You're correct... In fact, I forgot that I explained this to a few family members that watched the movie. But definitely not the way I would have written the scene. ... View more

I have to agree with the author's mention of the "sobbing HFII" scene... It struck me as jarringly inauthentic. A little of my own research on Leo Beebe showed the same cardboard portrayal. Hollywood thinks we're all stupid and cannot grasp a fully developed character. I'm not saying they're wrong, but that's definitely their mindset. ... View more

I think a good criteria might be if a Hollywood B-movie switches one vehicle out for another, painted the same way at the last moment before a wreck.... And now I give you these: 1956 Studebaker Hawk & 1958 Sunbeam Rapier III 1964 Plymouth Barracuda & 1967 Sunbeam Rapier Fastback 1967 AMC Rebel & 1968/69 Plymouth Belvedere/Satellite/etc. 1967 Chrysler/Dodge C-body fastback coupes and 1970 AMC Rebel 40s-50s Russian Limos and Prior-gen Packard sedans ... View more

A 1987 Chrysler 5th Ave is 207 inches long and the red seats don't look like they came from the same aisle as AutoZone mud flaps. Guess I'll have to wait for the next generation; again. ... View more

My favorite action/comedy/musical. ... View more

Since we both mentioned it, I feel compelled to say that I've never felt compelled to believe a conspiracy was necessary. Man's natural state will do the work. A broad view of history will show freedom to be the rare exception rather than the rule.  ... View more

I like the way you think, but courts tend to shrug-off ruling on things with minor financial impacts. For the most part, cars are depreciating assets. They might rule on a piece of real property, like your home or a vacant lot which typically increases. If diminishing the value of something with an expected lifespan through regulation were actionable, many would like compensation for the thousands of dollars spent for a top-of-the-line home entertainment system made obsolete by digital mandates of 2009. Instead you got a $40 coupon for a barely functional convertor box. Maybe they'll send your tax money back as a $200 stimulus check/hush money to never hear about your stinky old car again. ... View more

Call me a conspiracy nut, but two years ago you would have used the same label if I told you people in western nations would be jailed for being greater than 5km from their home, operating a restaurant while the marijuana store across the street is open, using a motorboat on lake Michigan while those in row-boats got a green light or posting a thought objecting to such mandates on social media platforms. Like hyperV6, I am also in the industry and agree that OEMs are not going to be an ally in any fight to keep your ICE vehicle. The cost advantages are too beneficial and mandates insure that some smartass won't wreck the party by offering an alternative that may better fit certain circumstances. Try to purchase a new washing machine with a mechanical timer if you don't believe me. The people who come up with these mandates aren't elected and they aren't interested in your opinions. They'll be collecting a retirement check by the time you could affect their employment if every court ruling went your way for 20 years. Which won't happen. The real game-changer will be connected and/or autonomous vehicles. Whatever can be shut off with a no-go signal from a central authority and electrification makes that magnitudes easier than an ICE vehicle. You want to sneak out at 4 AM for a workout at the gym operating clandestinely against the orders of the health bureaucrats? No. Want to drive up to the state capitol and protest in-person? No. How about some travel-free weekends to get "our" carbon numbers down to some arbitrary number? Yes. I wouldn't deny the genius of the American Constitution for a moment. But it was written by men, not Gods. We may have reached a point where tech-tyranny is in a form they never could have imagined. ... View more

I'll just use this space to mention that Detroit's outgoing Police Chief, James Craig has been adamantly against street racing... While at the same time backing drag racing within the city at our underutilized city airport. (http://motorcityshowdown.com/) Chief Craig recently retired and his successor, James White made his first press conference about seizing the automobiles of anyone caught street racing... Which creates more incentive to run from the police. I am of course not condoning street racing, but simply pointing out a reason why Chief Craig (also a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment) is beloved well outside of the Detroit city limits. These factors and few more, such as Detroit not having any riots in 2020 despite the best efforts of outsiders to create them, are why so many are urging Craig to run for Governor. Sign me up for the campaign Chief, if you are reading! ... View more

While I appreciate the idea of an automobile, even a non-functional one, as art; I'm not sure this idea works in a public space. You of course have the ideas of theft/vandalism, so forget about any trim/glass, which then increases the problem of sharp, unfinished and rust-prone edges. You know who else likes old cars and any outdoor structure without a foundation? Mice, rats and racoons. Sounds like a maintenance/lawsuit nightmare to me, but I wish them success. ... View more

Great story. As I get older, I get more appreciation for such writing and dread that things from the mid-90s are "old". How many know that Walter P. Chrysler's first career was that of a Railroad mechanic and eventually executive? I'm unaware if any other auto pioneers came up that way? ... View more

Not one photo of any of the Chrysler Ghia cars (since several had lines similar to the Karmann) in the body of the article? That might have saved those interested enough some image-search time. ... View more

