I was involved in the building of the production line that produced the huge glass windshields for the "Dustbuster" vans. A company I won't mention spent nearly $50 million making that production line. The glass had to get a special coating to keep it from being too much like a greenhouse. Said coating kept it from passing so much light that it melted dashboards and such. Luckily, the same production line could be used to make the rear windows for various model Corvettes, so it wasn't a total waste.
The weirdest GM car I had was a 1981 Caprice wagon with a diesel engine. Beautiful car, terrible engine. Would start, then wouldn't restart until the engine completely cooled down. Even a short trip to the 7-Eleven would take hours. I ended up pulling the diesel out and put in an Olds 350 gas engine. Ran great for years
all it really needed was an expert blueprinting and a water-separating fuel filter which GM was either too cheap or too stupid to outside-purchase. we had a chevelle wagon 5.7 diesel that went over a half-million miles.
I like that GM brought a lot of wierd ideas to market. I just wish they would have either stuck with them longer or executed them better from the start.
GM has a bad habit of releasing something that needs work,then fixing it over the years into something almost perfect, and then killing it a year or two after getting it there.its one of their most infuriating qualities.
So true; if it was a well-done car that was a bit weird, they abandoned and killed it before it could catch on. If it was a neat idea people were interested in but it wasn't developed that well, they pulled the plug on further development. It's a fascinating company history of crazy ideas, dead-ends, and workarounds.
When I drove for Yellow Cab, I got to drive both the Crown Victoria and the bloated whale Caprice Classic. I genuinely preferred the Chevrolet as the big car could hustle and handle well, plus the steering was much more precise. I'd love to find a clean one today.
I liked the V8 SS model 1996 1997. Chevy put them out for a limited time. They just looked slick & comfortable. I currently drive a uses P74 Ford 2005 Crown Vic sedan.
@@SpaceInTime1885a "donk" is a full-size GM two door or 4-door sedan between 1971-1976, emphasis on Chevy Impala and Caprice models. A 1991-1996 Impala/Caprice is referred to as a "bubble".
I had an aeroback Cutlass Salon diesel. I bought it used dirt cheap in 1986 because it was running very rough. I had the mechanical fuel injection rebuild by a diesel truck mechanic and it ran great -- for about 10,000 miles then just died. I junked it. If I knew then what I know now I would have put a water separator on it. That was it's fatal flaw. It was an odd looking car. I drove it from Fort Ord, California to Fort Campbell, Kentucky and did get close to 30 miles per gallon driving the National speed limit of 55 mph.
Yeah, shame GM didn't get its stuff straight with the Oldsmobile diesel until '81... and the same with its "small" V-8 gasoline offerings as well. (4.3L/260-ci < 5.0L/307-ci.)
the Aeroback would have been much better as a real hatchback. As far as questionable designs, anybody remember when the rear doors of the Mallibu only had opening vent windows because GM thought it was too expensive to install wind down windows?
The Caprice police package was rather unique. We called them Shamu cars (consider the car with a traditional Police black and white paint job) and the faster we drove them, the better they handled.
so i was in high school in a science class and the teacher was talking about Fusiform animal shapes. i asked the question "so you mean like those new ugly police cars?" his answer was yes.
@@manoman0 Well, he wasn't wrong about a bunch of places GM shouldnta cut corners, especially since a lot of the target market wasn't used to rear engine driving.
I genuinely still love the dustbuster vans And i still think the last gen caprice was a great looking car. I never understood the hate, but then i suppose it's because I grew up around this kind of design vs people that grew up with the 50's-80's cars. I dunno. i tend to think that early 90's car design was peak American car design. it took the designs of the 80's, and made them sleeker. and for the better imo. I will say, between the Caprice Classic and the first gen Crown Vic, I prefer the caprice
One of the radio stations I worked at had a Lumina APV when they first came out. It replaced a full sized van. I actually liked driving it compared to the big chrysler van we had before.
I had an Oldsmobile silhouette, we called it the “spaceship “ because it reminded me of the view from the millennium falcon, I did like it though although the automatic sliding door would always blow the fuse
@@coletrickle-km7cl I refer to them as "monorail" vans. I remember an episode of MotorWeek giving them that nickname, and I thought, "Yeah, that makes sense."
Very true. The Cadillac 365 (or was it a 368?) was the same block as the 472 and 500 just with less stroke and I believe smaller pistons but once the solenoids for the 8-6-4 was deactivated, it was a great and reliable power plant. The 500 was a "squared" engine as in the bore and stroke were pretty much the same (4.300 bore/4.304 stroke).
Been a GM tech since the 70's. I once worked on one of those that had toggle switches wired into the 4-6-8 computer to manually switch the cylinders on and off.
I drove an Olds Cutlass Supreme diesel for a week in 1983 as a borrowed car and I loved it. I put in 10 bucks of fuel and I didn't have to put in a drop over 260 miles. I estimated 40 highway mpg.
GM's 1990 futuristic styled "dustbuster" vans received mixed reactions in the US. The styling was appreciated better in Europe. The Belgian gendarmerie even used the export version of the Pontiac Trans Sport, powered by a 2.3L quad four coupled to a 5-speed manual.
LOVE IT! Now I need to see an episode on the 1973 Boat tail Buick Riviera & their cult following as a movie car... Beautiful & quirky design with a 7.5L 455... Had one and loved it!
The Lumina and Transport vans were and still are way ahead of their time with the plastic body panels. I live in the rust belt and never had any rust on the vehicle. Strength wise, they were also stronger than the conventional steel body vehicles because of the steel structural frame. It was a smart design that simply failed to be properly marketed by GM. The replacement vans were junk, that's why they failed.
We loved our Pontiac TransSport, it was a really nice van... these GM vans were maligned unfairly. They were far nicer that the traditional dull vans that followed.
Bustleback Caddys weren’t ugly as much as they just look dated. Marketed towards baroque styling enthusiasts who wanted something that looked less boxy. Chrysler & Lincoln also did similar rear deck styling w/the Imperial & Continental. It was a 1980s trend that came & went. Wasn’t regarded as anything outlandish at the time.
I had one years ago, and to this day, kind of miss it. I know it's woefully outdated at this time, but I remember how nice it rode, how much room it had, how comfortable the seats were, and even the Bose radio, fuel mileage display, auto headlights and other gadgets made it a nice car to drive.
yes I always loved the way the seville looked now with that shortened rear end looked great even with the spare tire on it that was very unique it looked like a very classy car
Great video ! I have to admit I LOVED THE SEVILLE ! It was too European and drastic at that time for most buyers, but it was a beautiful design. I OWNED 2 Sevilles, a 1976 and a 1979. Loved both !
