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CU Medallion [65514]
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Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 1:56 PM
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I nominate:
Yugo, Ford Pinto, Chevy Chevette, and Buick Rendezvous.
All four notorious in their own way. Pinto got the reputation as a firebomb on wheels, Yugo and Chevette were el cheapo pieces of junk, along with the Pinto in that regard.
The Buick Rendezvous was one I personally owned, and was the sorriest brand new vehicle I ever purchased. Several breakdowns under warranty, and I got rid of it before the warranty expired due to all that crap. And, it was made of sheet metal that was so thin, I actually dented the quarter panel one time just while leaning against it while filling the thing with gasoline.
For general ugliness,
Pontiac Aztek: Walter White's "Breaking Bad" car, it was a Buick Rendezvous only with a different, even uglier skin. The GM Factory Service Manual for the Rendezvous, which I purchased, also covered the Aztek, that is how I know this.
SEVERAL different American Motors Corporation models. Gremlin, Matador, or Pacer, take your pick. Those were some children only a mother could love.
1958 in general was a terrible year for GM designed vehicles. "Chrome-mobiles", as they later came to be called, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac, it didn't matter, all were so overburdened with chrome doodads, they looked garishly ugly.
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Heisman Winner [108390]
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You have hate in your heart, this will not do...***
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Apr 18, 2023, 1:59 PM
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Oculus Spirit [80410]
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Gremlin with wood panneling***
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:05 PM
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Some of the ugliest cars ever seen were some of those
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Apr 18, 2023, 5:01 PM
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old station wagons that had the fake wood paneling down the sides. After a few years, that stuff was either faded out, or peeled off and gone altogether. Can you say Clark Griswald, Boys and Girls?
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All-TigerNet [11028]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:06 PM
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My first car was an Army Green Chevy Vega that sounded like a motorboat in water going down the road.
Couldn't go anywhere without someone hearing me.
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CU Guru [1776]
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A guy in my high school had a green Vega with a front tag
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Apr 18, 2023, 8:37 PM
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with the words Makin' Bacon around two cartoon pigs.
My 14 year old brain thought that was the coolest thing ever.
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CU Guru [1796]
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Re: A guy in my high school had a green Vega with a front tag
Apr 19, 2023, 7:20 AM
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I had a '74 green Vega too. It left a 'puddle' of rust everywhere I parked it. Vinyl seats, no air conditioning, AM radio only. Those were the days!
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CU Medallion [52439]
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Re: A guy in my high school had a green Vega with a front tag
Apr 19, 2023, 3:08 PM
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I also had a Vega. It was the worst car I ever owned.
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CU Guru [1215]
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110%er [5578]
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Excellent & Comprehensive
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:14 PM
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....list.
There are a couple of Hyundai's that are also deserving, but can't recall the model/names.
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110%er [5081]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:17 PM
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Three spring to mind. 64 Ford Fairlane, 78 MG Midget, and 2003 Audi A4. All were incredibly bad vehicles.
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CU Medallion [50930]
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No mention of the Corvair?
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:21 PM
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Had a friend who had his engine drop out along the road - witnessed that myself, the rear engine was sitting on the shoulder wedged under the bumper.
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Lol. that kind of stuff is what got the Chevette on the
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:30 PM
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list. My Bro-in-Law had one, the floor shifter literally broke loose and came up out of the floor in his hand one day when he went to put it in gear.
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Orange Blooded [2550]
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1962 Corvair, Notre Dame gold in color
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Apr 18, 2023, 3:02 PM
[ in reply to No mention of the Corvair? ] |
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was my first car. Had a lot of fun in that one. It is currently under a shed at my Mom's house. I remember when I first turned fifteen and wanted to drive it, my dad told me to go check the anti-freeze in it. I knew the engine was in the back, but I did not know it was an air cooled engine. When I walked back in the house and told my dad that I couldn't find the radiator he just started laughing. Oh those were the days.
Message was edited by: WS Tiger®
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Orange Blooded [4059]
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Buick Century Regal. ‘78, iirc
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:28 PM
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Beautiful car, but a Christine wannabe.
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Oculus Spirit [82069]
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Anything that runs off batteries.
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:32 PM
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Wonder if that Tesla that they put into space has run down
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Apr 18, 2023, 4:51 PM
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the batteries yet? I'll bet they forgot and left the automatic headlight switch on.
