OT: Let's remember some cars! (Talking cars Tuesday)
Just like Taco Tuesday in the Lego Movie, it's time for Talking Cars Tuesday on a Friday.
So with apologies to David Roth (NTDLR), let's remember some cars! What's a car that's not around, or an old version of a car, or something that makes you go "wow, that was real! They should do that again" or something similar. Got nostalgia for a car that wasn't that great, but for some reason it was just right?
August 5th, 2022 at 12:38 PM ^
Saw an old beetle walking the dog the other day. Or I should say I heard it, then saw it. My love of Porsches means I can mostly tell when an air cooled rear-engine is nearby.
The 356C was the perfect car in which to die as the rear end of the car swung to the front. :-)
Snap oversteer didn't end with the 356... There's a reason the term "Widowmaker" applied to 930s
My 1980 911SC would swap ends in a heartbeat if you lifted in a corner. OTOH if you kept your foot in it even at apparently insane speeds, the handling was pretty damn remarkable. I miss a car where you needed both hands and both feet to truly drive it.
^ this ^
That's a first-rate Getz tidbit. I read somewhere that a fellow musician described him as "a great bunch of guys" so it's interesting -- and good -- to hear that he was nice.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Nostalgia for sure. If I had one car to own, not sell, not drive...just sit in the garage and drink beer with, it would be a Superbird--preferably in Petty Blue but not necessary.
So much unique history and then being banned from NASCAR which was their primary purpose. These things were so ugly in the day that Chrysler dealers had difficulties selling them off the lot. The first one I saw was at the 1984 Midland car show for sale for $8500, I was 17 saving for college. I should've forgone college :P
August 5th, 2022 at 12:19 PM ^
I miss SAAB.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
My dad had a couple of later-gen 93s, 2.0t and then 2.0T, both 6Ms. Both really decent cars. Both times he wanted an A4, but the SAAB was much cheaper. Then, after the lease was up on the 2nd one he finally got an A4 6M.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
I've had 5 of them over the years. Ha. 80 GLI (high school rust bucket), 86 900, 88 900 convertible, 99 9-3 convertible, 05 9-3 convertible.
All excellent cars. Even the rust bucket -- it would have outlived the sheet metal.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:25 PM ^
My old car - 93 Toyota MR2 Turbo
As long as Toyota is getting all nostalgic, I'd be interested to see what they could do with a revived MR2 nameplate. Probably something small, sporty, and electric? Maybe too much overlap with the GR86/BRZ, although the electric part would be a differentiator. Would be quite niche, though.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:29 PM ^
This is where they'd have to get creative. They teamed up with BMW for the Supra revival... if Pontiac was still around they could definitely consider a Fiero/MR2 joint development. Maybe they can talk to Honda and make the Beat scalable?
Maybe they can talk to Honda
Honda should bring back the 2000 if they would consider that.
Yeah, BMW Supra, Mazda Fiata (Miata + Fiat 124 Spider). There was the Saabaru, now we have a Toyobaru.
Who would Toyota partner with for a new electric MR2? Would have to be someone that can scale and have hybrid/electric experience. Subaru makes the most sense I think b/c of the ownership stake (Toyota owns something like 20% of Subie stock). Now they have the bZ4X (really, toyota?) and Solterra twins and could potentially use that platform for the MR2e. They also have experience co-developing/marketing a small sports car. Could be interesting.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:26 PM ^
BMW 2002 tii - THE car to own during my college days (1971-1975) particularly in orange.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
The car that I owned when I was a Rackham grad, 74/75, in A2. 1972 2002tii in metallic gold with BBS wheels, IIRC. Had the big Hella driving lamps mounted on the bumper, spots not floods. Great for late night runs on open roads.
Car had a *very* nasty habit of floating the front end (and the rear end from the way it felt) over 90. Had to mount a big air dam under the bumper. After that, it was planted but with a lower top end.
This stock pic is very close to what I had.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
Old cars that I miss, how about a good 'ol Pontiac GTO or Chevelle SS?
An older friend had a 67 396 Chevelle with black vinyl top. To all of us kids it was the ideal muscle car.
Also, I loved my 2 RX-7s (Smooth and cornered like a skate board) and my brother loved his Jenson- Healy.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:35 PM ^
Loved this car. Actually had two of them, one automatic, one manual.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:41 PM ^
I've always loved Barracudas. Basically a slightly smaller Challenger, which would be nice to bring back in a modern version. The new-school Challenger was pretty great, but was a massive boat compared to the current Mustangs and Camaros. The engine is already there, make it a similar size and competitive handling with a nicer interior than the other 2, and I think it'd do pretty well.
