Wow, that’s exactly the same thing we Mac users say when PC users say “Macs cost too much”! 
So did they ever get around to releasing Halo for the Mac? 
To be honest, the only car I ever loved was my 1986 Mustang with it’s rattling 4 cylinder engine. Did you know they made four-cylinder Mustangs? I didn’t either until I got mine from my sister. The AC didn’t work (the kind of freeon it used was apparantly illegal now, and replacing the AC would cost more than the car was worth), the radio only worked on FM (the switch to make it go to AM was stuck, and the tape deck didn’t work), the transmission fluid and motor oil both leaked, the hose for the windsheild sprayer was all cracked so it didn’t work, and the car would stall if you tried to let it idle before it had been driven for about 5 or 10 minutes, taking the power steering and brakes with it.
I miss that car. 
Yep. Dated a lady with a 4 cylinder Thunderbird. Both were fun to drive with more responsiveness than you’d think was going to be there.
I know how it goes. My Toronado was a beat up piece of shit, but I loved that car! That nice, wide, bench front seat was great for romantic encounters. Just push a switch and the whole thing would glide back, making lots of room
Oh yeah, that 4-beater Mustang could turn. With the massive amount of visibility I had in it compared to my current car, and the responsiveness of the thing (when the power steering was working), I could make that car dance the macarena. Also, amazing gas efficiency on that thing, although it totally lacked in the acceleration and top speed departments (I’d floor the gas, and a little kid on a trike would point at me and laugh as he pedalled past. I’d get on the interstate, and the engine would scream in pain at being pushed to 70, on a road where 80 is the norm. Fuuuun.)
My current car, a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, while a very fun car to drive (yay driving standard), and overall far more reliable than Rusty (the name of my old car), unfortunately severely lacks in visibility. First off you have the trunk. It’s huge. The damn trunk lid is twice as high off the ground as the hood is, plus a spoiler on top of that. I actually can’t see any more by looking over my shoulder than I could by using the rear-view mirror. Also, the interior of the car, wherever it’s not a window, has this really thick rounded kind of plastic on it, presumably to help keep me from cracking my head open on the car frame if I get into a wreck.
That said, I’d rather be able to see to avoid the wreck.
Other than that, I love the Grand Am. Yay CD player, yay cup holders out the wazoo (three cup holders in the front, including one that converts into an ashtray, and two in the back, folding up into the back of the console between the front seats). Yay being the car I learned to drive stick in.
Yup. Back in the day where I was growing up, if you lived on top of the hill, you drove a Holden, and had a mullett, if you lived down on the flat you had a Ford and you had long hair parted down the middle. The only significant variant were the kids who owned little Mazda RX2a or RX3s, who totally smoked everyone at the lights. Me? I had a Volvo…
They actually only made the 4 and 8s from 87 til the mid 90s. I also had an 86, though it was the V6. Loved that car, then one day I just couldn’t get it to start.
The Chevy guys used to say, “Ford - Fix Or Repair Daily.”
It was simple brand loyalty which used to run much stronger years ago. It’s a Coke/Pepsi thing except the item cost thousands of dollars. Ask anyone in marketing and advertising and they will tell you that it is getting much more difficult to maintain brand loyalty but it ran very deep 50 years ago.
Ha! That’s exactly what my Chevy-driving friend says. She has a monster pickup for haulng her horse trailer (complete with her massive Belgian steed) and wouldn’t drive a Ford if you gave it to her.
Back in the day, the different divisions of GM each had their own separate engine designs, and you’d see people loyal to Pontiac or Oldsmobile (albeit in significantly lesser quantities) who did not at all see themselves as aligned with the Chevy camp. (421 High Output against your 426? Sure, silly rat!)
There were also some startlingly hot AMC rods out there. (I remember a 403 AMC Pacer with milled heads and dual Holleys)
:smack: the 426 wasn’t Chevy, it was Mopar. I knew that, I did.
So some time after posting to this thread, I’m sitting here listening to an MP3 of my old band doing our rendition of Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning, and a light went on in my head.
I finally understand the line that says, “Holden wrecks and boiling diesels …” I never could figure out what “holdin’ wrecks” meant. 
I wonder how many other Americans (or non-Australians, for that matter) are as clueless about that line as I was up until today?
When my dad started working at Ford 38 years ago I’m sure the Ford guys hated the Chrysler guys and GM guys and poo-pooed eachother’s cars. I have a friend who’s a Chevy guy…probably by “inheritance” like I’m a Ford girl as such. Maybe 20 years ago he would have ragged on me for my affiliation but not now.
Nowadays when my dad is in a parking lot he’ll tsk and moan when he sees Honda or Volkswagen, what have you, and say stuff “here we go, here’s a Pontiac.”
