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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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It's not ALL BAD. Even when designers went over the top, there was a *vitality* to car design that we don't see as much today---now and then we do, but not at the ferocious pace of the mid 50s IMO.
1955 brought luxury, style and technology to the "common man". A great year for cars--perhaps the most defining year *ever* in automotive styling.
Was the 3-piece rear window a throwback to an earlier car which used that pattern of rear window? I keep thinking it was to give the car a halo of elegance by association with an earlier car model that was luxury with a 3-piece rear window.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I also saw a 2CV on a country road, a Daewoo Lanos, and a Hyundai Pony.
And the highlight, spotted on another country road, a SWB Quattro, like this:
In the same area, not far from the Czech border, I also saw some kind of classic auto dismantler. Piles of body parts, including roof sections for fintails and pontons. I don't know what good those could do.
On another subject, I have noticed Germans will tow anything with anything. Tow a gigantic camping trailer with a Mondeo? No problem. Tow a wrecked 911 with an old W124 coupe? No problem. Tow a horse trailer with a Focus wagon (I'm not kidding)? No problem.
That must have been an exciting time to buy a car, with so much so new out there. I think 1957 and 1965 were probably also exciting years. We'll probably never again see a time when so many new vehicles get launched at once.
For comparison, here's what Consumer Guide highlighted on the front cover of their 1980 auto guide...
"All New FWD Cadillac Seville"
"Four Wheel Drive AMC Eagle"
"Distinctive Dodge Mirada"
"Smaller, Lighter Ford Thunderbird".
And on the back cover, in full color...
"Chrysler's Classy New Cordoba"
"First Four Door Continental Mark VI"
"More Aerodynamic Buick Electra"
"Mercury's More Compact Cougar"
"Popular New Pontiac Phoenix"
"Plymouth's Gran Fury Returns"
Exciting times, eh? :P Actually, they seemed it at the time to me, but I was only 9 years old. Plus, we got a new car that year, a 1980 Malibu. Not exactly cutting edge technology, but at the time it seemed light years ahead of the '75 LeMans it replaced.
I was thinking of vehicles being over-exerted. Pulling a trailer holding a Porsche with a 20 year old MB, almost certainly an automatic...seems risky.
Oh yeah, overall mpg in the diesel tank is 8.2l/100km so far...not too shabby, as I cruised at around 100-110 mph for long stretches today and even got up to about 130 for a little bit...but the winter tires are rated for no more, so I backed off.
In 1980 my mom was holding on to her bloated T-Bird as neither of my parents embraced the downsized models. I think my dad's Horizon was around by then...which he was very fond of.
'49 was the BIG change/improvement because it was the first year the manufacturers didn't inflict their 1942 warmovers. '49 introduced the new Cad and Olds Kettering V8's in new bodies, although the '48 Cad had the same Fisher, but with the old Flat head V8. GM's Hydromatic was a 4 speed, but power steering was yet to be. A 49 Cad torpedo coupe with the 331 c.i. V8 caught my eye then.
i have to laugh, my neighbors Z06 sounds like one.
65 of course is the beginning of the muscle car era (well '64 I guess), the Mustang, fresh new body styles.
Those old Hemis were pretty impressive for the time, though. The Chrysler 331 put out 180 hp when it first came out for 1951. That same year, Cadillac's 331 only had 160. 1955 marked the end for the Caddy 331 and Chrysler's 331 Hemi (the 1956 Windsor used a 331 but it was a poly head), and that year they both had 250 hp, although the Eldorado offered 270 hp while the C300 had 300.
DeSoto's first Hemi, the 276.1, put out 160 hp in 1952. Oldsmobile's famed "Rocket" V-8 put out the same hp...but required 303 cubes to do it!
Not always. To use one example, one of my old managers from when I worked at Denny's, once had a 1957 DeSoto Fireflite. This was 1965, so being a defunct brand with big tailfins, it was considered a major loser car. However, he was able to embarrass many cars that were considered much cooler. He ended up selling it and got a '57 Chevy convertible. It was a 283, but I dunno which one (I think thye had like 5-6 variations that year) He said that while the DeSoto wasn't nearly as cool back then, it would walk that Chevy like the dog it was.
