There used to be a sedan one of these around the corner--in the unavoidable pale blue--with the tiny rear deck and everything. I really, really wanted that. Looked much better than the square back. To me. #volkswagentype3
@Novaload: Nice. The notchbacks were always my favorite. Interestingly, they still had the pancake engine, covered up, which allowed the rear to have a second trunk. Practical, yet complete nonsense: the German way! #volkswagentype3
@Paul Y. don't drive too fast.: See, I was going to say that it DID have a trunk because I saw the boot lid up, but I figured that couldn't possibly be true. Thanks for the info. #volkswagentype3
Edited by Rockford Brodie and the Masters of the Hooniverse at 11/07/09 6:03 PM
Rockford Brodie and the Masters of the Hooniverse was starred
Rockford Brodie and the Masters of the Hooniverse was unstarred
Let's see if we can put together a form letter/mad-libs for you to use on these endless-loop minds:
Dear Sir/Madam/Houseplant,
I am (adjective) to inform you that the fine example of (nationality) engineering has been purchased wholesale by a wealthy (pejorative). It is being lavishly transformed into an as-new state that will leave it unrecognizable from these pictures.
@Novaload: The problem is that they never believe me- they think I'm holding out on them, just for spite.
The worst one yet was the junked '72 Vista Cruiser from a few months back. Someone must have posted it on a Vista Cruiser forum, because I have a half-dozen guys alternately pleading and threatening over that car. Some of them are on their 15th email by now. My patriotism is being questioned, because obviously the Vista Cruiser represents America. #volkswagentype3
@Murilee Martin: The very fact that one can no longer purchase a long-wheelbase, glassed-roofed station wagon version of one of America's most popular cars, complete with bench seats, lower body wood paneling, optional rallye wheels and a choice of hi-po V8s is enough to make me question everyone's patriotism. #volkswagentype3
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@Murilee Martin: Well, then charge the buggers--there ought to be some way you could make some bucks from their stupidity. Tell them it's $50 for additional information. "Click here for more information"--but you're too nice to do that, I suspect. #volkswagentype3
@Novaload: Please do. Better still, wait until he's out telling some Pilot or Accord owner how dumb they are for not buying a plasticky, thrashy-motored Chevy, and hit him with a Vista Cruiser. #volkswagentype3
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: Agreed - when I was 19 I bought a '71 411 which was a fun driver but needed a lot of fiddling to keep running right. Plus the PO had removed the bulb from the oil pressure warning light... so after the 411 died I replaced it with a '74 Coupe DeVille. #volkswagentype3
@62imperialcrown: So you went from one of the weirdest, worst rear-engined VWs ever sold, to one of the hugest, biggest-engined Cadillacs ever sold. Congratulations, I don't think it's possible to own two more different vehicles. #volkswagentype3
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@Ford Tempo Fanatic: fake stitching! the 80's was great decade for music not automotive design. I guess fake stitching is like todays chrome colored plastic pieces. #1980s
@haxor911: Hey now, I'll take an honest-and-true 80s anything over the fake stuff of today. Technology be damned, the pinnacle of automotive design was the mid-80s. After that, it was all down hill. #1980s
The problem I have with the 80s is that you literally could not tell any car from any manufacturer apart.
Is it a Camry? An Accord? A Maxima? A Celebrity? Seriously. If you were to set all four of the above cars side by side, you would not be able to tell them apart. At all. I've actually seen all four of them at once.
The only good designs to come out of the 80s were the BMWs in general F-bodies, Supra Mk III, Corvette, Mustang, Taurus, Prelude, AE86, 2nd gen 300ZX, and the NSX.
@pauljones: Camry, Accord, Maxima, Celebrity. Think man. What do all four of those automobiles have in common? They aren't Fords. Really, the only good designs to come out of the 1980s were from the hand of Ford and Chrysler designers. GM the Japanese could suck it with their appliances. That's not to say I wouldn't take a 1980s Maxima over a brand new Maxima, but everything is relevant. But when you're talking 1980s, the cars Ford was churning out were anything but dull.
