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oldshurst442
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Everything posted by oldshurst442
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@smk4565 Dont feel bad... Even the Camaro got LS swapped. OH WAIT....
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I am soooo wrong. The few that are left, all have been LS swapped... https://www.streetmusclemag.com/features/car-features/sophistication-meet-power-the-ls1-swapped-benz-vette/ https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=2146 https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15342583/pagoda-style-meets-corvette-power-in-mysterious-1965-mercedes-benz-230sl/ https://bringatrailer.com/2015/08/20/ls-swapped-euro-1984-mercedes-benz-280sl/ This one has been 2JayZe-ed LOL http://www.speedhunters.com/2015/12/500sl-like-youve-never-seen-heard/ This link here...is VERY VERY telling. It has MULTIPLE stories of M-B SL swaps... https://engineswapdepot.com/?cat=527 The next one is an LS 6.0 liter swap from a Chevy 2500HD Pick-up... FROM A CHEVY PICK-UP TRUCK... This one has a phoquing NISSAN 3.1 liter 6... How phoquing pathetic is THAT for Mercedes' pride and joy to have a phoquing Nissan 3.1 liter 6 swap?
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There is virtually NO SL Mercedes cars on the road from 35 years ago. The few there are left, are garage queens. The ones that are not...were scrapped a loooong time ago. Corvettes are the ones to be still on the road. In any condition, you will find them. Why? Because they run. They run forever. Cut that shyte out! Mercedes cars are NOT built to last. The W123 was. The E Class replacements were. Because TAXI service. But the others are junk! I really dont get this idea where you think Mercedes cars are built to last? I dont even think the G-wagon is built to last... All BOUTIQUE marques. Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, McLaren, Porsche... THAT IS ALL THEY DO, Is SPORTS CARS. Are you really serious when you are talking to me. Or are you trolling me? Seriously... Ford, Honda (because anywere else in the world other than the US and possibly the Emirates now, Acuras are just Hondas...) Toyota/Lexus are FULL LINE regular folk marques... But... A Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at that time, and its still a top Nurburgring lap champ, was faster than Porsche GT2 RS. A very dedicated track car on its home turf, and the Camaro ZL1 1LE kicked its ass... Yeah...I know...Porsche brought out better track cars. OF COURSE THEY DID! THEY GOT EMBARRASSED THAT A LOWLY CHEVY KICKED ITS ASS ON ITS HOME TURF... A MAKER OF PIG SUVS AND MUSCLE CARS THAT CANT TURN KICKED PORSCHE"S ASS ON ITS HOME TURF TRACK. THE VAUNTED 'RING!!! NOT EVEN THE CORVETTE> THE CAMARO OF ALL THINGS!!! A PORKY MUSCLE CAR CAMARO KICKED PORSCHE 911GT2 RS TRACK ORIENTED SUPERCAR'S ASS ON THE RING... https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a10206481/the-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-1le-blitzed-the-nurburgring-in-71604/ Remember...THAT is ALL Porsche does... Is do track cars, especially track cars focused to track on the 'Ring... Its a BOUTIQUE manufacturer that ONLY makes sports cars... Well...now they have become SUV makers. But that discussion is for another day... http://www.autoextremist.com/current/?currentPage=2 I wouldnt want Chevy to ONLY concentrate on sport cars if I were you. Chevy would make you cry...
