. In 1998, when I decided I needed a new car, I was looking at used STSs but then when I found the Regal GS, I felt it was close to an STS for much less money so I bought that. Finally, after wanting a Caddy for years, Cadillac came out with a reasonably priced car, and it had a manual transmission. I couldn't resist. I bought a Caddy to drive as a full time car, a 2003 CTS. I really enjoyed driving the Cadillac. It was comfortable and having a 5 speed manual transmission was a lot of fun to drive. I was suprised at how often people made a comment about the car. That only happened while I had the 18 inch wheels on it though. It had a GPS navigation unit built in which I learned to really appreciate. It was really nice to be able to not have to collect maps and plan out trips. Just get in, dial in the address and drive. But I came to hate the car. The problem was that it broke down all too often, and when it did it wasn't easy or cheap to fix. The first problem was while it was still under warranty. The real axle hub seal was leaking. I took it to the local Cadillac dealer and they ordered the part. I had to go to Detroit and they told me it would make it to Detroit and back so I went. On the way home, the air conditioner quit working. I was on I75 Southbound and there was construction going on so I was at a crawl and I was very warm. When I got back and took it in for the rear axle seal I told them to check out the AC and they wound up replacing the compressor. I think the car had about 32k miles on it. Next came the variable steering solenoid, then the crankcase vent system, then the crankshaft position sensor, and finally the drive shaft coupler. That was the last straw and with 90k miles I traded the thing. I got $9,000 for it and was glad to get that. I had paid $21,000 only three years before. A couple of Cadillac Songs that I really like:
One Piece AT A Time:(Here it and see it on YouTube)Well, I left Kentucky back in '49 An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry 'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black. One day I devised myself a plan That should be the envy of most any man I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand. CHORUS I'd get it one piece at a time And it wouldn't cost me a dime You'll know it's me when I come through your town I'm gonna ride around in style I'm gonna drive everybody wild 'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round. So the very next day when I punched in With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends I left that day with a lunch box full of gears Now, I never considered myself a thief GM wouldn't miss just one little piece Especially if I strung it out over several years. The first day I got me a fuel pump And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome The little things I could get in my big lunchbox Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home. Now, up to now my plan went all right 'Til we tried to put it all together one night And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong. The transmission was a '53 And the motor turned out to be a '73 And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone. So we drilled it out so that it would fit And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit We had that engine runnin' just like a song Now the headlight' was another sight We had two on the left and one on the right But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on. The back end looked kinda funny too But we put it together and when we got thru Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin About that time my wife walked out And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin." So we drove up town just to get the tags And I headed her right on down main drag I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around But up there at the court house they didn't laugh 'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds. CHORUS I got it one piece at a time And it didn't cost me a dime You'll know it's me when I come through your town I'm gonna ride around in style I'm gonna drive everybody wild 'Cause I'll have the only one there is around. (Spoken) Ugh! Yow, RED RYDER This is the COTTON MOUTH In the PSYCHO-BILLY CADILLAC Come on Huh, This is the COTTON MOUTH And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there RED RYDER You might say I went right up to the factory And picked it up, it's cheaper that way Ugh!, what model is it? |
