Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: beet1e on September 27, 2002, 08:12:05 AM
-
Well, a lot of them are. I remember taking a job in the US in 1979, and was looking forward to driving and owning an American car. Big disappointment. I had sold my Ford Cortina 2000E in England, which had a 2 litre four cylinder engine, and bought a Chev. Camaro Type LT in the town where I was based – Springfield,IL. The Camaro had a 5 litre V8 engine and I thought I could burn rubber with that. Nope. :( It seems that those big American engines back then were in a fairly low state of tune. My Cortina could have out run that Camaro. I kept it about a year, but then bought a newer one – a 1980 Camaro Berlinetta. Was OK, but the build quality was awful, and the whole front section of the car was made of plastic. :mad: I had to return it to the dealer on numerous occasions in its first few weeks to get snagging faults rectified. The speedometer didn’t work properly. Both headlamps blew. The driver’s door window would not close properly. Vibration would cause the ashtray to open and eventually fall on the floor. Microsoft had designed the wipers, which could not be switched off from high speed at will – you had to wait a minute because the car thought I might be making a mistake. Other than that, it was OK. I later drove it from Chicago to San Francisco, and even stopped one night at Winnemucca, NV :)
So much for my own cars. A work colleague had a Plymouth Volare. A $6000 car which needed $3000 worth of work soon after he had it. Chrysler lost SO much money on the Volare. A neighbour had an Oldsmobile – one of the new ones with transverse engine. He had so much trouble with that that his boss told him to throw it away and get a new car. 1980 was the nadir for the US motor industry, after the oil problems in the Middle East etc. I drove a lot of cars in the US in the years that I was there, but the 1980 ones which were ”downsized” for fuel economy, and to compete with sensible cars like the Mazda 626, were crap. There was the Mercury Zephyr I hired with a friend – drove it from Springfield to Lexington,KY (I55 to St. Louis then I64). It was automatic but had only three gear ratios, and its tiny engine could not cope. It was either revving its guts out, or else would change into top such that the revs dropped to little more than idle, it seemed.
There were little Cadillacs – GM didn’t know how to make small cars, so they shortened the front and rear ends and kept the passenger box pretty much the same. The result was a car that was a joke. Little sawn-off Cadillacs – hilarious in pink – LOL! There was the classic faux pas with the Buick 231 cu. in. engine. So anxious had GM been to reduce the former V8 engine to a V6 that they did just that, but without redesigning the crank shaft properly. The result was an engine that instead having a firing stroke every 120° as any 6-cyl engine should, the firing interval was 90° and 150° alternately. Surprise, surprise – levels of vibration at idle were unacceptable. :rolleyes: It was about that time that Ford had the debacle of the cars which would jump from Park into Reverse when the driver slammed the door closed. :eek:
I have hired various cars over the years that I have revisited the US, but the very worst one was a Chrysler Le Baron. It’s engine sounded like that of a 1966 Morris Minor. It lowed and bellowed like a cow. At 20mph, there was a horrible vibration that caused the body shell to vibrate. I was not happy with that at all. I went round the car checking the wheels, and found that the rear wheels were rocking about on the axles like a load of bad teeth about to fall out. The wheel bearings were shot. I had to get a fix up done, then returned the car for a new one.
Some of the later V6 models were OK, but I never got the feeling that American cars were designed by drivers. There would be idiotic features like a piece of netting in the boot (trunk), but no remote trunk release – you had to take the key out of the ignition. :rolleyes: And the central locking always cracked me up. You had to unlock the car with the key first, then open the door to get at the central locking switch - LOL. On my current car, I just press the remote once to unlock the driver’s door, or twice to unlock all doors. :cool:
The steering and handling on American cars leaves much to be desired. Most do not provide any "feel" through the steering, and the suspension can be terrifying. I hired something not that long ago in Washington, and was on my way to see a friend in Delaware. I came off the highway on a ramp road and was only doing about 50mph, but this car gave me the impression that I had overcooked it. I slowed to 45mph, but geez - the car was wallowing all over the place. I could have taken that same bend in my V6 Golf at 70mph with consummate ease.
So now when I visit America, I ask if they have a Japanese car, like the Mitsubishi Mirage (OK, I wouldn’t buy one myself) or the Toyota Camry (remote trunk release, can take four suitcases easily because of sensible trunk shape, no stupid netting etc.) Last rental car I had was last Christmas – a Nissan Altima. It was fine. I'd love a car like Ripsnort's bimmer, but don't have a family to put in it. :(
OK, your turn to flame British motors – except that there are hardly any left to flame! LOL. Seems unreal that 50 years ago, Britain was the biggest car exporter in the world. We never imported American cars because they all came with the steering wheel on the wrong side, and because most people wanted to get more than 10 miles per gallon. :eek: ROFL
-
pretty hard to find any American car worth a damn from 74 to about 84... course.... no british cars could come into the country because they simply couldn't meet all the standards that American cars of the era were saddled with... Now, if you took one of the older british cars that you are talking about and retarde the timing to 0 degrees or even a little less like the retrofit smog kits were forcinfg older car owners to do to pass smog.... well, it would make a crappy little car even crappier.
