Actually that St. Regis does look tempting. I wonder what engine it has? I'm guessing the 318, which was choked down to 120 hp that year. I hope it's not the 85 hp slant six! You could also get a 360 in these, with 130 hp (2bbl) or 185 hp (4bbl), but by 1980 they were probably rarely ordered. And the 185 hp 360 was banned in California (130 hp might have been, as well), which forced the CHP to go with a 155 hp 318-4bbl that they hated with a passion.
I actually prefer the St. Regis to the New Yorker, mainly because I like the more rakish front-end. And the cheaper R-bodies didn't have that awkward landau roof with the opera windows built into the rear edges of the doors, that tended to leak with age.
If I wasn't hemorrhaging money right now, I'd be really tempted. But I just blew a pretty big wad of money on a low mileage 2000 Park Ave Ultra, which replaces my Intrepid, which got hit-and-runned and totaled in a parking lot while unattended. And I finally got the DeSoto towed off to the mechanic to get it road-ready by spring.
You found a replacement for the Intrepid that quickly? You ought to tell us details when you have a chance. The things I'm interested in are 1) How many miles does it have, and 2) How do you like driving that 3800-supercharged tank of a car?
I have to say - Lemko must be really proud of you right now for biting the bullet and acquiring a clean Buick.
You found a replacement for the Intrepid that quickly? You ought to tell us details when you have a chance.
Well, it was 4 weeks ago today that someone pulled a hit-and-run on my Trep in a restaurant parking lot. Here's some pics, if anyone wants to see. The damage wasn't THAT bad, but it tore into a wiring harness and that triggered a couple idiot lights, and I think that might've been what did the car in. I wanted to buy it back and fix it up, but Maryland's salvage laws are a pain. For my troubles, I'd have 90 days to fix it, have to get the car re-inspected (meaning they could find other things wrong with it. Maryland doesn't have annual inspections, just when you first purchase a car), and then all I'd get would be a salvage title, meaning the car's still basically worthless.
I had been looking online for a replacement car, and my tastes were running the gamut from something like a Civic or Sentra, all the way up to a low-mileage used G8 or Charger. I had found a 2000 Bonneville SE at a dealer for $4734 (no haggle price), with 65000 miles, leather, sunroof. I wanted to go look at it, but it sold quickly, so I imagine that it was a pretty good deal!
Well, I thought about just delaying until after Christmas, once things settled down. But then I saw this 2000 Park Ave Ultra listed at the local Caddy dealer. There were no pics, and no price listed, and the description didn't mention a sunroof. I figured that if it had a sunroof, they would've said so! Well, I called the dealer, and a salesman went out and looked, and said that it DOES have a sunroof! So, I went down with a friend to take a look at it this past Friday. I ended up liking the car a lot more than I thought I would. I knew it would be comfortable, but I expected the handling to be piggy, and for it to be a rattle-trap. The handling was a nice surprise. The steering doesn't give you that connected feeling to the road like a BMW would or even my Intrepid, but it doesn't feel boat-like. It does tend to float and bounce a bit more than my Intrepid did, no doubt because GM thought a lot of buyers still wanted a car that isolated you like that. But I think it's a fairly good balance between a modern car and a 70's era love-boat. I took it down a really bad back country road, and could not get a squeak or rattle out of it.
Anyway, I took delivery of it this past Monday, with 56,372 miles on it. $7500 plus tax and all the other crap. They put in a new battery for me. I probably could have gotten it for less, who knows? KBB listed it at $8500 and I think Edmund's TMV was $6500, but checking comparable listings locally, most Park Aves I've found were more expensive AND higher mileage, and not an Ultra. This car just seemed to be a perfect combination of mileage, age, options, condition, and price.
Here's a pic I took of it on Saturday, when it was still at the dealer...
I almost took it home on Saturday, but then the salesman found that it hadn't quite been put through inspection yet. It still needed one or two minor things, but the service manager wasn't around. So, they held onto it through the weekend, and finished it up Monday.
Previous owner was a 65 year old woman, who traded it on a new 2010 LaCrosse CXL.
Looks good, Andre. Regarding that floaty feeling, a friend had one, the rear shocks went out pretty early, and surprisingly the dealer said they were OK, even with the 'bounce test' showing pretty much uncontrolled movement! Doesn't this have the auto-levelling shocks, too? I noticed Tire Rack only lists front replacements.
One more thing: Does this Park Ave seem more substantial and/or refined to you than your previous Buick (the '85 LeSabre)?
