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I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I actually like that more formal, bulkier front-end they started using on the '73 Gran Torino, and that I believe they made standard on the full range for '75-76. But, on the fastback model, it looks oddly proportioned, like it was meant for a much bigger car. For example...
From this angle, it almost looks to me like they managed to graft the front clip of a big car onto a Pinto!
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I think Clint was influenced by the father on "The Wonder Years" in doing his slow-burn guttural growl.
The "anonymous" look was good for police duty and the Edmonton Journal mistakenly identifies this police vehicle as a "1970 Ford Torino."
Kansas Highway Patrol had a '72 Torino 2 door hardtop (formal roof)
I like to think this one had the 429 police interceptor "mystery engine." Ford didn't release hp ratings for the 429 PI in '72, but it had lower compression and open chamber heads than the previous year 429 PI which had 11:1 compression and was rated at 375 gross hp in '71.
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https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-oldsmobile-ninety-eight/#comment-5251937
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What is the benefit of the aftermarket metal things at the top of the side windows? I've seen them before but I never got the purpose. Is it for additional rain guttering if the window is opened a bit?
And yeah, those silver things were meant to deflect the rain, so that you could open the window a bit more. The rain gutters they built into cars in those days would help deflect runoff from the roof, when the car was parked, but but when you're moving rain is still going to blow in, although not quite as much as newer cars with more flush-mounted windows, where you have less roof/door window frame overhang. Those deflectors would let you roll the window down a bit more.
When I was a teen, the wife of the guy who owned a local towing company/junkyard had big '75-76 Pontiac 4-door hardtop, either a Bonneville or Grand Ville. I remember commenting that I liked it, being a pillarless hardtop. She said that she'd rather have a car with a center pillar and window frames on the doors, so she could put those rain deflectors on!
That black Olds Ninety-Eight IS nice. If I had my garage finished and the space for it, I think I might be tempted. A 403 would be cooler, but let's face it, I'm not buying something like that to do street racing in!
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When the big cars were downsized, they were about the size of the existing intermediates on the market, but they were roomier, a bit more fuel efficient, and with the right suspension setups, handled better. At the same time, they could also do most of what a pre-downsized big car could do, such as carrying six passengers, give a good ride, provide good cargo space, etc. About the only thing they really gave up was some towing capacity. I think the '71-76 models could be equipped for up to 7,000 lb, while the downsized cars were more like 5,000.
But, in the case of midsized cars it was different. Most of the cars marketed as "compact" were really pushing the upper end of the "compact" size spectrum. In the case of the Aspen/Volare sedans, they were actually intermediates according to the EPA. I think the Fairmont/Zephyr was also, barely, an intermediate. So, I don't think something like a '78 Malibu gave you as much of an advantage over the existing range of compacts, that, say, a '77 Impala did over that year's range of intermediates.
And, I know we've discussed it before, but GM almost went a bit too far in the weight reduction and downsizing of the intermediates, versus the big cars. I think they were trying to out-do the gains they made with the big cars, but to make a car that lightweight and space-efficient, but in that size, some quality was compromised, such as the thinner, more rust-prone frames, the stationary rear door windows, the increased likelihood of the under-sized transmission, etc.
One thing that always bugged me about them was the use of the tiny 3.3/200 Chevy and 3.2/196 Buick V6es the first couple years. They just seem too small and weak. But, to be fair, I'm sure a '78 Malibu with the 3.3 has got to be faster than a '77 with the old 250 inline-6! And, I also might have a bias against those tiny engines because my 1980 Malibu had the 229/3.8. It actually seemed adequate, at the time, so I think in my mind, that was a baseline, how it "should" be, and that anything smaller in a car like this was just wrong.
In retrospect, I have a feeling the 229 didn't improve performance much, if any, over the 200, at least with the standard axle ratio. The 200 used a 2.73:1, but the 229 used a 2.41:1, so that probably offset much of the advantage of the larger engine.
I could never imagine an engine smaller in those cars, but I know they had them.
At Chevy, and I assume the other divisions, the mid-size cars had a long list of optional interiors and such that could make the difference between a 'meh' car or a pretty nice car.
Too, if I could find a clean, original '77 Caprice Classic coupe in black, no body side moldings, Sport wheel covers, F-41, the related tires with the pinstripe whitewalls, no vinyl top, gold pinstriping, goldish Custom interior, round instrumentation, 350 engine, I'd be a happy guy.
