We are aware of the login problems affecting the forums, and appreciate your patience as we work on a fix.
Did you recently purchase a new Tesla, Rivian or Lucid vehicle directly from the manufacturer and willing to share how your experience compared to previous vehicle purchases made through a traditional dealer? A reporter would like to speak with you; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 2/19 for details.
Chevrolet Vega

Tell me which is better. The Ford Pinto or the
Chevrolet Vega. Is the Vega used to be a reliable
transportation in the 70's.
Chevrolet Vega. Is the Vega used to be a reliable
transportation in the 70's.
Tagged:
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Anyway, still a pretty sharp car, even pretty daring and radical considering what else was going on automotive-wise in 1975 detroit.
Mr. Shifty, how are the Cos Vegs doing on the collectors market?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Amazingly enough, Chevrolet did not lose money on the Vega, despite premature engine failures and horrible rust problems.
We had two in our family, both purchased new: a '71 with the 90 hp 1 bbl and a two speed auto, and a '74 with the higher output (110 hp?) motor with a three speed auto. As I recall they didn't handle too bad, but we sold them before the word was out about there nonexistent reliability.
It wasn't right on the street, it had way too much cam, but it still was able to scare any morons in a Mustang II away, if the roll cage didn't tip them off. It didn't handle well, the turbo 400 about broke your neck when it shifted,and it ate gas like a wino likes his MD2020, but was a lot of fun to mess with.
My best pass at the track was 9.36 at 142+. Best finish was runer up in the "all run" bracket, there wasn't enough cars there to split them up, so they ran as one group. I got a bye in the first round, had an easy second when the guy red lighted, got another bye in the third when my opponent broke his driveshaft on the burnout, actually won easily the next two and then broke out with the above ET, 2 tenths faster than it ran an hour before! We never figured out why.
Later on, I broke an axle,and whacked the wall, the car got fixed, but my friend sold it, and ended my driving career. He was spending a lot of cash on it, and decided to get out.
I knew a guy who was in a "Vega" family, they had FOUR of them! Mom had a wagon, dad and both older daughters had the ugly notchbacks. They all had engine problems sooner or later, and happily, the son got a 72 Camaro when he started driving. The Vegas were gone by then.
Too bad you couldn't find another 50.00 car and another drunk!
Hmmmm......Actually the Vega was considered a fine-handling car for its time, and I think the styling was great. While the silicone-embedded aluminum block was a bust, you could get them sleeved and build them to hell and back, or install the engine of your choice. GM designed the engine compartment to accommodate just about any powerplant they could make (it was originally supposed to have a rotary), and small-block swaps were common. Don Yenko supplied V8 Vegas directly to dealers, and they were screamers.
I had a '74 with a 327/350, turbo 400 and 50-series Goodyears, and I regularly beat up on a guy with a Vette who used to race me on the way home from work every day. The thing handled, and it went like stink. I rust-proofed the body, kept the winter salt washed off religiously, and had no problems with rust. It was truly one of my favorite cars.
I honestly don't think GM's screw-up with the alumninum engine qualifies the Vega as the "worst car of all time" -- especially considering the unreliable British roadsters preferred by the author of that comment!
The only GM lemon our family had was a 1982 Malibu station wagon with a 229 V6, but most of the cars we bought were mid-size and full-size, and at the time I don't think GM had found a way to really mess them up yet (other than putting a Diesel in them!).
I have another friend who had both a Pinto and a Vega, and he said they were both pretty reliable. Better, in fact, than the 1994 Chrysler Concorde he's driving now! Not that the Concorde has really been a bad car, he just got lucky with the Pinto and Vega!
-Andre
The Pinto got a bad rap in the safety department. My solution is to build a "cage" around the gas tank or do that with a fuel cell.
My dad had a pinto, a 71, he said it ran fine for him durring the gas crisis's, exept for burning a little oil. But if you see my username below, my second solution for the Pinto is also a small block transplant (302,351)
Of course with these mods they wouldn't be stock but oh well too bad.
Does anybody remember the monza mirage?
The yugo gets my vote for worst car ever. Followed, i'm sure by the Pontiac Aztek because i feel like i have been assaulted just looking at the thing.
The Vega makes a decent drag car. They are real good you increase the wheel base by stretching the nose alittle.
Too bad about the Cogsworth, but really, with such a bad name as "Vega" attached, the car would have been doomed even if it had a Ferrari engine in it. Still, it's an interesting collectible today for a low price. Not a great car, but interesting...
I think it had a little rust on the drivers door, probably from a clogged drain. The mechanic who looked at it said it was overall in sound shape, but don't bring it to him for a tune up. This was one of the cars where they had to lift the engine to get to the rear spark plugs.
I still would have bought it if the owner would have some down a little on price (seem to recall he was stuck on $1,900. Oh, the good old days).
