The Twin Cities Auto Show for 2016 will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center from March 12-20.  The place will be stuffed to the gills with over 500 different cars of just about every make and model of car you could think of, so you can dream of adventures on the open road or something to make the daily commute a little more comfortable.  Morrie’s Imports is offering free tickets to this year’s auto show (in exchange for some marketing information so they can persuade you to sign on the dotted line sometime soon).

I am not a “car guy”, but I regularly enjoy watching “Top Gear”, “Fast and Loud”, “Counting Cars” and “Street Outlaws”, so I love going to the auto show.  These days, I miss my 1981 Pontiac Firebird like you wouldn’t believe.  I bought it new in 1981 when I was just starting to earn a little money and felt like indulging myself after years of slogging through life with sensible little used cars.   Every day in high school I had to walk by Hansord Pontiac in downtown Minneapolis, past the latest Firebird gloriously displayed on an elevated outdoor turntable and always thought, “Someday…” So I custom ordered one that fulfilled that promise to myself.  With the great lines, T-top, and rear spoiler, it was a beauty.  It was the last model year for the full-size Firebirds, and I loved it.  Now I go to the show to see the latest sports cars for fun, and the mid-sized grocery-getters when I come back to reality.  And you can find some great deals there, too! It’s a great one-day staycation for you and your significant other.

My Firebird took me all the way to San Francisco when I moved there in 1983.  It was great for tooling up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, but impractical for daily driving.  You’d have to say that the 1981 Firebird gas mileage was mediocre at best, especially for short drives.  Since gas prices were high and money was tight, I normally drove my wife’s car – a dowdy, beat-up 1979 Plymouth Horizon.  I hated that little tin can with a passion, but it was what we had.  That all changed in 1986 when my wife inherited a little money.
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