Things started to turn around for tha average American buyer in about 84 when the 302 (5 liter) mustang came out. If you want to bur rubber.... you shoulda found one of them. Everyone else followed suit. 74-84 were dark days. I had no problem since I drove older cars that I retuned after they passed smog.
lazs
-
OK, your turn to flame British motors
I've owned a British car for my entire adult life, and have belonged to several British Car clubs. All I'm sayin' is "Pot, Kettle, Black" lol.
-Sikboy
-
I agree with the statement that the quality of US-cars is inferior especially if you compare them with a BMW, Mercedes, Audi or VW.
But the designs of US-cars in the 60ties are still today unreached.
-
now that US cars are made of mostly Jap parts, they are ok :)
-
my 1969 SS 396 el Camino is a very fun car to drive babek. It also handles well with a few simple (well... sorta simple) mods. The first American car I seen that copied/stole german suspension ideas was the Monte Carlo of the 70's. It's front suspension was a direct copy (with softer bushings and springing and crap shocks) of a 60's-70's mercedes.
BTW... both my cars have bilstein shocks. The best shocks made IMO.
lazs
-
give me an American muscle car any day !
-
Originally posted by beet1e
The Camaro had a 5 litre V8 engine and I thought I could burn rubber with that.
I don't think the Camaro ever had a 5 liter. Maybe that was the problem :p
-Sikboy
-
oh god..American cars made in the 70's and 80's...what hunks of crap.. when we tried to respond to the gas crisis of the mid 70's..our contributions were things like the Pinto, Vega and Pacer..what jokes. I'd consider buying American built within the last few years as American cars have really come along way
-
67-'69 z28's had a 302 (5 liter) later ones had the crappy 307 and latter the not as crappy 305. All are considered 5 litters. latter 305's will burn the tires off if that is what you want tho.
lazs
-
Originally posted by lazs2
67-'69 z28's had a 302 (5 liter) later ones had the crappy 307 and latter the not as crappy 305. All are considered 5 litters. latter 305's will burn the tires off if that is what you want tho.
lazs
Ooops, my bad. I was looking at Model years 78-80 which I thought only had the 350 as a V8 option.
-Sikboy
-
Didn't you drive some kind of VW bug?
Or am I confusing you with someone else?
If it is you, lol check out any Junk yard.... lol you will find no car more numerous then old bugs. lol I guess they found the proper home! :) :D (I could be wrong, maybe it is just my local junk yards, but man, hundreds of them!)
-
'99 Chevy Malibu here. No problems, plenty of scoot in the 2.4L YMMV.
-
Lazs. It’s not true that British cars were not allowed into the US. I clearly remember seeing Jaguars on sale, at a price lower than the sticker price in England. :confused::( However, Lamborghinis were exiled for about 6 years because of their failure to meet emission control standards.
What I do remember is that Jaguar was fined $6m for failing to build the US Government’s mandated proportion of small, economical cars. The government required manufacturers to build some economical models. Jaguar didn’t want to tarnish their image by producing 3-door hatchbacks, so they paid the fine instead.
Sikboy – Lazs is right. 302, 305 and 307 were the engine sizes. Mine was the crappy 305 cu. inch which is exactly 5 litres, there being 61 cubic inches to a litre. The 350 engine (5.7 litre) was used only in the Camaro Z28, but no other Camaro. That engine was also used in the Corvettes.
GTO – yes I do drive a 1972 Bug, recently rescued from being broken. I bought it because I admired its history, and the role it played in bringing motoring to many people for the first time. Europe was on its back in the post-war years. I fancied an old air cooled bug, and it’s fun to drive, but also very tricky to drive compared with modern cars. It is a plaything. :D
Of course, the bug is not my only car. My other car is the Golf V6 shown in the picture. Not as fast as a Porsche, but with a top speed approaching 150mph. I hope to take this car to Germany soon, so I can let her rip on the autobahn. This car is the best I’ve ever had. Smooth engine, responsive, and with creature comforts like automatic climate control. It has variable 4-wheel drive. My previous car was a Golf VR6 (2-wheel drive) and would spin the wheels way too easily. This new Golf also has 16 inch wheels (up from 15 inches), and 6 forward gears.
