Very true, but the "flaws" in the malaise big-blocks were symptoms of the restrictions of the times rather than inherent flaws in the engines themselves. Not only were they having to meet increasingly strict emission regulations, but the 1974 fuel crisis and a jump in gas prices put a sudden and unexpected emphasis on fuel economy. Despite their lack of power in showroom-stock form, these big V8s were still torquey, incredibly sturdy and reliable, and can be tuned for much more power without a whole lot of work. In the 1970s, engines from all manufacturers - domestic and foreign - suffered under the weight of US regulations. European and Japanese engines were producing far less power in US trim than in home-market configurations. It took the widespread adoption of EFI in the 1980s for performance to really return in cars.
Obligatory cliche worked to death once again by unimaginative poster.
The '76 Seville had the EFI. The Eldorado was carbureted.
Sorry, but the Maser V6 was a dog. Not only was it rough being a 90-degree V6, but it also had a way of going through timing belts and head gaskets.
It's not a truck engine, though it shared the same basic design. The Viper V10 used an aluminum block. The truck V10s used iron blocks.
A lot of people are whining about the low horsepower numbers of the malaise big-block V8s. What they're forgetting is that horsepower is a function of torque and revs, and these V8s typically weren't much for revving despite having tons of low-end grunt. These Malaise cars had plenty of kick off the line but ran out of breath pretty quickly as the revs climbed, and that's the fault of period emission controls, primitive fuel and ignition systems dealing with unleaded gas, and econo tuning. It doesn't take much to de-smog these engines and get some pretty serious power and performance out of them.
Where are you getting your numbers? The Pontiac 455 was never rated less than 200 hp, which is still pretty sad. You're thinking of the 403.
Did you even read the ad you posted? The Cossie was rated at 110 hp, not 140.
Why not?
How does it handle? If the extra weight in the nose hasn't wrecked the balance of the car, which was the main selling point, then Nice Price.
Merkur was a failure in that it didn't sell anywhere near the volumes that Ford had hoped for. The name "Merkur" didn't exactly off Anglophone tongues - no-one was sure how to pronounce it. Also, Lincoln-Mercury dealers seemed the wrong place to find a BMW fighters and the dealers themselves were non too enthusiastic about the cars after the initial interest faded. Ford did try to develop the brand with the introduction of the 1988 Scorpio, but despite being a nice car, it was pretty much a non-starter.
The Opel GT was styled by an American and the bodies were built in France.
No, it's "Urraco".
[auto.howstuffworks.com]
[auto.howstuffworks.com]
Not true. The Merak featured pretty much the entire SM driveline turned around for rear duty.
Of course, this is an old Italian exotic with all that implies, right?. Have this Merak checked out by an expert. If it gets a clean bill of health, then we have a Nice Price here, though not a bargain.
There wasn't much SM left in the Merak by the time this car was built.
By the time this guy finishes his rape dungeon, he's going to be too old to do much of anything even in the neighborhood of rape.
Way too much money, especially with a paint job that's going to be impossible to touch up or fix if the car gets pranged.
One big reason why the Contour failed was because at introduction it cost nearly $3,000 more than the Tempo it replaced. In Europe, the Contour was the upper-mid-range Ford car and was engineered and priced accordingly. In the US market, as the Tempo replacement it had to be much closer to a bottom-feeder in the lineup so Ford had to do some serious decontenting, and even then it still remained too expensive.
I made quite a few trips up to NYC in 1985-1986 when I was in northern NJ for enviro work. Generally I'd park my rental car at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd St. and used the buses or subways to get around.
