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

[Max Rockatansky]

LeCar, P'up, Probe and Quattroporte I'm familiar with, but the rest are forgettable to me. Although that Mazda Titan Dump makes an interesting case, because the first thing that came to mind was, shouldn't that be a Nissan (as the Titan is that brand's large truck)?

Well in fairness most are Asian market cars that would never make it over here.  I'm sure that translating them into literal English isn't helping too much either.  That's how things like "spoony bard" happen or Enrish in general.

[formulanone]

http://www.complex.com/sports/2012/07/the-25-most-ridiculous-car-names-of-all-time/daihatsu-naked

I've always imagined that a couple of 20-sided dice are tossed when a collision between a Deliboy and a Mysterious Utility Wizard occurs.

The first time I'd heard of a Light Dump, I figured it was something JIS created specifically to haul dead light bulbs to the landfill; pooing be damned.

Some of BMW's latest offerings have some extremely clumsy names, like "X3 xDrive28d", which sound like software updates.

[Max Rockatansky]

Well I'm not going anywhere now on Friday:





Basically I noticed some corrosion on part of my negative terminal after the clock started going nuts in the Sonic.  Turns out I had some pretty bad discharge upon pulling the battery.    Anyways, I was debating taking a day trip Friday to the Parkfield Grade....but there was a wild fire, then CA 168 over to the Tollhouse Grade...but another wildfire.  Looks like I'll just be picking up Sonic some time in the afternoon now, maybe I'll just find something local to do with the Challenger other than just washing it.

[Max Rockatansky]

http://www.complex.com/sports/2012/07/the-25-most-ridiculous-car-names-of-all-time/daihatsu-naked

I've always imagined that a couple of 20-sided dice are tossed when a collision between a Deliboy and a Mysterious Utility Wizard occurs.

The first time I'd heard of a Light Dump, I figured it was something JIS created specifically to haul dead light bulbs to the landfill; pooing be damned.

Some of BMW's latest offerings have some extremely clumsy names, like "X3 xDrive28d", which sound like software updates.

But a Titan Dump...man that can't be taken any other way.  I'm sure there are about a billion fun ways to work that into a sentence or short story.   That or the Scat or Naked....not sure how those even acceptable in their native lands. 

[Max Rockatansky]

This article describes exactly why Ferrari never was much of anything for me:

https://gma.yahoo.com/ferrari-collector-sues-luxury-automaker-denying-him-model-203004061.html

Basically you got a shit ton of snobbery and upper class privilege by both parties in this.  I would remiss to say the incantation system is pretty wide spread in the uber luxury and Super car segment.  Money aside wouldn't it not be a lot more interesting to see what you could build on your own dime rather than having a hissy fit you weren't invited to buy something you'd ultimately never drive?

[formulanone]

This article describes exactly why Ferrari never was much of anything for me:

https://gma.yahoo.com/ferrari-collector-sues-luxury-automaker-denying-him-model-203004061.html

So he's suing Ferrari based on second-hand information...kind of proves their point, no? They have 150 examples, and Preston Henn is not the only multi-millionaire in the world.

That said, Preston Henn actually drives his high-end cars around on the road; it's easy to tell because he adds "Swap Shop" logos to most of them. I've seen his GT40, 458 Italia, Mercedes SLR, and Veyron tootling around.

[Max Rockatansky]

This article describes exactly why Ferrari never was much of anything for me:

https://gma.yahoo.com/ferrari-collector-sues-luxury-automaker-denying-him-model-203004061.html

So he's suing Ferrari based on second-hand information...kind of proves their point, no? They have 150 examples, and Preston Henn is not the only multi-millionaire in the world.

That said, Preston Henn actually drives his high-end cars around on the road; it's easy to tell because he adds "Swap Shop" logos to most of them. I've seen his GT40, 458 Italia, Mercedes SLR, and Veyron tootling around.

So basically what's the point of sueing Ferrai then other than he was flipping out because he felt snubbed.  No matter how high end the car it will always reach the second hand market at one point or another....so why not just dump your money that way and tell Ferrai to pound sand? 

[formulanone]

This article describes exactly why Ferrari never was much of anything for me:

https://gma.yahoo.com/ferrari-collector-sues-luxury-automaker-denying-him-model-203004061.html

So he's suing Ferrari based on second-hand information...kind of proves their point, no? They have 150 examples, and Preston Henn is not the only multi-millionaire in the world.

That said, Preston Henn actually drives his high-end cars around on the road; it's easy to tell because he adds "Swap Shop" logos to most of them. I've seen his GT40, 458 Italia, Mercedes SLR, and Veyron tootling around.

So basically what's the point of sueing Ferrai then other than he was flipping out because he felt snubbed.  No matter how high end the car it will always reach the second hand market at one point or another....so why not just dump your money that way and tell Ferrai to pound sand? 

I agree, he should just spend his money elsewhere. There's no lack of super-exotics to choose from. I'm sure any automaker or dealer can refuse service for any reason, but their silly country-club fraternity nonsense is part of the legend and mystique (I guess it matters to some people).

[Max Rockatansky]

Maybe this is why he needs the Ferrai:

Not that I'm endorsing those god awful movies but the point is it's a shit ton cooler when your car is fast because you built it up rather bought it so you can impress some gold digging bimbo in the passenger seat. 

SOOOOooooooo fancy....my nipple:

[Takumi]

Soooooooo fawncehhh!

Side note: he made an error with the C4. The ZR1 was the only one that made 375 HP, and that was over $50,000 back then.

[Max Rockatansky]

Soooooooo fawncehhh!

Side note: he made an error with the C4. The ZR1 was the only one that made 375 HP, and that was over $50,000 back then.

Oh...I have a paper towel roll filled with Micro Machines. 

Even still....I wasn't a big fan of the 300 ZX Z32 after having to ride in one for a Rose Bowl visit to Pasadena back when Michigan played USC.  It was my brother's girlfriend's car so I got stuffed in the back seat...even though I was by far the largest of the three people by a good 4 inches and 30 pounds. They spent the entire game trying to convince me how cool that car was....worst part was that his truck got broken into at her house, stole his computer and everything. 

[Max Rockatansky]

KITT Car

[D-Dey65]

The official car of asbestos, that had me literally in tears when he said that.    I like how the guy on the phone couldn't keep a straight face throughout that rant.  On the flip side I used to think the Volare was actually kind of good looking.

I had a 1980 Volare, but it was a sedan. A white sedan that I had much more elaborate ambitions for which unfortunately I couldn't afford, like a decent car stereo to replace the standard AM that came with the thing, a blue and white paint job similar to the pre-1973 Suffolk County Police Cars, and some oversized extra taillights for the rear deck, among other ideas. I bought the mount, but never got the stereo, and I still have the lights for the deck that I never got the chance to install. I ended up selling it to the father of one of my neighbors for cheap, and some drunk driver ran into him and totaled the thing close to his home.

And yes, this had a Slant Six too.

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^^

I'd love to have one now, total conversion of everything except the exterior the car.  I would love to see the shocked faces on when a stock looking 6.4L Volare dusts them from the stop light....perish the thought. 

Anyways, this was new today and nothing screams 80s more than the origins of the Great Camcord Era....too bad Ford didn't want to stay competitive with the Taurus didn't want to compete past the 1990s:

[Takumi]

I submitted my '91 Prelude to RCR to see if they'd review it, so of course it broke down.

[Max Rockatansky]

I submitted my '91 Prelude to RCR to see if they'd review it, so of course it broke down.

They ever respond?  I would consider submitting the Sonic if they hadn't already done a 2013 naturally aspirated model.  Basically that car has been beaten on so many times by animals and other drivers the only original body work is just the doors and the roof. 

[Takumi]

No, they typically only contact you if they're going to be in your area. And they get dozens of submissions a day, so it's a pretty low chance they contact you in the first place unless you have something really special, like when they drove to Lynchburg over the summer to drive a Focus RS. They did a few more videos when they were there. The only time they've stopped in Richmond was a couple years ago when visiting another YouTuber, and the car wasn't registered at the time.

