I grew up in a 300ZX. Not the second one, the first one. Compared to that, the 280 was light. That said, you’re right, it did have a bit more meat on it than the 260. Still, compared to the sad excuse for a sports car that Detroit was putting out?
Lesse. 170 horse, 2600 pounds for the 280z. (L28 engine, not the turbo)
For the Vette? Oh. Hell, this was the California Vette year. 180 horsepower with the 305. 190 with the 350. And the 85 MPH speedometer. About 3,336 pounds.
So, I feel justified in calling the 280 light, compared to the competition.
Admittedly, I was about six years old, so my precise memory of the cars of the era is a bit wonky. I essentially ‘wasn’t there’. But yeah, ton and a quarter is what I’d call a lightish car. My dad’s 550 replica at 3/4 of a ton is what I call a flyweight.
Do you happen to recall an American sports car of the period that was considerably lighter?
Just to clarify, Ford’s “original” Model A debuted in 1903 and had a base price of $750. The second-generation Model A was introduced in 1927, and a no-frills example could be purchased for as little as $385.
I believe China Guy. I guess “Joint Venture” in this context means specifically a foreign automaker getting together with a domestic one to locally assemble a foreign car model - this is required by the Chinese government for foreign car makers to assemble cars locally, and the foreign car makers are often very reluctant participants who would have preferred to go at it alone.
This is distinct from the Haima situation, where a domestic car maker simply bought the rights to produce a foreign model locally, and probably market it under it’s own brand, without any further involvement from the foreign maker. I believe Haima’s models are actually sold as Haimas, although they are obviously identical to the original Mazda products.
I was thinking of the classic Model A, the second generation version. The ‘original’ A was a bit basic, but in the same price rage as the '03 Cadillac ($750) and a hundred dollars more than the Oldsmobile of the same era ($650). Not a bargain, but not what I’d call overpriced for the era.
The “other” Asian soon-to-be economic giant!Have they played with setting up a for-export auto assembly business? What strikes me about the Chinese effort:
-they can easily duplicate a late-90’s Japanese or German car design-but unless they sell at a discount, it makes no sense
-they (the Chinese) are well aware of the poor quality perception of Chinese goods-look at what the Koreans were able to do (their Hyundais are now on par with Japanese cars)
-China has no future in exporting crap, their buyers would reject it
I think we may see Chinese cars get up to Japanese quality levels, within 4-5 years
INDIA has a LOT of advantages over China-I wonder if they will enter the game soon?
Depends on who the buyer is. There are actually real people outside of North America and Western Europe. In any case, the Detroit Big 3 export very little of what they make, and seem to have done OK (their current troubles stemming from foreign competition in the domestic market, not lack of exports)
You mean with respect to car making, or just in general? I would be curious if you had some examples.