Speaking of old dog Chevies, here's an old Tom McCahill test of a 1959: http://www.xframechevy.com/MexIll-11-58.htm Now I know a 348 is a whole different beast from a smallblock, but why would it end up being this slow? With the 3x2 carbs and 3-speed turboglide, he was only getting 0-60 in 13.1 seconds. It mentions that he got 10.4 out of a 1958 Impala, but no details on which engine.
I know the '59 Chevy was porking up a bit, but 13.1 seconds sounds more like what Consumer Reports might get out of a mid-60's 283/powerglide (they got 14.5 out of a '68 Impala 307/powerglide)
WVK
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Why did Chevy quit making TurboGlides, anyway? I heard they weren't as reliable as the PowerGlide, and nowhere near as good as the THM400 and THM350 transmissions that came in later years...but were they THAT bad?
And the smaller the car was the more people and cargo it had. It was funny.
Not sure what this one is but it looks like a Yaris sized subcompact:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Turboglide wasn't really a 3-speed, at least not in the traditional sense. Like Buick's Dynaflow, you didn't feel any shifts in drive. It was very smooth, but didn't yield much acceleration. And, yes, Turboglide was troublesome. Many went bad. Powerglide wasn't the epitome of efficiency, but it was rugged and low maintenance.
Wait, I'm 'fused. I thought it was the Powerglide that was the good tranny! :confuse: What did you end up replacing it with?
"First thing I did when I got my '59 Chevy Impala convertible was ditch the Turboglide. it's worthless. I don't know anyone who would voluntarily keep one in his old Chevy. "
See? I get to rewrite history!
I replaced it with a rebuilt POWER-glide.
That still sounds strange to read.
Another strange sight was a white 2001 or so Buick LeSabre sedan with red and green racing stripes!
There is a LeSabre sedan in my town that is dark blue or black with wide white racing stripes on it.
Who thinks that it's OK to do that? I mean, on a coupe or hatchback, perhaps, but a sedan? And a Buick, to boot?
Wow.
It was in the showroom of the VW dealer I stopped at yesterday. Still an odd looking piece. But, I was reading the auction results in the latest issue of Automobile, and they had the same car (with about 30K miles IIRC) selling for over 15 grand!
best of all, in 1979, it still had 4 wheel drum brakes?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I saw another Focus towing a horse trailer the other day...maybe it has some super torque diesel option here or something.
For instance, Ford Focus Sportbreak Trend 2.0 TDCI 136 HP, 265 Nm at 2.000 rpm.
Regards,
Jose
My big 730d Panzerwagen is now getting 7.8l/100km thanks to slower Swiss roads...it's a great long distance cruiser, but is like herding cats in ancient narrow city streets with high traffic volumes. I think I would have a motorcycle for normal commuting here.
Also, hugely diverse auto selection here. I've seen everything. The Swiss are much more openminded than Germans in terms of car purchases - a lot more Fiats here, for example, and many more French cars too. Also, there must not be strict inspections here...I have seen some somewhat beaters on the road. Now for the oddities... Off the top of my head...Dodge Aspen, Dart Swinger, 64 Riviera, 63 Vette made into a 4x4, 90s LeSabre, 90s Roadmaster, 90s Grand Am, early 00s Grand Prix, W123 taxi in Zurich, tons of W220 and W221 taxis, Aston DB7, and on the Autobahn just south of Stuttgart I saw a 90s Grand Prix, a 90s Neon, and a 90s Cadavalier - exactly the cars I wanted to escape from! :shades:
And the best weirdos of the past few days:
Spotted yesterday in Bern traffic
And possibly the oddest taxi in Zurich
Diesel makes a lot of sense.
what is is orange and sleeps 5?
a state DOT truck.
For obscure cars today, not so busy....I was in some smaller cities, I did see a 90s Caddy Fleetwood - the car I would want least to have in Europe. Also saw a late 90s Eldo and a 90s LeBaron convertible, and a mid 60s Rambler convertible. I am surprised by the amount of plain boring American cars here.
That one-year-only 99 Turbo, I believe, was the first mass-produced European car with turbocharging sold in North America, and introduced that technology to a host of enthusiast drivers. I may be wrong, and someone please back me up on this fact. :P
I'd also mention that GM was the real pioneer in Turbocharging street cars, introducing a Turbo version of the Olds F85 and the Corvair in 1961.
I recall reading that the Saab turbos were based on technology used on turbo-diesel trucks made by Scania.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93