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The minute they bring full sized two door cars and SUVs back, I'm there. Until then, I'm going to have to make do with my 1996 Cadillac Eldorado and 2000 Ford Explorer Sport.
I wish that American car companies would offer more variety.
I won't argue this data at all. But those cars were ridiculously light compared to today's cars. And in most cases they would fade badly with repeated stops.
I bet the standard Impala wasn't nearly so good. Any "regular" car today will stop from 80 in 225 ft.
Ridiculously light? The Hemi Road Runner weighed 3,938 lbs!. A typical mid-sized Hemi Mopar weighed 3,900-4,200 lbs.
The Super Bee was a not-so-light 3,765 lbs; the Fairlane Cobra at 3,890 lbs and the 454 Chevelle at 3,885 lbs.
I will post some braking figures of a few "regular" cars so stay tuned.
That true... Car & Driver were known for that. But not for every single road test. And the other magazines I referred to (Car Life and Road Test) did not use "ringer" cars.
Ridiculously light? The Hemi Road Runner weighed 3,938 lbs!.
3400 pounds for the Road Runner. The Road Runner was the stripped version of the B-body. The Superbird wasn't even that heavy either. Maybe it was the Belvederes/Satellites that weighed that much?
3400 pounds for the Road Runner. The Road Runner was the stripped version of the B-body. The Superbird wasn't even that heavy either. Maybe it was the Belvederes/Satellites that weighed that much?
Those figures from the link is shipping weight. Us car guys know that curb weight (the weight with all fluids and the car in ready-to-drive condition) is several hundred pounds more.
A Car Life test of a '69 Dodge Super Bee (the Road Runner's twin) weighed 3,845 lbs.
383 Road Runners were typically 3,650-3,750 lbs. They were stripped but they were still pretty big cars... especially by today's standards.
3400 pounds for the Road Runner. The Road Runner was the stripped version of the B-body. The Superbird wasn't even that heavy either. Maybe it was the Belvederes/Satellites that weighed that much?
Fleet - it is hard to quarrel with your data. I always like data. But I stand by my opinion that if you set aside nostalgia, most of the older cars you write about were not very good. They were fast in a straight line. But they leaf spring live axle suspensions did nothing good for handling, and those carbureted engines had power and torque but didn't start reliably nor sip fuel. And of course they were big time polluters.
I like many of those old cars - but it is because they had character and charm. Not necessarily because they were good cars from a mechanical or engineering perspective.
Fleet - it is hard to quarrel with your data. I always like data. But I stand by my opinion that if you set aside nostalgia, most of the older cars you write about were not very good. They were fast in a straight line. But they leaf spring live axle suspensions did nothing good for handling, and those carbureted engines had power and torque but didn't start reliably nor sip fuel. And of course they were big time polluters.
I like many of those old cars - but it is because they had character and charm. Not necessarily because they were good cars from a mechanical or engineering perspective.
That's fine but I think you are selling old cars short.
Remember, I drive '60s and '70s cars regularly. I have no problems driving them as far as handling. I have even driven them on Big Tujunga Canyon Road which has a lot of curves. I don't have to pull over and let cars pass because I can maintain a speed through the curves about the same as other (newer) cars. Also, not all old cars had leaf spring suspension. Both of my Cadillacs have coils all around.
As for not starting reliably, my '69 Cadillac can sit for one week and still start with less than 15 seconds cranking time.
As for fuel mileage, of course the big cars (Cadillacs, Lincolns, etc) which weigh 5,000+ lbs and have huge engines are not going to get 20 mpg. But my brother's big '66 Plymouth Fury with 318 engine averaged 15 mpg. And the Motor Trend road testers were very surprised when they early-'60s Chrysler Imperial test car got 18 mpg on one tank of highway driving (a big 413-cu-in engine).
And as for polluting we are talking about cars 40+ years old! Although I do remember an owner of a '70 Plymouth 440-6 bbl 'Cuda. A letter in Hemmings magazine. He had the engine rebuilt and with only a pcv valve as the only anti-smog equipment, it passed 1990-standard smog tests! Which shows that even old engines can run quite clean when in good condition and/or built properly.
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