It Doesn’t Need to Be Flashy For Cars Under Covers

In my previous City (Davis, CA) I used to drive by this ‘85 or ‘86 Chrysler Laser XT.  

Most of these in the Midwest have rotted to pieces not but California’s climate being so forgiving to cars; particularly in the San Joaquin Valley that was not not odd to see stuff like this just driving around.  As far as I could tell it never moved. I believe the double-edged sword that keeps some of these 80’s oddballs around and driving is the same reason that there are probably not more; the smog rules. If you are going to keep one of these titled and not on non-op, it needs to be in some state of good repair to pass the smog inspection.  While that means that sometimes I get to see an AWD Ford Tempo rolling in the wild I am sure that the same rules have sent an order of magnitude of that car’s siblings to an untimely demise due to smog requirements.

The Chrysler Laser XT according to Wikipedia is a somewhat rare car only being produced for two years with production numbers at 10,441

This is not something that most of the auto journalist world (save Regular Car Reviews) would spend a moment thinking about and maybe they are right to do so if all they are interested in talking about cars and only cars. For me the car is interesting after a little research the slight obscurity of the trim level takes it up a notch in the interest category but really what I would like to know about this car is; “Why is the owner keeping it around?”  Looking at the photo it is clear that that cover has been on the car for a VERY long time and as I said previously it doesn’t look like it ever moves. So what gives?  Is it pure nostalgia? Is it an on-hold project? Was it the owners first car and they hope to restore it to it’s former glory?  Was it their kids project car and they are off at college? Did they want to take it to the drag strip (the Chrysler 2.2L Turbo is a quite stout platform for horsepower chasing).  The kicker is that shortly after I took this picture a brand new fitted cover appeared on the car so clearly the owner does not want the thing to fall fall into complete disrepair.  This is what makes this car an interesting proposition for Cars Under Covers.  I don’t just want to talk about this car.  I want to tell the story of a particular car and it’s particular owner.  Part auto journalism, part human interest.

If you’ve got a car sitting in the driveway under a cover and you would be interested in me telling you and your car’s story please reach out to me at: carsundercovers@gmail.com