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Just to show how optimistic those old numbers are...my old 2000 Intrepid was rated at 20/29. When the new standards came out, it was downgraded to 18/27. But I downloaded the raw laboratory numbers one time (an excel file from the EPA's website), and they showed something like 24/37!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXyzqGQLlHA
Here's a test Mobil did of doing 15k intervals with oil changes, taking a car from 117k to 237k, and it seemed to work out okay.
https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/about-us/mobil-1/mobil-1-performance-motor-oil/honda-accord-motor-oil-results
https://www.justmusclecars.com/1976-vehicle-pontiac-lemans-c-133.htm
Also, something I've never seen before. I know GM referred to the term "colonnade" when the '73 A-bodies came out, but never realized they also used the term for the '74 intro of the big cars:
https://youtu.be/T_3EoOKA0OI
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Boy, the Grand LeMans/Grand Prix instrument panel is sure more impressive than the base LeMans dash.
I always liked the exterior of the '73, '74, and '76 Monte Carlo, and the '76 Malibu Classic, but the instrument panel is downright embarrassing compared to the Grand Prix.
RE.: 800K miles....I'm looking at an HEIC image (which I can't post here for some reason) of a Gen 1 Cruze odometer with 754653 miles. I think it was original engine, but not original trans, but I'm just not sure. It's from Jan. 2021. I sent it to my daughter saying that I expected her to get that kind of mileage out of hers!
For some reason, I'm thinking those snowflake wheels didn't come out until 1977, but could be wrong. I think '77 was also the year you could get the Rally 2 wheels in body-color, rather than just the typical blackout.
I've always liked the style of the dash of the more basic LeMans. It just has a slim, sleek look to it that I like. Unfortunately though, it seems like they're more prone to cracking than the Grand Prix dash. Maybe it's because there's more horizontal surface exposed to the Sun, compared to the Grand Prix style? Also, that plastic surround that houses the gauges, left duct, and the HVAC controls, looks a bit cheap and unfinished.
I didn't realize that GM used the term "Colonade" with any of their big cars, either. I've always said that the '74-76 B-O-P hardtop coupes seemed like a combination of "Colonade" and "true hardtop", but that's the extent of the association I ever put between that word and the big cars.
I don't nearly mind those three-window '74 Pontiac, Olds, and Buick two-door rooflines with all four windows down. It's with the windows up and the separation between front and rear windows that I get that three-window look which bothers me a little. But it did give the customer a roll-down rear window, a plus over the pillared Chevy and Grand Ville, Ninety Eight, and Electra coupes for '75 and '76.
In some respects, that annoys me in the sense that you're paying more to get less function, but to be fair hardtop coupes were beginning to fall from favor, and the personal luxury look was all the rage. And the more likely a car was to have air conditioning, the less need there was for a roll-down rear window. And buyers who needed regular use of the back seat were opting more and more for 4-doors. So, a roll-down window in a coupe just became less of a necessity.
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
Something about the round gauges and vents, and the peaks, made me think of a throwback to the '60s, and just seemed a bit out of place on this car.
I think the Buick Century/Regal had a nice dash design, too, but overall, I think the Grand Prix dash was the best. And the Chevelle/Monte Carlo was my least favorite. I just don't care for the area around the gauge cluster, but also, with the way it seems so upright and bulky on the passenger side, with that little glovebox opening at the bottom. I just hate wasted space like that.
Still, you gotta give GM credit for basically having five different dash designs for their intermediates. In contrast, Ford was only using one, as did Mopar. They might have changed some materials and details here and there, but it was still just one dash.
Dumb instrument location always irritates me. Chevy was the king of that with its console-mounted gauges on '66 Caprices and various Camaros and Novas. And I'm going to speak sacrilege and include the hood-mounted tach on Pontiacs. Puts a lump there and puts the instrument actually outside the car!