Great story. Beautiful car. ... View more

"180 mph in 13.1 seconds, and 248 mph in 13.1 seconds." Should I assume the additional 68 mph comes in something less than a tenth of a second? ... View more

AS IV? AS FOR? I don't get it. ... View more

What about the Phoenix Experimental Safety Car that was stolen from a moving train, at first the motive was because "Detroit" was afraid of the technology, but then it was revealed to be insurance fraud because the technology didn't actually work. Or maybe that was an episode of Banacek? ... View more

Increased stability for towing and increased weight carrying ability by spreading the load over a larger contact patch.   ... View more

"homeless" is offensive. I prefer the term "free-spirits", as in "They could have given their money to some free-spirits to use as they choose." ... View more

Fahrenheit 451 did the same for me at a similar age. That's probably why the newest TV in my house is a 1974 Zenith.  ... View more

Much of what is required for a new vehicle simply doesn't fit within the envelope of the old body. Crash/impact standards wouldn't be attainable within that package either. There must also be economies of scale, e.g., the ability to use some hard parts (like an HVAC box, or turn signal switch) from another vehicle built in greater volumes to achieve a profit. Such parts are obviously not backwards-compatible with something made 50-years earlier.  ... View more

I came here to look at the styling/details/whitewalls and accidentally walked into Orwell's 5-minutes of hate! I could care less about the celebrity connections and dumb ideas like the in-trunk booze chiller. I was thinking about how mass-market luxury makes used to take a few cues from RR and end up with a very nice product... Seville, Mark III, etc. I sure do wish the regular folk could have nice things again instead of giant SUVs with all the stylistic appeal of a refrigerator. ... View more

Love reading this kind of content. The links get forwarded to many car-loving friends. I'm sure you could develop quite a list of mysteries to investigate if you threw the doors open, so I'll start... 1) Let's see some renderings for the next-gen K-based Chrysler sedans that would have been if not for the LH platform. 2) 1998 SVE Thunderbird. Inside scoop on why it didn't happen. 3) What did we miss out on from Olds, Pontiac, Saturn? ... View more

It's not mentioned here, but the original plan was not a specialty/personal-luxury car; this drivetrain and flat-floor were to be the future of Oldsmobile sedans in general. It finally occurred 20 years later once the competition had already run with the idea. Not surprisingly, these 3800 V6 Oldsmobiles's were solid sedans that could deliver 200k when that was uncommon. How history might have been different if some bean-counter hadn't gotten in the way and allowed GM to actually make the most of having all those semi-independent divisions. ... View more

These new Dodge trucks are called "lifestyle" pickups. Can you believe that? The top of the dash is made of plastic; just like the gas tank! No more solid axle on the 2WD, but you can get cruise control and a stereo. Only hippies listen to FM, so you know these aren't being used for work. On top of that, they're cracking $5000 with some options; a few years ago that coin would get you a house in Detroit. All these companies don't understand the market... People won't keep buying trucks. Every Old Grouch, -1972 ... View more

Sound logic. You should probably limit yourself to vehicles made only using steel HVAC mode doors. ... View more

There's a difference between rust that looks ugly and rust causes a structural collapse to the point that the doors won't open. That was my uncle's Civic within 4 years. I guess I'm un-young enough to remember. ... View more

He's not a facebooker, but I'll make sure he knows about it.  ... View more

Here are some random facts, make of them what you will.... I have a friend who owns a 2016 Mustang Cobra Jet. To date, he's run the 1/4 in 8.55 @ 160mph. He also owns several other interesting cars, including a real a 440+6 Challenger. Roughly 5-6 years ago he decided he needed to add a Tempo GLS to his collection and paid to ship one from a used car lot in Montana to Detroit, MI. I sent him a link to this article and he replied with: "I am a visionary. I got in the Tempo game at the right time. Honestly, I really like and like driving that car." ... View more

Was this a cut/paste of various internet postings, or did Hagerty actually pay money for someone to write this? That "temperature-sensitive viscous drive" fan, "neat and tidy" air injection plumbing and 5-bearing crank all sound pretty nifty, but I came here to see what all the fuss was about and basically read a vintage press-release. Where is the story about Shoichiro Toyoda threatening an engineer with a broken connecting rod, or the anecdote of carb-icing up Mt. Fuji? Boooring. ... View more

MAN, what an adventure. ... View more

Hideous. This is about as futuristic looking as a roto-rooter van. Not only is the van itself demotivational, but the tacky graphics look like any one of the hundreds of Vegas-strip mobile billboards. I'd call for a beige sedan uber to take me to the launch pad before my ass graced the seat of this cheap-looking shuttle bus. ... View more

Part of the snob appeal of that era was having signal lamps that appeared lifted from a boat trailer. Door handles from a Craftsman toolbox. Various exposed plugs and holes for jacks and tow straps. Not only am I not wearing a tie (or driving a Cadillac), but I'm going to live in blue jeans and tennis shoes until 2020 when the nursing home insists on a gown and slippers! Down with the Establishment! ... View more

