I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

iluvmysephia1

It is what sells, or what saves the manufacturers money while they build, and makes them the most profits from sales, that will stay in their lineup. Small cars, my favorites, don't make them much money, usually. They study the charts over fine coffee (usually fine, probably) and raspberry jelly donuts. What sticks to the white board after these meetings they focus on in their...focus group to keep, build new, improve, or get rid of.

I like Plymouth and Oldsmobile. Saturn, never liked them all that much, so didn't weep when they sailed away.

explorerx4

I always thought the Gen 1 Saturn sedan looked like it's design was cribbed from Oldsmobile.

berri

Those plastic Saturns were loud inside though

ab348

berri said:

Those plastic Saturns were loud inside though

Yeah, and on the base models the interiors were really, really cheap-looking.

Michaell

ab348 said:

berri said:

Those plastic Saturns were loud inside though

Yeah, and on the base models the interiors were really, really cheap-looking.

They didn't get much better. Of the four we owned, only two (my '03 L300 and the '08 VUE) had anything resembling a decent interior.

The '05 VUE and the '06 ION were really plastic-y.

uplanderguy

I always thought the Gen 1 Saturn sedan looked like it's design was cribbed from Oldsmobile

For sure. Looked like a 2/3 Cutlass Supreme sedan, particularly in the roofline.

sda

Yesterday a Gen 1 Saturn SL-1 parked next to me. It was extremely clean, dark metallic green, gray interior. It even had new looking Michelin Destiny tires. I don't see many of the Gen 1 anymore and those that I do are rough.

fintail

On the clean-ones-are-rare note, saw a pristine looking 2nd gen Elantra, the kind of odd rounded one with the weird nameplate font. Most of those succumbed to bangerdom 10+ years ago. Also saw a clean earlier Contour.

uplanderguy

One-iteration Elantra I thought was a knockoff of the '96-05 Cavalier four-door--shape of doors, front and back, and dimple down the side.

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/250x141/quality/70/http://o.aolcdn.com/commerce/autodata/images/CAB00HYC021A0101.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1x2vho_dEc/UTD69sRUa9I/AAAAAAAEKHA/2WuuBdfRe8oXWISkwX_hHncjmwFLFLeKwCHM/s1600/2000-chevrolet-cavalier-00001.jpg

fintail

That's exactly the one. Cavalier pulled off the look much better IMO, at least before the awkward facelift.

sda

uplanderguy said:

One-iteration Elantra I thought was a knockoff of the '96-05 Cavalier four-door--shape of doors, front and back, and dimple down the side.

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/250x141/quality/70/http://o.aolcdn.com/commerce/autodata/images/CAB00HYC021A0101.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1x2vho_dEc/UTD69sRUa9I/AAAAAAAEKHA/2WuuBdfRe8oXWISkwX_hHncjmwFLFLeKwCHM/s1600/2000-chevrolet-cavalier-00001.jpg

Though a more recent body style, I like this one even less. I always thought the lines were awkward at best.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M4fdb9724665249d4aae269f36f8b0a8aH0&w=313&h=171&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0

uplanderguy

I had two Cavaliers I bought new, but my latter one had those same wheels as the maroon sedan in the link I posted above. Those were the lowest-price aluminum wheels you could get on those cars in those years. Mine was a coupe and in a one-year-only realllllly dark green metallic, black interior, 5-speed, optional (LOL) 15-inch tires and wheels, aluminum wheels, and a spoiler so subtle it practically wasn't there. Everyone always goofed on Cavaliers but mine looked better than more-expensive small cars IMHO. In fact, it looked better than my Cobalt. I got 112.6K miles on it and they were giving great deals on Cobalts so traded on the car I drive daily now. I have 103K on the Cobalt and plan to drive it way beyond 112K.

sda

I had a 2008 HHR 2LT that I enjoyed. My wife didn't care for it much and it was a bit small for our needs so I traded it. IIRC, it was based off the Cobalt platform. It rode and drove well, and the 2.4 was pretty punchy. If you jumped on it from a stop light it would squeal the wheels energetically and it had good passing power between 45-65.

Mr_Shiftright

Have trouble with it? I've heard that they were very glitchy cars.

sda

Mr_Shiftright said:

Have trouble with it? I've heard that they were very glitchy cars.

Very little trouble. The suspension was noisy when it got cold, I believe it was the stabilizer bushings. Changing the headlight bulb was a chore. It had about 50k on it when I sold it. In its own way, a fun, pleasant car.

Mr_Shiftright

I always had an idea about hot-rodding one. I think the PT Cruiser kind of stole its thunder.

fintail

I have a couple relatives who have/had HHRs. No real problems that I remember hearing about. One of them still has one (maybe an 08?) and hates the A-pillar location, as it greatly impedes her visibility.

xwesx

My mother had an HHR. She put 160K on it over about 18 months - no issues that I can recall.

