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

kyfdx

Speaking of...

Parked on a local street.
'99 SLK in red, for sale
37K miles.. looked almost new. Unfortunately, chrome wheels.
Also, unfortunately: $11K asking.

fintail

Crackpipe price, needs a half off sale.

ab348

fintail said:

On the obscure car note, another not old oddity - an Impala SS. Not the cool mid 90s version, not the oddball late 00s V8 FWD model, but the early 00s version, which was more of a trim package with I believe a 3.8. I remember seeing one on a lot around 2001-02, hadn't seen one in ages.

Important to differentiate between the first-gen FWD Impala SS and the 2nd-gen, which had a SBC V-8 and ate transmissions for breakfast.

texases

Anyone here driven the FWD with the V8? Would seem to combine unlimited torque steer with front-end plowing, a GREAT combination!

ab348

I never got the chance to drive one, but the Buick version seemed to be reasonably well-received:

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/buick/lacrosse/2008/2008-buick-lacrosse-super-first-drive/

andre1969

texases said:

Anyone here driven the FWD with the V8? Would seem to combine unlimited torque steer with front-end plowing, a GREAT combination!

I've never driven one, but I do remember one time, in my 2000 Park Ave Ultra, trying to pass someone who was getting on my nerves. When I punched it, the torque steer was a bit of a surprise, and I had to fight with it a bit to keep the car going straight. That's just with a supercharged V-6, I imagine the V-8 would have been really brutal!

Oh, as for that earlier FWD Impala SS, I think it used the supercharged 3.8, as well. I can remember though, when the 2000 Impala came out, some local dealer was taking the cheap base model with the 3.4, dressing it up with a bunch of aftermarket crap, sticking "SS" badges on it, and trying to push it for around $30K! And that was an era when I think a base Impala started at around $20K, maybe a bit less.

berri

Sounds like the 71 "Heavy Chevy" ploy

fintail

That's what I remember about seeing that V6 SS years ago, sticker was over 30K. I seem to recall it was a 3.8 and not a sticker special though. I think I laughed out loud, a tough pill to swallow with the styling of that car, and its interior material quality.

I remember when the V8 FWD was on the market, a ton of them got put in rental fleets - I wonder how many claims were made with that power and handling.

andre1969 said:

Oh, as for that earlier FWD Impala SS, I think it used the supercharged 3.8, as well. I can remember though, when the 2000 Impala came out, some local dealer was taking the cheap base model with the 3.4, dressing it up with a bunch of aftermarket crap, sticking "SS" badges on it, and trying to push it for around $30K! And that was an era when I think a base Impala started at around $20K, maybe a bit less.

fintail

On the road tonight I saw a goodie, a Porsche 356 cabrio (not a Speedster, and I am 99.999999999% sure it was real), black with gold rear nameplates. Not using its signal, but I am not 100% sure it worked, so I will let it go.

roadburner

berri said:

Sounds like the 71 "Heavy Chevy" ploy

Don't forget the Rally Nova- all of the stripes, none of the horsepower.

tjc78

All of the supercharged or V8 GM FWD cars of that era had massive torque steer.  My buddies Grand Prix (late 90s) was a handful on a rough roads and heavy acceleration.  I also drove a 2006 Lucerne with the V8 and it wasn’t much better.  (My review of that is buried somewhere here in one of the forums and I got flamed for it).  

GM really tamed that in later years if you ordered a model with the Hyper Strut (probably spells differently) suspension.  I remember test driving a 3.6 LaCrosse first without it and then with and the difference was night and day. 

stickguy

went to a local small town festival today (the bouncy house and lions club booth type) but they had a couple of oddballs parked in the lot. A passat W8 4motion (which apparently must move under it's own power!) and a original generation Acura NSX. was really surprised to see one of them out and about.

andre1969

tjc78 said:

All of the supercharged or V8 GM FWD cars of that era had massive torque steer.  My buddies Grand Prix (late 90s) was a handful on a rough roads and heavy acceleration.  I also drove a 2006 Lucerne with the V8 and it wasn’t much better.  (My review of that is buried somewhere here in one of the forums and I got flamed for it).