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The F40 was also very very cheap on the inside. Same link https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a5975/1990-chevrolet-corvette-zr-1-drive-flashback/ But is it, as Chevy hopes, a world-class car? (The envelope, please!) Yes. The Corvette ZR-1 acquits itself well amidst some very fast company. Yet it does so with a level of sophistication and comfort beyond what most exotics (but not specialty cars such as the Porsche 959) currently deliver. Throw in availability and serviceability (the GM-CAMS computer diagnostic system, mandatory service equipment for all ZR-1 dealers), and you have a car that offers the best of the old and the new world. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15114543/1989-chevrolet-corvette-z51-vs-porsche-911-archived-comparison-test/ Let me remind you , Road and Track, Car and Driver, and sometimes Motor Trend...were NEVER that friendly towards American cars in the 1980s and 1990s. And here you got, R&D and C&D...with VERY FAVOURABLE reviews for the ZR1 and Z51 of 1989 and 1988(9) respectively from articles of the day... I said this before, NEVER BAD MOUTH THE VETTE. Ill say THIS again. REFRAIN to bad mouth Cadillac. Im getting sick of it. Believe it all you want. Stop printing it on here...I dont wanna read it anymore. I dont want to become bulimic...
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The F40 was also very very cheap on the inside. Besides...different car. Besides...Vettes also, albeit Callaway and Lingenfelter Vettes did over 200MPH, much like the F40...and those Vettes retained Corvette motors... Besides, the 1989 Vette ZR1 was more in line with Ferrari 328s , much like how the Vette today is in line with a F8 Tributo... I cant find the Motor Trend cover with big bold lettters...but here is a R&D mag link from 2014... https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a5975/1990-chevrolet-corvette-zr-1-drive-flashback/ "Truth is, most European automotive enthusiasts have little regard for almost any automobile America has produced in recent memory." sounds like you... Get a new angle going...its 2020. Move on from it or just stop posting this shyte. Hey...continue believing in it if you want to...I just dont feel like listening to this shytty rhetoric any more...Its getting tiresome...
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wrong wrong true. But so has Ford. Chevrolet. Dodge. Oldsmobile. Alfa Romeo. Buick. Renault. Among others. Oh...I forgot. CADILLAC Wrong. They even benchmark Jeep...on many occasions i n the 1970s. Including when they merged with Chrysler... wrong. So phoquing wrong. Chrsyler, Ford and GM all experimented with airbags in the 1960s and 1970s and GM was the first domestic manufacturer to offer airbags in their cars in the early 1970s and Volvo actually beating them to the punch... wrong (that comes from the aerospace industry, but it aint even M-B that used ABS first on cars either... Chrysler, Ford, Oldsmobile and Cadillac all had ABS in the early 1970s. Ill give you that one wrong. That would be Toyota... Are you phoquing kidding me? Ford had its own phoquing tree farms for Christ sakes... Early 1950s....sure. But by the time 1959 rolled in, that 300SL was on the decline while the Corvette took flight. It took 40 years for Mercedes to outdo a Corvette. In 1989...this was M-B's pride and joy that stemmed from the original Gullwing. A gold diggin' trophy wife car. In 1990, the new SL came out and THAT is when Mercedes started to be on a roll in the US.... NOT before... In 1989...A Vette was King of the Hill. Mercedes wasnt talked about in 1989... The Vette got that in 1955. The following year. But in 1957, the Bel Air had it too... So did Chrysler. I think in 1955 also. Fuel injection was a German invention, sure. But fo aircraft engines in the 1920s and diesel engines. Not a Mercedes Benz invention... Its amazing...of all of that .only ONE thing was correct. Now...do you care to see what General Motor's contributions to the automotive world are? Electric starter AIRBAGS. Yes..its a GM invention... automatic transmission parts interchangeability the standard of how we drive the damn car today and for the last 100 years. ie. Brake pedal on the left. Accelerator pedal on the right, etc. Catalytic converter highway speed and safety barriers Crash Test dummies ON STAR (for in-car communication and collection of data and satellite connectivity in a car, etc) First car radio synchromesh manual transmission power adjustable seats rear window defroster heated seats first turbo in a car. Although that too is an aerospace technology. traction control. (different form stability control) Touchscreens first to offer Head up displays (although that too, is an aerospace thing) first to offer Night vision (military tech) Magnetic shocks
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"C2 Corvette" NOT C3...
