Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

bwia said:

Condolences to those unfortunate and innocent Canadians who lost their lives in yesterday's rampage in Toronto. May they RIP.

Thanks bwia......it isn't only a Canadian incident....it can happen anywhere these days. There are too many angry people who take it out on civilized people. Apparently he was angry about not being able to form a relationship....along with being socially awkward.

The cop was amazing.......he knew how to handle the situation, didn't drive up with a siren on, put his gun away at critical times, and didn't shoot once though the guys cell phone could have looked like a gun.

Terrible tragedy...............people walking on a major street on a beautiful sunny day........

fintail

The early MLs were double dinged - late 90s MB cost cutting and built in a factory that I have read more than once wasn't up to speed yet. No surprise they are getting thin on the ground, although it has been 20 years. Then the 2000 (W220) S-class with bleeding edge tech suspension and advanced yet cost-conscious electronics. The early V12 W220 are especially notorious, I wouldn't take one for free.

The GLC name can be confusing if one uses the old nomenclature. In the 70s there was the SLC, which was a coupe variant of the SL.

driver100

I wonder if they could make a car last for 20 years with just a few tougher parts. It would also be nice to have parts that are easily repaired or replaced. Would you pay 25% more for a car that was guaranteed to last 20 years? Probably not, as the technology would be prehistoric compared to a car made 20 years from now.

driver100

oldfarmer.....your lucky day. It is so nice to come out better than expected when those things happen. I feel I came out ahead with the dishwasher too, I was expecting to shell out $900 this week for a replacement ($600 + installation and take away old one). I guess I can take my wife out for dinner now.

andres3

driver100 said:

I wonder if they could make a car last for 20 years with just a few tougher parts. It would also be nice to have parts that are easily repaired or replaced. Would you pay 25% more for a car that was guaranteed to last 20 years? Probably not, as the technology would be prehistoric compared to a car made 20 years from now.

The problem is the failures start before the planned obsolescence. If you plan for failure, you'll likely have even earlier failures. The distribution curve will not just spike at your target failure time.

Early failures, premature failures, less than average results are all highly plausible.

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

I'm not arguing any of the above points, but will point out that part of the problem, IMHO, is that, in the quest to make things smaller and lighter, we've made them more fragile. Old big radios with wires and tubes are still working long after a portable radio with a circuit board.

I am going to disagree that electronics today are too fragile. You couldn't give me an old tube radio or TV other than for nostalgia purposes. They are not better than the electronics of today.

Our first TV was an RCA color tube job because that is all that existed in 1967 when we were married. That thing ran so hot it literally cooked itself to death in 6 or 7 years and I even removed the back entirely when it was about 3 years old to let it run cooler. On top of that I used a one inch chassis punch to make larger holes in the metal cage that the horizontal output tube was mounted in to allow for more cooling right at the hottest spot in that TV. I'm sorry and embarrassed to say it took me that long to wise up. Until I did that I had to replace the horizontal output tube in that thing once a year like clockwork because it ran so hot you could fry an egg on it and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. The old tube technology, while rugged, created too much heat and killed itself.

When the world went to transistors and then chips everything got better, much better, both reliability wise and quality wise too.

There are a lot of old things that I like but radios and TV with tubes are not one of them, not even close.

jmonroe

qbrozen

I still have a tube stereo. Never had to fix a darned thing on it. I don't know about really old TVs, but my father still has a Zenith console set from the early 80s that still works, and that saw more use than I could possibly compute.

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

I still have a tube stereo. Never had to fix a darned thing on it. I don't know about really old TVs, but my father still has a Zenith console set from the early 80s that still works, and that saw more use than I could possibly compute.

I'd be willing to bet that your fathers 80's TV is not all tubes. Maybe one or two but that's it.

jmonroe

fintail

They already make those cars - Camcords and Civrollas.

My mom has had her Camry for ~9 years now, it has needed nothing but scheduled maintenance. It's not the most complex car, but it is comfortable and easy to drive.

