1989 Chevrolet Celebrity 2.5FI

[jetsetter]

My brother just got his license and now he just got this Celebrity. I know, it kicks ass.




Iron Duke!!!!!


The 2.5L I4 apparently produced 98hp when new but now, who knows.....

[Spectre]

Minus 50 Car Guy points for admitting that someone in your family would willingly buy one of those heaps.

I mean, it's not in bad shape, but it's such a horrible car...

[thedguy]

Ok... show us the real pics. I find it hard to believe there is a running Chevy Celebrity still in existence.

[Spectre]

He didn't actually say it ran...

[Lurch0001]

Wait, wait ... You mean Chevy actually made a car and called it the Celebrity?! And people bought it?!?!

[jetsetter]

It runs quite well. Only has 99,000 miles and cost $500. He bought it from our uncle.

Ok... show us the real pics. I find it hard to believe there is a running Chevy Celebrity still in existence.

I'm guessing this is one of the lowest mileage Celebrities in existence.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Lurch0001

Wait, wait ... You mean Chevy actually made a car and called it the Celebrity?! And people bought it?!?!

Yup. People didn't buy that many of them after the first couple of years because they were so horrible. Mostly they were fleet and rental cars.

This was the POS that GM told us that we wanted to buy (the domestics were still telling their customers what the customers wanted and not listening to what the customers were saying). Is it any wonder that in 1989 (same year as this car), the best selling car in the US was the Honda Accord?

To borrow a line from Clarkson: "[This car] made millions of people stand up and as one declare, 'I want to buy something else.'"

Originally Posted by jetsetter

It runs quite well. Only has 99,000 miles and cost $500. He bought it from our uncle.

Which means it has *maybe* 1K left on it before it completely and spontaneously disintegrates.

[jetsetter]

He won't be driving it all that much so it should last a little while. And in the end it only cost $500 so eh.

My uncle was a detective and I he got this car when he became a detective.

[Lurch0001]

^ y'know, I was just looking at the pics and thinking "It looks like a cop car from an American TV show or something..."

[jetsetter]

Originally Posted by Lurch0001

^ y'know, I was just looking at the pics and thinking "It looks like a cop car from an American TV show or something..."

Yeah, I believe they sold a few to the police.

I've been checking out opinions on this site:
http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Chevrolet_Celebrity.html

It seems that it was the earlier models with the extremely serious problems. The later models had their problems but not as bad as the earlier years.

[jetsetter]

[Spectre]

As I said - fleet and rental cars.

[Punisher Bass]

My god that inside brings back memories. It looks so much like the inside of the 88 Park Avenue my dad used to have. Oh how I hated that car.

[Spectre]

That would be because it was essentially the same car - slightly different platform, though.





We *all* hated those cars.

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Which means it has *maybe* 1K left on it before it completely and spontaneously disintegrates.

Wait... the Celebrity is a British made car?

Originally Posted by Spectre

This was the POS that GM told us that we wanted to buy (the domestics were still telling their customers what the customers wanted and not listening to what the customers were saying).'"

Ford and Chrysler were doing the same thing, all 3 have been guilty of this up until what... 2 years ago?

For some reason I'm reminded of the Impala SS of the early-mid-90's and I'm struggling to understand why GM killed that off when it was still gaining in sales in '96. Short of the C5 'Vette it was about the only car GM sold that wasn't an ugly heap of shit (it was just a heap of shit).

[Labcoatguy]

^^They killed off the Impala SS (and the Caprice and Roadmaster and that pimp Oldsmobile wagon) to retool the plant they were made in, either to make newer FWD stuff or SUVs. Shame, really, because I wouldn't mind one of those cop-lookalike cars with an LS1 drivetrain.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by thedguy

Wait... the Celebrity is a British made car?

No - remember that the A-body cars were part of the GM planned obsolescence line-up. Around 100K they just suddenly started falling apart - system after system, part after part.

Remember the conversation we had? http://forums.finalgear.com/showthre...ostcount483115

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by Labcoatguy

^^They killed off the Impala SS (and the Caprice and Roadmaster and that pimp Oldsmobile wagon) to retool the plant they were made in, either to make newer FWD stuff or SUVs. Shame, really, because I wouldn't mind one of those cop-lookalike cars with an LS1 drivetrain.

Hell the LT drivetrain was awesome as well. 330lbs-ft of torque from 2000 rpms up, I'd take it. I just don't understand why they dropped it. The Caprice was a far better cop mobile than the Ford (in fact it's STILL superior), the Impala was still gaining (large amounts of) sales and looked great. I honestly think GM seriously fucked up a good thing by killing it.

Originally Posted by Spectre

No - remember that the A-body cars were part of the GM planned obsolescence line-up. Around 100K they just suddenly started falling apart - system after system, part after part.

Remember the conversation we had? http://forums.finalgear.com/showthre...ostcount483115

Ah forgot about that. Normally I give some respect to American cars cause they don't like to completely die, feed them a few cheap parts for a few decades and they'll keep going.

[chaos386]

Our family used to have a Celebrity station wagon. Aside from the fact that some of the air from the A/C came through the door handle/lock area, I don't recall any real problems with the car. I was only eight at the time, though.