Pete. (l33t FS) said:bobzilla said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I forgot about the Calais 442. The Acheiva was just so homely looking... and making more power than all of its competitors of the era with similar cylinder counts.
Not all of them...
They banned AWD shortly after, then they banned turbos after they were still overcompetitive. Then the class died because everyone else said "berk this"...
All the N/A versions. Sure, throw a turbo on anything and it makes more!
Pete. (l33t FS) said:bobzilla said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I forgot about the Calais 442. The Acheiva was just so homely looking... and making more power than all of its competitors of the era with similar cylinder counts.
Not all of them...
They banned AWD shortly after, then they banned turbos after they were still overcompetitive. Then the class died because everyone else said "berk this"...
That picture reminds me of another one - Plymouth Laser RS AWD. I know they exist, but I'm not entirely sure I've ever seen one in real life.
eastsideTim said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:bobzilla said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I forgot about the Calais 442. The Acheiva was just so homely looking... and making more power than all of its competitors of the era with similar cylinder counts.
Not all of them...
They banned AWD shortly after, then they banned turbos after they were still overcompetitive. Then the class died because everyone else said "berk this"...
That picture reminds me of another one - Plymouth Laser RS AWD. I know they exist, but I'm not entirely sure I've ever seen one in real life.
I've seen a couple. They were decontented compared to the Eagles, which is saying something. All were manual trans. Come to think of it, the only auto AWDs that I've seen were Mitsubishis.
Plymouth wanted a version for dealerships to sell, but not after the existence of the Neon. Eagles were cars for Jeep dealerships to sell.
Mr. Peabody said:When was the last time you saw a Buick Lesabre T-type?
A coworker bought one of these new, in black, and I always thought it was a rather handsome automobile. I remember it looking lower and sleeker like this one
There's one in my town. Haven't seen out it in about a year, though.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
These maybe could have turned out pretty cool if there were more of them and there was an aftermarket for 'em. Just begging for more tire.
I have no pictures but I worked on one.
Remember the forgettable longitudinal front drive Rivieras? Basically the kind of American laziness that Robocop was making fun of: atrocious engineering and dynamics, but wow 'em with chrome and plush interiors. What are they gonna do, buy a German car? Ha!
They made some T-types. These were all before 1986 so they were the non intercooled ones where the throttle body and MAF were bolted to the inlet of the turbo, which blew straight into the intake manifold.
They made 100 convertibles.
Lexus IS300 sportcross.
It was a manual transmission away from being a darling.
A HC series F2 or FE powered Mazda 929 manual
Would love to find a euro-spec W123, sedan, gas-powered metallic paint.
Same with W124, 1990-1992, sedan, gas-powered in Brilliant Silver with manual seats and A/C.
What abou the first and 2nd Gen Taurus SHO?
I'm just going to say this, knowing I'll get roasted.
This is a motorsports magazine and the vehicle they put up in an article about favorite limited edition car models is a Camry? That's the punchline, the antithesis of the gearhead's dream car?
Eeek.
In reply to DrBoost :
A friend of mine with a boosted Camry had a great saying about it: "The Camry is the perfect racecar. If someone else wins, they can't brag because they only beat a Camry. If you win, the other person lost to a Camry."
In reply to rslifkin :
Yeah, I used to say that when I had my Omni GLH.....but it wasn't a Camry LOL.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
What Buick ran a Northstar?
In reply to eastsideTim :
Lucerne CXS.
I was today years old when I learned about them.
I think i've only seen 2 in person. Bonneville GXP with the Northstar. sorry for the massive pic, only offered for 2004-05.
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
I've seen some V8 GXPs but they were 5.3s. Easy to spot because the front tires were noticably wider than the rears. The Northstar was available?
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Only in the Bonneville, not the Grand Prix. It was also the only Bonneville to come with the 18" wheel and tire package, it was basically Deville DTS drivetrain and suspension IIRC.
EDIT: Found an underhood shot
My uncle(who doesn't care about cars) had a Lucerne with the Northstar. I didn't know it was a rarity. Think it finally died last year. Or he killed it, which is more likely.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I 5 speed swapped mine with parts from a sedan.. I think Toyota/Lexus made about 3000 wagons, it has a lot of cool little extras like a power port in the rear hatch, an adjustable load floor, and a factory subwoofer. Also more hidden compartments than I can keep track of..
Cooter said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
I almost bought a mid- '80s Panther Platform LTD coupe when I was pining for large two door unicorns.
But being a MoPar Guy, I try my best to shy away from anything that would lead me to hoarding different brand parts in my storage.
Don't know how I missed this on the first read through. I'm not actively looking for one, but if a 1987 Crown Victoria coupe in decent shape at a good price shows up near me, I'll likely buy it. Last year of the coupe, but first year of port fuel injection.
bobzilla said:In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I forgot about the Calais 442. The Acheiva was just so homely looking... and making more power than all of its competitors of the era with similar cylinder counts. Was Honda even making 190hp with their non-NSX V6?
the '98 Accord v6 made 200hp/190lb/ft. As I recall, the transmissions on those model years lived short, unhappy lives though.
Definitely in the spirit of this thread, but a deep cut....
I had a Mk1 Focus Wagon, pre-facelift, with the 2.0 Zetec. Mine was an auto; manuals were rare, but not so rare that I couldn't find a handful across the country at any given time.
Everyone knows the SVT Focus with the hopped up 2.0 Zetec. Everyone also knows the 2.3L Duratec Focus ST sedan that replaced it in 2005. BUT -- in 2004 (maybe some late 2003, but mostly 2004), you could get the 2.3L Duratec in any Focus as an option. WITH the manual. WITH any body style.
By the time I figured this out I wasn't at a point in my life where I'd want to spend any time in a Focus wagon, but for me it's a unicorn -- the pre-facelift styling, manual transmission, 2.3L "big block" station wagon. If a few dozen were built I'd be amazed. If any are left on the road I'd be stunned. I found one, once, but it had a ton of miles. Finding them is hard, as you need a certain VIN digit to find the 2.3.
In reply to steronz :
I used to regularly work on a tan one. Guy must have had terrible luck because it was ALWAYS broke.
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