Spied this in a parking lot - guessing circa 1990. It had a few minor bumps and bruises commensurate with its age but was immaculately clean & detailed. Kid driving it said it was his dad's & his pride & joy.
(http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x163/fairalbion/Cars/IMG_1309_zpsdcf7ee90.jpg)
(http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x163/fairalbion/Cars/IMG_1310_zpsad3b072c.jpg)
That is unfortunate.
It's cool when someone's picked a very ordinary car to preserve. If no one did that, car shows would have a lot less variety; this one will be worthy in another 20 years.
Should be in a museum. :praise:
badass
We had one when I was a kid. I don't remember much about it. It was quite an unremarkable car.
I think the only survivors of the front-drive A-bodies (Chevrolet Celebrity, Olds Cutlass Ciera, Pontiac 6000, et al.) must be in the southern US. I swear, if you even ate salted french fries in those cars, they would corrode. Ours was an '89 Celebrity and it epitomized the old slogan "GM cars run poorly longer than most other cars run at all", but the rust killed it.
Did happen to see an immaculate '85 up here for sale, chatted to the owner for a bit. Just for entertainment, I asked him how much he wanted for it. $3k! I almost chortled right in his face, but couldn't bring myself to be that rude. For $1k, maybe....
Looks like it was debadged.
The best part about the 6000 was the steering wheel on the STE model.
(http://autocognito.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/6000ste2.jpg)
So much multimedia!
My family had an '84 chevy celebrity. It had the 4 cylinder iron duke engine good for 90 horsepower. It wheezed and wheezed especially at the slightest incline. It was also noisy. The car would overheat on long drives in the summer if the air conditioning was kept on. Shoddy construction as the glovebox was very misaligned and the speedometer needle shook between 55mph and 65mph. The bench seat moved back and forth by a lever which looked to be connected to a hanger wire under the seat. I remember thinking as a 12 year old that this car was real real cheap as it didn't even come with a passenger mirror. After a few winters the metal around the wheel wells was full of rust.
For how cheap it felt, it was fairly reliable up until 100 thousand miles and it was roomy. After spending a week crammed in a rental chevette on vacation, I was glad to travel in that car.
My late father-in-law had a Celebrity Citation [corrected] and later a Cutlass Ciera. He loved them both, especially the Citation, which kept running, no matter what the Wisconsin winters threw at it. As you may gather, he was not a car guy.
There is a bit of coolness now in driving the crappy cars of this era. I've seen it in some movies recently.
My aunt and uncle used to have one of those. The interior looked like it was tacked together from a general-purpose kit.
Quote from: veeman on January 29, 2014, 07:18:50 PM
Shoddy construction as the glovebox was very misaligned and the speedometer needle shook between 55mph and 65mph.
You sure it was just the speedometer needle and not the whole car? My dad's parents had a Citation that shook at about 90 km/h. Their other car at the time was a 6000 in a similar shade of beige. My mom's parents had a 6000 too, a dark blue one. I'm pretty sure both were V6s although I can't say for sure anymore, I don't remember exactly. Mom's parents replaced theirs in 1990 and dad's parents hung on to theirs until 1992.
The Pontiac 6000 interior is just NASTY. :mask:
Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 31, 2014, 09:06:24 AM
The Pontiac 6000 interior is just NASTY. :mask:
Wow, you're not a lost soul after all. You think that some nasty 80's stuff is nasty. There's hope for you!
Quote from: Laconian on January 31, 2014, 11:57:22 AM
Wow, you're not a lost soul after all. You think that some nasty 80's stuff is nasty. There's hope for you!
After the '70s, American car interiors went south during the '80s. I mean compare the 6000 interior to this masterpiece. :praise:
(http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/mopar/74dg/bilder/5.jpg)
American cars really started to nose dive around 1968.
Quote from: 280Z Turbo on January 31, 2014, 02:58:24 PM
American cars really started to nose dive around 1968.
Nah, I'd say that the styling went down the toilet starting around '73.
Quote from: MX793 on January 31, 2014, 05:40:08 PM
Nah, I'd say that the styling went down the toilet starting around '73.