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What self-respecting luxury car refers to itself as most economical fine? Luxury cars are all about SELF-INDULGENT, EXCESSIVE, NARCISSISTICALLY ARROGANT purchases. Contrary to what that advert is trying to convey, aint it? And THAT is a W123 Mercedes... A "luxury" car in the USA, but an econobox everywhere else in the world. Hey...dont hate on me, dude. THAT is a MERCEDES BENZ advert for that car.... Ive done this argument sooooooo many times on car forums (and in real life with my dumb ass Greek friends) that its easy to dig up material like this... Mercedes Benz...is more of a common man's car than it is a pure luxury car. Blame a certain mustachioed short man from the 1930s-1940s for that... And you could thank good 'ole Yankee and British subsidized money for resurrecting Mercedes from the dead while you are at it...
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You are right, for a change. Cadillac was ALWAYS a true luxury brand. Mercedes sold and still sells to the common man.
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I always say...on July 4rth: Happy Birthday USA! But now, Im saying it 2 weeks earlier and saying it to an actual person. Happy Birthday @USA-1 My gift to you. A visual delight! Hulk Hogan because of the "you are a real American" intro he had. F-4 Phantom II because it was such a great kick-ass plane. This one is the Bicentennial one. You know...Happy 200th America. Not that Im implying that you are a 200 year old geezer...just that its a kick-ass plane...and you know...birthday.. Corvette. You own a C5. This C3 is AMERICA baby! (and...your name up front) And a couple of USA-1 (your name) Chevys in action.
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I googled and I found something. I didnt read the link myself. But I do know that the link article is includes the original Motor Trend 1992 Cimarron test, the Car and Driver 1982 Cimarron comparison test with the Audi and Bimmer. And I think this is the article that @balthazar is talking about. And the Road and Track comparison test of the 1982 Cimarron with the Audi and Bimmer. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/vintage-reviews-cadillac-cimarron/ I wont be reading it anytime soon, therefore I wouldnt know anytime soon if the Car and Driver article originally liked the Cimarron. But, here it is for you to found out though. In my honest opinion of the Cimarron after reading countless articles for and against it. Arguing on car forums, mostly against it, and actually remembering it from back in the day and comparing it with the countless of Cavaliers Ive driven and was being driven in. That also Includes the J2000/Sunbird and Oldsmobile Firenza. And yes, all those J cars that I have experience in range from years 1985-1992. From a 2.0 liter Turbo (Sunbird), to 2.8 liter V6s and even a 3.1 literV6. Cant forget the N/A 2.0 4 cylinder. Ive driven that as well. Oh...I almost forgot. I drove a 2.2 liter Cavalier as well. On the Cimarron and on the J Car in general. It wasnt THAT bad of a car. It was actually an OK car. In 2.8 or 3.1 V6 guise, it was pretty peppy AND reliable. Problem was with the Cimarron, yuppies did not want ANYTHING with a Cadillac badge on it. Anything American really. As I also had quite the experiences with a BMW 3 Series of that time, other than lightweight RWD handling characteristics of a Bimmer 3 Series, the Cimarron was actually quite comparable with that ECONOBOX 3 Series. Interiors of both were quite the same... Which arises another problem for Cadillac. The Cimarron did NOT have Cadillac "Standard of the World" interior. And THAT its where iot failed. NOT because it was a J car clone, well that too. It was a BADGE ENGINEERED car. But had it been an exclusive car ONLY to Cadillac with a Cadillac worthy interior, we would be singing a different tune about it today. The J cars were not bad cars, truth be told. They were just too many of them. Badge engineering at its worst. What gets me with BMW, and it shows in this thread with some, and especially with my dumb ass Greek friends of the day, the same shyte over and over and over again that drives me mad, its the the blind defending of BMW. BMW gets a PASS for being shytty. In reality, Its a crappy RWD econobox. You know what was reallly a better RWD econobox car during that time? But NOBODY seems to talk about it. No so called car enthusiast EVER bring is it up. Just the same ole same ole rhetoric. BMW 3 Serries blah blah blah. Cimarron sucks. I present to you the RWD 1st generation Mazda 626. And now I just realized why an inline 6 Mazda 6 for 2021 or 2022 makes even more sense... But yeah...Im a Honda fanbois...
