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2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
Interestingly, in '72, the V8 option was a Chevy 307 in the 49 states, and a 350 in California. I'm guessing it was a Pontiac 350, but the '72 Pontiac brochure doesn't specify.
True, but as many model years, and years of new technology, have passed from that Ventura to now, as did from a 1921 Model T to the Ventura. Hard to imagine.
Chevy called the option the "Sky Roof".
However, looking up specs online, the Ventura used a 2.73:1 rear end, versus a 3.23:1 for the Benz. And, while the Pontiac had the advantage of a larger engine, it wasn't that much torquier. The article mentions the 350-2bbl has 270 ft-lb@2000 rpm. The Benz 4.5, a 276 CID unit is actually very close...264 ft-lb@3000 rpm. So maybe having the quicker ratio, plus the similar torque at a higher rpm helps the Benz out some at the upper end?
That 4.5 was sold around the world, including Germany, and maybe the gearing was for high speed cruising - I suspect a 4.5 can cruise at ~120 for long periods.
http://www.studebakerskytop.com/other.html
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 used to have a serious dislike for the Granada, because it seemed to represent just about everything that was wrong with the 70's. Over-styled, pretentious, cramped inside, poor handling, poor acceleration, fuel economy that often rivaled cars one or two size classes larger, etc. I know this describes most cars of the 70's, to some degree, but the Granada seemed to take it to the extreme.
Supposedly though, they were fairly reliable. Again, by 70's car standards, so maybe that's not saying much. But, the Nova and its clones tended to score worse than average in Consumer Reports reliability ratings. The Aspen/Volare quickly became the most recalled car in history, at least until GM's X-cars wrested that title from Mopar. When the Fairmont and Zephyr came out, they were recall-plagued, as well. And when GM downsized their midsized cars, which put them somewhat into this class, it was basically engine and transmission roulette. You could hit the jackpot or you could crap out.
Nowadays though, that they're somewhat scarce, I gotta admit, I wouldn't mind the Monarch version, with a 302 (or better yet a 351, which was offered for a few years). And, this is one of those body styles where I actually prefer the 4-door.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bkeevil/mercurymonarch/grandghia.html
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I don’t know the whole story on the Dart but supposedly it was hopped up and Grandpop acquired it for unpaid repairs at the shop.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
All what you're used to, but I thought the dash was a little unusual in that it had all that woodgrain trim on the driver's side large part of the panel, with just one square instrument in the middle. I'm assuming there were no optional gauges but I do not know.
One thing I did not know until looking at the brochures was that at least early in its run, the 200 six-cylinder was standard. You could also order it with a 4-speed manual and a buckets and console setup, at least in the early years. The take rate could not have been very high for the 4 on the floor.
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
In 1971, the last year it was rated in gross hp, it had 145 hp, which was the same as the Mopar 225 slant six, and the Chevy 250 inline-6. In '72 though, it was cut to 95 hp in the Torino, and 98 in the Maverick. In contrast, the Chevy 250 was a bit better, at 110 hp. The 225 slant six was also 110, although there was a 100 hp version for California.
In later years, the Chevy 250 ranged from 100-110 hp, before being replaced in cars with the Chevy 229 V6. It lasted a few more years in trucks though. The Mopar slant six went down to 90-95 in '75, but then recovered a bit to 100 for '76-79. In '77-79, there was a 2-bbl "Super Six" option that bumped it to 110 hp. I don't think it did much to torque, but it gave it a much broader torque range, so performance improved more than you might expect. But then it took a hit in '80. The 2-bbl was dropped, and the 1-bbl went to 90 hp. And then 85 hp in 1981. It recovered a bit, back up to 90 for '82-83. But then it was dropped in passenger cars. The only RWD cars left for '84 were the M-body Diplomat/Gran Fury/5th Ave, and they started using the 318 standard.
Meanwhile, the Ford 250 got choked down to 88 or 92 hp (Maverick/Torino) for 1973. In 1974 it was 91 hp in either. In '75 it was down to only 72 hp! I always wondered if that was a misprint. But, the 200 version was only 75 (odd that it was slightly more), and even the 302 was down to 122. In '76 though they got it back up to 90 hp, and it stayed in the 90-98 range through its last year in passenger car service, 1980.
For some reason, whenever I think of the phrase "98 pound weakling", the Ford 250 comes to mind, because of it being rated at 98 hp one or two years. Although I know the phrase pre-dates that, by a long shot.
Ford also had a 240 6-cyl, that they used in their big cars. It only had 140 hp gross in '71, but for '72, it had 103. Ford dropped it in cars for '73, and went with a 351 standard in the big cars. Probably a wise decision, considering how heavy cars were getting, while the engines got weaker. I think '73 was the last year that Chevy offered a 250 in its big cars. And Mopar started making a 318 standard for '72 in the Fury range.
Ford even went so far as to drop 6-cyl engines in their midsized cars. By 1975, Ford even bypassed the 302, and made a 351 standard in the Torino! When the LTD-II came out though, they used a 302 standard.
