ab, The recent Ford's I've rented had grey interiors, but your comment got me interested. I was running around quite a bit this weekend, so I tried to pay attention to the newer Ford's I saw parked. I never paid that much attention before, but think you may be on to something. My wife and I both had cars with black interiors (once!) before we were married. Not only do they retain heat, they show every bit of dirt, lint, etc. Personally, a black interior is a "no sale" for me. But then, didn't old Henry Ford have a thing for the color black!
I know it was saddled with the 4.1--a big minus--but I think that same-era Eldo just seemed so much more expensive-looking, inside and out, and I loved the completely-flat floors. I'm talking through '85, of course. I think no one could justify the '86-88, although whatever year they extended the rear quarters just a bit, I thought helped the looks a good bit and would have made a nice used car, not a new one! LOL
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I like the 79-85 Eldo style, especially one that lacks a vinyl roof, has wheels (not wire hubcaps), and is in nice colors. It's a stylish car for the time. A nicely equipped 79-80 model with the good engine wouldn't be the worst car.
Visited the local highline specialty dealer - among other things they had a Pantera GTS (real, Euro model), a 90 Porsche rebuilt to look like an old Carrera RS, a beautiful blue E39 M5 with a 43K asking price (!!!!), a mild custom 21 window microbus, a resto mod 64 Impala convertible with an ugly modern interior that looks 2004 GM style and digital dash, and a pretty 40 Ford woody.
It is adjacent to where the fintail is being worked on, so I walked by to see what cars were sitting around in the repair parking. There was a W126 300SD, odometer read 98K, beautiful condition, kind of a light gold with brown leather (leather is not common on 300SD) - it looked pristine, When I finally am able to retrieve my car, I want to ask who owns it and what the story is. I wouldn't mind having something like that, even with the boring period colors.
I always preferred the Riviera or Toronado to the Eldorado in those '79-85 years. I thought they were more tastefully done inside. And, from 1982-85 at least, they had better engines. I think the Buick 4.1 V-6 was nominally standard, from '81-84 at least, but the vast majority of them had Olds 307 V-8's.
I wonder what the outcome would have been if they took the HO 307 from the 442 and offered it in the Toro, Riv, or Eldo, to compete more closely with the HO 302 in the Mark VII LSC? IIRC, the LSC had 180 hp...more than the 140-150 hp unit that went in the likes of the T-bird, Panthers, etc, but still less than the Mustang 5.0. The HO 307 also had 180 hp.
I'm sitting at my desk, which looks down to a street with an intersection at a dead end. I hear a car pull up at the intersection, chirping and chattering away like it has a loose belt or bad pulley of some kind. I think "ugh, what's that" and look down - it's a turquoise and white 56 Chevy 2 door post, in decent but not over restored condition.
Also saw what I think was a 63 Stingray convertible, top up - had distinctive spinner hubcaps and slightly wider than narrow whitewalls.
I finally came out of the stone age and got an iPhone on Sunday. To test out the camera, I snapped a shot of this beauty sitting for sale, on the way into work this morning...
It's been there a couple days now, but I'm sure it'll get an abandoned-vehicle warning sticker soon. There had been a first-gen Integra coupe sitting in that same spot last week, in a red that faded to sort of a rental-car-orange, and evidence of rust and bondo around the rear wheel opening. It had been there for awhile, until a red warning sticker showed up on its windshield.
Looks to be a 1991-93 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Sad to see her brought so low. A ladyfriend of mine had a red 1992 model in a red metallic similar to the Carmine Red finish on my 1994 DeVille. We'd park them together at work.
My grandmother's cousin is still clinging to an '89 Coupe DeVille that she bought from her boyfriend back in 1992 (it feels weird saying "boyfriend" in reference to senior citizens, but "gentleman caller" doesn't sound right, either!).
I don't know how many miles it has on it, because the odometer broke years ago. Its paint is horribly faded on the tops, the leather seats are ripping, and a big chunk of the plastic cladding on the lower body is missing. The power steering also has a slow leak that's too expensive for her to get fixed, so they just add fluid.
Still, as bad as that car looks, it's a nice riding, comfortable car. And the 4.5 V-8, while hardly a powerhouse by today's standards, has a nice, healthy rumble to it.
It's probably going to be the last car she owns at her age, I guess. She'll be 89 in October. She had been wanting to get another car, and asked some of her friends to consider her, when they trade their cars in, but nothing has come her way yet. I did ask her, a couple months ago, if she'd want first crack at my 2000 Park Ave if I decided to trade it for another car and she said yes. But, it hasn't been a poster-child for reliability itself, so I'd feel a bit guilty selling it to her, even at a cheap price, only to have it break down on her.
