by "Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
Published 06/20/2017 at 05:21
by "Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
Published 06/20/2017 at 05:21
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STARS: 1
I’ve been watching quite a few of the Motorweek Retro Reviews lately, and saw the one for the Pontiac 1000 this morning. A few things really stuck out for me. They actually said it had great styling and even talked about it having good fit and finish for it’s price range. I certainly never expected that. Here’s one of my favorite screenshots from the video.
Thirty seconds to get to 60mph!! I knew they were slow but WOW! They actually said it was “relatively quick to 55mph, but the last 5mph took a long time. The quarter mile numbers drive this home.
It needs 23.3 seconds to do the quarter mile, but look at the time. That means it needed 6.7 seconds to gain that last mph to get to 60.
I do have to mention one thing I like from these early 80's videos that they don’t address anymore. In many of them they actually talk about how easy or difficult it is to work on many of the cars. Even down to describing what it takes to access fuel and oil filters or spark plugs on specific cars.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/20/2017 at 05:25, STARS: 0
mind you that was the early 80's so the fit and finish just wouldn’t compare that well to todays cars
"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
06/20/2017 at 05:30, STARS: 0
Yeah, they were happy to see things like fewer exposed metal panels than competitors, no raw carpet edges around the ebrake handle, etc.
I think it more shows just how badly beat to crap these cars were by the time I was old enough to notice anything about them.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
06/20/2017 at 05:50, STARS: 0
Styling’s one of the main things that doesn’t translate so well from the time the cars were built. I remember reading a comparo between an Opel Senator and a BMW E28. They really liked how the Senator looked, and thought the 5-series looked boring and frumpy. Really odd how that’s changed.
Makes me wonder how many boring and frumpy cars these days will seem stylish in 20 year’s time.
I’d absolutely like to see an ‘ease of working on’ category return to car reviews today. That’d be something that would make or break a new car purchase for me, were I ever to make one.
"RT" (rt-p)
06/20/2017 at 05:58, STARS: 0
Yeah, this car was leagues behind its competition.
Just compare the acceleration timings. xP
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
06/20/2017 at 06:37, STARS: 1
Motorweek’s most likely was an automatic, though, whereas the Rabbit that you’re looking at was likely a 4 or 5-speed manual, and therefore was far faster.
"The AE86 of Mt. Akina (Hachi)" (theae86)
06/20/2017 at 08:29, STARS: 0
I mean it’s not bad. If it wasn’t a piece of shit, I’d totally rock the look.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
06/20/2017 at 08:36, STARS: 0
They had to find something nice to say about it.
"punkgoose17" (punkgoose17)
06/20/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 0
They only mentioned the fit and finish being better than the Chevette. While the car does look nice in profile, it did sound like John was saying it was crap and the wrong car choice to purchase.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
06/20/2017 at 09:13, STARS: 0
I thought the Cruze would be easy to work on, but apparently the battery isn’t just loosen terminals and replace. Can’t believe a dealer had to do that.
"Trevor Slattery, ACTOR" (anacostiabikecompany)
06/20/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 0
My father purchased a 1979 Caddy that had LOOSE SCREWS lying about the passenger compartment on pick up.
Quality control INDEED.
"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
06/20/2017 at 12:58, STARS: 1
If nothing else I think cars that we consider boring or frumpy are cars that in the long run we will think of as aging well. I had to look up the Senator, and I think it is a decent looking car, but some of the styling is pretty firmly rooted in the era it came from.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
06/20/2017 at 17:33, STARS: 0
Yeah i think it’s cars that are specifically bland that people will like in the future. Things like the E60 and every Audi that looks exactly the same as the next one...