The 368 big block aka 4-6-8 was and is remedied pretty easily to stay in v8 mode via cutting one wire. Many have installed a toggle to revert to 8cyl mode or 4/6/8 when highway cruising. It's the same basic engine as the 425, 472 and 500 all considered good. Many modern vehicles have their life cut short due to mechanical problems caused by cylinder deactivation, including the modern hemi. I liked the commercial for the aztek calling it neither a station wagon nor suv it's a uv. Well what is sporty about many "suvs' nothing lots are more utility than sport. Check the vehicle registration it is a station wagon as just about all "suv's" are.
I had a ‘91 Lumina Dustbuster 😂. I hated cleaning the inside of the windshield, but it was a work horse. I put 270,000 miles on it before the transmission went, but the engine never gave me any trouble. I loved it.
@@DavidLLambertmobileI had an ‘89 Beretta that I bought brand new. I had it for 4 years, until the paint started pealing. It was a zippy little car though, and pretty good looking.
I had the Pontiac Transport (Dust buster) - It was a great ride, a bit unusual looking, but did everything I asked from it. The 5 year seats were identical removable bucket seats, that could be removed and re-arranged to suit our needs. Decent gas mileage, and low maintenance. And yes, it did attract attention.
I remember Chevy had a Lumina van too. I knew Army sgts that had them. 1 security guy, SE Asia combat veteran I worked with used a older Oldsmobile van. I myself like the sci fi, cockpit type design. The mini vans were ✅️ for seating, long car trips.
We have a yellow SSR in our neighborhood. I looked at it every time it passes. I think it’s brilliant! A practicality of a truck married to a freedom of convertible!
XUV wasn’t a bad idea - in theory. I think it was ahead of it’s time; just like the Aztec. It had so many features that were extremely cool but were overshadowed by the looks. Both vehicles were very under appreciated.
The Aztec looks like many SUV/crossover vehicles today. A lot of compromise on the final styling just didn’t work. The concept wasn’t bad looking at all.
I'm a big fan of the Chevrolet Caprice especially the Impala SS with the LT1 350 V8. These cars are alot of fun to drive. I miss the full sized V8 RWD platform. These and the Ford Crown Vic are awesome. They do great smokey burnouts.
I remember how in 1990s era 🇵🇦 US Air Force SPs now called Security Forces: had brand new police version 🚔. Howard AFB. They were hot 🔥. Big but V8 engines, police suspension, brakes.
I knew a guy who worked for Hurst. He built a car with a VW chassis, Bradley GT body, a supercharged Corvair engine hooked to a Porsche 5-speed transaxle. It was scary fast!
That Corvair was considered a "niche" vehicle by GM even though it sold in respectable numbers. That is why they came up with the Chevy II/ Nova in 1962. Even though Ralph Nader published his book, "Unsafe at any Speed" GM was going to show him and they still continued to build the Corvair until 1969; the last few examples of which were handbuilt off an assembly line.
I liked the Pontiac Transport dustbuster. Pontiac was matching the rims with the body color and it really looked cool and sporty on the van. The matching body molds looked neat too.
I bought new a 2006 HHR and I still drive it daily. I personally love the styling and interior design with the leather seating. I have over 100,000 miles and the car has been bullet-proof.
I think GM and Chrysler’s biggest mistake with the PT Cruiser and HHR was making them compact, rather than full or mid sized. Had they been a more substantial platform instead of a cheap throwaway, they would probably be more cherished today than hated.
@@awesomeferret because it’s compact, unibody, and front wheel drive. That significantly limits what you can do with it, and more importantly, who would want to do anything with it. Midsize rear wheel drive body on frame would be a more substantial platform.
I think the PT Cruiser was a lot more successful to that end because, despite being classified as a light truck for CAFE standards, it was never really seen or marketed as one. Functionally, it was a retro-styled 5-door hatch or sport-wagon, and in that case a transaxle and a relatively compact unibody construction is perfectly suitable. Plus, Chrysler leaned way into the “sporty” angle with the R/T, GT, and Route 66 special editions, among many others, and the car sold like hot cakes for it. For the HHR’s case, though, I totally agree. It tried to invoke the body-on-frame trucks of the ‘40s, but wasn’t nearly rugged enough to do the same kind of work, and wasn’t nearly sporty enough to succeed as a compact wagon either. They also failed as a fleet panel van for all the reasons you list. The SS version was kind of a last-ditch effort to make it sporty, but why buy that when you could go for the lighter and less bulky Cobalt SS with which it shares a platform? It tried to appeal to everybody in all the wrong ways and became something nobody asked for.
The PT CRUISER is fantastic a vehicle that looks compact, that has a lot of interior space, robust and in the same way as the SSR is a true modern hot rod.
I had one of those Bustleback caddys, I think it was an 83. It was a great car, very classy looking at the time and comfortable. But the problem was that V 8/6/4 engine, I swear that was the slowest car I ever owned. Merging onto a highway was rough. If you weren't in a hurry it was great though.
Great video! I am surprised at the Caprice being on this list, but to each their own. I actually have a poster of a 1994 Caprice Wagon, when the B-body's had their final facelift. I still want one of those wagons to this day.
I had a Bretta GT with the digital dash when I was 16. I loved that car the tourqe in that thing was amazing for its time for a big V6 in the late 80's early 90's
I think the Aztec catches a lot of unnecessary hate. It was super weird at the time and yes ugly. But 20 years later it looks like literally everything else on the road. In terms of pure ugliness the Buick is far far worse. It was just a little ahead of its time.
Buick Rendezvous was the rebadged Aztec. It had more blobby styling that actually looks like current crossovers. It doest get all the attention because it was boring rather than ugly and weird. Amazing pull on the buick signia concept car.
I currently own a 78 Century aeroback. I think I have the only one left in existence 😂 Gets more looks going down the road than a Vette. It’s two tone green and it looks like a lima bean.
Nissan and Ford can join em. Biggest issue I had owning cars from them in the 80s and 90s was cheep plastic and rubber, both cars leaked dashboards fell apart, and seats malfunctions that were safety issues
I was at a car cruise and a guy had an SSR, which I like the look of. I didn't like the dash though. The design was underwhelming, the plastics looked cheap, and the silver parts looked like they were painted by a kid with Testors model paint.
Didn't think of the Caprice as weird, because the B-body is basically GM's answer to Fords Panther-body cars. Fit a certain niche of large sedans and practically mirrored each other at times.
I'm still the proud owner of a 1986 Cadillac Coupe Deville with the infamous 4.1L engine and it has 179K miles on it and still runs. This car was family owned since purchased new. I have done all the upkeep and repairs over the years.
That chevy caprice was the best car GM has ever made! I had one that had over 400,000 miles n still ran like it was new. Had so much room for activities in it!