Well, you picked the perfect one. 1971 with a 426 and a Shaker. Bonus points for Plum Crazy!
Indeed. The attributes of the car in the picture were definitely intentional!
August 5th, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
'78 Ford Tbird, 351 Windsor V8.... she was a boat, but she could get up and go...... had a lot of great times in that car.
I loved that make of car. Those late 70's cars (Thunderbird, Ford Elite, Mercury Cougar) had those wide long engines but drove like a dream.
Although the doors were heavy as sin.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
Eastbound and down.
To me, this car was always great and I get the nostalgic feels for it. The 1976 Ford Elite. They came out from 74-76. My mom drove the 76 version. It looked very much like this....
My dad related the story to me of going to the big house for some game in the late 70's and parking this car on the golf course. After the game, he came back and noticed someone had keyed the entire side of the car. He was livid.
I loved that car. My parents sold it when I was 8. That was a sad day.
1968 Ford Thunderbird, high school graduation "gift for grades", 429 CI engine, best back seat ever. Mine was canary yellow, same landau roof, same interior. Was permitted to own/drive it for 3 years then had to give it back to my parents.
My Dad had one of those in a copper brown color. I think it was his mid-life crisis car. He test drove a Mercury Cougar and picked the T-bird instead. That back seat was not comfortable for a 10 year old kid to catch some Zzzzs.
Yes, but it was certainly roomy enough for two late teens to accomplish their goals for the evening.
I was too young to consider that, but I’d say it was better than a 1980 Camaro that I was familiar with later in life….
With a Saturn Sky Red Line, a Pontiac Fiero GT, and an Austin Healey Mark 1 "Bugeye" Sprite in the garage, this thread is pretty much made for me.
Bought the Fiero in 91, third owner. Ordered the Sky new in 2007, and we actually have three Bugeyes here that arrived at different time. Very different cars, all great fun to drive.
Bugeyes - go karts with windshields. Yes!
Kind of a weird choice, but my wife’s 2014 Honda Crosstour is a phenomenal car.
It sits high, has AWD, and a 285hp v6 that still averages 35 mpg on the highway. It’s probably the quietest car Honda ever made, and even the service managers at the dealership go gaga over it when we get the oil changed. “Let me know if you ever want to sell it” they say. Of course they quit making them, so I’d consider it but I can’t replace it.
For classics, I’ve had my eye on a 1972 Riviera boattail for years. Properly lowered and with the right wheels, probably the most badass movie badguy car I’ve ever seen.
In my senior year of high school in 1979, I bought a 1970 Buick Electra 225 for $175. (An 9 year old car for $175 + tuneup parts!!!). I loved that car something fierce
I had two Mazda RX-2 rotary engine rockets. The automatic was bulletproof but the 4 speed ate the synchro about once per year. They had 2 distributors and 4 sets of points—each. Points and plugs had to be carefully gapped monthly, made harder by semi-circular plug gaps. The rotor seals always failed at about 50,000 miles, requiring rebuilds, but rebuilds were cheap or free (if before 50,000).
The cars were not as awkward looking as most Japanese cars of the era but they had enough pointless design “details” to ruin the lines of the car – which was great. It saved my license. Among my youthful idiocies was ripping along the highway with a pegged speedometer, uphill, then cresting and seeing the radar trap. The cop said he had me timed at over 130 mph. Says I: “Officer, this little Japanese car could not go 130 falling off a cliff.” He wrote the ticket for ten over. I was lucky to be in Michigan. This would not have worked in Cali.
They did not have catalytic converters. There were afterburners instead. Once the exhaust system was good and hot, it would backfire about five seconds after shut-off. It sounded like a bomb, terrifying people at gas stations. These were the weirdest production cars ever. I miss them.
Saw an RX-7 this morning, they were pretty!
I had 2 and loved them. Smooth and a low center of gravity. Perfect for driving the back roads up the west side of the state to Traverse City.
(I never had problems with the manual transmissions.
... and no one is going to say a word about 88 MPH?
I must admit that for some strange reason, I always like the Pontiac Fiero even though it was a grab bag of X-car parts and other bits and pieces cobbled together to create a “sporty” car for young adults. Yesterday, driving through rural Ontario, Canada, I passed by an auto junk yard/parts store and at the peak of the roof, they have mounted a red Fiero. The 4-cylinder probably melted like in many other Fieros. Many points for them. I had a friend that owned one of the late model Fieros with the V-6 motor in it. Thought it was pretty sweet back then.
When small SUVs became the hot segment I thought Chrysler/Jeep should’ve brought back AMCs Eagle.
the only memory I have of the original is having the matchbox car with big tires.
August 7th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
I was 17 and this is what I wanted. I settled for a '67 bug.