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110%er [5225]
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1950's Nash Metropolitan. Reminds me of Smart Car. Ugly!!***
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Apr 18, 2023, 2:44 PM
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Nash Metropolitans were almost CUTE Ugly. They did get
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Apr 18, 2023, 4:58 PM
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really good gas mileage, but nobody really cared that much about that at the time, since gas was pennies a gallon.
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Orange Blooded [4276]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 3:03 PM
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I put 120,000 miles on an orange Pinto. When I went on my first date with my now wife, she looked out her window and said, “ I recognize all the cars but that ORANGE Pinto. Is that YOURS?
I also had a 1974 Gremlin XM , silver with Levi Jeans interior a 5 liter v6 and 3 on the floor. That baby was neat as hail and ran like a scalded dog. Ah, youth.
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Orange Blooded [3989]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 3:16 PM
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As far as Makes go, Volkswagen takes the cake. If you have one you better sell it before the pathetic 50k warranty is done.
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All-In [26022]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 3:19 PM
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Don't forget the Rambler. I owned one and it was a decent car that got good gas mileage but man was it downright ugly.
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Orange Blooded [2447]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 3:26 PM
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My sister's first car was a Pinto and mine was a Chevette. I guess our parents really wanted to keep us single.
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Orange Blooded [3384]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 5:04 PM
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74 Chevy Vega, you put 4 qts of oil in every 300 miles. But got great gas mileage.
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CU Medallion [65514]
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A pretty cute girl lived about a mile from me growing up.
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Apr 18, 2023, 5:42 PM
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She was cute, but unfortunately, I think she could have qualified for the "Dumb Blonde Nationals", if you know what I mean. She had a Vega, and our farm auto shop got a call from her stepdad one day, asking us to come pick it up and see why it wouldn't crank.
I go over there, and it was turning over just fine, but wasn't firing. I noticed it had a sensor coming out the side of the block that seemed to be tied into the distributor wiring. Knowing at least a little about engine geometry, even without a wiring diagram, I was pretty sure this was in position to be an oil pressure sensor of some type.
Sure enough, I pull out the oil dipstick, and it is completely dry, not even enough oil for it to touch. Went back to the shop, got four quarts of oil, which it needed every one of, spun it over a few times, and BINGO! It lit off just like normal. She, or nobody else in her family obviously knew that the blue smoke coming out the back of that thing meant it was burning oil, and you better check and replace that missing oil regularly.
Before the end of the Vega run, GM had solved the poor metallurgy problem on Vega aluminum engine blocks by installing steel sleeves from the factory. But, by then, the reputational damage had already been done. The steel sleeved Vega engines actually held up pretty well.
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CU Guru [1215]
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Yep, I think that was the standard old joke about the Vega.
Apr 21, 2023, 11:03 AM
[ in reply to Re: Mount Trashmore of cars? ] |
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Fill it up with oil, and check the gas.
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All-TigerNet [10931]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 5:16 PM
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My Ex had a 1974 Pinto when we got married and was terrible. I decided to get rid of it and get something safer before our son was born. So I fixed it up at my friends gas station/garage (back when those were around) and traded it for, what turned out to be, another cheap piece of crap, the Dodge Omni which I would put on Mount Trashmore.
Just as the warranty ran out on the Omni, everything broke, even both the front door handles. The door handles were made of cheap pot metal and snapped. They wanted a fortune back then for replacements so I remember fixing them by using strips of sheet metal, drilling holes through the sheet metal and each side of the break and bolting (tiny bolts) the sheet metal to the pieced together handles. They lasted until I traded it in which is probably longer than new replacements would have lasted.
A vega story: A friend of mine had a 1975 Vega that he got new after graduating high school. He drove it from 1976 to 1979 without changing the oil or filter. He just added oil 3 or 4 times a year when it was little low but always kept the oil in acceptable band on the dip stick. He sold it in 1979 and the first thing the new owner did was change the oil and filter. The engine blew in 2 days. Coincidence or not?
My first car was a 1964 Ford Fairlane with a 289. It was kind of ugly but it was a dependable mini-tank.
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All-TigerNet [10492]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 5:37 PM
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Doesn’t “Le Car” I believe it was made by Hasbro, deserve to be on this list?