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Funny... You keep on shytting on Cadillac from 40 years ago and look at today's Cadillacs through that lense. But here about BMW, you seem to defend BMW on shytting on its heritage and that BMW is NOT what it was 40 years ago... The thing is...40 years ago is what made BMW sell the amounts it sells today, but NOTHING it sells today resembles what BMW are. And you say that as it was a positive for BMW but a negative for Cadillac? The thing is...Cadillac does NOT make shyt cars anymore...there are NO Cateras or V8-6-4s around. WTF???!!! The thing is, Cadillac is actually building brand recognition. Ever so slowly. BMW is actually killing its brand image and you and @frogger seem to be ignoring that... Acura did the same thing Cadillac did and what BMW keeps on doing.... Acura killed its brand image. Its restoring it. BMW is not... Listen. It was fun discussing Acura, BMW and Cadillac. But Ive gotten bored by it. Its deja vu for me this conversation. Ive had it about Cadillac since the 1990s, and back then I was defending blindly Cadillac in the same blind way you and @frogger are doing with BMW now. Im moving on to other things... Acuras still bore me to death. Especially CUVs from Acura. CUVs in general. I guess you and @frogger could knock your socks off with BMW's super awesome X1s, X3s, X5s, X6s and now the X7...because sales talks and CUVs are soooooo much fun to talk about in so called enthusiast car forums...
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You know... What makes this weird. Is that over the years in automotive forums. Ive been called a Ford fanbois, Ive been called a Ive been called a Honda fanbois. Ive been called Ferrari fanbois. Firstly. Im NOT a fanbois of anything. Well...maybe muscle cars. I could be called a muscle car fanbois, but I was never ever called one. Secondly. I have NEVER EVER been called a Pontiac or Oldsmobile Fanbois. (JUST LOOK AT MY NAME AND AVATAR for Christ's sake...) Im not exactly a Ferrari fanbois, but I do like Ferraris more than any other exotic. I prefer Vettes over Ferraris, but that type of car is really not my cup of tea. MUSCLE CARS ARE!!! MUSCLE CARS!!! In the 12 or so years that Ive been posting in automotive forums., in the way I wax poetic about 442s, Trans Ams, and muscle cars in general, it would seem only normal for me to be labeled a Pontiac or Oldsmobile or muscle car fanbois. But no! Ive defended Ford in the past and now Honda vehemently, but I guess that confuses people.... I have confessed my hatred for BMW many times, Honda a tad less, but because I have advertised that I own an Acura, that makes me a fanbois... But me waxing poetic about crappy handling muscle cars, having extinct American brand Pontiac Trans Am chickens and equally extinct american brand Oldsmobile as my automotive forum name for 12 years does not make me a fanbois... Im kinda sad actually. Maybe I got to be more vocal and in your face about Pontiac and Oldsmobile so I could get the right brand fanbois recognition then!
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If you read what I said about Acura....I NEVER compared BMW to Acura... I just said that Acura emulates BMW the way BMW was fun to drive with RWD in the 1970s and 1980s, Acura being a Japanese equivalent with FWD. FUN TO DRIVE. I NEVER once mentioned Acura's performance. The NSX was the image of Honda's VERSION of performance is what I said...and fun to drive was THAT performance metric...