Y'know, now that I think back on it, that's a hard call. I got rid of that LeSabre 7 years ago, so my memory of it is getting a bit fuzzy. I do remember that it was a solid-feeling car, though. It had 157,000 miles on it when we got rid of it, and it still felt solid, quiet, and didn't rattle. I do remember though, that if you went over a rumble strip, the dashboard would jiggle a bit. I think the one weak spot in that car's interior was the fake woodgrain. It was this radioactive-brownish orange color, very shiny, and it was as if it wasn't even TRYING to imitate anything resembling real wood!
I'd say the car is definitely a step forward over that LeSabre. It's not a night-and-day difference though. Probably enough to keep the Buick faithful coming back for more, but it's not about to make anybody ditch a BMW 7-series, Benz S-class, or Audi A8 for it. I'm sure emergency handling would be a big improvement over that old LeSabre, but in day-to-day driving, I don't think there's a huge difference in ride/handling. It definitely takes off quicker though, when you need it to! And it's loaded up with a bunch of stuff that LeSabre didn't have, like a power passenger seat, memory driver's seat, heated seats, sunroof, leather (although the LeSabre's velour was really nice...same pattern as the 1984 Electra), driver information center that keeps track of fuel economy, miles to empty, fuel used, coolant temp, oil pressure, tire pressure, estimated oil life, etc. And it probably does a few other things I haven't figured out yet.
I thought it was pretty neat how it actually tells you the temp of the coolant. When I first looked at it this morning, it said 42 degrees. I think the highest I've seen it go was 167 degrees. Oh, and it has a heads-up display too, which projects your speed on the windshield. It also has a high-beam indicator, and shows the turn signals. So there should be no excuse for any of us to get stuck behind a GM car with the HUD, with its blinker eternally on!
Looks like a nice car, Andre. A co-worker bought one that looks just like it a few months ago ( his is a '02 or '03, and he loves it.) That car should last you a long time.
2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
No, in Maryland you can transfer your tags when you get a new car. I ended up doing that, and it saved me a few bucks. The Intrepid's renewal was due by the end of November. I had paid it, and the new registration card/sticker came in the mail just a few days before the car got wrecked. I didn't even get around to putting the new sticker on the car! I think they charged me $10 to transfer the tags from the Intrepid to the Park Ave. Not bad, considering I just paid $128 to renew those tags!
There was a Caprice like that one for sale at the Fall Carlisle swap meet back in October. I sat in it, and was disapointed. It actually felt cramped to me! The seat didn't go back nearly far enough for me, although I wonder if perhaps there was just something wrong with the adjuster or seat track or something. When I sat in the back seat, it seemed a lot roomier than I'd expected. I'm hoping it was just something wrong with the seat. I mean, I know cars weren't as space-efficient back then, but I'd like to think that something on a 121.5" wheelbase would have enough legroom for me! I like that 4-door hardtop style, though.
I think the St. Regis looks a bit Buick-ish, too. But then, that wouldn't be the first time. I always thought the 1974 Monaco (and the Fury, to a lesser degree) bore a strong resemblance to a 1971-72 LeSabre.
One thing I really like about those 1979-81 Mopar R-bodies is that they're about the only 4-door sedan I've ever driven where the B-pillar doesn't block my view to the side (with the exception of hardtops, of course). I think they're really comfortable, too. Back in the day, these things were usually rated a distant third behind Ford's downsized big cars and GM's, but they just seem to fit me better.
That color smells like a cheapo repaint to me. I remember back in the day, the local PD would sell their excess cars, and a used car lot would buy them and paint them all a very similar shade of blue. A friend of the family bought one once, an 83 Malibu...big mistake.
For some twisted reason, I actually like most of the styles from around 1980...at least with the larger cars. But unfortunately the performance tended to suck, and reliability was often spotty.
One of the local used car lots here sometimes gets in old police cars. Last year they had a 2004 Intrepid copcar in a greenish-gray that I kinda liked. I remember years ago, they had an '89 Diplomat and a '79 Volare copcar painted up in a similar blue, although I think it was closer to that medium blue Mopar used in the late 60's. The Diplomat was just the same 318-4bbl that I had in the Gran Fury I was driving at the time, but the Volare was kinda cool. 195 hp 360-4bbl, which was about as good as it got that year, unless you went with a high-end import I guess.
Yeah an early 4-porte in nice shape would be worth $12,500. As it is, maybe $3500. And even then, you'll have the flesh ripped from your bones by the time you're done. They are cool cars, though, and they have the loveliest leather interiors. You could have all the expense of a Maserati with none of that bothersome prestige.
