Sixty8panther

We can put a man on the moon but can not overcome those issues? So how come Mercedes can & yet Cadillac & Buick (who pioneered the hardtop) can not? Structural Integrity & Wind Noise are cop outs, safety is easily overcome these days. We can make convertible roadsters like the Solstice pass side impact standards but can't make a 2 dr HT?

Yes, even the title of the thread was a little bit of a giveaway. Studebaker was THE ONLY car manufacturer that started out making horse drawn carriages and transitioned successfully into the horseless kind. ------------- Still unanswered: - A post war vehicle made by this brand had front & rear fenders that were interchangeable. - They made a car during the muscle car craze with a Fiberglass body & forced induction.

If it was up to me they'd still make dual whip antennas. O.B. You don't like the "Angry" Chevys? You kind of drive one y'know? I love the 99-02 but strongly prefer the 03-06, looks bad-@$$.

Guess the manufacturer: - One of their cars had a four piece rear window. (4 individual pieces of glass) - In the early 1950s they won the "Fashion Academy Award". - A post war vehicle made by this brand had front & rear fenders that were interchangeable. - One of their most recognizable cars featured a twin-port grille & super aerodynamic nose. - They made a car during the muscle car craze with a Fiberglass body & forced induction.

So fiscally responsible. The Jazz was a cool concept in its day... esp. with its Bugatti style rims.

Oh I know where you're coming from. The thread was a good idea. I just get a little antsy when people start waxing poetic about the merits of mid size FWD family cars...

Yellow Jacket wins the award for "Best Signature of the Month" WMJ wins the award for "Most Bling-Bling in a Tight Whips Avatar" :wink: ----------

hmmm... the solution to world peace: 394. Iraq 395. Iran 396. No. Korea 397. Syria 398. India 399. Pakistan

Agreed... it's a freekin' super exotic car... you shouldn't need "special edition" marketing B.S. to sell them. This type of car is usually sold out before it hits showrooms. I still miss the McLaren F1... THAT was a SUPER-car. Perhaps they should make a presidential edition SLR.

GM1: You got it buddy! Your prize, a 1996 Buick Roadmaster Steel Roof with 12,000 original miles, is on its way to you in an enclosed car carrier as we speak. From the Americans to the Germans, Japanese & even Australians have all made a few cool hardtops over the years... why is it that they are so scarce these days?

I can't say where but I've heard the name X-4 in a more factual source than Wikepedia, probably one of my magazines.

i don't understand what you're asking for?????? 164476[/snapback] *clears throat* if I may... A power window is has all of the hardware off a crank window PLUS ++++ a power window motor. So saying crank windows weigh less than power seems silly. Perhaps this is possible somehow but the burden of proof is not on me/us. I stand by my theory: crank window = regulator + glass + plastic crank POWER window = regulator + glass + MOTOR + switch + wiring harness so therefore, since we all know the weight of even the smallest electric motor is NOT negligible, power windows CAN NOT weigh LESS than crank. I'm 99% sure this is faulty logic... and even if this is true it's due to $hitty engineering on the part of the crank windows or VERY EXPENSIVE engineering in the power window.

Certain cars can pull off "Billet" Grills and some can't. People who throw a gorgeous 1950s man-eater or draw-pull or otherwise ornate chrome ladden grille in the trash and install a billett grille on thier 1950s or even 1960s car piss me off. This is not too bad from what I see... the Charger is growing on me more and more. I was very brutal at first and used to call it ugly & ungainly but I'm really liking them as of late.

Of course I do, it was the topic of one of my trivia questions. I called it a "70s Business Coupe". I was wondering if that was a fo' real Scooter. :AH-HA_wink:

Bimmer: I was just being facetious. :wink: I'd never with a straight face say that this thread was any less relevant or meaningful than the random tangents I post on an every day basis.

Yes... go up to Maine & New Hampshire... there's a few. I've seen a couple in person before. My crack dealer was saying he might be willing to smash a hole in a local abandoned building to make it much more convenient to get a fix after robbing a Liquer Store with my Gat & hooking up with a diseased prostitute.... I just gots to hook him up with a sledge hammer.

Sweet... I wish I had the gas money & time to get out there.

I'd never buy one and still think gasoline burning hybrids are lame, BUT... This car is gorgeous inside & out. I really think it's one of the best looking mid-size/full-size luxury cars on the market today save for the STS-V, M45 & 540i.

I will not lie and say I'm not jelaous... awsome ride. After thinking about it for about three months I have decided that a Cobalt will not be in my near future. The only FWD car that might make it into my fleet in the next few years is the BustleBack Seville. (see sig) I'll probably end up with a pickup truck of some sort, or perhaps a used WRX sedan with a 5-speed. --------- ~ Silvester AKA Chapman Rusty Jones:. the official rust protection of the T1GHT WH!P$ Car Club & 1981 Cadillac Seville Diesels. 1968 Camaro Hardtop -- 377 horsepower -- 13.9 sec. @ 103 mph -- SOLD

Still better looking that the REAL Element. [/dead serious]

Fellow GM Enthusiast, gentleman & scholar Balthazar told me about Buick-59.com and by extension I did see that concept & a few others that preceded he 1959 Buick including the 3-fin prototype. As far as the Caballero: it's a wagon, it's a hardtop... it's BOTH! I too thought about including the Blackhawk!

HINT: the no.1 import car in 1961 in the USA was the VW Beetle by a landslide! ----- Funny you say that since this thread is about a hardtop. The other day while "intoxicated" I heated up an X-acto knife on my gas stove and then I cut out the rear windows out of the new HotWheel's AMG Mercedes CLK-DTM. The effin car is a hardtop but H.W. cast it as if the rear windows were up but the front down... WTF? at least they B-pillar was not cast in metal which would have been a cardinal sin. The windows & the "rubbeer insulation disappearing B-pillar" were just easily removed plastic cast into the mold for the glass. So I'm going to fix them one at a time! This was a practice run so I will give this one to Sofia to play with but next time I'll do it right by popping off the rivets & the whole nine yards. I'll post photos of the B-pillered one soon.

Looking Good! :D

Dude... so he's a lush, who cares. He's the HOFFER! At least he's not some Prius driving Hollywood Liberal pu$$y.

YES! Good for you, great choice. Score one for RWD & BOF construction.