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1972 Nova

My first car was a hand-me-down 1972 Chevy Nova coupe. It was a strippo: 250 straight six, manual drum brakes, rubber covering on the floor instead of carpets, no chrome mouldings, no cigarette lighter, no day/night mirror and no dome light switch for the passenger door. It had the factory "baby moon" hubcaps with body-colored wheels and blackwall tires. It was a burnt orange color and would have made an awesome sleeper. The only options were power steering, AM radio (with one of those lousy windshield antennas) and the archaic two-speed Powerglide automatic.

I'd love to have it back today as I'd slip a late '60s Cadillac 472 and Turbo-hydramatic in it for fun :)

Mine was just like the one in the link except for the color and mine had no bodyside moulding. It was an indestructible car but I sold it to buy a '78 VW Rabbit 4 speed with a fuel injected gas engine (a lot peppier.)

http://www.novaresource.org/gallery3/72andyc1.jpg
 
I recall my mothers old 1964 Chevrolet Bel Air. It was Robins Egg Blue and had absolutely no options whatsoever. No power steering or power brakes, manual windows, a three speed automatic and probably a 283 I6 under the hood. That was the car they took me home from the hospital in after I was born.

My mother got rid of it because she said, "It drove like a tank."

It was replaced with a 1970 Chrysler New Yorker, one model up from the Newport. My Dad picked it up for $700 back in 1983 and we drove it until 1992 when the frame finally rusted through. We sold the engine out of it for $500.

It was a luxobarge in comparison to the Bel Air, with power windows, power steering and power brakes. Oh, Headrests and shoulder belts too! Compared to a modern car though, it was a very basic car. It only had an AM radio and that was about it.

I've been finding that more and more, cars today come pretty much "loaded" now as basic models, all the options you find on cars now are for the "Fluff" like Navigation Systems, Sattelite Radio, Moonroofs, etc.

My 2003 Hyundai Elantra is pretty much "loaded" as a basic model. The next model up had leather seating, sunroof, traction control and anti-lock brakes, mine doesn't. I suspect it'll probably be the last car I'll ever own that doesn't have anti-lock brakes. (It makes driving in winter so much more interesting!)
 
Chrysler Ahead!!!!

I had a 41 Chrysler Royal with 2 speed electric factory wipers,they were standard on the Chryslers and Desotos and Dodge,optional on Plymouths.All of my 1940s Chrysler products had electric wipers.I had a real plain 53 Plymouth with electrics.Chrysler products also had great brakes.They didnt fade like general motors and ford.
 
To Whirlaway

My father's first car, a 1955 Chevy Bel Air, had vacuum actuated wipers...

Whenever he'd go to pass someone on a rainy day, they'd stop working.

They also deliberately designed them so that they'd rust above the headlights. Very common problem with those cars.

I have to admit, outside of that 1970 New Yorker, I've never driven a car older than me. I bet it would be a very different experience being behind the wheel of a car from the 1940's... especially considering I've never driven a three on the tree before.
 
In 2008 My dad bought a brand new Kia. They were offering a special for the BOL model(Not sure which model but was the four door car) for just under $10,000. No pwr steering, no pwr windows, no pwr locks, manual transmission, no a/c and no radio. I didn't even think they made new cars without pwr steering.
Now on the oppsite end of that, I am looking at a 1984 Cadillac Seville Elagante that I am really intrested in purchasing.I think the guy is a few thousand dollars over priced, but maybe in a few months will be willing to negoiate more. It has pwr everything in there. Beautiful car.
 
cadillac seville

i kinda like those '79-85 midsize cadillacs,a couple years ago noticed a 1979
eldorado for sale locally-it had the bendix fuel injection oldsmobile 350,i have
plenty of cars,all keepers,but i was thinking it would be cool to have that eldo.
The '79 eldo was downsized to "only"about 3900LB from the previous 5300lb+ eldo,
so may have been able to slip it into the driveway LOL.The delco cassette radio in
my z28 if from an '84 seville(awesome unit BTW,better sound and durabilty than
the aftermarket raios i tried)AFAIK,the biggest potential problem area with an '84
seville is the HT4100 engine,250CI is a little smallish to propell a 3900 lb+ car
and durability problems have been spoken of-never been able to get a straight
answer on the details;but i have heard of camshaft wear problems,head gasket
problems and block distortion.On the other hand,i have heard of HT4100s running
well past 200000 miles without problems.Intoduced around 1981,the HT4100 has iron
heads on an aluminum block. If i had an'81-85 cadi with the HT4100 and wanted
more power,i'd be tempted to swap in an olds 307(used in toronado of same era)
or better yet a cadi 368(6.0L-used in certain full size cadillacs '80-84,some
368s had the imfamous V8-6-4 varible displacement system-won't go into to many
details,but slow mode changeover and rough running in v-6 mode were a couple
faults LOL
 
