OT - Talking Cars Tuesday
It's been a couple of weeks since we had our last Talking Cars Tuesday. Rather than letting it just die I figured we could use that as a topic starter. So without any further wait I pose this week's question to you.
What defunct car brand/model would you bring back from the dead if you had the funds?
For me it's AMC. They made some pretty sweet yet odd muscle cars that weren't really appreciated much at the time, but have definitely become collector targets.
It's not like fuel economy is a huge concern, and higher than its ever been. Or that the biggest 3 supercars to debut all have hybrid systems that will trickle down. Or that one of the largest automakers in the world (VW) has the XL1. Or that Porsche has more plug-in-hybrids than anyone. Or that emissions are so low that we can't measure them well anymore...
I mean, obviously all car manufacturers don't care about this stuff, right?
I should have mentioned the hybrid trickle down from the 918, P1 and Le Ferrari. That's a good point.
You're coming at this from a different angle, though: MPG. I'm speaking to the sick numbers of torque from a diesel and the amazing power that is generated from the electric motor(s) offered in a Tesla.
It's not about the environment, honestly (and when you factor in the cost of transporting all those batteries around the globe - i'm not sure EV is putting us in a better place environmentally). It's about performance and cost. The only drawback is the lack of a proper noise.
I've got to go Brian going Stephen A though...
HOWEVA
Audi has their RS5 with the tri-turbo electric diesel, the VW GTD, diesel SQ5, etc. BMW has a bi-turbo diesel X5 M Performance model, and cant build enough i8s. Tesla's got their "insane" mode, and there are the hyper hybrids. Companies are doing exactly what you're looking for, whether they're consolidated or not.
philosophically disagree at a very basic level.
Damn, I thought this thread was going to be about talking cars. My favorite was KITT on Knight Rider. Long live the Hoff!
CarTalk
A comment that made me upvote one of Ty's posts.
I love that show. Still listen to the repeats on Sat mornings.
My mom is from East Tennessee, where it's more common to have a car port than a real garage. Unfortunately, that makes security less than ideal.
So it was that my uncle had a T-top stolen off his Corvette in the mid-'80s. After it was stolen (it had literally been cut out of the car's roof) he started keeping a loaded shotgun near the back door.
One night after getting the 'Vette repaired, my uncle heard noises on the car port. He grabbed his shotgun and looked out - sure enough someone was trying to steal the new top. He opened the door, pointed his shotgun at the thief, and fired.
Part of the blast struck the thief across the side of his face, blowing half his lower jaw across the car port. Police came and - Tennessee being Tennessee - my uncle was not charged (defense of property).
The guy sued my uncle for the injuries sustained. According to my uncle, the judge asked the thief if the T-top belonged to him or to my uncle. Upon hearing (through an interpreter, I imagine) that the T-top had, in fact, been my uncle's, the judge responded, "Count your blessings you're not dead. Case dismissed."
In honor of my father, who always raved about what he said was the most advanced and and best built vehicle at the time: Packard.
I thin k my pants just got a little tighter.
was just like this one. had a factory installed, hand-crank sun roof. that was living in 1973. at michigan the guys called it the 'dukes of hazard' car for obvious reasons.
Don't want to start a new thread, but Dave Brandon has been named CEO of Toys R' Us.
Don't need to. Someone already did.
Was beaten to it, but my dad loved the 41 Packard, and it's stuck with me since I was a kid.
I can't really think of a brand.. but I think that a few could work. Pontiac could be a nice counter to Dodge, as a performance brand, but it'd have to actually be performance oriented. Would they just cannibalize Camaro sales?
Lots of mid-lux brands died for good reason. Oldsmobile & Mercury weren't any different than the Chevys and Fords. I think GM's got a good split right now actually with their 4 brands. Ford is doing OK, and Chrysler has lots to figure out.
I'll go with a model - how about Ford builds the Bronco again? The Wrangler needs competition
I've always liked the Dodge Magnum and I hope they bring them back. It was the coolest station wagon I've ever seen. How much cooler would the Griswold's have been in a Magnum instead of the wood paneled Ford Station Wagon.
A co-worker of mine put over 250k miles on hers before she gave it away. No major problems with it either.
Fun fact, that car was killed by one guy at Diamler-Chrysler, just because he didn't like it.
Dick.
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I don't know if it makes business sense, but it would be nice for me to get "value" versions of vehicles I like (I'm a mopar guy).