I think that's when the last hope of anyone not sucking was gone.
I knew a guy who had a Celebrity wagon. It was an unapologetic piece of crap, but it had 250 kmiles on it. After I learned that, I quit ragging on him. :lol:
Quote from: Rupert on January 31, 2014, 08:18:45 PM
I knew a guy who had a Celebrity wagon. It was an unapologetic piece of crap, but it had 250 kmiles on it. After I learned that, I quit ragging on him. :lol:
How many engines?
Original, IIRC.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on January 31, 2014, 06:59:05 PM
I think that's when the last hope of anyone not sucking was gone.
No, there were some nice looking new cars still coming out in '69, '70, and '71 and a fair number of attractive late 60s cars that hadn't been redesigned yet. The Barracuda came out in '70 and the boat-tail Riviera in '71. The '70 Maverick and Torino were also good-looking vehicles. Some models were starting to slide in '71, but it really wasn't until '73 or '74 that pretty much all of the good looking cars from the late 60s era had been redesigned and the vast majority were uglier than their predecessors.
Quote from: MX793 on January 31, 2014, 05:40:08 PM
Nah, I'd say that the styling went down the toilet starting around '73.
IMO, it went downhill in the late '70s, around '79. There are only a few American cars from the '80s which look good like a Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Ford Crown Victoria LTD, Dodge Diplomat and Chevrolet Caprice Classic.
Quote from: MX793 on January 29, 2014, 03:49:24 PM
Looks like it was debadged.
The best part about the 6000 was the steering wheel on the STE model.
(http://autocognito.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/6000ste2.jpg)
That is absolutely hysterical.........
Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 31, 2014, 09:06:24 AM
The Pontiac 6000 interior is just NASTY. :mask:
Also, bear in mind that is the interior of the top-of-the-range STE version. Try to imagine how awful the base models were!
Did they have hard plastic button blanks? Oh, that would be the height of awful.
Quote from: Laconian on February 02, 2014, 01:46:23 AM
Did they have hard plastic button blanks? Oh, that would be the height of awful.
no
(http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/comment-image/126132.jpg)
Were the tiny Japanese-stereo-receiver-looking buttons supposed to look "Euro" or something?
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 02, 2014, 02:21:33 AM
Were the tiny Japanese-stereo-receiver-looking buttons supposed to look "Euro" or something?
Those were GM standard issue for the day. Back then, it wasn't a good radio unless you had an EQ.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 02, 2014, 02:21:33 AM
Were the tiny Japanese-stereo-receiver-looking buttons supposed to look "Euro" or something?
I'm pretty sure they were trying to mimic the look of high-end Japanese audio equipment that was all the rage in the 1980s. The more buttons, the better!
Quote from: Madman on February 01, 2014, 08:57:00 PM
Also, bear in mind that is the interior of the top-of-the-range STE version. Try to imagine how awful the base models were!
I shudder at the thought. I can live with a cheap interior, but the design of THAT interior is just NASTY!!! :mask:
Quote from: Soup DeVille on February 02, 2014, 02:36:42 AM
Those were GM standard issue for the day. Back then, it wasn't a good radio unless you had an EQ.
GM was still selling head units with EQ sliders into the 2000s. Most Pontiacs had those up until '03.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on February 02, 2014, 02:36:42 AM
Those were GM standard issue for the day. Back then, it wasn't a good radio unless you had an EQ.
Our pontiac 6000 just had a blank rectangle where the tape deck was supposed to go.
Quote from: MX793 on February 02, 2014, 05:15:46 AM
GM was still selling head units with EQ sliders into the 2000s. Most Pontiacs had those up until '03.
And we know how awesome those Pontiacs were.
I spent most of the 80s in a Cutlass Ciera! It ran fine and never rusted! We were lucky......