I'm not a particular Seville/GM fan, but we should be honest enough to admit that few of us were the intended first-buyers of these cars, the youngest of which would be over 75 y/o now. As such, by the time we interacted with these cars, the new was long-gone. And if you think any luxury car ages well, I'd like to sell you a 750il for $1000. I have a friend with several. Any American product would be about as popular as a second Trump term among wealthy 70/80s yuppies. Some of this has legitimacy... Arrogance, optics, dealers (and lower officeholders) going off-script. But the core of the vehicle and message were legit. The youth/popular culture to portray them in a positive light was simply non-existent. The absence of low-margin, German "taxicab" models helped with the exclusivity. Even the crudeness of the interior trimmings gave a perception of being robust. (Which hides dirt better; black nylon seatbelts, carpet, etc. or "lilac firemist" color-keyed brocade?) That said, at a certain point (2nd and 3rd Gen Seville in this case) a lot of American luxury makes threw in the towel. Unevenly applied CAFE standards and economy-of-scale pressures at the low end of the market helped ensure this would happen. I have no doubt they could (and do) build better luxury vehicles now, but it would be nice if they'd take the risk of doing it with something other than an SUV. ... View more

"could not be achieved" Really? You buy that? Maybe you recall all those 1960s German moonshots, color TV and semiconductors. Or maybe you should have said "other factors like platform age (1969), wouldn't have offered a good return on investment." because that might actually make sense. The Opel Diplomat was kaput by 1977. Like many Opel products, it wasn't all that profitable in it's home market regardless of tolerances and there was no reason to think it would have faired any better in the US. ... View more

If you were swapping out suspension components and fuel systems, one might wonder just how many other asses were in that seat before you? I mean the A/C stopped working on my '61 Imperial in 1997, but I dunno if I can trace that back to Walter P Chrysler. The good news is, European luxury cars of the 70s were well-known for their reliability and flawless electrics. ... View more

It's as if the Pontiac Firefly and Wave didn't exist to this author. 😞 ... View more

A solid "do not care" from me until they institute clear rules on garage door pull-ropes. ... View more

Ad campaign starring Mike Meyers: "If it's not Scottish; it's CRRRAP!™" ... View more

What kind of demand will these put on the local electric grid? Once a summer eEvent causes a brown-out when A/C is in demand, there will be a whole new reason for locals to hate drag tracks. Unless teams bring their own 480V diesel generators to events, then there should be no issue. ... View more

Jack you never disappoint. Willow Green was a nice color. ... View more

Chrysler offered a factory alarm in '73, so that one is a tie at best. ... View more

Although I'm not part of the T/A clique, the fact that so many people hate this car makes me sad. ... View more

In a lakefront community, such as the one I live in, this could work really well, even with its faults. You'd drive 1-2 miles to a public launch (or even better, a more private HOA launch) and disconnect. Two guys could push this into a nearby parking spot. Return from the water and reverse. Add a "trolling" motor for maneuvering on land and it gets even better. Sounds time consuming right? I guess you've never watched someone back a boat trailer into a launch the first few times. That said, I already have enough expensive and space-consuming hobbies, so I'll pass. ... View more

Street view 7310 Woodward (at the corner of E. Grand Blvd), which stands to this day. You'll find an 8-story building with a 1960s-era facade tacked on. My mother worked in this building from the 1970s until the early 2000s when it was used as State of Michigan offices. It was originally a Ford property, although my mother said it was a warehouse. However at some point a dropped ceiling on the 1st floor was removed, which revealed elaborate plaster ceilings and chandelier-type fixtures. I'm not enough of a Ford history expert to say this was a HQ, but I've been inside it myself and can say it would be the fanciest damn warehouse I've ever seen. This is no doubt the building referred to in the article. ... View more

My only complaint is that you chose to use the most counterfeited vehicle in modern history in your example. I'm certain that many of those Hemi Cuda's were nothing more than VIN tags and a paper title at one point... Which also explains where all the 383 versions went. ... View more

It's as if this leftover from the Carter administration should have been junked decades ago. We're the only ones in the world who do it this way, with a nice exemption baked in for Euro luxury cars. ... View more

Just think... Such detail exists for every car we've seen in modern history; and many that we've never seen. I've had the opportunity to skim similar documents at Chrysler historical archives and they are FASCINATING, especially with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Maybe one thing to look forward to in our dystopian future will be the opening of more corporate archives now that such information has no competitive value. Thank you for presenting so much of it here. ... View more

Well your friend was 95+% in terms of physical size and a threat to the earth's ecological balance. Hopefully he did not reproduce. No one designs cars, especially economy cars, around a 95th percentile human.  ... View more

This sub brand has always brought to mind a certain style of 18+ dancing. The logo possibilities are endless. ... View more

Every automotive comment thread on the internet, if it gets enough hits, will bring out the same crazy people who have just finished telling a story about oil companies murdering the guy who invented a 200 mpg carburetor. ... View more