Odyssey International: Masthead
  Automotive Adventures & Product Launches  

The Garage

1991 Pontiac Firefly

1965 Ford F-100 Pickup Truck

 

Date of Acquisition:   27 April, 1991
Built in:   Ingersoll, Ontario
     
Colour:   Silver gray
Engine:   1-litre 3-cylinder
Transmission:   5-speed manual
Odometer:   112,654 kilometres
     
Options:   Michelin ZX tires
     
Modifications:   Delete letters ‘Fire’ from the rear ‘Firefly’ nameplate
     
a.k.a.   the ‘Fly’

It’s silver with no tape deck, cruise control or power options. Without even a rear wiper, the base unit of the 1991 General Motors line-up is absolutely bottom-of-the-line. Just a radio with four tinny speakers. A spider my daughter Natalie made from a piece of egg carton 10 years ago dangles from the rearview mirror.

I leased it as an office run-around car in 1991. At the time, its three-cylinder motor was one of the stingiest fuel users on the market. I rationalized its existence by theorizing the fuel savings over my eclectic fleet of guzzlers would cover the payments. When the lease was up, I purchased what has turned out to be an exceptionally trouble-free vehicle. With its perfect finish, the rust-free little econo-box looks like it just came out of the carton.

We all call it The Fly. And I will keep it forever, because no one else would!

Excerpt from Sowerby’s Road story # 18

Accomplishments / Credentials

1991 - 94   Odyssey International Limited office runabout
1993   Business trip Halifax - Detroit - Nashville - Washington - Halifax
2002   No Showers for the Fly (featured in Sowerby’s Road… Adventures of a Driven Mind)