Every car today has a 3 bar equalizer. It's called base, mid range, and treble. It's the five bar equalizer and greater which were an 80s/90s fad and there on most home stereos of the time which was silly. Can't blame GM for that. My parents home stereo of the 80s had a 10 bar equalizer. Unless you had the ear of Leonard Bernstein, it was totally frustrating because most people had no clue how to set it. I made a "V" with it for Rock and an upside down V for sports radio. I also messed around with the more Base frequencies if the speakers started buzzing with Base heavy music. I eventually blew out my subwoofer and never played that stereo again.
Bass. :P
I used to like to mess around with equalizers. Lots of things to do. Problem is that different settings are better for this or that, and who wants to move all those levers whenever they put on a new genre of music? And of course, in a car, it's even less useful.
Equalizers are very essential, especially in a car. If car radios were stuck in whatever flat EQ they come with, it'd be extremely annoying because they usually sound like ass. Not that an EQ is going to magically make it sound like studio monitors, but it can certainly make it better. The real point of the EQ is to, well, equalize. That is, ensure that all frequencies are represented at the same level. Poor speaker placement and the fact that a car is essentially a very small room that you're pumping sound into with four or more individual drivers...it gets messy.
I mean separate equalizer units, as in the kind that we're talking about.
Quote from: Colin on February 01, 2014, 12:10:22 PM
That is absolutely hysterical.........
And yet, it was the inspiration for F1 car steering wheels.
(http://f1tcdn.net/articles/envi/images/steering-bmw.jpg)
Quote from: Raza on February 03, 2014, 09:53:06 AM
And yet, it was the inspiration for F1 car steering wheels.
(http://f1tcdn.net/articles/envi/images/steering-bmw.jpg)
Maybe that was the inspiration for iDrive.
Quote from: Rupert on February 02, 2014, 04:33:01 PM
I mean separate equalizer units, as in the kind that we're talking about.
Changes nothing about anything I said. :huh:
Quote from: giant_mtb on February 03, 2014, 05:18:11 PM
Changes nothing about anything I said. :huh:
Makes it a bit of a pointless post, though.
Since the original comment had to do more with how the slider EQ once was a fashionable "gots to have it" thing more than a comment on how useful they were anyways, it's all kind of beside the point
Those 6000 were actually very sturdy cars. The steering rack was their only true problem. We loved them for being problem free and the mechanics hated them for being problem free.
The best one that came in for repairs, a CV boot, was an AWD from somewhere up north. We had never seen one down here.
It's not like these EQs went away; they just became some digitized pushbutton functions of the head unit.
Quote from: Rupert on February 03, 2014, 07:57:15 PM
Makes it a bit of a pointless post, though.
You said that an EQ is pointless in a car, which I disagree with. Which is why I wrote that post explaining why I think they're useful, especially in a car. Sorry if you think that's pointless. :lol:
Quote from: giant_mtb on February 04, 2014, 07:30:31 AM
You said that an EQ is pointless in a car, which I disagree with. Which is why I wrote that post explaining why I think they're useful, especially in a car. Sorry if you think that's pointless. :lol:
How often are you really going to be messing with an EQ in a car? Hell how often does anyone mess with the "EQ" tone controls in their head units nowadays? Don't you just spend a few minutes setting it up and then forget it at most?
The sweet EQ on my parents' old Expo kept me busy for hours.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 04, 2014, 01:45:35 PM
How often are you really going to be messing with an EQ in a car? Hell how often does anyone mess with the "EQ" tone controls in their head units nowadays? Don't you just spend a few minutes setting it up and then forget it at most?
Depends on the EQ. If it's a pretty basic one, one would probably adjust it less. A more sensitive one, maybe gets messed with a bit more. I'll adjust mine a notch this way or that depending on the genre I'm listening to. And if I have any of the backseats folded down, that makes a huge difference in the bass response (subwoofer loses it's enclosure that is the trunk) so I have to turn it up a few notches. I don't have any EQ running through my bedroom speakers; they sound pretty much exactly how I want them to for most every genre. The car is a different environment, though, and I adjust its EQ more frequently than I would most anywhere else.
Chris is picky.
Most people are fine with it so long as sound comes out.
Just think of all the people who are fine watching TV in the wrong aspect ratio. Why would they care about fine tuning their radio.