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110%er [5496]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 6:36 PM
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Had a Toyota Corolla that was the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. Never had to change the oil since the engine would blow when it got to around 3000 miles. After the 5th engine I got rid of it and that ended me buying any Asian cars, never again. My wife had a Dodge Omni that stayed in the shop so she sold it to some unsuspecting individual. Now I drive Lincoln’s with no problems.
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Orange Blooded [4754]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 9:41 PM
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I've owned 1 Corolla, 6 Camry, 2 Tacoma, 3 Rav4 Toyota models and have been virtually pain free. Oil changes, tires, and brakes is about it. A couple had over 200k miles when traded out or sold them.
I've owned many domestic models but Toyota has been very good to me. My next choice is the three Mitsubishi vehicles were solid too.
Currently, have 2 cars and 1 truck. I have a 2015 RAV4 XLE, a 2016 Kia Soul ! and I have a 2004 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 crew cab 4x4 that I bought from my son and have owned it since 2012.
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Hall of Famer [22738]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 7:42 PM
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Any of the Chrysler K series cars
GMC Jimmy - my wife had one - maybe mid to late 90s model - and it was the biggest piece of c r a p I have ever driven. Had to replace the ignition switch 3 times and the electronics would just go crazy. You’d be going down the road and the doors would lock and unlock repeatedly for no reason.
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CU Guru [1345]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 8:40 PM
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Chrysler K(rap) cars.
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Scout Team [171]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 9:02 PM
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1969 Chevelle SS396
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CU Medallion [65514]
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You blaspheme.
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Apr 18, 2023, 9:03 PM
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Yep, some us are awake, don't try to sneak that crap past us!
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Although, I will admit, it was that very model and year that
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Apr 18, 2023, 9:14 PM
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gave me an initially turribel impression of Chevy Big Blocks. A guy who had one brought it to our shop to get some work done. This thing was pumping oil so bad it had fouled out three of eight spark plugs, and the Quadrajet carburetor on it had the dreaded leakthrough from factory plugs installed in the bottom of the body. Even after replacing the spark plugs, and getting it back to firing on all eight, this thing was running so rich due to the carb problems, it was on the verge of flooding out all the time, and was about as weak as dishwater. It was a slow, sick puppy.
Conversely, one of my sisters had a non-SS 1969 Chevelle Malibu two door hardtop with a small block 350 4-barrel and dual exhausts, and that thing was comparatively a ROCKET SHIP. You put the foot in that one, and 110+ mph would show up REAL quick. She would always make me back off before it would ever hit 120 mph. (Although, she assured me it would, and she also had a lead foot, so I do not doubt it.)
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Legend [18851]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 9:51 PM
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Sadly I owned two of the three. I did not own a Yugo but the other two I did. The station wagon I had for one day. The whole wheel fell off and it had so many problems. I traded a 69 Firebird for it because I messed up the motor and got water in the oil. Very bad day and one of worse days I had as young married man on my own. Now i got the sads can you give me a thumbs up lol
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CU Medallion [65514]
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The "Mustang II" almost killed off the Mustang forever.
Apr 21, 2023, 11:09 AM
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What is ironic, if you were to take one of those low compression, low horsepower "boat anchor" 302 engines of the mid-70's, build it with some decent racing parts, and stick it back into one of those light Mustang II fastbacks, you could smoke just about anybody around.
Of course you would also have had to beef up the rest of the drivetrain, otherwise you would just leave a trail of broken parts all down the road.
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Legend [18851]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
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Apr 18, 2023, 10:12 PM
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Hated the pintos but had a friend that the judge made him not have a muscle car due to his many speeding and reckless driving offenses and he got and it looked about like this.
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All-TigerNet [14751]
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Any AMC. Any Yugo. Any Plymouth. Ford Pinto, Chevy Vega,***
Apr 19, 2023, 6:42 AM
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CU Guru [1215]
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Re: Mount Trashmore of cars?
Apr 20, 2023, 1:52 PM
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All GM products
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CU Medallion [65514]
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Not from any particular make or model, but ANY vehicle with
Apr 21, 2023, 11:13 AM
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a Lucas electrical system. This would be most British cars, and imports to the US in the 60's and 70's. I had an old 1968 English Ford Cortina, so I can tell you firsthand, the sorry reputation that Lucas electrical components got was 100% earned.
Or maybe 50%, it's not making a real good connection.
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