My favorite car was seriously underpowered. It was a 1983 Datsun Nissan Sentra Diesel (yes, it had all four of those badges on the trunk lid!). It had all of 55 horsepower new, and I got it at 89,000 miles with the top half of the engine in a box. It seems the water pump (driven by the timing belt) went bad, breaking the timing belt which allowed pistons to break all four of the exhaust valves. I spent $750 total for the car including the repairs and parts.
The thing was slow. 0-60 times were probably just shy of a minute. It would do highway speeds all day- 70 to 80 mph was sustainable on flat to slightly rolling terrain. It just took a while to get there. Steep grades were 2nd and 3rd gear fare. The car got an honest 42 mpg in town and higher on the highway. This was back in the days when fuel was under a dollar a gallon and diesel cost less than gasoline! I drove that car for 7 years and 7 months. It met its end accordioned between two Chevy pickups. I got $1100 for it from the other guy’s insurance company.
Seriously, it was a 1975 Vega Kaamback, and I believe that was the first year for the electronic ignition (which helped a great deal when it came to starting it). With the standard three-speed, it was great in the Chicago snow and actually got decent gas mileage once you got it out of town. In fact, you didn’t really notice the lack of power until you got into some wide open space. At one point, I actually put tape around the tab on the accelerator so it would cut off the A/C sooner when you stepped on the gas. I wouldn’t have been able to merge on the interstate if I had left it like it was.
OTOH, the engine actually lasted longer than I expected. I paid $2K, put 64,000 miles on it, and then sold it for $950. Hard to argue with that.
Convoy of people going to float down some river in the Ozarks. I had one passenger, a lot of gear, and a CB radio to keep in contact. I’m the trailing vehicle.
Slow moving car in front of us on winding mountain roads (OK, Ozark mountains, but still some steepness). Tom in the lead car (something fast, don’t remember what) passed it, and then got the other cars around it by keeping an eye out for oncoming traffic (allowing illegal but somewhat safe passing in no passing zones).
We are of course on a hill. Tom would say “it’s clear!” and I would attempt to get up enough speed to get around before the “hold it! car coming!” call came. Finally got around by backing off and accelerating before we knew it was going to be clear so I had enough speed up to get around.
I’m sure that guy was cussing up a storm about me riding up his ass, swinging out to pass and then pulling back until I finally got around him.
You’re not the only one with that opinion of the Escort.
From what I gather the main problem was that the gear ratios on the 4-speed were so spread out that on mountain roads it was impossible to find the right gear. Like the blogger I linked to above, you get into a situation where it can’t climb the hill in 3rd, but 2nd is too low. My understanding that when Ford finally offered a 5-speed the Escort’s acceleration was more acceptable.
How did you keep that Vega together? I thought GM put them out pre-rusted right from the factory, at no extra charge. GM paint was really bad in those days.
Hehehe, I had an '82 Escort that I drove for years. No power, but since it was a manual it was a riot to drive compared to my Mom’s Chrysler K Car.
Those vibrations at 65? That was probably the engine rather than the transmission. My sister had an auto Escort, it didn’t feel any better at freeway speeds. The joke was that the CVH abbreviation for that engine was for Constant Vibration and Harshness. For what it’s worth, it didn’t sound any better or worse at it’s top speed of 78.
Edit: Wow, was '82 just a banner year for US Escort sales or something? My sister’s was an '82 as well.
Edited again: Jeebus, I just remembered I also had an '82 EXP at one time. The “sporty” 2-seater Escort. Just as slow as the regular Escort, but the rear seat was permanently folded down (gone, really).
I moved it to NC in 1979, before it got too bad. Very little salt used on the roads here. Never any rust to speak of.
I suspect that they were getting their act together by the 1975 model. Many of the complaints about the Vega were from the earlier models. The 75 also switched to the horizontal slot front grill, which improved the appearance significantly.