I am a Ford man through and through. But I've owned five SeVilles 76' through '80. All four RWD cars were California emissioned 350 Z codes. Absolutely wonderful cars. The FWD facetted trunk '80 of course had the aluminum /iron alloy 4.1 litre, which is even worse than the too fine a thread head bolt Northstars. But, I must admit, that thing ran like a Swiss watch. I wish I still had it.
I would have put the Aztek at number one but only because that thing was so BFU (Butt F***ing Ugly) it deserves to be in a class by itself, but all of the vehicles featured definitely earned their place on this list. Another great video!!!!
@@manoman0 Yes. Once you got inside it had a lot of nice features to offer, but unfortunately you have to look at it in order to get inside of it…or wear dark sunglasses.
"GM management turned their attention to developing a more comparable sports car to the Mustang leading to the Camaro in 1969". Camaro came out in 1967
I had a Lumina APV and the sedan. Loved the APV but if you had to brake heavily everything on the dash shot shortwards right to the end of the windscreen so you couldn't retrieve it. Also liked the rear taillights, they were in the best position.
@@gahbah274 Unless you have the arms of an orangutan the glove box was out of easy reach... you trying to say that you've never put anything on the dash? How odd.
The Caprice also had a Cadillac clone Fleetwood Sedan, also available with the LT1 engine. Its raised rear 1/4 panels looked more like the fins of the 1960's models than the bulbous rear of the Caprice. I believe it was also the last production RWD Cadillac as well.
Style wise GMs minivans were just like Toyotas minivans. The dustbuster vans were just as futuristic at the Toyota Previa and the later GM minivans were just as mainstream as the Toyota Sienna.
Really good vid. The HHR is like the PT cruiser but better, and i wish its drivetrain options weren't restricted by the platform. And maybe its because i grew up with one, but i wouldnt call the B body Caprice weird today, really surprised me.
Very interesting indeed! Didn’t expect to see the Caprice at all, especially as #1. It would be great if you could someday compile a top 10 weird cars list from other companies (excluding GM).
I love that GM often took risks instead of always playing it safe. They just didn't do the best job of standing by these risks, often backing away quickly.
I live in Lansing. I occasionally see what I thought were some EV1s on the road. Turns out they were the similarly styled Honda Insight. In addition to similar body styling, both cars had rear fender skirts. I’m guessing the skirts improved the aerodynamics.
Nader didn't kill the Corvair, Lee Iacocca did. The Mustang was such a huge hit GM stopped putting development money into the Corvair after '65. I'm convinced if it hadn't been for the book and publicity around it the Corvair's last year would've been '66 and GM kept building it for three years just to show they couldn't be pushed around.
The Caprice was odd looking, but it rode very nice. It was every bit competitive with a Lincoln tow car. The Fleetwood by Cadillac was one of the best riding cars I've ever been in. But yeah. Bathtub on wheels when you look at it from the side
The same designer of the HHR also worked on the Uplander, a weird 'update' to the Venture minivan. It was weird and half baked badge engineering abuse example. But some of the weird elements showed up on both cars. Definitely a mid 2000's era car.
PT Cruiser: I remember when it first came out. People went nuts. They were reselling used ones for more than the MSRP. Now, everyone laughs at people in PT Cruisers. Underpowered and small they didn't meet crash safety standards either. Cheap junk as most owners found out.
I reckon the SSR and the Prowler are both great vehicle designs that were never seen here in Australia, but definitely would've sold very well if they'd made it to our shores! However, most American cars (especially from Mitchell's era) seem to suffer badly from being hit with the ugly-stick!
We're waiting on those mad max interceptor, tamper proof fuel system and turboed. It's interesting to me how different the body styles of the same name vary from around the world.
I always thought the whale Caprice looked good as a wagon. Compare it with the Geo Metro and you can see clearly related design influences, and it would be interesting to imagine related two-box (hatchback or wagon) compact and midsize models filling in between them. Interestingly, the 3-box sedans look very different because the Metro/Swift hatchbacks were styled by GM Design but the sedan was done a year or so later in-house by Suzuki.
Same with the Accord and Escort stations that came out a bit later. We thought they were ugly in the 80's/early-90's but our eyes weren't calibrated right, from growing up thinking awkward boats like Cutlass'es, Buicks and even Cadillacs, looked great and could haul a lot of people/junk. Now those Caprices, Accord and Escort station wagons(along with some other "ugly" oddities like the 80's Toyota Cargo Vans), almost or outright look vintage futuristic now, compared to most of the other boaty, pointless corners, bloated cars of the early-mid 80's.
The Lincoln Continental mark seven and mark eight would be interesting to cover. Also the Chrysler R body vehicles produced between 1978 and 1981. Finally the Chrysler Imperial coupe from 1981 to 1983.
The change to more aerodynamic styling made the Caprice change from sleek to bloated while it had the opposite effect on the Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis. I always thought it odd that GM gave the aeroback designs to Buick and Oldsmobile while Chevrolet and Pontiac had more traditional notch-backs; I thought they should have done the reverse.
I just bought a 91 caprice, and I find it funny that you mentioned it. It definitely isn’t a looker, but they definitely are unique and odd vehicles. I’d love to see an episode on them
Really, at one time GM led the world in automotive technology and styling. Everyone copied and tried to keep up with GM. The Corvair was really an awesome car. I own one.
@@keithbarnes9419 Good book. I went down a GM history book-reading rabbit hole several years ago. I read Lutz's book, DeLorean's book about GM when he was a top exec in the '60s and '70s (On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors), an insider's story of the C-5 Corvette development project (All Corvettes are Red), which provided a lot of insight into the internal politics, workings, and disfunctions of GM at that time, and one written by an assembly line worker about what it was like in the trenches at a GM plant in the '70s and '80s (Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line). On that last subject, I knew someone who worked a couple of line positions at the Wilmington, Delaware GM final assembly plant while in college in the early '70s. His stories were interesting, to say the least. Each of those books were great reading, but all of the stories put together and told from very different perspectives painted a fascinating inside picture of GM.
The author recalls riding in a Cadillac limousine equipped with the V8-6-4 engine sometime in the 1990s. Taped to the car’s dashboard was a hand-written note with two speeds written on it-something like 45 mph and 68 mph, as I recall. When I asked what the reason for the note, the driver explained it was a reminder to avoid those speeds. The engine was especially apt to “HUNT” between cylinder counts, and was particularly unrefined in doing so. /// In retrospective, did the cars evaluated by Consumer Reports have that feature DISABLED ??
