Yep, four. Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth & Pontiac. A shame about Pontiac, GM needs a namplate for sportier cars. I had the 2005 GTO....lots of fun.
2004 Ford Crown Victoria....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Yep, four. Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth & Pontiac. A shame about Pontiac, GM needs a namplate for sportier cars. I had the 2005 GTO....lots of fun.
There has always been a general sameness to most automotive design no matter what the era. Only those knowledgable with a sharp eye can tell models apart. Today we look back with nostalgia to examples of noteworthy styling and design from the oast, but in their heyday they were usually not that much different from most everthing else.
A ‘57 Chevy Coupe can be considered an example of the epitome of 1950’s era styling, but who at the time could have predicted it would become a classic icon? Same with 60’s era muscle-cars.
A big difference between then and now is the rise of aerodynamic considerations and drag coefficient, the wind tunnel and the use of computers in design. Back in the day it was all hand drawing and the slide rule.
The ‘70s and ‘80s were generally a crapfest in automotive design. American cars got disgustingly bloated and their response to the rising cost of gas and the rising popularity of imports was half-hearted garbage. It took the Big 3 twenty years to become respectable again.
While I can appreciate some of the benefits of today’s technology there are things that really bug me. Sorry, but I hate the idea of trying to manipulate a tablet like interface just to listen to music or adjust the clinate controls. I am also leary of driver assist technology such as lane keeping and blind spot monitoring. If you are that inattentive that you need these things then maube you shoukfn’t be driving at all. Indeed an autonomous car would be ideal for you.
And on that note: http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/motor-mouth-the-social-contract-of-driving
A ‘57 Chevy Coupe can be considered an example of the epitome of 1950’s era styling, but who at the time could have predicted it would become a classic icon? Same with 60’s era muscle-cars.
A big difference between then and now is the rise of aerodynamic considerations and drag coefficient, the wind tunnel and the use of computers in design. Back in the day it was all hand drawing and the slide rule.
The ‘70s and ‘80s were generally a crapfest in automotive design. American cars got disgustingly bloated and their response to the rising cost of gas and the rising popularity of imports was half-hearted garbage. It took the Big 3 twenty years to become respectable again.
While I can appreciate some of the benefits of today’s technology there are things that really bug me. Sorry, but I hate the idea of trying to manipulate a tablet like interface just to listen to music or adjust the clinate controls. I am also leary of driver assist technology such as lane keeping and blind spot monitoring. If you are that inattentive that you need these things then maube you shoukfn’t be driving at all. Indeed an autonomous car would be ideal for you.
And on that note: http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/motor-mouth-the-social-contract-of-driving
GM doesn't want "sporty", they want boring cars that sell well... There's nothing in their entire portfolio that I would want, that I can also afford (Pontiac was my favorite since childhood).
That article hits the nail on the head - hard...
I suspect that self-driving cars may actually be on their way out already. There have been a LOT of accidents brought on - either directly or indirectly - due to self-driving cars (or cars that someone -thinks- is self-driving).
Several cases of pedestrians being run over, several cases involving motorcycles or bicycles. A number of Tesla cars running off the road or into a barrier when the driver didn't respond to the need to take over etc...
I know that some expect that these will simply be bugs to work out of the system but, think about those flying cars that we have all over the plac... oh, wait... we DON'T have those..?
And watch out: the Big 3 look to be getting out of the car business (in North America). For them it will be pretty much all SUVs and trucks with maybe one or two car models. Ford has made an actual official announcement of this intent. And while GM and Chrysler haven’t made similar official announcements you can pretty easily see where they are going with their product lines as car models are dropped one-by-one.
Might not be the smartest move with gas prices rising and import manufacturers sticking by their car lines. If gas prices jump even more sharply it could be the 1970s all over again.
There can be a lot of appeal in some of these SUVs, but few if any if them have any real presence or emotional appeal. I admit I rather like the current Kia Sportage and the Ford Edge or even the Explorer, but they don’t instill in me the urge to go driving. They are nice, but not “cool.” They are nice automotive appliances. And while pickups can be quite nice they are certainly not vehicles to enjoy driving. And not everyone can make use of a pickup bed.
But SUVs and pickups appeal to people who have grown accustomed to having to have a lot of stuff with them all the time. Does anyone travel light anymore? My parents raised four kids and all Dad ever had was a regular sedan (‘59 Ford Custom, ‘66 Ford Galaxie and ‘73 Mercury Metear). He never felt he needed a station wagon (SUV of its heyday). But my brother and his wife had just two kids and “absolutely needed” a minivan (Mazda MPV). Dad could pack everything needed (for six people) for a long weekend in his car, but today parents with two kids seem to need enough stuff for a months’ long expedition for just a long weekend. And couples and single individuals are no better.
I can go visit my brother for a week and carry everything I need in one carrying case. My brother and his wife come for the weekend and have to unload easily three or four cases from their Dodge Durango. People carry a lot of stuff around today.
Might not be the smartest move with gas prices rising and import manufacturers sticking by their car lines. If gas prices jump even more sharply it could be the 1970s all over again.
