Bigolds:
Yours was the car I'm thinking of... Among a sea of Chevelles, Roadrunners, etc. at the local cruise nights, yours is one of the few I remember, or ever spent much time looking at.
In fact, I've even pointed it out to my girlfriend... "If I ever went GM...."
In the interest of remaining semi-on-topic, I will mention that AK has a car forum now... probably a good thing since most of us like old cars too. If you check this link, you'll see a bunch more of the cars I've had to Pampa, Continental, etc. (those are cruise spots/nights for the rest of ya) If I see you at a cruise, we'll talk old tvs to make up for this, lol.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=89144
The Newport pictured above actually is my winter-hooptie, through slush/snow and other forms of MI fun. It will be taking me to work in about another hour. (Can't sleep tonight, sinuses) Seeing as how I rescued it from demo-derby on eBay (for all of $1500) I figure whatever I do with it is better than that. However I am very good about keeping drain holes free, and spraying off salt when the weather is warm enough.
My vinyl top is a little shot up-close, but not because of rust issues... just age. I might re-do it this spring. If you keep the moldings free of decomposing sh*t from trees, they aren't so bad.
RE: Cheap China Crap... I think you're preaching to the choir on this site! Most of the time I either fix something old, find a version on eBay, or do without. I don't think I'm missing out on much just because I don't have a plasma.