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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I wish my family had saved records for old cars like yours. I think mine were the type who would toss the window sticker the day after buying the car, although I recall my grandpa kept service folders. I think our quite loaded Tempo was around 10K, and the moderately equipped 93 Taurus maybe 14-15K, incentives aplenty on those. S10 Blazer might have been in the low teens, not a base model but not loaded. I want to say my dad's hard loaded 96 T&C was something like 36-38K, most expensive car he ever bought.
I shudder at the thought of paying nearly $40K for a car today. Heck, I really don't even want to pay the $22,389. But to think way back when I was only 29, I bought what was essentially a ~$40K car!
I’ve only financed one car and that was my 98 Olds 88. I think I financed 20k on that. Can’t remember the MSRP. I’ve been leasing ever since.
Wife’s XC is the most expensive/highest payment I’ve owned at just over 60k. 620/month lease including tax with only first OOP.
Cheapest car I’ve ever owned was my 79 Continental. Ironically aside from my Taurus I put more miles on that than anything I’ve owned since. I paid $700 for it and sunk probably $2500 keeping it running, then got $500 when I sold it.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I was curious about the "CORRECTED" stamp on the sticker. I got the build sheet from the museum, and it had no dealer destination noted on it, which to me means the original window sticker didn't have one (apparently built for factory stock). When the local dealer got it for a customer, apparently the corrected sticker was printed at Hamilton.
Ironically, the brochure artwork shows a Daytona Hardtop in the same Strato (dark) Blue metallic as the car, so I figured the guy's wife probably said, "Let's get one like this!".
Hen's tooth though. Other period cars that appeal - properly equipped bustleback or 77-79 T-Bird, early 80s MB turbodiesel or 126, BMW E23 and E24 have always been stylish to me, Mk 1 or 2 Supra, Cressida of same era, maybe a first gen Datsun 810, finding a clone of our Tempo in perfect low mileage condition would be funny (but the driving experience may become painfully boring in little time).
This thing still lurks in my mind, too, it brought 26K during the height of covid, someone got a steal:
I love cars from that era. I graduated college in 84 so those were the cars I was into back when I first was actually shopping for something new.
a corolla hatch, 1st gen GTI, there were a lot of cool cars back then. plus they were modern enough to actually use as a car!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
My sister sent me a couple of photo albums, and I’ve got a picture with my first car:
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
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
The $56 for "reclining seat" on the sticker sounds like a lot, but that also covers the 50/50 individual front seats.
A couple months ago, I stopped in the local liquor store to grab some vital supplies just before the Mopar show. I was in the 5th Ave. Coming out to the car, I probably spent a good 10-15 minutes talking to people who seemed to come out of the woodwork, curious about the car. Maybe I just take it for granted, because I've had it almost 21 years so I'm used to it. But, I guess seeing one isn't exactly an everyday occurrence anymore! And wow, to think that suddenly it's a car that's 44 model years old! At least, I'm presuming the 2023 models are starting to trickle in here and there...I haven't really been paying attention.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I think there are only a couple other guys on this forum who are about the same age as me, but my interest level really started declining after the RWD intermediates stopped at GM--'87/88. The FWD era I just accepted, I guess. Tie that into getting married, having kids, switching jobs, parents becoming older/ill, etc.
The worst driveability era, for GM's anyway in my experience, was '73-74, then '81-82, the first couple years of 'Computer Command Control'. Seems like by the '83 model year, they had that under control, and also some engines with decent power returned--like 305 4-barrels after a couple years or so of 267's being the only choice, stuff like that. Why you could get more power in a full-sized Chevy than the same year Cadillac, is something that has made me scratch my head for almost forty years.
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
About the only cars left that I could see myself really liking would be something like an S-class Benz, Lexus LS, something in that league. But I'm not willing to spend that kind of money.
I think a lot of older people though, started losing interest in cars once coupes went away. Basically, the old fashioned "a 4-door can't be a musclecar" type of crowd. It's a shame in a way, because we really are living in a golden age when it comes to performance and such. Even my 2003 Regal is probably quicker from 0-60 than any domestic built in 1980, with the exception of maybe the Corvette or a Trans Am Turbo. Maybe, a Z-28? And my Regal feels like a dog.
At least, I think the 350-4bbl is somewhat rare for '76. Whenever I'd see '76 LeManses, or Grand Prixes, for sale with the 350, it was always a 2-bbl. In the VIN it's an "M" code whereas the 4-bbl is "P". And oddly, the '76 LeMans brochure doesn't even mention a 350-4bbl. I'm too lazy to dig my LeMans-specific brochure out of the basement, but here's what the '76 full-line brochure says...
IIRC, the five V8s they refer to are the Olds 260, the Pontiac 350-2bbl, Pontiac 400-2bbl, Pontiac 400-4bbl, and Pontiac 455-4bbl.
My car actually does run pretty well, although if it's been sitting awhile, it can be hard to start. It had problems with the choke/fast idle when I first got it, but at some point the mechanic fiddled around with it and got it running pretty well.
Here's another photo in that frame (now on my office wall).
Ahem, can't say I'm upset it didn't come with the "Never Been Recalled" homemade front plate when I got it twenty years after the original owners sold it to a guy in Wisconsin.