I've heard that the V4-6-8 was at its worst in odd-firing 6 cylinder mode, and that the best way to enjoy the car was to deactivate that mode and let the engine switch between 4 and 8 cylinders. Too bad GM didn't start shipping the cars that way as soon as customers started complaining. It was still a much better engine than the 4100.
I was involved in the building of the production line that produced the huge glass windshields for the "Dustbuster" vans. A company I won't mention spent nearly $50 million making that production line. The glass had to get a special coating to keep it from being too much like a greenhouse. Said coating kept it from passing so much light that it melted dashboards and such. Luckily, the same production line could be used to make the rear windows for various model Corvettes, so it wasn't a total waste.
another brilliant innovation from LOF
I loved my '95 TransSport SE...purchased new, Metallic red/gold, 3.8L, remote sliding door...
The weirdest GM car I had was a 1981 Caprice wagon with a diesel engine. Beautiful car, terrible engine. Would start, then wouldn't restart until the engine completely cooled down. Even a short trip to the 7-Eleven would take hours. I ended up pulling the diesel out and put in an Olds 350 gas engine. Ran great for years
Deisel engine would have been fine if they had had enough and big enough head bolts
@@glennschlorf1285 The whole engine wasn't beefy enough to be diesel. I broke the crankshaft at about 60 mph on the highway
all it really needed was an expert blueprinting and a water-separating fuel filter which GM was either too cheap or too stupid to outside-purchase. we had a chevelle wagon 5.7 diesel that went over a half-million miles.
I like that GM brought a lot of wierd ideas to market. I just wish they would have either stuck with them longer or executed them better from the start.
I agree. Do a better job of development
Yeah. Like the Aztec Concept. Was much cooler than what was released.
GM has a bad habit of releasing something that needs work,then fixing it over the years into something almost perfect, and then killing it a year or two after getting it there.its one of their most infuriating qualities.
@@regisphilbinsscrotum6631 Yeah, they liked to experiment with the customer's money.
So true; if it was a well-done car that was a bit weird, they abandoned and killed it before it could catch on. If it was a neat idea people were interested in but it wasn't developed that well, they pulled the plug on further development. It's a fascinating company history of crazy ideas, dead-ends, and workarounds.
When I drove for Yellow Cab, I got to drive both the Crown Victoria and the bloated whale Caprice Classic. I genuinely preferred the Chevrolet as the big car could hustle and handle well, plus the steering was much more precise. I'd love to find a clean one today.
Good luck! They're all riding on 24s with lift kits and NASCAR looking paint jobs.
@@woodsrdrsad but true
I liked the V8 SS model 1996 1997. Chevy put them out for a limited time. They just looked slick & comfortable. I currently drive a uses P74 Ford 2005 Crown Vic sedan.
@@SpaceInTime1885a "donk" is a full-size GM two door or 4-door sedan between 1971-1976, emphasis on Chevy Impala and Caprice models. A 1991-1996 Impala/Caprice is referred to as a "bubble".
I had an aeroback Cutlass Salon diesel. I bought it used dirt cheap in 1986 because it was running very rough. I had the mechanical fuel injection rebuild by a diesel truck mechanic and it ran great -- for about 10,000 miles then just died. I junked it. If I knew then what I know now I would have put a water separator on it. That was it's fatal flaw. It was an odd looking car. I drove it from Fort Ord, California to Fort Campbell, Kentucky and did get close to 30 miles per gallon driving the National speed limit of 55 mph.
Lucky. I still remember the new car smell at the dealership. The 80’s were great.
Yeah, shame GM didn't get its stuff straight with the Oldsmobile diesel until '81... and the same with its "small" V-8 gasoline offerings as well. (4.3L/260-ci < 5.0L/307-ci.)
the Aeroback would have been much better as a real hatchback.
As far as questionable designs, anybody remember when the rear doors of the Mallibu only had opening vent windows because GM thought it was too expensive to install wind down windows?
5😂
Aerocoupe cutlass ?
The Caprice police package was rather unique. We called them Shamu cars (consider the car with a traditional Police black and white paint job) and the faster we drove them, the better they handled.
The wagons always reminded me of getting mooned by Orson Welles.
Yea the steering gets tighter the faster you go
It's got a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension and cop shocks. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
so i was in high school in a science class and the teacher was talking about Fusiform animal shapes. i asked the question "so you mean like those new ugly police cars?" his answer was yes.
@@MrSGL21 so you're a nerd?
I could say that the Corvair is still beautiful and underrated for me, especially the Corsa.
It was a good car and Nader was a nasty agitator and liar.
@@manoman0 Well, he wasn't wrong about a bunch of places GM shouldnta cut corners, especially since a lot of the target market wasn't used to rear engine driving.
@@manoman0 the spider was the prettiest corvair
A 65 Corvair in black. WANT ONE!!
The Corvair was a bucket of crap that leaked. Killing it was the best thing GM did.
I actually love those caprices with the LT1. But everybody has their style.
They're really great cars.
They're menacing in all black.
They fast AF too
I genuinely still love the dustbuster vans
And i still think the last gen caprice was a great looking car. I never understood the hate, but then i suppose it's because I grew up around this kind of design vs people that grew up with the 50's-80's cars.
I dunno. i tend to think that early 90's car design was peak American car design. it took the designs of the 80's, and made them sleeker. and for the better imo.
I will say, between the Caprice Classic and the first gen Crown Vic, I prefer the caprice
I agree 100% with you. I like the '91-'96 Caprice Classic style, especially early '91-'92 models, with those semi-covered rear wheel arches.
Both you guys need to find psychological help. 😂
One of the radio stations I worked at had a Lumina APV when they first came out. It replaced a full sized van. I actually liked driving it compared to the big chrysler van we had before.
These type of videos (10 Worse) are Perfect Dumping Grounds.
And they drove great
Bought a 2003 Aztek brand new for $18,000 and drove it for 11 years (198,000 miles). Loved it.
$18,000 won’t even buy you a Versa these days.
You overpaid.
Because as you drove it, you didn't have to look at it.
The tent car? Hahaha
And it never overheated once…
And the intake gaskets never rotted prematurely due to the Dexcool…
I had an Oldsmobile silhouette, we called it the “spaceship “ because it reminded me of the view from the millennium falcon, I did like it though although the automatic sliding door would always blow the fuse
@Bigga Nigga ok, what does that mean?
@Bigga Nigga I simply left a comment, and you are being condescending, peace dude
Some called it the dust buster after black and Deckers hand held vacuum
There was a guy that made a drag racer out of one of these.
@@coletrickle-km7cl I refer to them as "monorail" vans. I remember an episode of MotorWeek giving them that nickname, and I thought, "Yeah, that makes sense."
They looked cool 😎
I disagree with the Caprice and Seville. Also, the '81 v864 was a very good engine once the cylinder deactivation computer was disconnected.