Speaking of old tech, I have a radio from 1939 that works fine. One can find 1930s refrigerators still chugging along, too.

driver100 said:

I wonder if they could make a car last for 20 years with just a few tougher parts. It would also be nice to have parts that are easily repaired or replaced. Would you pay 25% more for a car that was guaranteed to last 20 years? Probably not, as the technology would be prehistoric compared to a car made 20 years from now.

stickguy

lasting a long time is nice. but only one factor. I am more interested in performance than just lasting. So if the trade off for something that works a lot better is a shorter life, well, that can be worthwhile.

abacomike

fintail said:

You're exactly right on that. Many cars are built to behave best just for the term of a lease, or at most, a standard loan.

MB also did this in the name of environmental/biodegradable prattle, but I suspect costs were involved and man, did it backfire.

The early 00s were also a time for "beta testing" bleeding edge MB tech, and I don't think BMW or Audi were any better.

And to show off. cars of this era would last as long as you reasonably maintained them and kept them away from rust (this is an unrestored car):

dino001 said:

Sadly I think that's exactly, when MB (and other Germans) went down in '90s and '00s. The biggest gremlins in MB cars were in electrical systems and you can see the scheme very clearly. Say, there is a relay, it's supposed to work 100,000 hours, or whatever for say $30/piece it's needed for it to last a proverbial lifetime. In 60s, 70s, "lifetime" for MB was 20 years, or 500K miles (or something like that, I don't know for sure). Then the accountants come in and say, let's shorten it to 10 years, nobody is expecting 10 year old car to work as new.
Then another trend set out. Cars got a lot of new features, many keep coming. Electric this, power that, computer controls everywhere, all run by software. Short introduction cycles mean not a lot of time for vetting problems. Here is a solution - we sell a beta version for a full price and then "work it out" through reflashes at dealerships. You give a customer a loaner so he shuts up about the inconvenience and we all move on. The lease is over and the next owner better gets a certified version, or he/she pays thousands.

That Mercedes Benz is a truly gorgeous car, fintail. I would love to own a car like that - maybe a 1980 E or S Sedan. Those cars were built to last generations. Not like the cars of today.

As much as I love my S450, it has a mind of its own. Now, I am sure you are wondering what I mean by, "...mind of its own..."! I just mean that it is quirky - sometimes it does things without my wanting it to. There are so many buttons and switches with so many redundancies (i.e. mouse wheel and right behind that mouse wheel is a touch bar that does exactly the same thing as the mouse wheel), I would think that one of the computers or microprocessor is trying to control another computer or microprocessor.

Here are a few experiences I have had many times when first starting the car or while driving the car.

*I start the car in the morning and prior to putting it into gear, I want to adjust the temperature settings for the HVAC system. I go to the knob that has a red arrow pointing up and a blue arrow pointing down (you push up to increase temp setting and push down to reduce temp setting) and I start to make my selection by pushing up on the knob - low and behold the radio station setting goes to 93.1 HD2 from whattver I was listening to prior to pushing the temp button. Sort of like there is a "ghost" in the car that didn't like the temp setting I selected so it decided to change my radio station to a station I hate. That 93.1 HD2 is not a pre-set station, mind you.

*I'm driving on the highway and I decide to change the ride and handling setting to Economy from Comfort. I pull back on the correct lever and move the setting into Economy - low and behold the radio changes stations to 93.1 HD2 again. Mind you, I am no where near a button or gadget that would change radio stations. The "ghost" obviously doesn't like my Economy selection so it punishes me by changing the radio station to 93.1 HD2.

At first, I thought it was the "touch bar" located just behind and over the mouse wheel, that was causing me to inadvertently change an internal setting. So I go into setting and turn off the touch bar function. That did not solve the problem.

So I go to the service manager at my local dealer and he is a bit taken aback - but he recalls that in the E Class he drives which has the Premium 3 package, that a few strange things have occurred in his car - northing major - just strange ("STRANGE MAGIC" by E.L.O., ). He offers to take the car in and run diagnostics and have a mechanic research the problem, but I told him that it could take a week for them to determine that they can't find anything wrong. Remember, the car drives and rides great, but it is quirky, at times, when it comes to radio station settings. This happens infrequently, but when it does, I get a bit startled. I ask myself, why doesn't it change to a radio station I like or something other that 93.1 HD2? I have no idea. It just does this perhaps once a week, sometimes twice.

The service manager stated that it might have to do with a need for a software update. I just told him when I bring it in for its first service, we'll deal with it then. It makes no sense to try to determine the cause at tis point.