Since most of the cars I've owned have had crappy speakers, particularly my 2003 Mazda 6, I've had to turn the bass down whenever the volume is high and the music is bass heavy like hip hop. The speakers will start to buzz otherwise. Whenever its all about the voice like Bocelli, I'll turn the mid range up.
Solution: don't listen to hip hop.
Quote from: giant_mtb on February 04, 2014, 07:30:31 AM
You said that an EQ is pointless in a car, which I disagree with. Which is why I wrote that post explaining why I think they're useful, especially in a car. Sorry if you think that's pointless. :lol:
And then I pointed out that we were talking about the '80s style EQ, that was a separate unit from the head unit, and had at least four bands. Because of this misunderstanding, you assumed that I think a modern integrated EQ is pointless. When I pointed out the misunderstanding, your post became moot.
Just so we're totally clear, of course I think it's useful to have the ability to at least adjust the high and low frequencies, preferably the mids, too. Further, I think it's useful to have those adjustments available as buttons or knobs instead of buried in some menu. But not as an '80s style EQ unit, because those are complicated to use while driving and provide little, if any, additional benefit over the modern method. :ohyeah:
Quote from: 280Z Turbo on February 04, 2014, 07:43:09 PM
Solution: don't listen to hip hop.
How about bass heavy Metallica? More your style? Back when they were good. Ride the lightning. And justice for all.
Metallica - Master Of Puppets - Full Album HQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_jsXvyrcQc#ws)
And since we're on the classics of a genre:
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (Full Album) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZKdEgLumM#ws)
:partyon:
alternate the tracks from the above albums in your car. when you're with like minded individuals and no wives. master of puppets followed by gin & juice. loud, but not stupid loud.
pure awesomeness.
In other news, I spotted this gem today! Chevrolet Corsica! When was the last time you saw one of these? 1988? 1989? 1993? :lol:
(http://s2.postimg.org/vhubwbv3t/3993_7.jpg)
(http://s2.postimg.org/8rv73cbw9/3993_8.jpg)
Driving a car like that when you've also driven Japanese cars from the same class and era is some sad shit.
Corsica were made from 87 to 96. They sold quite a few of them. I still see them around, though far fewer than 10 years ago. Hatchbacks were pretty uncommon. I don't think I've seen one of those in the last 10 years.
Quote from: MX793 on February 05, 2014, 11:38:18 AM
Corsica were made from 87 to 96. They sold quite a few of them. I still see them around, though far fewer than 10 years ago. Hatchbacks were pretty uncommon. I don't think I've seen one of those in the last 10 years.
I'm just wondering how this one ended up in a Bavarian provincial town in the middle of nowhere...
Spotted a red Corsica in the Walmart parking lot this evening.
Quote from: cawimmer430 on February 05, 2014, 03:59:33 PM
I'm just wondering how this one ended up in a Bavarian provincial town in the middle of nowhere...
Believe it or not, GM actually tried selling Corsicas in some European markets. It seems nobody bought them because I can't even find a photo of a Euro-spec Corsica on Google! But I recall Euro models had separate quad-rectangular headlamps (instead of the North American flush-fitted units) and different tail lights with amber turn indicators. This one is clearly a North American model and was probably brought over by a US serviceman.
Corsica. V6 and (big red badge) ABS. That's American value.
My friend had one for half a year, then it up and threw a rod on his prom night. :(
Well, after much searching, I finally found a photo of a Euro-spec Corsica. This one was spotted in Amsterdam.
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6030/5984133499_f7fc230156_z.jpg)
And one that was supposedly for sale in Germany.
(http://pic2.autoscout24.net/images-big/982/259/0241259982001.jpg)
Here's some screenshots of a Euro-spec Chevy Corsica, taken from a Dutch movie.
(http://pics.imcdb.org/0is507/image019u.6646.jpg)
.
