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

19879889909929931278

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    sda said:

    The 200 six was always a dog power wise, however smoother and quieter than the 2.3 four. I imagine it was marginally quicker and a tad thirstier but not by much.

    Yeah, our Maverick had the similar 250 c.i. "big six" and it was gutless. I was amazed at how an engine that size could have so little oomph. I gather they were limited by the design of the intake and exhaust ports which in turn dictated a smaller carb.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    RE.: '69 and '70 Chevrolet instrument panel--I agree, pretty lackluster styling, although I like it better than Pontiac's panels of those years.

    I'm reminded to post because on the 'original cars' site on Facebook (which I love), a guy posted the interior of his '68 Caprice. I agree with ab348 that while it isn't the very nice panel of the '67, it's better than the '69 or '70.

    Regarding the metal glovebox doors--I remember at the time not thinking about crash safety as I do now when I look back, but I also remember thinking these seemed substantial compared to other cars....most likely, the ridiculously flimsy '73-77 Chevelle and Monte Carlo probably 3/8" thick plastic glovebox doors that opened with no detents at all--a good screwdriver could break into one. In fact, it's not unusual when you see one now that a corner of the door has bowed out some from a perfect close.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Maverick LDO--adorable strawberry blonde/redhead cheerleader in my high school, whose grandfather was the Ford dealer in our town, drove a light metallic blue '73 or '74 with 302. My fondest Maverick memory, LOL.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    RE.: Too--flared out fenders/wheelwells on '69 and '70 Chevrolets--this was adopted on '70-72 Chevelles as well. I guess not as pronounced though.



    But...wagons and El Caminos didn't get this. I remember thinking even back then as a kid that this was odd.




    That '70 El Camino is delicious IMHO and I can't say I'm generally a fan. 20K miles, still has its dual-stripe whitewalls, to my eyes the best '70 color, Black Cherry. From the Facebook "All Original Cars" page this morning.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I wonder if GM thought it would cost too much money to change the tooling for the El Camino and wagon models, compared to the volume sold? My old car book doesn't break out production of the '70 Chevelles, but it does for '71. Looks like that year they sold about 42,000 wagons. But, in comparison, they only sold about 56,000 sedans, and another 20,775 hardtop sedans, so those weren't huge volume models, either. The majority were hardtop coupes, of which they sold about 204,000. And convertibles were another roughly 5,000.

    But, while the quarter stampings would be different for a 4-door and a 2-door, they were still probably more similar, and cheaper to implement? I don't mind the bulges on the 70, at all. Maybe because it's already a fairly trim size, they look like more of a tasteful accent to me, whereas on the '69, they just look swollen?

    **Edit: With the El Camino being classified as a "truck", my auto encyclopedia doesn't include it. But, I googled it and found about 42,000 were built in '71. 47,701 in 1970. So, that might blow a hole in my "low volume" theory.

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    The Ford inline 6 did seem a bit low on horsepower in those days, compared to the Mopar slant six and the Chevy 250. Throughout most of the 70's, the Chevy 250 seemed good for 105-110 hp. The Mopar slant six was usually good for around 110 hp in 1-bbl form, until emissions controls started to choke it. And there was a couple years in there where the CA version really got choked down, to something like 90-95.

    By '77, the 1-bbl version of the 225 slant six was down to 100 hp, but a 2-bbl "super six" version was introduced, with 110 hp, from '77-79. However, it looks like the 2-bbl didn't pass California emissions standards. Interestingly, going to a 4-bbl carb allowed some V8s to pass emissions in California, but I guess going from a 1-bbl to 2-bbl didn't do the same trick for the slant six.

    For 1980, the 2-bbl was dropped, and the 1-bbl was choked to 85 hp. That same year, the Ford 250 had 90 hp. Oddly, my old car book lists the Ford 200 at 91, for 1980.

