Imposters. Rarities. Oddities. Dweeby cars loved too much. Sexy cars loved way too little. Yes, this could only be a Concours d’Lemons.
The most recent Lemons somehow took place last Saturday at the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival–a weekend-long event that also held “The Gathering of the Greats–Ferrari edition.” What a juxtaposition. A Dodge Aries and a Ferrari mentioned in the …
Anybody remember seeing a prototype Saturn (I think it was an SC2) at EPCOT Center in like 1987? It was in a big display as The Car of the Future. They made it sound like it would come out in the Year 2000 or something, not 2 years later.
I really like that Sport Safari.
Fiero Ferrari kit cars are awesome.
So are 1st gen Saturns ;)
That superbird is a n interesting car they started with really just a roof etc and built that car on a Toyota nascar chassis with an Ls engine.
GCrites80s said:Anybody remember seeing a prototype Saturn (I think it was an SC2) at EPCOT Center in like 1987? It was in a big display as The Car of the Future. They made it sound like it would come out in the Year 2000 or something, not 2 years later.
I do! I also remember the fiero in the same exhibit and a guy demonstrated the "dent-proof"'plastic body. Heady stuff for a little kid.
BlueInGreen - Jon said:Fiero Ferrari kit cars are awesome.
So are 1st gen Saturns ;)
What's really comical is when those have been turbo'd or LS'd or both to be faster than the actual Ferrari- at least in a straight line.
That Miata-powered Morris Minor really gets around. I see it at shows all the time here in Atlanta.
The most appealing car there is the Morris Minor. I can see myself tootling around in that.
A '96 SC2 in Black Gold? Yes, please. Probably the most desirable S-series. I wouldn't kick it out of my garage for burning oil, which is good, because it certainly would burn a quart every 1000 mi or so.
Re: the Dodge Colt......you might want to Google "Butch Leal + Dodge Colt" and see what you come up with.
MotorsportsGordon said:That superbird is a n interesting car they started with really just a roof etc and built that car on a Toyota nascar chassis with an Ls engine.
That's pretty awesome. It seems almost sacrilegious to think of the Superbird with Toyota roots and a Chevrolet power plant.
A 401 CJ said:BlueInGreen - Jon said:Fiero Ferrari kit cars are awesome.
So are 1st gen Saturns ;)
What's really comical is when those have been turbo'd or LS'd or both to be faster than the actual Ferrari- at least in a straight line.
When I was racing my '84 Fiero in SCCA ITB in the mid to late 90's, there were an incredible amount of companies that made suspension components for the Fiero. The lengthened, aluminum tube A-arms with lots of adjustment were high on my list if I ever switched classes. My ITB car had solid aluminum mounts for the engine cradle, some really nice Koni's, Energy Suspension bushings, and some Ground Control springs and anti-sway bars. Too bad I didn't keep it long enough to develop the 2.5 Duke (if there was anything to develop), because it handled beautifully.
racerfink said:A 401 CJ said:BlueInGreen - Jon said:Fiero Ferrari kit cars are awesome.
So are 1st gen Saturns ;)
What's really comical is when those have been turbo'd or LS'd or both to be faster than the actual Ferrari- at least in a straight line.
When I was racing my '84 Fiero in SCCA ITB in the mid to late 90's, there were an incredible amount of companies that made suspension components for the Fiero. The lengthened, aluminum tube A-arms with lots of adjustment were high on my list if I ever switched classes. My ITB car had solid aluminum mounts for the engine cradle, some really nice Koni's, Energy Suspension bushings, and some Ground Control springs and anti-sway bars. Too bad I didn't keep it long enough to develop the 2.5 Duke (if there was anything to develop), because it handled beautifully.
Didn't all but the final year use the Chevette front suspension? I'm just thinking that if a feller (channeling VGG) could dial in a Fiero then couldn't and wouldn't those same parts work on a Chevette? That could lead to a very humbling experience for everybody else on the course.
I seem to recall that GM got it right in '88? and had themselves a true MR2 competitor but then the incompetency of the Roger Smith minions axed it.
A V8 Tatra is very high on my Lottery car list.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Based on the track width, wheels and seats, I bet the body is sitting on as much Miata chassis as they could get underneath.
In reply to GCrites80s
I may have, the Cars of the Future was and remains one of my favorite stops at EPCOT.
GCrites80s said:Anybody remember seeing a prototype Saturn (I think it was an SC2) at EPCOT Center in like 1987? It was in a big display as The Car of the Future. They made it sound like it would come out in the Year 2000 or something, not 2 years later.
I went to Epcot at about that time and I remember my dad's reaction to the "Car of the Future" exhibit: "They've been drawing things like that for decades - it will never happen."
I seem to remember the car looking more like a second generation Prius than an SC2, but I could be wrong there.
In reply to A 401 CJ :
Yep, and the rear suspension and cradle was from the Citation. There were plenty of go fast parts in the GM Performance Parts catalog for FWD applications because of the Archer brothers C&C Cavaliers, and Joe Varde's Pontiac Grand Am in the IMSA ProFormance Sedan series. A lot of it was making the Olds Toronado stuff work, since it was FWD and much beefier already than the stock stuff. With the popularity of the Fiero in the kit car industry, there was a LOT of companies that made performance parts for better handling.
MadScientistMatt said:GCrites80s said:Anybody remember seeing a prototype Saturn (I think it was an SC2) at EPCOT Center in like 1987? It was in a big display as The Car of the Future. They made it sound like it would come out in the Year 2000 or something, not 2 years later.
I went to Epcot at about that time and I remember my dad's reaction to the "Car of the Future" exhibit: "They've been drawing things like that for decades - it will never happen."
I seem to remember the car looking more like a second generation Prius than an SC2, but I could be wrong there.
We had the literature sitting around the house for years. It was definitely a Saturn. You might have gone just a little later when they were like, "Crap, that car's coming out really soon. Let's bring in another"
bluebarchetta said:A '96 SC2 in Black Gold? Yes, please. Probably the most desirable S-series. I wouldn't kick it out of my garage for burning oil, which is good, because it certainly would burn a quart every 1000 mi or so.
A number of years ago I was shopping old Saturns for a winter beater. When inquiring about a car one of the questions I'd ask was,"How much oil does it use?" If they said "1 qt/1000 miles," then it was worth checking out. If they said "It doesn't burn any oil" I knew to skip that one because they were full of it and/or didn't take care of the car :P
I wouldn't mind having another one if I could find a 96-97 SL2 that isn't actively falling apart. It's so easy to make them way more fun than they should be.
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