balthazar

[where’s my ‘cart before horse’ pic?]

No less 'generic' than every other CUV on the market.

• I had my info wrong and the gas 368 came out in '80. • I've read more than one account of owner's pulled the solenoids and having it run fine for years. THM350 is non-electronic; it should have zero issues. In '82 it went to the THM325 4-spd, that I could see maybe having some effect, but haven't read anything there either way. • Were I spending discretionary cash here, I'd probably swap out the power train for something with more scoot. Maybe a built 368 / 4-spd OD with a better rear than 2.19:1. Would also be sorely tempted to go with a ETC here.

‘79-80 is the gas 350, and the ‘81 V8-6-4 is the 500/425/368 family, just disable the fuel shut-off solenoids- those are very solid engines. But after that; yeah (and ‘no’ to the rare diesel 350).

Eldorados of this gen were super sharp designs. They may have approached the masterpiece of the 67-70 in purity morseo than any other post-70 Eldorado.

IMO, the Toro was easily the most awkward of the 3 (sorry, DD!). Riviera is probably the sexiest, but I gravitate to the Eldo in this era. In '79 at least, the Riv Type S had the 3.8 turbo motor. Not sure how long that was available.

wow- core sedans tanking hard!

^ Will be weird that Chevy, Ford, nissan, toyoter will be there, and MB won't. - - - - - '60 Henney Kilowatt up for auction : https://www.ebay.com/itm/143454465211

When we @ Rancho Balthy were shopping in this era, we tested out an '05 but really didn't care for it. Bought an '03 GP SE instead, and that was an excellent car overall, drove great, good power, comfortable.

25,000/yr is way too optimistic.

That would be the most user-friendly if they stayed off. I thought I read some models you had to manually turn off ‘start/stop’ everytime. Just saw a ‘work around’ video to the ‘16 Malibu’s S-S: put the car in manual mode, 6th gear and it’s disabled... but that’s an everytime manual operation.

That’s supposition, not official information.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1930-Pierce-Arrow-B/293357100418?hash=item444d721d82:g:vsAAAOSwznZd5ACb

'49 Indy 500 pace car. I read initially they packed the rocket fender ornament with dry ice so it would 'smoke' as it drove, but upon testing, found it annoyed/bothered the driver too much, so didn't get to do that on race day.

Only 9.1% had (factory) A/C in '65.

Per an '08 C&D article on the new '08 GP, ABS was a stand-alone $600 option that year.

‘08 with no ABS??

Not everything is ‘progress’ tho.

Point all along here was; not groundbreaking, not futuristic.

'Future' design, 1980 :

I pulled the 'key-in' buzzer out of my '94. - - - - I assume the 'turn off' feature of these must be activated upon each & every start of the vehicle (default: 'ON'). I'd have to know a fuse could be pulled.

Hilarious piece bowing down at the Tesla altar: https://www.businessinsider.com/cybertruck-is-a-breakthrough-for-tesla-designer-franz-von-holzhausen-2019-11 • Buyers, even Tesla buyers, don't give a crap about Franz's 'artistic growth'. A functional vehicle has to be functional, and buyers want features and amenities, not a barren, cold, industrial object. • Holding up the Mini and the DB9 as examples of 'captivating design' is a stretch. E-Type is good everywhere above the wheel hubs, which is most of the car, but they never adequately finished it off below that. There are a hundred other more captivating designs from which to have chosen, which brings the writer's design sensibilities into question. As if praising the Tesla truck wasn't enough evidence of that. • If the Company is in a 'design rut', why not a 2nd generation of the 9-year old Model S? What stopped them from doing anything different in all the years of unveiling 4 different models? Why is the 3 nearly a carbon copy of the S, years later? What Tesla Roadster? In fact, is the truck merely hard evidence that Franz is a one-trick pony incapable of better, fresh and/or truly futuristic design? • Where did the Ridgeline remotely approach 'reinventing' the pick-up? It flopped because it was a substandard pickup, not because consumers didn't think it's designer hadn't grown enough as an artist. - - - - - Tesla truck best approximates a garbage truck; slab-sided, crude and seemingly without any artistic input. But at least a garbage truck has demonstrated functionality; you can put things in & get things out of it's cargo area.

'Shutting them off' is going to depend on the corporation and perhaps the model- commonplace on non-mandated features. And at some point in the near future they will all be mandated. That's where I'm out.

That's an automatic disqualification in my rule book.