Which American car is this?

[cawimmer430]

Spotted this from afar. Looks like some sort of Chevrolet... 

Looks beautiful though. 

[Mustangfan2003]

Mids 70s Malibu maybe?

[cawimmer430]

^Hey, nice pimp coupe!^ 

[rohan]

That's a Chevy Nova- maybe a 77.  Not sure how to tell the years apart exactly but that's about the age.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1978_Chevy_Nova_Custom_4-Door_Sedan.jpg

[Mustangfan2003]

Ah looks like you're right. 

[Mustangfan2003]

So does Nova in German mean no go like it does in Spanish? 

[rohan]

Detroit had some of them as police cars when I was a kid.

[hotrodalex]

Detroit had some of them as police cars when I was a kid.

Guess it's a good crime deterrent. No one would want to get arrested and have to sit in the back of one of those!

[ifcar]

So does Nova in German mean no go like it does in Spanish? 

Actually, "nova" in Spanish means "nova."

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

[Mustangfan2003]

Actually, "nova" in Spanish means "nova."

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

I was just referring to the urban legend. 

[MX793]

Actually, "nova" in Spanish means "nova."

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

I believe "no va" (two words) means "no go" in Spanish.

[ifcar]

I believe "no va" (two words) means "no go" in Spanish.

Different pronunciation, different meaning of "go."

[cawimmer430]

That's a Chevy Nova- maybe a 77.  Not sure how to tell the years apart exactly but that's about the age.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1978_Chevy_Nova_Custom_4-Door_Sedan.jpg

Thanks!   

[cawimmer430]

Actually, "nova" in Spanish means "nova."

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

Nope. Nova in German can mean "new star". That's about it. 

[cawimmer430]

Guess it's a good crime deterrent. No one would want to get arrested and have to sit in the back of one of those!

Rear leg space looks to be nonexistent! 

[Tave]

Different pronunciation, different meaning of "go."

That's why it's a pun.

[Madman]

Definitely a late-'70s Nova.  These cars were everywhere when I was a kid.

[cawimmer430]

Definitely a late-'70s Nova.  These cars were everywhere when I was a kid.

And nowadays? Still see them around? 

[Onslaught]

Almost all our cars looked the same back int he 70's. Ugly.

[Mustangfan2003]

And nowadays? Still see them around? 

Very unlikely, nobody restores these things. 

[sportyaccordy]

We need to get Wimmer into one of these misery wagons he lusts over to end this charade

One drive... ONE DRIVE in one of these things, even in tip top condition, Wimmer would be CRUSHED with disappointment.

[ifcar]

And nowadays? Still see them around? 

Occasionally.

[Mustangfan2003]

We need to get Wimmer into one of these misery wagons he lusts over to end this charade

One drive... ONE DRIVE in one of these things, even in tip top condition, Wimmer would be CRUSHED with disappointment.

I remember when I was really young my mom had an 83 Olds Cutlass, not a car I miss at all. 

[Madman]

And nowadays? Still see them around?  

Hardly ever.  These cars were miserable relics from an era everyone wants to forget.

We need to get Wimmer into one of these misery wagons he lusts over to end this charade

One drive... ONE DRIVE in one of these things, even in tip top condition, Wimmer would be CRUSHED with disappointment.

I've tried telling him, but he just won't listen!  I've explained how awful it was living with these terrible cars when I was a kid and how you could never be sure you'd actually get where you were going.  I've even told him how the 1974 Ford LTD I took my driver's test in tried to KILL us with fire!!!  I'm pretty sure I've also mentioned the Thunderbird that dumped it's driveshaft in the middle of the road.  (Good thing we were moving slowly or that damn car would have killed us, too!)  Or our Buick LeSabre with doors that randomly flew open as you were turning a corner!  And our turd-brown Ford LTD wagon with no brakes.  And our Ford LTD II "wallpaper-woody" wagon whose gas tank fell out the bottom of the car due to rust.  I've told him all about these horrible Detroit Deathtraps and yet he still gets a hard-on at the sight of vinyl roofs, plasti-wood dashboards and button-tufted crushed velour upholstery!

Sporty, I agree with you.  We need to get Wimmer over here and put him behind the wheel of a 1970s-vintage reject from a Starsky and Hutch street scene just so he can experience for himself how terrible these cars really were!  Nobody who grew up driving a BMW or Mercedes Benz can fully understand the depths of mechanical misery these cars inflicted upon their owners.  One drive and he'll finally understand why everyone in America today drives a Toyota!

[sportyaccordy]

The craziest part about it is it would be hard as hell to even find him one of these cars- which ties back into why we hate them

But to really gain an appreciation of the automotive misery that is a mid 70s American car, Wimmer needs full immersion. He has to pay $5 a gallon to fill a 20 gallon tank to drive a car that gets 8 MPG, has a "+2" back seat, 250" body length, and the acceleration of a Ford Aspire towing a 20' boat. Aside from the style, I literally can't think of anything good about cars from here during that time. But it takes time for the hatred to really mature, and I am not sure that a drive alone (while convincing in itself due to some of of truly dynamically awful cars of that time) would be enough to seal the deal.

Wimmer I know there is a lot of meaningless hyperbole on the internet about cars.... "if it cant do the 1/4 mile in 13s it's slow!!!! i dont care if its a $10K Hyndai Accent!"... but when I say cars like the one in the OP were absolute shit, it's an understatement. Like Madman said, think about how bad a car would have to be to make people love Toyota Camries, and multiply that badness by 10. You'll be getting close to how awful things got.

[ifcar]

"He has to pay $5 a gallon to fill a 20 gallon tank to drive a car that gets 8 MPG"

That's a little unfair. The cars were designed (or at least built, if designed is too generous a term) for an era in which gas was cheaper. A classic should be evaluated in the context of its own time -- and in this case, they're bad enough without subjecting them to modern gas prices.

[sportyaccordy]

GM was still cranking out V8 A-bodies w/the same horsepower & interior room as same year Camrys and Accords, but 1/3 the fuel efficiency & reliability. And the scramble in the late 70s/early 80s to adapt really spawned some truly awful hardware.

[Mustangfan2003]

Ah the 70s, the era of 200hp big blocks. 

[shp4man]

Guys, I think this is an Oldsmobile. 

[MX793]

GM was still cranking out V8 A-bodies w/the same horsepower & interior room as same year Camrys and Accords, but 1/3 the fuel efficiency & reliability. And the scramble in the late 70s/early 80s to adapt really spawned some truly awful hardware.

1986 Honda Accord - 100 hp 2.0L I4
1986 Toyota Camry - 98 hp 2.0L I4
1986 Olds Cutlass Supreme V8 - 140 hp 5.0L V8

As pathetic as the Old's output is, it's still making a lot more power than the Accord or Camry of that time.