So, I have a quirky and/or sensitive car that just happens to love listening to 93.1 HD2 - I don't mind it so long as it does not decide to take possession of the entire car or take possession of me - I don't want an EXORCIST!

dino001

jmonroe said:

Until I did that I had to replace the horizontal output tube in that thing once a year like clockwork because it ran so hot you could fry an egg on it and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. The old tube technology, while rugged, created too much heat and killed itself.

When the world went to transistors and then chips everything got better, much better, both reliability wise and quality wise too.

There are a lot of old things that I like but radios and TV with tubes are not one of them, not even close.
jmonroe

I don't miss those, either. However, there were also properly designed items that lasted proverbial forever. Your TV was clearly designed with insufficient air cooling circulation, just like recent Samsung Note "bomb", or some PC circuits in 2000's that were frying themselves, as the processors were just too hot. When you have a design flaw, no matter the technology type, it will not perform.

I think the issue is, just like somebody here said, failure before the "reasonable" obsolescence. Washing machine, or refrigerator giving up the ghost after 10-15 years - OK, breaking in year 3 - not OK. Dishwasher losing its performance in year 8, losing everything in year 12 - fine, beeping and nothing in year 4 - not OK. Seems like in prior years (this may be false perception) manufacturers took pride of their machines working years past their warranty, today they are excited if they can sell you 3-year extension on one year warranty (more-less design period) and then push new product in year five. When you open those machines you can see it - mechanicals clearly not intended to last over 6-8 years, buggy electronics, etc. There are limits to use of plastic cogs or bushings.

Funny thing, though - I bought my appliances in 2005, except the refrigerator, so they are hitting their replacement time. First was the Frigidaire dishwasher - it actually worked, but the cleaning wasn't there. Will see how long this new LG will last. There are no signs of trouble on my Frigidaire washer/dryer couple, but to be fair I did not use them as extensively, as say a couple with two kids would. So perhaps they will still go for a little longer. I don't see the stove going anywhere, either, the only reason to replace that one may be aesthetic, or if it fries the controls, or if I decide I want the induction stove with new pots and pans to boot (some would still work, I suppose). All these were generally mid-low level models (better than bottom, but not by whole lot). My new LG dishwasher is now mid-high, extra features, low noise. I would be disappointed if it doesn't go at least as long as the previous one. Will see.

ab348

The influence of cost accountants demanding that every penny of production cost be taken out of the items that are mass produced cannot be overstated. You saw it in the '80s and '90s at finance-driven companies at the time like Ford and GM and see it today in Nissan and Hyundai. In the appliance world it seems to be a particular problem. My fridge is made by Electrolux (Frigidaire) and goes through a set of plastic deli tray drawer slides about every year. About a year after I got it I was startled one day by the sound of the fan blades hitting smething. I pulled it away from the wall, took off the flimsy cardboard cover over the compressor/condenser area, and saw a plastic fan retained on a shaft by a sheetmetal wave washer and nothing else. It was an easy fix but a bad design. On the weekend I got a flyer from a place that had a GE washer/dryer on sale at a very good price. I am not in the market just yet but decided to check that model's reviews online. I couldn't believe the number of customers who had washers that didn't work right from the start or failed within the first couple of months. There is really no excuse for that to happen with that king of frequency.

fintail

Thanks. A 1980s model, especially a W123/124/126 is an ideal "practical classic". They have style and build quality that sets them apart, yet they drive like a modern car, aren't terribly expensive to buy, and aren't too bad to keep on the road, barring any massive issues. A lot of things can be DIY, too.

I haven't heard of possessed cars like yours, I can believe it. As these cars become more advanced, we are more at the mercy of software, and one little typo in a line of code or omission of data can create ramifications down the line.

I think some appliances are like old cars in these ways, too. My grandma has a fridge in her garage they bought in 1965, still going strong. She got about 40 years out of the kitchen fridge, replacing it because shelves broke and couldn't be fixed. My mom bought a new fridge in the early 00s, it failed 2 years ago and the local repair guy (smallish town) said don't bother, she then bought an immaculate used fridge for $200, it conked out 2 months ago, so she bought a new one again - we'll see how it lasts. She bought a new oven when she moved into the house, it lasted about 25 years before replacement. She gets maybe 10-15 years out of a washer or dryer.

abacomike said:

That Mercedes Benz is a truly gorgeous car, fintail. I would love to own a car like that - maybe a 1980 E or S Sedan. Those cars were built to last generations. Not like the cars of today.

