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Strange Cars from the past...

133 messages,  Last post on Sep 22, 2010 at 6:55 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Classic Cars, Coupe, Convertible, Truck, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 10 of 14

#84 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [andre1969] by fezo

Sep 14, 2007 (7:56 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 14, 2007 6:26 am)
Ooohhh.... Going from a 72 Impala to an 82 Malibu wagon definitely qualifies as a demotion.

#85 of 133 Re: Wow... [lemko] by grbeck

Sep 14, 2007 (7:59 am)

Replying to: lemko (Sep 13, 2007 9:59 am)
I had hardcover book on the Thunderbird that featured photos of the styling prototypes. Unfortunately, I no longer have the book, or I could show you the photos the next time you come to a Carlisle event.
 
As Mr. Shiftright said, it was awful - just as bad as the 1980-82 Thunderbird. It probably would have finished off the Thunderbird nameplate.

#86 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [fezo] by andre1969

Sep 14, 2007 (8:24 am)

Replying to: fezo (Sep 14, 2007 7:56 am)
Ooohhh.... Going from a 72 Impala to an 82 Malibu wagon definitely qualifies as a demotion.
 
I remember my grandparents being so hung up on downsizing, and feeling they had been burned by that Malibu, that when Granddad wanted a new pickup, it took some convincing to get Grandmom to see that the pickups weren't downsized, too! At the time, they had a 1976 GMC crew cab pickup, and they were looking at the new '85's. Even though the '85 was the same design, there actually WAS some measurement that was smaller on the '85. I forget now what it was, but I think Grandmom took a tape measure and measured the width of the front seat cushion in the '76, and found that the '85 was narrower.
 
I guess it's possible that GM just rounded off the cushion on the newer trucks, or narrowed them a bit, to make entry/exit easier or something?
 
Looking back, I really wish that '72 Impala had held up. It was a sharp looking car back in the day. Would've made a cool first car for me.

#87 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [andre1969] by fezo

Sep 14, 2007 (8:55 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 14, 2007 8:24 am)
"Looking back, I really wish that '72 Impala had held up. It was a sharp looking car back in the day. Would've made a cool first car for me."
 
Just your size, too...

#88 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [fezo] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Sep 14, 2007 (9:02 am)

Replying to: fezo (Sep 14, 2007 8:55 am)
Ah yes, the "Nimitz Class" Imapalas---LOL!

#89 of 133 One thing I never could figure out... by andre1969

Sep 14, 2007 (9:07 am)

is how did the Impala make it from 1971-76 and the transition to those 5-mph crash bumpers, without putting on any extra length? At least, I don't *think* they put on any length. IIRC, they were about 221" for the whole run of that generation. Those cars did have a lot of wasted space though, so I guess it's possible that up front they just shortened the header panel a bit, and instead of sticking the bumper further out, sort of did the opposite, bringing the front of the car in a bit?
 
It's funny too, to think that my '79 New Yorkers are "downsized", but are still about that same length...221". But then those pre-downsized Nimitz Class NYers WERE bigger than the pre-downsized Impalas, so maybe everything stayed pretty much proportional. I have a used car guide that lists a '78 New Yorker at something like 225.7", but I've heard other sources say it was more like 230".

#90 of 133 Re: Wow... [grbeck] by lemko

Sep 14, 2007 (10:24 am)

Replying to: grbeck (Sep 14, 2007 7:59 am)
Thanks! I really, really want to see what could possibly be worse than the 1980-82 generation T-Bird. My Dad bought a new 1981 Thunderbird Town Landau and it was a real dog in just about every respect - styling, power, quality, etc. I remember one time my Dad getting made at me because I let it slip that I thought his new ride was a joke. He was so proud that he was finally able to afford a Thunderbird, but I was a smart-aleck teenager at the time.

#91 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [andre1969] by lemko

Sep 14, 2007 (10:26 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 14, 2007 8:24 am)
Omigod! Could you imagine what a disaster it would've been if the trucks were also downsized and the biggest one you could get was the size of an S-10?

#92 of 133 Re: One thing I never could figure out... [andre1969] by 210delray

Sep 14, 2007 (8:40 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 14, 2007 9:07 am)
I think the Impala/Caprice must have grown longer with the addition of the 5 mph bumpers in '73 (front) and '74 (rear).
 
Speaking of the '74s, I remember catching my first glimpse of the Caprice 2-door on a car carrier at a rest stop on the PA Turnpike around August of '73. That was an ungainly beast compared to the more graceful hardtops of '71-'73!

#93 of 133 Re: My friend's family... [lemko] by 0patience

Sep 15, 2007 (11:10 am)

Replying to: lemko (Sep 14, 2007 10:26 am)
Trucks were headed that way, just look at the pickups in 89 & 90 I think it was. They were really downsizing them. Thankfully, they started to realize that people didn't want tiny pickups.

Messages Page 10 of 14

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