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

omarman · January 2020

The dealership initially deflected my cousins complaints about the stalling engine and had him on track to order another new Pinto! The salesman told him that having a 1975 Pinto wagon with a V6 would make everything better. Unbelievable. It almost worked until their new '74 Pinto started rusting shortly after taking delivery.

I think about that every time I watch Eugene Levy say, "You think you hate it now, wait 'til you drive it."

But in the movie he made the sale.

stickguy · January 2020

that baby has some serious candlepower going.

sda · January 2020

I remember riding with my Scoutmaster in a 74 Pinto Runabout from central VA to Butler, PA to the 77 Scout Jamboree. He never exceeded 60mph, the speed limit was still 55, didn’t use the AC ever, and it only got in the lower 20s mpg. It was an automatic, metallic brown, upgraded interior. He allowed me to drive it some, it was sluggish and dull.

uplanderguy · January 2020

I remember riding with my Scoutmaster in a 74 Pinto Runabout from central VA to Butler, PA to the 77 Scout Jamboree

Believe it or not, someone asked me how old I-79 in western PA was so I googled it in the past week or so. I read that an exit was built solely for the 1977 Jamboree being held in Butler and was closed afterwards. Supposedly it's still visible from the interstate.

stickguy · January 2020

if they bothered to build it, why close it and not just leave it there?

sda · January 2020

A reasonably nice Infiniti G20, pearl white, a 65 maroon Corvair 4dr hardtop, and several last generation Cadillac DTS. The DTS not so unusual however these were all seen within 10 minutes of each other and all driven by men who looked to be late 30s, not the typical more mature set.

Michaell · January 2020

sda said:
A reasonably nice Infiniti G20, pearl white, a 65 maroon Corvair 4dr hardtop, and several last generation Cadillac DTS. The DTS not so unusual however these were all seen within 10 minutes of each other and all driven by men who looked to be late 30s, not the typical more mature set.

Which generation of G20?

My sister and BIL had a gen 1 - dark green over tan leather. Very sharp car.

stickguy · January 2020

I always loved those. A spiffed up Sentra sporty model basically. Similar to the Acura ILX 6 speed being a civic Si in nicer clothes.

sda · January 2020

Michaell said:

sda said:
A reasonably nice Infiniti G20, pearl white, a 65 maroon Corvair 4dr hardtop, and several last generation Cadillac DTS. The DTS not so unusual however these were all seen within 10 minutes of each other and all driven by men who looked to be late 30s, not the typical more mature set.
Which generation of G20?

My sister and BIL had a gen 1 - dark green over tan leather. Very sharp car.

First generation. I looked at one to potentially buy when they were new but decided to buy a 90 VW Passat GL instead.

fintail · January 2020

First gen RAV4 2-door just drove by.

stickguy · January 2020

Late run gen 2 firebird. With the twin snout plastic front end. Not attractive, but car looked clean overall.

stickguy · January 2020

went to a local watering hole for dinner, outside our window, was a nice looking black and silver El Camino. The 80s vintage downsized version.

fintail · January 2020

A very clean 2nd gen Prelude just drove by. Also saw first gen Integra and Legend coupes on the road yesterday.

texases · January 2020

That 2nd gen Prelude gets my vote for 'most improved'...

laurasdada · January 2020

Wanted so much a Gen 2 Lude and original Legend coupe. Alas...$.

fintail · January 2020

First Prelude was more like a Civic sports coupe. I remember when I was a freshman in high school, an upperclassman friend had one, silver, 5-speed, sunroof, seemed like a neat enough car (and was probably only around 10 years old at the time, so in this area, was still in clean condition). I also recall my 6th grade PE teacher had a red 2nd gen Prelude, would have been a late model car then. In high school, the 3rd gen was a car of choice for affluent/spoiled girls.

roadburner · January 2020

A local Honda dealer let my friend take out a 2nd gen Prelude back when they were new. I loved it.

fintail · January 2020

I recall several 2nd gen Preludes in the high school parking lot back in the day. These were virtually all driven by girls. I recall one of the 3rd gen cars (driven by the daughter of a doctor) was a 4WS model, a rarity today. Another 3rd gen, in a fairly bright yellow, was driven by the daughter of the local Honda dealer. I knew a girl who's mom bought a new 4th gen Si around 1993 I think, and it was also 4WS. She got to drive it to school a few times, and it was considered to be a pretty hot car. Can't recall the last time I saw one with that spec. I want to say that girl got a DSM Plymouth Laser when she was 18 - another unicorn these days. Either that was a long time ago, or cars were more diverse then.

stickguy · January 2020

way back when (mid 80s) my best friend had a roommate that had a gen 1 (the toad model). So what, late 70s? One day it just broke in half.

stickguy · January 2020

there is actually a 4th generation for sale near me. Parked in a driveway on a busy road. Been there for a few weeks at least, so I assume it is either nasty, or overpriced. Or both. Looks decent enough on a drive-by, but a tad tired. maybe a nice wax job and detail would make it nice, though the interior may sink it.