I'm not sure I ever saw a '75 or '76 Impala more than five years old that had all its body side moldings though. In the '75 brochure they make a big deal of it being glued on instead of holes being drilled in the body. For some reason, Caprices had a wide molding which didn't seem to fail, but Impalas, did.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
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
It had out-of-state plates and appeared to have gotten gas and been going back to the interstate ramp. Plate reminded me of a northern plate like Montana. White background, larger numbers than typical in this part of the country.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My wife loves them and wanted one for her 50th birthday--which was six years ago, LOL.
I may have had an easier time finding someone locally to work on them than a Studebaker, although first thing after I say 'Studebaker' when I go into a shop is, "It has a 283 Chevy".
Funny, the only issues I've had with the car since I bought it 4 1/2 years ago are related to the Chevy engine, LOL.
I went out to the space for the first time in a month this afternoon to take it to the next-to-last local cruise here, and there was coolant all over the floor. Doesn't appear to be from a hose or the water pump; my buddy said could be a freeze plug (although it's only a 27K mile car; I know--anything can happen in 55 years). He'll do a pressure test in a few days and I'll have it worked on after that.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Looking at streetview from 10 years ago, the 66 Ford was in the spot then, too.
Neat house, not the best location but not terrible, this is what ~500K will get you here (unless there's a bidding war, a house I looked at last month brought 20% over list).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Isn’t that called a “craftsman style” house?
I came across this particular Mercury ad, which I thought was interesting. It was a two page spread, across the top of two adjoining pages, but I cut it in half here, so it's easier to read....
Just out of curiosity, I ran that $2724 number they quote for the '59 Galaxie through an inflation calculator, and in 1971 dollars that would've come out to around $3791. So they actually did a pretty good job at holding the line on inflation. Maybe it's not a fair comparison, as the '59 was a full-sized car, and the Montego was a midsize. But, it never really sunk in with me before, just how close the two really were in size. I knew the wheelbases were 118" for the '59 Ford and 117" for the '71 Montego, but I didn't realize the Montego was actually longer. Although I guess that technically, just like in horse racing, it "won by a nose"
Any of those old cars would be considered death traps by modern standards, but, for the context of the time period, I think it's an interesting study on just how much cars improved, during that timeframe.
It's interesting too, how they took a jab at GM's intermediate coupes, mentioning the Merc's larger size, roomier trunk, etc. In all fairness, they probably could have taken a stab at Mopar that year as well, since the Dodge and Plymouth intermediates followed GM's lead with the "split wheelbase", with 117.5" for sedans/wagons and 115" for coupes. But then, the advantage they're bragging about went away for '72, when Ford/Mercury redesigned their midsizes and went with the "split wheelbase" themselves (118"/114")
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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I just looked in my auto encyclopedia, and here's a few prices of the base Montego hardtop...
1968: $2552 (this year the Montego pretty much took over for the Comet, but they kept a Comet coupe around, priced at $2477)
1969: $2605 (Comet hardtop coupe for $2532)
1970: $2645 (Comet finally dropped, although it would come back for '71 based on the Maverick)
1971: $2893
1972: $2848 (oddly a bit cheaper, considering it was an all-new)
For comparison, here's some Pontiac numbers in the same years...
1968: $2461 (Tempest Sport Coupe)
1969: $2510
1970: $2623
1971: $2747 (T-37 coupe)
1972: $2722 (base LeMans coupe...Pontiac was doing the name shuffle a bit in this timeframe)
Interesting that, in 1972, the Pontiac's price dropped just a bit, as well.
Now that I notice it, a lot of cars dropped slightly for '72. The Impala 4-door hardtop went from a base of $3813 in '71, to $3771 for '72. It's not often that you see car prices go DOWN from the year before, especially in the 70's! I wonder what gives?
Also, I did notice that the prices in my Consumer Guide auto encyclopedia are a bit different from that Mercury ad. The Life magazine I got that ad from was from May 28, 1971. I wonder, if prices started higher at the beginning of the model year, and that's what Consumer Guide listed, but in real life, the manufacturers started dropping prices a bit, as the model year wore on?