If she still needs to drive, maybe a few family members could team up and find her a mint 1989 Coupe DeVille. They aren't worth a lot - if everyone pitched in a few hundred bucks, one could be purchased. She must like the car, so she'd probably be happy. I remember posting a very nice one a while back, I think it was no more than 2K.
My grandmother is about that age, and just stopped driving - her license was up for renewal this month, and she didn't do it. She's holding onto her car (low mileage 03 Taurus) and my uncle who lives nearby will drive her around in it.
If she still needs to drive, maybe a few family members could team up and find her a mint 1989 Coupe DeVille.
Hmm, that might actually be a thought! She doesn't drive nearly as much as she used to, mainly because of the power steering issue. She takes my grandmother to some of her doctor's appointments, and the idea of the two of them out and about, and that car breaking down, doesn't give me a good feeling. I did at least give my Grandmother's cousin my cell phone and work #, so she can call me if she ever gets stranded. Hasn't happened yet, thankfully.
I've seen AAA come out a few times for a service call, but usually it's because her not-too-bright son, who lives with her, uses her car sometimes, and if he comes home around dusk, he'll forget to turn the lights off. Which I think is a bit odd, because I would think a car of that caliber would chime at you or do something, to warn you that you left your lights on!
Unfortunately, most of her side of the family doesn't have two nickels to rub together. And she's the kind who will give you the shirt off her back, so needless to say, many of them have taken advantage of that, over the years.
A nice old low miles maintained car would be more sensible than something more expensive, and she must like the old car at least a little. Maybe if you see that nice old DeVille for 2K, it would be good as her final car - and the son can have the old one to ruin as he pleases.
Oh, she definitely likes that Cadillac. Before that, she had a '79 Volare wagon with a slant six, and before that an early 70's Duster with a 318. So when she got that Cadillac, to use one of those old people phrases, she thought she hung the moon!
In fact, I think one reason she kept that Caddy so long is that it spoiled her. She would really like another Cadillac (not sure how she's really like the current ones though, with their high sills, limited visibility, and such), but can't afford one. She really needs something cheap like a Corolla, Sentra, Civic, etc, but I think that Caddy spoiled her too much!
Sadly, if she got a nice, low-mileage old Caddy, I have a feeling her son would end up getting ahold of it, and it wouldn't stay nice for long. He was the one who wrecked her Duster back in the day. And back in 1990, he bought a really nice 1969 Bonneville 4-door hardtop. It's amazing how ratty that thing started looking after the two years he had it. I lost track of how many thing he and his wife hit with it. I bought it from him for $400, but looking back, I really shouldn't have. It was actually a nice running car...WHEN it ran. But it looked beat-up, had starting issues, stalling issues, overheated, etc.
it seems that everything now has the visibility of a bunker or sherman tank. It is a shock when I drive our Acura TL (a MY 2000). So much lower all around (trunk, sills, cowl, rear headrests). Super easy to see out of, and you can even back up with some confidence.
I saw a TL of your generation out in the parking lot at work today. It really caught my eye because of the color, sort of a dark jade green. Really pretty color, but alas, as we all no most shades of green are "no sale", so it was most likely pretty rare.
I drove my uncle's new 2013 Camry on Sunday. I had driven it once before, when he first got it, and thought it had good visibility. However, on Sunday I had to park it in a parking lot, and found out it wasn't so easy to back in. Visibility to the rear isn't so hot. One problem is these huge headrests they have these days.
My grandmother complained about visibility in her Taurus, too. Before that she had a first gen Taurus, and before that a downsized mid 80s Olds, both of which had a lower trunk. She liked the Olds a lot, still mentions it.
The spoiling subject is accurate. Even when driving a well-used older model, it might be tough moving from a luxury make to something more normal - that Cadillac ride will be hard to replace.
Too bad about the son. My uncle can be something like that - he drives an aging LeSabre which he more or less keeps up, but he broke the passenger mirror off the Taurus, and scratched up the rear bumper, both via incompetent parking. His LeSabre would be pretty nice other than a big dent on a front fender caused by hitting a parking barricade. He's going to be a scary driver by the time he hits 70 - he has developed a weird throttle habit of on-off - no steady application, and sometimes steers jerkily too.
the high trunks now are bad, and the headrests are huge. Our Volvo is tiny but impossible to see out the back very well with the headrests up. The S60 actually had a power release button on the dash. Hit the button, and they flopped down backward (onto the rear deck) so you could see better.
The new Accord actually is an improvement. The prior generation had gotten much worse (my 2005 was easy to see out of, but the 2008 model went bunker). A trend in the right direction.
good think my RDX has the camera. Would never know what was going on without that!
On the subject of getting spoiled, I have a feeling I'm going to run across problems when the time comes to replace my 2000 Park Ave. Even though I've had a few choice words for the car that aren't fit to type on an Edmund's forum, it is a comfy, roomy, car, and a great long-distance traveler, provided the roads aren't too rough.