As much as I love my S450, it has a mind of its own. Now, I am sure you are wondering what I mean by, "...mind of its own..."! I just mean that it is quirky - sometimes it does things without my wanting it to. There are so many buttons and switches with so many redundancies (i.e. mouse wheel and right behind that mouse wheel is a touch bar that does exactly the same thing as the mouse wheel), I would think that one of the computers or microprocessor is trying to control another computer or microprocessor.

So, I have a quirky and/or sensitive car that just happens to love listening to 93.1 HD2 - I don't mind it so long as it does not decide to take possession of the entire car or take possession of me - I don't want an EXORCIST!

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer.....your lucky day. It is so nice to come out better than expected when those things happen. I feel I came out ahead with the dishwasher too, I was expecting to shell out $900 this week for a replacement ($600 + installation and take away old one). I guess I can take my wife out for dinner now.

That's why a trustworthy shop is worth it's weight in gold. Can you imagine how much my guy saved me today because he's honest?

qbrozen

jmonroe said:

I'd be willing to bet that your fathers 80's TV is not all tubes. Maybe one or two but that's it.

jmonroe

Oh, I know. But still far heavier duty components back then.

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

jmonroe said:

I'd be willing to bet that your fathers 80's TV is not all tubes. Maybe one or two but that's it.

jmonroe

Oh, I know. But still far heavier duty components back then.

Another bet I'm willing to make. Just because components were heavier back in the 80's doesn't mean they are better than what is used today. Electronic component technology always gets better and smaller. In 10 years components will be even better than today and more than likely smaller too.

We're not building tow ropes, ya know.

Plastic is better than metal sometimes. Like the drain lines under your sink that will virtually last forever. Our poster buddy @nyccarguy can attest to that. Ask him how many times he has to sell one because the old plastic one rotted away. Sadly, those things are going to put him out of business.

jmonroe

qbrozen

well, we can't prove anything. I only know what my experience tells me, and that is the things around me that are old are still working, while things I bought a few years ago are dead and buried.

Since we're bringing plumbing into the discussion, how about furniture? Does the lighter, more efficient Ikea stuff outlast the far heavier, solid stuff from 100 years ago?

ab348

Big Audi recall today, over a million cars worldwide with the 2.0L Turbo engine. The electric coolant pump can overheat, fail, and catch fire. That's usually not an issue with a mechanical water pump.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

well, we can't prove anything. I only know what my experience tells me, and that is the things around me that are old are still working, while things I bought a few years ago are dead and buried.

Since we're bringing plumbing into the discussion, how about furniture? Does the lighter, more efficient Ikea stuff outlast the far heavier, solid stuff from 100 years ago?

Maybe not, but it is a whole lit easier to move!

qbrozen

ab348 said:

Big Audi recall today, over a million cars worldwide with the 2.0L Turbo engine. The electric coolant pump can overheat, fail, and catch fire. That's usually not an issue with a mechanical water pump.

I was going to say, "wait, isn't that old new?" but this article cleared it up.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/04/24/audi-recall-coolant-pumps-overheat/545548002/

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Maybe not, but it is a whole lit easier to move!

Oh, yeah! My son's bed was easy! It fell apart on the way out the door so we left it on the curb rather than take it to our new house.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer.....your lucky day. It is so nice to come out better than expected when those things happen. I feel I came out ahead with the dishwasher too, I was expecting to shell out $900 this week for a replacement ($600 + installation and take away old one). I guess I can take my wife out for dinner now.

That's why a trustworthy shop is worth it's weight in gold. Can you imagine how much my guy saved me today because he's honest?

Yes, a trustworthy shop is invaluable. BUT you could have done it yourself and saved that 45 bucks. I'm willing to bet (I'm doing a lot of that today) that you spent more time getting it to the shop and back than the time you would have spent putting the belt back on yourself. Of course you would have had to get the Chipmunk out of there. Don't tell us your squeamish about stuff like that. You can get a whole box of disposable plastic gloves just like that mechanic used at Harbor Freight for about 5 bucks. That is more than you may ever need but think of all the Chipmunk removals you could do in your lifetime. Not just with cars but your house, your kids houses, your neighbors houses, you future grand kids houses, your....you get my point. You just blew 45 bucks.

jmonroe

28firefighter

Since when is Ikea furniture light?