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
http://oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1975_Chevrolet/1975_Chevrolet_Full_Line_Brochure/1975 Chevrolet Full Line-16.html
At first I was thinking there was a point in the 70's where they pushed them to 60,000 miles, but that might have been automatic transmission servicing. Here's a clip from the 1980 Malibu brochure... It's showing 30,000 mile intervals for all engines except the 4.4/267 V8 which was, oddly, still at 22,500 miles.
That 100,000 mile service interval for the automatic transmission fluid seems a bit optimistic to me, though! If people were following that, no wonder those THM200's failed so quickly! 😯
By this time though, GM was mix&matching the THM200 and the THM350, so I'd presume that meant for all transmissions? Of course, in parentheses, it says (Under normal driving conditions). It's been awhile since I've looked at an owner's manual, but I remember they'd often have a "Normal" service schedule that looked overly optimistic, and then a "Severe Duty" schedule that had much shorter mile/time intervals. And, when you read the fine print, "Severe Duty" pretty much translated to "How most people probably drive."
I'll confess, I did let the spark plugs go about 40,000 miles or more without changing on my '68 Dart. Probably shouldn't have, though!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Oh, on an unrelated note, oopsie! Looking at this picture, I think it drives home the point of what was wrong with Chrysler at that time. Well, one of the things that was wrong, at least. At a quick glance, I couldn't tell if that was a Mirada or a Cordoba, and I'm a fan of these cars!
Obviously, I can tell them from the front, but from the back they just have a generic look. The badge on the right side of the trunk lid is in cursive, and looks like it starts with a "C", so for that I'd think it was a Cordoba. And, it is. In looking at pics online, while the rear-ends are very similar, the taillights on the Cordoba are wider, and the backup lights flank the license plate. On the MIrada, the taillights are narrower, with a bit of body color between them and the license plate, and the backup lights are built into the taillight assembly in a subtle sort of fashion.
But, if that had been a GM personal luxury coupe of that era, there would be no mistaking one for the other. And even a T-bird/Cougar would have been a noticeable difference.
In Chrysler's defense, they were pretty much out of money at that point, but still...
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
My '76 Grand LeMans has a pull strap mounted in roughly the same location as that Cordoba's door pull, but thankfully it also has the indentation in the soft molded part of the armrest to grab onto, as well.
Chrysler did something similar with the R-body, where the armrests are totally smooth across the top, except for ashtrays and, on the New Yorker/5th Ave models, the power window switches. To close the door, you're supposed to use a pull strap, and they would usually work their way loose pretty quickly. One saving grace, is that you can at least grab ahold of the armrest, where the indentation for the door handle is, and use that to pull it closed. That's what I've always done, and whenever I have passengers in my 5th Ave, I tell them those pull straps are for show, only!
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
When I had '81 and '82 Monte Carlos, I ALWAYS closed the doors with the indentation in the armrest. I used to suggest my parents do that too, but they were like "aaahhh, whatever".
P.S. I'm pretty amazed that the '76 Pontiac brochure would not list at all, a 350 4-barrel as your car has. I've not experienced that type of thing. Does you car still have that sticker at the front end of the engine compartment showing displacement? Might not show 'barrels', now that I think about it.
I also looked under the hood, and the sticker that shows the engine displacement isn't there. Which is kind of odd, as the car's not particularly shabby. I usually expect stuff like that from a car that's had a really rough life, or maybe one that's been restored and they forgot to put the sticker (or a replacement) on.
It's kind of a shame that Pontiac (and Olds and Buick for that matter) didn't have an engine to slot in between the tiny 250 and 260 (or 231 at Buick/Olds), and the 350 CID engines. Chevy, at least, had the 305 in the Malibu, which was probably a good middle ground between the 6-cyl and the 350. Of course, for '77, Pontiac would start using its 301 (305 in Canada)
But, in '76, that seemed the norm. IIRC, Ford just gave up totally with its heavy Torino and Montego, and made a 351 standard. Their 250-6 cyl had been overmatched in these cars for awhile, and at some point I guess even the 302 wasn't enough for them. And over at Mopar, the 318 wasn't too bad in the Coronet or "The New, Small Fury". But a 360 was a LOT better!
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/18576/general/x/edmunds-members-cars-and-conversations/p2876
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
My grandmom was still living back then, across the street, and we didn't want her baking in her cinder block house with no a/c, so Mom came and got her. Power was out Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Came back on sometime Tuesday during the day when I was at work. Oddly at work, just 2.5 miles away, power was on. I had two housemates at the time, and we ended up crashing with a friend about 20 miles away, who had power. We just opened all the upstairs windows to the house so that it didn't get too horribly hot, and went by once a day to check on the cats. My housemate had a little portable generator thingie that hooked to the car, and we used it to run an air pump, to at least circulate the water in the fish tank, and the outdoor fish pond, in the hopes that it would oxygenate them. Guess it worked, because we didn't get any floaters!
At the time, my uncle was living with Grandmom, helping to take care of her. He ran out that Tuesday, and bought a portable generator, only to come home, and find the power back on.
Anyway, ab348, hope your ordeal is better than ours was! And, in the overall scheme of things, I'll admit ours wasn't THAT bad!
Gotta say, that acceleration of the LeMans actually makes me embarrassed! Sometimes ignorance is bliss!