And, now that Ford's Panthers are gone, I don't think there are any cars left, at least something semi-affordable, that are as roomy inside. I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but I think the EPA rates my Park Ave at something like 111 cubic feet of passenger volume, and a 19 cubic foot trunk. The Charger/300, which would probably be tops on my list, are a bit smaller inside, something like 106 cubic feet I think. Plus they have a big driveshaft hump, and the small windows make them feel a bit claustrophobic inside. The current Taurus is a non-player as a full-sized car as far as I'm concerned. It does have a big trunk, something like 21 cubic feet, but the interior is something like 102, and feels tight to me because of the narrow footwell, high center console, etc. And again, you have the small windows and high sills.
The 2014 Impala actually seemed fairly big inside. I could tell it gave up some shoulder room compared to my Park Ave, but otherwise felt good. But again, there's that high sill, small windows, etc. I'll just have to get used to that I guess.
As for my uncle's Camry, I have a feeling that it's one of those cars that, the more I drive it, the less I'm going to like it. I don't think I'll ever learn to hate driving it, like I did his '03 Corolla, but I think with time and experience with it, the new-car magic will wear off and its flaws will start to show.
Oh, on the subject of 80's Oldsmobiles, I got reminded today, of an '86 or so Cutlass Ciera that one of my grandmother's friends had. I think they called it "International Series". I remember it had a badge on the side with a whole bunch of European flags run together. And it had some blackout trim. And, she was pretty proud of the little "FE3" badge on the back...as if she actually knew what that meant! Still, not a bad car fo the time. Anyway, she ended up moving down to North Carolina sometime in the late 1990's, and still had the car at that point. We pretty much lost contact with her after that, other than Christmas cards and such, and those slowly tapered off. Well, my Mom called me today, and said that she found out that this lady died. Back in 2006! Kinda sad, as I always thought she was a cool old lady, but, nobody lives forever. I'd always wondered what happened to her, so it gave closure, at least. I'm kinda curious as to whatever became of the car, now long it lasted, etc.
My Granddad on my Dad's side of the family had a 1994 Taurus GL. He gave up driving in 2004, when he turned 90. At that point he'd had 3 minor fender benders, but it was the kind of stuff that could happen to anybody, and not really old-age related. But, the insurance company raised his rates, he thought it was because of his age, so he gave up the car and driving. Initially, he offered to give me the car, but I didn't need it. Well, one of my cousins and his wife got it, and sadly, it deteriorated quickly under their watch. I think it only had about 40,000 miles on it when Granddad gave it to them, and they might have taken it to around 80,000. It started leaking coolant, I think, and my cousin sold it real cheap sometime last year to a friend of his, and I don't know what happened to it after that. I remember back in 2009 or 2010, going down to see them for Easter, and taking Granddad down. He saw the Taurus off to the side in their driveway, went over to it, and just shook his head kind of sadly.
You're either going to have to find mint old cars to drive, or deal with higher sills. Time moves on. There should be a supply of nicer old cars for some time, it'll just take work to find them, and they will have quirks like your current Buick.
Something about the current Taurus makes it feel tight upfront, maybe the console/dash relationship. My family had a Ciera, but it wasn't an International - however it did have the flag emblem on the front fenders, I think they all had that. Was FE3 the suspension? That would have been a top of the line model. An International Series Ciera is a rare car anymore. I think that trim also existed on the larger ~88 Cutlass Supreme coupe.
Those mid 90s Taurus weren't the most durable things anyway. You'd get a 3.8 with a weak headgasket, potential transmission issues, or both. My mom had a 93 with a 3.8, I remember it would make weird sloshing sounds from inside the dash.
Yeah, I think "FE3" was a suspension option on the Ciera, that made it handle a bit better and ride a bit firmer.
Luckily, Granddad's Taurus just had the 3.0 Vulcan. But, I swear I always smelled antifreeze every time I drove that car or rode in it, after it was about 5-6 years old. That was also one reason I passed on it when he offered to give it to me.
Before the '94, they had an '89 LX that had the 3.8. However, they traded it before it had any real issues. Granddad usually traded every 3-5 years, whether he needed to or not. In 2000 he wanted to go look at new cars, so I took him out to look at the new Taurus, which I kinda liked after the 2000 facelift. However, Granddad hated it, refused to drive it, and the salesman had to beg him to even sit in it. I told him that the '94 was so low-mileage that he might as well just keep it. I guess when you're used to trading every 3-5 years though, it's a hard habit to break. He actually bought the '94 in late '93, so he was probably getting itchy to replace it around '96-97.