Cars now are too damned expensive. Give me an option for a bear bones minivan with canvas seats and keys that don't cost $200 to replace during that time in life when I a cash strapped with kids, and when those kids will eat/spill/puke etc on the inside of the car. Maybe an engine that's decently powerful but trades simplicity for uber power.
Or a stripped down performance vehicle.
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And it's not even close IMO. I've owned three GTOs: 70 455 convertible, 65 389 Tri-Power Hardtop & 2004 so I'm a bit biased.
Spent much of my youth cruising Woodward in the 70 which had more torque than a tractor IMO but lacked a bit of mid-range quickness. I blew the engine in it and dropped a RamAir III in it which taught me a LOT about swapping engines to say the least
The 65 was a present to myself and was one of the prettiest & quickest cars I've ever owned. Had a 411 rear end so I had to get out of first gear at about 28 MPH, the top end was only around 100 and my daughter said it hurt her neck when I shifted!
The 2004 was quick, fun but at the end of the day it wasnt a real GTO and they screwed up the styling which hurt the rebranding. Was a cool car though.
FYI - these arent actual pics of my cars but mine were identical to these except my 65 had a black interior, not white and my 2004 had aftermarket rims & a 69 GTO replica hood which was pretty damn cool. The dealer made posters of it!
I remember seeing the new GTO for the first time at the auto show, and it had come with a fair amount of hype, and my heart sank just a bit because my first impression was "aw man, it looks like a Civic."
that she onced owned a 1967 Pontiac GTO, black. Then sold it!!!!
Ratfarts!
"There is no God."
Before I knew all the technical issues that plagued them, I loved Vector's cars, especially the M12 that debuted when I was 11. They had the power, the looks, and the price tag that made them seem like domestic Lamborghinis. Unfortunately the only thing the had in common was the engine itself.
Pontiac for sure, and the first thing we're doing is bringing these things back to life:
This was my dream car in high school. I cut out a magazine ad and hung it on my wall, a reminder that I would never get one.
but spending time with one (a rental) made me realize what a jumbled mess of X-car and Chevette parts it was. You can build a car from run of the mill parts and make it look sporty, but it was certainly not a sports car. They did put some money into it which benefitted the last 2 years of production. A friend of mine bought one with the 6-cylinder shoe horned into and it was a better car, but the interior never looked anything other than X-car parts to me.
The same V6 with a bit more bore when into the early 90s Camaro and Firebird; that's where GM was at the time. The C4 Corvette only made 250 HP until the 2nd gen LT1 came along in 1992.
The interior of the Fiero was unique. It was mechanically a parts-bin car, but then their total budget to design, engineer, tool, train, market, and build was $300,000,000.
GM spent $30,000,000 alone to re-do the suspension for 1988. They made 2/3 of a year of cars and killed it. Utterly classic GM move.
They are great little sporty cars that are still affordable to collect, restore, and modify.
Was the fiero rwd? At the HQ they had a pic of a concept convertible they built. Neat idea. They almost could have had a Miata type car early.
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I'm getting toward the end of restoring my 87 GT,
(taking a stab at the embed code because the tool doesn't work with IE11)
[img]http://www.cascadeclimber.com/misc/fiero/fierod1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.cascadeclimber.com/misc/fiero/fierod15.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.casadeclimber.com/misc/fiero/fierod7.jpg[/img]
nimble, fast as hell, had flip up headlights, a console ahead of its time, just a real nice car.
I'd love to be able to buy a new compact/midsize pickup truck. S10, Ranger or an older HiLux.
Don't get me started on these. I die a little inside every time they do a refresh of these models in other countries and we get nothing.
Pierce Arrow. Their hood ornaments were works of art and the rest of the cars weren't bad either.
To me it would have to be the Lancia Delta Integrale - one of the best Rally cars of all time. 
I love all the beautiful cars in this thread. Classic cars were a work of art.
Nissan took a great thing and gradually ruined it...
What a bad ass little sports car, also available in V8 which is rigoddamneddiculous.
A close second is Pontiac. They were about to reintroduce the late 60s style Firebird (as Chevy did for the Camaro) and eventual the Lemans as well:
Damn you for reminding me of Datsun. Now I really really want a 510. Either that or for Nismo to get their shit together and go back to green lighting the IDX.
I like my Jeep, but I yearn for one of these bad boys. Chopped and channeled or bone stock (I'm not picky).
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I'm going with Austin Healey. The 100/6, 3000, and Mk.1 Sprite are works of art (though I admit to bias because my wife's fun-car is a Mk. 1 Sprite).
I'll also second the vote for Auburn.