Very true. The Cadillac 365 (or was it a 368?) was the same block as the 472 and 500 just with less stroke and I believe smaller pistons but once the solenoids for the 8-6-4 was deactivated, it was a great and reliable power plant. The 500 was a "squared" engine as in the bore and stroke were pretty much the same (4.300 bore/4.304 stroke).
Been a GM tech since the 70's. I once worked on one of those that had toggle switches wired into the 4-6-8 computer to manually switch the cylinders on and off.
I drove an Olds Cutlass Supreme diesel for a week in 1983 as a borrowed car and I loved it. I put in 10 bucks of fuel and I didn't have to put in a drop over 260 miles. I estimated 40 highway mpg.
$.60 a gallon
really hard time believing 40mpg...if they could do that with a 4000 lb brick, where are the modern diesels getting that much mpg in smaller cars?
GM's 1990 futuristic styled "dustbuster" vans received mixed reactions in the US. The styling was appreciated better in Europe. The Belgian gendarmerie even used the export version of the Pontiac Trans Sport, powered by a 2.3L quad four coupled to a 5-speed manual.
If they had beat Chrysler they probably would have been much more popular.
They were a great driving
When I first saw that Caprice, I thought Chevy had taken a Taurus and redesigned it to look like it was a Hudson.
LOVE IT! Now I need to see an episode on the 1973 Boat tail Buick Riviera & their cult following as a movie car... Beautiful & quirky design with a 7.5L 455... Had one and loved it!
The Lumina and Transport vans were and still are way ahead of their time with the plastic body panels. I live in the rust belt and never had any rust on the vehicle. Strength wise, they were also stronger than the conventional steel body vehicles because of the steel structural frame.
It was a smart design that simply failed to be properly marketed by GM. The replacement vans were junk, that's why they failed.
We loved our Pontiac TransSport, it was a really nice van... these GM vans were maligned unfairly. They were far nicer that the traditional dull vans that followed.
Bustleback Caddys weren’t ugly as much as they just look dated. Marketed towards baroque styling enthusiasts who wanted something that looked less boxy. Chrysler & Lincoln also did similar rear deck styling w/the Imperial & Continental. It was a 1980s trend that came & went. Wasn’t regarded as anything outlandish at the time.
Ford and Chrysler also produced bustlebacks during that time. The Chrysler Imperial and the Lincoln Continental
Rolls Royce
I liked both the Seville and the Imperial
They were supposed to look dated. As robertbeirne9813 said, they resembled older Rolls-Royce sedans.
Exactly, sort of 30s elegance. I thought they all looked good
I was always fascinated by the styling of the 80-85 Cadillacs Seville
I had one years ago, and to this day, kind of miss it. I know it's woefully outdated at this time, but I remember how nice it rode, how much room it had, how comfortable the seats were, and even the Bose radio, fuel mileage display, auto headlights and other gadgets made it a nice car to drive.
@@BaltimoreAndOhioRRHad the 84 Seville. Light blue mettalic
Loved the Seville styling.
yes I always loved the way the seville looked now with that shortened rear end looked great even with the spare tire on it that was very unique it looked like a very classy car
My neighbor had one when I was a kid, I loved it then and still do!
The Seville looks good. I wanted one in the 80s and I still do today.
Great video ! I have to admit I LOVED THE SEVILLE ! It was too European and drastic at that time for most buyers, but it was a beautiful design. I OWNED 2 Sevilles, a 1976 and a 1979. Loved both !
The first Sevilles had 4 wheel disc brakes and drove really well.
I too owned a 1982 seville love that car, but worse engine ever . wish I still had it
The 368 big block aka 4-6-8 was and is remedied pretty easily to stay in v8 mode via cutting one wire. Many have installed a toggle to revert to 8cyl mode or 4/6/8 when highway cruising. It's the same basic engine as the 425, 472 and 500 all considered good. Many modern vehicles have their life cut short due to mechanical problems caused by cylinder deactivation, including the modern hemi.
I liked the commercial for the aztek calling it neither a station wagon nor suv it's a uv. Well what is sporty about many "suvs' nothing lots are more utility than sport. Check the vehicle registration it is a station wagon as just about all "suv's" are.
youre right nothing sporty about an suv, a box with a wheezy 4 cylinder engine..
I owned a Caprice Estate Wagon...I used it much like a truck and it made a great winter car in the Midwest...which ultimately killed it (rust).
The Mustang also offered a V-8, while all of Corvair's engines seemed "too exotic" to most car buyers... especially the turbo one.
The bubble dome Chevy was the best police vehicle I’ve ever driven. Turning radius was fantastic.
I think it got near perfect scores on the Michigan state police testing program
It was the Caprices swan song,such a nice and solid dependable beautiful driving car.
I had a ‘91 Lumina Dustbuster 😂. I hated cleaning the inside of the windshield, but it was a work horse. I put 270,000 miles on it before the transmission went, but the engine never gave me any trouble. I loved it.
Good deal. If I had the $ I'd buy a mid 1990s Beretta. Maybe the convertible. They looked sharp. V6 engine.
I had 3 Pontiac TransSports....the first a '93 for myself, then 2 '95's for a biz I had. I loved those vans!
@@DavidLLambertmobileI had an ‘89 Beretta that I bought brand new. I had it for 4 years, until the paint started pealing. It was a zippy little car though, and pretty good looking.
I had the Pontiac Transport (Dust buster) - It was a great ride, a bit unusual looking, but did everything I asked from it. The 5 year seats were identical removable bucket seats, that could be removed and re-arranged to suit our needs. Decent gas mileage, and low maintenance. And yes, it did attract attention.
I remember Chevy had a Lumina van too. I knew Army sgts that had them. 1 security guy, SE Asia combat veteran I worked with used a older Oldsmobile van. I myself like the sci fi, cockpit type design. The mini vans were ✅️ for seating, long car trips.
Tint all the 32 windows dark
We have a yellow SSR in our neighborhood. I looked at it every time it passes. I think it’s brilliant! A practicality of a truck married to a freedom of convertible!
Like an El Camino!!
...just a lot uglier! 😂
How is it at all comparable to a truck?
XUV wasn’t a bad idea - in theory. I think it was ahead of it’s time; just like the Aztec. It had so many features that were extremely cool but were overshadowed by the looks.
Both vehicles were very under appreciated.
And Out Of Proportion & Balance. They would have shot it & put it out of its misery in Italy.
@@adrianmonk4440ok?
@@NotQuiteSteele yea xux was pretty neat from the enovy
The Aztec looks like many SUV/crossover vehicles today.
A lot of compromise on the final styling just didn’t work. The concept wasn’t bad looking at all.