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I’m sure the older vehicles were worse but not carrying 7.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I like the look of the Sport Mirrors (optional), but because of the teardrop side window design, they were too low to be useful IMHO. I remember this plainly in my one friend's car.
Monzas (and the others) were only initially built in the smallish Ste. Therese, Quebec plant. It seemed to me it was a slow start-up for whatever reason, for our dealer to not get one until four months into the selling season. The fact that the brochure was all drawings/artwork, with no photos, made me think there were production snags/timing issues as well, as that was not typically Chevy's habit in brochures at all.
Back to January 1991, another time I remember, 2 cars. First, a new style facelift C4 Corvette, in the kind of burgundy red color I remember seeing a lot of them in back in the day. Fairly optioned, MSRP nearly 36K - older guy won it (and the showcase with a ski boat) which was fun:
And on the opposite end, a Festiva, this ancestral Kia with AT and stereo mentioned, had a MSRP of just over $8700:
Styling-wise, I always thought the C4 Corvette aged pretty well. I like that maroon, the dark green metallic they had, and actually I liked a bright turquoise or aqua metallic they had in those later years too.
I can remember when the '84 was introduced. A friend and I went to introduction night at a dealer in Cuyahoga Falls, OH that is no longer there. They had a silver one there. I thought it looked clean and modern after 14 model years of the C3. The sticker was $24K and there was a $2K "Additional Dealer Markup" extra sticker affixed by the dealer.
"Additional Dealer Markup", or even MSRP, is a foreign thing to me as a Chevy buyer, but a 'Vette is probably the only product they could ever get away with doing that on.
C4 was a very cool car to have in the 80s. IIRC the 84s are the least desirable, due to the harsh suspension and maybe some unrefined mechanical elements. C4s are still generally super cheap even in nice condition, a lot of car for the money, but as I think 'ol Shifty said, the interiors age in dog years.
I recall a local Chevy dealer had a 5 or 10K ADM on the SSR, not sure if they actually got that though - those things are kind of the ultimate Bush era bubble boomer car, but once the newness wore off, I am sure deals could be had.
One thing I was just reminded of in the R&T article about the Monza 2+2 vs. the Mustang:
While I liked the '75's simple instrument panel of the Monza (I don't like its subsequent panels), there were photos in the article of both, and my Dad, forever turned off Ford by our '62 Fairlane, looking at the article said, "The Mustang definitely has the better dash". I will admit the Mustang's instrument panel was far-more luxurious-looking by 1975 standards than the Monza's.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The thing I always heard about was the crushing ride of the '84, and that it needed more oomph. I think as the cars aged, the bar-graph instrumentation could be a headache.
I rode in a red-on-red-leather one-year-old '84 at a dealer with my (former) friend who unfriended me due to Facebook mentioned earlier, driving. I seem to remember it chirping tires when the automatic shifted even, but my friend had his foot in it.
Re Ford, the Granada was still on the old Falcon platform and so it had the same uncertain but numb steering, stiff leaf springs out back, and poor front suspension geometry. We had the 250-6 in our '74 Maverick and it was no ball of fire, especially for being in such a light car. I also recall it didn't like to start (or even crank) when it was cold out. Something about internal tolerances being too tight, if memory serves.
The Chevy 250-6 made a comeback in the B-body cars when they were downsized for '77, at least in Canada. I can't imagine they sold many, but a friend of my brother's who drove cab bought a gently used '77 Catalina sedan off the used car lot of my GM dealer in 1980 and drove it in taxi service here for a number of years..
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A girl in my class, had parents who traded in their '72 Caprice for a new '77 Caprice Classic, in the brochure two-tone blue. It was a sedan with the 250 six.
The very next year, they were driving a new '78 Caprice Classic sedan, V8, two-tone green. I'm guess 'Dad' wasn't a fan of the six.
Similarly, an elderly guy in our neighborhood when I was a kid bought a new beige '65 Impala Sport Coupe with six (no emblem on front fenders). He traded on a new, white '66 Impala Sport Coupe with 283. And he was not customarily a one-year-trader. I'll assume he hated the six even back then. (He later had a gold '69 Impala Custom Coupe and a light green metallic '73 Impala Custom Coupe). His cars were always very clean, including whitewalls.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
The '63 Chevy II Nova SS was only available as a six-cylinder, but then that's all there was in a Nova at all that year.
For 1968, my book doesn't break out the SS as a separate line, so I'm guessing it was demoted to just a trim package again, versus a separate model?
I had thought the Galaxie XL was V8 standard, but again, looking in my book, it looks like a 6 was standard, at least for some years. And, in '64 at least they even had an XL 4-door hardtop! I didn't look at the entries for all years, but just happened to look around '63-64, for these tidbits.
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2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I'd take a frumpy '62 Galaxie 500/XL Sunliner in rangoon red. Or viking blue.