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

uplanderguy

I liked that Caddy was doing its own thing with the razor's edge look, but that car did look wide and big for a two-seater I think.

I toured Bowling Green when they were building XLR's. It was on its own line.

fintail

Competing with the MB SL variants, I think. Caddy didn't learn their lesson with the Allante (nor did Lexus with the roundy SC). SL may be a low volume seller aimed at affluent boulevard-cruising retired dentists in Del Boca Vista, but it effectively has no competition and hasn't for decades.

XLR had that same odd 'tweener strategy Caddy has used to fight the Germans, too. Basic XLR was cheaper than a SL, but slower. The V was faster than a basic SL, but more expensive. The AMG was faster than the V, but (significantly) more expensive. However, that price point cares more about badge and material quality than price.

I don't mind the look of the XLR, as Andre said, it is the ultimate expression of the maybe fancifully named "art and science". Not sure if I would like the build/material quality though. I remember Top Gear whining about the plastics.

tjc78 said:

fintail said:

Saw an XLR-V on the road today.

That's one vehicle I never understood. Why did Caddy need a variant of the Corvette?

The owner of our local bakery had one for a long time. Recently when passing the place I noticed a newer Vette parked outside.

fintail

Similar demographic here. Luckyboomer, jorts, tucked in t-shirt, white sneakers, maybe a bluetooth earpiece/phone holster/fanny pack for bonus points, even more bonus points if they constantly gripe with a chip on their shoulder about "millennials" and how younger people have it easy today while enjoying a fat pension and living in a house bought for far less than today when adjusted for any income or inflation measure.

I suspect the MB SL has an average buyer age a decade and more older than prior Corvettes. C8 should and I believe will lower the Corvette average age - the modern shape is appealing to younger people, GM has some muscle cred again among young people who like the Camaro. I've also seem some gripes from oldsters who don't like the new car - they'll likely hold on to their chrome wheeled C5-C7.

uplanderguy said:

I haven't seen that demographic in Corvettes where I live, for thirty years. Almost always older couples in them. I think the typical "wanted one when I was younger and couldn't afford it and now I can" thing going on.

I did know one guy who bought the XLR new. He was early fifties, owned his own business, married, not your stereotype but I will say we didn't like him--he was extended family, LOL.

I do, however, see moussed-up, slim, forty-somethings driving outside their skill level in BMW's here though.

Speaking of Corvettes for a minute, I just yesterday saw this first review (for me) of the $60K base C8. Seems pretty tasty to me from this. I like the non-black wheels and no spoiler.

https://www.cars.com/articles/2020-chevrolet-corvette-test-drive-video-all-about-that-base-model-419210/

roadburner

A friend who worked in engineering at GM(but drove an E30 M3) warned me about the Allanté; he said that the Pininfarina body was so flimsy it required more than a few engineered band-aids to just barely pass the NHTSA barrier test.

roadburner

ab348 said:

And when the moussed set has their hair fall out and they add a bunch of pounds in their advancing years, they will still be driving whatever BMW is offering at the time while the next generation of poseurs is in whatever the current hot ride has become. The circle of driving life...

I think that the only time I considered leaving the BMW fold entirely was in the '80s and '90s- whenever it was rumored that GM was interested in buying the marque.

ab348

Pininfarina is not known for their robust body engineering regardless of which manufacturer they are contracted to.

Watched a Salvage Hunters: Classic Car last night where they did over a Fiat 130 coupe from the '70s, a car I had never seen before. Pininfarina design, Pritchard thought it beautiful, I thought it was decidedly unattractive. They spent a fortune essentially rebuilding the body from scratch due to corrosion. They blamed the poor-quality Russian steel that Fiat took in payment for helping the Soviets construct the factory where 124-based Ladas were built. Had not heard that story before.

ab348

fintail said:

I don't mind the look of the XLR, as Andre said, it is the ultimate expression of the maybe fancifully named "art and science". Not sure if I would like the build/material quality though. I remember Top Gear whining about the plastics.

I thought the XLR was a very distinctive-looking car. The (excess?) width made it appear even lower than it was.

Back in that era Top Gear would complain about American materials/build quality as a matter of course. Ironic coming from staunch defenders of various British makes.

fintail

The right XLR is probably something of a bargain these days, kind of retro-future almost now, distinctive.