For me I had just one BOL car. It was a 1991 Buick Century Cutom, it did have pwr steering and brakes and locks, manual windows, the seats didnt adjust, had steel rims with a center cap,  it had other items deleted but I dont recall what.

Both before and after that car I have had MOL and have since moved up to TOL cars and I do like all options except navigation and moonroof.
 
A Chevy "Stovebolt Six" . . .

Would almost certainly have been teamed with a two-speed Powerglide in '64 if automatic was ordered. Chevy really loved their Powerglide, it had some relationship to the old Buick Dynaflow but none to the GM automatics produced by the Hydramatic Division. Starting in '65 Chevy did offer the 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic in some full sized cars, but it was seen as a luxury option to be teamed with a big V8. Even the Corvette retained the Powerglide as the only automatic through the '67 model year, meaning that if one was ordered with the big-block 427 introduced in '66 it still had Powerglide! This is one reason most Corvettes had four speed manuals until '68, but I've been told by some owners that the 427/Powerglide combo worked surprisingly well in the 'Vette as with that much torque in a small car gear ratios don't matter much!
 
POWERGLIDES are tough trannies...

My son has one teamed up with the "new" 7 main bearing 250 six in his 100 k original mile '70 Nova sedan that's it's been in our family since new, bought here in Binghamton and used to commute to IBM Endicott. It has the typical Powerglide whine in Neutral, they all do, but is solid as a rock and with the "big" six the car is surprisingly quick. It's the BOL stripper model but does have the automatic, heater, PS and one of these "add-on" FM converters my uncle put in when he bought it, that's about it, even has the rubber floor covering instead of carpet. Unfortunately with grad school bills son's going to have to sell it this Spring.
 
my first car

My first car was a new 1980 Toyota Tercel hatchback. I don't have any existing photos of it, but the photo I found on the net gives you an idea; mine was white. I don't remember if the racing stripes on the car pictured were part of an OEM sport package or whether it was an after-market kit offered by the dealer, but my car didn't have the stripes. It was Toyota's first front wheel drive car. Later on, the Starlet was introduced and positioned below Tercel, but at the time Tercel was "BOL" in the US lineup. It did have some nice features, like adjustable seatbacks, and a rear window with a defroster and a windshield wiper/washer. Floors were carpeted, no rubber flooring as was sometimes found on BOL US automobiles.

However, it was introduced during the 1980 fuel shortage (with prices hitting $2/gallon in 1980 prices, like $8/gallon now in relative terms). Its 1.4 liter, 60 HP engine was advertised to get 42 mpg on the highway (I got 36-37 mpg; maybe if you drove 50 mph you'd get 42) with the five speed manual transmission. Because its fuel economy was superior to the Corolla, it sold for more money than Corolla as it became the "must have" car for the fuel-conscious. Datsun had its B210 and VW the diesel Rabbit, but Tercel was Toyota's most fuel-efficient car at the time. The front wheel drive made it ideal for pulling through snow in cold climates.

I recall that my aunt and uncle tried to get one for my cousin, but the dealers were asking for and getting $1000-2000 above sticker price because of the demand, so they settled on a Corolla hatchback, with a higher official sticker price but lower "de facto" price. I had a relative (on the other side of the family) who was a high ranking Toyota executive in their USA division who was able to get a dealer to sell me one at a few hundred below sticker price (and probably $2000 below the real world price).

A/C in those days was a dealer-added option for Toyotas. I added a PUSH BUTTON AM/FM radio for an extra fee ($100 maybe) but did not have the need for A/C as I was living in New England at the time. After moving two years later back to California, there were times I WISHED that I had A/C, but I digress. There were a few other OEM options, like a luggage rack on the roof, but only one trim level and one engine option. They did offer an automatic, which I didn't want, knowing that a manual would make the best use of the limited horsepower.