That said, we've had some Ikea furniture that moved with us from Pittsburgh that has held up better than "name brand" furniture. In fact, I'm trying to kill it to justify replacing it and I simply can't. It takes a beating.

driver100

stickguy said:

lasting a long time is nice. but only one factor. I am more interested in performance than just lasting. So if the trade off for something that works a lot better is a shorter life, well, that can be worthwhile.

Also. cost is something to think about....but in a different way. I had to buy a new refrigerator in 1990 and it cost about $800. I can get a similar one today for almost the same price, maybe $100 or $200 more. Even though it may not last as long....I am still getting something equivalent.

Remember too, those older fridges didn't do a lot of things a new one will....like self defrost and run more efficiently. Kind of like an MB.....more can go wrong, but, do you really want to not have those features?

driver100

ab348 said:

Big Audi recall today, over a million cars worldwide with the 2.0L Turbo engine. The electric coolant pump can overheat, fail, and catch fire. That's usually not an issue with a mechanical water pump.

Unless it was kept secret or it causes death.........recalls are a part of life. It happens, does not on it's own indicate the car is bad or not reliable.

driver100

qbrozen said:

well, we can't prove anything. I only know what my experience tells me, and that is the things around me that are old are still working, while things I bought a few years ago are dead and buried.

Since we're bringing plumbing into the discussion, how about furniture? Does the lighter, more efficient Ikea stuff outlast the far heavier, solid stuff from 100 years ago?

For one thing....people want smaller lighter furniture. Today's furniture is more practical, probably is more comfortable. Might not last as long but I prefer today's modern clean and practical designs to that over stylized big chunky furniture of the olden days anytime.

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

well, we can't prove anything. I only know what my experience tells me, and that is the things around me that are old are still working, while things I bought a few years ago are dead and buried.

Since we're bringing plumbing into the discussion, how about furniture? Does the lighter, more efficient Ikea stuff outlast the far heavier, solid stuff from 100 years ago?

I didn't say everything. I agree that some stuff today is not as good as what was made years ago. I don't own any Ikea furniture but you are probably right about the build quality. Again, I didn't say everything.

The regulars in here have heard about our original dining room furniture set. Still have it. Got it when we were married and still lived in an apartment. I could kiss one of Mrs. j's looong time friends (all the way back to grade school) on the lips, who said a few years ago, "I always liked that set. I don't know why you want to get rid of it but if you do I'll take it". She just didn't know a good thing when she had it but now she does.

jmonroe

driver100

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Maybe not, but it is a whole lit easier to move!

Oh, yeah! My son's bed was easy! It fell apart on the way out the door so we left it on the curb rather than take it to our new house.

Our IKEA bed in Florida will be impossible to move. It has drawers underneath, has about a million grommets, took three days to build........it will get sold with the house one day....no one is taking that bed apart.

driver100

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer.....your lucky day. It is so nice to come out better than expected when those things happen. I feel I came out ahead with the dishwasher too, I was expecting to shell out $900 this week for a replacement ($600 + installation and take away old one). I guess I can take my wife out for dinner now.

That's why a trustworthy shop is worth it's weight in gold. Can you imagine how much my guy saved me today because he's honest?

Yes, a trustworthy shop is invaluable. BUT you could have done it yourself and saved that 45 bucks. I'm willing to bet (I'm doing a lot of that today) that you spent more time getting it to the shop and back than the time you would have spent putting the belt back on yourself. Of course you would have had to get the Chipmunk out of there. Don't tell us your squeamish about stuff like that. You can get a whole box of disposable plastic gloves just like that mechanic used at Harbor Freight for about 5 bucks. That is more than you may ever need but think of all the Chipmunk removals you could do in your lifetime. Not just with cars but your house, your kids houses, your neighbors houses, you future grand kids houses, your....you get my point. You just blew 45 bucks.

jmonroe

Probably VOID the warranty trying to do it yourself. Oh, you forgot the tail and that got caught in the .........

ab348

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

well, we can't prove anything. I only know what my experience tells me, and that is the things around me that are old are still working, while things I bought a few years ago are dead and buried.

