Cars That Gained Or Lost Respect With Time

isellhondas · December 2010

Oh, no...this one is much nicer than that from what I could tell.

Still no callback.

Once time I was driving down the Nimitz Freeway in heavy traffic. I was following a flatbed truck when I noticed a piece of unsecured machinery was about to land in my lane. I had a split second to make a lane change.

In my mirror, I spotted a yellow Karmann Ghia ram this thing. Cars were flying all over.

On the news shortly thereafter, they announced that all lanes in that direction had been closed. On the evening news that night I watched a helicopter identify this mystery object as a cigarette machine.

I don't think anyone was hurt and my 1979 Celica GT got to live another day.

omarman · December 2010

"If you have bent belly pans or a dented nose, it's a real hard job getting those straight again."

Mr_Shiftright · December 2010

Do you have *any* idea of the cost of cosmetic surgery these days? :P

stickguy · December 2010

there is a white on on Ebay at the moment. Doesnt look too shabby (from the lousy pictures), and is claimed that everything works. think it is listed for $6,500?

just have to go to Fairbanks to pick it up!

lemko · December 2010

I'm surprised DeLorean didn't use the old stand-by - the small-block Chevy.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2010

In those days the small block kind of sucked---it was strangled by emissions. The Lotus Esprit Turbo motor would have been the ticket. The car would have been no more reliable, but way faster. Actually he was just a little too early for the Buick V-6 turbo that eventually got pumped up and put in the GNX.

hpmctorque · December 2010

In addition to shifty's points, the Chevy engine was too mass market. Also, as an ex-GMer who had been spurned for the top job, he might have wanted to avoid sourcing his revolutionary car's engine from GM.

bhill2 · December 2010

Shifty, I have to ask. You said the 544 was great fun to drive and almost indestructible. By the time of the 740, you characterize them as no fun and expensive to maintain. At what point do you think they went wrong? Or was it a slow but steady descent? For instance, my father had a 122 that I enjoyed (of course I was young) and I had a 142 that wasn't bad (although much less quick). I even owned a 164 for a while and enjoyed the comfort, but it wasn't exactly 'tossable'. However, my sister went the way of a 244 and I have to put it in the same category that you put the 740. Any thoughts on Volvo's unfortunate path?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2010

Well that's an interesting question because their sister company Saab starting getting even more interesting as Volvo got duller and duller.

I guess the answer lies in Volvo's determination to appeal to the American car buyer---the type that would not buy a VW or Fiat or Peugeot or quirky (at that time) Saab.

You can see the transition in about 1968. Gone was the Volvo 123GT with no real equivalent "sport sedan" in the 140 series. The P1800 sports car was an odd duck, having the same exact engine as the sedan and a rather porky little thing to boot, with truck-like steering.

The later P1800E sport wagon was a step in the direction of redemption, but too little, too late IMO.

Now and then Volvo gives a reluctant nod to sporty driving, and really, they have gotten better over the years, but behind all that posturing is still a Swedish Ford.

Cars That Gained Or Lost Respect With Time

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