The Sorry State of Affairs in Automobilia in the 1970s, 80s and 90s

[Max Rockatansky]

225 horsepower....EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE!  I kind of miss the jelly bean designs of the late 90s now...weird how they kind of grew on me.

[kphoger]

automatic shoulder belts for driver and front-seat passenger that slide in tracks anchored to the spaceframe over each door.  My family also used to own a 1990 Toyota Cressida (my mother's favorite car in her lifetime) with similar automatic shoulder belts.  Both cars were equipped with separate manual lap belts.

My family's 1988 Camry had that type of seat belt for the front seats.  There was a big button near the gearshift and parking brake lever that would release the shoulder belts from their anchors in case you couldn't get out of the belt after a wreck.  When you pushed the disengage button, the car would beep until you engaged it again, so we used to push it while driving just to freak out unknowing passengers into thinking there was something wrong with the car.

[tchafe1978]

51 pages dedicated to the seat belts:

I had a 1992 Lumina Euro with the seat belts in the door, and I never once thought of keeping them buckled all the time as I opened the doors. That just seems like a totally awkward way to enter and exit the car. Forget about trying to hold on to say a bag of groceries to set in the passenger seat without getting all tangled up. I also had a 1991 Ford Escort that had the shoulder belts that slid along a track along with the manual lap belt. Those were annoying enough as well. It had a buckle that could be disconnected at the top, but then the car would beep until it was buckled.

[PHLBOS]

It had a buckle that could be disconnected at the top, but then the car would beep until it was buckled.

Most if not all cars today beep every so often when the front seat occupants aren't buckled up while the car is moving.  Both my 2007 Mustang & 2011 Crown Vic. do such.

[Max Rockatansky]

It had a buckle that could be disconnected at the top, but then the car would beep until it was buckled.

Most if not all cars today beep every so often when the front seat occupants aren't buckled up while the car is moving.  Both my 2007 Mustang & 2011 Crown Vic. do such.

When I was moving across the country I had a dog chill out in the back which meant that I needed to put a box on the front seat.  Apparently it was just enough weight to trigger a sensor that someone was there, it would chime a couple times every minute or so.  The solution was just to connect the seat belt which satisfied the sensor.  Oddly a similar weight in a Chevy a couple years later also in the passenger seat was not even enough to trigger the car to think someone was there.

[Max Rockatansky]

Manual convertible!  How many times can you call a car "cute" in one review?

18.9 seconds in the quarter mile is pretty damn good for something with 55 HP.

[PHLBOS]

I still wouldn't want to drive one of those out on a road or bridge that's subject to high cross-winds.

[Max Rockatansky]

People were buying those 3-cylinder Metros up like crazy when gas hit $4.50 a gallon out here.  They were light, parts were cheap, and efficient as all hell which really made them the perfect "I don't care what I drive" commuter car.  Really there aren't really all that many bargin bin cars like that anymore aside from some like the Chevy Spark and ESPECIALLY a neutered Nissan Versa. 

[slorydn1]

It had a buckle that could be disconnected at the top, but then the car would beep until it was buckled.

Most if not all cars today beep every so often when the front seat occupants aren't buckled up while the car is moving.  Both my 2007 Mustang & 2011 Crown Vic. do such.

Both of my Mustangs have a conniption if the seat belts aren't buckled. I did my wife a favor and picked up a gallon of milk a few weeks ago. Being the lazy person I am I set it on the passenger seat instead of the floor. Not only did I get the chime every few seconds, the message center on my 2014 kept warning me as well.

About your Vic-did you know there is a way to shut the chime off in the Crown Vics? Its in the owners manual, it's a feature that cops asked for and got in the CVPI. I once thought it was CVPI only, until one of the deputies I work with turned it off for me on my 2001 Grand Marquis, so I can only assume civilian Crown Vics have a way to shut it off, too.

[PHLBOS]

About your Vic-did you know there is a way to shut the chime off in the Crown Vics? Its in the owners manual, it's a feature that cops asked for and got in the CVPI. I once thought it was CVPI only, until one of the deputies I work with turned it off for me on my 2001 Grand Marquis, so I can only assume civilian Crown Vics have a way to shut it off, too.