Black. Kinda wondering if it is the same one that used to be in my neighborhood, though I don't think it is as beat up. That one had the front fascia beat up and partly off, and there was a large slick on the road where he parked it. Smoked a bit too I think, but I believe it was just a commuter runner to the nearby park and ride. Has not been there for a while so I assume it finally died.

kyfdx · January 2020

stickguy said:
way back when (mid 80s) my best friend had a roommate that had a gen 1 (the toad model). So what, late 70s? One day it just broke in half.

I think Gen I was all the way through ‘83.

xwesx · January 2020

stickguy said:
way back when (mid 80s) my best friend had a roommate that had a gen 1 (the toad model). So what, late 70s? One day it just broke in half.

I had a friend who broke his mom's Accord in half; late 80s model.

He had the help of another driver who ran a stop sign at a cross intersection (in 1995, IIRC), but it literally split the car clean in half. He remembers coming to a stop in the ditch, and he could see the back half of the car sitting in the middle of the road out in front of him. He thought, wow, I got hit by a car that looks just like mine! Then he looked behind him and saw nothing but grass and dirt. LOL

He was, thankfully, unscathed, and the other driver had only minor cuts and bruises.

uplanderguy · January 2020

A guy I used to work with in the '80's, two years younger than me, super-slim, expensive clothes, moussed hair, bought a new first-gen Prelude. Dark blue. First car I ever saw where the front seat was touching the rear seat bottom cushion, LOL.

xwesx · January 2020

uplanderguy said:
First car I ever saw where the front seat was touching the rear seat bottom cushion, LOL.

Really? I thought that was standard configuration for cars back then. My mother always had coupes (ALWAYS), and I never recall riding in a car of hers where my legs didn't hit the back of the seat, often with thee need to put one knee to each side of the seat back. Of course, as I grew older, this was a clear necessity, but even when I was very young I would need to do this.

I hated it. Needless to say, I have never owned a two-door myself, and probably never will.

fintail · January 2020

No doubt the seats touching like that is a quirky feature of many 4-door sedans, too. I recall in my W202 C43 AMG, with the driver's seat positioned for how I like to sit (low, legs extended), there's no way anyone but a very small child could fit behind me, it was effectively a 3 seater.

I don't have any memories of my mom's gigantic 70s T-Bird having rear seat room issues - but I was a little kid, and it was a large car.

fintail · January 2020

Here's the life - pleasant reasonably sized house with a nice garage, located in a modern developed part of the world, and a couple of fintails in the driveway. Pic is from old PR material that MB is continuously releasing on fb and elsewhere:

uplanderguy · January 2020

Really? I thought that was standard configuration for cars back then. My mother always had coupes (ALWAYS), and I never recall riding in a car of hers where my legs didn't hit the back of the seat

I'm talking about zero legroom in the back--zero--when the driver had the seat in the position he chose to drive it in. And he really wasn't that tall.

No shock that I'm old-skool (LOL), but I thought the radio antenna placement on it was goofy too...that, and the inside mirror was the old-fashioned kind suspended from the ceiling, as opposed to applied to the windshield.

He liked it enough to trade it on a second-gen Prelude though.

stickguy · January 2020

out driving, an early 70s Orange 911. snazzy. It was going the other way but pretty sure it had the split rear bumper without rubber blocks.

uplanderguy · January 2020

if they bothered to build it, why close it and not just leave it there?

What I interpreted was that the Jamboree was not actually IN Butler, PA but at the newly-made lake made near there. The exit was apparently made to take the significant number of Jamboree visitors directly to the lake area without having to go on roads that others travelled more-regularly.

uplanderguy · January 2020

This talk about the first-gen Prelude my coworker drove for some reason reminds me of the episode of "Newhart" where Stephanie's "TurboZ" was in the shop and she was left car-less.

Bob Newhart told her she could drive his car (Oldsmobile). Her face turned into a pout.

Her preppy boyfriend said "Your car's American", LOL.

sda · January 2020

uplanderguy said:
This talk about the first-gen Prelude my coworker drove for some reason reminds me of the episode of "Newhart" where Stephanie's "TurboZ" was in the shop and she was left car-less.

Bob Newhart told her she could drive his car (Oldsmobile). Her face turned into a pout.

Her preppy boyfriend said "Your car's American", LOL.

A plain 73 metallic brown Delta 88 sedan.

