Article just for fun...Thoughts ?
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Did someone say stepside bed?
That Sierra was the best vehicle I’ve ever owned, without question. TBI injection so simple you can fix it with screwdrivers, and read computer codes with a paper clip if necessary. Rode, drove, and had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier, but there wasn’t a flaw in these things anywhere.
That was a lot of the probem though, the Probe and the Mustang were always thought of as competing for the same space. If they would have put it out there as its own thing, it wouldn't have earned the contempt of the Mustang purists. If they wanted to update the Mustang then, they would have been better off renaming the newly refreshed 10th gen Thunderbird. They were fairly redundant vehicles by that time, anyways.
Car makers really need to offer real driving machines again.
I got to drive the Porsche 991 911R last year, 500hp, manual transmission, lightweight body, no leather, no unneccessary nannies, basically a "under the radar" GT3 RS without wings and such. That thing was a blast to drive. Sadly they built 991 of these, now worth 600-700 grand a piece.
Problem is, in the car industry money is made with extras. A plain Jane base model doesn't make much revenue. Often enough it's just hooking up the computer with the right software and you can program the extras that are already hidden in the system.
I got to drive the Porsche 991 911R last year, 500hp, manual transmission, lightweight body, no leather, no unneccessary nannies, basically a "under the radar" GT3 RS without wings and such. That thing was a blast to drive. Sadly they built 991 of these, now worth 600-700 grand a piece.
Problem is, in the car industry money is made with extras. A plain Jane base model doesn't make much revenue. Often enough it's just hooking up the computer with the right software and you can program the extras that are already hidden in the system.
The manufacturers have gotten smarter... or dumber... in that regard depending how you see it.
To use a firsthand example, back when I bought my 02 Merc, a clk 430, that thing didn't have nav... or heated seats. Had everything else though down to sun roof. Point was, the car was 100% prewired for all the extra options, plugs included. All I had to do was buy parts from a wrecked car, pull the plug ends from under the carpet, and poof, plug and play install. Same thing in the dash for putting switches in.
These days they make separate harnesses if you don't order a particular option. Might be 5 or 10 different ones. They lose the cost savings by making 10x the same part, just to save cash on a couple plugs? Nope, the real reason is so people can't expect to add the equipment in themselves cheaper using wrecked cars.
Cost are up, but, the hope is sales of options go up too which in turn drive extra revenue and, well, they just wrap those costs into the price anyways. Only one who loses is the consumer
1. No. That "design" is utter sh*t. It is quite literally Photoshop excrement cobbled together by some basement dwelling neckbeard who watched a YouTube tutorial and had a half-formed idea.
2. There is no logical way to achieve the same design criteria of a G-body in 2020; stop kidding yourselves if you believe otherwise. 40 years later people are fatter and need more interior space, so the car would grow internally and externally to suit. Cars have more "things" in them, again ballooning the dimensions and weight. Crash standards are a thing.
3. Finally, if you don't already have a premium late-model Ford, Chevy, or Dodge in your driveway you will never buy this car either. The vocal majority do not buy these cars. Every time the enthusiast crowd demanded a manual transmission, V8, RWD version of a car from GM they didn't sell. See the GTO, G8 GXP, SS, and so on. The truth is almost no one sees the "value" putting their money (and associated hardship and risk) into these products. Bullshit you say? Put your money where your mouth is.
2. There is no logical way to achieve the same design criteria of a G-body in 2020; stop kidding yourselves if you believe otherwise. 40 years later people are fatter and need more interior space, so the car would grow internally and externally to suit. Cars have more "things" in them, again ballooning the dimensions and weight. Crash standards are a thing.
3. Finally, if you don't already have a premium late-model Ford, Chevy, or Dodge in your driveway you will never buy this car either. The vocal majority do not buy these cars. Every time the enthusiast crowd demanded a manual transmission, V8, RWD version of a car from GM they didn't sell. See the GTO, G8 GXP, SS, and so on. The truth is almost no one sees the "value" putting their money (and associated hardship and risk) into these products. Bullshit you say? Put your money where your mouth is.
Rockers that eat themselves from the inside out even in the south/southwest, dashes that literally crumble to nothing, gawdawful expensive HVAC control heads that fail often, HVAC solenoids that failed when new, frames that bend with any real weight in the front half of the bed....that's just the ones that come to mind right away.
But, I own one (Tahoe, actually) because it was cheap, and is rated to tow 7K. Looked at newer trucks, everything is a car with a bed, V6 or miniscule v8s rated to tow almost nothing, unless you buy diesel...and that's a whole 'nother set of problems
Agree the design is crap. BUT, the GTO, G8 GXP, SS, we're ALL also CRAP. Not a quality one in the lot. Ugly as sin, cheap materials, poor finish. Pure garbage.
Then they put a premium price on the steaming pile.
Forgot the 4l60.... never understood why not just use the 4l80e exclusively.
You paid for the performance. Ford had crappy interiors too. So where are you compromising? If you want "everything" you are going to pay for it. Maintain some perspective.
Romanticism of a concept is a dangerous thing. The GN was just a base Regal with a better driveline. Same shitty build quality.
Hellcat? Same basic car as an SXT. TBSS? Glorified Trailblazer. I know what I bought, and where I compromised. It wasn't under the hood. They look good and go like hell.
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