A few years back, I thought about getting a used Lucerne to replace my Park Ave, once that car was getting past its prime, but, it never happened. And, now that time has marched on, and those cars keep getting older and older, it probably won't. I think the Lucerne's last year was 2011, same as the Panther, so even the newest examples would be 8 model years old now. I guess if I ever want to pick up another used car, my choices in the range of cars I really like are getting slimmer and slimmer. Probably just the Charger or 300 these days, although I do kinda like the current Impala.

I always had a bit of trouble really warming up to the Lucerne, as well. I thought it looked good in profile, and I even thought the rear was attractive, if not really "Buick-y". But the front-end always left me a bit underwhelmed. I didn't think the early models were bad, but IIRC, the V-8 models had a grille that just seemed over-sized, and then after a few years they gave it a facelift I didn't care for. Also, in my opinion, the Lucerne seemed to split the difference between the LeSabre and the Park Avenue, but ended up coming up a bit short in some respects. For one thing, it was heavier, so performance with the base 3.8 was down, compared to the previous LeSabre, and even the base Park Ave. The 3.9 they started using a few years later might have helped out here, though. But at the top end, I don't think the Northstar was much, if any quicker than a Park Ave with the supercharged engine. Even though the Northstar had more power, the increased weight offset that. The Lucerne was on a longer wheelbase than the Park Ave, but I think interior room was actually reduced a bit. One thing I'll say for it though...the interior quality of the Lucerne definitely seemed improved.

Mr_Shiftright

Followed a Toyota Mirai onto the freeway on-ramp. ("Mirai" means "the future" in Japanese, apparently). It's interesting to speculate if this could be true, and could dethrone both ICE and EVs in 20 years. It seemed to move along quite well.

Also a Tesla Model 3 in black, saving the planet at 52 mph in the left lane. Long string of cars passing him on the right didn't faze him a bit. I stayed behind to watch but gave up after 5 miles. Running out of juice?

And last of all, early 90s Buick Roadmonster Wagon. Remember those? Kind of a guilty pleasure of mine!

fintail

Of those three, the Roadmaster would be the most interesting to look at anyway.

The base model wheels/hubcaps on the 3 are pretty homely,

andre1969

I think the problem with the Tesla 3 is that it falls prey to that old Bill Mitchell trope "styling a small car is like trying to tailor a dwarf" or something like that. That Tesla style looks good on the bigger cars...unadorned, but still expensive looking, and graceful proportions. But, on the smaller 3, it just looks like a generic small car to me...kinda like they took a Mazda3 or Hyundai Elantra, but stripped away any of the excesses that made those cars unique.

Mr_Shiftright

What happened to the Model 3 IMO is that it's starting to look like an electric car--that's bad. That's very bad.

fintail

It might be bad for the car enthusiast, but I think there's a demographic of Tesla dorks out there who like the egg styling, and think it is chic. Think Prius people with more money, rather than someone who covets a vintage Ferrari.

Mr_Shiftright

I wonder. Would you pay $60K for a car that does somewhat resemble a frog? I suppose some might think it cute.

uplanderguy

Here's an eBay Pontiac that's grabbing me. I do think the woodgrain panel that Bonnevilles and Grand Prixs had really added to that instrument panel, but I like this car a lot anyway. Bringing serious bidding too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Catalina-2-2-All-Original-Survivor/323458659901?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160908105057&meid=e7e8f72d9bcc44138a8cb44966b056e5&pid=100675&rk=5&rkt=15&mehot=pp&sd=192666662050&itm=323458659901&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci:a0163272-be8f-11e8-96e2-74dbd1807c88|parentrq:026514fc1660ac1ec3d68d75fffc8b81|iid:1

stickguy

I am not a big car fan, but that is a nice, nice car. Good story and history. Can see why it is bringing big money.

berri

I think the 2+2 Catalina is a sharp car, albeit large

fintail

I like the Pontiac steering wheels of that era, with the translucent piece.

berri

Chrysler did that earlier, and maybe even earlier some others like maybe Mercury? I do like that effect.

ab348

Nice car but too bad it’s white over black. Price seems optimistic. 

uplanderguy

It's bid strongly, but has not met reserve.