Minivans are maybe permanently scarred by the soccer mom thing. But I agree, if you need room and flexibility, I can't think of a better vehicle for the money.
A trip back in time for her would be a well maintained '70s Duster with a 340. Whoops, there are only 5 or 6 remaining in N. America, and they would cost many multiples of $2,000.
How about a 2005-2012 Avalon or a similar vintage Lucerne/DTS. Both are very large inside. There are still awesome deals on the last 2011 Crown Vics that were all fleet cars. The only problem is they weren't as well equipped as earlier models.
You could probably find a mint late-model Panther that was owned by some ancient geezer who never drove it much. See if you can find a Grand Marquis "De Sade" edition...
On the new-car side, I recently was in a co-workers 2013 Accord and was impressed with the room and the visibility. It doesn't have the wonderfully low cowl and sill line that the early '90s Accords had, but it impressed me very much.
My grandmother has one of those facelift Taurus - an 03 that she hasn't driven more than 30K miles. It hasn't had any real issues, but to be fair, hasn't been driven very hard.
I'll probably just end up with a Charger, and force myself to get used to it! I had to go through a similar thing years ago when I bought my 2000 Intrepid, a car with very poor visibility for the time. It had thick pillars, including a deceptively thick C-pillar area that was exacerbated by the filled-in area at the trailing edge of the rear doors. I also couldn't see the hood or the decklid. by today's standards though, it still had larger windows, a lower sill, and smaller headrests. But, I was going from an '89 Gran Fury copcar, where I could practically see all four corners of the car. And that thing had huge windows and fairly small pillars. The stand-up hood ornament was also great for aiming it! :P
If I ever seriously go new-car shopping, I'll have to re-evaluate the Accord. I sat in a 2013 at the auto show, and wasn't that impressed. The seat didn't seem to go back all that far initially, but I was able to play around with the power adjustments and get it to where it was decent. However, the seats did seem a bit small, and thin, like they put compact car seats in a midsize to give it more interior space. But, that was just a quick sit.
As for the outgoing Avalon, I liked them when they first came out. Not exactly exciting, but a very nice, comfy, roomy ride. I always thought that if they could've taken the looks of my Park Avenue, but given it the quality and interior of that Avalon, you'd have, to quote Eugene Levy, a "Damn fine automobile".
The torque steer can be a pain in the butt, though. I know they like to say that it's been minimized these days but, trust me, when you're used to RWD cars, it hasn't! Even my old Intrepid, which had a longitudinally-mounted engine, still had torque steer.
Some FWD cars also compromise ride quality. My 2000 Park Ave, for instance, tends to hit the bumps hard with the front axle, probably because it's so nose-heavy, but then the [non-permissible content removed]-end is too bouncy, probably because it's too light.
My Intrepid was better with regards to ride control. Not as smooth overall, but it handled the bumps better.
As for traction, FWD might let you take off a bit better, but when it comes to braking, stuff like tire quality, ABS, etc is probably more important. Plus, most RWD vehicles today have ABS, traction control, etc, so they're not so bad in slick weather. This past winter, I actually tried to get my 2012 Ram to spin out, but couldn't. So much for doing donuts in the high school parking lot when it snows, like back in the day in my '80 Malibu!
IMO though, cars like the DTS, Taurus, Charger, Impala aren't really *that* big. So, something in that size class does benefit from not having a transmission and driveshaft hump. The big hump pretty much reduces the Charger/300 to a 4-seater, although I don't think there's been a car with truly first-class 3-across seating since perhaps the 1978 Newport, or 1979 Continental. In that first wave of downsizing, the cars were more space efficient, given their external dimensions. But they tended to lose shoulder room. They also gained larger driveshaft and transmission humps, got thinner seats, and often had some wheel well inrusion, all of which would rob interior room, but not affect published figures such as legroom, shoulder room, headroom, or interior volume, which is actually an index of those measurements, rather than a "true" measurement of how much interior volume there really is.
Even a 79 Continental had a fairly large hump to deal with. Like you said there aren't many large cars today. The previous Avalon and Lucerne/DTS probably had the most interior room except for maybe a Town Car "L" or 750Li. The latter is pretty darn spacious.
My Grand Marquis has decent head/width/shoulder room, but I'd say my LaCrosse has more leg room front and rear with terrible rear headroom.
I didn't realize the old, pre-downsized Continentals had a big hump, too. I guess my buddy's Mark V probably does as well, but I never notice it because it has bucket seats and a console.
The hump in the '79 New Yorker is actually pretty small. And there's not much wheel well intrusion in the back seat area, either. I guess that's one advantage of simply using the old '78 intermediates as a starting point, rather than a ground-up redesign like the '77 GM B/C bodies, or the Ford Panthers. To make the R-body, Chrysler essentially took the '78 Monaco/Fury sedan, stretched out the wheelbase an inch, and gave it a crisper, more modern looking body.