Better forget about the '75 Mustang II mach 1 that I saw for sale yesterday in someonw yard..The aftermarket (DIY?) hood scooped looked real cooool.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I do agree,though, that the very first Honda Civics did have teething problems, especially prior to the CVCC engine (they first had a 1200 cc I believe). But the little Toyota Corolla and larger Corona were always good, sturdy cars from the get-go....the Cressida wasn't so hot, and the early Mazda rotaries were pretty troublesome. So yes, some Japanese cars weren't as good as the Toyotas (the best in my opinion) but as bad as some might have been, nothing was worse then the incredible junk produced by some American manufacturers in the 1970s in the subcompact field especially. Americans didn't know how to build small cars, and really didn't learn until the late 80s/early 90s. We were better with the large iron and definitely better in trucks.
Some friends challanged my feelings and warned me that these were dogs, but I wanted something new and didn't have much to pay.
We bought a low mileage one. Looked great! I was fixin to save gas money, and it had one of them thar 60,000 mile engine warranties that I knew GM would back up. We picked a highly visible lemon..aaa...errr..."optic" Yellow used '96 model in 1977. Cheap! Not a dent on it.
Three years later (and 3 batteries later), I had lost all faith in GM engineering and warranty promises. Had to get a divorce. I lost the use of my house and land. Couldn't see my kid but onest every two weeks. Lost most of my savings. Lost my dog... Had to start all over again.
Gad, if I had only listened to their advice....
Well, behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining....I lost that dad'blame lemmon yellow POS hyundai Vega....the "Ex" got hung with that one! ahahaha! ....me luck has changed for the good ever since....
Any suggestions?
My sister had a 1974 datsun b210. Driving on the freeway one day the front spindle broke and nearly killed her!!!
there is a 1980 Datsun king cab down the street from me that the only thing not completely rusted away is the tires!!!
Yep, GREAT japanese cars.
I don't think many people bought them in the 70s, early 80s. I would have to see #s to believe that. But I guess since they were sooo unreliable that many people could buy them cheap and sometimes that is all that is important to the ignorant.
I had a 74 Vega wagon . . . it was a spare car I drove while modifying my REAL cars. It got me around reliably and with pretty decent mileage. It was a pretty dang good grocery getter, but did not impress the women. (and that was important at the time too. hahaha.
Tim (ratchetmaster) moderator at http://www.gmforums.com
Further, I have to say I'm amused to hear a Vega owner complaining about rust in some other vehicle.....
But the sad, sad truth is that they were still way better than the stuff that GM was turning out<<<Unquote
Hmmm . . . better than the vette? Better than the trucks? Better than???
I will have to dissagree.
Japanese cars did have an upper hand on gas mileage, but I think it ended there.
Ever been to Japan?? Not many "big" roads there to drive on. I think they were ok in the "practical" sense because of the gas crunch, but not when it came to power.
they do make pretty decent stuff now.
LOL!
Japanese of course stole the small truck market in the US in the 70s(created it actually) and no doubt would have hurt the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton market too except that the US government pretty much forbade Japanese entry into the market. As it turns out, it took a long time for the Japanese to build a great 1/2 ton truck anyway. They really didn't know how.
I think what saved US trucks from being savaged in the 70s by foreign brands was a) US government protection and b) that US trucks didn't have to conform to the same extent as cars for emissions standards c) the foreign companies didn't have a good competitor ready. It was US emissions technology that really hurt our cars and made them troubleseome, I think. the trucks were spared somewhat from this disaster.
I am not really a big vette fan. Never owned one.
But I do like the 68-73 body styles a lot.
And the C3s may not have rolled off the line with tons of power in the later 70s, but could easily be modded to perform to the enthusiasts standards and still looked very sweet.
I have seen some very nice C3s that I would love to own. I really like the body lines. And the small block 350 is an easy motor to mod.
350 hp easily done.
japanese cars of the EARLY 70s sucked big time. Almost ANY car was better than what they were able to roll off the line in the early 70s. (except the pinto and a couple of other acceptions).
unless of course your idea of a good car was one that cost next to nothing, had absolutely NO power, and you were worried about spending a few bucks on gas so EVERYTHING else became secondary.
The vega was a pretty decent car especially when compared to Japanese cars of its time.
I thought the Cogsworth was promising...I wish they had made THAT car the mainline Vega!
Their reputation for rust hadn't bubbled to the surface (of the paint) yet, so that wasn't a factor.
The preproduction versions were good for about 150 hp, if I recall... I really wanted one.
It coulda been the original GTI, if the lawyers hadn't gotten involved.
Then came the production models with 110 hp?
I've never understood why they didn't go with the higher output. Does anybody know?
http://www.sparky.on.ca/cvoa/story.htm
To answer your question directly, it was always my understanding that the car struggled to meet emissions regulations, and that these delays finally forced GM to put the car out to the marketplace, "ready or not".
I always think of Vegas with the original small bumpers rather than the heavy bumpers of the later years. I'd forgotten that the Cosworth had to be saddled with those too.
I'd also forgotten that they cost as much as a Corvette.
I notice that the article suggests that they are very collectible. Do you agree?