I'll take your word about about the peak years for quality for the items mentioned, but I still prefer the good new days you seem to despise. Maybe American cars now are worse than in the sixties (which I doubt, as a generalisation), but leading-brand cars in the rest of the world are not.
Brakes Bench seats (slippin' an' sliding at the front) Manual gear shift Standard wheels Rust-proofing etc
DAS
My only comment would be that a starter doesn't just fall out - sounds like bolts were loose, unless the mounts broke, in which case you might have a point, but I would be surprised if that's what happened. I can't see a starter falling out as a design problem - more a mechanic problem (from a previous starter replacement?).
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
Actually I should cancel my subscription after buying the POS Toyota Avalon in 2001. Should have bought a second 300M instead. Still, when you are in the market for something, reading their reviews gives you a good idea of what is available. You may not believe their reliability surveys, and as I was watching this old lady drive a Buick, I was thinking how that explains why Buicks are rated reliable by Consumer Reports, there is nothing better out there.
How does that make you feel?
What made you want to talk about carburetors?
What is it that you really desire to find out?
Actually we had a 67 4 door Valiant too for my sister. Comparable to the
I believe it went thru 6 starters in 60k miles. I don't know the particulars of the starter falling out. My father had been mechanical and worked on cars and even owned a gas station in his early days but by that time he was doing something else and letting a gas station mechanic fix his cars. If it was simply a case of bolts loosening I'm sure he would have blamed the mechanic and not the car. By the way the 57 was rusted thru by the 2nd year of ownership on the back fenders. I prefer the current cars.
OK, so you're just yebbering.
Well, y'see, Mopar Man, I was participating in a discussion subtopic started by Art Begun, who said "carburetors are a pain in the ass".
If this is all really so hard for you to follow, perhaps you should seek easier reading material. I bet Barney (the purple dinosaur) has a nice website with colors and shapes and things that would be more your speed.
Agreed, but that wasn't your point. Your point -- I quote you -- was "73 was the best year for the Valiant and Dart".
Say what you mean.
DS
You know what happens when you assume, don't you, Dori?
I own a multiplicity of vehicles. Too many of them. The oldest is from the early '60s. The newest is from the mid '90s, and is not the newest I've owned.
Oh, NO! Not *manual gear shift!* (Come to think of it...not manual gear shift. My oldest car has an excellent and efficient 3-speed automatic.)
...as opposed to...?
And some modern Toyotas have sludge problems and 90s Mitsubishi engines burn oil and some Chrysler transmissions are junk.....
I wholeheartedly agree with you on carbs though. If you have a good carb then great but if it gets messed up you might as well throw the car away because noboby could fix it then and they sure can't fix it now. In my opinion fuel injection is the best thing to happen to cars since 1970.
'73 wasn't all that bad except for the miserable engines. All the new emissions restrictions that manufacturers couldn't meet without killing the engines. And 75... Granny had a '75 Nova that died when you hit the gas about two minutes after starting the car. It did this the day she bought it and it did it the day I sold it some 25 years later. No one including myself was ever able to fix that problem.
Steve B.
What makes you think I am just yebbering?
What does that suggest to you?
I see. Tell me more.
We were discussing you - not me. What is your concern?
Why are you concerned about my speed?
I should have been more explicit: standard tyres.
DAS
Eliza, is that you? ;)
Since we're talking about old cars *now* vs. new cars *now*, this doesn't apply. Everyone uses radials on everything.
The sad news is, that same stuff GM used in the headliner, they also used to keep the contacts apart in the horn button. So if your horn starts blowing itself in the middle of the night, you can expect your headliner to fall down soon after.
I saw the line item on a Chevy window sticker. That's the 'Chicken Little' feature. Optional at extra cost.
:-)
--Geoff
Sorry, but that is funny. The horn sounds to warn you of imminent liner failure...
:-)))))))))) Harhar etc DAS
I have nothing against American cars (especially Chryslers :) but Toyotas made in the past 15 years or so are pretty decent cars. My family has 2, one has 180,000 miles and the other about 250,000. Both run fine. I use Mobil 1 oil, changing about every 5,000 miles. Sure I've needed to do a little sway bar link work and fixed a CV joint or two, but that's about it besides changing the timing belt every 90k or so and regular fluid service. The cars just keep running. We've never had to worry about them or pay a big repair bill.
Daniel,
- It might for you, but for me it doesn't take any mechnical skills/"mechanic" to replace a coil.
- It's funny you calling me, or anyone a pundit...we pale in comparision to you... "King Pundit."
American's fleet of vehicles continues to get older with each successive year. As for this year's model, or the last few years, you're correct, we'll have to wait and see. But I'd bet on the overall trend continuing.
No, Dan. It's a little more than _a_ book.
What did _you_ want from me, Dan? I'm the one who has to forever live with the shame of forgeting for a second what an Eagle Vision is. Did you want a written apology? Did you want me to tell you I'm sorry... and to bow to "King Pundit?"
A "know it all" yet again... living up to your title, "King Pundit."
Dan, please, for a change, try to keep an open mind. Turbo Eclipses are very good performance cars. Very stout engines/drivelines! And they respond to simple mods extremely well!
Patrick
Dan,
The magazine was from circa 1978 or 1979. But, more importantly, the article was written by the very renowned the late Steve Collison.
If you have some better info to offer, please share it with us instead of your insults. Or have you lost sight of what a newsgroup is supposed to be for?
Patrick
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