I had one of the first V-6 that GM built, it was a V-8 with two

cylinders cut off. It even has a V-8 distributor with two holes

plugged, so its exhaust note was syncopated.

Later they tried engines that used varying numbers of

plugs firing, that idea didn't work well.

And the diesels they turned out that quit working and they

blamed the customers for buying "bad gas".

I liked the Pinto, had several of them all were great. The only one that every died before its time was the one my 3rd son set fire to, it burned to the ground literally as it melted the engine started but it never exploded.

I had a Chevy Cavalier from the first year it came out, most people hated this car but I drove it for over 300k miles and not once did it ever have a wrench taken to the motor. I gave it to charity when I got a truck, it was still running.

River

I had a Chevrolet Corvair once. It's the worst car I ever owned.

DeaconBlues (imported) wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:56 am I really don't think much of German engineering, I think that the German built cars are NOT that much better than their American counterparts and they only COST a lot more and are hyped up.

We were at the Barrett-Jackson show looking at a Citroen 2cv (looks like a VW bug made out of sheet metal before manufacturers learned how to bend it) and an Isseta. One guy standing next to us made a comment to his buddy that those two cars demonstrated the difference between French and German engineering. Fair enough in those cases. But now that I have life experience, I would rate two other French-German cars the worst cars in my life as:

1) I had a 1959 Renault when I was 18 and working in Colorado. The starter did not work, but fortunately the bunk house and the closest 3.2 bar were on hills.

2) 2007 BMW

3) 2007 BMW

4) 2007 BMW

5) 2007 BMW

Etc.

Etc.

I once drove a BMW, it was a very uncomfortable seat, and a very stiff ride, one test drive was enough.

River

For a number of years when I was going quite regularly to the Chrysler Dealer for warrantee service, I would lust over the Plymouth Prowler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Prowler

It was one of the retro designs that Chrysler promoted.

Neat looking roadster...

Why is it here? -

It had a teeny-tiny gas tank so the question, the big question, the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything BECAME

Q: where do you drive it?

A: from gas station to gas station and not too far from gas station to gas station

This is fun.

I also once owned a Berkeley.

An English car made by a travel trailer company,

fiberglass, front wheel motorcycle engine, chain

coupled to a front wheel drive, weighed 800 lbs,

80% front 20 % rear, three cylinders three carburetors,

a combo starter/generator.

An unbelieveable pile of crap.

Sweetpickle (imported) wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:13 pm This is fun.

I also once owned a Berkeley.

An English car made by a travel trailer company,

fiberglass, front wheel motorcycle engine, chain

coupled to a front wheel drive, weighed 800 lbs,

80% front 20 % rear, three cylinders three carburetors,

a combo starter/generator.

An unbelieveable pile of crap.

Is this the one you had? you know of course the company went belly up in 1961.

T60 and T60/4

Berkeley T60

Production

1959–1960

1800 made[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_C ... e-AZ4580-5)

Body style (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_body_style)

2-door roadster

Engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine)

328 cc transverse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transverse_engine) two stroke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_stroke) twin, air-cooled

Length

122.5 in (3,110 mm) [5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_C ... e-AZ4580-5)

Surprisingly late-on in the British microcar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcar) boom of the 1950s, Berkeley's only three-wheeler model was not introduced until September 1959. It was an instant success in the UK where three-wheelers could legally be driven on a motorcycle licence, so were suitable for a motorcyclist with family. Another advantage was that the purchase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax) and road tax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_excise_duty) fees for three-wheelers cost considerably less than four-wheeled vehicles. Thus at its launch, the T60 only cost £400 (equivalent to £6.93 thousand today).

My Chevy Vega was a love hate relationship, and the only car I've ever leased. It was a '72 2-door with the engine, limited slip rear end and suspension from the sport coupe in a car that was 500 pounds lighter. The description of it being built with contempt for it's buyers was quite accurate. The right front seat was not adjustable, yes bolted solidly to the floor, unless you bought an optional "convenience and trim" package. Likewise, there was no dome light switch in the right door without paying extra. Also, the trunk had nothing to protect the light sockets from shifting luggage without another optional package. The fact that the car, at it's base price, was not a complete car, but a kit probably cemented the hold of Toyota, Honda and Nissan on the American market.

The head gasket blew right after the warranty expired and I'm certain it was due to an error in dealer service (couldn't prove it.) However, I took the block to a machine shop in LA that made a good business of boring out Vega blocks and putting steel liners in them. Since they used only one size liner and piston, turned all the cranks to the same size for new bearings, and balanced them the net effect was a blueprinted engine. I never had another bit of trouble with the engine. The limited-slip differential was another matter. It shattered the ring gear twice, 40,000 miles and the replacement at 50,000 miles, both times almost causing me to loose control of the car on the freeway. GM replaced the second one for free and I supervised the setting of the gear lash. Never had another bit of trouble with that either.

Aside from those problems the performance and handling were outstanding, in fact almost unbelievable for an American car of the period. It expired when I was rear ended at 40 mph while at a stop light by a 4-WD Suburban with a winch on the bumper. I can attest to the fact that the Vega had a much better gas tank than the Pinto!

I also had a '97 Chrysler Concord Lxi with the High performance V-6. When it ran, it was the best car I've ever owned, comfortable, roomy, good performance, phenomenal gas mileage (36 mpg between LA and Las Vegas!, 22 or so in LA traffic, depending on the idiot factor). The problem was that at about 80,000 miles it started falling apart. The repair frequency got so bad that I finally gave up and junked it at 95,000 miles.

Since I'm used to getting 300,000 trouble free miles out if a Subaru I doubt that I will buy anything else from now on.

...

coinflipper_21 (imported) wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2013 3:24 pm I also had a '97 Chrysler Concord Lxi with the High performance V-6. When it ran, it was the best car I've ever owned, comfortable, roomy, good performance, phenomenal gas mileage (36 mpg between LA and Las Vegas!, 22 or so in LA traffic, depending on the idiot factor). The problem was that at about 80,000 miles it started falling apart. The repair frequency got so bad that I finally gave up and junked it at 95,000 miles.

...

I owned a Concorde Lxi and it was a huge and comfortable car. It fit three in the backseat with east, had a large trunk that I used to call a "mafia trunk" (four bodies no waiting). Nice car. I traded it in with less than 80K miles so I can't say anything about its longevity. I called it the "great yuppie" for the fish-like snout on the front end.

Right now I own a Chrysler 300 that's about 7 years old and I just might break 18,000 miles this year.

It pays to be retired.