(http://www.imcdb.org/i446660.jpg)
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_446660-Chevrolet-Corsica-1993.html (http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_446660-Chevrolet-Corsica-1993.html)
Quote from: Rupert on February 05, 2014, 12:19:15 AM
And since we're on the classics of a genre:
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (Full Album) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZKdEgLumM#ws)
EPMD - You Gots To Chill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUGisre9xNU#)
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iwC2QljLn4#)
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 05, 2014, 06:57:42 PM
EPMD - You Gots To Chill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUGisre9xNU#)
:dance:
Quote from: Madman on February 05, 2014, 04:53:48 PM
Believe it or not, GM actually tried selling Corsicas in some European markets. It seems nobody bought them because I can't even find a photo of a Euro-spec Corsica on Google! But I recall Euro models had separate quad-rectangular headlamps (instead of the North American flush-fitted units) and different tail lights with amber turn indicators. This one is clearly a North American model and was probably brought over by a US serviceman.
Damn, they must have been desperate! :lol:
I never knew that. I recall seeing the "Chevrolet Alero" for sale here, but nobody literally bought them. Also, the Chrysler Saratoga was literally DOA here. Ford even tried selling the Excursion here. They figured that "Give 'em a diesel and it'll sell!" would work, so the 7.3-l V8 Turbodiesel was one of the engine options. :lol:
Quote from: Madman on February 05, 2014, 05:08:32 PM
Well, after much searching, I finally found a photo of a Euro-spec Corsica. This one was spotted in Amsterdam.
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6030/5984133499_f7fc230156_z.jpg)
And one that was supposedly for sale in Germany.
(http://pic2.autoscout24.net/images-big/982/259/0241259982001.jpg)
From afar, it could pass for a Ford Sierra sedan!
(http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/1989_Ford_Sierra_Cosworth_RS_Rear_1.jpg)
So it was Euro styling!
Quote from: Rupert on February 06, 2014, 08:31:37 PM
So it was Euro styling!
Slap a VW or Renault badge on it and it might even have sold! :lol:
Quote from: cawimmer430 on February 07, 2014, 02:54:49 AM
Slap a VW or Renault badge on it and it might even have sold! :lol:
Not with an ancient 3.1 litre V6 made from pig iron that dated back to the dawn of the industrial revolution, it wouldn't! :lol:
Quote from: Madman on February 07, 2014, 07:53:13 AM
Not with and ancient 3.1 litre V6 made from pig iron that dated back to the dawn of the industrial revolution, it wouldn't! :lol:
Give it a 350cid Oldsmobile Diesel V8 and that sucker will sell! Europeans love diesels! :wtf:
I'm pretty sure they prefer diesels that actually start and keep running though.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on February 09, 2014, 03:02:10 PM
I'm pretty sure they prefer diesels that actually start and keep running though.
:lol:
Quote from: Madman on February 07, 2014, 07:53:13 AM
Not with an ancient 3.1 litre V6 made from pig iron that dated back to the dawn of the industrial revolution, it wouldn't! :lol:
It was made from gray iron, not pig iron.
And the underlying design of the engine only dated to 1979, first used in the X-cars (Citation, Phoenix, Omega, Skylark).
Quote from: 93JC on February 11, 2014, 01:08:23 PM
And the underlying design of the engine only dated to 1979, first used in the X-cars (Citation, Phoenix, Omega, Skylark).
Well, I guess that really depends on when you consider the industrial revolution to have ended.
Quote from: Raza on February 12, 2014, 07:51:59 AM
Well, I guess that really depends on when you consider the industrial revolution to have ended.
With the introduction of the Model T. It was no longer a revolution then, it was a way of life.
Oops, did I say Industrial Revolution? I meant Disco Revolution! :lol:
(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121231170060/simpsons/images/2/2d/Disco_stu_was_talkin_to_you.png)
I miss the '70s! :cry:
And I was born in the '80s! :praise:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_sY2rjxq6M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_sY2rjxq6M#)
LOL, I just remembered that the only video I've ever uploaded to YouTube was a Pontiac 6000 ad. I think it was VTECInside who had the file originally, and he e-mailed it to me to upload to because he couldn't get it to work for some reason.
