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woxy was your 77 New Yorker smooth and quiet like the Fords and GM's or did you hear and feel the road more? i think by 77 or so the Mopars were just about as quiet as the competition
It was very quiet and smooth, floated down the road, weighed almost 5000 pounds and was the gas guzzler from hell.
I liked the pre 1974's better but i thought the 77s and 78s were real lookers and very handsome too with the waterfall grille. and the workmanship improved too.
My parents had a 1970 Pontiac GTO, when I was growing up. 9-11 miles per gallon. I think gas was 35-37 cents a gallon. I remember my mom filling up at the local Shell station and she gave the attendant a $5 bill and got change back!
LOL! I had a '71 Pontiac LeMans, V6, white body, black vinyl roof and black vinyl interior. It was in pristine condition when I bought it around '77. At that time gas was 56 cents/gal and they had actual attendants who filled her up, checked your oil, and cleaned your windshield. The good old days! It looked like this only much nicer 1971 Pontiac LeMans for Sale
The worst car mileage I ever got was on my '69 Olds 88, a V8 I think I got around 9mpg? The car was in need of some work when we bought it for $200 in mid 70's. But my husband who was a poor student at the time, said we'd get by with starting it by putting a twig or wood pole into the carburetor to open it up and get some air into it...or something like that? I kept a twig in the car at all times so I could start it. Whenever I'd lift the hood, guys would ask if I needed help. I have to explain that I had it under control, just needed to help the carb a little. I hated starting that car Inside, the car was sweet! It had all kinds of compartments in the back. If I took a corner too fast my friends would slide across the shiny vinyl bench seat. The good old days
To the OP, I never heard the term gas guzzler back then as it was so cheap.
In 1978 I bought my first car. It had been my brother's, a 1973 Dodge Challenger. It got a whopping 6 mpg.
6 mpg? The biggest engine available in a '73 Challenger was the 360-cu-in V-8. If it only got 6 mpg, it was running on 6 cylinders or idling 50% of the time.
I remember a Motor Trend test of a same-era Challenger or 'Cuda with the 360 engine and it gave something like 14 or 16 mpg.
After 40+ years (but only 69,000 actual miles) my 74 Impala with 3.08 gears and a stock (points and all) 350 2bbl gets 11 in town and 13 around 70. It's odd that the only way to get a 350 4bbl in a Impala that year was to buy one in California. The 2bbl weren't sold in that state. Only the 4bbls. And the 4bbl 350's were not available in the other 49 states market. Go figure. At least I have 3.08's. Beats 2.73's or the later 2.42's.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
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My High School car, a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am with a 455 was horrible at 8 mpg.
It was short loved as a traded quickly for a VW Scriocco, it got around 25-30 mpg if I recall.
...would this mean that these cars were moving out of the "gas guzzler" category? or do you still consider them gas guzzlers back then? I know today these figures would obviously be considered gas guzzlers
I don't think the term existed then. If it did, I didn't care. Whatever had a bigger motor and could smoke the rear tires was all that mattered.
After 40+ years (but only 69,000 actual miles) my 74 Impala with 3.08 gears and a stock (points and all) 350 2bbl gets 11 in town and 13 around 70. It's odd that the only way to get a 350 4bbl in a Impala that year was to buy one in California. The 2bbl weren't sold in that state. Only the 4bbls. And the 4bbl 350's were not available in the other 49 states market. Go figure. At least I have 3.08's. Beats 2.73's or the later 2.42's.
Yes, be glad you have the 3.08s. Those higher gears really put a load on the engine.
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