I don't even think that thing's a very attractive looking car. Kind of a neat oddball curiosity though. Some might call it custom, but to me it looks more home-made!
I'd hate to think about the rust on something like that Qporte...my dad had a '72 Indy, and about half of it rusted off. And you'd think the ad would get the engine right...
The Volare would be an oddball malaisey sleeper yeah.
Thinking back, I remember that Malibu I referenced...I think they bought it around 1988, I remember it was interesting to me as it was a car that new for cheap (I think like $1200) and it was an old cop car. But they had tons of problems with it, and I think junked it within a year. Probably just a 305 I guess.
I don't think the Malibu ever did very well as a police car...even when they shoved a 350 under the hood. I remember reading an old road test that someone did where they pitted a 350 Malibu against a 360 Volare. 0-60 was something like 8.7 for the Volare and 8.9 for the Malibu...not a huge difference. But in 0-100, the Volare did it in about 22.7 seconds, versus around 27-28 for the Malibu. I saw another copcar test from around 2002 or 2003 I think, and the 1979 Volare's 0-100 was still competitive with the period Intrepid, Impala, and Crown Vic times!
And yeah, by 1983, I think they were only using 305's in the Malibu copcars. They were meant to be more of a patrol type car than an interceptor. The type of car a cop would use to do donut runs, serve summonses, transport prisoners, set up speed traps, etc. And if a speeder blew through the trap and didn't stop, then they'd just radio in for a faster car.
Nah, the Citation was offered as a 2- and 4-door hatchback, plus a notchback "club coupe" that had somewhat awkward proportions. The Pontiac Phoenix also offered the 4-door hatchback, but its only 2-door was a notchback with a more formal roofline than the Citation club coupe. And further up the food chain, the Olds Omega and Buick Skylark only had a 4-door notchback or the 2-door formal roof coupe.
When you figure the Citation's closest competition in 1980 was the Ford Fairmont and Plymouth Volare, it was downright space-age in comparison!
Now GM did offer a clunky "aeroback" 2- and 4-door Buick Century and Olds Cutlass Salon...cars that looked like hatchbacks, but weren't. The sedan was offered in 1978-79 before adopting a more conventional, formal C-pillar for 1980, and the coupes ran from 1978-80, and dropped completely for '81 with no direct replacement.
I like the original QPorte and it has a following but you can buy a REALLY NICE ONE for $30K or less. There is no way you are going to restore this one for $17K.
And today a normal 6cyl Camcord can dust them all ...time flies.
Back then the WSP used 5.0 Mustangs as interceptors, those were cool in their own way. I think there was also a fleet of souped up small LTDs to go with the normal Impalas and CVs.
My feeling is that if you run a car on eBay for 10 days, and all the world sees it, and you have lots of photos and information, and bidders pile in, and STILL you end up with a final bid that's about 1/4 of what you were expecting-----what this tells me is that "buyers set the market, not sellers, and not car clubs".
Oddball cars need to be "hand sold", which means you put the bait on the hook for a long, long time and when you get a nibble, you reel them in real, real, slow--dance for them, bake them cookies, spin a web of glorious poofery around them.
I like that '67 Chevy wagon. It looks nice, even with the gaudy cowling. I do not mind the flames; they are very subtle and I like that they do not extend down the sides. My favorite part? The gimp sticker hanging from the rearview mirror. :P
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I'd say it's about the right price for something like that. Yeah, mayb e the guy putin $10k worth of labor and parts in it, but it doesn't mean he'll get that back.
76 Camaro---yeah, all the kid needs now is a bowie knife under the seat, a couple of baggies, and a suspended driver's license.
70 Buick -- looks like somebody's dream of a Pro Street car, but...... :surprise:
99 Passat --- bag o' trouble Let's do the numbers. Value in decent condition about $3500. So....refinish the hood $1200, new window regulator/motor $350....so maybe $1800 is a fair offer.
yeah, I don't quite get the notion of taking a 4500-pound four-door Buick and trying to make it "sporty". Fail. He would have been a little better off spending all that cash he undoubtedly put in to just turn it back into a good running, good looking old sedan.
What was the name of that movie where the two guys in the 1971 Chrysler Newport were being chased by a psycho trucker? What is it with guys in early '70s Mopars messing with psycho truckers? Remember Dennis Weaver and his 1970 Plymouth Valiant?