That was only available on the GMC version of the T-360 platform and it wasn't the first; the Studebaker Wagonnaire was the first in the early '60's.
The Pontiac Aztek was way ahead of its time.
First think I thought when I saw commercials for the new Subaru Crosstrek. Azteks only fault was it come out to soon.
@@vrltime123Man, it was freaking ugly & incredibly boxy. Then there was the Avalanche that also was a terrible design Chevy put out there.
The "bustleback" Seville was a takeoff on the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud of the 1950's, which in turn was a takeoff on the Packard Clipper of 1940-41.
I bought one . Looked great . But just falls apart sitting still 😅
@@garrettsmith5774 I had one for a couple years, and I loved(!) the body style- but you're right about the build quality.
I'm a big fan of the Chevrolet Caprice especially the Impala SS with the LT1 350 V8. These cars are alot of fun to drive. I miss the full sized V8 RWD platform. These and the Ford Crown Vic are awesome. They do great smokey burnouts.
I remember how in 1990s era 🇵🇦 US Air Force SPs now called Security Forces: had brand new police version 🚔. Howard AFB. They were hot 🔥. Big but V8 engines, police suspension, brakes.
I had a kinda decent maurauder for a short while…….so many people tried to make an offer on that car…..black folk all f with them tough.
I love the 9C1 Caprice. It was awesome in Police or Impala form. The LT1 engine was bad ass and it handled like a sports car.
And almost EVERYONE hated the styling - including the police themselves.
It could be ordered in the LTZ package as well, i have one and was also an option in the Roadmaster
@@bricefleckenstein9666 i love it because the black and white paint scheme and the round styling made it look like a killer whale
One thing about the Corvair, their engines beat the crap out of Bug engines in dune buggies.
I knew a guy who worked for Hurst. He built a car with a VW chassis, Bradley GT body, a supercharged Corvair engine hooked to a Porsche 5-speed transaxle. It was scary fast!
That Corvair was considered a "niche" vehicle by GM even though it sold in respectable numbers. That is why they came up with the Chevy II/ Nova in 1962. Even though Ralph Nader published his book, "Unsafe at any Speed" GM was going to show him and they still continued to build the Corvair until 1969; the last few examples of which were handbuilt off an assembly line.
What's sad is the fact that the Corvair was far Safer than most cars built today.
The dust busters were great vans, also good in the snow with that low nose clearing way for the wheels.
I liked the Pontiac Transport dustbuster. Pontiac was matching the rims with the body color and it really looked cool and sporty on the van. The matching body molds looked neat too.
2:21 can we take a moment and admire how strong these men are able to lift that SAFE like it was nothing.
I bought new a 2006 HHR and I still drive it daily. I personally love the styling and interior design with the leather seating. I have over 100,000 miles and the car has been bullet-proof.
I hope it's " bullet proof" you hardly drive it
I think GM and Chrysler’s biggest mistake with the PT Cruiser and HHR was making them compact, rather than full or mid sized. Had they been a more substantial platform instead of a cheap throwaway, they would probably be more cherished today than hated.
And the pt cruiser wasn't a substantial platform because... 🤷♂️
@@awesomeferret because it’s compact, unibody, and front wheel drive. That significantly limits what you can do with it, and more importantly, who would want to do anything with it. Midsize rear wheel drive body on frame would be a more substantial platform.
@@TheSaltyExplorer pt cruisers have a fairly dedicated cult following, there was even the srt4 version
I think the PT Cruiser was a lot more successful to that end because, despite being classified as a light truck for CAFE standards, it was never really seen or marketed as one. Functionally, it was a retro-styled 5-door hatch or sport-wagon, and in that case a transaxle and a relatively compact unibody construction is perfectly suitable. Plus, Chrysler leaned way into the “sporty” angle with the R/T, GT, and Route 66 special editions, among many others, and the car sold like hot cakes for it.
For the HHR’s case, though, I totally agree. It tried to invoke the body-on-frame trucks of the ‘40s, but wasn’t nearly rugged enough to do the same kind of work, and wasn’t nearly sporty enough to succeed as a compact wagon either. They also failed as a fleet panel van for all the reasons you list. The SS version was kind of a last-ditch effort to make it sporty, but why buy that when you could go for the lighter and less bulky Cobalt SS with which it shares a platform? It tried to appeal to everybody in all the wrong ways and became something nobody asked for.
The PT CRUISER is fantastic a vehicle that looks compact, that has a lot of interior space, robust and in the same way as the SSR is a true modern hot rod.
I had one of those Bustleback caddys, I think it was an 83. It was a great car, very classy looking at the time and comfortable. But the problem was that V 8/6/4 engine, I swear that was the slowest car I ever owned. Merging onto a highway was rough. If you weren't in a hurry it was great though.
Only had to disconnect 1 wire to disable the 6/8/4 system.
Great video! I am surprised at the Caprice being on this list, but to each their own. I actually have a poster of a 1994 Caprice Wagon, when the B-body's had their final facelift. I still want one of those wagons to this day.
Yeah...the Caprice wasn't particularly ugly or strange. I wouldn't have put it in the list at all.
The Caprice was a good looking vehicle... if I had a chance to buy a low mileage wagon? I wouldn't hesitate.
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 I still regret passing up a 1994 wagon in 2014...
Especially the Impala SS version...what Darth Vader would drive!
I've had a 1994 Roadmaster wagon for 8 years now and I love it. Turns heads a LOT.
😎👍
I had a Bretta GT with the digital dash when I was 16. I loved that car the tourqe in that thing was amazing for its time for a big V6 in the late 80's early 90's
I think the Aztec catches a lot of unnecessary hate. It was super weird at the time and yes ugly. But 20 years later it looks like literally everything else on the road. In terms of pure ugliness the Buick is far far worse. It was just a little ahead of its time.
The Buick Signia?
Buick Rendezvous was the rebadged Aztec. It had more blobby styling that actually looks like current crossovers. It doest get all the attention because it was boring rather than ugly and weird.
Amazing pull on the buick signia concept car.
@Josh &Indy the buick was way better than the Aztec
Nothing looks like the Aztec. It gets all the proper hate
Yeah if anything it was a sign of things to come really.
I currently own a 78 Century aeroback. I think I have the only one left in existence 😂 Gets more looks going down the road than a Vette. It’s two tone green and it looks like a lima bean.
2 door or four door?
@@Froghorn_ 2dr
A problem is that GM used cheap plastics on the dash/interior of many of their cars. They do this to save costs
Nissan and Ford can join em. Biggest issue I had owning cars from them in the 80s and 90s was cheep plastic and rubber, both cars leaked dashboards fell apart, and seats malfunctions that were safety issues
All of them still use cheap plastic.