Right now, for the autoworkers at least, it’s all about American vs. not American (regadless of the fact that say, Toyotas have more American parts than Chrysler or Mazda and Volvo are owned by Ford … the pain has made him blank out on those facts). I think the Ford vs. Chevy thing is really just a Hatfields and McCoys thing. Done out of habit.
Okay I’ll give you the low-down on the Chevy Ford controversy. At least from my family’s justification. Dad was an old mechanic and a Chevy man. As was his father. However, gramps brother was a ford man, as is my brother. I have both firds and chevy’s and I agree w/ the following.
I’m talking about older vehicles mind you. Not this newfangled shit that you have to be a computer geek to analyze what’s wrong and then just replace the appropriate part. Used to people actually repaired shit.
The way gm motors are setup the distributer is at the back of the engine and the plugs are beneath the heads belts and pulley are usally hard to get to and working on a chevy can be a real pain in the ass but they used to have a reputation as being dependable once they were fixed they stayed fixed. Superior suspension design for one reason.
Fords on the other hand are easy to work on. The distributor is right in the front of the motor the plugs go into the side of the heads and as far as maintenance is concerned they are a breeze to maintain BUT because of the poor suspension systems in the older ford they had a habit of needing more maintenance than GM vehicles.
It’s kinda like the Harley/rice burner debate. Sure you’re gonna have to work on the old harley more BUT at least you CAN work on it.
anyway that’s my take on the debate and I’ve been hearin it for many many years.
These days as the Calvin decal implies, it’s just a pissin contest.
Yeah, that rivalry makes more sense to me – I may not agree with the reasoning behind it, but it has the whiff of sense about it. Not being a truck guy, Ford vs. Chevy always seemed essentially irrational. Interesting to see there’s some actual differences at play, however minor they may be.
It’s a lot like the Coke vs. Pepsi, Harvard vs. Yale, or any of the other versuses out there. Given two choices, many people will take a side.
I’m a Ford guy, much of my family leans that way too, especially my grandfather. The 80’s and 90’s GM cars to me were ugly and the interiors were very ugly. Especially the Pontiacs with the fat rubbery colorful buttons. The exteriors of Pontiacs ranged from pretty neat (like the early 90’s Grand Prix SE) to incredibly ugly, like the Pontiac Aztek. In general I just like the style of Fords better.
In older cars from early 70’s on back I think Chevys and Fords have plenty of winners and losers. I wouldn’t automatically dismiss a Chevy, although I’d still prefer a Ford.
It depends on the model and what exactly you’re doing. I worked on a ~95 Monte Carlo, the battery was under the windshield washer tank and a strut tower brace. Something you have to change every couple years on average was that hard to get to.
OTOH, my sister’s 91 Pontiac with the 3.1 V6 was extremely easy to change the oil on, but my 98 V6 Contour is a pain. My Mustang and F-150 with the 302 V8 are reasonably easy to work on, but the oil filter is right above part of the front suspension, so it’s hard to keep the oil from dripping on it.
I wish ALL the car manufacturers would design the damn things in some sort of modular logical fashion so you could actually get to the parts without major disassembly.
When one plops down 60months of payments on a vehicle, you can darn well bet it will be the best thing on the road…
Even if it isn’t.
And when they decide to switch brands, if they do, then it will in turn, be the bestest thing ever.
And I always heard it was -> FORD… Found On Road Dead
Also heard -> FORD - First On Race Day
There’s acronyms for PONTIAC as well, but they are no longer politically correct!
FTR, I drive a Dodge Dakota…my Boat is a Nitro, My engine a Mercury and my TM a Motorguide… and that’s the way I like it!
control-z you kinda backed up what I was saying even though oil changes wasn’t exactly what I was talking about.
When I said older vehicles I meant early 70’s or older. Before smog control and computers, electronic ignitions and fuel injectors were standard equipment. You know something at least 390 cu" that a big spreadbore would fit on or maybe a couple of hollys on a high rise. Popups and a set of headers. maybe a full cam too. Give me 4 gears and a hurst in the floor, positrac in the back.
BTW, FORD also can mean (fuckin old rebuilt dodge) that’s the one we used.
I’ve got a '62 chevy, a '65 ford, a '67 chevy and a '73 caddy.
I have owned several other cars and trucks. Something from practically every year since '58. to present.
After about '73 everything started downhill IMHO.
Wish I had my old Nova Super Sport back or maybe that old Buick Stage I used to run a bit.
It was one fast SOB.
Now see, I thought the Aztek was one of the coolest-looking vehicles I’d seen in a long time. It was different, and to me, different is good (yes, my very first job was at Arby’s).
But as they say, different strokes. I guess there’s a market for everything, somewhere 