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BMW in reality was always an econobox... Nothing more. Nothing less... More PLEBEIAN than Mercedes... That aside. I can concede that reality and admit that their cars were engaging to drive. However, when I hear stuff like this: Im the one that laughs. Excuses is all I hear trying to defend a dying company. Oh...BMW is dying. Like you and @smk4565 is saying... CUVs are what is selling. Aint it sad that BMW...JUST to stay alive is JUST selling CUVs? The famous and lauded BMW? Peddling CUVs? And you defend that? Puhlease... Something you might not know... I HATE HONDA AND ACURA!!! Always did. Bought a 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD because there was nothing then that I cared to own in the 50 000 dollar Canadian price range. Just like now in 2020. Nothing in 2020 in that same price range that I care to own. I settled for the TL. SETTLED being the key word here. OH...I like my car. I LOVE my car. Why? Well...it aint for the looks that is for sure. Its one ugly POS. But it looks like nothing else on the road. And all that triangular and angular lines it has, it reminds me of an F117 Stealth Fighter. That too, is one ugly mother. But its THAT very reason why I LOVE my TL. Contradictory? YES!!! But the TL has contradictory styling designs... But usually, Im not the one to like ugly cars just because they are ugly. Its just happens that the TL is an exception. It aint for the driving characteristics either that I love my TL. Its got front heavy plowing like a heavy FWD car when it turns corners on dry pavement. But driving fast enough, the SH-AWD system saves my ass and makes the turn for me. But that is not why I love my TL. I hate the front heavy FWD bias its got during normal driving. In the snow, SH-AWD IS fun. So...chalk up a reason why I love my TL. But I hate winter. So...that too is contradictory statement... But really, Its mostly the naturally aspirated 300 horses and 280 something ft/lbs of torque that the SH-AWD system controls so well that puts a smile to my face while accelerating forward that I love. But...I NEVER liked Honda. Acura even less in the 1980s and 1990s and well into the 2000s. HATE HATE HATE VTEC. Not the tech. but the whole VTEC just kicked in yo with the baseball cap on sideways and the whole Civic SI thing. I just recently maybe a short decade ago, or less, that I started respecting what an Integra GSR/Type R is all about. HATED those cars with a PHOQUING passion before then. I HATE the TLX. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT The 2021 TLX looks promising. Now...after what I said, does that look like Im a Honda fanbois. PS: I HATE BMW WORSE than I HATE ON HONDA...
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^^^ I stand corrected.
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No they are not... Like Mercedes Benz. In Europe, BMW sells econoboxes to the European masses... More so even than Mercedes Benz. We always go down that same route... You confuse OVERALL sales with the actual luxury cars BMW produces... barely... definitely not... You like Sandy Munro? Well Sandy likes BMWs. He also likes the Tesla Model 3. And HE says that the Model 3's handling is reminiscent of how BMW 3 Series used to drive and handle... I could find you the link. Its easy. He says it MULTIPLE times. ESPECIALLY when he was on Autoline Detroit After Hours. And I KNOW you have listened to those...so I DONT NEED to post anything... Fast is NOT what sells enthusiast cars... They dont. But YOU keep on missing the point. It AINT about horsepower and speed and performance. Its about FUN TO DRIVE... And ALL THAT WHAT IT ENTAILS... And BMW lost THAT characteristic a loooong time ago...and much like yourself that doesnt know what that is...BMW has forgotten and does not know what that means. Drive by wire, disconnecting the driver from the road through hefty AWD systems to put down the enormous amounts of torque and HP the cars make to the idiotic gesture control technology in their interiors... all have contributed to BMW's vehicles straying far far awaaaay in what used to make a BMW a BMW and what was quite unique the automotive world. A fun car to drive.