@@namemcnamerton4249 And, it's most attractive when used as body-cladding.
I was at a car cruise and a guy had an SSR, which I like the look of. I didn't like the dash though. The design was underwhelming, the plastics looked cheap, and the silver parts looked like they were painted by a kid with Testors model paint.
I thought they did that because cheap plastic made the GM ceo horny.
Didn't think of the Caprice as weird, because the B-body is basically GM's answer to Fords Panther-body cars. Fit a certain niche of large sedans and practically mirrored each other at times.
The problem with GM was never their concepts (pun *intended* esp @ Cadillac 👀), but their execution
Exactly.
I'm still the proud owner of a 1986 Cadillac Coupe Deville with the infamous 4.1L engine and it has 179K miles on it and still runs. This car was family owned since purchased new. I have done all the upkeep and repairs over the years.
That chevy caprice was the best car GM has ever made! I had one that had over 400,000 miles n still ran like it was new. Had so much room for activities in it!
Best car made? Okay.
@@WALTERBROADDUS they were surprisingly good and durable cars.
I am a Ford man through and through. But I've owned five SeVilles 76' through '80. All four RWD cars were California emissioned 350 Z codes. Absolutely wonderful cars. The FWD facetted trunk '80 of course had the aluminum /iron alloy 4.1 litre, which is even worse than the too fine a thread head bolt Northstars. But, I must admit, that thing ran like a Swiss watch. I wish I still had it.
I literally just saw a Seville with the 5th wheel an hour ago at a Father’s Day cruise. Haven’t seen one in years. Talk about coincidence.
The Monte Carlo would be a great model to review. I had 5 different models through the 80's & 90's.
I would have put the Aztek at number one but only because that thing was so BFU (Butt F***ing Ugly) it deserves to be in a class by itself, but all of the vehicles featured definitely earned their place on this list.
Another great video!!!!
Do you realise that the Aztek showed off the SUV design that is nowadays accepted?
@manoman0 I was going to say the same.. round off the corners and you've got most GM midsize SUVs since then.
@@manoman0
Yes. Once you got inside it had a lot of nice features to offer, but unfortunately you have to look at it in order to get inside of it…or wear dark sunglasses.
@@OntarioBearHunterr just about any manufacturer’s SUV.
I always thought the Nissan Rogue looked similar from the front😂😂😂
"GM management turned their attention to developing a more comparable sports car to the Mustang leading to the Camaro in 1969".
Camaro came out in 1967
The Corvair wasn't as bad a Nadar claimed. It was a better car than the Vega that replaced it
Would still love to see one on the 90s/00s Lumina/Monte Carlo.
I seen 1997 Chevy lumina few weeks ago. Looked decent for its age.
As a daily 2003 Pontiac Vibe driver, I love this list.
That is actually a Toyota Corolla. They are very good cars.
Toyota Matrix...
I had a Lumina APV and the sedan. Loved the APV but if you had to brake heavily everything on the dash shot shortwards right to the end of the windscreen so you couldn't retrieve it. Also liked the rear taillights, they were in the best position.
"Rear" taillights? Where else woud you expect to find the taillights?
@@5610winston I think he's referring to their location high on the rear roof supports, like a lot of current cars
Why the hell did you have stuff on the dash??
@@gahbah274 Unless you have the arms of an orangutan the glove box was out of easy reach... you trying to say that you've never put anything on the dash? How odd.
@@rogerdodrill4733 Yep, that's what I meant. Like the ones on a Ford Focus for example.
The Caprice also had a Cadillac clone Fleetwood Sedan, also available with the LT1 engine. Its raised rear 1/4 panels looked more like the fins of the 1960's models than the bulbous rear of the Caprice. I believe it was also the last production RWD Cadillac as well.
The CT6 is RWD. They just quit making it recently.
All Cadillac cars are rear drive or all wheel drive and available with manual transmissions. It will be a shame when they stop making them.
@@jasonrhodes9726 Ever heard of the Cadillac Cimarron? X-body (think Chevrolet Citation).
@@alsavage1 I forgot the word current.
The Cimarron was that big? I thought it was on the Cavalier chassis.
Current Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans are RWD.
Nice video! I always liked the Caprice. Have you done a video on the Honda Element yet?
ruclips.net/video/sOeHivLNnmg/видео.html
I remember the EV1 on display at Epcot. I think they could only be leased and now bought. Thanks Pat, another great video.
I still have the sales brochure from that display! That exact car would SELL today.
The Impala SS and road master wagons were badass
Style wise GMs minivans were just like Toyotas minivans. The dustbuster vans were just as futuristic at the Toyota Previa and the later GM minivans were just as mainstream as the Toyota Sienna.
@jdslyman Yes, the Previa was mid engine with RWD or optional AWD.
Previas were a nightmare to work on that engine underneath. And that enormous bubble of a windshield was killer-expensive if it cracked.
Really good vid. The HHR is like the PT cruiser but better, and i wish its drivetrain options weren't restricted by the platform. And maybe its because i grew up with one, but i wouldnt call the B body Caprice weird today, really surprised me.
Yes, a manual HHR is as you said, a better PT Cruiser. Ans PT Cruisers sold very well
George Anthony, Casey's dad had a GM-HHR. 😐 He was a retired cop & security officer.
@@DavidLLambertmobilewhy is that worth commenting?
Very interesting indeed! Didn’t expect to see the Caprice at all, especially as #1. It would be great if you could someday compile a top 10 weird cars list from other companies (excluding GM).
Almost gotta do a Ford and a Chrysler edition if this video does well
When they dropped the Caprice in 1996 sales of Ford's Panther Platform cars went up over 20% for 1997.
When the new Caprice came out, I hated it, but thought I might eventually take a liking to it--- actually hated the bloated look more as time went on!
The 88 Pontiac Fiero GT (manual) was a well sorted car - even mechanics of the time recognized this (first hand knowledge :)
I love that GM often took risks instead of always playing it safe. They just didn't do the best job of standing by these risks, often backing away quickly.
A lesson they learned from AMC.
I live in Lansing. I occasionally see what I thought were some EV1s on the road. Turns out they were the similarly styled Honda Insight. In addition to similar body styling, both cars had rear fender skirts. I’m guessing the skirts improved the aerodynamics.
Nader didn't kill the Corvair, Lee Iacocca did. The Mustang was such a huge hit GM stopped putting development money into the Corvair after '65. I'm convinced if it hadn't been for the book and publicity around it the Corvair's last year would've been '66 and GM kept building it for three years just to show they couldn't be pushed around.
I took Driver’s Ed in a Cutlass Salon. Driving it beat the heck out of sitting in class!
