’97 Blazer image from period advertising.
I’m proud of my driving. I’ve honed my skills and driven some just under 3 million miles with only one chargeable accident and two speeding tickets. Then, it happened: we were rear-ended, two times.
So there we were, my daughter Melissa, then 3, and me driving to the store. All seemed to be going well, and it was a beautiful day in Davie Florida. I was at a traffic light in our 96 Geo Prizm… I’ll pause a moment until the laughter dies down! Just remember, I was younger and not thinking clearly. I mean, who goes from one child to two, and trades in a ’92 4-door Blazer for a Geo?
1996 Prizm image from the web.
Ok, here is the scene, told before but now in more detail: the first light turned green so the Mercedes 500SL sedan in front of me and I moved forward to the next light, the approximate distance of 4 blocks. The Chevy K1500 with a winch realized he was missing his green light, and must have assumed the one we were sitting at was ready to change, so he hit the long pedal hard.
As I watched in my rearview mirror, I had both feet on the brakes, not wanting an airbag deployment or to meet the SL in front. The Chevy truck hit us at 35, per the police officer, pushing me into the Benz. Then a Maxima hit the truck pushing me even further into the SL.
The most frightening part; the pacifier in Melissa’s mouth hit the windshield and it was a hard hit. Oh, as I held my crying daughter, the truck’s owner motioned to approach him. He asked if we were all good, and offered me a stick of gum (?). Yeah, and his left leg was in a cast up to the knee, so that seemed safe.
After arguing with my insurance company, they felt sure they could make our Prizm “as good as new.” We got it back and decided to drive it to Charlotte for a vacation. However, between it not handling well, leaking water from both rear doors, and just feeling very loosened up, Cindy and I did something I’d have never imagined… We bought a car while on vacation!
When arriving at my mom and sister’s home, we asked them to please watch our son and daughter, telling them that we “needed to run a few errands.”
We drove that Geo to the first Chevrolet store I could find, walked in, and approached the first sales associate I saw. “Hi. We are Chip and Cindy from Florida. We just dragged, uh drove that fine machine up here and we will NOT be driving it back!”
After looking, we found what we wanted; an end-of-year ’97 Chevrolet Blazer LS four-door. Dark green over grey cloth, the two things that were attractive to us were; first we had owned a 92, written about here, which was a great vehicle, and second, was that the ’97 was the last year Blazer without a passenger airbag.
1997 Blazer interior image from the web.
What a nice truck. We felt that GM people had done a terrific job of improving the S series over the years. The 4.3 was just a wee bit less powerful, but it made up in its refinement, better fuel economy, and smoother operation. I also chose the Touring suspension and trailing package. Again, having a business then, leasing was the better way to have a vehicle, per the fine folks at a place called IRS. Plus GM used to run some nice deals.
The first drive was up into the mountains, to Tweetsie Railroad, the Mast Farm Inn, and just around Charlotte. We figured that way, if any issues showed, we were close to the dealer. With no issues, squeaks, or rattles, it was time to head home. With the kids, car seats, and all our luggage, it was perfectly suited for our family.
We liked that Blazer on the freeway. It did 19-20mpg, had just the right firmness and I liked the power band.
Actual photo of our S10 Blazer.
Once home, as we had always done, Cindy and I would switch cars every few weeks since one was a lease and one we owned. We always managed to come in below, or right at the allowable lease miles.
When we moved to Ohio in 99 to help my single sister raise her three kids, the Blazer was treated to a nice trailer and a rest. The only thing that ever happened that negatively affected our great experience was that our newly built home hadn’t received the blacktop. Cindy pulled up on the slightly inclined gravel driveway which had some snow on it, and as she got out, the Blazer lost its grip and knocked her down with the driver’s door. We began to park on the street after that.
As we drew near to the lease’s end, we looked at another Blazer. But my wife had a better idea: a newer but not brand new GMC Safari – another story for another day.
The Blazer had tough competition from all sides- some that offered a V8, others that were way more refined smoother, and quieter, and even far better build quality. But for us, 3 times total, the S10 was a good balance between price, the overall cost of ownership, and reliability.
Great story, I know the areas you describe real well! Hope you made it to the Candy Barrel in Valle Crucis. I had a 1998 four door GMC Jimmy, the first car my wife and I bought. I liked it a lot, although everyone seemed to rag on this generation as being behind the Explorer and JGC. 4.3, 4WD, cloth seats, power everything. It was a smooth, quiet car on the highway. I don’t remember the MPG’s. It was the “pewter” color that every other GM truck seemed to be at the time, more champagne looking than silver.
We traded it because it would cut off at random times. Maybe we had a defective ignition switch which became a big liability for GM many years later? IIRC they replaced the ignition switch under warranty, but it kept happening anyway. Sometimes the engine would not cut off, but you would lose headlights and dash gauges and have to wiggle the switch. When the engine and headlights cut off going down the interstate late one night, I said enough. We had two toddlers and I couldn’t put them in the car again.
We couldn’t really afford to trade at the time, but I traded it on a new 2001 4Runner. Awesome vehicle. Then we had a third child, and three infant and/or booster seats would not fit (safely and correctly) across the rear seat of the 4Runner. Dang. Next stop was a loaded white 2003 Chrysler Town & Country AWD, another great vehicle we called “The Egg”.
What’s the problem with a passenger side air bag?
It probably wasn’t a federal requirement. So, in a typical penny-pinching move, GM decided to skip it and make more money. Air bags were a hot theft item back in the day, but not so much today. Somewhat similar to current catalytic converter theft.
Regardless, I can’t feature GM passing on the savings, either. Just another one of those GM ‘gotchas’ the buyer doesn’t find out about until long after the purchase.