I recall Clarkson I think losing it at the cheap clicking noise made by the gear lever. I remember TG had a thing for Jaguars of the era, I doubt those aged well - I see about as many on the road these days as I do XLRs (which sold at a lower volume for sure).

ab348 said:

I thought the XLR was a very distinctive-looking car. The (excess?) width made it appear even lower than it was.

Back in that era Top Gear would complain about American materials/build quality as a matter of course. Ironic coming from staunch defenders of various British makes.

stickguy

had my weekly shopping excursions today. Unearthed the RDX since it had not moved in a while. Took the long way and managed to get it over 200 miles finally! almost worn out...

eventually will need to get gas. Probably taking it on a trip to Delaware next weekend so that will really roll up the miles on it.

tjc78

I haven’t gotten gas in anything except the lawn mower since 3/16 when I filled both cars up.

Volvo has a 1/4 tank because I joy rode a little bit. The Enclave has 3/4.

Probably stupid I filled the cars when I did since the gas is much cheaper now!

stickguy

I only topped up the TLX this week because I was at the station getting mower gas in the can, so figured might as well. Most likely that gas will go bad before I need to fill up again.

the RDX is showing about 150 RTE at this point, but that is also at around town only MPG. might help to actually get out on the highway and run it a bit.

roadburner

Since April 1st. I've filled up the Clubman, Wrangler, and X1 once, and the M235i twice. I'm trying to drive every car save the X1 to work once a week- but now I'm down to 3 days per week because of what I think is an overreaction by our Supreme Court.

fintail

I seldom get below half a tank, and lately have been topping up at 3/4, I think I've spent maybe $40 on fuel in the past month, and that includes fintail joyrides.

I cleared out the dashcam memory card yesterday, it had data going back 2 weeks.

sda

I’ve been making it a point to drive the Accord and TL at least once a week. The TL took $10 to top it off today, first fueling in 6 weeks. The Accord has 5/8 tank, last fill up 3/14. Last I checked the Q5 has 3/4. It gets driven once or twice a week to fetch groceries.

roadburner

My gas bill for April is $95.22

andre1969

Last time I topped off the '03 Regal was on March 13. And that only took about 9.5 gallons. I normally wait for the low fuel light to come on, and then it usually takes about 14-15 gallons to fill up. But, at the time, I was actually worried about the possibility of a fuel shortage; I never thought we'd have a glut of it! I think I've put about 170 miles on it since then. Normally, I would have put about 300 per week on it.

The Ram's last fill up was on 4/5. It only took about 8.2 gallons. Normally I'd let it go a LOT further than that, as it has something like a 27 gallon tank. But, I had to run out anyway to get gasoline for the lawn equipment, and was also low on milk, so I figured I'd knock out as many chores as possible with one trip.

ab348

I am defying the iron grip of our Public Health overlords and taking the ATS for 15-minute drives every 3-4 days just to keep the battery up and get some heat into things. Can’t do that with the Cutlass unfortunately as it has antique plates and hence would be an easy target for the “Papers, please” enforcers.

kyfdx

No one here would ever stop a car out for a drive. What exactly is the risk in that?

fintail

No enforcement like that here, either, and we were an original hot zone.

tjc78

ab348 said:

I am defying the iron grip of our Public Health overlords and taking the ATS for 15-minute drives every 3-4 days just to keep the battery up and get some heat into things. Can’t do that with the Cutlass unfortunately as it has antique plates and hence would be an easy target for the “Papers, please” enforcers.

Bring a shopping list with you with some stuff crossed off

“Officer, just looking for a store with toilet paper!”

ab348

kyfdx said:

No one here would ever stop a car out for a drive. What exactly is the risk in that?

According to them, it is all about the risk. “If you get in an accident or have a breakdown, you will need people to respond with aid, which puts them at risk”. The odds are about like getting hit by lightning but the good citizens just nodded and let it happen. I am not making this up. He actually said that in response to a question at a presser, and there have been numerous reports of cars being stopped for questionable reasons just because the authorities had suspicions the driver wasn’t on the permitted once-a-week shopping trip.

fintail

The press is failing its duty to hold irresponsible unchecked authority accountable by letting that one pass. One is probably more at risk going for a permitted walk - you could fall, be hit by a car, bit by a dog, etc.