60 HP doesn't sound like much, but the car was light and acceleration was decent on freeways with the manual tranny. In Rhode Island snow, it drove like a tank, and was a great ski car both in New Hampshire and California. The hatchback design was very useful for hauling stuff. My only gripe was lack of a cargo cover. Many competing hatchbacks had a cargo cover on a roller-device (like a roll-up window shade) that mounted behind the rear seat and with the loose end attached to the hatch, so it would auto-raise and -lower when the hatch was opened or closed. Toyota sold a rather cheesy OEM cover which was a vinyl cloth cut to fit the cargo bay with hooks on each corner that fit into D-rings that came with the kit. With time, the cloth stretched or sagged to the point where the middle of the cover nearly touched the floor of the cargo area, so it was useless unless the area was filled, and even then it didn't cover the area flat as do the roll-up covers. I took to using an old blanket to cover things.

It was totaled in 1985. I had right of way and a driver at a stop sign did not see me coming (he didn't run through a stop sign, he just didn't see me). The insurance company gave me a check for $3500 and I went shopping for a new car.

passatdoc++2-6-2012-10-03-16.jpg
 
1st gen Tercel

Between my wife and I, we had two '81 Tercels and an '82. One of the '81s was a 4 speed 2 door sedan that was so stripped that it had rubber door pull handles instead of armrests - I have never seen that before. The '82 5 speed coupe was a very good car overall although it had a lean idle problem that I could never solve. The last one was an '81 hatchback with A/C and a 3 speed automatic. That one was dangerously slow and sounded like it would come apart at anything over 70 due to the low gearing. That was purchased as a cheapie and we dumped it about a year later for an '85 Audi 4000S (another story by itself). At least my wife wouldn't get blown off the road crossing the Tappan Zee bridge in fast moving traffic in the Audi.

The Tercels were very basic cars by today's standards that were reliable and economical. They would lose any crash contest now and I don't think I'd use one as a daily driver today as a result. The doors closed with a "clink" instead of a "clunk." I always remember how my '85 Jetta felt as solid as a bank vault compared to them when I traded up.
 
I think my '80 Tercel had armrests. I would have remembered rubber door pull handles! Maybe there were several trim levels that I have forgotten. I remember seeing a black '80 hatchback (the first one I ever saw on the street) that had cloth seats and sport striping. My car had vinyl seats, so I would guess that the cloth seats were a higher trim level.

The Tercel did the job for me at the time: front wheel drive so I didn't need to use winter tires (if tires were radials---mine were). And very good mileage in an era when gas approached $2/gallon. I never got the advertised 42 mpg on the highway, but probably did get 36-37 mpg highway and maybe 28 in the city.

It was my last car NOT to have fuel injection. The carburetor had a mind of its own and sometimes cold morning starts were not, let us say, instantaneous. In addition, the car required a warm-up on cold mornings, both in New England and even later in California during the winter. The next car, after the Tercel was totaled, was a Toyota Celica, and the electronic fuel injection was just amazing to me: no carburetor to flood, and no stalls on cold morning start.

The only other quirk about the car was that it took a while to start producing heat on cold starts. Like maybe a mile before the vents began supplying warm air. I guess it was due to the small size of the engine. Amazing to think that my only slightly larger (1.8L) Passat turbo delivers three and a half times as much HP/torque, and yet the same fuel economy is identical.
 
My son's first car in high school

which he still has out of nostalgia, was a BOL SAAB 900 (it's always capitalized like a BMW btw, since it's an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan AB). It had no turbo, 8 valve not 16 valve engine, manual tran, manual windows, cloth seats, plain FM no stereo, no P seats, no P antenna no seat heater, or anything else except servo boosted brakes.

One thing it DID have was safety, because unlke the Japanese cars of the 80s, it would do very well in a crash, in fact SAABs were often rated ahead of the M-B S-Class in crash tests by the European Safety agency, ahead even of Volvo in that respect. Even without air-bags they are one of the safest cars in the world. That's why my kids had them, older models, as their first cars, and both sons still have theirs, along with newer SAABs now as their current drivers.
 
