Wow - American cars got their mojo back!

Glad to hear it but you are just late to the party. American cars have been world class for many years. They unfortunately dug a hole so deep esp. in the 80s that people just won't consider them anymore. That is slowly changing.

 

K car ruined it for everyone in the 80's.

 

I think you nailed it. VERY hard to forgive that one.

 

Saved Chrysler, especially when you include the minivan which are siblings under the skin.

This was at a time of huge transition, when American buyers were still loyal to domestics. K car fulfilled a market need.

Otoh, continued quality increases from foreign marques combined with domestics burying their heads was the double whammy that killed them.

I agree with the OP, enough that my last two purchases have been domestic brands.

Best,
Rob

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

 

Speak for yourself - I drag raced my parents' Aries K WAGON back in the day.

You want to pick up chicks as a 20 year old? Get yourself a white Dodge Aries K wagon with a red interior. Make sure it has the 2.2L engine that squeals like a stuck pig at a Van Halen convert while warming it up.

You no haz Aries? Then you ain't lived. WAR K Car!!!

 

+1

 

Detroit always had mojo when it came to trucks and performance cars even in the bleak years. Its good to see their mainstream product portfolio meet or exceed that of the import brands'. Btw, my first car was a "coachwork speciale" K car based Plymouth TC3. Didn't Chrysler buy the rights of the Porsche 924 engine for the Omni/K cars?

 

Where the Big Three have only recently got with the times is on interiors. They appear to have finally discovered that people actually want to be in a nice place for the two hours per day they spend in the car, and being $2000 cheaper than the competition means cutting corners that were usually cut from the interior. Many buyers paid the extra for Japanese or European vehicles because of the tactile feel of the interior switches or dash, as well as seats that didn't look and feel like they were from 1985.

Just a few years ago even their "luxury" cars were complete velour hell inside.

 

Imho this transition has taken half a generation, the cars that really got my attention, signaling that the Giants had awakened, were the Cadillac CTS and more so the Chrysler LX platform 300 and Magnum. Perfect, no, but such a major departure from the Cadillac DTS and the previous Chrysler "cab forward" Fwd 300.

Best,
Rob


Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

 

Tip of the iceberg. How about Mustang II, Pinto, Pacer, Cutlass, and so much more. When was the last time you saw a restored 80s domestic car at a car show, except for maybe a Corvette or Firebird, and doubtful for even those.

For the last 10 years the domestics have had the measure of the imports and at present many are better.

 

Little off topic, but I remember being at the car wash and seeing this one guy watch as the workers carefully cleaned his BMW when it came out of the tunnel. It was the only really nice car on the lot, so I'm assuming he figured everyone was staring at it. As bad I felt for him, I couldn't stop laughing at what happened next.

You hear this "HSSSSSSSS", SCREAMING hissing sound, coming out of the tunnel. This supercharged jeep SRT8 had the loudest cam and idle I've ever heard. People were just in awe at this monster. The guy in the BMW quickly scurried away, LOL.

 

The Minivan (Caravan) saved Chrysler, not the K car. And only for a few years. Any Japanese import were better, much better, and even some cheap European imports. The Japanese cleaned up during the 80's, muscling out the domestics for the family car crown.

@Kverges.

Buick Grand National and GNX.

Both of these cars are appreciating.

 

Gotta love the turbo Buicks! Remember the tv spot with the GN on track against a red 328 or TR, Countach and Porsche 928? Dunno if it included an Espirit or not.

 

Ah, I stand corrected. But the 80s were really a dark time for the shrinking 3

 

I still dont get ford though. The eplorer my folks rented sucked. It had a really thin slimey cheap feeling wheel, the motor was rough and maybe it was ok going slow around the suburbs. On the Gm front the caddy esaclade I rented was dynamicaly so poor that i wondered how I could buy any vehicle from a company that turned out such a turd. Gm haptic controls suck, followed closely by My touch. A assume its cheaper to build a crappy screen than put knobs for basic controls, it sucks and is a deal breaker. teh old detroit still lives on in its incompetance, just muted.

Yeah the domestics Also have some great stuff, but they still produce too large a percentage of turds, and there is no excuse for it other than an inbuilt market and cost cutting.

That all being said I bought a chevy equinox because after trying everythig remotly in the class it was by far the best choice in terms of build interior size quality etc, letdown only by a crappy tranny, but you cant have it all.

I can also say that my local chevy dealer is a an absolute pleasure to deal with, and the work is competantly performed. Contrast this witht he local mercedes delaer, who has nice lobby, but cant competatntly even balance wheels let alone do a brake job. It seems mercedes are Ok if you lease and dump at 40k miles because forget about a dealer keeping the car running right, and the parts are prohibitive.

There isa lot to be said for buying domestic these days. Some of their proiducts are great, and the dealers seem to be where the foreign delaers were, while domestics proiduce betetr products each year the germans go deeper into building down.

I can also say the challenger with v8 is one of the most fun cars you can buy. Kinda like the old personal coupe concept(ltd Eldo etc) but with handling power braking and build, its in a class all by itself and great. The Chrysler 300 is good if a little ong in tooth and the new caddy sedans seem competitive or will be with betetr powerplants(cant have it all) Meanwile if the new ML were built by a dmestic you would have a long rant from me about how crappy domestics are.(like vibratey motor, cheap swtchgear and steering so bad its beyond comprehension how it passed)

As long as domestics stick tot he matra of tryign harder and trying to make genuinely good prodyct they will improve, as soon as the follow the ltest german thinking of building down to market all is lost.

 

I know I'm late on hearing about the upcoming Chevy SS.

Just heard; rear wheel drive, V8, etc.

I thought, "great, they're probably using the Cadillac RWD platform".


But, no...

It's the same old GM Australian Holden Monaro, 05 Pontiac GTO then Pontiac G8 platform. Not that that is a bad thing, but I was hoping for more modern underpinnings.

Hopefully it will sell better than the Pontiac versions. We don't have Pontiac to kick around anymore.