    1975 looks like it was the worst year for the Ford 6-cyl engines. The 200 was down to 75, while the 250 only had 72! The Mopar 225 was down to 95. The Chevy 250 was at a relatively unscathed 105. The Buick 231, in its debut year, was a rocket, relatively speaking, with 110 hp.
  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936
    A friend had a 76 Granada with the 250 six. Boy that thing was slow. Quiet, horrible handling, great ac.

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    My paternal grandparents had a '77 Granada with the 250 and an '81 with the 200. I don't really remember much about either one as far as performance goes. Granddad usually did all the driving, and drove like your typical old person, so I'm sure both cars suited them just fine. Before that, they had a '75 Dart with the 225. Now the car before that was a '71 Tempest, and I'm pretty sure it had a 350. I wonder if Granddad suffered any "horsepower withdrawal" going from that Tempest to the Dart?

    Now on my Mom's side of the family, they went from a '72 Impala with a 350 to an '82 Malibu wagon with the 229, and I distinctly remember both Grandmom and Granddad learning to hate, really quickly, that car's lack of performance! Granddad also had a '72 LUV in the late 70's, and replaced that with an '81 Ram D50 with the Mitsubishi 2.6. I'm sure those were both slow as well, but were probably geared quicker, so they'd at least make a lot of noise and jerk you around some, so you'd feel like you were doing something! The LUV was a stick shift, too, which probably worked in its favor.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    My girlfriend had a Monarch. She would turn the A/C off, when going up a steep hill.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    Two older cars out today that I encountered: a really nice looking Fox square-body Mustang 5.0, in white which I don’t often see on those. Also a ‘57(?) Chevy pickup, restored and clearly modded somewhat mechanically, but very nice indeed.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    On my walk that is finally turning into a jog, saw a pristine maybe 1991-92 E300 sedan, silver on grey, looked brand new. Parked at a drug store, I suspect an elderly original owner. A lot more class than almost anything new. Also saw a red FJ40 Landcruiser in definitely not stock spec.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    edited April 2020
    Omni or Horizon in advertisement colors that were rarely seen. The bottom of the doors was a thin yellow, while above the door protector rubber strip was an orange brown. I cannot find a picture of one in those colors, but it was instant memory or advertisements or TV ads in that colors. Car appeared rust free.

    Those were about 1978. I have no idea of year for this survivor.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF2lRNqd-LI

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    They were big on two-tones. There was another style that had the break line lower:

    image

    Then of course there was also the optional woodgrain trim that was offered on the bodysides.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    My dad's Horizon was like that, kind of a three tone with the stripe:


  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    Not really a classic yet, but certainly obscure for these parts - I was picking up something today from a place out in the sticks, a large 1970s subdivision with the typical ranch houses cheek-by-jowl on curvy streets. A nearby house had a late (judging from the round rear wheel openings) Chevy Caprice Orca sedan in the driveway, looking absolutely mint, gray metallic with faux-wire wheel covers and white sidewalls. Those have disappeared up here. I liked it.

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  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,311
    It is possible to translate the inflated epa mpg numbers of c. 1980 into today's more realistic numbers. Anyway, a 25 city/38 highway rating for a Plymouth Horizon back then translates into about 22 city and 27 highway in today's numbers.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Quick trip to the store yielded spottings of both a 68 Cougar and a Jensen Interceptor (badged "Jensen III" I believe). Not bad at all.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    RE.: ab348's comment about the late Orca Caprice--I bought a new '93, base model, ruby red (not the right name, but a not-deep maroon) with dark maroon cloth interior, wire wheelcovers, F41, Goodyear Eagles with pinstripe whitewalls, Positraction, 305. My local dealer found it at Don Allen in Pittsburgh. I wouldn't take any other color, in or out, as an 'OK choice'. Salesman said it was the only one out from about 200 dealers that had the things I wanted.

    At 35 and 28 we were probably the youngest Caprice buyers that dealer had had. It was a good car. My last vehicle with a full-size spare.

    In 1999 I sold it to the one of the companies who was constantly sending me postcards "Call us! We want your Caprice!". I sold it for cash in my driveway for more than either of two Chevy dealers would give me for it. It got sent to the Middle East.

