Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Back in the day, a buddy of mine had a 71 Riviera. That was a land yacht. Massive V8 under the hood an adult could stretch out on, rounded rear window, the trunk with a full size spare and room for luggage and groceries.
I had hot rods all my life and always scoffed at those big heavy barges. I greatly prefer the maneuverability of more modern sporty cars.
Still I hope some of these beasts are preserved each make and model. Sometimes on Sunday I see someone cruising around in a preserved or restored one.
I used to go to a big self service junkyard here in LA back when these were being junked in droves. I kind of hated to see them go.
They wouldn't sell enough of them to come close to even covering development costs.
I don't really miss the old land yachts because I have one! It's a 1972 Plymouth Fury with the 440 inch motor. It's an ex Virginia State Police car, unmarked sergeant's car, jet black with the little bitty hubcaps, spotlight and "highway whip" radio antenna on the back deck.
I bought it at auction in '74 or '75 for cheap. Back then it scared the hell of people that thought I was a cop...LOL. Nowadays, hardly anybody knows what it was.
I bought it on a whim, never thought I'd still own it 40+ years later. It's been garage kept the whole time and looks as good today as it did in the 70's.
I still love to whomp on it and hear that big four barrel dump...you can watch the fuel gauge drop! That damned thing will still bark the rear tires when it hits second gear! LOL
Sounds like you've been taking car-buying advice from Elwood Blues.
Have you driven anything manufactured in the past 20 years? The way cars these days drive is incredible. Looking for a cheap economy car? It'll still drive like a dream, track straight, have good acceleration considering the size of the engine, corner like it's on rails with minimal body roll... then there's reliability that just didn't exist back in the day... I mean the list goes on. You had to pay a premium to buy a car with sportiness anywhere near what just plain Jane cars have nowadays. And if you do buy a new car that marketed as being sporty? You are getting a better driving vehicle than what was possible back in the day. A vehicle that handles and accelerates better than a purpose built GT car back in "the good ole' days," for a fraction of the price. $50k in 1970 couldn't do what $30k can do now. Plain and simple, you just will not get the responsiveness or razor like precision out of an old car. Even the little econobox's are safer than the land yachts these days because they have crumple zones. The car is meant to crumple around you to absorb the impact while keeping you safe in a "shell."
Last edited by Username00; 10-18-2016 at 10:59 AM..
When I was in high school my dad had a 197-something Pontiac Catalina with a 400 4bbl. I enjoyed driving that despite the absurd MPG and the 30 or 35 gallon gas tank. Since I was one of a few kids with a license and access to a car, I often had it cram packed full of people. I once had 21 people in it for a short trip to the nearest Pizza Hut (about 15 Miles each way). Darned lucky we did nto get into an accident, but no one worried much about that then (about 1979).
Actually yes but for a weird reason... monster trucks. If you watched monster trucks in the 1980's and 90's, you would have seen 50's, 60's and 70's cars get smashed at any event. In the more recent years (even going back to the 1990's) there have been issues with finding good cars due to going towards smaller, more compact cars. For a while they went to one car jumps or even four (three across and one to the side) but now they have dirt jumps and that is it. I don't mind it but I kinda miss the classic crush car jumps.
Have you driven anything manufactured in the past 20 years? The way cars these days drive is incredible. Looking for a cheap economy car? It'll still drive like a dream, track straight, have good acceleration considering the size of the engine, corner like it's on rails with minimal body roll... then there's reliability that just didn't exist back in the day... I mean the list goes on. You had to pay a premium to buy a car with sportiness anywhere near what just plain Jane cars have nowadays. And if you do buy a new car that marketed as being sporty? You are getting a better driving vehicle than what was possible back in the day. A vehicle that handles and accelerates better than a purpose built GT car back in "the good ole' days," for a fraction of the price. $50k in 1970 couldn't do what $30k can do now. Plain and simple, you just will not get the responsiveness or razor like precision out of an old car. Even the little econobox's are safer than the land yachts these days because they have crumple zones. The car is meant to crumple around you to absorb the impact while keeping you safe in a "shell."
I don't think I've ever heard anybody claim that the 70s iron was in ANY way comparable to modern cars.
It's a nostalgia thing. They bring back memories of our youth. 30 or 40 years from now you'll probably feel the same way about the cars being made now.
Plus a lot of people just like old stuff. A few summers ago, I paid dearly for a flight aboard FiFi, the last flying B-29 SuperFortress bomber. Two other B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Japan ending WWII. I'll never forget those four huge 18 cylinder radial engines being run up by the flight engineer prior to takeoff. Noise, vibration, fire shooting out the pipes...it was amazing. Of course, the B-29 is primitive compared to modern jet bombers but so much more exciting!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