[Takumi]

This is peak regular.
https://youtu.be/ZF2lRNqd-LI

[Max Rockatansky]

This is peak regular.
https://youtu.be/ZF2lRNqd-LI

Beat me to the punch on that one, gave it a watch at breakfast this morning. What was it 26,000 original miles?  I wanted to know how and why it was so low on the mileage.

[catch22]

This is peak regular.
https://youtu.be/ZF2lRNqd-LI

In my long-ago past, I worked as a telephone installer in the Bell System.  The service garage I worked out of was part of a trial.  We got a dozen Horizons to replace our normal Econolines and Chevy Vans.  I got drafted to be one of the guinea pigs.  Imagine for a moment:  Ladder racks on the roof carrying two heavy wood extension ladders.  All my pole-climbing gear.  All the wire and piece parts to install inside telephone wire. A six-foot wood stepladder. A 50-pound reel carrying a large length of aerial service wire. A couple dozen fat phone books.  A couple dozen phones. And me.  A lot of weight.  And, a manual trans.  All of the test cars blew their clutches at less than 5K miles, and they all vanished from the fleet in less than a year due to countless other issues due to being overweight.

[Stephane Dumas]

Speaking of peaks, there's a peak of another kind to come. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-08/peak-autos-toyota-and-nissan-execs-admit-us-auto-sales-have-peaked-rapidly-growing-i

[Max Rockatansky]

Speaking of peaks, there's a peak of another kind to come. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-08/peak-autos-toyota-and-nissan-execs-admit-us-auto-sales-have-peaked-rapidly-growing-i

I'm surprised that the incentives trend never really peaked down.  I can't really think of too many "terrible" cars that really would traditionally need them.  It seems like everything gets and incentive at one point or another, it really doesn't make much sense to buy a generic daily driver at MSRP when you can just wait for a deal...can't help profit margins.

[cpzilliacus]

I had a 1980 Volare, but it was a sedan. A white sedan that I had much more elaborate ambitions for which unfortunately I couldn't afford, like a decent car stereo to replace the standard AM that came with the thing, a blue and white paint job similar to the pre-1973 Suffolk County Police Cars, and some oversized extra taillights for the rear deck, among other ideas. I bought the mount, but never got the stereo, and I still have the lights for the deck that I never got the chance to install. I ended up selling it to the father of one of my neighbors for cheap, and some drunk driver ran into him and totaled the thing close to his home.

And yes, this had a Slant Six too.

Speaking of the Plymouth Volare police package, they were used for a time in police duty by the University of Maryland's College Park campus police department (they might have been used by the university cops at the Baltimore City or Baltimore County or Princess Anne (Eastern Shore) campuses, but not sure about that).  I think either the 1979 or 1980 model year.  Not sure if they had the Slant Six or a V8 under the hood (the Slant Six was IMO adequate for the campus cops).

[PHLBOS]

Speaking of the Plymouth Volare police package, they were used for a time in police duty by the University of Maryland's College Park campus police department (they might have been used by the university cops at the Baltimore City or Baltimore County or Princess Anne (Eastern Shore) campuses, but not sure about that).  I think either the 1979 or 1980 model year.  Not sure if they had the Slant Six or a V8 under the hood (the Slant Six was IMO adequate for the campus cops).

If memory serves, the Police-Packaged Aspen/Volare offered both the Slant-6 and the V8; the former for light-duty/urban patrol, the latter for more pursuit-oriented duties.

BTW, 1980 Aspen/Volare had singular rectangular headlights; its earlier predecessors had singular round headlights.

[Max Rockatansky]

I love how the testers complaining was kept in as audio for the Stanza Wagon:

And the old people criteria Motorweek used to use along with a total failure to talk about the specs on the Volvo GLT Turbo:

Makes you wonder though, how say was that Stanza in a side impact crash?