Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and blah

[Cranky]

This thread got me thinking, when was the last car made with a chrome bumper? Not a pick up truck, but a car.

Well....pickup here....97 2500 Dodge has some cheap chrome on the bumper. Sorry, couldn't resist

Crown Vic/Grand Marquis had them in 91, Cadillac till 92.... And the winner? VW Beetle produced in Mexico & Brazil till 2003....

Blah.....don't care about the 'Beatle'......the band or the car lol

 

[Rebellion]

On one of the walls at the Gilmore Car Museum, here in Michigan.

 

[khryslerkid]

Cars of yesteryear did have distinctive looks. You could tell them apart at a glance. You have to look for their logo today to tell what make they are, that is if you know what their their logo looks like.

 

[Sixpactogo]

Had a 2000 Durango that I ordered new for the X and took delivery in Oct 99 and still liked the thing in 2017 when the X left with it. Gas mileage sucked but it did everything it was asked to do and did it well. Heck, I still like the styling of it today and with a 318, 3.9 gears, limited slip, trailer tow package and so on, it was a decent vehicle, had plenty of pep and it held up to the X until she blew a hose and didn't want to stop....never said she was a smart person.....

I know what ya mean. I bought one new in 2000 also. Still have it. I wanted to trade it for a 2023 Durango last year but my wife won't let it go. As you said, gas mileage sux but it has been very dependable. It has the 4.7 Jeep engine. I plan on putting collector plates on it this summer.

 

[440 4 speed]

I know what ya mean. I bought one new in 2000 also. Still have it. I wanted to trade it for a 2023 Durango last year but my wife won't let it go. As you said, gas mileage sux but it has been very dependable. It has the 4.7 Jeep engine. I plan on putting collector plates on it this summer.

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[440 4 speed]

Interesting. 2008 we decided to replace our 1992 4Runner with something newer. Chrysler dealer in a small town put on a Mopar Show for years. Little town of about 700. Had participants from Ontario, Manitoba (7) one year, North Dakota, Montana, Alberta and British Columbia.
Family business. They were the first ones in the Province to have a Prowler.
I asked Merv if I could get a Durango.
He said if you have a 4Runner, stay with it. Merv sold the dealership a year ago.
They survived the purge. We waited and got a 2006 4Runner in 2012. It had been purchased new in ND.

 

[Detective D]

This thread got me thinking, when was the last car made with a chrome bumper? Not a pick up truck, but a car.

1990 Caprice was still old school

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

This is pathetic....

Do you want to eat bologna every day? Do you want to listen to the same song all the time? Wear the same color shirt?
I am so disappointed in how people just conform to the herd.
Black, silver, white.....
No way, man. Not for me. The wife won't drive a boring color and neither will I.
Even when my 2006 Dodge truck was totaled....

View attachment 1674521

...at 36,000 miles, I needed another truck right away. I refused to buy a boring color. I almost flew to Arizona to get something. I stumbled upon my 2007 truck at a dealership 20 miles away. It was NOT listed in their inventory.....
View attachment 1674522

It had a few things I didn't need but it was a great color....

View attachment 1674523

You will love the bed rug

 

[Detective D]

The entire reason these look the same is because of globalization and shared parts. Sure we can point to trends in auto design and basic market trends.
The big three collaborate, and lately that sentiment has expanded as most brands have been put under a giant umbrella corp. Like Audi/VW/Lambo/etc.

It's gas milage! People explain. My 2003 Impala with a 3.8 V6 gets 34mpg. My 98 Dakota with a 318 gets 21, because it has a 5 speed stick and I cruise through town in 4th. And it doesn't weigh 5000lbs.
Father in law ran a late 80's Festiva on his commute. He got 53mpg.
New crossovers are fat pigs that weigh more then 90's era 3/4 ton trucks. They are loaded with nanny computers and spyware, so it can drive for you and tell the data center everywhere you go, everything you say, what radio you listen to, where your eyes are looking, and anything else they please.
We are told what to buy, not asked what we like.
We are told it has to be that way, because MPG and "safety". The almighty crash test ratings, and the all so important emissions standards have killed more designs then any market forces, and especially then any styling changes. The 3.8 in my Impala. Emmissions. Probably the best engine GM ever made, ever, and maybe ever will. It certainly didn't die to MPG, it's replacement the 3.5 went backwards in both power and MPG. The 3.9 of the same family got worse, but at least could hold it's own power wise.
The modern Challengers got a terrible crash rating. Because one test, they plow it on the front driver side corner into an immovable steel post and the driver would suffer "severe damage to the left foot". Really. You crash into a tree in the front corner of you car at highyway speeds and your foot gets smashed up, bad ratings? Wow, I better go find a safe jellybean to drive cause I expect that to happen to me any time now, statistics show: No one has had this type of accident in tri county area in my 4+ decades of being alive. And if it did, the worst thing that happened to me was my foot got busted? Deffinatelty not safe enough. I demand a car I can drive at interstate speeds into a tree and get out and walk away.

As people continue to listen to the TV, and willingly give up their freedom and choice in the name of safety, this will continue to get worse.

 

[moparedtn]

Great plastic blobs on wheels, empowering all the females of society into thinking they too now command
"trucks"....
At least, that's what I read once.
The spawn of Grand Cherokees and minivans, this SUV generation is as our OP stated - BLAH.

 

[WileE]

That is the result of global governments dictating engineering and design specs.

I experienced exactly that in the 70's when the government choked the engines, and without enough development time, handed over the auto industry to the Japs with their small, 4-cyl econoboxes.