1985 Pontiac 6000 commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv9-QPg01yI#)
Things must have been really bad in 1985 if this thing was ranked "one of the 12 best enthusiast cars in the world"... :lol:
Geez that thing could not look more unsettled in those corners.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 13, 2014, 11:27:30 AM
Geez that thing could not look more unsettled in those corners.
Pontiac -
"We Build Excitement!" :lol:
Eh, it looks to be doing okay. It's clearly hitting some bumps in the corners, which you would expect from a real road. An ad today wouldn't be done like that, it would be on a skidpad or on a salt flat like Bonneville or something like that. With lots of slow-mo and dorifto.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 13, 2014, 11:27:30 AM
Geez that thing could not look more unsettled in those corners.
Bouncy bouncy :lol:
Quote from: 93JC on February 13, 2014, 06:19:27 PM
Eh, it looks to be doing okay. It's clearly hitting some bumps in the corners, which you would expect from a real road. An ad today wouldn't be done like that, it would be on a skidpad or on a salt flat like Bonneville or something like that. With lots of slow-mo and dorifto.
C&D 10 Okay!
This is relevant to this thread, trust me.
The Red Green Show "House Moving" Ep. 163 (1998) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fte9bxVPOkE#)
Quote from: Rupert on February 14, 2014, 12:57:36 PM
This is relevant to this thread, trust me.
I want the last 10 minutes of my life back! :shakesfist:
Quote from: Madman on February 14, 2014, 09:04:23 PM
I want the last 10 minutes of my life back! :shakesfist:
Dude, fuck you, Red Green is awesome.
Red Green is bad dad jokes most of the time, I can't get into it. Though it is pretty funny when it's funny.
I can see that. I used to watch it as a kid, though.
I remember seeing a 6000 a few years ago with a New Jersey plates. With all the rust I'm not sure how it hadn't completely fallen apart. When I used to work in a parts store our manager told us one night someone called him asking for something for a Pontiac Gooley. They couldn't figure out what the fuck the idiot was talking about but then they figured out it was a 6000 LE.
Quote from: Mustangfan2003 on February 17, 2014, 08:54:31 PM
I remember seeing a 6000 a few years ago with a New Jersey plates. With all the rust I'm not sure how it hadn't completely fallen apart. When I used to work in a parts store our manager told us one night someone called him asking for something for a Pontiac Gooley. They couldn't figure out what the fuck the idiot was talking about but then they figured out it was a 6000 LE.
His brother drove a Pontiac Gooose. :lol:
Quote from: Mustangfan2003 on February 17, 2014, 08:54:31 PM
I remember seeing a 6000 a few years ago with a New Jersey plates. With all the rust I'm not sure how it hadn't completely fallen apart. When I used to work in a parts store our manager told us one night someone called him asking for something for a Pontiac Gooley. They couldn't figure out what the fuck the idiot was talking about but then they figured out it was a 6000 LE.
Is that kind of like the Ford Fiso?
All this talk about old school Pontiac's is making me nostalgic! :praise:
WANT! :wub:
(http://www.pontiacsonline.com/ZAF%2076%20GRAND%20SAFARI%20BROCHURE.jpg)
Glide away tailgate, eh?
That is one thing the Mercury's tailgate doesn't do....
Where does it glide away to? :confused:
Quote from: Laconian on February 18, 2014, 06:28:17 PM
Iron oxide.
I see. After a couple of years there's just a big hole back there.
That's what happened to my family's Safari. Eventually the tailgate became so rusty and shitty that we stopped opening it lest it never close again.
I grew some kind of exotic mold in one of the deep pockets adjacent to the rear facing seats. The horse chestnuts that I had secreted away split apart and festered, supercharged with the sticky bits of discarded Halloween candy. Cleaning that mess up was frightening - the mold looked really alien, thick hairs with balls on the end.. blech.
Quote from: FoMoJo on February 18, 2014, 06:22:34 PM
Where does it glide away to? :confused:
The 1971-76 GM B-body wagon's clam shell tailgate disappeared behind the rear bumper. The back window glass retracted up into the roof. Cool idea but the complex mechanisms were known to become troublesome as the cars got older. These issues and the added weight, cost and complexity is undoubtedly why GM never developed it for the downsized 1977 full-sized wagons.