Even in my '76 LeMans, the transmission/driveshaft hump isn't too bad. It's pretty small in my '67 Catalina as well. And in the DeSoto, the driveshaft hump is so small that I've seen FWD cars with a bigger hump down the middle!
I went and looked at some pictures the Continental and a 78 New Yorker and they are pretty close. The Continental hump seems a little larger up front but smaller in back. Either way, cars this big are gone!
Why? Better wet weather traction, some additional interior room for fwd.
As for better wet weather traction, it's true but it's not wet most of the time (unless you live in Western OR/WA). You're talking to a guy who used a RWD Bimmer as a sales sled thru several NH winters. I figured people did RWD in the snow for many decades before FWD became common and generally got where they were going without modern tires, ABS brakes or traction control.
Also large FWDs are pigs when cornering because they carry so much weight forward. I'm fine with FWD for cars that are Golf-sized or smaller because there's much less weight to transfer and you can have some fun cornering.
I'll confess to a general bias against large cars/trucks. I'm an automotive minimalist who believes most folks have an exaggerated idea of how much car they need.
I'll confess to a general bias against large cars/trucks. I'm an automotive minimalist who believes most folks have an exaggerated idea of how much car they need.
I agree with you completely. The land yacht cars of 30 years ago (especially the 1970s) have been replaced by huge SUVs and trucks. When I see that the Ford F-150, the Chevrolet Silverado and the Dodge Ram always make the top ten list of the best selling vehicles in the USA, I don't understand why Americans buy such huge vehicles. It is hard to blame the US automakers when the US public continues to buy these dinosaurs.
When I was in the Army in Germans in the mid 1970s the English girls called American cars "yank tanks." The worst example was a 1974 Cadillac two- door Eldorado that would not fit in any of the marked parking spaces on the army post. The price of gasoline in Germany was more than $4.00 per gallon at that time (about $1.50 in the US), which is equal to $10.00 per gallon now.
The first two front drive American vehicles that I remember were the Oldsmobile Tornado and Cadillac Eldorado, so the use of FWD was not to save interior space.
This may be old news by now, but the Lambrecht Chevrolet Co. auction is in a couple months and should be interesting...although the cars don't appear to have been stored very well.
Mr. Lambrecht, now 95, kept cars he liked instead of selling them. He was an authorized Chevy dealer. The town of Pierce, NE, now has 1,700 residents. That makes my hometown of Greenville, PA look like Metropolis at 5,900 now!
Yep that one has been getting some attention. I bet some of them would detail up OK - but I'd worry about interior rot. A shame he didn't at least keep them covered and dry.
The too soon passing of actor Dennis Farina at the age of 69 has me thinking of the most awesome TV intro of one of the most awesome TV shows of all time. Crank up your speakers!
A few oldies on the road this afternoon - the same Volvo 122 I see a lot, a Dasher wagon (really), an 86-87 Cavalier 2 door, what I think might have been an AWD Tempo (88-90 model, sitting high), and an oddball - a 5 door Corsica.
I have a friend who had a two-door Cutlass Ciera- I think it was an International Series, it had bucket seats, floor shifter, full analog gauges, minimal chrome. Pretty nice car for that era.
Our Outlander has some really thick A-pillars, along with big side mirrors below them that really hamper visibility. My daughter's learning to drive in it, and I've really been stressing to look carefully at intersections, they can easily block a motorcycle or small car.
2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
Comments
ab, The recent Ford's I've rented had grey interiors, but your comment got me interested. I was running around quite a bit this weekend, so I tried to pay attention to the newer Ford's I saw parked. I never paid that much attention before, but think you may be on to something. My wife and I both had cars with black interiors (once!) before we were married. Not only do they retain heat, they show every bit of dirt, lint, etc. Personally, a black interior is a "no sale" for me. But then, didn't old Henry Ford have a thing for the color black!
It is adjacent to where the fintail is being worked on, so I walked by to see what cars were sitting around in the repair parking. There was a W126 300SD, odometer read 98K, beautiful condition, kind of a light gold with brown leather (leather is not common on 300SD) - it looked pristine, When I finally am able to retrieve my car, I want to ask who owns it and what the story is. I wouldn't mind having something like that, even with the boring period colors.
I wonder what the outcome would have been if they took the HO 307 from the 442 and offered it in the Toro, Riv, or Eldo, to compete more closely with the HO 302 in the Mark VII LSC? IIRC, the LSC had 180 hp...more than the 140-150 hp unit that went in the likes of the T-bird, Panthers, etc, but still less than the Mustang 5.0. The HO 307 also had 180 hp.
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Also saw what I think was a 63 Stingray convertible, top up - had distinctive spinner hubcaps and slightly wider than narrow whitewalls.
