2.8L, 5M-E, 12V SOHC inline 6 cylinder, 116 HP, RWD, 4-speed automatic

Term driven: 1998-2001

This was the first daily driver I had when I first earned driving privileges. This was during adolescence, heavily formative years, and had a profound impression on my outlook of cars in general. For the sake of being complete–I never formally owned the vehicle.

Believe it or not, I remember the first time I drove it. I think I was with my Dad. I backed it out of the driveway, and then forgot to take it out of reverse while intending to drive forward. I drove to a nearby parking lot and just kind of drove in circles, getting acquainted with the pedals and operations.

If I recall properly, I started school relatively early as my birthday is in July and school starts in August. I tended to be younger than my classmates as a result. I never failed a grade, so math places me at sophomore year when I turned 15, eligible for learner’s permit. I recall getting a job early (16) at a local restaurant. I don’t think I was able to drive to school until senior year of high school, but I was able to drive to and from work during my junior year. Enter the Cressida.

The car is older than I am, but as a luxury model had many features found as standard in modern vehicles of the time such as power windows, power door locks, and power steering. As well, if you ask me, it looked significantly better than other cars on the road around that time.

Cars back in the 80s came standard with low-quality paper cone speakers. This was the norm, spawning a bustling market of aftermarket car audio equipment including speakers and head units. Nowadays, many auto manufacturers are partnering with established car audio manufacturers (think Bose, Bang & Olufsen, et cetera) for decent audio from the beginning. I mention the low-quality speakers as my brother introduced me to popular car audio hobby in my youth–namely introduction of bass using aftermarket subwoofers.

I know of a couple separate occasions where I upgraded the car audio of my vehicle with my family, potentially a couple of those times on this vehicle alone. I recall either two-way or three-way Pioneer door speakers for this car, and they were rather easy to install. The rear window had what I believe were 5×7 speakers, and I believe I had separate experiences with 10 and 12 inch subwoofers. I also remember experimenting with car audio capacitors to avoid headlight dimming under heavy bass load. I may be blurring this vehicle with the following one, though.

I do remember this vehicle having a disc changer which I frequently used. I also recall, prior to that, using tape deck adapters for Discman type portable CD players as well. I am foggy on the timeline there, but I remember the rear mounted disc changer the majority of the time I used the car.

Regarding aesthetics of the car, I already mentioned that I liked the way the car looked. I think it is an exceptionally charming car as is, wheels and all. It was not a sports car, and that was fine.

The car was not quick. In cool weather I did notice the car was noticeably peppier, likely due to the whole cooler weather correlation with density. Aside from that, it really was meant for cruising at 50-60 MPH. I believe the speedometer only went up to 85, and I certainly did not expect it to go past that. It was easily a drag-limited vehicle.

I used this car for at least a couple of years until I went with my dad to find a newer car as a high school graduation gift. I remember leaving one night with my Dad to go shopping for it and I remember the night the deal was sealed on my 1999 Mitsubishi Galant. I vaguely remember going to multiple dealerships as my Dad was known to be a keen haggler. There was a lot of sitting in the dealership and I think they even closed the dealership while we were there.

Once the new car was around, this car fell by the wayside and I remember it less. I remember my brother driving it and getting into an accident in a parking lot. I don’t believe it was ever fixed. At some point afterwards I recall my Dad mentioning that it was driven to a junkyard. Thus ended the life of this vehicle–I believe it was purchased brand new (before I was born or around my time of birth) and I had quite a bit of fun with it.