 

[Photon440]

I experienced exactly that in the 70's when the government choked the engines, and without enough development time, handed over the auto industry to the Japs with their small, 4-cyl econoboxes.

Well, Ford did have their four cylinder Pinto. They sold a few. Whose fault was it that the average Datsun was nicer? Chevrolet entered the 70s with a four cylinder Vega. You might think it was a piece of crap, but that wasn't the fault of the Japanese. A few years later, the Chevette had an even smaller four cylinder and by the end of that decade was the best selling small car in America.

Besides the Pinto, Ford's Maverick had a six cylinder option almost as small as some fours, and sold over half a million in 1970 before there even was a fuel crisis, and its popularity improved after that 1973 event. When the replacement Fairmont came out, it also had a four cylinder option. So did the original Taurus, but people didn't pick that engine very often.

Meanwhile, Dusters and Darts were getting impressive gas mileage with the slant six.

And AMC, selling the Gremlin in good quantities, managed 1 mpg. less than the Vega with the standard six cylinder engine, but by 1977 were also offering a four cylinder option while simultaneously managing to improve the power output of both six cylinder engines. They also started offering an overdrive option on the Gremlin and Hornet in 1975.

So I do think there was enough development time, just not enough initiative to make use of it.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Well, Ford did have their four cylinder Pinto. They sold a few. Whose fault was it that the average Datsun was nicer? Chevrolet entered the 70s with a four cylinder Vega. You might think it was a piece of crap, but that wasn't the fault of the Japanese. A few years later, the Chevette had an even smaller four cylinder and by the end of that decade was the best selling small car in America.

Besides the Pinto, Ford's Maverick had a six cylinder option almost as small as some fours, and sold over half a million in 1970 before there even was a fuel crisis, and its popularity improved after that 1973 event. When the replacement Fairmont came out, it also had a four cylinder option. So did the original Taurus, but people didn't pick that engine very often.

Meanwhile, Dusters and Darts were getting impressive gas mileage with the slant six.

And AMC, selling the Gremlin in good quantities, managed 1 mpg. less than the Vega with the standard six cylinder engine, but by 1977 were also offering a four cylinder option while simultaneously managing to improve the power output of both six cylinder engines. They also started offering an overdrive option on the Gremlin and Hornet in 1975.

So I do think there was enough development time, just not enough initiative to make use of it.

And all those cars you mentioned didn’t all look the same.

 

[Kern Dog]

I know, throughout all the times, automakers looked at their competition for inspiration.
The 66-67 Chargers looked like an AMC Marlin.
The 71-74 B bodies looked a bit like the 68-72 GM mid sized cars.
The E bodies looked sort of like a first generation Camaro or Firebird.
The AMC Javelin took the bulging fender styling from the 68-82 Corvette.
The AMC Pacer looked like a fish bowl.

 

[440 PHIXX]

 

[j-c-c-62]

I experienced exactly that in the 70's when the government choked the engines, and without enough development time, handed over the auto industry to the Japs with their small, 4-cyl econoboxes.

Baloney, demand of higher mileage cars because of higher gas prices led us collectively towards 4cyl. Detroit resisted and got left in the dust. History has proven BTW 4cyl's today easily exceed the power and mileage and emissions of clunker yesterday V8 engines of double the capacity. Lack/delay of any development rests squarely on Detroit's shoulders and is just sour grapes.

 

[Hey-O]

Appeal to the masses is the game, one size fits all.

I've had a few new vehicles in my life. The color needs to match the vehicles styling, yes, it does matter and some look better in the right color, just like a woman. At one point I was changing cars pretty regular, so White, and silver were the colors that resell the easiest. My 65 matters to me, everything else is point A to B. What does matter is that it be clean, I mean spotless. My WHITE Durango gets a bath more often than most people. The inside of wheel wells, and door openings look new and I pay to keep it that way. Most people buy a color that is better at hiding dirt. I don't like dragging my pant legs across the door threshold and ending up cleaning them with my pants. How you keep it, speaks louder than the color you picked. By the way, I've owned every color, except purple and lime green.

 

[chargervert]

View attachment 1674848

One car is a standout in a sea of plastic econoboxes!

 

[WileE]

Baloney, demand of higher mileage cars because of higher gas prices led us collectively towards 4cyl. Detroit resisted and got left in the dust. History has proven BTW 4cyl's today easily exceed the power and mileage and emissions of clunker yesterday V8 engines of double the capacity. Lack/delay of any development rests squarely on Detroit's shoulders and is just sour grapes.

That was also a major factor. But, it's not baloney that the EPA and their emissions requirements, which California started in the 60's, and federally began before the first fraud gas shortage, impacted the automakers. The government emissions mandates that the existing technology could not meet. By the way, what clunker V8 do you have ?

 

[Hey-O]

Baloney, demand of higher mileage cars because of higher gas prices led us collectively towards 4cyl. Detroit resisted and got left in the dust. History has proven BTW 4cyl's today easily exceed the power and mileage and emissions of clunker yesterday V8 engines of double the capacity. Lack/delay of any development rests squarely on Detroit's shoulders and is just sour grapes.

Detroit screwed up and you're right. Chrysler came to the rescue with the 2.2 junk pile. Before anyone says anything, I saw these everyday by the hundreds and I'm telling you, for everyone that people say were great, I could show you dozens that couldn't make it to 50,000 without the head gasket being replaced. Before the Japanese showed up, the big three couldn't even spell the word quality. They made us become better or lose it all.