I keep this up

"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem) 05/29/2014 at 11:40 • Filed to: None

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I might blow a gasket!

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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem 05/29/2014 at 11:47

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Jay Leno has one, IIRC: they borrowed it for capture in L.A. Noire, so it's one of the cars you can drive around. Interesting look, to be sure.

Jedidiah > CalzoneGolem 05/29/2014 at 11:49

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Why did all the cool companies go bankrupt? DeSoto is so awesome. If I had unlimited funds, garage space, and tools I would buy this. Unfortunately, I don't. :(

CalzoneGolem > Jedidiah 05/29/2014 at 11:51

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Well it doesn't need many tools. You can probably repair it with a hammer and bailing wire.

CalzoneGolem > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/29/2014 at 11:52

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I'm not usually fond of 40's design but damn this is one fine looking automobile.

Jedidiah > CalzoneGolem 05/29/2014 at 11:56

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That was mainly an excuse for me to complain about how I want more space/money/tools. lol

Cars from this era are great. Simple and rugged unlike the outlandish land yachts that came after.

There was a lot of technology introduced in the late 40s that we don't often think about; the automatic transmission, the OHV pushrod V8, etc.

CalzoneGolem > Jedidiah 05/29/2014 at 12:02

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Oh alright carry on then. One can never have enough space/money/tools.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jedidiah 05/29/2014 at 12:03

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More or less the same thing happened to DeSoto as happened to Plymouth: Chrysler let it turn into too much of a "Cheap Dodge" to the point that it lost its distinctiveness and got out-competed by its stablemate. I don't think DeSoto was the first time something like that had happened, and given that it more or less happened again to Eagle/AMC remainders and some of the Chrysler Europe/Rootes brands... IOW, Chrysler Group business as usual.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem 05/29/2014 at 12:09

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I'm not usually fond of 40's design

Y'all is crayzay.

CalzoneGolem > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/29/2014 at 12:11

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Too modern :-\

Jedidiah > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/29/2014 at 12:14

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It really is a shame. Penny-pinching and poor business gets in the way of building good cars. It's unfortunate that money dictates our hobby so strongly.

Same thing happened to Olds and Pontiac.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jedidiah 05/29/2014 at 12:20

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Pontiac's actually worse, because the order to shutter it came down from on high. Dictated by penny-pinchers from without - people who wouldn't understand that "make more sporty little Chevies" is just not the same thing as having an in-house Brutish Sport brand with a hundred years of history. Really ironic, given that Pontiac became that in revitalization from a dying old-man division in the 40s...

Jedidiah > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/29/2014 at 12:31

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"Lets make an affordable, comfortable car that displays new technology that might come to GM in the future."

Idea behind Oldsmobile. A car that was cheaper than a Cadillac, but not as conservative as a Buick. When GM stopped designing new things, Oldsmobile became another mass-market brand. Very sad since it was the oldest American car company.

Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs were the first cars to have automatic transmissions and OHV pushrod V8s.

Oldsmobile was one of the first to have a turbocharged car. And (as far as I know) the only one ever to offer factory methanol injection.

Oldsmobile and Cadillac made FWD a novelty that was desirable in a luxury car, it wasn't viewed as cheap/inferior.

Oldsmobile also raced a train in the early history of the automobile and won.

So much history that some GM upper-management accountant just dumped down the drain.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jedidiah 05/29/2014 at 12:37

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Oh, I know. It's just that that dumping down the drain was a process that ground out over many years - to the point that the axe falling was almost a mercy kill. In the case of Pontiac, GM still wanted it, and there was still some life in the brand. The bailout administrators said "no dice".

Jedidiah > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/29/2014 at 12:45

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Both brands make me sad.

Oldsmobile because they alienated customers with badge engineering and bad marketing in the 70s/80s. They didn't even put the Oldsmobile badge on the Aurora (which was decent and corresponded to the brands original role), which pushed customers away even further. Just one bad decision after another.

Pontiac because of what could have been and how suddenly it died. Pontiac could have been an affordable performance brand or have been used to test how captive imports sell in the US. It could have been a dumping ground for introducing new things into the USDM, but they didn't realize how valuable the brand could have been.