That movie with the '71 Newport was "Joyride". Pretty good movie for the most part, but it had a couple dumb scenes, like where the truck pins the Newport to a tree, start to squash it, and then backs off. Next morning, they stop off at a repair shop, and all the car needs is a windshield. And IIRC, they had one in stock!
I remember a made-for-tv movie around 1979 called "Death Car on the Freeway" where some banjo-music playing psycho in a van was going around LA running lone woman drivers off the road. I think it had one of Charlie's Angels in it. Anyway, that Buick looks like it would be a good "bad guy" car for a movie like that!
As for "Duel", I was actually watching what I call the condensed version of that the other night. There was an Incredible Hulk Episode called "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break", where they built an episode around a bunch of the old Duel footage. I don't think the episode was universally loved, and I heard that when Spielberg found out about it, he wrote a clause into all his movie contracts forbidding them to be used later for stock footage. I liked it though. And it was kinda cool, that they had to go out and find a similar Valiant (probably not too hard) and a similar truck (probably a lot harder) to use for the new footage. And the episode had David Banner, a lady trucker, and the bad guy all wearing khaki-colored pants and a light blue shirt, because that's what Dennis Weaver wore in "Duel", and at some point in the episode, each of the three ended up driving the Valiant.
Remember the name of the driver on the side of the truck? "Keller", and it kept morphing into "Killer", IIRC.
I could never understand a car that had trouble doing much over 70 mph, as that Valiant did. Of course my experience from that era was based on my '69 Camaro - a completely different beast.
I never saw the Incredible Hulk version of it. Might be interesting to watch.
I could never understand a car that had trouble doing much over 70 mph, as that Valiant did. Of course my experience from that era was based on my '69 Camaro - a completely different beast.
Well I had a 1969 Dart GT with a slant six, which is what that Valiant most likely had, and it would hit 100 mph with little strain. And the Valiant from Duel was a nicer model, which I think they still called "Signet"...so it would've been more likely to have the 225 and not the 198.
Actually in the movie, there was sort of an explanation as to why the Valiant never went so fast. It wasn't the car so much as the driver. In one of his soliloquies, Dennis Weaver mentioned that he just couldn't keep that high of a speed over a long time...he just didn't have the nerve for it. Plus, a lot of those back roads he was travelling were narrow, hilly, sharp curves, etc, so it would probably be hard to keep up a high speed. I think he did get up to about 95 before ditching off into the parking lot across the street from Chuck's Cafe.
One thing I never could understand though, is how a practically brand-new car would blow its radiator hose! That car only had about 5,000 miles on it. I know they've improved the rubbers and stuff since then, but c'mon...they weren't THAT bad back then, were they? :P
The Incredible Hulk episode is online, at www.hulu.com. I think it's season 1, episode 10.
Comments
I actually prefer the St. Regis to the New Yorker, mainly because I like the more rakish front-end. And the cheaper R-bodies didn't have that awkward landau roof with the opera windows built into the rear edges of the doors, that tended to leak with age.
If I wasn't hemorrhaging money right now, I'd be really tempted. But I just blew a pretty big wad of money on a low mileage 2000 Park Ave Ultra, which replaces my Intrepid, which got hit-and-runned and totaled in a parking lot while unattended. And I finally got the DeSoto towed off to the mechanic to get it road-ready by spring.
I have to say - Lemko must be really proud of you right now for biting the bullet and acquiring a clean Buick.
Well, it was 4 weeks ago today that someone pulled a hit-and-run on my Trep in a restaurant parking lot. Here's some pics, if anyone wants to see. The damage wasn't THAT bad, but it tore into a wiring harness and that triggered a couple idiot lights, and I think that might've been what did the car in. I wanted to buy it back and fix it up, but Maryland's salvage laws are a pain. For my troubles, I'd have 90 days to fix it, have to get the car re-inspected (meaning they could find other things wrong with it. Maryland doesn't have annual inspections, just when you first purchase a car), and then all I'd get would be a salvage title, meaning the car's still basically worthless.
I had been looking online for a replacement car, and my tastes were running the gamut from something like a Civic or Sentra, all the way up to a low-mileage used G8 or Charger. I had found a 2000 Bonneville SE at a dealer for $4734 (no haggle price), with 65000 miles, leather, sunroof. I wanted to go look at it, but it sold quickly, so I imagine that it was a pretty good deal!
