Soon to be Collectable Front Wheel Drive Vehicles

[padgett]

From an engineering standpoint I always thought the 55 mph national speed limit was the beginning of the end. Before that imports from both sides of the ocean were "buzz bombs". Few (Mercs and Rolls were exceptions) were quiet or comfortable at 70. I remember a 124 sedan that was uninhabitable over 60.

When discussing cars of the late '70s and '80s it is important to realize that not only was CAFE and emissions standards tightening, it was illegal to exceed 55 mph on any US public road. States not enforcing were threatened with loss of federal funding. Given that loading, it is amazing that so many cars of that period still do well in a time of 70 and 75 mph speed limits.

However, what happened was that as the big three were scrambling to meet safety and emissions and MPG while still filling the American desire for GALBs created by miles and miles of straight wide roads (driving from Key West to Pensacola is about the same distance as driving from London to Stuttgart and you never leave Florida. A joke was that in Texas at 55 mph you never got anywhere.) the imports were making up time. At 55 they were quiet enough and the 1,000 - 1,600 cc sewing machine motors available got wondeful MPG as US manufacturers (other than Ford) had 2.5 liter 4 cyls like the Iron Duke struggling to get 80 hp with a TBI (injection masqerading as a carb. In other words a poorly controlled leak. In counterpoint I had my first port fuel injection car in 1970. From GM.

The 55 lasted from 1973 to 1995 (modified in late 1987 to allow some 65 in rural areas) and this gave the imports time and profits to open US plants and design cars more in tune with the US market faster than Detroit could (is easier to begin new than take things that were obsolete and update)

So US automakers had 80 hp shakers trying to propel a 2500 car and get good MPG. Right. They were optomised for the EPA cycles but few drive that way so the EPA estimates were revised. Several times.

By the late '80s some rays of hope were starting to appear. I'm biased but think the 3800 with rollers and balance shafts coupled to a four speed lockup transmission (440T4/4T60) will be eventually recognised as one of the great powetrains. Met its end as an iron engine in a world of alloys but a very effective powertrain in everthing from roadsters to minivans.

But in the mid, many had bet the farm on diesels and failed. Took a while to recover.

Today it is interesting that my 3600 lb '88 Reatta coupe gets 24-26 mpg on 87 PON at 70 mph while the 4400 lb Heap gets the same. Can see better from way up there but still prefer the Reatta for a fast Orlando > Phoenix run as long as I do not need to carry an engine. Gonna have to get the G-Force Pro out and see if it can match the Reatta's 8.6 second 0-60, one UK tester indicated it should be in the 7's.

As for the oddball brakes of the 80's (Teves, PowerMaster), you forget that again at the dawn of the decade, turbo diesels were the salvation everyone was looking for. Saw somewhere that Merc expected to be 90% diesel by 1990. Then Caddys started imitating armadillos and littering roadsides. More than one mfr did an about face and cancelled all diesel plans (meanwhile Europe knew better and today you can get a biturbo diesel in a Jaguar with close to a 500 mile range. As long as not in the US. Over 50% of new cars are now diesels. Over there. Is nothing worse than a convert ?)

Meanwhile back at the early 80's Diesels and turbos have poor vaccuum so electrohydraulic brakes were needed and ABS was a Big Thing so there were a lot of options developed. For BOP from 86-90 GM just used their PowerMaster for normal brakes and the Continental-Teves for ABS. Both proven designs but both used in nitches and very different in execution (Powermaster runs at about 770 psi while the Teves at 2200. From the outside they look very similar).

Bottom line, my 88 Reatta speedo has an interesting legend that you can see in the right light (below) that is a "blast from the past". Is nothing sadder than "it might have been" ?

[Guest]

[quote=padgett;1011722

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The 55 lasted from 1973 to 1995 (modified in late 1987 to allow some 65 in rural areas) and this gave the imports time and profits to open US plants and design cars more in tune with the US market faster than Detroit could (is easier to begin new than take things that were obsolete and update)

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That is NOT the reason imports started to build factories here.

D.

[Dave@Moon]

Just what did you expect Cadillac to do? Cadillac was forced into the mix with Cimmaron because of CAFE requirements, and not dealers insisting on a small car because (contrary to what some believe) Cadillac knew Cadillac buyers would reject such a car.

C.A.F.E. requirements are calculated for each manufacturer, not each brand. All GM cars were lumped together for C.A.F.E., Cadillac was not rated separately. If Lincoln or Imperial were individually rated at that time they'd have never made it either.

Also C.A.F.E ratings are sales weighted. If it doesn't sell, it doesn't count.

[Rawja]

Look, whatever survives after enough time is collectible.

Some of the cars that get the most attention at shows I've been to recently are the old, no-option cars. Y'know, dog-dish hubcaps, no A/C, manual windows, smallest engine, manual transmission in a car that sold 90+% automatic, radio delete.. the cars only ordered by dealers to advertise a crazy-low sticker price in the weekend edition of the local paper. Most, myself included tend to gravitate towards and collect the "ne plus ultra" cars, but seeing strippers are something of a breath of fresh air.

The Cimarron, contrary to the prevailing rap on it was not just a Cavalier with some Cadillac badging and leather seats. I owned an '88 Cimarron and it was a very nice little car. There were significant upgrades in the suspension, massive amounts of additional sound-deadening and higher quality trim utilized throughout. I also owned an '89 Sunbird so I have first hand experience of the differences. Cadillac managed to sell 20 some-odd thousand of these cars year after year in spite of little to no marketing and all the bad press. Had the predicted $3 a gallon gas prices arrived in the mid-eighties ($6/gal in today's prices) rather than it plummeting below a dollar a gallon you can bet that the Cimarron and the disastrous "double-downsized" C/E/K bodies would have sold like hotcakes.

Cars of an era for the most part "all look alike" with the exception of a few stand-outs. To the uninitiated/uninterested the styling cues that allow you to know what make/model/year a car from your pet era is from 100 yards away are simply invisible.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Rawja (see edit history)

[Guest cargeek2014]

They were rear wheel drive.

Hmmm. . . I could've sworn my sisters 90 was Front wheel drive. . . I dunno. Ignore that post then.