My state has responded to this mess somewhat inconsistently and without perfect logic, but appears to have done a better job than much of this continent.

andre1969

Here in Maryland, I think the general attitude is, if you're out driving, they won't mess with you. But, if you get into an accident, or a cop pulls you over for breaking the law, that's when the real fun begins.

I heard somewhere, although I can't remember if it was a local radio station, or on tv, that drunk driving arrests have gone up. But, I don't know if that's just in Maryland, or if it was some other region. I haven't really been watching the news much, except for a few minutes at a time, because they keep saying the same things over and over again for the most part, and often it's old news that I already read on the internet.

I'd say "Airport '79" is probably more educational television watching than much of what passes for news these days. At least when I watched that, I learned that you can fire a flare gun out of the open window of a Condorde traveling at ~Mach 2, to throw heat-seeking missiles off track.

I took my '79 5th Ave around the "block" (which out here is about 6 miles), but that was before the virus lockdown. It stalled out once or twice (weather was cold and damp). With my luck, if I tried that now, it would leave me stranded, and a cop would come along

I guess I could start it up and run it around the circle of the driveway a few times, and maybe back and forth on the stretch out to the street. I haven't actually tried this, but I think the driveway is long enough I'd have enough room to get it up to around 30 mph...

fintail

If I got a ticket like that, I'd lawyer up and fight it just because. But I don't think my area is being operated in quite that stupid of a manner, so I have no worries. I've cruised in the fintail every weekend and might do it tomorrow. It is "essential" that the old car is driven to keep things working, so there we go

The news today is mostly just good for a laugh, find how many contradictory statements from our brave responsible accountable leadership (at all levels from the city to the feds) one can find from one day to the next, or even in the same day.

uplanderguy

Our gov has generally been looked at as ahead-of-the-curve in dealing with all this, and I've been pleased.

Last Saturday we took the Equinox a couple hours south to see the daughter-and-son-in-law. Got carryout, visited, then we stopped at Marion on the way home to see the Harding tomb (always impresses me) and I wanted to see the progress on the Harding Presidential Center which is being built to be open this year, the centennial of his landslide election. It was a fun day and the interstate had very little car traffic; so nice. Only bad thing, the next day was insufferably boring. I think we had fallen into accepting the quarantine 'til then, but a day of roaming made us feel like we were starting it all again.

Pic taken last Sat. by my wife in front of Harding's tomb, built 1926.

Harding died in 1923; his wife the next year; they had no children together. His mistress Nan Britton, whom DNA testing a few years back supported her claim in her 1927 book that she fathered Harding's daughter, lived until 1991! She died in Oregon. (The daughter lived until 2005 I think it was.)

After I got home, I heard that 1,800 inmates in the prison at Marion tested positive. I never knew there was a prison there; have never seen one. Luckily we didn't eat or touch anything while in Marion.

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

I heard somewhere, although I can't remember if it was a local radio station, or on tv, that drunk driving arrests have gone up. But, I don't know if that's just in Maryland, or if it was some other region. I haven't really been watching the news much, except for a few minutes at a time, because they keep saying the same things over and over again for the most part, and often it's old news that I already read on the internet.

There was a local news story about the OSP catching more folks going over 100. I believe total citations were down due to less driving but some are driving faster (mostly Dodge Chargers and Challengers based on my anecdotal observation, LOL)

uplanderguy

In this general downtime I've discovered what to me are some very interesting Facebook pages devoted to old cars. I've mentioned the "Original Cars" page, but there are some very narrowly-defined groups that I've joined too, where I've seen cars owned by members and/or for sale, that I've never seen in the general world of social media. This morning I joined one called "1971 General Motors Full-Sized Automobiles", which I like in general despite my sometimes-aversion to real big cars. The stuff I've seen there is pretty amazing. I like the narrow focus; avoid time on stuff I don't care about.

imidazol97

uplanderguy said:

Our gov has generally been looked at as ahead-of-the-curve in dealing with all this, and I've been pleased.

Last Saturday we took the Equinox a couple hours south to see the daughter-and-son-in-law. Got carryout, visited, then we stopped at Marion on the way home to see the Harding tomb (always impresses me) and I wanted to see the progress on the Harding Presidential Center which is being built to be open this year, the centennial of his landslide election. It was a fun day and the interstate had very little car traffic; so nice. Only bad thing, the next day was insufferably boring. I think we had fallen into accepting the quarantine 'til then, but a day of roaming made us feel like we were starting it all again.