I believe the NYPD did use Fords in 1969. The Philadelphia Police Dept. used two-door Ford sedans in 1968:
It's been there a couple days now, but I'm sure it'll get an abandoned-vehicle warning sticker soon. There had been a first-gen Integra coupe sitting in that same spot last week, in a red that faded to sort of a rental-car-orange, and evidence of rust and bondo around the rear wheel opening. It had been there for awhile, until a red warning sticker showed up on its windshield.
I don't know how many miles it has on it, because the odometer broke years ago. Its paint is horribly faded on the tops, the leather seats are ripping, and a big chunk of the plastic cladding on the lower body is missing. The power steering also has a slow leak that's too expensive for her to get fixed, so they just add fluid.
Still, as bad as that car looks, it's a nice riding, comfortable car. And the 4.5 V-8, while hardly a powerhouse by today's standards, has a nice, healthy rumble to it.
It's probably going to be the last car she owns at her age, I guess. She'll be 89 in October. She had been wanting to get another car, and asked some of her friends to consider her, when they trade their cars in, but nothing has come her way yet. I did ask her, a couple months ago, if she'd want first crack at my 2000 Park Ave if I decided to trade it for another car and she said yes. But, it hasn't been a poster-child for reliability itself, so I'd feel a bit guilty selling it to her, even at a cheap price, only to have it break down on her.
My grandmother is about that age, and just stopped driving - her license was up for renewal this month, and she didn't do it. She's holding onto her car (low mileage 03 Taurus) and my uncle who lives nearby will drive her around in it.
Hmm, that might actually be a thought! She doesn't drive nearly as much as she used to, mainly because of the power steering issue. She takes my grandmother to some of her doctor's appointments, and the idea of the two of them out and about, and that car breaking down, doesn't give me a good feeling. I did at least give my Grandmother's cousin my cell phone and work #, so she can call me if she ever gets stranded. Hasn't happened yet, thankfully.
I've seen AAA come out a few times for a service call, but usually it's because her not-too-bright son, who lives with her, uses her car sometimes, and if he comes home around dusk, he'll forget to turn the lights off. Which I think is a bit odd, because I would think a car of that caliber would chime at you or do something, to warn you that you left your lights on!
Unfortunately, most of her side of the family doesn't have two nickels to rub together. And she's the kind who will give you the shirt off her back, so needless to say, many of them have taken advantage of that, over the years.
In fact, I think one reason she kept that Caddy so long is that it spoiled her. She would really like another Cadillac (not sure how she's really like the current ones though, with their high sills, limited visibility, and such), but can't afford one. She really needs something cheap like a Corolla, Sentra, Civic, etc, but I think that Caddy spoiled her too much!
Sadly, if she got a nice, low-mileage old Caddy, I have a feeling her son would end up getting ahold of it, and it wouldn't stay nice for long. He was the one who wrecked her Duster back in the day. And back in 1990, he bought a really nice 1969 Bonneville 4-door hardtop. It's amazing how ratty that thing started looking after the two years he had it. I lost track of how many thing he and his wife hit with it. I bought it from him for $400, but looking back, I really shouldn't have. It was actually a nice running car...WHEN it ran. But it looked beat-up, had starting issues, stalling issues, overheated, etc.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I drove my uncle's new 2013 Camry on Sunday. I had driven it once before, when he first got it, and thought it had good visibility. However, on Sunday I had to park it in a parking lot, and found out it wasn't so easy to back in. Visibility to the rear isn't so hot. One problem is these huge headrests they have these days.
The spoiling subject is accurate. Even when driving a well-used older model, it might be tough moving from a luxury make to something more normal - that Cadillac ride will be hard to replace.
Too bad about the son. My uncle can be something like that - he drives an aging LeSabre which he more or less keeps up, but he broke the passenger mirror off the Taurus, and scratched up the rear bumper, both via incompetent parking. His LeSabre would be pretty nice other than a big dent on a front fender caused by hitting a parking barricade. He's going to be a scary driver by the time he hits 70 - he has developed a weird throttle habit of on-off - no steady application, and sometimes steers jerkily too.
The new Accord actually is an improvement. The prior generation had gotten much worse (my 2005 was easy to see out of, but the 2008 model went bunker). A trend in the right direction.
good think my RDX has the camera. Would never know what was going on without that!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Thank the IIHS. They prevent whiplash but you look towards the back of the car to avoid an accident.