    I did always like the lacy aluminum wheels on the '91-96 Caprice upscale models.

    The leather interior on those cars was pretty darn nice for a Chevy. Mine didn't have it.

    Although my friend used to goof on its instrument panel (the "Silly Putty dash"), I hated the '94-96 panels that replaced it.

    GM just handed that business off to Ford, but I've read once or twice that police and taxi owners liked the Caprices better, with the caveat that they were 350's.

    After ownership, there were a few niggling details that we didn't like about it. The right floor was raised to clear the catalytic converter, and that seat was low, so your legs were stretched pretty out straight. The plastic door panels, hollowed out for storage areas, flexed when you pulled on them and if you leaned on the armrests, they made little plastic creaking sounds. They advertised the car as the "roomiest Caprice ever", but the tops of the rear doors curved in towards your face as you climbed in. All stuff probably no worse than other cars, just observations.
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    I noticed the door panel issue on those Caprices that I got to ride in as taxicabs, both the flexing and the creaking. Likely cheaper to produce than a traditional upholstery-over-hardboard panel. The design never struck me as particularly space-efficient because of the tumblehome and the thickness of the doors, although they had plenty of interior room regardless. But I much prefer the previous more angular "sheer" design language.

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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    I always wondered if with the upper models which had a door pull strap on the upper door panel, I might not have noticed the flexing as much as we did with pulling on the armrest on the lower part of the panel to close the door every time. But we'd still have noticed it leaning on it the armrest, as my wife tended to do while trying to get comfortable on a long drive in that low-to-the-floor RF seat.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    benjaminh said:

    It is possible to translate the inflated epa mpg numbers of c. 1980 into today's more realistic numbers. Anyway, a 25 city/38 highway rating for a Plymouth Horizon back then translates into about 22 city and 27 highway in today's numbers.

    My understanding is that they used raw laboratory numbers up through 1984, and that's why you see stuff like 1981 K-cars rated at 26/42 and other overly optimistic things. For 1985, they adjusted the numbers downward in an attempt to make them more realistic, and then around 2007 I think, they adjusted them downward again.

    The EPA website has some spreadsheets that you can download, that lists the raw laboratory numbers. I remember awhile back, looking up the specs for 2000 cars. My 2000 Intrepid, which had a window sticker of 20/29, was rated something like 24/38 under the raw numbers. I think it was 18/27 under the 2007 set of numbers.

    Side note...the numbers that the EPA, CAFE, or whatever use, to calculate whether the auto makers are going to pay a fine, are based on the raw laboratory numbers, and not the window sticker numbers. And I think they still break out trucks and cars separately, and give trucks a lower average to have to meet.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I wonder if that low right front seat on the B/C body was a common complaint? It never bothered me in my grandmother's '85 LeSabre, but I did notice it. I can remember one of Grandmom's old lady friends, who drove a '75 Monte Carlo, complaining about how low that seat was. Oddly, that seat had a power adjust for the recliner, but fore/aft was the only other adjustment, and that was manual. The driver's side had the 6-way power seat.

    When I was younger, I used to think it was kind of odd, that the owner of a '75 Monte Carlo would complain about the LeSabre's seat being so low. But, then when I got my '76 LeMans, which would be the same basic thing, one of the first things I noticed about it was how high up the seating position was.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    I remember first noticing a high seating position in our new '77 Impala coupe. The seat was firm and not frilly, and the design in general was taller than what had been typical for GM. I also remember the short hood (for the time). I really did like the car a good bit better than our '74 Impala Sport Coupe.

    My Studes have high seating. When I'd take my mother for a ride in my old '63 Lark Daytona, she could slide right in and out, no prob. In my Cavalier coupe she'd need help getting up and out, and in my van I'd have to pick her up to put her in a seat!