I sort-of like the color combo. Seems like so many of those cars were light yellow or navy blue.

I love original/authentic. Outside and inside, that car is the real deal.

PF_Flyer

Had an old timer next to my Note in the parking lot yesterday. I didn't notice the tie dyed Toyota across the aisle until I just looked at the pic before uploading it

fintail

I've wondered, are yellow wheels on a ~1930 car correct, or is this something that came around later? Reminds me of late 19th century wagons.

PF_Flyer

From looking closely at the Ford, it really didn't strike me that they were trying to make it "original".

fintail

I've seen it a lot, especially on 70s-80s era restorations, which sometimes traded accuracy for cosmetic appeal (lots of brown and tan paint).

omarman

Why restore when you buy a Shay replica to show and receive alkaloids plus drive and enjoy? Some things are hard to swallow.

stickguy

Interesting concept. Wonder what the interior looks like? Cheap enough for a unique toy, and at least you can take it on the road.

ab348

That's actually pretty cool.

In some ways it reminds me of the Timmis-Ford, which may or may not still be produced. It was a more authentic reproduction using a flathead V-8.

http://www.timmismotor.com/

(parts of the website look like they haven't been touched since the '90s)

berri

Got behind a black last resurrection of the Mercury Marauder today. Never saw many of them a decade ago really. But still looks like a cop car from the back of it. Very hot and humid today, but it had all its windows rolled down. Maybe broken AC.

fintail

I remember Shays seemed all over the place when I was a kid in the 80s. I had a thing for 20s-30s cars then, and I wanted the one that randomly ended up on the used car lot of the local Ford dealer. They also ended up with a VW-based Bugatti race car replica that I thought was pretty cool. Both were better than the somewhat awkward looking MB-themed Gazelle. Both the Shay and Gazelle always seem to be a tan/brown combo, period correct (that is, late 70s style), I guess/

With how Model A prices have evolved, you can now get a real one for not insanely more than a Shay.

berri

when I was a kid in the 80s.
Hey Fin, you may be a relative youngin' here, but our lingo is starting to rub off on you

thebean

omarman said:

Why restore when you buy a Shay replica to show and receive alkaloids plus drive and enjoy? Some things are hard to swallow.

I've been wondering where in the world I can get some alkaloids. Sigh.

explorerx4

Alkaloids? Maybe accolades.

Mr_Shiftright

Some Model A owners don't take kindly to a Shay showing up at their event. They might not SAY anything, but you can feel the tension in the air

texases

Yeah, like the Shay folk are taking the easy way out.

I wouldn't have a problem with an A owner with non stock paint, improved engine, better brakes. We're not talking about a Duesenberg here...

omarman

stickguy said:

Interesting concept. Wonder what the interior looks like? Cheap enough for a unique toy, and at least you can take it on the road.

23 pics of a car to show and receive alkaloids plus drive and enjoy. Asking $15,900

xwesx

So where does the owner get the alkaloids, again? Is this like re-enacting the booze trade during Prohibition? That sneaky jump seat has to be good for something....

Mr_Shiftright

texases said:

Yeah, like the Shay folk are taking the easy way out.

I wouldn't have a problem with an A owner with non stock paint, improved engine, better brakes. We're not talking about a Duesenberg here...

Oh, you don't know some Model A owners. They'll spend all day debating on the correct shape of a head bolt.

texases

Oh, I'm sure they would have a problem. Me, not so much.

After looking at those Shay photos, I'm like 'why bother?' If I want a Model A, why put up with all the kit-car crap?

stickguy

so you can drive it on normal roads most likely. Styling.

texases

But I'd be stuck on the inside, looking at it. I'd rather do 35-45 on the back roads with a real one. Like the pack of (real) Model As we saw in the Texas Hill Country a couple of years ago. Looked like they were having lots of fun.

berri

Alkaloids? Maybe accolades.
Maybe they are trying to counter some acidic comments

stickguy

or the anxiety of owning it will make you need Altoids?

xwesx

I am starting to think that you guys might need to revisit the word, "alkaloids." Think opium....

stickguy

Sorry. My experience with those is nada.