+1. My last three Gran Marquis all got over 250,000 and were in good running condition when I let go of them. The 4.6 is a great motor. The trannys get a little punky around 125,000 and usually there is a slushbox rebuild in your future before you get to 150,000 but other than that the Crown Vic / Grand Marq is a great platform. It must be, because the masterminds at FOMOCO have just killed it off.

Since lawyers do not buy used cars I can assure you that you are right. They do not make them any more.

However if you own a Cadillac, the motor is likely an Oldsmobile. There have been a lot of litigation about GM using Olds motors in the Cadillacs.

The car that caused me the most headaches was a Covair Sypder convertible. Bought it new and on the way home, the fan belt came off. In fact, it continued to have belts fly off during trips of 20 miles or more.

That's good...they don't make them any more.

Edit...oops...oldman45 beat me to it....

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'Merica!

My first car was a 73 Vega notchback, burned a quart of oil a day if you drove 10 miles or a 100. I looked like a Mosquito fogging truck going down the road.

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OGCA Member.

What about the Citroen? And the new, ugly box cars being made now?

When I got married in Sept. 1961 I bought a brand new 61' Corvair coupe, I had sold my B-Gasser and got some money together to get married. Kept the Corvair 3 mos. and traded for a new 1962 Impala w/409--4 spd.--4:56 positrak and I was back in business. I liked the Corvair.

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James

anything made by Scion, namely the XB as it looks like a childs hideous plaything or someones ugly modern shoes like those ones that have the kids scribble marks on them for the soles that are a different color from the rest shoe.

and they have the gull to market it towards people like me, I'd rather be shot that be forced to drive one, save for maybe the one that seems alright the TC

A late 1980's Civic or any sort of a japanese box like that one like this one that Clarkson destroyed

Jeremy Clarkson tests the Nissan Sunny - YouTube

and I think that pretty much describes my critera of what a bad car is to a tee.

although I do like some of the later integras from about the late 90's, the type R in particular from about 96 or 97, but that was actually a fun car, not a dredfull commuter car like the old 80's civc one of my ex girlfriends owned.

Dodge Caravan - I HATE minivans and after being driven around in a 96 for a family vacation about 10 years ago I wanted to do this to it afterwards:

Miami Vice - Jeff Fahey blows up Crockett's Ferrari - YouTube

and dont worry they didnt actually destroy the daytona, its still around and in loving hands, unlike the testarossa which is lavishing in a flea market in miami with **** all over it
Ferrari Testarossa on turn-table platform: Swapshop Flea market. (Car used on Miami Vice) - YouTube

the Nissain Cube - do I even need to explain why? just look at it!

File:Nissan Cube Z11 003.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1979 2.3 litre. Turbo 4cyl mustang.

Anybody remember the OLD Mazda Rotarys? Not the Rx-7, those were for the rich guys. I had a '76 Cosmo. Actually I had four of 'em, and three actually ran. The 13B Rotary was an impressive motor. Way more power than it should have been capable of. Nobody knew how to work on them, except people who owned them. Then it was out of necessity. A friend and I owned several older rotaries, and we got so we could tear down one of the 4 BBL carbs they had, clean it and put it back together in about 20 minutes. Mostly because we had to do so every few days just to keep the dang things running.
Even so, I had a lot of fun in those little buggers.
Ah, the follies of youth.
Jim

The most important Pinto accessory was the cautionary bumpersticker: "Danger! Inflammable! Do Not Bump!"

I had a Corvair convertible when I was in the Army. I loved it, but got shipped back to SE Asia for a second tour and sold it. When I got back and joined the Police Department, I bought it back and drove it for a year or two. Then, foolishly, I sold it.

I had a '73 Pinto I bought new. It was a great car. I had it all the way through law school. Didn't have the money for oil changes, so never bothered. It ran fine and got its first oil change in three years about two months after I got out and got a job.

Again, foolishly, I traded it in on a Mustang.

Bob

A few years back I saw a perfectly restored '61 Corvair convertible at the river park. And it did NOT leave a cloud of blue smoke behind it!
I found this passing strange. As I remember, they burned oil coming off the showroom floor.
The most impressive thing was the long legged blond and her golden retriever. I would have taken them both home. But one would have peed on the carpet and the other chewed up my shoes.

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Field Researcher. IGC

I remember a guy here on the east side of Seattle that had a flame paint job on his Pinto. Starting at the BACK.

I drove a 1981 Escort GT for 5 years without any problems. It ran great and handled great. I traded it in and somebody bought it for their kid. He totaled it a couple months later.

A friend had a 1969 Corvair Monza Convertible. He took the engine apart and used a torque wrench to put everything back together. It ran and handled great and did not burn oil.

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Corripe Cervisiam

Nope. Fix It Again Tomorrow.

