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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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@fintail
I still want one of those.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Not to mention an AMG SLS...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I still want one of those.
Weren't they generally considered pretty disappointing in terms of performance?
ETA: trying to get this forum software to properly attribute quotes and indent correctly to show who said what is simply an exercise in frustration. I have edited this post a half-dozen times and cannot get this thing to look correct.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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But, no mainstream midsized or full-sized sedan was going to pull those numbers. Hell, Honda had to modify the Accord just to get a V-6 to fit!
But, by the time the Marauder came out, a V-6 Accord or Altima would embarrass it. Any GM intermediate with the 200 hp 3.8 would make it work hard...throw a supercharger in there and it would walk it like a dog. Whereas an Impala SS was unique, and pretty powerful for its time, by the time the Marauder came out it was just a sheep in wolf's clothing.
Nowadays, a lot of 4-cyl cars would give that kind of performance. I think a 4-cyl Altima is good for 0-60 in 7.0 seconds. For comparison, the first car to be marketed as a musclecar, the '64 GTO, was good for 0-60 in about 7.8 seconds. That was with the stock 389-4bbl that was lifted from the bigger cars. It also took a stick shift, no air conditioning, and a scarcity of other weight-adding, power-sapping options, and most likely an axle ratio that made it scream like a banshee, to make it get that 7.8 second time.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Even if those engines had the power, with the transmissions of the time, they could gear them for acceleration or top speed, but not both. Nowadays, they can put an ultra-short first gear, and an ultra-tall final gear, mate it with a quick axle ration, and you get a good blend of everything. The short lower gears with the quick axle give good acceleration, while the tall overdrive gears help offset the quick axle, to keep it from over-revving, giving a higher top speed. Plus, better economy at those higher speeds.
I do think the modern tires definitely help with handling, though. My first old car was a 1969 Dodge Dart GT that had mismatched tires on it. Some of them were bias ply, and some were 195/75/R-14's. I swapped them all out with 205/70/R14's, and it made a huge difference in handling. The only other car I had any experience in driving with bias ply tires was my '57 Desoto, and that was never anything I was ready to take auto-crossing, anyway. I'm not about to try pushing a car with no seatbelts and a non-collapsing steering column to its limits!
The Impala SS is qiicker but the Marauder is probably the better car.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
x1000! I'll tell you, about the only current vehicle that turns my head is a C7 Corvette, and even it has to be one that's not a screaming color nor one with black wheels and all that cladding that some of the upper versions have. An Impala LTZ turns my head, but I still want to see a dark green one but haven't. Other than that, I yawn at everything else.
I'm really hamstrung by not being a mechanic, and finding local shops to do work on an old car is daunting around the suburbia I call home, but I sure hope to get back into a '60's Studebaker Lark Daytona or Hawk or even a second-gen Corvair again in my life. I just wrote one daughter's last tuition check and have three years on the second daughter to go yet.
Hate to say it, but I don't think there's anything out there that really excites me anymore. The car I'd be most likely to get is a Charger, but I lost a little bit of interest, with the 2015 restyle. If I was going GM, it would most likely be an Impala. But, neither one really gets me *that* excited.
I might be channeling my inner childhood Smokey and the Bandit, but the thought of a new truck does get me a bit excited...even though that's the LAST thing I need! And then, when I look at the prices of them, I get a bit disillusioned. I think getting my 2012 Ram at the end of the model year, at such a cheap price, spoiled me to the point that seeing them priced more "normally", they just seem too expensive.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
http://blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/01/1962FordF100_02_700.jpg
Here's a '62 with the old '57-60 bed:
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4f7aOHDK--/18d3ue9z50tgrjpg.jpg
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I also remember as a kid that one nasty winter December Sunday our Desoto had a breakdown and wouldn't start in the church parking lot. One of the guys, who along with my father were both Elders in the church, let my dad use his 61 Ford pickup for a few days while the Desoto was over at the gas station getting repaired yet again. He was a contractor, so the Ford had automatic and custom trim. He didn't need the truck because he and his family were heading up to Minnesota for a week in their 60 Olds station wagon. Now there was a nice car, black exterior and totally loaded. Ironically, right after they had bought that Olds, all of it's electronic stuff locked up and they couldn't get it started in the church lot. My older cousin was staying with us and was very mechanical. He messed with it for a half hour or so and was able to get in and get the door locks and windows working again. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when he ended up spending a career in the Navy as a jet mechanic. People just seemed more neighborly and didn't let petty differences of opinion get in the way back in those days. It wasn't Mayberry, but it sure as heck seemed a nicer era in America.
I think my Granddad had a GMC 3/4 ton truck of that vintage, as well. It was before my time, but I seem to recall my uncle mentioning it, and saying that it was bone-stock, 3-on-the-tree, and very slow.
I like that too. Studebaker Champions (cars) had that from '47-49, and base (Lark-type) cars had that for '64-66. Even though the Stude I owned the longest was a '63, a hardtop '64 would be my choice if I couldn't buy a Hawk.
About Chevy trucks of that era, above--of course, it's subjective, like anything--I never thought the '60-66 Chevy had any great styling chops, front, side, or rear. A friend's Dad who worked at Lordstown bought a new, basic '66 and it had the small rear window and it was all metal inside--I mean ALL metal--no headliner, and no upholstered door panels. I'd take a Ford, Dodge, I-H, or Studebaker over a Chevy truck of that era. Just me personally. And at the time, I was young Mr. "all Chevy"...LOL.
As for trucks, I always thought the Dodge and International trucks were kind of under-rated. The '61+ Dodges seemed really modern, but something about the front-end just seemed a bit weird. I like them better than the later single-headlight models with that "owl-eyed" look, though.
I always liked the mid 50's Dodge and International pickups, as well as the Travelall (or however it was spelled).
I guess I'm so accustomed to seeing "STUDEBAKER" or "CHEVROLET" across the tailgate, that "FORD" looks weird to me, even though I really like that truck styling.
Speaking of pickups, has anyone seen the Idaho Potato Farmer's (lame) commercial featuring the pristine '55 red and white Studebaker pickup? I see it probably four or five times a week. The commercial's dumb but I love the truck.