USA Autoshite

[danthecapriman]

^^ Words fail me!

[chaseracer]

But it doesn't have a license plate...  

[Taff]

a lot comes down to opinon I suppose, but I have driven a lot of yank cars during my yearly visits to see my brother and they are all awful,

 

I suspect your definition of “a lot†is actually 3 rented K cars in Massachusetts a few years ago. Sound base for your opinions.

 

With one single exception

 

This is, judging from your other post, the ’69? Which is of course vastly different from the ’67 & the ’68. but you knew that, obviously.

 

 Build quality is appalling and is nowhere near German standards.

 

Utter bollocks. I ran a ’71 Merc W114 and a ’70 Impala at the same time in the mid 90’s. The Merc was dissolving before my very eyes and needed rust repairs for the MoT three years running. The twin carbs needed regular attention and its electrics were borderline Italian. The Impala needed tyres and an exhaust in the same period and was also more pleasant to drive, at the penalty of using almost twice as much fuel.

In design terms, European cars are by & large 2-ish years behind the US market, in build quality terms the contemporary stuff here and in continental Europe is no better than the yank stuff and in my experience of working on 50's, 60's, 70's & '80s stuff, it's far worse. My '77 Trans Am was far better assembled than my '77 Capri. The handling was also similar.

 

That bit of yours made me laugh I have to admit. No one who is vaguely a 'gearhead' likes driving the yank stuff.

 

The entire Hot-rod community disagrees with you. As does NASCAR.  As does Indy car. As does the NHRA.

 

 You own one so presumably see some merit in it, but in cold hard performance or build quality terms, they are all shite and well worthy of a place on here.

 

Confusing opinion with fact again, I see. In 1964, Shelby started building winning race cars for Ford US. His contribution to “cold hard performance or build quality terms†was so appalling that a mere 50 years later, you can still buy a car with his name on it. Dreadful.

 

As for build quality, I have had far less awkward issues with the Yank stuff over the years than with the Brits or Euro tin. Thicker bodywork, better quality fixings and excellent spares support highlight just how far from the reality you are on this one. For example, the sparkplugs on my Galaxie are cheaper than those for my Fiat and for the MG. And I can get them off the shelf, which I can’t for the Fiat. I’m absolutely positive* you have lots of facts & examples to support your bullshit claims.

 

It’s so unlike you to go off half-cocked…

[Lukas]

Also high on my list of yanks I'd love to forget own is the late 80s Pontiac 6000.

 

 

Especially recommended in fewl injecterised Iron Duke flavour (I kid you not).

 

Note quality door card:

 

Mr. Conelrad would be delighted drive into a tree:

 

This thing is fantastic! Best* dash I have ever seen! 

[danthecapriman]

Wtf do all the buttons do though? How could you possibly need so many?

[Taff]

it's ace, isn't it? My Galaxie has five buttons, one of which is missing. car still seems to work ok though

 

pic here

 

http://autoshite.com/garage/vehicle/60-ford-galaxie-fairlane-500/

[Junkman]

Wtf do all the buttons do though?

 

To find that out is particularly entertaining* if you picked it up from the hiring station after dark,

following an 11 hour flight and subsequent treatment by the septic border control dumbfucks.

Guess how I know.

[Taff]

To find that out is particularly entertaining* if you picked it up from the hiring station after dark,

following an 11 hour flight and subsequent treatment by the septic border control dumbfucks.

Guess how I know.

 

my most depressing hire car story was at JFK in 2010 where I was directed to an outdoor rental station with lines and lines of shiny new Chargers outside.

My Mercury Monarch was parked behind them

[Junkman]

Yeah, why is it that I always get the shaft end of a deal with US hire car companies?

I remember well when I had pre-booked a convertible in L.V. Apparently so did someone else.

So he drove off with a Mustang V8, me with a Geo Metro.

[Taff]

Yeah, why is it that I always get the shaft end of a deal with US hire car companies?

I remember well when I had pre-booked a convertible in L.V. Apparently so did someone else.

So he drove off with a Mustang V8, me with a Geo Metro.

 

I had actually booked a Geo metro once. The guy in the queue in front of me was such an arsehole, the woman refused him anything other than what he had booked, despite his insisting he was owed an upgrade.

 

I was nothing more than polite to her and she asked if I wanted a Pontiac Sunray conv instead of the metro. re-zult, I was driving shite before I even knew shite existed

[Taff]

We as a forum have pretty-much agreed in the past that a Shite car, ie one that qualifies for mention or preferably ownership here, is going to be a largely-forgotten and unloved car from anywhere, to any spec, that can be picked up for not very much money and used.  And if you get something within that spec that's a bit of a luxury barge, you're doing well.