Since we're bringing plumbing into the discussion, how about furniture? Does the lighter, more efficient Ikea stuff outlast the far heavier, solid stuff from 100 years ago?

For one thing....people want smaller lighter furniture. Today's furniture is more practical, probably is more comfortable. Might not last as long but I prefer today's modern clean and practical designs to that over stylized big chunky furniture of the olden days anytime.

You must not ever visit an Ashley Furniture showroom. The one we had here (until it went bust) had nothing but oversized pieces designed for the latest in oversized McMansions.

driver100

jmonroe said:

qbrozen said:

I didn't say everything. I agree that some stuff today is not as good as what was made years ago.

The regulars in here have heard about our original dining room furniture set. Still have it. Got it when we were married and still lived in an apartment. I could kiss one of Mrs. j's looong time friends (all the way back to grade school) on the lips, who said a few years ago, "I always liked that set.

jmonroe

Don't try that these days......unless you want a harrassment suit filed against you.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

qbrozen said:

I didn't say everything. I agree that some stuff today is not as good as what was made years ago.

The regulars in here have heard about our original dining room furniture set. Still have it. Got it when we were married and still lived in an apartment. I could kiss one of Mrs. j's looong time friends (all the way back to grade school) on the lips, who said a few years ago, "I always liked that set.

jmonroe

Don't try that these days......unless you want a harrassment suit filed against you.

I'm not worried because I know she'd like it. Might even make Mrs. j appreciate me more.

jmonroe

imidazol97

This must be one of the examples cited earlier of higher quality parts being required for premium makes while the "cheaper" lines of autos just put in any old thing, even quality fail parts?

ab348 said:

Big Audi recall today, over a million cars worldwide with the 2.0L Turbo engine. The electric coolant pump can overheat, fail, and catch fire. That's usually not an issue with a mechanical water pump.

qbrozen

Funny enough: we actually shop for furniture by weight. We browse online, and those options that are deemed "too light" are nixed. Our experiences have taught us that only the heavy stuff holds up over time. Our family is not easy on furniture.

PF_Flyer

qbrozen said:

I still have a tube stereo. Never had to fix a darned thing on it. I don't know about really old TVs, but my father still has a Zenith console set from the early 80s that still works, and that saw more use than I could possibly compute.

My favorite guitar amp is still my Gretsch tube amp that my father bought in 1951 as his first amp. Still going strong after 67 years. My son-in-law wants it BAD

iluvmysephia1

Cool Gremlin going to auction. Big c.i.V8 installed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/classic-cars/rarest-gremlin-in-the-world-headed-to-auction/ar-AAwi2u3?li=BBnbfcL#image=AAwi2u3_1|3

For the low, low price of $2,995, buyers could have a car billed as being able to run the quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at nearly 106 mph. With all the speed parts installed, the 401-XR turned 12.4 seconds at 115, an absolutely blazing speed. For comparison, a 1970 Chevelle 454 SS with the powerful LS6 engine option, one of the most desirable muscle cars in the word, ran in the mid-thirteens, as did the famed Yenko COPO Camaro.

I test drove one of these when the Mrs. and I were out of town in Tacoma, WA, and my '65 Mustang's tranny crapped out. It was an automatic-trannied Gremlin in a weird greenish-blue color. The Mrs. and I looked at each other and shook our heads collectively!

AMC began offering a 304-cid V8 in the subcompact Gremlin back in 1972. Because all AMC V8s are based on the same small block introduced in 1966, Randall AMC of Mesa, Arizona quickly realized that a swap to the far more powerful 401-cid/6.6-liter unit would be simple.

Being a dealer with a famed racing history, Randall easily acquired the larger engines and other parts from the AMC performance bins. With a hotter cam, high-rise manifold, bigger carburetor, beefier driveline, and a few other go-fast bits, the 401-XR was born.

As far as drive goes, it was actually fun ta drive that car. We ended up trading for a 1970 Chevy Suburban V8 350 c.i. I don't think we got much better than 10mpg in that rig, but it never stranded us. Ended up trading that for a '66 Ford Fairlane with a smoky engine. Sold that car for $100 to someone and bought Dad's '73 Plymouth Gold Duster. We thought we were livin' it up in that nice little slant 6. Traded that car in in the fall of 1989 on the first car we bought on time, the 1986 Mercury Lynx station wagon. The head gasket blew when we were over on the Olympic Peninsula with Mrs. iluv's Mom and stepdad in the car. We made it back to Stanwood limping, and put it in the shop.

