I came across these old photos of a younger me playing in the falling snow alongside my mother’s 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee and my Aunt Kathy’s 1997 Toyota Camry. My grandfather’s Eighty-Eight was given exclusive rights to the garage during storms like the one pictured. There is no date marked, but this picture would have to be either from the winter of 1997-98 or 1998-99. Those would’ve been the only two winters there could have been any overlap in ownership of the Jeep and the Toyota. I’m almost certain this was taken during the first of those two winters, probably in January or February of ’98, when we received significant snowfall. That would make me 4 years old when these pictures were taken.
I really miss the navy blue Grand Cherokee. It was my mom’s first Jeep, and the first of her cars that I remember. Notice how low the beltline is, making for windows large enough for a small child to actually see what was outside. Perched on my booster seat, these were my windows on the world.
Also seen in the background are our neighbor Nancy’s Chevy Astro and to the upper right, the Mazda B-Series pickup owned by our neighbor Mr. Jarvis.
This picture is of me and Kathy cleaning off her fairly new ’97 Camry. It was a pretty basic LE model, but nonetheless a comfortable, right-sized car. It was the second of Kathy’s three Toyotas, between her ’93 Corolla and ’01 Camry.
Winter was so much more fun when I was a kid and didn’t have to worry about driving in the snow!
Nice story and photo. I remember a 94 Grand Cherokee 5,2 V8 Limited I once had. Fast, and I have to say, thirsty for it’s sice, very thirsty. But It was good in the snow, relatively noisy at highwayspeeds and a harsh ride. European specs of american SUVs almost always is with the harshest suspension package.
But, I kind of miss the Jeep, it was very practical.
Until you mentioned that Jeep was blue, I thought it was green. Probably because it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one that isn’t green. I’ve liked GCs all the way up to the current generation, which just doesn’t seem like a Jeep anymore to me.
I rode in one of these in a 5 hour trip to go canoeing. It had the straight six if I remember right, and it seemed to be comfortable and competent enough. Horrible reputation for reliability though, at least among people I know who had them. I think the bumper even fell off during one magazine test, maybe Car & Driver?
My mom was actually lucky with this Grand Cherokee – so lucky that she bought a second one in 1999. The ’99 was a reliability nightmare.
I personally really like the current Grand Cherokee though, more than any since the ’93-’98s. Very luxurious, and lightyears forward in quality.
You know I was going to post my reasons for not liking the new one, but then I realized I was mixing it up with the Durango. Similar platform, world of difference in appeal. The Grand Cherokee still retained and arguably improved its off-road ability and sharp looks. Durango is a pretentious kid hauler.
I love that Camry. I hadn’t really seen any Camrys in 1998 being from the Midwest, but we went on a vacation down South and they were everywhere! I especially loved the beige/brown with those little hubcaps like your aunt’s; I don’t know why, but I just love the look. I’ve heard they’re pretty good cars still today.
Depends on what part of the midwest you were in I suppose. I live in southern Indiana and Camrys were thick on the road here by that time. We bought our first Camry in 1993 and I certainly didn’t think we were getting anything exotic. Toyota has made Camrys at the Georgetown, KY plant since the late 1980’s.
Considering Southern Indiana borders Kentucky, which is the South… I’m clearly a bit more Midwestern than that. I wouldn’t suspect you thought a Camry was exotic–they just didn’t exist in large numbers here, and still don’t (except in larger cities).
I am just surprised to hear that; I thought Camrys were ubiquitous everywhere in the U.S., like “Classic Rock Radio”, light beer and cockroaches. One learns something new everyday 🙂
15 years later, yes there are more Camrys now (in larger cities), but not ubiquitous like the Detroit 3 (2?); however, I’ve never seen a cockroach thankfully.
I concur about winter being WAY more fun as a kid! My kids go to bed praying for a snow day….I go to bed dreading waking up 90+ minutes early to clear the driveway and build a cushion into my commute time 🙂
The best cure for the wintertime blues is a snowmobile. I used to love winter until I sold mine. Now I wonder why I still live here.
Late 90s camrys are good cars till engine starts to knock.i have seen some with some series oil leaking like the entire motor oil will be gone in 5 minutes.86 to 96 camrys are by far better choices.
Not sure I’m ready to look at more snow today. I have been dealing with the aftermath of a storm in central Indiana, in today dealing with computer issues caused by the power outage that we had.
Yesterday was better, at -15F, there was just no reason to go out in it. Today it is in single digits, so time to deal with the stuff in the driveway.
I can attest that those Camrys were (and are) all over my area. And in small-town northwest Ohio, my stepmom is on her third Camry.
Yeah haha, not the best timing. I scheduled this several weeks ago, and didn’t even think to change it. I lost power for 4 days last winter during Nemo, so I know your pain. I’m currently in Florida for the week, which honestly feels like what Massachusetts should normally feel like in January (30s) minus the snow.
Great pics! This Grand Cherokee is very similar to one that one of my best friends bought in ’95 (his was a dark green Laredo). Great vehicle, and I spent a lot of time in it, including an extended period where he left it with us when he had a 6-month overseas assignment. It started my Grand Cherokee love, as it convinced me to buy a 2000 (some issues with that one, but the Jeepness was great). I liked Jeep enough that I was willing to try again when the most current redesign came out, and I loved it, so I just got a new 2014 with the minor refresh.
I sympathize with the horrible weather. Chicago ‘burbs were -18 with a windchill of -47. For a New Orleans boy like me, this is truly Hell on earth. NOLA right now isn’t much better, as my mother told me it went down to 13 there last night, and she is totally freaking out.
I like Jeeps. I’ve had a ’89 Cherokee, ’93, ’96, ’02 Grand Cherokee, but they’re just not practical for the way I use a vehicle these days. The last one with 4.7L V8 got about 13-15 mpg.
My ’96 and ’02
Ugh. Jeep strong like bull. 🙂 I currently have a ’96 with the “forever” straight 6. Bumpy ride in town, not bad at highway speeds. Kind of reminds me of some of the sheriff’s cars I’ve ridden and driven in the past. But those sixes were rock crushers, and worth 20 mpg on the highway, as mine still does.
In February ’98 I was a senior in high school and Dad had a ’95 Grand Cherokee Orvis edition. Moss Green with Roan Red side moldings, green-accented alloys and Champagne leather with green leather inserts and red piping. We saw one on the turntable at the ’95 Chicago Auto Show and both Dad and I fell for it hard. He got his a couple months later and enjoyed it for four years until he got a ’99 Volvo V70R.
I drove that Jeep many times and it was really nice.