There can be a lot of appeal in some of these SUVs, but few if any if them have any real presence or emotional appeal. I admit I rather like the current Kia Sportage and the Ford Edge or even the Explorer, but they don’t instill in me the urge to go driving. They are nice, but not “cool.” They are nice automotive appliances. And while pickups can be quite nice they are certainly not vehicles to enjoy driving. And not everyone can make use of a pickup bed.
But SUVs and pickups appeal to people who have grown accustomed to having to have a lot of stuff with them all the time. Does anyone travel light anymore? My parents raised four kids and all Dad ever had was a regular sedan (‘59 Ford Custom, ‘66 Ford Galaxie and ‘73 Mercury Metear). He never felt he needed a station wagon (SUV of its heyday). But my brother and his wife had just two kids and “absolutely needed” a minivan (Mazda MPV). Dad could pack everything needed (for six people) for a long weekend in his car, but today parents with two kids seem to need enough stuff for a months’ long expedition for just a long weekend. And couples and single individuals are no better.
I can go visit my brother for a week and carry everything I need in one carrying case. My brother and his wife come for the weekend and have to unload easily three or four cases from their Dodge Durango. People carry a lot of stuff around today.
Last edited:
I have some bad news for Ford, GM and Fiatsler - I don't want an SUV, Truck or Cross-over! I also don't care for a seriously expensive Corvette or a hopelessly impractical Camaro/Mustang/Challenger.
What I had (until Harvey ate it) was a Pontiac G8 GT sedan and I loved that car. Good looker, great handler, comfortable and could carry an impressive load of baggage/cargo in a well designed trunk. Don't even bother mentioning the nice, strong 6 liter V-8 and six-speed tranny...
No, the fuel economy wasn't stunning but, I was getting around 18 mpg in Houston traffic and got well into the mid 20's out in the country so..?
What I had (until Harvey ate it) was a Pontiac G8 GT sedan and I loved that car. Good looker, great handler, comfortable and could carry an impressive load of baggage/cargo in a well designed trunk. Don't even bother mentioning the nice, strong 6 liter V-8 and six-speed tranny...
No, the fuel economy wasn't stunning but, I was getting around 18 mpg in Houston traffic and got well into the mid 20's out in the country so..?
The G8 was the "successor" to the GTO. Same engine, slightly powered down, plus 4 doors. Using the Holden Commodore instead of the Monaro. I still see G8's running around my area. I can't remember the last GTO I saw, what with the overmatched differential, they probably ran out of replacements long ago.
Yep - the G8 and GTO (last gen) were from "The Land Down Under" (deliberately played that classic Men At Work album after I bought it).
There are still a fair number of the GTOs around but, they stop bringing those over in 2006 so - they've had longer to be either worn out or wrapped around a telephone pole or just plain wrecked.
There are still a fair number of the GTOs around but, they stop bringing those over in 2006 so - they've had longer to be either worn out or wrapped around a telephone pole or just plain wrecked.
With the 400HP (400 #'s of torque) LS2 wearing out diffs, they would need custom jobs now. That might be the reason they de-powered the engine for the G8. And yeah, easy to wreck if they got away from you. I had a lot of fun with mine (also a 6 speed).
Last year in late November some gentleman came into my work inquiring about the Crown Vic in the parking lot. When he tracked me down he asked if I would be interested in selling it since he really likes those cars and really liked the shape mine is in. He was shocked to hear it was a 2004 with (then) only 108,000 kms. (67,100 miles.) on it.
I told him, without hesitation, I had no interest in selling, particularly since I had just taken formal ownership of the car after my father had passed away barely a month before.
Today another gentleman came into work to inquire about the car. This time he wanted to know from where I had gotten my new wheels. He said they were very similar to the kind of rim he was looking for his ‘95 Buick Roadmaster. I told him I ordered my rims online from Canada Wheels.
He then asked me if I knew where someone could get white wall tires like they had in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Uh, yeah. I haven’t a clue, particularly since no major tire brand to my knowledge makes white walls anymore, particularly Michelin which was what he was keen on.
I told him, without hesitation, I had no interest in selling, particularly since I had just taken formal ownership of the car after my father had passed away barely a month before.
Today another gentleman came into work to inquire about the car. This time he wanted to know from where I had gotten my new wheels. He said they were very similar to the kind of rim he was looking for his ‘95 Buick Roadmaster. I told him I ordered my rims online from Canada Wheels.
He then asked me if I knew where someone could get white wall tires like they had in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Uh, yeah. I haven’t a clue, particularly since no major tire brand to my knowledge makes white walls anymore, particularly Michelin which was what he was keen on.
Quick search on "white wall tires" and poof!
https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styles/whitewall-tires.html
https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styles/whitewall-tires.html
Yeah, somebody definitely makes whitewalls. Lots of brothas around here have them on their spoked rims.
I'm not a fan of them, what with all the dirt, but they look good when they are kept clean.
I'm not a fan of them, what with all the dirt, but they look good when they are kept clean.
Actually, the G8 GT was not "de-powered". The engine was the L76 insteead of the LS6. It had DOD and that reduced the horsepower/torque a fair bit but, gave better fuel economy than the GTO, let alone the G8 GXP with it's 6.2 liter mill...
Ah OK. Either way around, it saved them replacing the difffs on probably every unit multiple times. Mine was replaced 2 or 3 times in the 4 years I had it.