Michaell · January 2020

stickguy said:
out driving, an early 70s Orange 911. snazzy. It was going the other way but pretty sure it had the split rear bumper without rubber blocks.

Had to make an emergency run to the studio today. Also saw an early 70s 911, though this one was green.

fintail · January 2020

I remember the intro to that show (my parents watched it), showing the car driving through the countryside or a small town. I think that intro was later lifted and used in a movie, but I can't recall which,

sda said:

uplanderguy said:
This talk about the first-gen Prelude my coworker drove for some reason reminds me of the episode of "Newhart" where Stephanie's "TurboZ" was in the shop and she was left car-less.

Bob Newhart told her she could drive his car (Oldsmobile). Her face turned into a pout.

Her preppy boyfriend said "Your car's American", LOL.
A plain 73 metallic brown Delta 88 sedan.

uplanderguy · January 2020

Here's the opening to "Newhart". I was a big fan then. He did so much with so little!

Now that I see the opener again, music by Henry Mancini, I think that's a classy opening for a comedy show, really. I'd like to live there.

I think of "On Golden Pond" with that opening; I wonder if that's the movie you're thinking of, fin?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlKKMIzL4EA

kyfdx · January 2020

It was a great show.

ab348 · January 2020

I loved the earlier Bob Newhart Show with him playing the psychiatrist, but never warmed up to the later one.

uplanderguy · January 2020

I liked the setting of the second show, although I liked the earlier show too. I'd say I was more of a regular watcher of the second show.

laurasdada · January 2020

I believe that On Golden Pond was New Hampshire, Newhart was set in Vermont. Both, two of my favorite places on earth! Vermont would be a bit of a tough retirement spot, financially, as, well, socialism... New Hampster, not too bad.

ab348 · January 2020

Here's a rare bird, a 2007 Malibu SS in Ohio:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=538800669

fintail · January 2020

Thanks, brings back memories of watching TV with my parents when I was a kid. My dad was a fan, I remember he was always amused by the Larry/Darryl/Darryl characters. I remember that intro, as I could tell it was an Olds by the lights. It was an older car even then.

I swear I remember something where they lifted bits of that, including the Olds, but I don't know if that was it.

uplanderguy said:
Here's the opening to "Newhart". I was a big fan then. He did so much with so little!

Now that I see the opener again, music by Henry Mancini, I think that's a classy opening for a comedy show, really. I'd like to live there.

I think of "On Golden Pond" with that opening; I wonder if that's the movie you're thinking of, fin?

kyfdx · January 2020

Final episode ending was hilarious. With the tip of the hat to Dallas.

fintail · January 2020

I've seen a Malibu Maxx SS a time or two around here - that has to be a unicorn now. I always kind of liked that sport wagon style, although the market apparently hated it.

Vermont, "socialism", in 2020 USA? Hilarious

stickguy · January 2020

There’s an HHR SS that lives just outside my neighborhood. I kinda like it

stickguy · January 2020

Not a classic, but was behind a 2nd gen GM minivan, but the Buick version. A Terraza. Can’t say I recall that name. Or that Buick even had a version of it.

uplanderguy · January 2020

The Toyota Venza always reminded me of the Malibu Maxx.

At the time, I liked the idea that the Maxx's rear seats could be adjusted fore-and-aft like front seats.

I saw very few of those Malibu SS's of that generation around, for sure.

I had a number of those Malibus as rental cars. With V6's and whatever level interior got you perforated suede-like seat inserts, I liked the way they drove better than concurrent Impalas. Of course, another GM folks wouldn't even step in.

uplanderguy · January 2020

The Terraza was the Buick version of the Uplander. A little busier trim outside, but it was the only version of that platform that got independent rear suspension.

uplanderguy · January 2020

RE.: 'Newhart' and the '73 Delta 88--that show started in 1982 and I remember thinking even then, "A guy like his character would have a newer car than that". I could believe a Delta 88 four-door, but probably...an '82.

fintail · January 2020

Speaking of later SS cars, I remember in the mid-late oughts, there was a big dump of Impala SS in rental fleets, I assume because they were slow sellers. I imagine they had nice torque steer and front end plow. Even those ~2007 Impala SS are uncommon now, as I think they attract less than meticulous owners.

stickguy · January 2020

I went on a business conference in 2007. I got an impala rental. One of my coworkers got a Monte Carlo SS. I thought that was an odd rental unit.

Michaell · January 2020

stickguy said:
I went on a business conference in 2007. I got an impala rental. One of my coworkers got a Monte Carlo SS. I thought that was an odd rental unit.

I remember getting a gen 2 Taurus SHO in MSP, years ago. A co-worker got an Explorer on the same trip.

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

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