Saturday Car Thread 08/23/14 - [Niedermeyer's Dead Horse & KBDaBear]

Imma gonna let KBDB take this one. I'm heading back to bed.

Take it away KBDB...

Datsun 240Z, the car that made the 70's bearable

The 240Z was introduced in the 1970 model year at the watershed of American performance before the pony and muscle cars were choked by EPA regulations, the Oil Crisis, and increasing shoddiness of build quality. Initially targeted at Boomer sports car buyers looking at the British TR-6, MGB-GT or the German Opel GT and Porsche 914, it was lightweight, and gorgeous. Powered by a 2.4 liter 151 hp inline 6 with a 4 speed manual gearbox along with independent rear suspension, the Datsun was no longer associated mainly as the maker of clunky little econoboxes. Its looks and superior performance became an instant hit with the college bound youth of the early 70s.

The early 70s 240Z wasn't going to beat the Mustangs and Camaros of that time in the quarter mile, but it would easily outhandle them in a road race and got 20 mpg to boot. Of course as a first generation production it had its share of faults such as sheet metal thinner than a Budweiser can and carburetors that stayed open for seconds after letting up the throttle.

In 1974 the engine displacement was increased to 2.6 liters to accommodate the lower compression ratio to meet EPA regs which even with the increase in size resulted in a loss of output to 140 hp. The 260Z model was only for 1974 and in 1975 the 280Z would be introduced.

The 280Z not only increased displacement to 2.8 liters, Nissan would replace the dual carburetors with Bosch electronic fuel injection resulting in a nice boost in output to 170 hp. By then, smog motors and catalytic converters had reduced Detroit's ponies to castrated geldings with most V8's struggling to push the heavier Chevys and Fords with 180 hp and less. By 1978 as the 280Z was not only superior to the MGB, it was better than the Jaguar and bested the neutered Corvettes not only in handling but also in the quarter mile.

The 2 seater Z's would be replaced by the 4 seater ZX generations, but it would leave many fond memories of those who owned them and never suffered the sad experience of the death of American muscle.

Chrysler K-Cars – K as in Kaboom?

The utilitarian Chrysler Corp. K-Car has been hailed by Lee Ioccoca and his fanboys as “the car that saved Chrysler”. Myself, I would say that the Reagan Recovery, UAW concessions, production reforms, rebadged Mitsubshisis as well as a generous helping from Mitsubishi's parts bins and the introduction of the Minivan deserved a lion's share of the credit.

Entering the scene in 1981, the front wheel drive inline 4 bangers provided high mileage while still accommodating the passenger room of a midsized car. The all FWD platforms demanded by Iococca enabled Chrysler to build all models on the single K-Based platform which saved millions by sharing parts across lines, not to mention savings from lots of cheap plastic parts.

Ioccoca's pitch line in his 80s commercials was; “If you can find a better car, buy it”. I often replied to that line with; “if you don't think your life will be better, buy this car”. Ugly and square, it looked to me as if Ol' Lee hired a bunch of Soviet defectors who had designed Ladas and then provided them nothing but a straight ruler. The only curves I've ever seen on the body of a K-Car were usually the result of impact with a guardrail.

If families that had given up any aspirations on moving up had Kaboom cereal on their breakfast table, certainly you could bet that a Dodge Aries or Plymouth Reliant was parked in the driveway. This was the car that you bought because the only purpose of the family sedan was to get you and the kids from point A to point B. Not only did you no longer care how fast it took you there, you no longer even pretended to care how you looked getting there. Oh, you could indulge in a little pretentiousness with options of pimp velour seats and plastic wood veneer trim, but the kids still sunk low in the backseat when classmates riding in the back of their dad's BMW or Honda Accord pulled up beside at the light while you tried to quickly roll up the windows because mom had the radio turned up at the same time Air Supply or Christopher Cross came on the radio.

The K platform with a longer wheelbase spawned the first domestic Minivans in 1984 with the rollout of the Dodge Caravan. Wildly popular with married-with-children Boomers of the 80s, the van was no longer the province of 70's stoners and pedophiles, it was the final surrender of youth and a formal goodbye to the discos and party life. A Minivan Boomer was now the Bill Keane of the Family Circus comic strip with his own Jeffy and Dolly. Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson described the Minivan owner as;

“I'm not interested in style or performance or looks or excitement. I've done my breeding. I've served my biological purpose, and now I'm waiting to die."

British Cars and Lucas Electric in Recognition of a new season of Doctor Who

As Whovians eagerly anticipate a new season of Doctor Who with a new 12th Doctor, it's a great occasion to observe the contributions of the British automobile industry to oil leakage, loose parts, and the mysterious non-workings of their electric systems with Lucas Electric jokes. One of my favorites was;

Q. Why do the British drink warm beer?
A. Lucas wires their refrigerators too.

The TARDIS piloted by The Doctor had the exterior of a British Police Call Box, but thankfully for The Doctor the functioning parts of the machine were made on his home planet of Gallifrey. Had the TARDIS been built by British Leyland, it would be difficult to shield the TARDIS due to the lake of oil under it. The control console often threw sparks and caught fire, but that was caused by attacks by Dalek ships or turbulence through a wormhole rather than the simple act of turning on the wipers and radio simultaneously.

Moronette and her Fiat 500

Please feel free to send any complaints or commendations to us at Twitter: Nied's Dead Horse and KBDaBear. Not that it will make any difference, but you can try.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:56 PM

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