She used it as a pilot vehicle for many of those wind turbines that literally carpet the landscape near Arlington, OR. Its demise came when a yahoo that failed to heed her flagging slammed into her car in an attempt to avoid the 120' long trailer that was carrying a turbine blade. Shockingly (insert sarcasm), the collision was deemed "no fault" as a result of the driver's marital status to an official of that small town. I don't recall the details any more, but it was the beginning of the end of their flagging days....

sda

fintail said:

I have a couple relatives who have/had HHRs. No real problems that I remember hearing about. One of them still has one (maybe an 08?) and hates the A-pillar location, as it greatly impedes her visibility.

Visibility was not that great. One plus is with the low header on the windshield I didn't have to use the sun visor very often, where in the Accord with its great open greenhouse I use the sun visor frequently. I understand that visibility in the current Camaro makes the HHR seem like an Accord in that regard!

uplanderguy

I wanted an HHR when I bought my Cobalt, but it being built in Mexico nixed it for me. Why they wouldn't build it alongside the Cobalt is a mystery to me.

Mechanically, it's a Cobalt. I've never heard anything trouble-prone about them. They had the same ignition switch fiasco the Cobalt did. I have two Cobalts and that never worried me enough to get the free loaner car GM offered. An elderly friend (in fact, my hometown's old Studebaker dealer) had a loaner for two months while the dealer waited for the ignition recall parts. No problem with the HHR; he just decided to get a loaner when I told him that's what they were doing.

The PT Cruiser, of course, came out several model years prior to the HHR.

One HHR model I thought would've been way-more successful, was the 'panel' version. I saw them on transport trucks before I'd ever seen or heard a single word about them.

Mr_Shiftright

I think the PT Cruiser grabbed all the buyers that were going to buy that type of vehicle.

uplanderguy

I will say, the HHR is more of a 'wagon' than a PT--longer behind the rear seat. I like that.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah I like the HHR when it came out. Almost tempted me. But the test drive sort of killed that. I used to own a VW squareback wagon and really like that little car. I thought maybe the HHR could be a modern duplicate. But it was just no fun to drive, and down on power. Nothing much appealed to me but the body when it came down to it.

sda

uplanderguy said:

I wanted an HHR when I bought my Cobalt, but it being built in Mexico nixed it for me. Why they wouldn't build it alongside the Cobalt is a mystery to me.

Mechanically, it's a Cobalt. I've never heard anything trouble-prone about them. They had the same ignition switch fiasco the Cobalt did. I have two Cobalts and that never worried me enough to get the free loaner car GM offered. An elderly friend (in fact, my hometown's old Studebaker dealer) had a loaner for two months while the dealer waited for the ignition recall parts. No problem with the HHR; he just decided to get a loaner when I told him that's what they were doing.

The PT Cruiser, of course, came out several model years prior to the HHR.

One HHR model I thought would've been way-more successful, was the 'panel' version. I saw them on transport trucks before I'd ever seen or heard a single word about them.

Do I get credit that 3 of the 6 Hondas that we've owned were built in Ohio? Civic, CR-V, Accord

uplanderguy

Yeah, I guess.

I like Lordstown because it's near where I have lived my whole life...other than the two years I lived in Atlanta.

sda

uplanderguy said:

Yeah, I guess.

I like Lordstown because it's near where I have lived my whole life...other than the two years I lived in Atlanta.

My '71 Vega GT that I had in high school was born there.

uplanderguy

I like the GT's. Hate 'em or not, there wasn't another 'sporty' small car at the time of the Vega's introduction, and the Vega came immediately in four body styles, which was unique at the time. The other issues have been discussed ad nauseum, of course! LOL

stickguy

I like those too. And I know they rust like crazy and the engines wore out quicker than a pair of sneakers.

Mr_Shiftright

Good looking car, though. I've seen a wagon version with small block Chevy--really a nice conversion.

uplanderguy

At least the early ones. I wouldn't be afraid of a late '75-77, even where I live.

Truth be told--and I know I'm in the minority--I like the '74 and later front and rear ends better. I always thought the earlier bumpers, mirrors, and taillights seemed dollhouse-small.

I hated the yellow taillights on the '76-77 non-wagons though.

I could like a '75 or '76 GT Kammback, or a Cosworth, even though by the time they came out emissions regs choked the original plans.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

One-iteration Elantra I thought was a knockoff of the '96-05 Cavalier four-door--shape of doors, front and back, and dimple down the side.

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/250x141/quality/70/http://o.aolcdn.com/commerce/autodata/images/CAB00HYC021A0101.jpg

Geez, I have not seen one of those around here in many, many years. I forgot all about them. Truly from the time when Hyundai was a disposable car, just above Daewoo among the bottom-feeders.

These ones:

were everywhere around here at the time. Canadians love cheap cars. One thing I remember noting even when they were new was that they either had bab bulbs or bad wiring because all of them usually had various tail/brake/headlights out.

berri

I liked the Kammback version looks

fintail

Those are still thick on the ground here, likely due to the gentle climate. They often look the worse for wear, but they seem to hold up like any other cheapo car from the era.