Buck

A cousin of mine worked in the design group for the original Vega engine. The block was die-cast and the die was rigged up to concentrate the silicon in the alloy in the cylinder bores. The bore was machined to final size and then acid washed to remove some of the aluminum and leave the silicon pebble-grain finish to retain oil. There was no deck on the top of the block; the cylinders were free-standing. The engine was run too lean for the way it was designed and when the mixture dentonated, the cylinder would "fret" the gasket against the head and the gasket would start to leak. Cosworth designed a new head that used steel "O" rings as gaskets for the cylinders and neoprene gaskets for the water and oil. It was a twin-cam four-valve head and it used fuel injection. It was sold as the "Cosworth Vega" in '75 and '76 and was finished in black with gold striping. It could really go. You can buy one now in show condition for under $20K

The Vega was the second-best handling GM car at the time. The only car with a higher "G" rating on the skid pad was the Corvette.

The early cars had a very flammable vinyl interior. One of the porters at the dealership I worked for scrimped and saved and bought one of the first ones. He hit a bump while tapping his cigar in the ashtray and it set the dash on fire. He got out safely and watched while it burned. It was about two months old.

Russ

What amazes me, is that there isn't one single vehicle on the list that is British- no MG's, Triumphs, Sunbeams, Rovers, etc. It has got to be bad if anything containing Lucas electrics is a step up!

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Lost it all in a boat accident

January 9, 1959... I was 11 she was 9, she turned 10 in June...YUP 53 years
and we will have been married 42 years this year..

Best thing that ever happend to me!!

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

Ahhh, Lucas electricals......proof that the Devil exists! i've had both an MG and a Jag. Stuff would stop working on the MG then suddenly spring back to life! I had buddies with MG's and Triumphs. SU sidedraft carbs are nothing to brag about either.....

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Even older, even crankier....

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Lucas Electrics?? They ran on the Smoke Principle...

I have had a series of Ford Pintos... all have been champs.
When I was 8 I helper my father swap a L79 327 into it.
When I was 13 I learned to drive in it on a dirt backroad.
When I was 18 I bought a 76 Vega, beat the hell out of it and it never whimpered.

Also, for the million + pintos sold... 21 people MAY have been killed by fire in the past 40 years.
Most couldnt be connected to the 71-73 fuel tank issue.
The fuel tank was less of a danger than those in the 64.5-73 mustangs or the fairlanes of that same era.


Jim

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Big bullets leave big holes

A bit OT, but did you see the size of the sear on that trebuchet! I wonder what the trigger pull measures?

1964 MGB, worst car I've ever owned. Lucas Electric: "Prince of Darkness"
Had to keep an electric hair drier and a 100' extension cord in the trunk in case it rained so I could dry the distributor cap to start the engine.

I put 300,000 miles on a Bobcat (Pinto with a raised hood). The only thing I ever had to do to it was rebuild the clutch. Cost me $27 in parts. I traded it in when the floor rusted out enough to give me Flinstone emergency brakes

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sticks-n-stones&hollowpoints

Went up to Mackinac Island and crossed the bridge. They say the only car ever to be blown of the bridge was a Yugo. Don't know if it's true, but sure is funny.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

In Europe, these cars are highly regarded. They are a competitor to the Mini.


Top Gear - Fiat 500 vs. BMX. (High Quality) - YouTube

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686-4 442-1

You know why the British drink their beer warm? Lucas refrigeration...

My best friend's older brother had a Triumph Spitfire. He figures he replaced everything electrical on it three times. It was like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. As soon as you finished, you had to start over again.

I have absolutely no use for any car newer than a 1962. That's just me.

Attached Images

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Or.... Fine Italian Auto Thieves

If we are taking nominations for new cars, I nominate the new for 2012 BMW 328/528. They have replaced the naturally aspirated 3.0 straight-6 with a 2.0 turbo 4. My dad and I test drove one a few days ago - very sluggish, lots of turbo lag, sounds like a cheap Honda civic, and gas mileage that is barely better than the turbo 3.0 straight 6 in the 335/535, and probably is no better than the engine it replaced.

My sister drove a '73 Vega during the eight years she was in graduate school. All four fenders had completely rusted through by that time, often wondered what kept them from falling completely off. My worst was a '79 Chevy pickup with a straight six and three speed manual transmission. The most underpowered vehicle I ever drove.

Buick Skyhawk = Pontiac Sunbird = Cheverolet Monza = miserable piece of monkey **** masquerading as a car.

This was a car that gave subcompacts a bad name. I bought one new off of the lot and kept going back to the dealer to have him replace the interior parts that kept falling off. Alas, I was too young and stupid to know how to complain, otherwise, I would have made them take it back. This car was American engineering at its best. For example, the heating ducts all pointed at the driver - there were no ducts on the passenger side of the car. Even on a short trip in the winter, your feet were burning up while your passenger was freezing to death! To do a tune-up, you had to have the engine pulled so the last 2 spark plugs could be changed. After this fiasco I quit buying American made cars.