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Nah. They are not. Like I said. They are just like anybody else doing shytty CUVs. Like I said, when another "in" car company comes in to charm the masses, BMW is done for. BMW does NOT do CUVs better than anybody else. They do NOT do memorable CUVs. There are no 2002 CUV equivalents. No M badged 3 or 5 Series cars or CUVs that charm today. No CUV E36 or E 46 equivalent. No Z3 or Z8 or 7 Series saloon James Bond CUV equivalent movie star... They just do the same ol same ole. Like everybody else. They are riding on the coattails of those past vehicles. But they are NOT charming any new drivers. New drivers are buying them BECAUSE of their past. But when another enthusiast car maker takes the market by storm, BMW is done for. In other words. The X5 and X6 have lost that loving feeling they once had. The X7 is a disgusting design. Neither CUV just mentioned is gonna carry the BMW flame to the next generation of BMW lovers... The X3 and X1 are just...well, they are just the same ole same ole I was talking about. No better than a KIA RIO or Ford Escape... THIS is what happened to Cadillac. Cadillac too, was outselling Mercedes and BMW in the very 1990s that BMW enthusiasts all go googoo gaagaa with E30 M3s, E36 M3s, E46 M3s, E34 M5 inline 6 AND V8, E39 M5s. Cult classic Z8s and Z3s... And Cadillac...was outselling them. But by the late 1990s. A different story all together. Same with BMW now. Tesla has taken a fair share of market share from BMW and EV sales are still very very niche. Even Tesla sales are niche. They are growing fast, and at the expense of many auto manufacturers. Not just BMW. But Tesla has got that same type of following that BMW enjoyed in the 1970s/1980s and 1990s. Its taken Tesla just a decade to achieve what BMW achieved in 30. Irony. What Cadillac did to their image in that same 30 year span that BMW took advantage of, BMW flubbed itself in just less than 20.
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To be fair, Oldsmobile had a hand with GM's initial DOHC 4 and 6 cylinder engines. Lotus did Chevrolet's first DOHC V8 in the Corvette, but Oldsmobile did their own DOHC and Cadillac used it. More precisely, Cadillac "hired" Oldsmobile to do their DOHC V8 and Oldsmobile did a version of that to use as well. If a different timeline had occurred and Oldsmobile had survived, I think Oldsmobile would be on the cutting edge of automotive trends right about now so I dont think Oldsmobile would have been doing 1.5t, 2.0. and 3.6 liter V6 CUVs. I think Oldsmobile would be doing EV CUVs right about now, trying to compete with Tesla. And for the last 3-4 years. I think Oldsmobile would have used the Bolt platform to do their own CUV with it. Oldsmobile would have probably used the Volt, to do their own version and Opel, would have badge engineered the Olds version rather than Chevy's. I get this vibe as Oldsmobile was doing turbos first in the 1960s, before Chevy with its Corvair. Oldsmobile saw DOHC from the Japanese in the 1980s and did their very own in the mid-80s with the Quad 4, and then Shortstar V6 waaaay before any other GM division. Oldsmobile did GM's first lux oriented SUV in the late 1980s with Bravada with the old S-10 based Blazer. LATE 1980s...Waaaaay ahead of the SUV craze. Luxury or otherwise. Waaaay before any BMW SAVs or Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer editions. Waaaay before OJ Simpson Bronco super slow speed chases.... Waaaaay before Jurassic Park Wrangler or Mercedes Benz MLs... Waaaaay before Navigators and Escalades and RAV4s and Lexus RXs... And I think this trend of Oldsmobile being ahead of trends were gonna continue. But...we will NEVER know... Things happen the way they do because it is the way its suppose to be...
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As much as I dont mind EVs for our future and those EVs replacing ICE. As much as Im interested in buying an EV in the very near future, quite possibly my next vehicle purchase, I come across a youtube clip like the one below or I come across a 350 CI 1972 Stingray and I say: TO HELL WITH ELECTRIC MOTORS. I WANT A V8!!! The burble of that 472 (in the description it says its a 472) just makes me go crazy! I WANT!!! I wish I had Jay Leno money. Id buy a 1971 Fleetwood. Much like this one. Id do a complete restoration on it. The interior would be all Cadillac "standard of the world" levels of luxury and leathers and stuff. The mechanical stuff would all be restomodded and modern. Brakes and suspensions and steering all new technology from 2020. The engine. Id save this engine, and put her back in...OR...Id swap it for a modern LS or something. But Id try to replicate that burble. And...another project would come about. Id buy a 1996 Fleetwood Brougham. Complete restoration on her. Id keep the LT1 for another project. But Id do a REVERSE engine swap on this one. Instead of doing a modern (LS or Blackwing V8)engine swap in her, Id DEFINITELY try and find either a 472 or 500 Cadillac motor and dump her in there. I would want to hear that Cadillac Big Block burble coming from the last BOF Cadillac sedan.
