In 1991 we were still burdened by a 55 mph national speed limit.
Performance was coming back, via both Mustang and Camaro’s, a Corvette boasted
300 hp, and GM was all abuzz about the launching of their new division, Saturn.
An American built car to take on the imports, we’ve heard that one before, it
was a whole new division, a whole new car with plastic body panels, you were
even invited to hit one with a hammer in the showroom. Sold with a 30 day
return policy no questions asked, they sold well, in fact being the most cars
sold per dealer that year. GM was thrilled, the customers were happy, they even
had a Saturn owners day at the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant for over 44,000.
The third year they were profitable, and the future looked good, for Saturn but
not GM. And when the advertising hoopla died down, so did the sales. And in
typical GM logic, they changed course for the car, and in 2009 they went away.
But today according to AACA judging rules, they are a classic, along with other
such forgotten cars as the first Hyundais, Daihatsu, another GM import from
South Korea, Sterling, and Eagle, VW Corrado, Suzuki Samarai, and the brands of
Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth, Saab, and Mercury. All cars that today are 25
years old and can be considered classics. But when confronted with possible
ownership of any of these 1991 classics, how many of us would jump at the chance
to own one? 1991, that was only 25 years ago, I was only....have I gotten that
old too? They look so old and unattractive, did I really want to own one back
then? Do I now?
So don’t be surprised at the next car show you attend, somebody, usually a
weirdo, will show up in a Saturn, and people will gather around it, and tell
stories of the one they used to have, and share fond memories. Maybe classic
can be defined by age, but classic might be better described at the feelings and
emotions they stir up. Somewhere out there among the Mustangs, Camaros, and
other sporty cars lies a population that was raised on minivans, 4 door sedans,
and SUV’s, and that is where all their memories lie. They may have dreamed of a
Corvette life, but reality was they may have owned a Saturn. What were you
driving in 1991?
In 1991 I was using a 1987 Escort as a work vehicle. A base model with no
options, it did its job well. We also had a 1989 Ford Probe, the first year in
black. Great car, and somehow both managed to be stolen, the Escort found and
repaired and finally traded on a 1992 Ford Ranger, the Probe recovered after
insurance paid off. Trust me, after a car is stolen and recovered, get rid of
it. For riding it was my 1985 Yamaha FJ1100, still fast for its time, and the
Harley revolution was still young, too many around who remembered the AMF days
of the seventies. Escorts, at one time among the most popularly sold models,
when is the last time you saw one? Would a kid born in the nineties even know
what one was? Same with the Probe, Ford even built a Mazda 626 on the same
chassis in Flat Rock, Michigan, seen any of those lately? Try to find one on
Craigslist, they aren’t out there, where did they all go? Are they all hidden
in barns for the next generation’s barn find? Have they all rusted away, been
recycled, or forgotten? Is it possible that your 1991 Saturn, or Escort, or
Probe, or Sterling will be collectible, and rare because none are left? It
seems everyone owned or knew someone who did own a 1955-57 Chevy, will we ever
own up to that about a car from 1991?
For just as their were popular cars, there were unpopular cars. Cars built
to a price, some built to a quality. Some built as disposable, some built to
last-or at least the ads said so. But whose job was it to say which car was
good and the other bad? Sales, popularity, price, service, dealer availability,
or monthly payments? Take your pick, all are right, none are wrong. The choice
is left up to us. And we still have numerous car companies to choose from
today, even with the loss of others. How could two vehicles, built the same
year, be so different? Are people the same, different by design or different by
market? Consider Moses, a murderer and fugitive, who lived 40 years in the
desert. But God chose him to be his messenger, and today his name is known
throughout history. Why, because God chose him, for God is sovereign, and
chooses as he sees fit, something we have trouble with. We tend to want to
control things, and trusting a God to take care of all things can be
overwhelming. Particularly when you consider he also chose Pharaoh at the same
time, and look how different the two men were. Pharaoh was no better a man than
Moses, yet God set him on a throne to rule Egypt. When Moses resisted him, he
allowed Pharaoh to do what all men do by nature, resist God. He could have
stopped Pharaoh at any time, but chose not to. Instead he chose to show his own
greatness and mercy through Moses in the situation, who is more like us than we
care to believe. Both men were sinners, far from perfect, only one chose to
follow God,while the other claimed to be a god. But God knew it all the time,
yet used both men for his glory, and to bless us.
Today he gives us the chance to choose Jesus or to reject him. Not
pressured, or forced, for true love demands a choice. Maybe that is why 44,000
Saturn owners attended the party, it was their choice to buy one, no one forced
them, and that gave them entry to the brand and the party. Jesus is the way
back to God, and a choice we all will make someday, some saying yes and some
still waiting to make up their mind. Some outright saying no, but God still
being patient with them. But in all cases God knows the beginning from the end
and the middle too. He is sovereign and answers to no one but himself. And if
he did answer to someone else, it would have to be someone like him, for he is
true and honorable to himself. God wants us to consider his greatness, going to
the point of becoming a man on earth and dying on the cross. In both good and
bad people we see his mercy and grace, for all things work out for those who
love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, to his will. And his
will is simple, to know Jesus and be saved. What do your actions and attitudes
say about God? A place of forgiveness, or a place of patience, as you still
rebel against him? Moses and Pharaoh, both met with God, only one knew him.
Both men’s actions recorded in the Bible, whose story do you want to emulate?
Is your life one of all about me, or one all about Jesus? Only one type enters
heaven...
So why can’t a 1991 Saturn be a classic? By definition it is and will be
recognized by that authority, even though many of us will chuckle. But the ones
who remember it will tell a different story. Whose authority do you recognize,
that of God or of man? Two men, both men, both sinners, both recorded in the
Bible. Both immortal, but only one in heaven. A sovereign God gave them both a
choice, and they made it. What is your choice about God? Spirit influenced or
man influenced? What drives your decisions? Who do you say Jesus is? For
every Corvette dreamer there were hundreds of Escort owners. Maybe what you
drive says something about you, but how you represent God says even more. All
classics at one time were used cars, for sale cheap. Jesus paid the price no
matter your trade in value. Be a classic in God’s world, and come to Christ.
So when someone sees you they can say “I remember him, he used to be a bad
dude. Wonder what happened?” And a chance to share how Jesus changed your
life. For every used person there is a new spirit waiting for them, don’t wait
until you are a classic to know him. By any definition, heaven is always better
than hell. No matter what you drove. And no, second prize isn’t two
Saturns...
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com