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2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
And, now that Ford's Panthers are gone, I don't think there are any cars left, at least something semi-affordable, that are as roomy inside. I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but I think the EPA rates my Park Ave at something like 111 cubic feet of passenger volume, and a 19 cubic foot trunk. The Charger/300, which would probably be tops on my list, are a bit smaller inside, something like 106 cubic feet I think. Plus they have a big driveshaft hump, and the small windows make them feel a bit claustrophobic inside. The current Taurus is a non-player as a full-sized car as far as I'm concerned. It does have a big trunk, something like 21 cubic feet, but the interior is something like 102, and feels tight to me because of the narrow footwell, high center console, etc. And again, you have the small windows and high sills.
The 2014 Impala actually seemed fairly big inside. I could tell it gave up some shoulder room compared to my Park Ave, but otherwise felt good. But again, there's that high sill, small windows, etc. I'll just have to get used to that I guess.
As for my uncle's Camry, I have a feeling that it's one of those cars that, the more I drive it, the less I'm going to like it. I don't think I'll ever learn to hate driving it, like I did his '03 Corolla, but I think with time and experience with it, the new-car magic will wear off and its flaws will start to show.
Oh, on the subject of 80's Oldsmobiles, I got reminded today, of an '86 or so Cutlass Ciera that one of my grandmother's friends had. I think they called it "International Series". I remember it had a badge on the side with a whole bunch of European flags run together. And it had some blackout trim. And, she was pretty proud of the little "FE3" badge on the back...as if she actually knew what that meant! Still, not a bad car fo the time. Anyway, she ended up moving down to North Carolina sometime in the late 1990's, and still had the car at that point. We pretty much lost contact with her after that, other than Christmas cards and such, and those slowly tapered off. Well, my Mom called me today, and said that she found out that this lady died. Back in 2006! Kinda sad, as I always thought she was a cool old lady, but, nobody lives forever. I'd always wondered what happened to her, so it gave closure, at least. I'm kinda curious as to whatever became of the car, now long it lasted, etc.
My Granddad on my Dad's side of the family had a 1994 Taurus GL. He gave up driving in 2004, when he turned 90. At that point he'd had 3 minor fender benders, but it was the kind of stuff that could happen to anybody, and not really old-age related. But, the insurance company raised his rates, he thought it was because of his age, so he gave up the car and driving. Initially, he offered to give me the car, but I didn't need it. Well, one of my cousins and his wife got it, and sadly, it deteriorated quickly under their watch. I think it only had about 40,000 miles on it when Granddad gave it to them, and they might have taken it to around 80,000. It started leaking coolant, I think, and my cousin sold it real cheap sometime last year to a friend of his, and I don't know what happened to it after that. I remember back in 2009 or 2010, going down to see them for Easter, and taking Granddad down. He saw the Taurus off to the side in their driveway, went over to it, and just shook his head kind of sadly.
Something about the current Taurus makes it feel tight upfront, maybe the console/dash relationship. My family had a Ciera, but it wasn't an International - however it did have the flag emblem on the front fenders, I think they all had that. Was FE3 the suspension? That would have been a top of the line model. An International Series Ciera is a rare car anymore. I think that trim also existed on the larger ~88 Cutlass Supreme coupe.
Those mid 90s Taurus weren't the most durable things anyway. You'd get a 3.8 with a weak headgasket, potential transmission issues, or both. My mom had a 93 with a 3.8, I remember it would make weird sloshing sounds from inside the dash.
Luckily, Granddad's Taurus just had the 3.0 Vulcan. But, I swear I always smelled antifreeze every time I drove that car or rode in it, after it was about 5-6 years old. That was also one reason I passed on it when he offered to give it to me.
Before the '94, they had an '89 LX that had the 3.8. However, they traded it before it had any real issues. Granddad usually traded every 3-5 years, whether he needed to or not. In 2000 he wanted to go look at new cars, so I took him out to look at the new Taurus, which I kinda liked after the 2000 facelift. However, Granddad hated it, refused to drive it, and the salesman had to beg him to even sit in it. I told him that the '94 was so low-mileage that he might as well just keep it. I guess when you're used to trading every 3-5 years though, it's a hard habit to break. He actually bought the '94 in late '93, so he was probably getting itchy to replace it around '96-97.
But man, we have different taste. I hate oversized cars.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
For Andre, you can get the same type of room/flexibility in something like a Venza, or an RDX, even with a smaller footprint.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
On the new-car side, I recently was in a co-workers 2013 Accord and was impressed with the room and the visibility. It doesn't have the wonderfully low cowl and sill line that the early '90s Accords had, but it impressed me very much.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
If I ever seriously go new-car shopping, I'll have to re-evaluate the Accord. I sat in a 2013 at the auto show, and wasn't that impressed. The seat didn't seem to go back all that far initially, but I was able to play around with the power adjustments and get it to where it was decent. However, the seats did seem a bit small, and thin, like they put compact car seats in a midsize to give it more interior space. But, that was just a quick sit.
