Yes, these were not exactly common, but not all that unusual either. The inline 6 was standard on this generation of BelAir and the Canadian Pontiac Laurentian equivalent. You sometimes saw them equipped that way for taxicab duty. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/Pontiac/1978%20Pontiac%20Brochure/1978%20Pontiac-08.jpg http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/Pontiac/1978%20Pontiac%20Brochure/1978%20Pontiac-09.jpg ... View more

Both the Ranger and Colorado appear longer to me than a regular-cab 1970s F100/C10 pickup. This strikes me as a big reason why they have not had more sales success, as there is just not enough size differentiation between them and the behemoth versions. I would be shocked if the vintage models were not lighter as well given the additional safety and convenience equipment burden the new models carry. ... View more

To quote the author: "The Ranger’s interior is certainly nicer than the Colorado’s" - that's the first time I have ever read that in any review comparing the two vehicles. He then goes on to trash the layout and utility of the Ranger interior, which I have indeed read in every review of this vehicle. By the end, he also declares it not competitive price-wise either. What a strange review. ... View more

The one area I have learned never to touch on my '68 Cutlass is the ignition and especially the points, after long and painful experience of trying to service them always ended in failure. It amazes me how something that was in use for decades can be so troublesome (to me) and so intimidating. This is from someone who removed a GM HEI distributor to replace a failed internal part and then reinstalled it with no difficulty whatsoever after the engine started on the first try. Just keep me away from a points ignition. ... View more

I've had 2 or 3 recent GM cars with the Bose system (the last being with a supposedly upgraded optional unit with Centerpoint) and been seriously underwhelmed. I now understand the longtime line about Bose and no lows, though in my current car the highs are far too prominent as well, so who knows. One thing I never understood with GM was that occasionally they would stray from Bose for a few models. My friend has a 2012 Regal GS and it has a factory h/k unit IIRC. ... View more

I have a lot of automotive books on my shelf. I am pretty sure the only one I never finished was one of the "... In The Barn" books by Tom Cotter that I made made the mistake of buying. It was just so disappointing. It read like a collection of anecdotes, not actual book-writing, copied verbatim from emails (often ones that were poorly written) that he received in response to a call-out. I don't know if all in that series are like that or if I got a bad one. I was not motivated to find out by buying any others.  ... View more

Even Ford back in the day wasn't dumb enough to drop the 390 c.i. lump into something as crude as a 1st-gen Bronco. Probably not much different from putting the same engine in a Model A without upgrading everything else. ... View more

Tom McCahill was great in his era, but that is going way back.   Not quite so far back, David E. Davis was very good. His contemporary, Pat Bedard, was one I also enjoyed, along with Don Sherman. John Lamm produced a lot of good work for a long time. Michael Lamm spanned a long, long time and still contributes the occasional piece to Hemmings today. He practically invented the term "special-interest automobile" and ran the magazine by that name for much of its existence.   I found Henry Manney amusing and interesting. The roster of columnists in Car and Driver in the '60s and '70s were often simply excellent - Leon Mandel, Charles Fox, Bruce McCall, Jean Shepherd, and of course Brock Yates. But I found Yates a bit much in terms of his style of writing at times (as opposed to what he was saying) when he made too-frequent references to himself and his lifestyle. The same issue applies today in spades to Baruth, unfortunately. I may be unique but I always found LJK Setright's columns unfathomable. ... View more