    I can't say I remember the high front passenger floor in the '77 Impala, but now that I think about it, I do remember that in the midsize GM RWD's.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Jensen Interceptor

    No one would mistake the two, but I see some Avanti-like styling characteristics in those cars.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    My memory's getting a bit fuzzy now, but I think they raised the floor on the passenger side of the GM B/C body, to make room for the catalytic converter underneath. That's definitely why it was raised on the '78+ A body. Here's an underside shot of a '78 Malibu, and you can definitely see the area of the floor pan designed around the catalytic converter...


    As for the '91-96 Caprice being "the roomiest ever", it might have been, going on EPA interior volumes. IIRC, shoulder room was something like 64-65", at least up front, which would put it about on par with the '71-76 mastodons. And, I'm sure legroom and headroom, at least the way they measure it, was better in the downsized cars as well. All the EPA does is take those headroom/shoulder room/legroom measurements, multiply them, convert from inches to feet, and then round to the nearest cubic foot.

    Just doing a quick spot check, here's a few stats I found:

    1996 Caprice: 115 cubic feet of passenger volume, 20 cubic feet of trunk space.
    1985 Caprice: 110/21
    1979 Caprice: 111/20.

    I couldn't find any interior volumes for the '71-76 models, as the EPA only shows them going back to '77. And worse, for '77, if a coupe and sedan were offered, they averaged them, and a coupe was almost always smaller inside than a sedan. Anyway, just to throw out the stats for a few pre-downsized big cars...

    1978 Newport/New Yorker sedan: 107/22, coupe: 106/22
    1978 Ford LTD sedan: 106/23, coupe: 100/23
    1978 Mercury Marquis sedan: 108/23, coupe: 100/23
    1978 Lincoln Continental sedan: 114/22, coupe: 111/22

    My guess is that a '71-76 Caprice would fall in around 106-108 cubic feet of passenger volume for the sedan. I seem to recall the trunks were a bit small though, maybe only around 18-19 cubic feet? The '71-76 interior was definitely bigger than the '65-70, although the trunk on the '65-70 was probably larger.

    I thought it was interesting that the '79 had a larger trunk than the '85. I was always under the impression that the '80 re-skin created a slightly larger trunk, because the decklid didn't slope off quite as much? But, it could also have been a very subtle thing, where, say, 20.4 cubic feet got rounded down to 20 and 20.5 got rounded up to 21?

    Back in 2009, after my Intrepid got wrecked, I looked around at a few used cars. One local lot had an early 90's Caprice, and a late 90's Olds 88. I remember sitting in the Caprice and thinking that it didn't seem so great with legroom, and in the back seat my head hit the ceiling because of the way it sloped down. The Olds 88 actually felt better, in terms of legroom and headroom.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    You know me, I typically hate droopy rear wheel openings, but even though I had a '93, in hindsight I think the '91 Caprice Classic is better-looking. The way they opened up those rear wheel openings for '93 looked really amateurish when you got up close to it, and I never liked how that year they added "CHEVROLET" across the chromed grille. Also, I liked the gloss black around the side windows, which was a one-year-only thing ('91).

    Early reviews liked the cars, but after a bit out, one or two reviewers mentioned the whale-like qualities, and then pretty much everybody jumped on that bandwagon.

    With all these years hindsight, I'd still prefer a nice boxy '90.

    On the really big '70's big Chevys, I seem to remember "18.9" as the cubic feet of the trunk. The Custom Coupe had a large decklid which gave the impression of a roomier trunk than the Sport Coupe and sedans, but it was illusion I think.

    Something else I remember about our '93--there was no resting your left arm on the top of the door panel...my arm didn't reach that far!

    I never liked the Roadmaster (should've been called 'Electra' IMHO) nor the Fleetwood...both really looked gargantuan to my eyes. Funny how Olds offered a wagon on that body but never a sedan. I will say the Fleetwood reminded me of older, big Caddies.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    From the "All Original Cars" FB page this morning--a car which is probably overtrimmed, but I love the muted colors, in and out. Original paint and interior. Most are bright pastels with interior contrasting colors requiring sunglasses! Thankfully the owner has resisted adding a continental kit, skirts, and the fake rear side exhaust ports. :)


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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    My problem with the '91-92 Caprice is not only that skirted look, but the wheel cutout looks like it's angled in the wrong direction, with a rearward slant rather than forward.

