Putting it another way, this Thunderbird ushered in the era of, "all cars will now look the same."
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
1983 Ford Thunderbird
From curbsideclassic.com: "Ford’s initial attempt at building a personal luxury car off the
mid-sized Fox platform, sold from ’80 through ’82, missed the mark as
far as the public was concerned, with sales pretty much going off a
cliff. A drastic transformation
from angular to aerodynamic styling for the ’83 model year, however,
turned things around. Moreover, the rounded contours of this car are
widely considered to have paved the way for the radical shape of the ’86
Taurus, which could fairly be said to have permanently transformed the
public’s expectations for domestic styling."
Putting it another way, this Thunderbird ushered in the era of, "all cars will now look the same."
Putting it another way, this Thunderbird ushered in the era of, "all cars will now look the same."
Monday, December 9, 2019
1973 Triumph Stag - "The Worst Engine Ever Made"
Here are two of the fewer than 3,000 Triumph Stags imported to the US. I've never seen one before, and with good reason: the Stag is considered by many to be the least reliable car of all time.
Triumph spent more than five years engineering the Stag's new V-8 engine before its introduction in 1970. Five years developing the worst engine ever made. From Wikipedia:
"The Stag rapidly acquired a reputation for mechanical unreliability, usually in the form of overheating. These problems arose from a variety of causes.
First, the late changes to the engine gave rise to design features that were questionable from an engineering perspective. For example, the water pump was set higher on the engine than is usual. If the engine became hot in traffic, and coolant escaped from the cooling system via the expansion bottle, the reduced volume of fluid left when the engine cooled down again fell below the level of the pump, which would eventually fail as a result. Water pump failures sometimes occurred due to poorly-hardened drive gears, which wore out prematurely and stopped the water pump.
A second cause of engine trouble was the lack of attention to corrosion inhibitor in the coolant. The block was made from iron and the heads from aluminium, a combination that required the use of corrosion-inhibiting antifreeze all year round. This point was not widely appreciated by owners or by the dealer network supporting them. Consequently engines were affected by electrolytic corrosion and white alloy oxide sludge collected in radiator cores, reducing radiator efficiency and causing overheating. The result was head gasket failure due to cylinder head heat distortion, a very expensive repair. Owners would usually get their repaired cars back with the radiator still clogged, leading to repeat failures.
A third cause of trouble was the engine's use of long, simplex roller link chains, which would first stretch and then often fail inside fewer than 25,000 miles (40,200 km), resulting in expensive damage. Even before failing, a stretched timing chain would skip links and cause valves to lift and fall in the wrong sequence, so that valves hit pistons and damaged both. This fault may have been worsened by poor quality chains.
Another problem with the cylinder heads was said to be the arrangement of cylinder head fixing studs, half of which were vertical and the other half at an angle. Anecdotally, this arrangement was used to reduce production costs, as the cylinder head mounting studs and bolt were all accessible with the rocker covers fitted. This allowed the factory to assemble the cylinder head completely before fitting to the engine. The same arrangement worked well enough on the 4-cylinder engines, but in the V8 the angled and vertical studs, when heated and cooled, expanded and contracted in different directions sufficiently to give rise to sideways forces that caused warping of the engine block.
Finally, although pre-production engines cast by an outside foundry performed well, those fitted to production cars were made inhouse by a plant troubled with industrial unrest and inadequate quality control. Engines are still being discovered with casting sand inside, blocking the coolant passages and causing overheating."
Observations:
* The orange car was last registered in Washington in 1987. If someone managed to keep this car running more than 10 years, that person is a genius.
* The attempt at body work is adorable - sort of like buying a new tie for someone in an irreversible coma.
* These cars have removable hardtops.
* I do like the stag emblem on the grill.
Triumph spent more than five years engineering the Stag's new V-8 engine before its introduction in 1970. Five years developing the worst engine ever made. From Wikipedia:
"The Stag rapidly acquired a reputation for mechanical unreliability, usually in the form of overheating. These problems arose from a variety of causes.
First, the late changes to the engine gave rise to design features that were questionable from an engineering perspective. For example, the water pump was set higher on the engine than is usual. If the engine became hot in traffic, and coolant escaped from the cooling system via the expansion bottle, the reduced volume of fluid left when the engine cooled down again fell below the level of the pump, which would eventually fail as a result. Water pump failures sometimes occurred due to poorly-hardened drive gears, which wore out prematurely and stopped the water pump.