Here's how it worked......
Tailgate Operation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll-OsKw0mDQ#)
Kind of neat.
Quote from: Madman on February 18, 2014, 06:54:18 PM
The 1971-76 GM B-body wagon's clam shell tailgate disappeared behind the rear bumper. The back window glass retracted up into the roof. Cool idea but the complex mechanisms were known to become troublesome as the cars got older. These issues and the added weight, cost and complexity is undoubtedly why GM never developed it for the downsized 1977 full-sized wagons.
Here's how it worked......
Tailgate Operation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll-OsKw0mDQ#)
Epic brilliantness!
Quote from: cawimmer430 on February 19, 2014, 03:18:42 AM
Epic brilliantness!
Yeah, but I like the rear of the Studebaker Wagonaire better.
Mr. Ed Short Opening 1963 Studebaker Wagonaire Commercial Sponsor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY90d4zwo24#)
It's a fun convertible, a roomy sedan and a business or family carryall. And the ladies love the
Exclusive beauty vanity, complete with mirror!It's just the thing for carrying a children's playground slide while letting the kids and the dog roll around unrestrained inside the cargo bay! Safety? What's that? Oh I can also tow the boat while the screaming kids are hanging out the rear window, while humming the advertising jingle based on
"The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". Besides, if it's good enough for Mr. Ed, it's good enough for me. Hey, if you can't trust a talking horse, then who can you trust?
You know what? I think I'll go right down to my local Studebaker right now and test drive the new......er.......oh. DAMN!
Don't know what you're talking about. That's perfectly safe. Tailgates even closed.
That Studebaker Wagonaire commercial is BRILLIANT! :praise:
Now that's some awesome advertising! I enjoyed that commercial despite its silliness.
OH GOD. :wub:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=chy_Tye7Vs4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chy_Tye7Vs4#)
Quote from: Madman on February 19, 2014, 10:22:19 AM
Yeah, but I like the rear of the Studebaker Wagonaire better.
Mr. Ed Short Opening 1963 Studebaker Wagonaire Commercial Sponsor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY90d4zwo24#)
It's a fun convertible, a roomy sedan and a business or family carryall. And the ladies love the Exclusive beauty vanity, complete with mirror!
It's just the thing for carrying a children's playground slide while letting the kids and the dog roll around unrestrained inside the cargo bay! Safety? What's that? Oh I can also tow the boat while the screaming kids are hanging out the rear window, while humming the advertising jingle based on "The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". Besides, if it's good enough for Mr. Ed, it's goon enough for me. Hey, if you can't trust a talking horse, then who can you trust?
You know what? I think I'll go right down to my local Studebaker right now and test drive the new......er.......oh. DAMN!
Mr. ED! I can't believe I used to watch that show.
Quote from: Madman on February 19, 2014, 10:22:19 AM
Yeah, but I like the rear of the Studebaker Wagonaire better.
Mr. Ed Short Opening 1963 Studebaker Wagonaire Commercial Sponsor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY90d4zwo24#)
It's a fun convertible, a roomy sedan and a business or family carryall. And the ladies love the Exclusive beauty vanity, complete with mirror!
It's just the thing for carrying a children's playground slide while letting the kids and the dog roll around unrestrained inside the cargo bay! Safety? What's that? Oh I can also tow the boat while the screaming kids are hanging out the rear window, while humming the advertising jingle based on "The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". Besides, if it's good enough for Mr. Ed, it's goon enough for me. Hey, if you can't trust a talking horse, then who can you trust?
You know what? I think I'll go right down to my local Studebaker right now and test drive the new......er.......oh. DAMN!
And GM thought they were clever with the Envoy XUV which had a similar sliding roof over the cargo area.
Quote from: MX793 on February 19, 2014, 03:50:45 PM
And GM thought they were clever with the Envoy XUV which had a similar sliding roof over the cargo area.
Yep, designer Brooks Stevens beat GM to the punch by a mere four decades!
