The Blooming American Car Industry

[Liar]

Compact, light weight, fuel efficient and a hit with the babes.

Yes, it's Americas best-selling car.

 

[jomar]

The slide was a best buy - one of only three items over the years that had staying power.

 

[SlickTony]

Alas, I am far too old to have had one of those Little Tykes cars. But I did have a fiberglass car that looked very much like one of the 50s Studebakers (say what you will about them--don't get me started--Studebakers had nice, nice bodies).

I've been following the saga of GM going bankrupt and reorganizing and all.

When they come out and become the leaner, more focused company they intend to be, there is one thing that they MUST do: restore the signature 3 holes in the body of the Buick. They never should have phased out those holes; they never should have permitted other auto makers to use them. When they got rid of the holes, I knew GM was losing its way.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Alas, I am far too old to have had one of those Little Tykes cars. But I did have a fiberglass car that looked very much like one of the 50s Studebakers (say what you will about them--don't get me started--Studebakers had nice, nice bodies).

I've been following the saga of GM going bankrupt and reorganizing and all.

When they come out and become the leaner, more focused company they intend to be, there is one thing that they MUST do: restore the signature 3 holes in the body of the Buick. They never should have phased out those holes; they never should have permitted other auto makers to use them. When they got rid of the holes, I knew GM was losing its way.

I grew up with a Studebaker Commander. Their problem was that they were always about five years ahead of the buying public.

 

[sr71plt]

OK, I bit--even though I half expected that was what I'd find.

 

[R. Richard]

When they come out and become the leaner, more focused company they intend to be, there is one thing that they MUST do: restore the signature 3 holes in the body of the Buick. They never should have phased out those holes; they never should have permitted other auto makers to use them. When they got rid of the holes, I knew GM was losing its way.

The 'holes' are properly called 'Ventiports.' There were three holes in the low cost models and FOUR holes in the higher priced models [quite right, don't ya know!]

 

[SlickTony]

The 'holes' are properly called 'Ventiports.' There were three holes in the low cost models and FOUR holes in the higher priced models [quite right, don't ya know!]

Whatever they're called, and however many there are, they need to bring them back.

I grew up with a Studebaker Commander. Their problem was that they were always about five years ahead of the buying public.

Oh, we had one of those, too. A Commander, and then an Avanti. I consider Studebakers to be one of the things that blighted my girlhood.

 

[R. Richard]

Whatever they're called, and however many there are, they need to bring them back.

However, there's a problem here. Give them three Ventiports and they want four. Give them four Ventiports and the nouveau riche will demand five. Where will it end?

 

[TE999]

The 'holes' are properly called 'Ventiports.' There were three holes in the low cost models and FOUR holes in the higher priced models [quite right, don't ya know!]

The Buick Roadsmasher (Roadmaster) had 4 ventiports...the Super, Century and Special each had 3...considering they connected to nothing and were only a design gimmick...people still liked them. Go figure.

 

[SlickTony]

The Buick Roadsmasher (Roadmaster) had 4 ventiports...the Super, Century and Special each had 3...considering they connected to nothing and were only a design gimmick...people still liked them. Go figure.

They liked them because they helped to distinguish Buicks from other cars. After they phased those ventiports out of the Buick, it got to be harder to tell one make of car from another.

 

[TE999]

They liked them because they helped to distinguish Buicks from other cars. After they phased those ventiports out of the Buick, it got to be harder to tell one make of car from another.

Yep...the cars back then changed styling every year...at the time they seemed cool...now they're quaint. Huge engines, numb steering, sloppy handling, weak brakes, rattles, lousy bodies, poor fitting hoods, doors and trunks, water and air leaks, 3 speed slushboxes...planned obsolescence personified...people lapped 'em up.

Enter Japan.

 

[SlickTony]

Yep...the cars back then changed styling every year...at the time they seemed cool...now they're quaint. Huge engines, numb steering, sloppy handling, weak brakes, rattles, lousy bodies, poor fitting hoods, doors and trunks, water and air leaks, 3 speed slushboxes...planned obsolescence personified...people lapped 'em up.

Enter Japan.

Ha! You don't have to tell me what was wrong with cars back then. I'm the one who grew up being grease monkey to a diehard Studebaker fanatic. You forgot to mention how finicky and high-maintenance those huge engines were. Both the Studebakers I grew up with--it was virtually impossible to keep the idle adjusted, which meant, in my household, that I was often detailed to sit in the car while it was running, while my parents went into a store, so I could give the accelerator a tap to make sure the engine didn't stall out, because God only knew when and whether you'd be able to start it up again...the merry mornings when the damn things wouldn't start at all without my dad having to do under the hood and dick around with the choke, snarling at us kids just cuz we were there...don't get me started.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Funny, ours was a reliable as a Swiss watch.

 

[R. Richard]

I had a 1953 Studebaker coupe. The car would start every morning, without fail. It idled fairly smoothly and it would run upwards of 150 MPH. Of course, it had a modified Cadillac engine in it.

 

[cantdog]

Packard. Now there was a car.

 

[TE999]

I had a '55 Chevvy 210 coupe with a stovebolt 283 V-8, 4 barrel carb, regeared diff and 4 on the floor Hurst shifter...it ran like a scalded dog and every cop in town knew me.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I must be abnormal. I never had any enthusiasm for cars. They've always been just a way of getting around. Wonder where I went wrong?

 

[neonlyte]

I must be abnormal. I never had any enthusiasm for cars. They've always been just a way of getting around. Wonder where I went wrong?

You and me both. My UK car, until January, was a thirty year old Volvo. My Portuguese car is 1984 Honda Civic, the AC still works but only in cool weather... which reminds me.. where is Shereads?