If I remember correctly Car and Driver tagged the 1991 Caprice as "Roseanne Barr on wheels".
From model year 1965 onward, Corvair matured into a very nice car. Problems were fixed.
I actually really dig most of these production oddities.
The Caprice was odd looking, but it rode very nice. It was every bit competitive with a Lincoln tow car. The Fleetwood by Cadillac was one of the best riding cars I've ever been in. But yeah. Bathtub on wheels when you look at it from the side
I like the seville! It was unique!
A good friend of mine has, over the years, owned a Pontiac Aztec, An Olds diesel, AND a Seville "Bustleback". Definitely wanted something different!
I feel the PT Cruiser and the HHR would both have been much better if they were minivan sized. More useful and cooler.
The one thing they all have in common: the cheap radio with paint chipping off the numbers. ...and that's being generous.
The same designer of the HHR also worked on the Uplander, a weird 'update' to the Venture minivan. It was weird and half baked badge engineering abuse example. But some of the weird elements showed up on both cars. Definitely a mid 2000's era car.
Now that really makes sense!
PT Cruiser: I remember when it first came out. People went nuts. They were reselling used ones for more than the MSRP.
Now, everyone laughs at people in PT Cruisers. Underpowered and small they didn't meet crash safety standards either.
Cheap junk as most owners found out.
I reckon the SSR and the Prowler are both great vehicle designs that were never seen here in Australia, but definitely would've sold very well if they'd made it to our shores!
However, most American cars (especially from Mitchell's era) seem to suffer badly from being hit with the ugly-stick!
I made a long reply about how Mitchell and staff designed the EH Holden and others but it disappeared.
We're waiting on those mad max interceptor, tamper proof fuel system and turboed.
It's interesting to me how different the body styles of the same name vary from around the world.
Australia shouldda kept building holdens without gm. The utes were too cool.
I bought a '92 Chevy Lumina minivan (in 1995). I thought it was weird looking but was surprised how versatile & handy it was.
My dog LOVED it.
I always thought the whale Caprice looked good as a wagon. Compare it with the Geo Metro and you can see clearly related design influences, and it would be interesting to imagine related two-box (hatchback or wagon) compact and midsize models filling in between them. Interestingly, the 3-box sedans look very different because the Metro/Swift hatchbacks were styled by GM Design but the sedan was done a year or so later in-house by Suzuki.
The best version was the Buick Roadmaster Wagon.
Same with the Accord and Escort stations that came out a bit later. We thought they were ugly in the 80's/early-90's but our eyes weren't calibrated right, from growing up thinking awkward boats like Cutlass'es, Buicks and even Cadillacs, looked great and could haul a lot of people/junk. Now those Caprices, Accord and Escort station wagons(along with some other "ugly" oddities like the 80's Toyota Cargo Vans), almost or outright look vintage futuristic now, compared to most of the other boaty, pointless corners, bloated cars of the early-mid 80's.
I loved the Cadillac Seville . That car was featured in Flashdance. The Camaro came out in 67.
We need an Australian cars video on the ford falcon or holden Commodore. Plenty of interesting cars from Australia
True that. A job maybe for Ed's Auto History.
Awesome video. Really enjoyed it. Chevrolet citation! X body. Surprised it didn't make the list. Owned 3 of them.
The 1985 Seville is a cool, unique design.
Foot long nose short deck Cadillac was one of the finest looking
The Lincoln Continental mark seven and mark eight would be interesting to cover. Also the Chrysler R body vehicles produced between 1978 and 1981. Finally the Chrysler Imperial coupe from 1981 to 1983.
The change to more aerodynamic styling made the Caprice change from sleek to bloated while it had the opposite effect on the Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis.
I always thought it odd that GM gave the aeroback designs to Buick and Oldsmobile while Chevrolet and Pontiac had more traditional notch-backs; I thought they should have done the reverse.
Regal and Cutlass had notchbacks 78-87
I just bought a 91 caprice, and I find it funny that you mentioned it. It definitely isn’t a looker, but they definitely are unique and odd vehicles. I’d love to see an episode on them
I owned the Corvair that held the world record for 2 years 73-74... 65 Monza.NHRA. Q class. I didnt believe Ralphy at all.
A top 10 weirdest list for Ford and Chrysler would be cool 😎 too...
Really, at one time GM led the world in automotive technology and styling. Everyone copied and tried to keep up with GM. The Corvair was really an awesome car. I own one.
Read Bob Lutz's Book Car Guys vs Bean Counters for his take on why GM went from a world leader to an also ran.
@@keithbarnes9419 Good book. I went down a GM history book-reading rabbit hole several years ago. I read Lutz's book, DeLorean's book about GM when he was a top exec in the '60s and '70s (On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors), an insider's story of the C-5 Corvette development project (All Corvettes are Red), which provided a lot of insight into the internal politics, workings, and disfunctions of GM at that time, and one written by an assembly line worker about what it was like in the trenches at a GM plant in the '70s and '80s (Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line). On that last subject, I knew someone who worked a couple of line positions at the Wilmington, Delaware GM final assembly plant while in college in the early '70s. His stories were interesting, to say the least.
Each of those books were great reading, but all of the stories put together and told from very different perspectives painted a fascinating inside picture of GM.
Id love to see a video on the history of the Lincoln town cars! I drive a 93' model myself
Chevy HHR was GM's answer to Chrysler PT Cruiser
But I liked its design
I have a HHR SS and I absolutely love it. Absolutely fun to drive an out perform “normal cars”… I have seen one smoke a GT Mustang on a drag strip…
I’ve been inside of a Pontiac transport from the 90s era and I can agree totally with you that the dashboards are massive on those things 😂 18:30
I've always thought that asstek looked like the blue prints got wrinkled and screwed up in the printer but still got use to make the car anyway.
The author recalls riding in a Cadillac limousine equipped with the V8-6-4 engine sometime in the 1990s. Taped to the car’s dashboard was a hand-written note with two speeds written on it-something like 45 mph and 68 mph, as I recall. When I asked what the reason for the note, the driver explained it was a reminder to avoid those speeds. The engine was especially apt to “HUNT” between cylinder counts, and was particularly unrefined in doing so.
///
In retrospective, did the cars evaluated by Consumer Reports have that feature DISABLED ??
I've heard that the V4-6-8 was at its worst in odd-firing 6 cylinder mode, and that the best way to enjoy the car was to deactivate that mode and let the engine switch between 4 and 8 cylinders. Too bad GM didn't start shipping the cars that way as soon as customers started complaining. It was still a much better engine than the 4100.
Only had to disconnect 1 wire to disable it
@@mikeholland1031 //
That's amazing for a Tower of Babel.
@@adrianmonk4440 dunno what that means