A second cause of engine trouble was the lack of attention to corrosion inhibitor in the coolant. The block was made from iron and the heads from aluminium, a combination that required the use of corrosion-inhibiting antifreeze all year round. This point was not widely appreciated by owners or by the dealer network supporting them. Consequently engines were affected by electrolytic corrosion and white alloy oxide sludge collected in radiator cores, reducing radiator efficiency and causing overheating. The result was head gasket failure due to cylinder head heat distortion, a very expensive repair. Owners would usually get their repaired cars back with the radiator still clogged, leading to repeat failures.
A third cause of trouble was the engine's use of long, simplex roller link chains, which would first stretch and then often fail inside fewer than 25,000 miles (40,200 km), resulting in expensive damage. Even before failing, a stretched timing chain would skip links and cause valves to lift and fall in the wrong sequence, so that valves hit pistons and damaged both. This fault may have been worsened by poor quality chains.
Another problem with the cylinder heads was said to be the arrangement of cylinder head fixing studs, half of which were vertical and the other half at an angle. Anecdotally, this arrangement was used to reduce production costs, as the cylinder head mounting studs and bolt were all accessible with the rocker covers fitted. This allowed the factory to assemble the cylinder head completely before fitting to the engine. The same arrangement worked well enough on the 4-cylinder engines, but in the V8 the angled and vertical studs, when heated and cooled, expanded and contracted in different directions sufficiently to give rise to sideways forces that caused warping of the engine block.
Finally, although pre-production engines cast by an outside foundry performed well, those fitted to production cars were made inhouse by a plant troubled with industrial unrest and inadequate quality control. Engines are still being discovered with casting sand inside, blocking the coolant passages and causing overheating."
Observations:
* The orange car was last registered in Washington in 1987. If someone managed to keep this car running more than 10 years, that person is a genius.
* The attempt at body work is adorable - sort of like buying a new tie for someone in an irreversible coma.
* These cars have removable hardtops.
* I do like the stag emblem on the grill.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Friday, November 29, 2019
1960 Volvo PV544 and 1965 Volvo PV544 Sport
Thursday, November 21, 2019
1970 Plymouth Barracuda 'cuda 440 convertible
WOW this is without a doubt the most amazing car I've spotted in use as a daily driver in Seattle. Only 8,939 Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda convertibles were ever made, and only 435 'cuda convertibles were built in 1970. Assuming this car has its original engine, it's worth upwards of $100,000.
Monday, November 18, 2019
1968 Chevrolet Camaro
This particular Camaro is a curious car. It's the bare bones model - 6 cylinder engine, 3-speed stick, dog dish hubcaps. Yet it was apparently ordered with paint stripes and a spoiler. It also appears to be an unrestored daily driver in very good condition. Yet it's filled with junk and its California registration expired six years ago.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
1958 Cadillac Eldorado. For Those with Money to Burn
The 1950's were the era of the status symbol, when social norms forced men to all wear the same gray suit and hold the same gray opinions. Buying an Eldorado made the bold statement, "I have money to burn." A Cadillac Series 62 coupe cost $4,800, while this Eldorado cost $7,300. That's a difference of $22,00 in inflation adjusted dollars. And yet, what was the difference between the Series 62 and this car? Not much.
Come to think of it, not much has changed. A new BMW 530 starts at $54,000. Yet is it really dramatically more capable or luxurious than a $24,000 Toyota Camry?
Come to think of it, not much has changed. A new BMW 530 starts at $54,000. Yet is it really dramatically more capable or luxurious than a $24,000 Toyota Camry?
Sunday, October 27, 2019
1986 Audi 5000 CS Quattro - No, it's not prone to "sudden unintended acceleration"
In the mid-80s, Audi's sales in the US were booming as American tastes turned to high-quality cars from Japan and Germany. Then it all came crashing down for Audi, thanks to a completely fraudulent "scandal" created by CBS' 60 Minutes program. I'll let Paul Niedermeyer of thetruthaboutcars.com tell the story:
"Let’s set the scene. It’s 1984. Audi sales had shot up 48 percent on the strength of their new aero-dynamic 5000, the hot new weapon in the perpetually-escalating suburban driveway status war. It was a stunning piece. Audi was on a roll.
Suddenly, the war turned bloody. Moms in runaway Audi 5000’s were mowing down their little kids in the driveway and pinning granny against the far garage wall.
