The 1984 Pontiac 1000 was my very first car and it was bought on July 25, 1988 and that was even before I received my first driver's license in February 1989.  The 1000 was a two-door hatchback model.  It didn't have power brakes, but it did have power steering.  It had a 1.8 Liter four-cylinder engine, which wasn't very powerful at all.  It used that to its advantage in the fact that it didn't consume much gas.  The 1000 also had a three-speed automatic. One of the interesting facts of the 1000 was that it was a rear-wheel drive car and it was the smallest RWD Pontiac of all time.  There have been smaller Pontiacs since, but they all have been front wheel drive.  The Pontiac 1000 was fashioned after the Chevy Chevette, America's answer to the sub-compact imports of the mid-70's.  (The Pontiac 1000 wasn't introduced until 1981 whereas the Chevette made its debut in 1976.  Both the Chevette and 1000 were discontinued after the 1987 model year.)  There are even some web sites about the Chevy Chevette and its clones.  Click here to go to Vauxhall Chevette. I liked the 1984 Pontiac 1000 I had in a way, but I didn't like the lack of power.  The 1000's design made it cute and not too tough, but it was good enough for a highschooler's first car who had a job and things to do.  There wasn't much to the car...very simple with no frills or options...but, it did have A/C.  (The 1000's weren't even offered many options to begin with.  My 1000 didn't even have a passenger side outside mirror, so I added one and replaced the driver side outside mirror as well.)  I was fortunate to have a car and I knew I wanted it modified in some way or another.  So, I installed some amber fog lamps, a new stereo system with mega speakers, and a wiper delay system.  I also had the regular steel rims painted gray (the paint was chipping) and added trim rings along with white letter tires.  In addition, I added front and rear mud guards.  That made the car look sporty. There was also a time in Autumn 1990 when the 1000 had a habit of blowing out mufflers.  There was one month when it blew out two mufflers.  That wasn't any fun, so I made it fun by adding a "glass-pack" muffler to the 1000.  That made the 1.8 Liter four-cylinder engine sound really interesting!  I also added a chrome exhaust tip my dad and I found alongside the road to the muffler.    (I have thought about adding a "glass-pack" muffler to my 1996 Beretta, but I don't know how the 3100 V6 will sound afterwards.) The 1000 was a unique car, but after graduating from high school in June 1991, I started looking in the ads for another car that looked more "mature" for the recent high school grad.  That was when I purchased the 1988 Grand Am.  The 1000 was sold on July 24, 1991...almost three years to the day when it was bought.  The 1000 had 70,000 miles on it when it was sold.  (Reflecting back on it now, I could have kept the 1000 and driven it several more thousand miles.  I drove the Grand Am as my daily driver until it reached beyond 134,000 miles and my Beretta has 90,000 miles on it as of January 14, 2001.  I don't plan on selling my Retta anytime soon...if I do, then, some of this web site has to be modified and added to even more!  Sorry for the digression.) When purchased in July 1988, the 1000 had only 49,000 miles.  So, the car was driven 21,000 miles during the three years of ownership.  But, the 1000 wasn't driven for the first several months after being bought because I didn't have my driver's license and it wasn't insured until October 1988.  I especially remember the time the 1000 was insured because I recently had an appendectomy and I drove the 1000 legally with my driver's permit on the highway a few days after my surgery.  I was somewhat excited that the 1000 was finally insured.  (Note--The 1996 Beretta was driven almost 21,000 miles during the first year of ownership from September 1997 to September 1998.) True, the 1000 wasn't kept very long, when compared to the Grand Am or the Beretta.  But, it was a fun car in the fact that it was a rear wheel drive compact car with a carbureted engine that could have been seriously modified for racing and other adventures.  (In fact, in Spring 1990 near Wilmington, I saw a four-wheel drive Chevette.  It was the regular Chevette body mated to a four-wheel drive truck chassis.  What a sight!)  I sometimes have wondered what would have happened if I had kept my 1984 Pontiac 1000.  One of my speculations is that it would've been wrecked as the 1988 Grand Am was wrecked two times and I know the 1000 would've been totaled if it were wrecked.  (The Grand Am actually was totaled the second time it was wrecked.  But, luckily, that car was repaired and made even better.  Go to the Grand Am page for more detail.)  The 1000 was a very inexpensive automobile and it was a fun first car.  But, I don't have it now...instead, I have pictures of the 1000.  Above the story are some of them.  Hope you enjoy looking at them and the rest of the web site.  CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE MAIN INDEX HOME PAGE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 1969 INTERNATIONAL SCOUT PAGE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 1988 PONTIAC GRAND AM PAGE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 1996 CHEVROLET BERETTA PAGE Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!