Pic taken last Sat. by my wife in front of Harding's tomb, built 1926.

After I got home, I heard that 1,800 inmates in the prison at Marion tested positive. I never knew there was a prison there; have never seen one. Luckily we didn't eat or touch anything while in Marion.

Neat. Our friend lived in Marion for a while but we only got to visit once.

It's a good thing you didn't leave Ohio--the sign at the border says if you're entering Ohio you need to self-quarantine for 14 days. It's on an overhead display board here near Dayton.

uplanderguy

Wow, I hadn't heard that. I thought that at some point I might drive over to my old hometown in NWPA, just up to the cemetery where my family is interred and see how things look for Memorial Day (I know I'm early). Thanks for that heads-up.

stickguy

there are a fair amount of people out driving around in my area. no one bothers them. still way less traffic than normal.

next week we are moving my daughters stuff to her new apartment in Delaware (sadly she signed the lease a week before it became a really stupid idea, the same day we bought the new car which in retrospect could be a terrible move!) since she has it, even though she won't move her body for a while. at least will empty out and stop paying for the storage unit, and get all the boxes out of my living room. gives us some time to put together all the new furniture this week and next.

so Friday I pickup a U Haul, saturday drive that and the RDX to delaware, return the U haul, assemble crap and drive home. probably go back Sunday or the next weekend to finish up. so at least the car will get a good workout. Hopefully the police down there don't bother us with NJ plates!

technically if you come into the state you need to self isolate for 14 days. Though if she does move this month, no where to go anyway! and she would come home on the weekends most likely.

what a freaking mess

tjc78

“ what a freaking mess”

Indeed!!

uplanderguy

Just escaped for a bit to see if the two nearest Chevy dealers to me (both within ten miles of me) had a C8. I was surprised to see both showrooms open. I drove the PT and in a sweatshirt and jeans, no one approached me which was OK by me, LOL. The nearest dealer had a red C8 in the showroom (too cliched 'Vette color for me), and it had the dopey couple hash mark stripes over the front wheel openings. It was a 2LT and stickered at $72K. Really nice saddle-colored interior IMHO. But the dopey dealer left white shipping tape, and a lot of it, over the right door handle and quarter vent area. Duh!

High point though was, driving from that dealer to the next, about five miles away, an old guy with a cabbie hat pulled out in a turquoise '61 Sedan deVille six-window hardtop. Looked decent and I followed him about three miles. Left fin brake light was burned out, and it had that familiar old V8 exhaust smell, but it went down the road straight and fairly-fast. The old guy was smoking a cigarette in it! No license plate installed; had an Ohio Historical Plate about half-buried, sticking out between the rear seat and parcel shelf on the left side of the car.

On top of seeing this Caddy, a maroon '57 Chevy Bel Air two-door sedan pulled in front of the Caddy and drove a mile or so before turning off. That car did nothing for me, but I thought it was cool to see two old cars in a row on Route 91.

stickguy

did our weekly order out for pickup meal tonight (usually we went out Fridays, but weather was lousy and no one felt like it). debated the various restaurants we like that are still open, and decided to splurge calories on cheesesteaks. Man, that was tasty tonight!

the steak and pizza place seemed to be doing well still. lots of people cooking and boxes and bags piled up for orders. But they never had many people sitting down to eat anyway, so if anything, the new normal should help them.

stickguy

coming back from grocery shopping earlier, an old timer (car and driver) got behind me. light brown 1964 Chevy Impala. Looked original (aka tired). Only saw the nose so can't tell how many doors, or engine badge. But weird to see in your mirror.

kyfdx

I drove in and out of Ohio twice this week. No quarantine necessary. 😉

stickguy

you can do that. I know with Delaware, they don't care if you pass through, and fine to leave, but are supposed to quarantine if you come in to stay. Of course that is all on you to do. Open book test!

explorerx4

C & D retro comparo article with some stuff Fintail likes.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15141394/bmw-750il-vs-mercedes-benz-560sel-lexus-ls400-bentley-turbo-r-archived-comparison-test/

roadburner

I remember driving one of the first E32 750i sedans in North America; it was the first BMW fitted with that moronic 155 mph speed limiter- a result of a "Gentlemen's Agreement" between Audi, BMW, and M-B to tamp down the hysteria from the European Safety [non-permissible content removed] and the Green Weenies.