    I think one reason the '93 might look awkward, even with the wider wheel opening, the rear door looks like it's still a carryover from 1991-92. It was shaped for the smaller, reverse-slant wheel opening, and doesn't quite match up with the larger '93 wheel opening. It's one of those things that you might not notice at first, but once you see it, you can't un-see it!

    Style-wise, I think Ford did a better job when it applied the aero look to their Panthers but, being a GM fan, I will confess a fondness for the Caprice/Roadmaster/Fleetwood. And the later models with the LT-1 350 engine definitely sway my interest!
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I wonder, but I bet one could get a '94-96 Caprice LS (nice interior and wheels) with LT-1 for far-less than an Impala SS.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    A 'skirted' GM look that I could never stand over the years, is the nineties Olds Ninety-Eight and the Achieva sedan. Both look like a round wheel opening that was just covered with a flat piece of sheetmetal at the top.

    I think the Ninety-Eight is probably a pretty nice car truth be told, but I'd have a hard time getting past that.

    I understand, but I don't like the faux front vent windows either.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    The Achieva is weird, to me the trunk also looked too wide for the rest of the body. When I was a student, I knew a girl who had one, I called it the "UnderAchieva" B) - another goofy name for a car.

    A 58 Impala without a continental kit, wow.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I thought the Achieva coupes had a nice clean look, but I know exactly what you're talking about with the trunk looking too wide for the car.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    I still associate those coupes with one of George Costanza's cars from Seinfeld, he had a Buick variant (apparently a GS), he had Buicks in other episodes too:

    image
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,759
    edited April 2020

    A 'skirted' GM look that I could never stand over the years, is the nineties Olds Ninety-Eight and the Achieva sedan. Both look like a round wheel opening that was just covered with a flat piece of sheetmetal at the top.

    I think the Ninety-Eight is probably a pretty nice car truth be told, but I'd have a hard time getting past that.

    I understand, but I don't like the faux front vent windows either.

    A good friend's mother had one of those ninety-eights when I was in high school: white over red interior. While growing up, that was my favorite of any car in which I ever rode. It was smooth, roomy, quiet, and comfortable. I could never understand how someone would want to *drive* a car like that, as it felt like it was made to lull you to sleep. As a passenger, though, it was dreamy.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    Those Skylarks, like George's--they went to great length I think to make them look like a bird in the front, LOL. In coupes, I actually like the Achieva a bit better.
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  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    I remember George driving his parents' Granada ("special ordered with bench seat!"--uh, that WOULD have to be a 'special order' I think!), and an early '90's Seville (I think in the "Stop Short" episode). I didn't remember the Skylark.

    I remember Kramer's '73 Impala with the Olds instrument panel--apparently one of the test cars trying out air bags...seriously.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Yeah, those Skylarks had a beak. Another goofy design. Kramer indeed had an airbag Impala, I've read the whereabouts of the car are known - a historically significant item. George also had a couple Century/Regal IIRC, and also a Mercury Mystique. Must have been a fan of 18 month leases.

    The Seville also belonged to George's parents, perhaps replacing the Monarch as it appeared later. The Monarch was his dad's car I think, and met an unfortunate end in a memorable episode:

    image
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    I think that was the "Parking Garage" episode, although I don't remember the car getting destroyed at the end. Now, I think I do remember people being irate that it was parked in a handicapped space, LOL.
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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    edited April 2020
    When it came to those 90's redesigns, I always thought that in full-sized cars, the Ninety-Eight got the short end of the stick, but with compacts, it was the Skylark.

    It's weird, considering the Ninety-Eight and the Park Ave were the same design, but somehow the Park Ave came off looking more substantial, and upscale, but the Ninety-Eight managed to look diminutive. And the skirted look didn't help. But, perhaps because it was more slab-sided and didn't seem as "fuselaged", I think it came off a bit better than the Caprice. I wouldn't say no to one, if I happened to come across a nicely maintained one and needed a car, but I think the '91-96 Park Ave was a work of art, compared to it.