Well, I thought about just delaying until after Christmas, once things settled down. But then I saw this 2000 Park Ave Ultra listed at the local Caddy dealer. There were no pics, and no price listed, and the description didn't mention a sunroof. I figured that if it had a sunroof, they would've said so! Well, I called the dealer, and a salesman went out and looked, and said that it DOES have a sunroof! So, I went down with a friend to take a look at it this past Friday. I ended up liking the car a lot more than I thought I would. I knew it would be comfortable, but I expected the handling to be piggy, and for it to be a rattle-trap. The handling was a nice surprise. The steering doesn't give you that connected feeling to the road like a BMW would or even my Intrepid, but it doesn't feel boat-like. It does tend to float and bounce a bit more than my Intrepid did, no doubt because GM thought a lot of buyers still wanted a car that isolated you like that. But I think it's a fairly good balance between a modern car and a 70's era love-boat. I took it down a really bad back country road, and could not get a squeak or rattle out of it.
Anyway, I took delivery of it this past Monday, with 56,372 miles on it. $7500 plus tax and all the other crap. They put in a new battery for me. I probably could have gotten it for less, who knows? KBB listed it at $8500 and I think Edmund's TMV was $6500, but checking comparable listings locally, most Park Aves I've found were more expensive AND higher mileage, and not an Ultra. This car just seemed to be a perfect combination of mileage, age, options, condition, and price.
Here's a pic I took of it on Saturday, when it was still at the dealer...
I almost took it home on Saturday, but then the salesman found that it hadn't quite been put through inspection yet. It still needed one or two minor things, but the service manager wasn't around. So, they held onto it through the weekend, and finished it up Monday.
Previous owner was a 65 year old woman, who traded it on a new 2010 LaCrosse CXL.
One more thing: Does this Park Ave seem more substantial and/or refined to you than your previous Buick (the '85 LeSabre)?
Y'know, now that I think back on it, that's a hard call. I got rid of that LeSabre 7 years ago, so my memory of it is getting a bit fuzzy. I do remember that it was a solid-feeling car, though. It had 157,000 miles on it when we got rid of it, and it still felt solid, quiet, and didn't rattle. I do remember though, that if you went over a rumble strip, the dashboard would jiggle a bit. I think the one weak spot in that car's interior was the fake woodgrain. It was this radioactive-brownish orange color, very shiny, and it was as if it wasn't even TRYING to imitate anything resembling real wood!
I'd say the car is definitely a step forward over that LeSabre. It's not a night-and-day difference though. Probably enough to keep the Buick faithful coming back for more, but it's not about to make anybody ditch a BMW 7-series, Benz S-class, or Audi A8 for it. I'm sure emergency handling would be a big improvement over that old LeSabre, but in day-to-day driving, I don't think there's a huge difference in ride/handling. It definitely takes off quicker though, when you need it to! And it's loaded up with a bunch of stuff that LeSabre didn't have, like a power passenger seat, memory driver's seat, heated seats, sunroof, leather (although the LeSabre's velour was really nice...same pattern as the 1984 Electra), driver information center that keeps track of fuel economy, miles to empty, fuel used, coolant temp, oil pressure, tire pressure, estimated oil life, etc. And it probably does a few other things I haven't figured out yet.
I thought it was pretty neat how it actually tells you the temp of the coolant. When I first looked at it this morning, it said 42 degrees. I think the highest I've seen it go was 167 degrees. Oh, and it has a heads-up display too, which projects your speed on the windshield. It also has a high-beam indicator, and shows the turn signals. So there should be no excuse for any of us to get stuck behind a GM car with the HUD, with its blinker eternally on!
anyways found this: one of last of the big chevies
There was a Caprice like that one for sale at the Fall Carlisle swap meet back in October. I sat in it, and was disapointed. It actually felt cramped to me! The seat didn't go back nearly far enough for me, although I wonder if perhaps there was just something wrong with the adjuster or seat track or something. When I sat in the back seat, it seemed a lot roomier than I'd expected. I'm hoping it was just something wrong with the seat. I mean, I know cars weren't as space-efficient back then, but I'd like to think that something on a 121.5" wheelbase would have enough legroom for me! I like that 4-door hardtop style, though.
Although perhaps there's a strange beauty in it that's more than skin deep.
Nah.
For some reason, this makes me think of some sort of candy ad. Smooth and shiney on the outside, gooey and nasty on the inside?
I'm not sure this would even be worth the price if it was in good shape.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
One thing I really like about those 1979-81 Mopar R-bodies is that they're about the only 4-door sedan I've ever driven where the B-pillar doesn't block my view to the side (with the exception of hardtops, of course). I think they're really comfortable, too. Back in the day, these things were usually rated a distant third behind Ford's downsized big cars and GM's, but they just seem to fit me better.