In the UK almost any American car fills that brief.  I know, I've owned a bunch of them and will have more, all from the bottom of the price list.  In fact I find myself extremely attracted to that Thunderbird posted above...

 

just seen this Eddy. Part of the appeal of the Galaxie is the whole chrome & fins sketch but utterly povvo spec. I mean, it's only got a 4.5L Y-block ffs...

[Formula Autos]

Different cars for a different market with different road conditions and (historically, at least) different fuel costs. What we might regard as a hopeless barge might be ideally suited to American buyers.

 

We can comment though on US cars that came to this country. In fact, I have one (sort of, it was actually assembled in Germany though) - A Ford Cougar. I like it, and have had it for a decade now.

 

It makes a nice noise, looks distinctive, is well specced, and cheap to buy. That said, it's not that quick (though it is very smooth), and is no M3-botherer in the twisty bits. Fuel economy isn't too bad for a 2.5 litre V6, and it'll seat front seat passengers in comfort, and has a mahoosive boot. Back seat passengers get a raw deal, with uncomfortable buckets and negligible headroom, but it is a coupe, so that's kind of expected. It also seems fairly well built and rust resistant.

 

It was sold (in pretty much identical form) in the US as a Mercury Cougar, so is pretty typical of the blue oval's "premium" US products of the time - probably a bit below the standard of run-of-the-mill manufacturers' Euro efforts, but not really shoddy in any way - just a different take on the issue of making a car, and not totally in line with what we expect on this side of the pond. Overall though, acceptable enough for what it is, and what it cost.

[Lacquer Peel]

One of my favourite cars ever is the AMC Eagle, especially the 'WHAT WAS POINT' saloon, coupé and 'kammback' versions.

 

 

I have a soft spot for XJ Jeep Cherokees too, must be the "car on stilts" look.

 

SIX HEADED MONSTER!!!

[Taff]

One of my favourite cars ever is the AMC Eagle, especially the 'WHAT WAS POINT' saloon, coupé and 'kammback' versions.

 

 

 

 

 

hard not to like a car that has mismatched alloys as standard

[mercrocker]

Yes, I know Daimler is a distinguished name in the U.K., with not much to do with Mercedes-Benz, and builds cars for the Royal Family. I was just referring to Chrysler's ambivalence to having one name, or multiple partners, if you will. When Chrysler became Daimler-Chrysler for a number of months (years?), one motoring wag was asked how to pronounce it and he wrote "The 'Chrysler' is silent". 

 

I agree that the Horizon/Omni was a better car than the Vega or Pinto. One reason I think of them together is that a car dealer near here had one of each FS for $300 each in 2012, all next to each other in a row, and it made me think of how many were made and how few remain. The lemon-yellow Vega estate is still there, I think.

 

The Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni and the Simca Horizon are technically unrelated and no parts are interchangeable between those cars, despite they look so similar.

Whereas the Simcas have torsion bar suspension, the yank issues utilise Mc Pherson struts, resulting in an entirely different monocoque structure, feel, handling and road behaviour. Add US frontal, side impact and rollover protection regulations and you will notice, that the outer panels are different as well, the US versions look 'heavier'. This becomes even more obvious when you see them side by side, or when you try to repair a US Horizon with European Horizon body panels (now you know why I know all this).

The differences extend to the drivetrain, there was not a single engine/gearbox combo available on both sides of the Atlantic. Even the only Simca-based engine that ever was available in Omni/Horizons (for a very short period) wasn't available in the French Horizons.

 

Thanks for the explanation, JM....I always assumed that the two cars were basically the same.    As for that yellow Vega, Mr Austin, is it still there?!

 

The early Vega with its Camaro-clone front end was an attractive car IMHO.   Not that I am considering flying the Atlantic to pick one up for 300 bucks, but that Pontiac 6000 might tempt me to do so.   This is how I imagined the future would be when I was 9 years old and drew dashboards like that.  Maybe I should have gone to work for GM.

[vulgalour]

I feel that this is worth contributing.

 

No comment by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

No comment by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

 

It's maybe the worst thing I've ever seen with a license plate. And that's saying a lot.

 

I have an unhealthy attraction to these things. I'd never own one except for to look at it. It solves the problem that doesn't exist! Why would you go to the trouble of building a trike from a front-wheel-drive saloon sedan when there were plenty of worthwhile rear wheel drive machines and old junk just lying about the place? Or at least that's what I'm led to believe America was full of at the time these were conceived and even produced.

