cars driven over the last week or so

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Bubba1
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Car: 2003 Nissan 350z
2008 Acura TSX
2008 Toyota Corolla S
2001 Toyota Avalon XLS

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Had a nice treat in the cars driven department today. After a week of driving mundane vehicles barely worth mentioning, like an '03 Bimma Z3, '02 Acura RL, '19 Ford F150, and '19 Toyota highlander (non-hybrid), today I drove a 1970 Olds Cutlass SS convertible, top down, with a 455ci V8 and 4 bbl carb + Automatic. I once had a '72 base cutlass 2 door(350ci v8 automatic) as a company car, so this one brought back some memories with significantly more torque..


Buzzman
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2023 Kia Stinger Elite V6 AWD.

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Bubba1 wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 10:22 am
I once had a '72 base cutlass 2 door(350ci v8 automatic) as a company car,
My first company car was a '75 Pontiac Le Mans. Same drivetrain: 350 automatic. It was assigned to me, so I had no choice.
By 1975, the cars were so detuned that this Pontiac was a complete dog.
I remember being excited to be getting what I thought was a big V8, only to be completely disappointed when I drove it.
Crappy power (maybe around 160 horsepower, if that much) and worse gas mileage.
We've come a long way since then thankfully.
My four cylinder Mazda 6 (2.5 l, or about 150ci) has more horsepower, and is definitely faster.

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Bubba1
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Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 1:42 pm
Car: 2003 Nissan 350z
2008 Acura TSX
2008 Toyota Corolla S
2001 Toyota Avalon XLS

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Oh yeah, that era of American cars was dreadful. the emissions equipment sapped much of the fun from them. You're so right about the 350ci/2bbl V8. it sounded better than it performed though mine probably felt slightly more peppy than your '75 as mine was pre-emissions. And the best part was writing off the fuel cost as it guzzled the stuff. The pre-emissions 455/4bbl in that '70 I just drove had significantly more torque to it. Far from neck-snapping, but still entertaining and nostalgic.

Buzzman
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Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:35 pm
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2023 Kia Stinger Elite V6 AWD.

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Bubba1 wrote:
Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:36 am
Oh yeah, that era of American cars was dreadful. the emissions equipment sapped much of the fun from them.
It was indeed a dreadful era, both the 70's and 80's (not sure the '90's were that much better).
This was the era of the Pinto, Chevette, Maverick, among others.
The big three were trying to counter the Japanese invasion, with sub standard vehicles that were rushed into production.
They were also struggling with the new emission standards, and really had no idea how to meet them, other than to detune their engines.
Performance went down the crapper in those days, along with quality control.
I also had an '84 Buick Regal, with a 305 4brl. You'd think it would go like stink, but you'd be wrong.
Even with the secondaries kicking in, it went nowhere. It also didn't last very long. Lots of problems....and rust.
It wasn't until I got my 2002 Pathfinder that I had a good vehicle again.

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Desert Rat
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As slow as those old cars are, you can't take away the nostalgia. Some of us grew up in those things. My first car was a 74 Mustang II. Talk about slow......but the back seat folded down and there were more than a few college girls that climbed in back with me back in the day...lol


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