Vehicle Sighting - 1968 Buick (full-size) in very rough shape

[pbm]

I think the problem is that few American consumers ever pay the world price for fuel. So fuel economy has never been much of a priority for the big 3. If their main customers had been paying $5 to $7 per US gallon for fuel, fuel economy would have been a focus.

In that same vein, why do modern pick-up trucks have to be so big? Compare a 1960s pick up to a modern one. Imagine what sort of fuel economy could be achieved with a modern "1965 Ford F150" sized vehicle.

I know that Europe had much higher fuel prices than US but a lot of it was taxes....America found different ways to tax us....My b-i-l was visiting from Europe several years ago and we took him out to my parents place near the beach in Long Island....after paying 5 or 6 'tolls' with the requisite 'wait time' at each toll (this was before EZPass)....my b-i-l stated..."I rather just pay more for petrol like we do".

I do know they now have toll roads over there as well but the difference in cost of living between Europe and here has moved much closer in recent years IMO....'globalization' will do that.

 

[PimTac]

and even an oddball Plymouth Cricket (which was a British car rebadged IIRC).

Geez I had forgotten about the Cricket. They didn’t sell well and I wondered if it was the name. The Dodge Colt was the bigger seller in the same class.

 

[pbm]

Geez I had forgotten about the Cricket. They didn’t sell well and I wondered if it was the name. The Dodge Colt was the bigger seller in the same class.

I was riding my new 1977 Yamaha 650 motorcycle back and forth to college (15 miles each way) because my father gave his 72' Plymouth Satellite 318 ci to my brother to take back to college in Virginia.
After a few months I talked my dad into buying another car (his job had changed and he could use public transportation to get there and felt he could do without a car in NYC). I ended up picking a base model 1977 Dodge Colt 1600 cc with M/T and no A/C...(the AC in my fathers Satellite went OOS from lack of use). My father wasn't keen on a Japanese car after serving as a submarine sailor in WW2 but we got it anyway (IIRC it was $3700 out the door brand new). I drove it almost entirely for the first couple of months until dad asked for the keys one night to go to a wake. He came home and said it was a nice little 'puddlejumper' to drive. My family members had a few more Colts later on and even one Plymouth Arrow (same Mitsubishi mechanicals). They were very good little cars. The Plymouth Cricket OTOH was the Hillman Avenger in GB and made by Rootes and had typical English (non) reliability. I did rent a Hillman Hunter (which was larger than the Avenger) back in the late 70s in Europe and thought it to be a nice car for the 2 weeks I had it.

 

[IndyIan]

Of course I liked the 240/260/280Z - the straight six and that incredible dashboard? Wow!

But truth be known, sports cars have tended to be at the bottom for me. In order, from favourite to least favourite body styles:

Minivan, wagon, 5-door hatchback, 2-door hatchback, 4-door sedan, 4-door HT, 2-dr sedan, 2-passemger sports car, convertible ...

There's no accounting for taste, right?

Favourite Japanese cars (and contradicting my stated preference for 4-doors in some cases):

'71 - '73 Datsun 510 2-dr, 4-dr, or wagon

'69 - '70 Datsun 1200 4-dr sedan

'71 - '75 Toyota Corolla (any body style)

mid-'70s Toyota Crown wagon

'69 - '71 Mazda 1200 (sedan, coupe, or wagon)

'69-'71 Mazda 1500/1800 (coupe or wagon)

Early '70s Mazda 616/RX-2

Yeah, I'd like to try an original Datsun 510 wagon too, or a rwd Corolla wagon of the era. One of those cars with a 2.0-2.5L modern aluminum block 4 cyl would be a fun car, light and powerful enough for narrowish tires.
Along the lines of the Buick, my uncle had a grey 77 New Yorker with the big engine, and 4 or 5 of us kids would sit in the back seat while we pitched and rolled around town.... I think in the early 90s the floor was getting soft and then it caught on fire, and it finally got broken up at the scrapyard. My cousin's friends gave her a captains hat when she took it over.

 

[paulo57509]

There's a '65 Riviera in the neighborhood that's sitting on the driveway under a blue tarp. I've never took a close look but it's all there. I've never seen it move except after it was red tagged and moved from the curb to the driveway.

I'd make an offer but I have no where to put it. Regardless of exterior color, why do all Riviera's of this vintage have that ugly dark green interior?

 

[Brons2]

I think of this era (late 1960s) as pretty much a high-water mark for the big domestics.

The big domestics are back, they just have a bed and 4 doors now.

 

[Brons2]

Put new tires on it and I see far worse driving around here.

Agree.
A pressure wash followed by some 2000 grit sandpaper, then a polishing compound, would probably do wonders for this old ride

 

[TomYoung]

I've read that Cadillac really was the "standard of the world" c. 1965.

My tastes run to slightly later, partly influenced by improvements in safety.

1968 saw the introduction of side-marker lights, rear lap belts, and front shoulder belts. I think dual master cylinders came in slightly earlier - '67?

Stylewise, I really liked the '63 and '69 Impala, '68 Malibu, '68 Ford, '67 and '68 Plymouth Fury, '67 and '68 Chrysler, and '68 Pontiac.

My favourite Japanese cars tend to be from the early '70s.

I also like the '90s VW Eurovans, and square old Volvo wagons.

I know , I have strange and random tastes.

Your tastes don't seem that strange to me!