When they made cars right!

General discussion about cars. Looking to buy a new car? Have a great driving story? Post it here!
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ClutchFork
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When they made cars right!

Post by ClutchFork »

Oooooh, I want one like this, especially the column shifter.
Check out this detailed tour of the car:

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Boston Fit
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by Boston Fit »

Very cool! Love the column shifter.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by ClutchFork »

Boston Fit wrote:Very cool! Love the column shifter.
Nice weekend car because it probably does not get great fuel mileage. For my daily driver I would want the smaller Falcon with an inline six and column shifter. Also love all the other controls in that car--nice and simple.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by Shadow »

Don't get me wrong...I'm not a hater of classic cars at all, but I really don't understand the appeal of a car like that. Unless it's strictly for nostalgia.

I mean, today's cars are so much better in every way. They are safer, faster, more fuel efficient, more reliable, more comfortable, handle better, brake better, require far less maintenance, etc... The only thing somewhat appealing is the simplicity of the older cars. The lack of complexity means anyone with even basic mechanical knowledge and a set of hand tools can work on them in their own garage.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by watkins »

Character. New cars lack character.

I can confidently say I've driven more different vehicles than most other forum members due to my job. I mean actual road time. The majority of the cars I have driven are really uninspiring.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by potownrob »

watkins wrote:Character. New cars lack character... The majority of the cars I have driven are really uninspiring.
took the words right out of my big mouth
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by Shadow »

Character? That's like someone saying that a car has soul. To me, cars are machines and I don't really define them in the same way I would define a person.

Honestly though, I'd prefer just about any modern car over that particular car. Maybe I wouldn't feel the same way if I grew up with car like that. I just can't get excited over a plain Jane car from the 60s. Now if it were something like a '69 Mach I or Boss 429, I'd be more interested for sure.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by bk7794 »

Shadow wrote:Character? That's like someone saying that a car has soul. To me, cars are machines and I don't really define them in the same way I would define a person.

Honestly though, I'd prefer just about any modern car over that particular car. Maybe I wouldn't feel the same way if I grew up with car like that. I just can't get excited over a plain Jane car from the 60s. Now if it were something like a '69 Mach I or Boss 429, I'd be more interested for sure.
Sometimes those plain cars are more interesting. Don't get me wrong, those classic muscle cars are definitely nice, but seeing those odd-ball cars from the 60s and 70s definitely grab some attention as well.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by Shadow »

bk7794 wrote: Sometimes those plain cars are more interesting. Don't get me wrong, those classic muscle cars are definitely nice, but seeing those odd-ball cars from the 60s and 70s definitely grab some attention as well.
Here's a classic car that would get my attention:

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Actually, you know what would really get my attention? A '69 Boss 302 that has been converted with a modern suspension and a 420-hp Coyote 5.0 crate motor. There was a show on the Speed Channel where a shop actually built a great example of that car. You'd have a car with the looks of the classic Mustang and the overall performance of a new Mustang.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by tankinbeans »

My grandma's manfriend hates new cars for their lack of chrome and wings. He seems to think he wants to take his ugly old Cadillac, that's prone to vapor lick, to Omaha. Grandma doesn't want to feel with that.

I will say that many of the older cars look better, but don't have a dog in the fight regarding new or old.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by bk7794 »

Shadow wrote:
bk7794 wrote: Sometimes those plain cars are more interesting. Don't get me wrong, those classic muscle cars are definitely nice, but seeing those odd-ball cars from the 60s and 70s definitely grab some attention as well.
Here's a classic car that would get my attention:

Actually, you know what would really get my attention? A '69 Boss 302 that has been converted with a modern suspension and a 420-hp Coyote 5.0 crate motor. There was a show on the Speed Channel where a shop actually built a great example of that car. You'd have a car with the looks of the classic Mustang and the overall performance of a new Mustang.
Heres one that grabs my attention everytime.

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72 Mustang Sprint Olympic edition

Not that those performance ones don't grab attention, it's just they are more common to see because a lot of people hold on to them.

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http://www.1972mustangsprint.com/
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by ClutchFork »

Here is one that grabs my attention (not quite as old, but a classic anyway):
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This one is a classic pushrod 5.0 with a manual transmission.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by Boston Fit »

How can anyone on this forum - a stick shift forum - not get a kick out of that old-school column shifter. Sure, cars have improved over the years in almost every measurable way. That's just the march of progress. It's why Ferrari has all but abandoned the third pedal across their lineup in favor of quicker dual-clutch automated manuals.

But nostalgia, intangibles, whatever you want to call it - is why people still hang on to traditional stick shifts, why some still write with fountain pens and tell the time with mechanical watches. Just for the fun of it.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by AHTOXA »

No, they didn't make the cars "right" back then. The technology, the power, the safety, the durability/reliability in those cars were not on par to most any car of today. What they did make, was a car that had character, like watkins said. The smell of exhaust mixed in with raw fuel and leather - that's what I remember some of those cars to be like. Now, let's compare apples to apples. Many of the cars that are regarded as classics today were possibly top tier models back in the day - they were original, luxurious, expensive, sporty or plain fast back then - the point is, they weren't a plain jane econoboxes, at least not the majority of them.

If you compare the old 60's Mustang Boss to its equivalent today, the new Boss will be faster, more comfortable and more reliable than the one back from the day.

If one looked at them purely from a mechanical and technological point of view, I doubt once could argue that cars of 40 or so years ago were made 'right'. That statement is made purely based on preferences, emotions, personal experiences and other outside influences that the said person may have been subjected no. Not that it's a bad thing, that's what makes us human.
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Re: When they made cars right!

Post by tankinbeans »

There were certainly more players back in the day. Each manufacturer was allowed to have a personality. Whether that equated to sales was a different story altogether, hence the reason there are fewer players now.

I can't even begin to name all of the dead brands, just from what my mom used to talk about. She's always been a car nut, even though she could never figure out how to fix them.

The ones that come off the top of my head (from no particular decade): Studebaker, Hudson, Oldsmobile, Nash, Checker, Edsel, Austin, Plymouth, Pontiac. The list goes on. These manufacturers, to the best of my knowledge, each had their own flavor and tried to capitalize on it. Some were absorbed, while others failed completely. This provided the character, if not the ability to last.

Wasn't this the time when 100k was considered high mileage, and only teenagers dared go near them because nobody else would drive them?
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