 

This is perhaps the most shite entry so far to this thread and it's been up against some stiff competition.

[harvestman]

Regarding the AMCS posted earlier: I still have a weird, vaguely masochistic car-boner for an Eagle SX4. Such a fine piece of automotive machinery is quite good in the snow, so I've heard.

[J-Rod]

just seen this Eddy. Part of the appeal of the Galaxie is the whole chrome & fins sketch but utterly povvo spec. I mean, it's only got a 4.5L Y-block ffs...

Either way, US cars from the period all look awesome, regardless of the exact spec. Not quite sure what happened to them after the oil crisis... 

[harvestman]

But it doesn't have a license plate... </pedant> 

...and for that fact we should all be thankful.

[62 Austin]

With the exception of the 69 camaro ss all yank cars look shite, with absolutely no exceptions all yank cars drive shite. My brother lives near Boston and bought a viper (compensation for going bald, how I laughed) it was shite. They all are,and the interiors are made by the people who do the plastics for chocolate boxes.

 

 

HHERe you go if yer lookin' fer a Camaro.

 

Complete with the ice-cube-tray "intake ports" on the hood & equally genuine wood paneling on the sides. Ad supposed to be a fantasy scene for male car buyers, shot in Hawaii, but looks more like Detroit...viewed from Windsor, Ontario. They're going surfing on those bitchin' waves. If there was a Limp Biscuit award for advertising, this would win!

[anonymous user]

 

The Dale/Revette

 

http://jalopnik.com/murder-transsexuals-and-the-price-is-right-the-story-464820740

[62 Austin]

Thanks for the explanation, JM....I always assumed that the two cars were basically the same.    As for that yellow Vega, Mr Austin, is it still there?!

 

The early Vega with its Camaro-clone front end was an attractive car IMHO.   Not that I am considering flying the Atlantic to pick one up for 300 bucks, but that Pontiac 6000 might tempt me to do so.   This is how I imagined the future would be when I was 9 years old and drew dashboards like that.  Maybe I should have gone to work for GM.

 

The 3 cars were in a used car lot that I'd describe as 20 assorted cars behind a repair shop, all 1 step away from the junkyard. I went by there 8 weeks ago and think only the Vega was left. The Vega was either a sedan or a station wagon and was bright yellow. The car's in Cascade, ID, about a 6-hour drive. A lot of Vegas were made - but it's extremely rare to see one skulking about under it's own power these days.

 

You'd have to be hideously wealthy, but you could have it put in a container & shipped to Liverpool & when you got it transported to your house you could see if it was a "fright pig"...or something you could actually drive. It might be a real attention-getter, and it might be worth about 2 packs of French cigarettes.

 

There's a guy who bought a ranch to retire on where I live in Idaho named John DeLorean. He was a vice president at GM and when he saw the 1st Vega prototype he said its engine looked like it was from a Soviet tractor. The early ones had engine breakdowns, and front fender rustouts.

 

 

 UPDATE ON VEGA. It's funny, but I just looked at the used car lot's location on Google Maps and there's a clear view of the Vega. It was taken in July of 2015 but don't know if the car's still there. Car is a yellow 2-door with a moon roof, black rocker panels with FORMULA spelled out on them, parked out on the highway...where I dimly remember seeing it about September 5th when I came through town last. I think it's a Hatchback Coupe.

ID-55 - Google MapsVEGA.html

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

[martc]

We can comment though on US cars that came to this country....

 

So where do we start? The PT Cruiser or the Neon?

[Craig the Princess]

I'd love a Bricklin, pretty much the North American DeLorian. A strange sports car built with a load of public money from a depressed area.

Still look great though.

[406V6]

I spent a few years in the USA and drove many different 80s cars, mostly rentals. The smaller engined ones were grim. Escorts - horrific plastic interior and no go with the obligatory autobox. The Cavalier was OK. Much cheaper to buy than a European one but not as good to drive. The rear drive G bodies (Olds Cutlass, Buick Regal) were gr9. Lovely smooth drivetrains and quiet. Handling rather iffy but OK on straight US roads. I really liked the Grand Am / Calais / Somerset (Skylark) were fine with the 4 cyl and most enjoyable with a V6. The Ford Taurus was good to drive  but got ugly in later years. My rule of thumb is that the small engined cars are utter shite. The bigger 4 cylinders were just about OK including the much maligned Chrysler K cars and their spinoff sisters. Those with 6 & 8 cylinders were fine even if they liked their fuel.