Good to know, I'll have to check that out.  Do you know what page/section would that info. be in?

[slorydn1]

About your Vic-did you know there is a way to shut the chime off in the Crown Vics? Its in the owners manual, it's a feature that cops asked for and got in the CVPI. I once thought it was CVPI only, until one of the deputies I work with turned it off for me on my 2001 Grand Marquis, so I can only assume civilian Crown Vics have a way to shut it off, too.

Good to know, I'll have to check that out.  Do you know what page/section would that info. be in?

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/53106/Ford-2011-Crown-Victoria.html?page=109#manual

[PHLBOS]

Thanks.  I wonder if similar can be done on other Ford Motor Company vehicles?

[slorydn1]

Thanks.  I wonder if similar can be done on other Ford Motor Company vehicles?

Not on my Mustangs (I checked) and I know I couldn't on my 2004 F150. Cops wanted this because many of them slow patrol unbelted so they could just jump out if something came up. It drove me crazy when ever a deputy keyed up the radio to run a plate or call out on a traffic stop and the quick DING DING DING DING DING chime was louder than them sometimes. I'm sure it drove them even more crazy. I want to say Ford put this option in the Crown Vics the last year of the old aero body style (98?) but I could be wrong.

[kalvado]

something like this would resolve the beep problem:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Universal-Carbon-Fiber-Car-Safety-Seat-Belt-Buckle-Alarm-Stopper-Clip-Clamp-/162081031141
And another option which doesn't even compromise the safety (assuming reasonable quality, which may or may not be true):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-Universal-Auto-Car-Safety-Seat-Belt-Buckle-Extension-Extender-Clip-Black-/262179650129

[renegade]

Thanks.  I wonder if similar can be done on other Ford Motor Company vehicles?

I am able to do that on my 2005 F-150

[Max Rockatansky]

1996 Honda Accord, because your weed dealer needs to get around too:

GAS, CASH, OR GRASS.  NO ONE RIDES FOR FREE!

[Takumi]

I always thought Honda stopped offering the Accord wagon with a stick after 1995. In fact, Honda parts websites even say so. I guess that one was swapped.

[Takumi]

Oh dear.
https://youtu.be/tTV3CLb3gTg

[Max Rockatansky]

Beat me to it.    Kind of amusing that a car weighing less than 3,000 was called "heavy."  Even sadder it carries the Challenger name plate.  Basically my 2016 would in theory do the quarter mile in 5.6 less seconds....wow that was a dark period. 

[Max Rockatansky]

At least the LX platform came out of the merger:

[Henry]

While in theory this was a good idea, it was very poorly executed. And now it has Fiat to deal with; to merge with GM would be the ultimate mistake and bring up bad memories of 2008!

[Max Rockatansky]

Regular Cars story up on the curse of Little Bastard:

Doesn't hurt that I like hearing about all those Central California highways and seeing the pictures from the 1950s.  "Highway 46" as it was phrased would have been US 466 for about another decade at the time of James Dean's crash however...

Keeping with the 70s, 80, and 90s theme how about a class straight six Cherokee:

[Stephane Dumas]

Regular Cars story up on the curse of Little Bastard:

Doesn't hurt that I like hearing about all those Central California highways and seeing the pictures from the 1950s.  "Highway 46" as it was phrased would have been US 466 for about another decade at the time of James Dean's crash however...

Speaking of James Dean's car. I spotted that interview where Alec Guinness warned James Dean to not go with that car one week before he was killed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nptoFE1Js

And here a tv ad wondering what if James Dean had lived?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fbiO5N_NNc

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^

Props for accuracy for whoever did that commercial for including the US 466 shield in the background at the end.

[Max Rockatansky]

Chrysler LeBaron, the car for the man who likes his menthols laced with asbestos and lead....quarter mile 19.8....stopping from the Federally mandated 55 MPH?....go %#*% yourself! 

Anyone else ever notice that almost every town in seems to have some old dude who holds on his pristine K-LeBaron like it is going to be the next big thing on the collectors market?