I decided to see if I could hit the limiter, but I wimped out at a tick past 140 mph- although at 125 mph I asked my wife to guess how fast we were going and she guessed 80 mph.

It was a magnificent car; it and the E65 Alpina B7 are my favorite 7ers.

ab348

I vaguely recall one of the magazines - probably C&D - writing something like:

"No matter how hard I work
No matter how long I toil
I shall never be able to afford
A BMW 75 Oil"

fintail

IIRC those were very finicky cars.

ab348

I can well imagine. The V-12 had 2 separate engine control computers, one for each bank of cylinders, because Bosch did not make one that controlled a 12-cylinder engine. Then BMW apparently had to add a third ECM to manage the 2 Bosch computers. What could possibly go wrong?

sda

ab348 said:

I can well imagine. The V-12 had 2 separate engine control computers, one for each bank of cylinders, because Bosch did not make one that controlled a 12-cylinder engine. Then BMW apparently had to add a third ECM to manage the 2 Bosch computers. What could possibly go wrong?

Did they use oil like the V8?

ab348

sda said:

ab348 said:

I can well imagine. The V-12 had 2 separate engine control computers, one for each bank of cylinders, because Bosch did not make one that controlled a 12-cylinder engine. Then BMW apparently had to add a third ECM to manage the 2 Bosch computers. What could possibly go wrong?

Did they use oil like the V8?

I'm no expert but I did read that the early-year models used a Nikasil block which could develop oil consumption problems. Later models switched to a different alloy block using Alusil which apparently cured that issue.

uplanderguy

Did they have a dipstick?

The first maker I recall (anyway) that did away with oil dipsticks was BMW.

I hate that in the worst way. Hell, I hate when ATF dipsticks went away (including GM).

I always check oil level before I leave the dealership.

fintail

The senior E38 models can be fun, too. This page has been around since the olden days of the internet (and looks it), amused me back then

The x45 engined cars of the mid 00s seem especially iffy, I've seen plumes of smoke that would make the fintail blush. It seems MB had a malaise era of sorts with achilles heel issues within 5-10 years on each side of the turn of the century. BMW was trying hard to keep up with this.

xwesx

tjc78 said:

I haven’t gotten gas in anything except the lawn mower since 3/16 when I filled both cars up.

Volvo has a 1/4 tank because I joy rode a little bit. The Enclave has 3/4.

Probably stupid I filled the cars when I did since the gas is much cheaper now!

Well, don't feel too bad about those little tanks. I filled the fuel tank for my house back in February.... 1,000 gallons.

roadburner

The only Nikasil engines BMW sold in the US were the early V8s. The V12 was Alusil and they are not a lot of trouble to maintain if you can DIY.

The early oil level sensors were often problematic, but the ones installed in my E84, E90, and F22 have been faultless.

tjc78

xwesx said:

tjc78 said:

I haven’t gotten gas in anything except the lawn mower since 3/16 when I filled both cars up.

Volvo has a 1/4 tank because I joy rode a little bit. The Enclave has 3/4.

Probably stupid I filled the cars when I did since the gas is much cheaper now!

Well, don't feel too bad about those little tanks. I filled the fuel tank for my house back in February.... 1,000 gallons.

Wow!!

fintail

Saw a few people cruising around, but just the roadster set - saw some MR2s and I think the same S2000 in a couple different places going around the lake. No other oldies at all, which surprised via the nice weather and that we aren't under a real lockdown.

Also saw a 300SL roadster for sale for 35K - in a 1984 issue of the MBCA "The Star" magazine. Not many cars can appreciate faster than real estate in my zipcode, but that one did.

andre1969

Wow, Derwood must have fallen on hard times toward the end of "Bewitched" Here's a shot from season 8, episode 17 (original airdate 1/22/72), and he's still got that beautiful turquoise '70 Impala in his driveway...



According to the IMCDB, there's a '72 in episode 8.21...



I don't ever remember seeing it, though. That episode comes on in a couple days, so I'll have to watch for it. I wonder if it's from a scene that got cut out after years of trimming for syndication. When this episode was originally broadcast, a typical half-hour show was about 24 minutes of programming, 6 minutes of commercial. Sometime around 1985-86, they started cutting to around 22 minutes. I doubt if it's even 19-20 minutes, nowadays.

Heck, the first commercial block after the opening credits was a bit over 4 minutes, just by itself!