-
Beetle - very nice but Ithought they only made V5 Golfs, with the top of the line engine being the V6 Four-motion all wheel drive?
Anyway, I don't like the new Golfs - too big and baggy compared to how it was only a few years ago. :)
My brother bought a Saxo VTR the other week - very nice car. I almost bought a VTS just to piss him off, but have decided to be more sensible.
I like the Subaru Imprezza but I'd give my left testicle for a Mitsubishi Evo VII. My cousin's boyfriend imported one from Japan and has modded it to produce 355 BHP and on a lightened chassis! 0- 60 mph sub-5 seconds - better than any porshe.
-
H@h@, Ringo, you've been conquered.
rename that thing the 'sealion'
-
If I drove a VW I'd be ashamed to show my face in public, that's a woman's car :D I think I could fit that go-kart into my Caddy's trunk. The best part is my rear seats have more room than your FRONT seats :)
No I don't own one of the newer bloated Cadillacs, I own one from the early '90's when they were actually pretty lightweight (3400 lbs) for such a large car. It's not the fastest thing on the road (average I'd say, it was good in the early '90's but cars have generally gained power since then). Speed doesn't matter a whole lot in the eastern US though unless you go to a track; I'd rather have a car with slab steel bumpers and decent mileage (25-27 MPG on the highway is not bad for a V-8).
As for new American cars....they have better quality than they used to, but look like CRAP (Pontiac Aztec anyone?). Ford and GM should both shoot their design teams; GM especially has suffered from design teams who apparently don't live in the same world the rest of us do.
J_A_B
-
British cars rule!
-
my 77 dart was the BOMB...it could zero to 60 in less that 20 seconds...got more than 15 miles per gallon, and the styling was unbelievable...
on the upside...it had a slank six....
it rusted away before the engine was dead :confused:
-
The great thing I found about Brit cars (in general) while I was over there (88-91) is you could go looking for a decent used car without having to pay out the nose for it. (very unlike the U.S. where everyone seem's to think the 10yr old rustbucket is worth 10 freekin grand). They were easier to work on too!
-
Tumor - used cars are even cheaper now - there was a crash in prices a couple of years ago and the market has stayed around the same level since.
-
Originally posted by lazs2
pretty hard to find any American car worth a damn from 74 to about 84... course.... no british cars could come into the country because they simply couldn't meet all the standards that American cars of the era were saddled with... Now, if you took one of the older british cars that you are talking about and retarde the timing to 0 degrees or even a little less like the retrofit smog kits were forcinfg older car owners to do to pass smog.... well, it would make a crappy little car even crappier.
Things started to turn around for tha average American buyer in about 84 when the 302 (5 liter) mustang came out. If you want to bur rubber.... you shoulda found one of them. Everyone else followed suit. 74-84 were dark days. I had no problem since I drove older cars that I retuned after they passed smog.
lazs
Oh, I don't know... I had a 78' Old Cutlass Supreme with a v-8 (t-tops and everything) that I put about 200k miles on it before I sold it for parts cuz the frame was rusting out. Only thing I ever did to that car was tires, oil and a new tranny.
Course the tranny was my fault after doing reverse drops in it like you see in the movies... :D
-
I work at Ford...Believe me when I say management's slogan on the shop floor is "Quantity Is Job 1".
That replaced the previous saying of.."You won't see that at 55mph"
-
I'll never buy another Ford. Love my Toyota though.
In my mind, if you want a car that will last buy a Toyota, Honda, BMW or Mercedes. German or Japanese is the way to go. Steer clear of American, British, French or Korean cars.
-
I read you first post, and thought.........this guy is from PEORIA!
Could you name more lame vehicles?
When you get to the Autobahn, don't forget the Nitrous! G/L!
:D
Thorns
-
i dont know much about cars cause im only 16 but my dad tild me that any car ... US or not US made made after 1970 is junk .... but then again he loves old cars he had a 68 camaro said it was one of the best cars he ever had ...except the 54 crown V .... but that was his first car :) he calls vetts fiberglass coffins ..... but as i said he is a nut for old cars .... thats just him
and well it wore off on me .... i had a 1968 datsun when i was 14 couldent drive it i wasnt old enough but i love to get in it and start it up ...... was a 1968 datsun pickup the guy that owned it before me did a lil modify'n to it had a 88 jet turbo engine ...dont know why its called a jet engine ... didnt see any afterburners till ya lit the tires .... he said he used to drag race it in his town fair ... had everything a 14 year old kid thought a cool car should have ..wheely bars a rollcage scoop on the hood the rear was jacked up .... it was perfect
but it didnt matter if it was mad in japan ... i think thats where datsun is from... or the US ... it just depends on what you want in a car you want class get a beemer ..bmw... you want cool looks and reliability get just about any car from 1930-1960 if you want something for the girls to say awww how cute ... get a old beetle like herby on the movie ... i love them things :)
it just depends on what you want in a car
-
If it is you, lol check out any Junk yard.... lol you will find no car more numerous then old bugs. lol I guess they found the proper home! (I could be wrong, maybe it is just my local junk yards, but man, hundreds of them!)