Regards,

Dave

Renault Dauphine - "The Winter Wonder Car" of the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley.

I rolled one while in college and it looked like a beer can that someone had stepped on. Got out without a scratch. Must have been my BAC that saved me.

medxam

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Doc Garrett
Dead Man's Doctor

When I got married my new wife's car was a V-6 Sunbird Coupe. After the ceremony, when we were walking back down the aisle and had been married for maybe 90 seconds, my new father-in-law shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said "your wife's car needs a tune-up."

Is this one of them-there Smart Cars?



I drive around 50,000 miles a year on business and I wouldn't drive that deathtrap across town.

Unless I can find an equivalent, I'll keep driving Grand Marqs and Crown Vics until there ar none left on the market and then I'll start pulling them out of scrap yards and rebuilding them to zero mile specs.

'Smart Cars' be damned.

Drew

A babe magnet! I had to fight off the women with a fire hose.
That and my double nit plaid hip huggers and boozo the clown hair.

Boozo!!! was that Bozo's alcoholic brother???

I'm gonna say Boozo is apocryphal. If there were a Boozo, he for sure would have had a role in "The Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies":
Shakes the Clown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our 2005 Suzuki Aerio SX must be the exception then. At around 150K we gave it to our son for a college car and I have no idea how many miles are on it now. Other than going through a set of tires every 40K there has been no unusual maintenance issues. Which is good because some parts will be very hard to find not that it's an orphan.

I had a Ford Cortina which was a vehicle only suitable for the British. If you are part of a culture that considered a 5 mile road trip to be a major excursion than a Cortina would probably seem like a reasonable automobile.

Hey, drop a 401 from a Javelin in that thing and you have a pretty quick car. Squirrelly as heck, but fast.

aint nothing going to save you from that regardless of the make or model, unless its another dump truck, save for maybe driving on the sidewalk to get out of the way, something that fiat, the original lotus elan or the old mini from the original italian job would be ideal for.

after all when it comes to accident avoidance cars like that are ideal because of their small size and maneuverability and judging by the hubcap there its a medium sized civic, not one of those small cars I just described.



Hmm hey atleast its got character unlike the cars I mentioned and you dont see those everyday, actually I kinda like it in the same way I like the original mini, its charming in an odd way and those suckers could blow the doors off of the 6 clyinder cars like the E type and the DB5 back in the day.

Agreed, and most people dont realize that the smart car is a rolling roll cage.
It is more like the real steel older cars than most newer ones.
It doesnt have the crush zones that newer cars have.
It will basically survive a 70 mph barrier impact, however the occupant wouldnt due to the sudden stop.


Jim

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Big bullets leave big holes

My Gremlin had a 304 Cu/In 5 liter V-8 with the horse power sucking emission controls removed and a set of Hooker Headers with Hush Thrush mufflers. Motorcraft carb with 3 on the floor and 3:51 rear end.It was Bozo orange to match my head.

You'll never convince me of that hokus-pokus.... I am a reality based human being with a highly objective point of view....

Last spring my Gran Marq and I were rear-ended by a stoned and drunk punk. The speed limit in that zone is 45 MPH. There were no skid marks. He never touched his brakes. He was driving a *** Saturn.



He went to the hospital then Jail. His car went to the scrap yard. I drove home to a nice dinner.

I painted and hung wallpaper out of a 73 Pinto Station wagon for 3 years in the late 70s. It had it's moments but if you parked it on a hill it would always start. A 61 MGA that I owned for about a month was the biggest ***. You could shut the door a little hard and have to reset the timing.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Sleeper. I tried to buy one from my friend but he couldn't let it go. It rotted in the Everglades. do you remember the Levi interiors?

Ahh the '70's.

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Dum vivo cano

I did part time carpentry work out of my 1965 Corvair 500 4 door while I was going to school in the early 70's... Sure looked funny with a ladder sticking out of the truck. Especially so considering the trunk was in the front...

I ment in the big city with people coming at you and are you sure that was really 45 mph? it looks more like 25 judging by the damage

and yeah of course the small cars going to loose against a bigger car in that kind of case, but I'm talking about in a big city there in that case with the dump trucks, the only way you would have dodged that is with a small and very nimble car.

No one knows how fast the crank head was traveling when he hit me. The posted speed was 45 and the prevailing traffic condition in that area is generally alot higher. All I know is that there were no skid marks so I doubt that he hit his brakes.

Regardless. That night I was grateful to be driving a big hunk of American Iron. Elsewise I might have been on the same ward as the idiot who T/A'd me....