This time, I got out of the car and looked around in back, and there was nothing there. No low concrete barrier or anything like that, just the road cone. So, in what could have turned out to be a "Hold My Beer an' Watch THIS!" moment, I stood back there, slightly closer to the car than the cone, and told him to come back slowly at me. But, as soon as the car got somewhat close to me, it suddenly screeched to a halt again, almost as if it hit something.
Oh, on the subject of his Murano, and newer cars in general, I really wonder how modern cars are going to hold up, long term, thanks to their complexity. He took his Murano into the dealership on Monday, because the heater core needs to be replaced. In theory it's supposed to be ready today. They said the reason it takes so long is that it's because it's in the dashboard. Well, the heater core of a '79 Fairmont is in the dash as well...and I remember my mechanic telling me, way back in 1989, that Ford's Fox-bodied cars were about the worst he knew of, when it came to heater core replacement, that "the book" called for something like 8 or 9 hours. Dashboards are probably a lot more complex these days, with airbags in them, all sorts of electronics packed in there, etc. So Lord only knows how much this heater core replacement would be, if he hadn't gotten an extended warranty!
FWIW, back in '89, I got on the subject of heater core pricing, because my '80 Malibu coupe needed a new one. It was about $225 installed, and somehow we got on the subject of how that compared to other cars. Just accounting for inflation, that $225 would be around $496 today, but I have a feeling labor rates have gone up faster than that. I'd imagine the heater core replacement on this Murano could very well be a couple thousand $?
Another problem with modern cars, is that as they age, OEM parts get harder to find, and the only choice is iffy aftermarket parts. So you end up paying high labor rates to replace a part that might not last as long as the original part. My '03 Regal has gone through three MAF sensors: 1) 9/2017 @ 68,180 miles, 2) 6/2018 @ 75,750 miles (it was covered under a warranty but the mechanic had to fight with the manufacturer), 3) 10/7/2020 @ 99,030 miles.
With the cost of parts and labor, it won't take much to total out these cars even if they survive. Something like my car, with its "autonomous" hardware and scores of sensors, LED light assemblies that are probably 2-3K apiece, and the cost of labor, I bet a 20 mph front end shunt could put it on the edge even without airbag deployment.
A heater core replacement on a 2017 car is worrisome, shouldn't be a thing these days.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wYXNxoLUYA
If it was around our area good chance that Charger was my cousin. Can’t be too many red 67 Chargers in the Camden/Gloucester county area.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I have to carve out some time to watch Adam. Been catching up with Hoovie and Vice Grip Garage (Derek)
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Tyler has been kinda unwatchable lately; anyone else getting the same vibe. I think it started when he did the video on asking people to fund his purchase of a full set of 2001 BMWs (or something of the sort).
Has anyone ever gotten a read on how many cars Adam has? There was a video the other day in a warehouse full of cars (I think it was the Marquis comparison). Wonder if all of the cars in there are his; more just keep showing up
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
If it was around our area good chance that Charger was my cousin. Can’t be too many red 67 Chargers in the Camden/Gloucester county area.
I ballparked 67 since only got a quick look. Flat rear window, and before the Dukes restyle. I think it was right off 42 in WT area (I was on my way to Pitman). Dark burgundy red I think.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I've moved on from Hoovie a bit lately too, he seems to be veering into the clueless trust fund kid angle a bit again.
I wish every company had a Marti report-style service. If that Galaxie hardtop is a 1 of 5 color combo, I bet it is a 1 of 1 with that option combo of no radio but climate control. I don't think I've ever seen a Galaxie hardtop of that era in person before.
That’s around where he lives. Small world.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
To this day I can’t tell a ‘66 Charger from a ‘67.
Black with blue interior—my friend with the silver ‘64 Hawk has the only black with blue interior ‘64 Studebaker convertible out of the 484 built in the U.S. The club magazine listed all the cars and specs and I figured it out for him. He was tickled. In Studebaker land in the sixties, black interior was usually paired with red interior.
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
It's definitely at the point that it would cost more to restore than it it would be worth, so that would definitely have to be a labor of love. I wonder though, if it's still salvageable to the point it could maybe just be a rat-rod or something?