Don'tcha' wish they'd just STOP 'Improving' things?

[ovrszd]

I had a '68 GT Fastback and a '99 Cobra. Wish I could put that Cobra engine in my old '68!

Wouldn't that rock!!!!

 

[Diggin It]

An 'improvement' that went away ....

I had a '73 Malibu with the swivel buckets. Made it lots easier to get in and out of. Whatever happened to that idea? Do any 'new' cars have it?

 

[ovrszd]

I fondly remember my friends new 76 Olds Cutlass Supreme. That thing was incredibly comfy. I would defy anyone to show me a present day 100K vehicle that comes even close in comfort.

Here's a pic of my wife's Jeep. She bought it used with 40K miles for $30K. In comparison, your old Cutlass can't even spell comfort.

 

[ovrszd]

I had a 1977 (same as 76) new two door. $6,000, list was $6400. I still have the window price sticker. A very fine car in its day. But it does not compare to me to a nice full size SUV of today for comfort, convenience, and reliability. 350 4Bbl, am/fm 8-track, vinyl bucket seats. No cup holder, ha.

Yep.

My Son's first car was a '76 Cutlass Brougham 455V8, cloth interior, every option. Was a sweet car. No comparison to today.

 

[ovrszd]

Yeah, a neighbor had those plush cloth seats in his, 荘twas nice. I drove mine for 8 years and 110,000 miles and sold it for $1200.
I believe our memories play tricks on us though. My parents yard used to be HUGE when I was mowing it with a push Murray.

Yep.

I remember my '69 Mustang as fast. And it was compared to other cars in the community at the time. Won many drag race. Terry's Hemi Grand Cherokee would eat it for lunch.

 

[JethroB]

Here's a pic of my wife's Jeep. She bought it used with 40K miles for $30K. In comparison, your old Cutlass can't even spell comfort.


View attachment 676784

I would have to argue the ride comfort of the Cutlass over the Jeep though. Sucker was heavy and just floated down the road. 1977 was the last year of the big GM cars.

 

[ovrszd]

An 'improvement' that went away ....

I had a '73 Malibu with the swivel buckets. Made it lots easier to get in and out of. Whatever happened to that idea? Do any 'new' cars have it?

None that I know of. My wife had a Monte Carlo that did that. Somewhere in the early 60s Thunderbird's steering column swung to the right to improve ingress/egress.

 

[/pine]

Auto Makers Rethink the Car With Swivel Seats, Self-Cleaning Buttons and Window Art - WSJ

 

[ovrszd]

I would have to argue the ride comfort of the Cutlass over the Jeep though. Sucker was heavy and just floated down the road. 1977 was the last year of the big GM cars.

I'll take that argument.

No comparison.

Every single element of the driving of those two vehicles the Jeep would win. Every single one.

Going back to those days, I agree, the heavier the car the better they rode. The manufacturers hadn't figured out how to design a smooth suspension system yet. So they added ballast.

Then the economics of it all hit them in the behind. Enter Japanese small cars. Our love of huge tuna boats is what opened the door to imports. We still pay for that mistake today. In mid size and under the foreign market still provides the best bang for the dollar.

 

[ovrszd]

Auto Makers Rethink the Car With Swivel Seats, Self-Cleaning Buttons and Window Art - WSJ

Your link tries to sell me a subscription to the WSJ Pine.