Our Cars–1990 Pontiac Firefly
Never heard of the Firefly? It was the Pontiac version of the Suzuki-built, three-cylinder-engined Chevrolet Sprint, sold only in Canada.
Strictly speaking, it was my parents’ car. But by the time we sold the Firefly in 1998, there was no doubt who’d racked up the most miles on it. I learned to drive on my parents’ other car–a 1984 Plymouth Reliant wagon with fake wood panelling on the sides–before moving over to the Firefly when I’d figured out how to drive a five-speed. I’m not sure whether it was a step up, down or sideways.
The Firefly only had 55 horsepower and never even came with a radio (my father installed the AM radio he’d salvaged from his old 1972 Datsun 510!), but it was my first car, for all intents and purposes, and I loved it. I took that thing on some long road trips around Newfoundland, and squeezed a dozen people into it on more than one occasion.
The three-cylinder powerplant suffered a cracked engine block a couple of years after purchase, but the whole thing was replaced under warranty. Aside from that, the thing was indestructible. The guy who bought it worked not far from me, and I saw it for quite a long time after it left our house. I hope it served him as well as it did me.
The top photo is the Firefly; the second photo is of the old Reliant. I just threw it in to show how geeky it was. That said, it was the car on which I learned to drive, so I guess that counts for something.
–Damian Penny