Studabaker did make some interesting cars. It's a shame they merged with Packard and bring them down as well.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 13, 2014, 11:27:30 AM
Geez that thing could not look more unsettled in those corners.
Looks like it doesn't have any dampers :lol:
Quote from: cawimmer430 on February 19, 2014, 01:29:05 PM
That Studebaker Wagonaire commercial is BRILLIANT! :praise:
Now that's some awesome advertising! I enjoyed that commercial despite its silliness.
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/studebaker/wagonaire/1169802.html (http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/studebaker/wagonaire/1169802.html)
Now, you can have your very own!
Jesus those things were just pug ugly.
Quote from: Secret Chimp on February 24, 2014, 12:14:44 AM
Jesus those things were just pug ugly.
Yet they produced this at the same time...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Studebaker_Avanti.jpg)
Perhaps not to everyone's taste, but I thought it was brilliant.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on February 23, 2014, 02:11:48 PM
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/studebaker/wagonaire/1169802.html (http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/studebaker/wagonaire/1169802.html)
Now, you can have your very own!
It's nice, but run down.
I'd rather invest my money into a 1974 Dodge Monaco Wagon! :praise:
Quote from: FoMoJo on February 24, 2014, 09:39:40 AM
Yet they produced this at the same time...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Studebaker_Avanti.jpg)
Perhaps not to everyone's taste, but I thought it was brilliant.
The ORIGINAL pony car! Introduced nearly two years before the Mustang.
If only Studebaker hadn't been such a financial basket case by this point, the Avanti could have had a real chance. :cry:
This was a car that truly deserved to succeed.
Quote from: Madman on February 24, 2014, 10:29:17 AM
The ORIGINAL pony car! Introduced nearly two years before the Mustang.
If only Studebaker hadn't been such a financial basket case by this point, the Avanti could have had a real chance. :cry:
This was a car that truly deserved to succeed.
As I recall, it set some speed records for its class. A guy in my neighbourhood, way back then, had one. I drooled whenever I saw it.
Quote from: Madman on February 24, 2014, 10:29:17 AM
The ORIGINAL pony car! Introduced nearly two years before the Mustang.
If only Studebaker hadn't been such a financial basket case by this point, the Avanti could have had a real chance. :cry:
This was a car that truly deserved to succeed.
The Corvair (which the Mustang was built to compete against in the affordable, sporty, compact coupe segment) came out 2 years before the Avanti. And the Studebaker Hawk, which was more of a pony car than the Avanti (smaller, lighter, sold with a 6-cylinder motor as well as V8) came out even earlier. The Avanti was more a personal luxury coupe than a pony car.
Quote from: MX793 on February 24, 2014, 02:46:56 PM
The Corvair (which the Mustang was built to compete against in the affordable, sporty, compact coupe segment) came out 2 years before the Avanti. And the Studebaker Hawk, which was more of a pony car than the Avanti (smaller, lighter, sold with a 6-cylinder motor as well as V8) came out even earlier. The Avanti was more a personal luxury coupe than a pony car.
Yes, the Hawk and the Commander were more in line with the pony car idea. The Avanti was really the successor to the GT Hawk, which was a high end personal performance coupe, more like a BMW 6 series is today.
Quote from: MX793 on February 24, 2014, 02:46:56 PM
The Corvair (which the Mustang was built to compete against in the affordable, sporty, compact coupe segment) came out 2 years before the Avanti. And the Studebaker Hawk, which was more of a pony car than the Avanti (smaller, lighter, sold with a 6-cylinder motor as well as V8) came out even earlier. The Avanti was more a personal luxury coupe than a pony car.
I believe the Corvair was intended to compete in the econo car segment with the likes of the Falcon. It did, of course, add performance models..the Monza, Spyder, Turbo Spyder...as did the Falcon...Sprint. The Mustang was 'the' pony car. As for Studebaker Hawks, they were around in the mid-50s...essentially as an extention of the Loewy coupe. The Grand Turismo Hawk was a further development of the original Hawk series and, as a Sporty GT model, was more of a competitor of the T-Bird and Pontiac Grand Prix.