Occasionally I'll think of that AMC Gremlin in the weird soft alien green color and wonder how it would've gone had I traded for it. It had a peppy start - just touched the ghastly pedal and that thing was off the line!

driver100

Front door panel seam looks a little wider than it should be....maybe to fit big V8 engine!

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=82Cu8oCRne4

iluvmysephia1

Front door panel seam looks a little wider than it should be....maybe to fit big V8 engine!

I see that, too, driver!

qbrozen

I'm confused. They say 21 were originally built, but then go on to say this 22nd example is the only documented one. So are the others undocumented? Should they be deported? And how was this built 4 yrs ago? From scratch? If so, from where were all the pieces obtained? If a donor car, what was the story on the donor?

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1 said:

Cool Gremlin going to auction. Big c.i.V8 installed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/classic-cars/rarest-gremlin-in-the-world-headed-to-auction/ar-AAwi2u3?li=BBnbfcL#image=AAwi2u3_1|3

For the low, low price of $2,995, buyers could have a car billed as being able to run the quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at nearly 106 mph. With all the speed parts installed, the 401-XR turned 12.4 seconds at 115, an absolutely blazing speed. For comparison, a 1970 Chevelle 454 SS with the powerful LS6 engine option, one of the most desirable muscle cars in the word, ran in the mid-thirteens, as did the famed Yenko COPO Camaro.

I test drove one of these when the Mrs. and I were out of town in Tacoma, WA, and my '65 Mustang's tranny crapped out. It was an automatic-trannied Gremlin in a weird greenish-blue color. The Mrs. and I looked at each other and shook our heads collectively!

As far as drive goes, it was actually fun ta drive that car. We ended up trading for a 1970 Chevy Suburban V8 350 c.i. I don't think we got much better than 10mpg in that rig, but it never stranded us. Ended up trading that for a '66 Ford Fairlane with a smoky engine. Sold that car for $100 to someone and bought Dad's '73 Plymouth Gold Duster. We thought we were livin' it up in that nice little slant 6. Traded that car in in the fall of 1989 on the first car we bought on time, the 1986 Mercury Lynx station wagon. The head gasket blew when we were over on the Olympic Peninsula with Mrs. iluv's Mom and stepdad in the car. We made it back to Stanwood limping, and put it in the shop.

Occasionally I'll think of that AMC Gremlin in the weird soft alien green color and wonder how it would've gone had I traded for it. It had a peppy start - just touched the ghastly pedal and that thing was off the line!

More than likely the result of a shoemaker who tried his hand at body work.

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1

I wondered some of those same things, brozen, and no, I don't know the answers to them. I do know that having a Gremlin with a large V8 like this would be a very, very fast car. The one I drove had a 6-cyl and I remember mentioning to the Mrs. that it really took off with a zip.

Anyone on here know any Gremlin history?

stickguy

oh man I like that gremlin. I had a 74 X back in college. big 6, 3 speed on the floor. Yellow. I did like that car.

this one just needs a 4 speed!

of course, wildly uncomfortable, and probably a death ride that can snap on you at any moment.

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1 said:

I wondered some of those same things, brozen, and no, I don't know the answers to them. I do know that having a Gremlin with a large V8 like this would be a very, very fast car. The one I drove had a 6-cyl and I remember mentioning to the Mrs. that it really took off with a zip.

Anyone on here know any Gremlin history?

Not me but whoever named it gave a hint about the problems an owner could expect it to have with it. Nothing wrong with being honest.

jmonroe

qbrozen

The 258ci I6 was very torquey. 

tbirdmarco

 Enjoyed reading everything throughout the day posted here guys about the old stuff quality versus newer stuff 

tbirdmarco

 Too young eager to say but I’m sure will do all the stuff was possibly build better you guys would know better than me ha ha Ha personally or that I have car with excitement to it so it has a few problems wouldn’t bother me in a boring car just my opinion 

tbirdmarco

 Everything has its problems I go also mentioned cars appliances just some a bit more than others that’s life for you 

imidazol97

Now we've got dishwashers that steam the dishes first. I want one that cleans them and puts them into the cabinets for me.