Folks, I'm leaving the Oldsmobile Connection only because I no longer own the '89 Cutlass Ciera. It was becoming clearer that the Cutlass was having more problems than I could keep up with financially. So last Monday I said goodbye to it and purchased a 2002 Hyundai Sonata.

I bought the Cutlass last February from a friend of my dad's for $500.00, after we turned in a Corolla I was leasing (a rip-off deal I should have walked away from, but didn't). It had belonged to his late wife, and her father before that. It had sat in his driveway for more than a year, the interior had a musty smell I couldn't get rid of, the fabric covering the ceiling had dry rotted, the radiator was corroded, but it had only 82,000 miles on it. So I thought I could sink some money into it and keep it running for a couple more years.

It turns out that all the miles I put on it caught up to all the little problems it had. The brakes started squealing every time I drove at a slow speed, the A/C system leaked all over the place and needed to be replaced, the rotors were rusty, and I started smelling gas fumes from the rear seat after I shut the engine off.

So I got about $300.00 for it at the dealership and drove off with a nice Hyundai in great condition.

I will say this about the Olds: it has spoiled me for mid-size luxury. I don't think I can ever, ever drive a compact car again. The Sonata has a similar kind of roominess as the Cutlass, and we can drive on the a busy Interstate and not feel like the trucks that pass us are going to run us off the road.

For a year, the Cutlass got me to where I needed to go. And it did it well.

Good luck to all of you and your Merry Oldsmobiles.