Re: The open source car that anyone can design

That's gonna take a whole lot of work to be something I'd be seen in.

Reply to
Frankie Pintado
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There is somebody somewhere who owns a lot of unused Bricklin car parts.You can buy a new Bricklin car. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

I remember when the Bricklin came out I was amazed at how many of the interior pieces came out of an AMC Hornet. I think they used AMC engines the first year as well.

Reply to
Roger Blake

Roger Blake wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@otaku.freeshell.org:

AMC engines in 1975, Ford in 1976.

I live in Canada, and I remember well the big hullabaloo when the New Brunswick government decided to fund ol' Malc, then the big stink when it all went predictably awry. Just like Clairtone in Nova Scotia ten years earlier.

As for buying "new" old cars, Cars Inc. can build you a complete, turnkey brand-new 1955 Chev Bel Air. It doesn't cost what a new '55 did in '55, though...

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Reply to
Tegger

Lots of that going on for decades and decades. AMC used lots of Chrysler and GM parts in the final years before Chrysler bought them out, including trannys and steering columns, and even a few engines. I saw an AMC parts department printout once- at least half the part numbers were GM numbers. The last decade or so of Checker cabs had straight Chevy drivelines and steering columns. And for an esoteric example, the original Ford GT, of LeMans fame, had Corvair tail lights. And of course trucks, especially big ones, always had lots of interchangeable parts between brands, since so many of their working parts came from outside suppliers.

Reply to
aemeijers

Using off-the-shelf components is a time honored method of saving money in the short run. I was a little surprised to see a VW Rabbit engine in a Chrysler Horizon myself... Remember those cars? Completely forgettable vehicles. :-)

Reply to
dsi1

dsi1 wrote in news:0ARzm.7836$Lw1.7724 @newsfe03.iad:

In the long run, too. Most auto manufacturers use common components wherever they can. Commonality of mechanical components especially is ubiquitous.

"Chrysler" Horizon? Maybe in Europe,where they used Simca engines.

In North America, it was "Plymouth Horizon" and "Dodge Omni". Those were the ones with the undressed VW long blocks that had terrible valve-guide oil-seal problems.

Two neighbors of mine in 1978 bought one from each of Dodge and Plymouth. To call them "forgettable" would be doing a kindness; they were in fact awful. Hasty design, slapdash manufacturing and assembly, and clueless dealership servicing resulted in a customer experience that was bad even by rock-bottom '70s Chrysler standards.

Reply to
Tegger

Tegger wrote in news:Xns9C9FC77B08D16tegger@208.90.168.18:

Yeah, Malcolm could sell sulfur to the devil. He got Delorean as well I guess.

Reply to
fred

That's what they're called? I guess they're not totally forgettable. To me, they're all Chryslers - it's easier that way. :-)

As for the engines, I owned a couple of FWD VWs which pretty much makes me the terrible valve-guide oil-seal expert.

Well, you got me convinced - I'm staying away from those cars! :-)

Reply to
dsi1

IIRC, Omni/Horizon was a pretty close copy of a Simca design to start with. Kind of before my time, but weren't Simca and Chrysler in a business relationship back in the old days, before the FIRST time Chrysler almost went belly-up, and sold off all their non-north-america and non-automotive holdings?

Reply to
aemeijers

It won't be hard- not many of them left, at least up here in salt country. Almost as rare as seeing a running Pinto, Chevette, Vega, Gremlin, etc. All gone to the great crusher in the sky.

Come to think of it, I don't see many cars over 10-15 years old on the road any more. Guess that is one side-effect of too-easy credit and

72-month loans. Damn near anyone can have a shiny ride now. Just rent it from the bank.
Reply to
aemeijers

aemeijers wrote in news:jKidnfH8s7sA5k3XnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Yep.

Chrysler needed a small car in a big hurry after management finally realized the gas crisis wasn't going away anytime soon. Chrysler's smallest car up to that point was the Dart/Duster, while Ford had the Pinto/MustangII and GM had the Vega/Monza and the Chevette.

Ford and GM had European presences from about 1925, but Chrysler did not until about 25-30 years later.

Chrysler tried to expand their horizons (ha ha) by buying the Rootes Group of the UK. They also bought Talbot, Simca and others.

The 1979 crisis was not the first.

Chrysler also almost went belly up in the mid-'50s. They were bailed out by the Prudential Insurance Company.

Reply to
Tegger

The car that saved Chrysler, the K car. The K car was on display at a store parking lot.I went to a theater to see that horror movie, I don't remember the name of that horror movie right now) When the movie was over, I went to look at that K car. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

I still daily-drive an AMC Hornet (same mechanicals as Gremlin). Just a couple of days ago I waved to a guy who was driving an extremely ratty/rusty Pinto. It looked like the thing would break in two if it hit a pothole, but it was scooting along on its own power.

Not for me, thanks. I'm a firm believer in the "one payment plan."

Reply to
Roger Blake

aemeijers wrote in news:ReSdnWeSL_fS4E3XnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I saw a Dodge Omni yesterday, driving into a Costco parking lot! It looked circa 1980 and in pretty good shape. Tried to take a picture, but the driver turned before my camera started up.

And corrosion...

Reply to
Tegger

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:15542-4AD099C8-2533@storefull-

3172.bay.webtv.net:

I remember the billboards before the K-car was released to the public. All they said was "K is coming". Just what a "K" was, wasn't defined, as I recall.

I think the K-car was the last North American new car you could buy with a bench seat /and/ a floor-mounted manual transmission.

Reply to
Tegger

I just now remembered the name/title of that horror movie, the Exorcist.Why I wasted my money on that movie, I will never know.Then I went to look at the K car that was on display in a store parking lot.

Yesterday, I went to the Lowe's store.I saw an elderly gentleman driving an old aircooled VW beetle car out of the Lowe's parking lot.I once owned a 1963 VW beetle, (and a 1961 VW van and a 1970 VW van) I think it was either a 1962 or a 1963 VW beetle he was driving.His car was in bad need of a paint job. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Frankie Pintado wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@l35g2000vba.googlegroups.com:

It doesn't really *say* much about what is meant by the term - which has

*very* definite meaning in the computer field. Probably due to the presses facination to dumbing everything down to their collective IQ, but at a guess, the body panels would be swapable at the least.

What *I* found amusing was the "profession" of the author: "social bookmarking consultant".

Reply to
fred

I had a Sportabout, which I believe was the station wagon of the Hornet line. It had an engine identical to an International Harvester, Chrysler tranny, and various other hybridized parts. All in all, it was a pretty rugged little car, although not state of anybody's art.

Reply to
hls

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