This hadn’t happened with the Olds Cutlass Supreme Coupe, the "hot" suburban car Mom traded in for her Audi. The German car certainly felt different. Unlike the Olds’ wide push-bar brake pedal– that some Americans still operated with their left feet– the Audi had that weird, small brake pedal, kinda’ close to the gas pedal.
And these Audis had a mind of their own. No matter how hard Mom pushed on the brake pedal, the Audi kept on going, right through the garage door. This despite the fact that the little five-cylinder mill only cranked out 130 horsepower. And the top-notch four-wheel disc brake system probably could generate well over 600 g-force horsepower.
Apparently, the brakes were failing at exactly the same moment that the gas pedal decided it had a mind of its own. Perfectly plausible, at least to the 60 Minutes crew.
About as plausible as ignoring the police report of the most dramatic victim on the show, Kristi Bradosky, who ran over her six year old son. That report said "Bradosky’s foot slipped off the brake pedal onto the gas pedal accelerating the auto." Denial isn’t just a river.
Ed Bradley’s 17 minute "investigative report" aired on November 23, 1986. Between interviews of the teary-eyed "victims" (drivers) of unintended acceleration swearing their feet were on the brake pedal, CBS showed a clip of a driverless Audi lurching forward on its own.
Viewers didn’t see the canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor with a hose running to a hole drilled in the transmission. An "expert" had rigged the Rube Goldberg device to shift the big Audi into drive and, like any automatic-equipped car, move forward (unless the brakes are depressed).
The clip was blatantly deceptive AND totally irrelevant. Nobody claimed driverless Audis were taking off and killing kids. Mom was always at the wheel, pushing the 5000’s "brake" pedal with all her might.
In 1989, after three years of studying the blatantly obvious, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued their report on Audi’s "sudden unintended acceleration problem." NHTA’s findings fully exonerated Audi and some other implicated foreign makes.
The report concluded that the Audi’s pedal placement was different enough from American cars’ normal set-up (closer to each other) to cause some drivers to mistakenly press the gas instead of the brake. 60 Minutes did not retract their piece; they called the NHTSA report "an opinion."
A flood of lawsuits was already washing over Audi, not to mention a tsunami of bad publicity. Audi took a questionable stance: they didn’t blame the drivers for the problem, even after the NHTSA report came out. Hey, the customer’s always right, and we sure wouldn’t want to make our American customers look stupid. Anything but that.
So the German automaker took it on the chin. Audi sales collapsed, from 74k units in 1984 to 12k by 1991. The timing added insult to injury; sales fell during the same years when Lexus arrived to battle for the hearts and wallets of America’s up-scale consumers. The Japanese autos quickly became the new suburban driveway prestige weapon."
CBS never apologized for its fraudulent report, but acknowledged that “the problem could be aggravated by vehicle design, the shape, location and feel of gas and brake pedals." So apparently, according to the network, since Audi didn't consider whether Americans might be confused with the size and location of the 5000's brake pedal, that makes it OK for 60 Minutes to broadcast a bunch of complete lies that ruined the reputation of a great car. Good grief.
"Let’s set the scene. It’s 1984. Audi sales had shot up 48 percent on the strength of their new aero-dynamic 5000, the hot new weapon in the perpetually-escalating suburban driveway status war. It was a stunning piece. Audi was on a roll.
Suddenly, the war turned bloody. Moms in runaway Audi 5000’s were mowing down their little kids in the driveway and pinning granny against the far garage wall.
This hadn’t happened with the Olds Cutlass Supreme Coupe, the "hot" suburban car Mom traded in for her Audi. The German car certainly felt different. Unlike the Olds’ wide push-bar brake pedal– that some Americans still operated with their left feet– the Audi had that weird, small brake pedal, kinda’ close to the gas pedal.
And these Audis had a mind of their own. No matter how hard Mom pushed on the brake pedal, the Audi kept on going, right through the garage door. This despite the fact that the little five-cylinder mill only cranked out 130 horsepower. And the top-notch four-wheel disc brake system probably could generate well over 600 g-force horsepower.
Apparently, the brakes were failing at exactly the same moment that the gas pedal decided it had a mind of its own. Perfectly plausible, at least to the 60 Minutes crew.
About as plausible as ignoring the police report of the most dramatic victim on the show, Kristi Bradosky, who ran over her six year old son. That report said "Bradosky’s foot slipped off the brake pedal onto the gas pedal accelerating the auto." Denial isn’t just a river.