In the Pontiac world, my find would be a black '79 Bonneville coupe with the goldish bucket seats, snowflake wheels, no side moldings, no pinstripe (that super-wide rocker molding is enough for me), no vinyl top and the biggest engine.
I think GM's engine choices back then probably cost them some sales too. Building smaller versions of the same old carbureted pushrod designs that could barely get out of their own way was how they chose to meet CAFE mandates, but they were awful. Things got even worse in the early '80s.
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Anyway, something like this...
Preferably, without the vinyl roof!
Pretty certain you couldn't get a split seat in a Catalina.
I was thinking the Catalina had a rocker molding, but maybe that one has one and I just can't see it because of the photography angle.
I'm not a fan of the skirts on the Bonneville or that rocker trim that seems like it's almost a third of the body side, LOL, but love the bucket seat interior. I even have to admire that striped interior on some of them....have you seen that?
Sightings yesterday - an absolutely pristine new looking PT Cruiser (will be rare, eventually), and a clean W126 300SD in the metallic gold/"champagne" that was extremely popular on early 80s MBs.
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I think my Mom's '86 Monte Carlo was also rated at "Much worse than average" by CR, when it was new. But, in those days, GM cars were often like a fine wine, becoming better with age. What's that old line..."Old GM cars run bad longer than most cars run at all?"
When it comes to classic/antique cars, I'm not really concerned about whatever quality reputation the car had when it was new. If it's lasted this long, chances are it's either been well-maintained, was one of the better built examples, or a combination. Although, I guess I'd still be a bit worried about certain engines I might have a fear of (rational or not), such as the early 231, the Pontiac 301, etc.
With buying a newer car, reliability will certainly come into play, but it won't be the deciding factor. But, honestly, with newer cars, there's really nothing out there that has me all excited, about wanting to own. I want to nurse my '03 Regal along for as long as I can. And when replacement time comes, tentatively I have either an Impala or Charger in mind, but that's not set in stone. I haven't checked reliability ratings lately, but I don't think the current Charger is exactly a poster child for it.
I've only bought two vehicles brand new: a 2000 Intrepid and my 2012 Ram. I didn't even bother to look at reliability stats when I bought the Intrepid. I think CR usually rated the second generation "average" over the years. I've heard the 2.7 DOHC V6 was also prone to sludging, and was expensive to replace. Supposedly it was cheaper to swap in a 3.2 or 3.5, but resale value on those cars was so bad that when the engine failed, they were probably just junked. Still, mine was a pretty good car. I remember having a few sensors fail here and there, and the a/c compressor going bad, but nothing truly catastrophic. The a/c was about the worst of it, because the whole system got contaminated, and it was about $1300 to fix it all. I don't even know how CR rates the Ram...never bothered to check.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2sZQyLjcdU
I'll admit, I don't mind the looks of the sedans, after the '88 restyle, but I just could not stand my stepdad's '84 Tempo coupe.
The road test actually gives me a new respect for them, though. They liked its handling, and seemed to like the interior for the most part. They weren't impressed with the acceleration, which was 0-60 in 12.4 seconds. I guess compared to some of the dogs I've had, that actually doesn't sound bad. And, I always remember the 15.9 second 0-60 run that Consumer Guide did with an '85 Topaz. The reviewer also griped about the back windows only rolling down about half way. I thought that was amusing...because it's something I used to gripe about, until I finally got used to it.
Maybe rose-colored glasses of nostalgia taint my view, but I don't hate the cars, probably because we had one and it wasn't too bad, for a domestic smaller car of the era. Had 190K on it when my mom finally let it go, still running strong, although by then suffering from some cosmetic and suspension wear, it was 14 years old at the time. It was a high feature car for the price when new (ours was a loaded GLX), ours was also a good color combo, and the design aged well enough, not looking ancient as it got older.
MW also has an interesting video showing an AWD Tempo, probably qualifies as a special interest car now:
https://youtu.be/56R0xo-puws
Looking at the pic now, it seems so "off" that if it wasn't real, I'd think it was photoshopped!
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His '80 I recall at some point, seemed to be making a louder-than-normal rumble. It was determined that it had an incorrect flywheel (?). It was outside of warranty but the district guy OK'd the dealer to replace for free. I remember my Dad saying he was at the parts counter when the old flywheel was given to the parts guy to order a new one. Dad said the guy wrote down the number from the old part and Dad said "If that's the wrong one, don't you think you should look in the book?". Why my Dad would've been in the Parts Dept. is a mystery to me but he was a longtime customer and knew a lot of people in our small town.