    With compacts, the slightly-skirted look of the Achieva, I'm not a fan of, but it's less extreme than the Ninety-Eight, or Caprice. I think the coupe is pretty sharp, though. My biggest beef with it is that the headlights and taillights seem a bit too big, like they were really sized for a larger car, but ended up on a compact. The Achieva and Ninety-Eight have a bit too much of a family resemblance in my opinion...I wonder if that might be one reason the '91-96 Ninety-Eight didn't sell as well as the Park Ave did? The similar appearance might have made it look too downscale? The Skylark was just too weird for me. The too-big headlights, the taillights that wrap around too far, the beak, the slightly-skirted look to the rear wheel openings, and on the coupes the rear windows and C-pillar looked more like they should have been on an Oldsmobile or Saturn.

    They did get rid of the Skylark's beak in later years, but then it looked like the grille and the headlights didn't line up with each other.

    Now when it comes to the '92-99 LeSabre, versus the 88, I prefer the 88. The LeSabre seemed to take its cues from the Park Ave, but managed to come off a bit more dowdy and old fashioned looking, but then they still had enough target audience for that at the time. But the 88 had a nice, clean look to it. Not as overdone as the Bonneville, which was fast adopting the "ribs and wings" design philosophy of "sporty", but I thought it struck a good balance between "conservative" and "sporty".

    There's a car show in Rockville MD I go to from time to time, and one of the regular cars there was a '73 Impala, with the Olds air bag dashboard. I also recall a 70's car chase movie called "Moving Violation" (not to be confused with the 80's movie that started off with the old lady picking up Clara Peller from the airport, and then driving out onto the runway, pulling up behind a jet, honking her horn and shouting "damn buses!") that had a '74 Delta 88 with the air bag dash. They crashed it and, unlike the air-bag-equipped Delta in "Smokey in the Bandit", this one actually deployed!


  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Speaking of the 88, I remember a woman I worked with soon after I graduated, so early 00s, had an "LSS", which was apparently an uncommon "sporty" model.

    Remember the old lady car in Moving Violations (one of those silly underrated 80s movies I can watch and never tire of - tons of good car spotting in it, too) is a nice looking 68 Impala Sport Sedan:

    image
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I liked the '90's Park Avenues. The only negative impression I remember having at the time was seeing one with gauges, I think, where the instruments looked pretty diminutive for a top-end car. Might've been the "Ultra"?
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  • sdasda Member Posts: 6,936
    I didn’t care for the styling of the Achieva or Skylark either. The Achieva had the nicest dashboard. Though the styling wasn’t my favorite I did like the 91 Olds Touring Sedan. But like many GM cars at the time, too many buttons on the dash.

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,759
    License to Drive is one of those movies that I never tired of watching. My teen self somehow found the antics quite entertaining.
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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    fintail said:

    Speaking of the 88, I remember a woman I worked with soon after I graduated, so early 00s, had an "LSS", which was apparently an uncommon "sporty" model.

    Remember the old lady car in Moving Violations (one of those silly underrated 80s movies I can watch and never tire of - tons of good car spotting in it, too) is a nice looking 68 Impala Sport Sedan:

    image

    Appears to be Clara Peller of "Where's the beef?!" fame.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,029
    edited April 2020
    GM Design in the '90s must have been a bizarre place to work judging from some of the the designs that made production. Chuck Jordan who had a good reputation from GM's golden age was the design chief until '92, when Wayne Cherry took over. I never liked very many designs from Cherry's era but some of the stuff from Jordan's last years was pretty awful too. I would guess the brand managers and bean counters tied their hands.

