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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
When I first saw a '73 4-door Chevelle, it reminded me that I couldn't remember a 4-door Chevy with small windows behind the rear doors, since the '60 model. I remember that the front doors seemed small and had very stiff detents; i.e., you really had to pull them to close. They had a different sound when shut than other cars up until then.
One thing I despised about some '73 Chevelles were the ones that came without chromed rain gutters. You saw up close the sloppy fit of the weatherstrip, some of which would normally be hidden behind the chromed gutter. Also, I remember when you opened the hood, the windshield was cut in an all-jagged manner and had no chromed overlay at the bottom to cover that up, as full-size Chevys did.
However, those Chevelles drove tightly and quietly, rode great, and handled well even in base form...a large improvement over the '72 Chevelle in those areas.
I'd love an SS, or Malibu, or Laguna coupe in a dark color, but the Malibu would have to have the optional wheel opening trim and optional chromed rain gutters!
70-71 IIRC are identical in styling cues ...except peeking inside at the console that lists the engine specs one could tell a 71 with lower hp rating.
72 had a different side scoop...and was the last year for the chrome bumper.
That's right, '72 was the end of the chrome bumper and just about the end of a credible Corvette until the C4 arrived some ten years later more or less.
And remember when most Detroit cars had "thumb button" door handles? The '68 was the last Corvette with a door latch button that had to be pushed to open. Wonder if it was one of the last domestic cars to have that vintage body design? I don't remember now.
Some of the other differences are pretty minor ...
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Lincoln Mark III, black top over light metalic green, looked brand new.
Got a good long look because the wife was driving.
A gold 67 or so Cadillac coupe with a sharp cutoff at the back of the roof.
Looked showroom new just like the Lincoln.
first, a 1971 or 72 Corolla. Actually looked very clean. Somewhat restored, and sounded like it might have been "souped up" a bit.
Later a 1969 or 70ish LTD convertible. What a boat.
and maybe the rarest, a VW fox wagon (the 2 door). Later day Vega kammback! white, and looked original, although these looked ratty brand new. I remember test driving one in around 1991 when they first came out. What a piece of crappola. As bad as, or even worse, than a low line Hyundai of the day.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Actually, I can think of one thing to say in defense of the Fox. Years ago, I had a roommate who had one. It was a POS for the most part, always breaking down. But, one day, he locked his keys in it. I was going to just try the old coathanger trick. I locked my keys in my '89 Gran Fury once, and did it once in my Grandmother's '85 LeSabre. Even though both cars had framed door windows, the frames were flimsy enough that I could still pull them back just enough to get the coathanger through, and pull the lock up. Not so on this VW Fox. It had those aircraft/limo-style doors, where they wrapped a bit into the roof. But they were also pretty solidly built, tight enough that I couldn't force a coathanger down in, at least.
Inserted two shims around the window... one shim to push the button in on the vent window latch...the other shim to push/rotate the latch open... Once the vent window was open, you could reach in and back to lift the door lock button..
In that town, probably 50% of the vehicles were Ford trucks... I guess he had a lot of experience...
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It was a "thumb button" door release with an integral key lock set into the button. Discontinued in the Corvette line after '68, I don't recall if other cars used that same style after then.
Found a pic! '68 Vette pic on top, '69 Camaro below:
My old '78 Nova had the separate handle/lock like the Camaro pic.
It seemed to have no trouble keeping up with traffic, too, at speeds varying around 65-75.
In most cases you would only use it when in third gear where it would behave like a fourth speed or a passing gear without shifting. It also had "free wheeling" in which the motor would not slow the car down and save gas. You also had the choice of locking it out so that it acted like a conventional three-speed transmission and the motor would slow the car down (for example when going downhill).
It was the best of both worlds, both automatic and standard transmission. I believe that it was built by Borg-Warner and was used on other cars. I wish that transmission was available now. It was great.
We really don't need this anymore because just about all transmissions are overdrive---and no modern driver is going to let off the gas, reach down and push in a cable, or conversely, have to disengage the overdrive (going down a long hill for instance, where the Borg Warner completely freewheels) by either a) stopping the vehicle, or romping on the gas to allow pulling the cable back out. You couldn't just reach down and disengage.
One nice feature is that you could shift without using the clutch pedal (if you were careful) but of course if you stopped you'd still stall unless you pushed in the clutch.
The British overdrive system was electric/hydraulic and was a lot more elegant---you could engage/disengage merely by flipping a level on the steering column, and you also got overdrive in 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
The American system, while reliable and effective, seemed primitive in comparison.
I think one of the main reasons that overdrive wasn't more common was that most American drivers didn't want to be bothered with more gears. That's probably also the reason that, unlike most European cars, American manual transmissions had three speeds instead of four. The word "convenience" comes to mind. People didn't want to have to downshift after making a 90 degree turn on city streets. They preferred lugging their torquey, low-revving engines a bit instead of down shifting. There were other reasons too, such as cost, and cheap gas.
Those who were concerned about fuel economy, engine wear and reduced engine noise were the ones who coughed up the money for the overdrive option -- when it was available. A four-speed manual would have been a better way to go, in my opinion. No manufacturer of mass produced cars offered a five-speed.
To Shifty's point about the superiority of the British overdrive, one additional reason it was better than the Borg Warner (some Fords had Columbia units), is that the British overdrive was coupled to a four speed manual.
I always admired the GM Hydra-Matic because, until the '60s, it was a four-speed. Other automatics had two or three speeds.
During the war, the speed limit was 35 mph on the main highway so as to keep the RPM's down and conserve fuel. True, the first Hydramatic had 4 speeds, but real O'Drive economy didn't arrive until the AOD's of the 80's.
Good God! This is the one I should go for!
and Rizo is the ultimate Philly icon (which is truly sad for philly natives, sorry Lemko!)
But with a reserve of 40K (minimum bid) on it, I expect crickets to rule the auction.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
And being an '80, it at least avoided the 8-6-4 and 4.1 era.
I do like how in like '84 and '85 the entire bodyside molding was the color of the car...no chrome beading/outline...which gave the look of no molding, like Fleetwoods right up til 1970 had. But I wouldn't trade that for those damn aluminum V8's!
It's hard to look at the car and think that was a downsized model from only four model years earlier!
Yeah, that's way out of line.
Looks like about a $7500 car in a normal sane environment without happy gas being piped into the room.
Sell it for $10,000 & buy him a plaque!
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I didn't realize bronze statues cost $40,000. If this auction doesn't go well, they might have to settle for fiberglass.
If they really want to honor the old (oops, can't say that word here), they should dig a hole in the broad street median (the no parking zone) and bury the nose, and let the butt stick out (way out), like the caddy ranch in TX.
Lemko will get the humor in this I think!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Central London is loaded with statues to worthies of bygone ages, and although many of them are at least famous here, there are a larger number who were probably not well known by the time they finished paying for the statue...Even in Trafalgar Square, apart from Admiral Nelson, who most would know, there are other mostly Victorian generals etc on statues dotted around, and when there was a competition some years ago to fill a spare plinth (empty since the 1860's when the square was rebuilt) the local press ran an article on how nobody knew the identities of these other guys at all - apart from one who seems to have a lot of pubs named after him (Lord Napier).
This applies in particular to politicians, as usually they fall out of fashion.