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Ill go a step further. What @frogger said about the Koreans... Hyundai is wonderfully replacing Chevrolet cars. The Elantra is doing in the marketplace what the Cavalier/Cobalt and Cruze did in the market and what Chevrolet failed to do as where Hyundai is succeeding. To SUSTAIN people interested in the car. Hyundai is also succeeding where Chevrolet failed big time with Cavalier/Cobalt/Cruze is that Hyundai seems to have a POSITIVE public image on the Elantra as where Chevrolet always had negativity surrounding its image with the Cavalier/Cobalt/Cruze trio. The Sonata seems to be Hyundai's equivalent to what an Impala was to Chevrolet. An upscale, classy Chevrolet with some styling pizzazz. This new generation Sonata has gone back to the droopy faced Sonata's image. Call that Sonata ugly if you will, that Sonata made a splash in the marketplace and lost that momentum when they revised and retracted the aggressive styling on the next gen. This new gen, which actually looks like Chevy's last gen Malibu, seems to get back that mojo. KIA will replace Nissan. I see KIA as a modern form of Datsun. If KIA doesnt get visions of grandeur. The managers of KIA should let Hyundai and Genesis handle the higher end stuff. KIA will do wonders if they handle the lower end stuff. Honda will just continue to be Honda. Genesis is replacing Infiniti quite easily. Acura better be careful and not let Genesis steal their food off their table. Its up to Acura at this juncture to not let that happen. GM dropped the ball on Pontiac, Oldsmobile. Spent tooo much money on Saturn, but had a good starting point, but flubbed it. Spent unnecessary money buying and trying to save SAAB. THAT money could have been spent on the road to success on Oldsmobile and perhaps, Oldsmobile would have STILL been here TODAY had GM not wasted their time on money on SAAB... BMW will not be replaced by anybody. What I meant to say above was that Acura is kinda Japan's BMW. But with FWD (SH-AWD) instead of RWD. BMW is just killing itself. BMW has just become just another CUV manufacturer with a few expensive, bloated sedans and coupes in the line-up. IF EVs ever become a thing and replace ICE (which I think WILL happen), TESLA will eventually replace BMW. Especially now that autonomous driving pods may have been put to rest for good BECAUSE of Covid19. Acura could EASILY make fun to drive EVs and remain faithful to their fun to drive image as Acura in the future if EVs become the norm, like I have already stated, because it seems as Acura is in line of righting their ship. I think BMW has gone tooo far off course that it seems almost impossible to get back to their roots. Tooooo many folk just dont know about fun, handling BMWs anymore. BMW has built toooo many bloated sedans and CUVs SAVs (yeah right) for people to give a shyte about driving dynamics and about BMWs anymore. When the next "in" car company comes along with a new generation of drivers in the next decade, I think BMW is done for. Tesla could be that company. But one thing is for sure, BMW is on the way out. I see the signs. In hindsight, the signs are the same ones as how Cadillac was going down in the 1980s and 1990s...
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^^^ True.