As for the outgoing Avalon, I liked them when they first came out. Not exactly exciting, but a very nice, comfy, roomy ride. I always thought that if they could've taken the looks of my Park Avenue, but given it the quality and interior of that Avalon, you'd have, to quote Eugene Levy, a "Damn fine automobile".
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Why? Better wet weather traction, some additional interior room for fwd.
Some FWD cars also compromise ride quality. My 2000 Park Ave, for instance, tends to hit the bumps hard with the front axle, probably because it's so nose-heavy, but then the [non-permissible content removed]-end is too bouncy, probably because it's too light.
My Intrepid was better with regards to ride control. Not as smooth overall, but it handled the bumps better.
As for traction, FWD might let you take off a bit better, but when it comes to braking, stuff like tire quality, ABS, etc is probably more important. Plus, most RWD vehicles today have ABS, traction control, etc, so they're not so bad in slick weather. This past winter, I actually tried to get my 2012 Ram to spin out, but couldn't. So much for doing donuts in the high school parking lot when it snows, like back in the day in my '80 Malibu!
IMO though, cars like the DTS, Taurus, Charger, Impala aren't really *that* big. So, something in that size class does benefit from not having a transmission and driveshaft hump. The big hump pretty much reduces the Charger/300 to a 4-seater, although I don't think there's been a car with truly first-class 3-across seating since perhaps the 1978 Newport, or 1979 Continental. In that first wave of downsizing, the cars were more space efficient, given their external dimensions. But they tended to lose shoulder room. They also gained larger driveshaft and transmission humps, got thinner seats, and often had some wheel well inrusion, all of which would rob interior room, but not affect published figures such as legroom, shoulder room, headroom, or interior volume, which is actually an index of those measurements, rather than a "true" measurement of how much interior volume there really is.
My Grand Marquis has decent head/width/shoulder room, but I'd say my LaCrosse has more leg room front and rear with terrible rear headroom.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
The hump in the '79 New Yorker is actually pretty small. And there's not much wheel well intrusion in the back seat area, either. I guess that's one advantage of simply using the old '78 intermediates as a starting point, rather than a ground-up redesign like the '77 GM B/C bodies, or the Ford Panthers. To make the R-body, Chrysler essentially took the '78 Monaco/Fury sedan, stretched out the wheelbase an inch, and gave it a crisper, more modern looking body.
Even in my '76 LeMans, the transmission/driveshaft hump isn't too bad. It's pretty small in my '67 Catalina as well. And in the DeSoto, the driveshaft hump is so small that I've seen FWD cars with a bigger hump down the middle!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
As for better wet weather traction, it's true but it's not wet most of the time (unless you live in Western OR/WA). You're talking to a guy who used a RWD Bimmer as a sales sled thru several NH winters. I figured people did RWD in the snow for many decades before FWD became common and generally got where they were going without modern tires, ABS brakes or traction control.
Also large FWDs are pigs when cornering because they carry so much weight forward. I'm fine with FWD for cars that are Golf-sized or smaller because there's much less weight to transfer and you can have some fun cornering.
I'll confess to a general bias against large cars/trucks. I'm an automotive minimalist who believes most folks have an exaggerated idea of how much car they need.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I agree with you completely. The land yacht cars of 30 years ago (especially the 1970s) have been replaced by huge SUVs and trucks. When I see that the Ford F-150, the Chevrolet Silverado and the Dodge Ram always make the top ten list of the best selling vehicles in the USA, I don't understand why Americans buy such huge vehicles. It is hard to blame the US automakers when the US public continues to buy these dinosaurs.
When I was in the Army in Germans in the mid 1970s the English girls called American cars "yank tanks." The worst example was a 1974 Cadillac two- door Eldorado that would not fit in any of the marked parking spaces on the army post. The price of gasoline in Germany was more than $4.00 per gallon at that time (about $1.50 in the US), which is equal to $10.00 per gallon now.
The first two front drive American vehicles that I remember were the Oldsmobile Tornado and Cadillac Eldorado, so the use of FWD was not to save interior space.
Mr. Lambrecht, now 95, kept cars he liked instead of selling them. He was an authorized Chevy dealer. The town of Pierce, NE, now has 1,700 residents. That makes my hometown of Greenville, PA look like Metropolis at 5,900 now!
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/news/auction-news/low-mileage-chevrolet-cars-and-tr- ucks-dusted-off-by-vanderbrink?et_mid=629830&rid=3382320
I like that 58 Cameo.
Crime Story Intro: Chicago
Longer Version
RIP Dennis Farina and Del Shannon....
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Our Outlander has some really thick A-pillars, along with big side mirrors below them that really hamper visibility. My daughter's learning to drive in it, and I've really been stressing to look carefully at intersections, they can easily block a motorcycle or small car.