All Wheel Drive Tempos, SHO Taurus', Mercury's with light up grills, even sportified Escort EXPs. It was all there. The F-Bodies and Corvettes too weren't much in comparison to, say, the SVO Mustang. We're talking about a high output 2.3L with forced induction that could wipe the floor with a V8 equipped Camaro. Everything about 1980s cars, especially from Ford, was innovative. If not the best, but hey, they tried new things. Which is more then can be said for automakers these days. #1980s
@Ford Tempo Fanatic: Actually I had a 86 Sunbird that was high-end (for what it was) and was really nice, clean and sporty design with really nice trim and wheels and a factory awesome cassette player. If I ever find a picture of it, I'll post it. You wouldn't recognize it as a funky J. But it is the exception. #1980s
@pauljones: Accords with pop-up headlamps, Celebrities with the concave rear and distinctive taillights, Maximas with the strange lights... they all seemed pretty distinct to me... #1980s
@pauljones: Still all far more appealing then a 2009-anything. The Chrysler Sebring looks much more distinct when compared to a modern Nissan Sentra, but really now. Come on. #1980s
@pauljones: I've never mistaken any of these cars for each other. But I'm also a huge nerd.
A lot of Japanese cars the overly similar styling in this era. The late-80s Camrys and 626s are a good example. At the same time, GM completely gave up on making any of their cars look the least bit different. It's bad when you can't tell the difference between an Eldorado and a Grand Am. #1980s
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@Ford Tempo Fanatic: I'd definitely argue that Fords were the best engineered, best styled American cars in the '80s. Unfortunately, they weren't the best built; cars like the Taurus had a lot of substandard parts that just didn't have much durability and they just didn't last. Meanwhile, GM cars of the era were completely lacking in any sort of (good) innovation and generally felt as though not one person, from the very first design sketch until the moment it rolled off the assembly line, gave a rats ass about making a car anyone would want to buy. Yet, so many of those souless GMs absolutely refused to die, in spite of poor engineering, wretched drivetrains and abysmal build quality.
So in short, Ford built great cars that were hampered by quality that was decidedly not job 1, while GMs run bad longer than most cars run at all. And, Chrysler? Well, Chrysler was and still is pretty much on the same 5 year "A few exciting products followed by complete garbage and near backruptcy" business plan it's been using since 1955. #1980s
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
I liked these boxy Maximas - particularly the '87 and '88 models with the raked-back nose. Had I been able to afford a Maxima in the day, I would have happily bought one to supplement my CRX. Notice the dash - a full complement of six needle gauges. Somehow, Maximas became less special and appealing after 1994 - seems that the sportiness was being slowly bled away. #1980s
@theeastbaykid: Bill Gates tracks everything on the internet for negative references to his products. You better set your Secu-Rity system on "High" for the next few days. #1980s
And they had the good sense to set the typeface in Eurostile, I believe. Many Japanese companies love that font; Honda is obsessed with it. Take a look at the Engine Start button on the S2k, for example.
@bzr: Kindred spirits, we are. Did you ever notice that the gauges on the '92-'96 Camry use the same typeface as the displays in the later original-crew Star Trek movies?
@Maxichamp: My employer wants to go to text free industrial warning labels. They think a picture of bleeding fingers is just as effective as "Caution: Spinning Blades Below." Never mind the guy going "F*** me, those spin? Good thing you told me." #1980s
@blueplate: I actually commissioned that symbol to use in the transit-bus shop manuals I was writing at the time, but my boss took one look and said "hell no!" #1980s
@Maxichamp: Well, for that you just need to go find some very, very old Ballentine Pale India Ale--back in the day they had this almost impossible to decipher pictograms in very tiny images under the bottle cap. I probably still have some, 20 years later. They made no sense at all -- at least not in the US -- but it made for an interesting and hilarious drinking game as people sounded them out. #1980s
07:33 PM
That car looks wholly intact, down to the spare which shames three of the five tires I have on/in my ride. #volkswagentype3
06:45 PM
Are you sure? You wrote an article on it.
