Sometimes, all it takes to bring back a wave of memories is a look at one picture. I was rifling through an old box of photos (remember when we actually had printed media?) and came across the above photo I took around 1998 from my friend’s front yard. It showed all the cars that my friends had driven to whatever sort of meet-up we were having as high schoolers.
I certainly didn’t anticipate the fact that I would choose to write about the photo 28 years later while in my mid-40s, but here we are. Each vehicle in the picture has its own memories attached to it. In descending order by year, here is the lineup:
1998 Mitsubishi Mirage LS coupe (fifth generation): Suzann’s car (hidden at the right-rear of the photo) was the newest of the bunch, and it had a sporty vibe with the red paint and a five-speed manual. The Mirage subcompact stuck around until 2024 in the United States, and it was one of the last cars to have a price tag of under $20,000 at the time it was discontinued.
It seems that Suzann’s car was always lurking in the back. Here’s a pic from a car wash party (featuring a much younger me):
1993 Acura Legend L sedan (second generation): Admittedly, this was my mom’s car, which I’d borrowed for the occasion. My daily driver at the time was a 1989 Honda Prelude. The Legend was one of the vehicles that fueled the fire for my Honda/Acura obsession from an early age. The model was replaced by the larger, more sedate 3.5 RL beginning in 1996.
1992 Mazda Protege (seventh generation): Heidi’s car was finished in teal green, as were so many vehicles back in the 1990s. One of the things I remember about the Protege was that it had motorized, automatic (passive) shoulder belts. Sold as the Mazda Familia in other markets, the Protege hit U.S. shores in 1990 and was offered through 2003, after which it was replaced by the Mazda3.
1992 Honda Accord LX sedan (fourth generation): My friend Will was driving the white “CB7” Accord with a five-speed manual transmission. Coincidentally, it had the same 16-inch Optima wheels on it that my mom’s Legend did at the time. The Accord has been known for its bulletproof F22A inline-four.
The Accord is still rocking and rolling. In fact, Honda just celebrated the model’s 50th year! Honda pulled out all the generations for a “family” photo recently.
1991 Pontiac Sunbird convertible (third generation): Danielle was riding in style; we had a lot of fun rolling around southern Utah in this one. It used the GM J-body (just like the Chevrolet Cavalier). As we’ve discussed a few times, including in a recent story about Oprah’s legendary giveaway, the Pontiac brand is long gone as of 2010. Check out Danielle’s hoodie. Who remembers the band MXPX?
All of this kind of makes me wonder what high schoolers are driving today…and whether someone from the graduating class of 2026 will be writing a story just like this in 2054.