While we got the VW Beetle here in America it was a deluxe version. Nice patterned vinyl seats, matching door panels, etc.
But in Europe, the bug could be had as a very BOL car. Those nice patterned seats and matching door panels were an option. If you didn't want to pay for them you got flat vinyl seats and cardboard door panels with no armrests and a rubber floor mat instead of carpeting.
Who ever thought that a BOL car could be had even more BOL than that?
 
GM 2 speed Powerglide tranny

My transmission instructor last year (I took both manual and automatic transmission night course at the local community college) said that the 2 speed Powerglide indeed is a tough transmission. So tough, in fact, that it became quite popular with drag racers. I think he said they'd take out the first gear (not needed with a 500+ hp motor in a light drag car) and run it for zero to whatever in no time flat.
 
A buddy of mine has been into performance cars since he got his license in the '60s. His first sports car was a '59 Corvette with the 283 small block and Powerglide purchased in the mid '60s. He didn't like the 'glide, but the price was right. He installed a hot cam and Corvair hydraulic lifters (they were reputed to rev better than regular Chevy lifters) and then proceeded to rev the nuts off it whenever he could. He said the 'glide never gave any problems but he had to regularly replace the flexplate as it would eventually crack under repeated 7500 rpm upshifts! I don't think he was exaggerating; I've watched him shift at well over 7000 in a DeTomaso Pantera equipped with a Ford 351 Cleveland with Weber 48 IDAs and nitrous.

 

My friend had another funny story about GM automatics: in drag racing with an automatic a torque converter with a high stall speed (allows the engine to be revved up when the car is stationary but in drive gear) is desirable as it gets the engine closer to its peak power rpm. However, such torque converters are inefficient and undesirable for ordinary use and as such have always been produced by aftermarked suppliers who cater to the drag racing community. Back in the late '60s some local street racers discovered that most GM automatics used the same bolt pattern for the torque converter regardless of where they were made and that you could physically fit a converter from an Opel Kadett automatic onto a Turbo 400 transmission. A Kadett was lucky to have 70 hp and so the converters were pretty loose, put one behind a 500 hp modified big block Chevy and voila!, instant high stall converter for far less money than a custom built unit. I asked him how long they lasted under such abuse, and he said "longer than you'd think, but once one died and you cut it open those internal fins were flat!"
 
torque converter

LOL...i've heard of converters from GM small car automatics being used as
"high stall"converters too-heard its wise to remove the air shroud from the torque
converter first as the shroud is only spot welded on and can come off at high rpm!
The air shroud is there to direct air and assist with cooling the air cooled
converter-the bigger trannys have cooler lines to a cooler in the radiator tank
instead of the air shroud.
 
1958 Plymouth

The car that I took my driver's test in, in 1965 was a 1958 Plymouth Plaza. It was a pushbutton automatic with one speed wipers and a straight 6 cylinder motor.
What comes to mind is how it rusted out. The fenders had huge holes in them and the rocker panels had huge rusted out sections too. No power steering or brakes on this gem. The backup light literally fell out of the back bumper somewhere on route 66 between Pontiac and Bloomington, Il.
It was the worst car that we ever owned! A real bol car that was crap the day it came from the factory. I am glad that it is gone to the great crusher in the sky.
 
late-'50s mopars

i have heard late-50s era mopars were very rust prone and usually had shoddy
workmanship-i still think they are cool though;as a teen,poking around for a first
car,a beater '60 dodge ended up on the short list-partly thanks to it's asking
price of $300 1985 dollars...(i ended up with a '74 nova,a good buy at $250)
About 10 yrs ago,i found a 1961 chrysler at a junkyard and considered getting it
and returning it to operation-it had a 2 barrel 361 engine and was a 4-door(if it
was 2-door i would have grabbed it for sure!)Anyway one day someone stripped a
bunch of parts from it,so i then got some too;radio,"astra-dome"instrument cluster
and a few other parts.The instrument cluster, radio dial and clock all feature
electroluminescent lighting-hooked all this up to the little inverter from the car
and lit it up-looks way cool at night!Electroluminescent lighting was used on
several early-'60s era mopars and i think '66 chargers did too.Some '60s clocks,
clock radios and telephones also used electroluminescent dial lighting.
 
DaveAMKrayoGuy's Bottom-Of-Line-State-of-Mind!

Well, I seem to have brought up on BOL Automobiles so much, it's little wonder I must have had that attitude when buying that Merc' (& at the dangerous age of 25, wanted that "James Dean sort of image", too...!)...!