WORST SEVIS EVA #volkswagentype3
06:21 PM
06:26 PM
07:38 PM
06:13 PM
05:58 PM
Maybe you should just rename the series "It's Already Been Crushed, Asshole!"
#itsalredaybeencrushedasshole
06:17 PM
05:33 PM
Dear Sir/Madam/Houseplant,
I am (adjective) to inform you that the fine example of (nationality) engineering has been purchased wholesale by a wealthy (pejorative). It is being lavishly transformed into an as-new state that will leave it unrecognizable from these pictures.
Kisses,
- Murilee #volkswagentype3
06:19 PM
08:20 PM
The worst one yet was the junked '72 Vista Cruiser from a few months back. Someone must have posted it on a Vista Cruiser forum, because I have a half-dozen guys alternately pleading and threatening over that car. Some of them are on their 15th email by now. My patriotism is being questioned, because obviously the Vista Cruiser represents America. #volkswagentype3
08:31 PM
08:42 PM
08:43 PM
Also, if you want to punch Howie Long, he lives in my town. Or maybe I'll just punch him for you, if you like. #volkswagentype3
08:47 PM
05:13 PM
06:27 PM
05:11 PM
07:48 PM
08:37 PM
05:02 PM
I will suggest Anti-Theft
as a solution. #1980s
02:28 PM
02:34 PM
04:34 PM
06:02 PM
06:29 PM
06:29 PM
The problem I have with the 80s is that you literally could not tell any car from any manufacturer apart.
Is it a Camry? An Accord? A Maxima? A Celebrity? Seriously. If you were to set all four of the above cars side by side, you would not be able to tell them apart. At all. I've actually seen all four of them at once.
The only good designs to come out of the 80s were the BMWs in general F-bodies, Supra Mk III, Corvette, Mustang, Taurus, Prelude, AE86, 2nd gen 300ZX, and the NSX.
Otherwise, it was all crap.
06:56 PM
How can you be sure? #1980s
07:15 PM
The Celebrity was the easiest to identify, however; it was the only that was falling apart at the seems. #1980s
07:28 PM
All Wheel Drive Tempos, SHO Taurus', Mercury's with light up grills, even sportified Escort EXPs. It was all there. The F-Bodies and Corvettes too weren't much in comparison to, say, the SVO Mustang. We're talking about a high output 2.3L with forced induction that could wipe the floor with a V8 equipped Camaro. Everything about 1980s cars, especially from Ford, was innovative. If not the best, but hey, they tried new things. Which is more then can be said for automakers these days. #1980s
07:34 PM
07:54 PM
08:09 PM
08:10 PM
@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
08:11 PM
@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
08:12 PM
@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
08:14 PM
08:23 PM
08:33 PM
09:01 PM
A lot of Japanese cars the overly similar styling in this era. The late-80s Camrys and 626s are a good example. At the same time, GM completely gave up on making any of their cars look the least bit different. It's bad when you can't tell the difference between an Eldorado and a Grand Am. #1980s
09:14 PM
So in short, Ford built great cars that were hampered by quality that was decidedly not job 1, while GMs run bad longer than most cars run at all. And, Chrysler? Well, Chrysler was and still is pretty much on the same 5 year "A few exciting products followed by complete garbage and near backruptcy" business plan it's been using since 1955. #1980s
02:09 PM
02:08 PM
06:05 PM
01:18 PM
And they had the good sense to set the typeface in Eurostile, I believe. Many Japanese companies love that font; Honda is obsessed with it. Take a look at the Engine Start button on the S2k, for example.
Yeah, I'm a font nerd. #1980s
01:48 PM
...Yeah. #nerdalert
01:05 PM
01:13 PM
01:18 PM
04:58 PM
06:09 PM
10/25/09
I love big-block land-yachts. #1969