The Canadian cheap car thing is true. I've always attributed it to harsh climates that made many cars dissolve - why buy something nice if it will rot away just like a cheaper car?

ab348 said:

were everywhere around here at the time. Canadians love cheap cars. One thing I remember noting even when they were new was that they either had bab bulbs or bad wiring because all of them usually had various tail/brake/headlights out.

fintail

The Kammback looks very good. I prefer the earlier small bumper models.

berri said:

I liked the Kammback version looks

ab348

In a shopping center today, an AMC Eagle 4WD wagon, much like this though it looked more orange where this one is red. Seemed to be in positively mint condition. Have not seen many of these in ages.

explorerx4

99% of AMC's were dull drivers, but other than that the Eagle was way ahead of it's time.
Look was pretty much spot on.

Mr_Shiftright

It's an odd duck at best, and didn't sell very well. Somewhat anticipated the Subaru Outback, Audi Allroad, etc, don't you think? It was rather rough-riding and slow, so at the time just didn't appeal to the upscale outdoor types and didn't appeal to the off-roaders either. It was basically a cross between a Concorde and a Jeep. Too bad it didn't sell better, as the AWD system was full-time automatic and much more sophisticated than the Subaru Loyale or Tercel AWD of the period. I think the problem wasn't that it was a bad car at all, but that AMC just didn't market it properly.

Now it seems to be enjoying that kind of "Pacer--Mercedes Diesel--Vintage SUV" popularity, the "collectible curiosities" of the car world.

Some automotive journalists have dubbed the Eagle "the first crossover".

Get one while they're still cheap!

fintail

Before 4WD became a security/compensation/fashion feature. Really hard to find a nice one today, I bet.

texases

Friend had one in 1987 or so, very cramped compared to my XJ Cherokee. 

Mr_Shiftright

I saw one done up as a custom, but they didn't retain the AWD drivetrain or the engine.

xwesx

I see a pair of them up here all the time.  Owners are both older chaps; pretty rugged looking.  Lol.   I even pulled one of them out of a snow berm last winter after it slid a bit off the road.  No damage; he just couldn't get the traction to back out with the all-seasons he had on it.  I told him it was a shame to hobble a car like that with all-seasons; he didn't seem amused.

My grandparents had one for a few years.  The only thing I remember about it was my Grandmother locking us out of the car once.  She broke the passenger cargo window, stuck me inside, and I crawled up and opened the door.  

Mr_Shiftright

All Season = doesn't excel in any of them.

fintail

Saw a 97-01 style Q45 today, and it got me thinking. The MB W140 was initially widely panned for being too brutal (in terms of styling), and too big. But several years after introduction, Lexus and Infiniti would crib from it.

Also saw a very clean looking ~90 Regal in a pleasant blue color.

ab348

On the Eagle - our family had a new 1975 Hornet Sportabout which used the same body as the Eagle of course. 258/Torque Command (Chrysler TorqueFlite), PS. PB. It drove great, much better than any other car we had up to that point. I remember the brakes were great and it seemed to handle pretty well. Space inside was OK and the wagon hatch was useful a lot of the time. Was even pretty reliable. Main problem was that the interior was really crude-looking. Lots of poorly-designed pieces, exposed screw heads, it just looked cheap. I gather the Concorde addressed a lot of those issues.

explorerx4

Not really classic but rare. Yesterday 3 Crosstours, two of them following each other. Today, 2 LS 460's nose to tail on the highway.

fintail

Saw a BMW 2002 today, and a likely restored "high boy" style 70s Ford pickup.

fintail

I am sure many people have seen this dealer's site, but it is worth posting again - Lots of obscure stuff here, especially in the "sold" sections.

I was looking around for pics of 77-79 T-Birds with T-tops (guilty pleasure), and see he has had a few of them. Lots of other cool oddball cars that I wouldn't mind having if I won a powerball and had an aircraft hangar sized garage, too.

kyfdx

Crazy stuff and prices. I guess the mid-late '70s stuff is for those that grew up with Mom driving one of those cars, and are buying for nostalgia purposes. I wouldn't give you half of what they are asking, even if I wanted one of those turds. (which, I obviously don't )

Mr_Shiftright

Not much there that interests me either, with a few rare exceptions. Even the few that appear interesting at first glance aren't really interesting--a Mustang fastback with a 6 cylinder? An automatic GTO? C'mon. Most of the 50s cars he has are 4-door, so that's a deal breaker for me. The late 70s and 80s cars are kinda cringe-worthy. An '81 Corvette has to be the lowest bait possible for C3 bottom feeders.

Looks like he bought most of those cars at funerals.

fintail

Lots of estate sale material there, indeed. But 4 doors have their fans, and there seems to be a little cult out there for malaise luxury.