That 4-porte would be cool if it was in nice condition, just for its weirdness.
For some twisted reason, I actually like most of the styles from around 1980...at least with the larger cars. But unfortunately the performance tended to suck, and reliability was often spotty.
Thinking back, I remember that Malibu I referenced...I think they bought it around 1988, I remember it was interesting to me as it was a car that new for cheap (I think like $1200) and it was an old cop car. But they had tons of problems with it, and I think junked it within a year. Probably just a 305 I guess.
And yeah, by 1983, I think they were only using 305's in the Malibu copcars. They were meant to be more of a patrol type car than an interceptor. The type of car a cop would use to do donut runs, serve summonses, transport prisoners, set up speed traps, etc. And if a speeder blew through the trap and didn't stop, then they'd just radio in for a faster car.
When you figure the Citation's closest competition in 1980 was the Ford Fairmont and Plymouth Volare, it was downright space-age in comparison!
Now GM did offer a clunky "aeroback" 2- and 4-door Buick Century and Olds Cutlass Salon...cars that looked like hatchbacks, but weren't. The sedan was offered in 1978-79 before adopting a more conventional, formal C-pillar for 1980, and the coupes ran from 1978-80, and dropped completely for '81 with no direct replacement.
Back then the WSP used 5.0 Mustangs as interceptors, those were cool in their own way. I think there was also a fleet of souped up small LTDs to go with the normal Impalas and CVs.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Oddball cars need to be "hand sold", which means you put the bait on the hook for a long, long time and when you get a nibble, you reel them in real, real, slow--dance for them, bake them cookies, spin a web of glorious poofery around them.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
The seller needs to get some fresh air and reality.
I'm going to tell him that you said that and he is going to yell at you too
What the heck is this?
Clean cheap hauler
He really should have done something about that ugly dent on the hood
What a weird project
Pretty good for a kid to tinker with
70 Buick -- looks like somebody's dream of a Pro Street car, but...... :surprise:
99 Passat --- bag o' trouble
That yellow monstrosity is a supercar for a globalized world.
I remember a made-for-tv movie around 1979 called "Death Car on the Freeway" where some banjo-music playing psycho in a van was going around LA running lone woman drivers off the road. I think it had one of Charlie's Angels in it. Anyway, that Buick looks like it would be a good "bad guy" car for a movie like that!
As for "Duel", I was actually watching what I call the condensed version of that the other night. There was an Incredible Hulk Episode called "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break", where they built an episode around a bunch of the old Duel footage. I don't think the episode was universally loved, and I heard that when Spielberg found out about it, he wrote a clause into all his movie contracts forbidding them to be used later for stock footage. I liked it though. And it was kinda cool, that they had to go out and find a similar Valiant (probably not too hard) and a similar truck (probably a lot harder) to use for the new footage. And the episode had David Banner, a lady trucker, and the bad guy all wearing khaki-colored pants and a light blue shirt, because that's what Dennis Weaver wore in "Duel", and at some point in the episode, each of the three ended up driving the Valiant.
I could never understand a car that had trouble doing much over 70 mph, as that Valiant did. Of course my experience from that era was based on my '69 Camaro - a completely different beast.
I never saw the Incredible Hulk version of it. Might be interesting to watch.
Well I had a 1969 Dart GT with a slant six, which is what that Valiant most likely had, and it would hit 100 mph with little strain. And the Valiant from Duel was a nicer model, which I think they still called "Signet"...so it would've been more likely to have the 225 and not the 198.
Actually in the movie, there was sort of an explanation as to why the Valiant never went so fast. It wasn't the car so much as the driver. In one of his soliloquies, Dennis Weaver mentioned that he just couldn't keep that high of a speed over a long time...he just didn't have the nerve for it. Plus, a lot of those back roads he was travelling were narrow, hilly, sharp curves, etc, so it would probably be hard to keep up a high speed. I think he did get up to about 95 before ditching off into the parking lot across the street from Chuck's Cafe.
One thing I never could understand though, is how a practically brand-new car would blow its radiator hose! That car only had about 5,000 miles on it. I know they've improved the rubbers and stuff since then, but c'mon...they weren't THAT bad back then, were they? :P
The Incredible Hulk episode is online, at www.hulu.com. I think it's season 1, episode 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xVT61KRyd8