Where ?
On the yunkyards here all beetles are ripped for spare parts u cannot find any here. While it's the most-,longest and still builded car .
Al because beetles never die it's a desease once caught u never want different.
The VW Golf type 4 is the finest golf i ever drove.
Since my parents bought one they drive VW also always never changed brand.
Why? VW's and other german cars are simply the best.
I drive my beetle for seven years now and still love it. I know my beetle very well and really know how to corner it :D
For the winter and my baby i have a ford fiesta 1.1 it's cheap and warm :)
hey it works
And now drool one some beetle pic.
-
karnak
In my mind, if you want a car that will last buy a Toyota, Honda, BMW or Mercedes. German or Japanese is the way to go. Steer clear of American, British, French or Korean cars.
Agreed - 100%.
Dowding - the Golf is indeed the V6 4-Motion, 2.8i. You were partly right. They didn't introduce them to England till 2001, although I saw a LHD one at the 1999 Frankfurt motor show. Seems that there was a delay on introducing RHD, with only the V5 available. That was not what I wanted, so I hung on to the VR6 until March last year. To bring the price into line with Europe, VW chopped £3000 off the price, and I actually paid less for that Golf than the VR6 3½ years earlier! :p
J_A_B I think I could fit that go-kart into my Caddy's trunk. The best part is my rear seats have more room than your FRONT seats
Oh yeah. Well I'm 6'1" in height, 220lbs, and I have more than enough room. With the driver's seat positioned where I have it, I can myself sit in the rear seat behind it, and still have enough room. :p
Try driving that barge of yours on English roads. Can you imagine how tricky it would be to park? I can make U-turns in some cases that would see your Caddy making a 7-point turn - LOL
-
Originally posted by Curval
British cars rule!
That's a nice Bentley Curval.
Though no where near a Bentley, this 1973 Olds 98 runs well for an old car. :)
-
I love my new Golf , it's only a GLS but it's so fun to drive and gets 30 mph to boot .
That said I have had and own Ford products and they make a good product that lasts . My Ranger pickup I drove for 16 years without hardly any thing going wrong with it .
My wife drives a 2002 Taurus and it's nice but I have more leg room in my Golf :D
I tell people the Golf like a go cart with a 750 cc Honda motorcycle engine in it , hehe . I love the sound when you get on it .
-
Yes, VWs are one of my favorites. I've owned 4 so far. 2 Scirrocos, 1 Rabbit, and a GTI. Plan to own a VW again someday, a GTI of course.
:D
-
Edited because Beatle's anti-American hatred doesn't deserve a response but a squelch. Bye-bye Beatle.
-
trade it in every 2 years for something new and you will never worry about it breaking down and it will likely always be under warranty.
cant afford to do that???
i got a 1992 sunbird with 190,700 miles on it that i will sell you....
heheheheh
i think 190,700 miles is pretty good for a american car...but then....i heard the engine is made elsewhere...probably by the equivalent of slave labor in some south american country...
oh well.
-
Elfenwolf
Edited because Beatle's anti-American hatred doesn't deserve a response but a squelch. Bye-bye Beatle.
Clearly, you do not know me. I loved America since Christmas Day 1979 when I was visiting a friend in Albuquerque. Email me in private, and I'll tell you what happened. I could hardly believe it.
By the way, I've been to 41 out of the 50 states, and was married to an American.
My post was about American idiosyncrasies, and not hatred. All in fun. :)
-
Heh heh Beet1e, differen't people have different needs :) No doubt at all that my vehicle is very poorly suited to European conditions, just as there's little advantage to owning a VW in the rural US (aside from those people who think they're "cool").
J_A_B
-
Wonder why
:cool:
-
ya the 70's and 80's where crap for american cars. but on the upside the early 80's where a great driving time for a broke teenager.
me and my friends could pool our cash and get a p.o.s. car for little or nothing. it would barely run, and there's no way in hell it could pass an inspection. so you'd get your 30 days worth of trip permit and drive it for a month(if you got a 'good one' that would last that long) then sell it for scrap weight. take that and another $20 or so and go find another peice of crap. we always had wheels but they didn't always get you home.