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2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I do like the overall shape and style of the '69-70 models, but it's just styling details here and there that either catch my eye, or turn me off. Overall though, the Olds just has a clean look about it, that's handsome, if a bit conservative, that I like.
Most buyers were going for the fixed-window style of the Impala Custom and Caprice though, so the base sport coupe hardtop roof was dropped for '76.
The '72 Pontiac brochure had a photo of the Grand Ville Custom Interior, and I think they used the term 'fluted damask'. Looked really nice, although I never saw a real car with it. The four-door with that interior got you a rear-seat center armrest--like in the Buick Centurion, too. I like the smoother, less-formal exterior styling of the Centurion over the Electra 225, but it still had a plush interior.
Here's that Grand Ville:
I'd pronounce it like Andrew, but I've never heard of it, before now.
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2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I did not order tilt wheel.
It had the basic Celebrity ribbon speedometer, but the fat "Eurosport" wheel. Where I sat, almost all the speedo was hidden, sigh.
The "tilt" wheels on my Cobalt and Malibu pivot somewhere near the firewall? Much less upward movement of the wheel for exit and entry.
There was a downside to the larger angle of bending of the Saginaw wheel because the fine wires inside that went up to the resistance reader in the lock unit would eventually break from the flexing. As the fine wires broke one-by-one, the resistance of the wires and key chip changed causing the system to not recognize the 17 key resistances on those cars which used the chip in the key in the 90s. These were the VATS system keys (vehicle anti-theft system).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Vml8hf5HM
Starting around the 2:15 mark the narrator describes the Morrokide interior choices. It sounds a bit like "Morocco" with the "ide" added on the end.
I think I learned something else today--it appears the '64 midsize Pontiacs weren't available in a two-door hardtop (5:14).
EDIT: Online, I see pics of '64 GTO two-door hardtops, but I wonder if hardtops weren't available at the beginning of the model year.
I like the shape of the wheel openings on the '64 Tempests, and that the side is pretty free of trim smack down the sides. I also like the taillights on the LeMans and GTO.
I guess in theory it gives you unlimited positions, whereas the older style with the notches only gives you like 6 or 7. But the newer system just seems kind of cheap to me, like it's just begging to break.
With the GTO, it lists 7,384 of the "sport" coupe (pillared) and 18,422 hardtop coupes.
The '64 Tempest instrument panel is a nice one I think; one of the only GM's I can remember (anyway) that had only one indicator for left and right turn signals--like my '63-66 Studebakers.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I gave him an "A" for effort. I've had several cars with the lever system you described- BMW, Jeep, Mazda and Nissan off the top of my head. I've never had an issue with any of them. I like the infinite adjustability of the tilt/telescoping wheels.
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
The car had the best back-seat accomodations of any two-door Chevy I'd owned--pretty flat floor; decent seat height; big windows, but the door was somewhat short for a two-door and getting around the shoulder belt was a pain.
I had the 2.8 MFI V6. The car was mechanically the Pontiac 6000STE, which was a darling of the magazines at the time. My car was a two-door though of course.
I guess in theory it gives you unlimited positions, whereas the older style with the notches only gives you like 6 or 7. But the newer system just seems kind of cheap to me, like it's just begging to break.
Our old two Cobalts, I can remember playing with the adjustment lever under the column, but my Cruze and Equinox, I'm sure have the feature but I've never once even attempted to move the column, yet alone even looked at it.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I like a smooth, or even perforated, vinyl, but I hate woven vinyl. The '75 LeSabre Custom vinyl interior is a quality design, but I always thought the graining looked like a naugahyde recliner. But at least the vinyls held up pretty well then.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
That seat bottom almost looks like aftermarket upholstery! Before I knew I could get NOS for my first Studebaker, and cheap, I remember looking at vinyl patterns like that.
This might be what I'm thinking of...
That's the back seat of a '73 LeSabre 4-door hardtop, and it's actually higher quality that what I remember. Still, there's just something I find a bit off-putting about the texture.
Catalina Brougham and Bonneville those years were what Ventura and Executive were a few years earlier--same interior trim; different wheelbases.
So, for those couple of years when they had the Catalina Brougham, is that all it was, a Catalina with Bonneville trim inside?
That's right. You got some of the exterior trim that was optional on the regular Catalina, standard, like the wheel opening moldings, which I think adds some sparkle to the exterior. I'm thinking the Bonneville came standard with a larger engine (455) than the Catalina Brougham. But the interiors were identical...even the cloth interiors which were a completely different design and pattern than this vinyl interior.
Sometimes I prefer a nice 'quality' look inside over 'frou frou', which is why there are some years I'd rather have an Impala than the same year Caprice, with its panty cloth interior.
I guess about the only advantages the Bonneville gave you by that time was a standard 455 and 2" more wheelbase. But, you could get a 455 in the Catalina, and I think the two extra inches were ahead of the firewall, so you got a longer hood, maybe a slightly smoother ride.
At the time, I thought the front end was awful. It is distinctive though.
In a '71 or '72, I think the Catalina Brougham was a modest but nice upgrade in seating and door panels over the regular Catalina. I believe the base Catalina had hard uppermost door panels like a Chevy Bel Air.
Nowadays, that front-end styling is what they'd call "retro", with the tall, narrow grille and the horn ports, and looking more to the past for inspiration than the future. In those days, I think the term was "neoclassic". There was also a bit of "pimp factor" starting to creep in. I think they were inspired somewhat by the Grand Prix.
I think that might have been where Pontiac started to fall, style-wise. In the earlier 60's, it seemed like they designed the big cars, first and foremost, and then tried to make the midsized cars ape the style of the big ones. But then the '67 big cars seemed like a one-off deal, totally unique. Looking like nothing that came before, or after. For '68 though, it looked more to me like they put their efforts into the new midsized cars first, and then tried to make the big cars emulate the midsize style, and the result wasn't quite as successful.
https://youtu.be/HMNjCNyZkxY
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
Another couple of now-rare cars from the credits:
don't know this movie either.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Another scene, with something now-rare as well:
I travelled very frequently with my job then and could relate to some of the stuff--particularly to going out to a space where my rental car was supposed to be, and there was nothing there.
I was on a shuttle bus at LaGuardia once and three French stewardesses (I know, that sounds bad) came on and the only thing I could understand was one of them saying "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and the other two laughing.
I always liked scary movies, though not really slice-n-dice movies. There was one in the early '80's I liked called "Ghost Story", with Fred Astaire and some other noteworthy actors, but it seemed to come and go quickly in the theaters.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
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