Ed Bradley’s 17 minute "investigative report" aired on November 23, 1986. Between interviews of the teary-eyed "victims" (drivers) of unintended acceleration swearing their feet were on the brake pedal, CBS showed a clip of a driverless Audi lurching forward on its own.
Viewers didn’t see the canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor with a hose running to a hole drilled in the transmission. An "expert" had rigged the Rube Goldberg device to shift the big Audi into drive and, like any automatic-equipped car, move forward (unless the brakes are depressed).
The clip was blatantly deceptive AND totally irrelevant. Nobody claimed driverless Audis were taking off and killing kids. Mom was always at the wheel, pushing the 5000’s "brake" pedal with all her might.
In 1989, after three years of studying the blatantly obvious, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued their report on Audi’s "sudden unintended acceleration problem." NHTA’s findings fully exonerated Audi and some other implicated foreign makes.
The report concluded that the Audi’s pedal placement was different enough from American cars’ normal set-up (closer to each other) to cause some drivers to mistakenly press the gas instead of the brake. 60 Minutes did not retract their piece; they called the NHTSA report "an opinion."
A flood of lawsuits was already washing over Audi, not to mention a tsunami of bad publicity. Audi took a questionable stance: they didn’t blame the drivers for the problem, even after the NHTSA report came out. Hey, the customer’s always right, and we sure wouldn’t want to make our American customers look stupid. Anything but that.
So the German automaker took it on the chin. Audi sales collapsed, from 74k units in 1984 to 12k by 1991. The timing added insult to injury; sales fell during the same years when Lexus arrived to battle for the hearts and wallets of America’s up-scale consumers. The Japanese autos quickly became the new suburban driveway prestige weapon."
CBS never apologized for its fraudulent report, but acknowledged that “the problem could be aggravated by vehicle design, the shape, location and feel of gas and brake pedals." So apparently, according to the network, since Audi didn't consider whether Americans might be confused with the size and location of the 5000's brake pedal, that makes it OK for 60 Minutes to broadcast a bunch of complete lies that ruined the reputation of a great car. Good grief.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
1985 Lada 1300
Who buys a Russian car? Obviously, people who have no other choice. Or, well, some Canadians. What, seriously?
The Lada 1300, aka VAZ-2101, was a copy of the Fiat 124 (who copies a Fiat?) with beefed up suspension designed for driving in snow on terrible roads. Hence the Canadian buyers.
The Lada 1300, aka VAZ-2101, was a copy of the Fiat 124 (who copies a Fiat?) with beefed up suspension designed for driving in snow on terrible roads. Hence the Canadian buyers.
Friday, October 11, 2019
1973 Ford Mustang
Seattle, Washington. The kind of city where you can spot three 1973 Mustangs in just a few minutes. Start from lower Queen Anne to see this one, then check out this Mach 1 in Magnolia, then head up to Greenlake to spot this very Mad Max '73.
This Mustang has the "Grande" package, which means a vinyl roof, deluxe interior and better sound insulation.
This Mustang has the "Grande" package, which means a vinyl roof, deluxe interior and better sound insulation.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Sunday, September 22, 2019
1936 Packard Super Eight
With an engine that included what was cutting-edge technology for its time, the Packard was superb in every way.
Friday, August 30, 2019
1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside Pickup
Too many people either love or hate Chevy Corvair cars for them to ever be forgotten, but Corvair trucks and vans have mostly faded from memory. These odd vehicles got pretty good reviews from the car magazines, and copies in good condition command high prices today.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
1982 Volkswagen Rabbit
It took 30 years for Volkswagen the rethink its basic car. Up to the mid 70s, it was all Beetles and variations on the Beetle. The Golf ("Gulf" in German), called the Rabbit in the US, was one of the first small front-wheel drive cars you could buy.
* In the 80s these were made in Pennsylvania.
* I understand that in the 70s, if you wanted a Rabbit you had to order it at the dealership and take whatever color of car showed up.
* General Motors responded to the front-wheel drive small car challenge by cynically warming-over one of its German models, creating the rear-drive Chevy Chevette; a car with mechanics mostly out of the dark ages. In the 80s GM didn't even try and sold imports to small-car buyers.
* In the 80s these were made in Pennsylvania.
* I understand that in the 70s, if you wanted a Rabbit you had to order it at the dealership and take whatever color of car showed up.
* General Motors responded to the front-wheel drive small car challenge by cynically warming-over one of its German models, creating the rear-drive Chevy Chevette; a car with mechanics mostly out of the dark ages. In the 80s GM didn't even try and sold imports to small-car buyers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)