Being able to fix things easily. Fixing things on a new car turns into an all day project. :rant: Doing the same repair on my GS only takes a couple of hours.
I miss being able to go to a dealer and order a car like I want it... with or without options. Being able to pick my interior color. I wish I could order a stripper with a big motor.(Rear wheel drive of course!) I want to be able to individualize MY car and not have it look and be like every other car on the road. I am sick of "corporate motors" and bodies.
Being that I am younger (29) I dont know what I would miss from older cars.My parents drove smaller cars when I was younger. However if I was to pick one thing I would say the ability to get parts for my GS like the front grill.
How about the total experience!!! My last Buick was a 79 225 coupe with the long heavy doors! Had a BUICK 350, a th400 tranny, and a posi. It had enough MASS to be a car!! They can do what they want with air ride and electronic suspension but they won't touch the ride of that electra!! When you blew the horn, it was heard loud and clear in all of it's two note glory. With snow tires on it, I had to wait for front wheel drives to get out of my way climbing a hill. It would get me 19mpg on a trip with the nice cold air and leather interior even!! And for a smogged 350 pulling 2 tons of iron with 2.56 gears, it ran pretty strong!! I just miss the whole car and wish I would have known enough to keep it! :ball: Why do you think people say "they just don't build them like that any more!" Ken
Hey - I thought we were supposed to keep it clean here! :laugh: BTW - I miss doors that gave you a work-out just trying to open and close them.
CHROME, not the plastic imitation stuff. chrome door handles, bumpers. real metal dashboards. dimmer on the floor. a REAL V8. as was mentioned before all the new cars look the same. bench seats, full size spares. cars with frames. none of this uni-body stuff. body panels made of steel and not leftover budweiser cans. true dual exhaust w/o cats. i know there is more. :3gears:
Lots and lots of room under the hood. Nowadays a 455 looks too small- too much room around the motor!
Exhaust bumpin!!!!!!!!! Pull into a sunoco station in late Oct. or november,leave the beast running and pump the sunoco 260 into the rear bumper gas fill and Just listen to the duals They BE bumpin lump lump lump lump :laugh: Love the smell of the fumes and the sound :bglasses:
What I honestly miss is the "un-safe" driving expirence the older gars give. Now, dont get me wrong here,,, What I'm really getting at is the "attitude" one is required to drive with knowing their old-iron cant stop on a dime, carve a corner like a race car, or deploy an air bag to save your butt if you get in over your head... :moonu: Basically what i miss is the safe and courtious ATTITUDE drivers had back in "the day". The way an older car just forces you to slow down and take it easy, and enjoy the expirence of driving,,, instead of the "driving expirence" that modern cars give you. Case in point: Ricers.... 16 to 20 year olds, just a couple years of driving under their belts out there burning up the road with a false sense of security that the highly tuned and exceptionally safe modern cars give them. :blast: Yea, back in the day, we were all some little wild-ass lead footed punks :3gears: , but older iron FORCED us to know our limits and drive with at least a little courtesy. Other things I really miss are: Full sized spares Bumper jacks [modern ones force you to sit on the ground to use] REAL hornes Being able to see the front corners of the car over the hood And the number one thing I miss: Being able to hot rod your own car without having to take a course in computer programming. :Comp: :error:
OK I'm gonna bend this thread a little bit......well maybe tie a knot in it or something?? There are SOME things that I like in the newer vehicles! I say vehicles because I'm talking about trucks. My truck has 590 ft lbs torque, 5speed auto, 11 1/2" ring gear, four wheel disc brakes, auto dimming mirrors! :bglasses: , CD player (sorry,never cared for 8 tracks),will tow more than any truck I've owned to date,won't rot out like my old ones did, can seat 6 in a pinch! Well, I guess it cost half what my first house did so it better do SOMETHING for me but as far as trucks go, there really are some things BETTER about the new ones and I have always loved the older trucks and still do. I just remember my old 3/4 ton with 4.10 gears and thinking how tough it was untill I hooked a 4,500lb trailer to it! 4,500lbs and it was a DOG!! New truck wouldn't even know it was back there and use HALF the fuel! That said, I don't care much for new cars at all! My dream ride is still a 94 and up Roadmaster. Lots of plastic but still a full frame RWD v8 two tuns of fun!! I'll just pretend it's a Buick LT-1 :3gears: Ken
Chrome Visibility Bench seats A car wide enough that you can't reach over and touch the passenger door Wing vents Window cranks full size spare wide uncluttered dashes no electronics no warning (trial lawyer) stickers an owners manual with less than a thousand pages light/wiper controls on the dash color selection cool looking wheels whitewalls leg/foot room long hoods floor mounted dimmer switch exterior hood latches easy access to the battery non-metrics 4 easy to replace headllights large trunks vinyl tops an air cleaner that screws on an engine compartment that isn't shrink wrapped around the engine itself. no storage compartments coupes a dash you can actually take apart lack of smog equipment no need to e-check the sound the smell the throttle response pillarless hardtops the feeling of gliding down the road
Yards, you had to post a picture of the most god-awful creation known to man.. I'm going to have nightmares tonight now....thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rant: Cardboard box on wheels, anyone?? :spank: :laugh:
Real chrome... in the interior! All the real chrome inside my car looks great, after 38 years of abuse. The fake plastic crap on the armrests... destroyed! Its sad to imagine what new car's interiors (that only have that fake chrome!)will look like 38 years from now. ~Mike '66 Skylark 340-4 (PS: Anybody got some of those armrests laying around? Now that I think about it, mine are really terrible!)
I miss Windwings (thats why I building a 68) Necker knobs The sound of a true dual exhaust with cherry bomb glas packs Grey American mags. Everybody wants chrome these days Push button door handles I had forgotten about the dirt from the vent each spring. I dont miss it but it's funny to remember :laugh: Yardley Even with my bestest plasma cutter and mig I couldnt save that butt ugly car you posted. When they first came out I thought who would ever buy one of these cars, but now they are all over. Go figure
Cold lights- my 3 '68's all have them-they light up green! Chrome- especially the bumpers Chrome hood spears Rear wheel drive-and that cushy ride Distinctive body styles-everything now looks like a melted bar of soap! Sweepspears Metal Dashboards Attention to detail-interior and exterior-like tail light bezels, for example Long hoods Long tail lights That solid "foomp" sound and feel when you shut the hood and doors Basic dash functions you don't have to be a pilot to figure out A response from the car when you step on the gas Sofa sized seats with big armrests for the gangsta lean Sharp edged fenders Knowing where the front of the car ends when you're behind the wheel Minimal use of plastic The sound of a V-8 at idle- sounds ready to take off! Leg room and head room Dashboards that don't stick out three feet from the windshield ...and a lot of the stuff already mentioned! :TU: David
Many Buicks had a cold light, Wildcats and Electras built before 1969 and Rivieras built before 66 had one. I also miss: -FULL FRAMES -REAR WHEEL DRIVE -2 AND 4 DOOR HARDTOPS -CARS WITHOUT SHOULDER BELTS -SEAT BELTS THAT COULD OPEN BEER BOTTLES -REAL DOOR HANDLES, WITH A PUSH BUTTON! -DIAL CLOCKS -LIGHTERS AND ASHTRAYS EVERYWHERE (even if I don't smoke!) -RADIOS WITH VOLUME CONTROL ON THE LEFT AND TUNING KNOB ON THE RIGHT AND NO DIGITAL DISPLAY -SPEED ALERT AND LIGHT MONITORS (NOT USEFUL BUT COOL!) -IGNITION POINTS AND MECHANICAL VOLTAGE REGULATORS (honestly, I don't really like them!) -BUICKS WITH NAMES LIKE INVICTA, SPORT WAGON, WILDCAT, LIMITED, RIVIERA, GRAN SPORT, SKYLARK, and it seems that I'll miss LeSabre soon! How do you like the new Buick names? I don't really miss those things since I don't have newer cars! :laugh:
