The "What Do you drive?" thread....

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Adam

My only car now is the '03 Grand Marquis (I have 81K on it now), the windshield started cracking, but after I changed those ignition coils, it remains a good driver, even in the snow.

I've been kind of (not too seriously) looking around for something that would make a nice console-hauler: truck, van, station wagon... I'd like something older (I'd prefer late-50s - 60s - early-70s, but I'd go as late as mid-80s at the absolute newest), preferably with a V8, but I'd consider something with a I6 if I liked everything else about it. And I'm more of a GM guy, but I'd go for a nice Ford or Chrysler if I found one...

I sure wouldn't want a 70's model GM wagon with that stupid tailgate, plus the opening is too narrow. A real brilliant idea.
Ford might've been the wagonmaster, but the Mopars were better haulers. More useful space in the cargo area.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I sure wouldn't want a 70's model GM wagon with that stupid tailgate, plus the opening is too narrow. A real brilliant idea.
Ford might've been the wagonmaster, but the Mopars were better haulers. More useful space in the cargo area.

Apparently GM tailgate width was sacrificed to reduce blind spots. I thought car designers were supposed to get rid of problems without creating worse ones.

Cargo area comparison photo below. That half-lowered tailgate on the GM was rather misleading.

As for the Mopar, I saw one that was nearly if not completely identical to the one in the photo in late December, same colour too.

[MadMan]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

Cargo area comparison photo below. That half-lowered tailgate on the GM was rather misleading.

My buddy has a 75 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon. It's got that clamshell rear door, in fact, it's the same car as in that picture. It's pretty cool. His car is in great shape, it was a one (elderly) owner, garage kept until he bought it in like 2010 or so. Can you imagine, that old man bought this car in 1975 when he was 65 years old, for a retirement car, and lived to be 90-something to sell the car 30-some years later? Sadly, my friend keeps it locked up in his garage and it hasn't been out or running for many years. But I'm sure it's still in the same excellent shape.

Those wagons are so rare on the road nowadays, that one time I saw one totally identical to his parked on a street somewhere, and I pulled over and called him to make sure nobody had stolen his car!

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by MadMan

My buddy has a 75 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon. It's got that clamshell rear door, in fact, it's the same car as in that picture. It's pretty cool. His car is in great shape, it was a one (elderly) owner, garage kept until he bought it in like 2010 or so. Can you imagine, that old man bought this car in 1975 when he was 65 years old, for a retirement car, and lived to be 90-something to sell the car 30-some years later? Sadly, my friend keeps it locked up in his garage and it hasn't been out or running for many years. But I'm sure it's still in the same excellent shape.

Those wagons are so rare on the road nowadays, that one time I saw one totally identical to his parked on a street somewhere, and I pulled over and called him to make sure nobody had stolen his car!

A friend inherited his Grandfather's house and car and it was a 70's olds (IIRC a 1977-8 Cutlass). He lives in the house with the original furnishings plus a bunch of MCM stuff he collects, and he let the car rot in a storage locker for over a decade. Another friend helped him get it back to roadworthy recently, though it probably isn't driven much. Ironically the same car in a different color has been rotting worse outside in that same storage complex.

My grandma also had a late 70's olds sedan in the 90's...One winter something grazed the side, it got rusty fast and she traded it for a Buick.