Sixty8panther

CHrysler certainly did NOT have the first production hardtop, they made something like 6 or 7 of their hardtops... historians agree, the first car to qualify for a production (pillarless) hardtop is the Roadmaster Riviera in 1949, there were one thousand or so made for every 1946 Chrysler Town & Country hardtop. IIRC GM also coined the term "hardtop". So true, I hear the Fiero is a great car ot get T-boned in, or some $h!box Mazda MX-5 Miata like you wanted to buy. Most convertibles don't have B-pilars either you know? Oh, almost forgot...

Sitting on the porch, looking at Craigs/Boston dreaming of a winter-beater worthy of sharing driveway space with my B-59. You know old '70s tanks from GM & Mopar, Bustleback Sevilles or Imperial Frank Sinatra Editions are seemingly very hard to find for $950 in 2007. Anyway I hear a muscular rumble echo off my barn and as I look up I see a flash of orange. It was a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda with the black 340 hockey stick rear quarter stripes & a rear spoiler. He-he, wouldn't be the first time. I was dropping off Sofia at daycare in the B-59 the other day & as I drove past a couple of those goofy looking French poodles & they looked like they crapped themselves as my big tank drove past... it was pretty satisfying.

Wow... Fly beat me to my own joke.

Variance: I agree... the ION is ugly, but the Sentra is neither good looking or original.

Dodgefan: That's not a Chrysler, it's a 1958 Dodge. As far as the model I think it's a Coronet. That balck beauty has been living inside my harddrive for months, like so many other thousands of car photos that I've right clicked over the years.

1976 four door B-bodys were the last hardtops made by GM. There's a small chance I may own one within a week or so. The G6 does NOT count, it's a retractible hardtop.

Fly thinks for some reason that Auroras are more attractive than 1961 Plymouths.

Yeah... I'd rather discuss B-pillars or the lack thereof than beat the whole Ion/Sentra discussion to death. Either way you can't polish a turd. If you ask me both the Ion and Sentra are ugly assed, piece of crap economy cars for college students with no taste. The Wal*Mart disposable cameras of the Automotive world.

They DID put neon undercarrigge lights on it.

Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile & Cadillac joined in very quickly... There's a fair amount of Hardtop Mopars too:

Buick started it all in 1949...

Well said. Same here, if someone says something retarded I usually can not keep my mouth shut, like my airhead co-worker who told me that she bought a Scion tC because ALL American cars are ugly. Also she told me the Scion was a "great value". You know me, I had a fw things to say about that.

Yeah... that's barelly noticable. Just a tiny compromise for practicality. Nothing worth mentioning. Nobody will ever notice, not with a naked eye.

And NO the E-body's did not have a solid, thick B-pillar but they are NOT 100% true hardtops since their 1/4 windows do not go down. I agree that they look much better without the cumbersome B-pillar. The 2nd gen. Chrysler Cordoba & its Dodge brother had the same type of greenhouse... but still not rear window mechanism.

I suppose if I HAD to own a Toyota I'd rather have a 2-dr hardtop Corolla with RWD & a 5-speed. At least they still tried to make a hardtop in 1982 when everyone except for M.B. & Nissan gave up. Althought the whole side-impact argument quadroples in this case, ever seen the crashworthyness of one of these Corollas? I would think the think sheetmetal & weak unbody on his Corolla means it breaks in half in a nasty T-bone. If I was going to buy a Japanese hardtop I'd want a Datsun.

High-Nickel content iron blocks.... Another tremendous advantage that classic cars have over the new crap.

Still better looking, more innovative & more aerodynamic than the Aerostar & Caravan. It's a Minivan trying to look sporty and not looking like @$$... give it a break.

O.B. My response was a result of the original post in this thread: I agree... let's STFU and wait and see. For what it's worth I beleive in the GM fanatics, and I trust the 5th gen. Camaro wil be all it can be, a hardtop is a crucial part of that equation.

She has Mayonase with her Tylenol.

If for some &*^$#$% reason I owned a "Sport Track" I would be thrilled that I get insurance money so that I can get something worth owning, like an Avalanche.

My buddy Kenney (Buick GS/GSX/GN fanatic) got a brand new Vette Z06 in 2003 and immediatelly drove it like it was stollen. He was drag racing it when it had 2500 miles on it. His theory? If it's going to break, might as well get it over & done with while it's under warranty.

If you must drive a FWD car... why not? Althought god help you if you do your own maintenance or can;t afford to get it done at a dealership.

Hey Balthy: Could you give me a quick synopsis? I've yet to buy an owner's manual for my B-59, even a reprint would be fine if I find one.

- Not one but THREE Priuses all in a row at a stop sign. I gave them a big smile as I drove by in my massive, gas-hungry pig of Buick. - 1987/8/9 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, baby blue in 100% mint condition. - RR Phantom, going about 80mph on the highway - Cressida (1992?) with a navy-blue "Presidential Edition" carrige top! Not a car but I had to mention it: A crazy old lady in Lowell with a baby carrige... but inside the carrige is a Jack Russell that looks like it would rather walk than be wheeled around, he keeps trying to jump down out of the baby carige and she's yelling at him to stay inside. As I drive by in my B-59 she looks at ME as if I was weird!?

YES! Agreed. Balthazar's point is something that every Import Humper should read & re-read!!!