Remember When

The worst ending for a show I cared about would have to be Quantum Leap, as the project was shut down and Sam was lost forever.

I can't think of any finale that I'd consider great.

Jay Leno finally did a show about my very first car, 57 Volkswagen bug. I love that car, we always love our very first car because it meant freedom. It was slow, the brakes were terrible, no synchromesh transmission, no heater, no radio, but it got great gas mileage and felt almost like a sports car. Jay Leno has remodified his 57 VW, the engine in mine was half the size of his. Couldn't get out of its own way, could barely make it up hills. Still it was a wonderful experience. I had two other Volkswagens after that, a 56 window van when I lived in California and in the late 80s I had a Volkswagen Rabbit which was also a very fun car.

Quote: billryan

The worst ending for a show I cared about would have to be Quantum Leap, as the project was shut down and Sam was lost forever.

I can't think of any finale that I'd consider great.
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I suggest someone write a series with many mysteries left unsolved. Of course, each show has to have a resolution or point, or leave you hanging to find out what happens in the next episode. But at least the Finale can wrap up all those other things.

Quote: EvenBob

Jay Leno finally did a show about my very first car, 57 Volkswagen bug. I love that car, we always love our very first car because it meant freedom.

I did not love my first car.

My first car was a broken-down 1964 or 1965 Chevy Nova wagon. My Dad picked it out for me specially. It had a blown gasket and a radiator leak. It needed constant oil and radiator fluids. My Dad told me if I could maintain the car for six months, it would show him I could care for cars, and he'd buy me something better. It smoked like crazy and took two quarts of oil per gas fillup.
It lasted less than two months. My next one was a 68 Skylark that got me through one winter before blowing the timing chain.
Sadly, at this same time, my parents bought my sister a new Oldsmobile Starfire and it burned nearly as much oil as my Nova. The car was garbage and fell apart within three years. It got junked before my parents paid off the loan.

My first car was a well-used 69 Caprice which cost me more to keep it running for that 1 year, than it did to buy it. $150. About $500 over the year to fix stuff that happened. (if you don't count driving my parent's cars before that)

One of the best cars I ever had I got at an auto auction. It was a 2000 Saturn and the auction was in 2002. 35,000 miles on it but it had a stick shift and no power windows. The starting bid was $2,000 and I was the only one who bid because nobody wanted a stick shift car with no power windows. I drove that thing for 12 years and put almost nothing into it. I always had more than one vehicle so it wasn't my main car but I still drove it all the time.

Quote: EvenBob

One of the best cars I ever had I got at an auto auction. It was a 2000 Saturn and the auction was in 2002. 35,000 miles on it but it had a stick shift and no power windows. The starting bid was $2,000 and I was the only one who bid because nobody wanted a stick shift car with no power windows. I drove that thing for 12 years and put almost nothing into it. I always had more than one vehicle so it wasn't my main car but I still drove it all the time.
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Saturn had that old school GM reputation of “it runs bad longer than most cars run.”

I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO


DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO


Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.

Quote: ChumpChange

I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO

DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO

Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.

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I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.

If you see WHITE SMOKE coming out your tail pipe its over. Will this recall fix it for FREE

Quote: DRich

I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.
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Shazam!

Quote: DRich

Quote: ChumpChange

I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO

DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO

Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.

link to original post

I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.
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If you left a Pacer exposed to the sun in a parking lot, the interior temperatures would turn the plastic seats into deathtraps. In the 1970s, air conditioning was an expensive option that many base model buyers skipped. Modern tinting could help., but the design was a bit ahead of its time. It had panorama views when it wasn't a thing.

I had an old thermometer that I used to leave on the back windowsill of a car we once had. Our driveway was shaded by trees, but if parked at a relatives' house with no shade it could hit 160 degrees when it was 90 degrees outside and sunny at noon. We'd have to open the doors for 10 -15 minutes just to cool it down.
I keep a thermometer in my current car and it can hit 110 - 120 degrees on the passenger seat with no shade on 85 degree days. The back windows are heavily tinted so that may block some sun and provide some privacy in mall parking lots.
Of course daily highs above 92 degrees are much more common now and record highs of 100 degrees are more the normal in summer with global warming in the northeast US / NYS area.
I'm all about the thermostat in my car with the digital readout and cranking it to hi or low if need be. Turning the heated steering wheel button on when it's too hot in the car does not exactly cool down the hot steering wheel, so I still have to wait for the steering wheel to cool down first before I drive anywhere.

Quote: billryan

If you left a Pacer exposed to the sun in a parking lot, the interior temperatures would turn the plastic seats into deathtraps. In the 1970s, air conditioning was an expensive option that many base model buyers skipped. Modern tinting could help., but the design was a bit ahead of its time. It had panorama views when it wasn't a thing.

Yes, it would have been miserable having a Pacer in Las Vegas during the summer.

Quote: billryan

My first car was a broken-down 1964 or 1965 Chevy Nova wagon. My Dad picked it out for me specially. It had a blown gasket and a radiator leak. It needed constant oil and radiator fluids. My Dad told me if I could maintain the car for six months, it would show him I could care for cars, and he'd buy me something better. It smoked like crazy and took two quarts of oil per gas fillup.
It lasted less than two months. My next one was a 68 Skylark that got me through one winter before blowing the timing chain.
Sadly, at this same time, my parents bought my sister a new Oldsmobile Starfire and it burned nearly as much oil as my Nova. The car was garbage and fell apart within three years. It got junked before my parents paid off the loan.
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I had almost the same cars you did.
My first car was a Pontiac Ventura which was a clone of the Nova, my second car was a skylark and my third car was an olds starfire.

Novas and Skylarks were extremely popular in NY. My Skylark was the less popular four-door model with an FM converter. My friends all preferred the two-door models, but I did not.

My best friend had a 64 Nova that he drove for 12 years which was unheard of for a '60s car. They just didn't last that long. 6 cylinder, three on the tree, it just ran and ran and ran and when it finally quit he just left it on the side of the road. Took the license plate off got his stuff out and abandoned it.