Well yeah, okay....but AMC was still making equally awful cars as the Big Three. I mean, Gremlin and Pacer??? Not very European in concept. Still backward gas hogs.  ... View more

Fair enough. I'd say 1975-1985 is pretty Malaise-y. ... View more

The 1st gen Boxster is still quite the unspoken bargain, presuming you get a good one. Never buy a 1st gen without a thorough PPI, including sawing the oil filter in half to check for signs of IMS bearing failure. If you lose a 1st generation engine, that car is going to the scrap yard. ($20++ rebuild cost). Downsides of the 1st gen? Tight fit for tall people, rather bland interior, no inside storage space. Overall, a good and reliable car if you choose wisely. ... View more

The Pinto was no better or worse than the other Big Three efforts to produce an "import fighter". Matched up against a Toyota Corona or Datsun 510, the Pinto was cheaply built, technically backward. The Corvair was more interesting, the Valiant probably more rugged. Perhaps the best you could say about it was that it was simple and generally dependable for a certain length of time. Basically, the Pinto was a disposable car might to win back market share from the imports. In that sense it was fairly successful, although the Big Three remained generally clueless about how the American consumer's tastes were slowly changing. Within a decade of the Pinto, American cars would be solidly in the "Malaise Era" and the imports would be running roughshod over the American automobile industry. Pride cometh before a fall. ... View more

In spite of having a rather magnificent drivetrain, the Imperial had to suffer through 6 consecutive years of absolutely hideous "styling" (if you could even call it that), 1958-1963, on top of Chrysler being the "also ran" of the domestic automakers, and on top of that---no showroom exclusivity. Can you imagine the fate of Cadillac, had it stayed the same from 1959 through 1963, and was marketed at Chevrolet dealers sitting next to Corvairs? While Lincoln Continental suffered similar regrettable styling 1958-1960, at least they starting an upward trend in sales in 1961, even with an inferior drivetrain and marginal build quality. Imperial didn't stop staggering until 1964 or so, and by then had virtual lost any individuality it might have had. ... View more

This is definitely a first world problem. ... View more

I bet if you polled MG "T" owners (TC, TD, TF) you'd be surprised how active their clubs are with driving events. ... View more

Vulcan V-6? Woof, woof! ... View more

I disagree entirely with your comment about emissions equipment. Unless you are racing or off roading with a car that does not go on public roads, removing any emissions controls makes you something of a douche. Ditto racing on public streets--that hardly elevates the old car hobby. ... View more