Detroit auto makers try some new tricks

Never said that. Just that I don't buy cheesy cars

 

Well, the Mustang II was a pimped-out Pinto, but we all just pretend it
never existed anyway... But you're right, the real Mustang had
nothing to do with the Pinto.

Not sure what you're alluding to, exactly. The Corvair certainly didn't
have any of the problems nitwit Nader claimed, and *most* vehicles
"could have been" better than they were if not for insidious corporate
cheapness. But the Corvair was pretty decent given the significant break
from GM traditions that it represented. I'd claim that the rope-drive
Tempest was a bigger mess than the Corvair.

 

Lookit that Steve, I guess he figures that you don't know or
understand anything about evaporative emissions canisters...

 

Actually, the Mustang II started out based on the Pinto, but by the time
it reached production it had virtually nothing in common with the Pinto.
I can cite the source if you like.

The 1st-gen Corvair directly suffered from "insiduous corporate
cheapness" as you put it. Had GM put the front sway bar on to begin
with, the car would never have been prone to flip over in extreme
handling situations.

I've got mixed emotions about the Tempest. The engine was very cool,
and it had a very nice 50/50 weight distribution. The swing axle was
the pits though, and it was pretty nasty.

 

"Joe" ...

Actually, I hadn't paid much attention to Pintos until the explosions.

Like someone else said, the biggest problem with Pintos was how Ford handled
the publicity.

Natalie

 

"Joe" ...

When did they start using the alloys? I remember steel cars driven by my
parents (very hard to dent them). This was the late 60s and 70s.

Natalie

 

"Steve" ...

That's what I thought. *shrug*

Natalie

 

"Bill Putney" ...

Not with *that* electric bill. Or the fuel for his jet and limo...

Natalie

 

"Joe" ...

That thing was even uglier than the Aztek - that's saying something.

Natalie

 

"C. E. White" ...

A close friend of mine had a car that I think was an Opel (forget the model
name). Were they here in the 70/80s? If not, it may have been something
else. Whatever it was, we got stranded on the road quite often.

Natalie

 

Yep, I know 2 people who had Opels way back when. Equally unreliable.

Cathy

 

Sure they were, then we learned how to make them safer and not to rust away
in three years. .

 

Oh but you don't understand. By paying extra money to TVA in his
electric bill, that gives them (TVA) more money to install solar and
wind generators, and in return he gets carbon credits (thru the carbon
credits brokering company that he himself set up) because those "free"
energy sources will save the world more fossil fuel energy than he will
have ever wasted in paying for them. If you think I'm joking or making
this up, I'm not. This is how liberals will explain it to you, and they
will be dead serious explaining it to you and how his wasting
electricity is actually helping save the world.

And as far as the jet and limo - well,he's doing so much good that that
can be overlooked. Barbara Streisand justified her going shopping in a
motor home - not an SUV, but a motor home - by saying that it allows her
not to have to use public toilets. Once again, I kid you not. It's
called liberal elitism.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

GM bought Buick in 1905, then Cadillac, Oldmobile, and Oakland and GMC truck
before 1910. Chevy bought GM in 1915! What was the ORIGINAL name of the
Cadillac Motor Company?

Dodge Brothers built bodies for Mr Ford until 1915. Didn't Maxwell become
Chrysler? I thought Mr Chrysler rebuilt Maxwell in 1924 and couldn't get a
shot at the Auto Show in NY that year if I remember right and then Plymouth
came out in 1928 or thereabouts.

Then there's Ford, which purchased Lincoln, which oddly enough was started
by the guy who purchased the Henry Ford Motor Company in 1902. Then they
started Mercury in 1938 or thereabouts.

Charles of Schaumburg

 

Hmmm, I had 230,000 on the old A245 on my 93 Corolla, and I'm too damn cheap
to bark the tires often. But I had her up to 90 on the expressways a lot
and was still getting passed!

Charles of Schaumburg

 

Buick dealers sold German built Opels from the late 50's to the mid 70's.
Two high school friends owned Opel 1900s (Mantas see
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2212916 ). They had very good luck with them.
Buick dealers also sold a little sports coupe, the Opel GT. Like most cars
GM has imported from overseas, they finally dropped the line. Today, Saturn
is being turned into the US counterpart of Opel. The Saturn Aura and current
(new) Vue are essentially rebadged Opels, but built in the US. A version of
the Saturn Sky (Pontiac Solstice sister) is sold in Europe as the Opel GT.
Given the recent decline of the dollar vs. the Euro, it is likely it will
not be economical to directly import Opels into the US to sell as Saturns,
so probably, they will continue being built in the US, or in low cost
factories in other countries. It will be interesting to see how long they
are based on German products.

Ed

 

Yep. The 65 Corvair finally had what should have been put in the 60-64
Corvairs. There was a helluva lot of not-thinking. First they didn't offer
a 4 speed, just a 3 speed and a 2-speed auto. It wasn't until later that
they found out the Monza was a hit. The original 1960 Corvair with 3 speeds
and the 80 hp 140 cid engine couldn't cruise at the speeds the 1960 VW could
because it weighed so much more. I drove a 62 for over a year. Our piddly
little 700 coupe with the 80hp engine and Powerglide couldn't get out of its
own way, and Dad's favorite cruising speed was about 58 mph.

Charles of Schaumburg

 

Ford bought Lincoln, Aston-Martin (now mostly sold), Land Rover, Jaguar,
Volvo, and a controlling interest in Mazda. Mercury was created, not bought.
I agree that the bulk of Ford products are sold under the Ford brand name,
although there are exceptions.

Ed

 

"Ed White" <...

But didn't they have some sort of model names, other than just "Opel" or
"Opel GT"?

Seems like she had a particular model, which name escapes me.

Natalie

 

I don't know if i am doing the right thing here, but my brother in law
who is in management with the Chrysler corp. has told me since the
split from Daimler-Benz that the latest buzz is that the sadly extinct
Plymouth line will be resurrected, with the hopes of a high
performance division of the Chrysler corp. no actual names were given
but however there will be a car along the lines the charger srt and a
possible resurrection of the e-body along with the
challenger.......... do we smell fish!