Closest we ever came was our '73 Nova was delivered to us on Oct. 6, 1972, but it's not like that was an all-new car.
What engine did that wagon have?
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I do remember, the day I bought my 2000 Intrepid, it was a bit of a euphoric feeling. And, one of my friends made an interesting comment. As I had bought the car on November 6, 1999, he said this would probably be the only time we would get a chance to sit in a car from another millennium. Okay, so it was a bit of a technicality, buying a 2000 MY car in 1999, but it was still kind of a nerdy-cool sort of thing. And, an opportunity that none of us will ever experience again (unless someone discovers how to be immortal).
Today I went to Walmart to pick up some things. As I came out of the store I was behind another couple about my age by 15 feet or so. When the man came upon my car he turned his head and kept looking at it as he went past. Turned out his car was 2 stalls over and the one in between was empty. When he saw me pop the trunk he started commenting on how good it looked, what good care I must take with it, and how much he liked the paint color. Felt great (even though it wasn't my doing!).
Pic for attention (taken yesterday):
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Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I haven't seen the episode in a long time, but I remember the family being smitten with the '69 Mustang in the showroom, until Dad says "Got any Falcon wagons?".
I was a big fan of that show. Underrated I think. "Cheers" got all of the buzz around that time.
It's funny, the stuff that can stick in your memory after all those years. I used to watch "The Wonder Years" when it was new, but not religiously. I was in college back then, and also working part time in the evenings, so I didn't devote that much time to watching tv. And, I never watched it in reruns. I dunno if anyone even shows it in reruns these days. You'd think with all the channels available these days, it would be out there. But I swear, the more channels there are, the less there is to watch. I'm starting to understand why Elvis shot his tv
IMCDB has a good Wonder Years page
A Custom 500, bottom of the line big car, I think:
Here's the Mustang at the dealer:
And from one of my movie location trips, here's the Arnold family home in modern times, virtually identical to as it looked in the show (and probably how it looked in 1968):
If I were in LA, I'd like to see where the house from "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" is. The movie house I'd like to tour most--and it is open for tours, as it is well-known from things other than this movie--is Houmas House, where much of "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" was filmed, in Louisiana. In the movie it was called "Hollis House".
So, they killed a '68 Dodge Polara, around the same timeframe the neighbors bought a new '68 Dart that everyone was fawning over?! Oops
In reading around though, it looks like they referred to it as a "1963".
I guess, if we want to pretend that car's an early '63, maybe it's somewhat plausible. Perhaps the neighbors bought that '68 Dart on an end of the model year clearance, and the Arnolds bought the Ford at the beginning of the '69 model year? So, we could pretend that it was 6 years old, and had lived a hard life.
In all fairness, my Mom got rid of a '66 Catalina in '72, a '68 Impala in '75, and a '75 LeMans in '80. Dad had ragged out the Catalina, and Mom didn't like the idea of driving me around in a convertible when I was a baby. So, she swapped cars with Grandmom and Granddad, getting their '68 Impala, and they used the Catalina as a trade on their new '72 Impala. I think the rear end was starting to go bad on the '68, and that's why she got the LeMans. In retrospect, it might have been a better idea to just fix the '68, but in those days there really was no badge of honor in keeping an old car running. And by '75, Mom was only 26, so driving around in her parents' old 4-door Impala (even if it was a hardtop) probably wasn't the coolest thing in the world. The '75 LeMans was pretty beat by 1980, but in its early years, Dad was pretty rough with it, and wrecked it once, and I remember Mom saying it never ran right after that. Gas was also getting expensive and a bit scarce by 1980, so she also wanted something more economical.
For some reason, I think (accent on 'think') that in the story line, 'Dad' got a good deal on the Custom 500 as it was the end of the model year. I could be hallucinating though.
But, looking at the specs, they're in range of the competition at the time. For instance:
1969 Impala: 119" wb, ~216" long
1969 Fury: 120" wb, ~214" long
1969 Galaxie: 121" wb, ~214" long
A '69 Fairlane was on a 116" wb, and about 201" long, so in reality, there was a pretty big difference between it and a full-size. But, for some reason, those big Fords would play tricks with my vision.
It also seems like they've been comparatively rare, in my memory, both out on the streets as used cars, and at car shows. The '65-67 and '71-72 always seemed like they were a lot more popular.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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It's funny how, sometimes it's just some little detail that stands out as a separator between a more plebian trim level and an upscale one. And yep, for years, it was that pull down center armrest!
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