    The Olds LSS was a nice car actually. The design was clean and it had upgraded suspension and power, along with a very nice interior. My Olds-loving buddy bought one used to use as a DD.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Love that one too, appears to have at least a minor cult following today. I remember seeing that one at the small local mall cinemas when new. The James Avery driving instructor scene is classic.
    xwesx said:

    License to Drive is one of those movies that I never tired of watching. My teen self somehow found the antics quite entertaining.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    Thinking of GM stuff from that era, I used to think the first Lumina was pretty awful, but it has grown on me just a little, probably because it is glassy with low cut windows, and the dashboard is unusual. Not saying it is a beauty, but it is different, and I like cars with visibility. I recall a family friend had one new, and remarked something along the lines of "all the neighborhood dogs bark when I drive down the street". It had the popcorn popper exhaust 3.1, IIRC. My brother replaced his stolen Subaru with a 93 or 94 Lumina Euro, I don't recall it being problematic, but he loaned it to a friend who crashed it (more of his luck).
    ab348 said:

    GM Design in the '90s must have been a bizarre place to work judging from some of the the designs that made production. Chuck Jordan who had a good reputation from GM's golden age was the design chief until '92, when Wayne Cherry took over. I never liked very many designs from Cherry's era but some of the stuff from Jordan's last years was pretty awful too. I would guess the brand managers and bean counters tied their hands.

    The Olds LSS was a nice car actually. The design was clean and it had upgraded suspension and power, along with a very nice interior. My Olds-loving buddy bought one used to use as a DD.

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    I liked the first Lumina coupes, rarely seen it seems. I'd take a Euro with aluminum wheels and the 'frisbee' spoiler delete option. I hated the flat, silver-painted wheelcovers they came with, cribbing that "style" from Ford and the imports.

    Before my Dad traded his '84 Monte Carlo 305 4-barrel in on his '90 Corsica V6 with column-shift (LOL), at another Chevy dealer about 25 miles away, he drove a new Lumina Coupe, non-Euro, bench seat with center armrest and column shift, whitewalls, which was before I'd even seen one. He liked it and the woodgrain on the dash (LOL), but bought the Corsica at our hometown dealer anyway.

    Probably my favorite of all '90's GM designs is cheating a little, as the design came out in the late '80's--I always liked the LeSabre coupes of that generation.

    Which reminds me...an older couple near us in our hometown, whom I remember having Oldsmobiles back to the sixties, had a four-door Delta 88 of that generation in an interesting (IMHO) light turquoise metallic. He kept it really clean too. Such a color was not seen on other cars in that era I don't think.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,096
    edited April 2020
    My Lumina coupe would have to be a Z34, preferably blue. I don't hate these, and the wheels are perfect for the car:

    image

    Another guilty pleasure, perhaps. I want to say my brother's Euro had the same wheels.

    I remember those disc hubcaps, they do look cheap. There was a sporty pretension LeSabre T-Type coupe of that era, right? I wonder what a 92+ coupe might have looked like.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,056
    edited April 2020
    I agree that the Eighty-Eight '90's redesign looked nicer than the LeSabre. Even though the LeSabre was a slightly-truncated version of the Park Avenue, it looked a lot dumpier to my eyes.

    And the Eighty-Eight had big round rear wheel openings from the start, which lightens the look.

    Thinking back, I think the first Aurora was a nice-looking car...I'd have chosen that pale turquoise.

    And I'll admit to liking the '95 Riviera, everywhere except the back. I always thought they should have made wraparound taillights that would have had some distance between them when looking straight on from the back. That super-tapered rear end...ugh IMHO.

    I guess I think the '92 Seville was a handsome redesign, although the interiors started to disappoint me in that the old-skool domestic luxury look was gone.

    One thing I think was sort-of neat about GM in the nineties, was that they did coupes, larger coupes, when those were, for the most part, over at the other places (except Thunderbird and Cougar). And in the Lumina, Cutlass Supreme, Regal, and even Riviera, you could get them with column shift and six-place seating for emergencies. I'd have probably chosen that set-up mostly because I like the open area near my right leg and that a center armrest is usually more comfortable than a console compartment lid.

    My parents' '90 Corsica was weird in that it had the standard bucket seats, but column shift and no console. Of course my Dad bought the cheap aftermarket little thing to store stuff in the middle, there.
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