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Concerning Honda/Acura. Being FWD on their smaller cars like the Civic or the ILX is not really an issue. On their mid level CUVs and TLX, being FWD with their SH-AWD system or PAWS really is not an issue. The SH-AWD system or PAWS takes care of any RWD bias there is because Acura's systems are that good in that all important fun in handling category... Which those systems are also available in their bigger CUVs. Concerning Acura, their problem from the 2000s all the way to 2020 is not about wrong wheel drive. Their problem was a lack of focus and eye off the ball of what their cars really mean to their buyers. And of course, really ugly front fascias and really porky vehicles that stopped being about fun driving characteristics with bulky, old looking interiors. Acuras (and Hondas) of the 1980s and 1990s, had just about the industry's most youthful looking cars exterior wise and their interiors were simple, driver oriented with sportiness in mind. The handling of their cars during this heyday were spirited and fun. And then the 2000s came along and Honda/Acura became...old man cars. Acura always reminded me of what Oldsmobile used to be in the 1950s/1960s/1970s and certain 1980s models. About mid-level 'sporty' luxury. Acura, I felt, replaced Oldsmobile in the market place in the 1990s. And then, I felt, Acura BECAME Oldsmobile in EVERY sense of the way. In that Acura became a shadow of its former self, became stale and 'old' in the 2000s EXACTLY how Oldsmobile became that in the 1980s and 1990s. Front wheel drive IS Acura's image. NOW...its SH-AWD and PAWS. Acura successfully marketed this SH-AWD thing. Acura is just now, redefining and re-engineering their cars and CUVs to fit EXACTLY that image and infusing that DNA SUCCESSFULLY into their cars and CUVs. Acura cars and CUVs are JUST NOW, getting back that fun to drive quotient they once had in the 1980s and 1990s. Is it too late? Only time will tell. Time ran out on Oldsmobile as in the mid-to late 1990s, Oldsmobile got back on track. But it was too little too late for Oldsmobile. Will it be the same for Acura? But one thing is for sure....Acura does NOT need RWD, does NOT need 500 HP. If Acura does THAT, then they will surely be doomed. Acura is ALL ABOUT the fun-to-drive quotient. I mentioned Oldsmobile and how Acura to me replaced Oldsmobile in the marketplace. I should also include BMW. Acura closely resembles BMW. Acura is Japan's BMW. A FWD (and now SH-AWD) version of BMW (of the 1970s -1990s) BMW has became just another CUV company with ALL their vehicles becoming fat and bloated AWD things. Lots of HP, but disconnected to the road because of all that heft and drive by wire bullshyte they have incorporated in their driving characteristcs. Acura has tried to get their cars to be more connected to the driver as of late and made their cars more responsive and more fun for the driver... One does NOT need 500 HP to be fun to drive. I think Acura has finally found the right mixture for fun to drive cars with just the RIGHT AMOUNT of HP and weight and SH-AWD or PAWS. The BMW M5 has OVER 500 HP. Closer to 600 HP with 500 some odd ft/lbs of torque. This M5 is the FIRST M5 to NOT BE RWD. Its AWD. I havent heard ANYBODY say that the M5 is fun to drive... And BMWs were at one time...fun to drive... Ill repeat. Acuras need not be 500plus HP. Acuras just need to be fun to drive... And they are fast becoming so...
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They were always a performance brand since the introduction of Acura in North America. Not a brutish, big block 455 V8 engine in a small, compact Civic kinda way. But with high revving, silky smooth 4 cylinder,s great manual transmissions, great handling like a golf cart kinda way partnered up with "technological" dual overhead cam shafts and variable valve timing in a Civic and Integra. Leading the way was Acura's Ferrari fighting mid-engine gem 1st gen NSX. The rest of that early line-up, were not torque monster cars. Were not high horsepower behemoths. What they were, were sporty oriented, great handling, mid level luxury cruising sedans. The compact car Integra early on and well into its 2nd and 3rd generation were sporty, zippy and peppy things. Fun cars to drive. A different, very Honda approach to performance... And they lost that in the early 2000s. In reality, all Acura (and Honda) is doing now, is just going back to its 1980s roots. So, not a problem... What Balthy said... And this was never Acura's image to begin with. So...not a problem. Acura was always a different kind of performance. Had a different approach to performance. A different angle if you will. Actually, BMW first did this angle of performance with their 2002 in the 1970s. Acura's cars emulated that. But with FWD instead of RWD.