Cars owned by various family members, neighbors & friends: A 1971 Plymouth Valliant w/ only two options--automatic trans. & power steering and probably didn't even have a windshield washer, either... (The lady who owned it was a neighbor of ours who had the feet to push those non-powered brakes--or got 'em from going so, too! She used to brag about how "her car had EVERYTHING!"--but I suppose there was a time that an AM Radio & Heater were "everything"...!!!!)

My grandfather's 1973 Ford Ranchero--which I did NOT get on his will--it was definitely the 'Clint Eastwood GRAN TORINO' of its time!--, and the only options it had was a small V-8 (302), automatic trans., remote mirror, power steering & brakes and at least AIR! It had the nice "moon hubcaps" w/ the Ford wreath & crest and it was in dark green w/ a green interior and even had a silver painted trim along the rocker panel... (Definitely an off-the-lot job--and NO RADIO!)

There were also my aunt & uncle's cars in Maine: the VW beetle (black w/ red interior), VW rabbit (light non-metallic turquoise blue w/ black interior, that a deer once jumped over while they were driving, and then in its final day & having logged-almost 200,000 miles, got engulfed in flames from an under-hood fire that the local FD was NOT in a hurry to get over to & put out!), a white Ford Maverick (forgot what year--and I barely remember ever seeing that car, though they ocassionally parked it right in their basement) and a 1985 1/2 metallic burgundy Ford Escort that had a tan interior... My aunt though, also owned two Nissan trucks--a black one from the 1980's and a green one from the 1990's, the latter which she still drives (there are really NO Nissans like THESE!)... They are king cab's w/ at least a good stereo, but w/ the 5-speed manual trans. and (that's) all!

I have few seen a few Cadillacs & Continentals bare-bones... That is, w/ fabric interiors (as opposed to leather, or at least crushed velour) lacking a sun/moon roof and NO Cruise Control!

I could go on and on...--

-- Dave
 
Whoops, I forgot!!!!!!

My own mother & father's rides:

The 1969 Rambler American, in metallic green w/ white vinyl seats & checkered black & white cloth trim; no carpeting, though... (Automatic Transmission, Power Steering and at least it had electric windshield washers--they DID cost extra! Radio was standard or could be deleted! And all dad listned to then WAS the AM dial!)...

1974 Ford Pinto (Plain Jane yellow w/ yellow seats, but like the Rambler, NO Carpeting & just an Auto Tranny & AM... No power steering, either; that thing was like driving a TRUCK!)

1978 Chevrolet Nova, silver (This didn't have power brakes--and my aunt who drove those other bare-bones vehicles could NOT get used to them when she drove it, maybe because she was driving that FWD Volkswagen, and later those trucks that HAD to have 'em! But at least, in addition to the AM radio, PS & AT, had a red interior which was carpeted, though very STICKY vinyl seats!)

I always did envy what my friends parents drive! Big cars--or at least stuff that had OPTIONS! The Nova got traded for a 1986 gun metal gray Chevy Celebrity which was FINALLY a classier ride! And it had AIR!

My grandparents bought a 1978 BOL Oldsmobile Omega, that same time my parents bought their Nova, in beige, w/ a beige interior, and despite the woodgrained dash & leather-like vinyl seats--which were not much more tolerable in hot weather--or cold!--was not air conditioned... I would have liked this car to have been my first car when I learned to drive, but grandma traded it for a 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier, which my sister got upon her passing...

To be continued...--

-- Dave
 
While not exactly BOL, maybe more MOL was my grandma's 1966 Buick Special.  It was a medium green color 4 door sedan, with the Wildcat 326? 8cyl engine, 3 speed automatic, AM Sonomatic radio, heater only, no ps or power brakes.  The car was bought brand new in 1966 by grandma's sister Helen, and grandma bought it from her in 1975 just 2 days before Aunt Helen died.  Grandma drove that car until 1991 when she quit driving at age 89.  The car only had about 36,000 miles on it when she sold it to a collector from Milwaukee.  I wish I had that car today. 
smiley-frown.gif
  Grandma taught me to drive in that Buick.  It actually handled quite easily for not having power steering.
 
B.O.L. Cars P.S.

And that's another neighborhood car that I envied: "The friendly eye doctor's" 1970 Chrysler Newport Hardtop...

Of all cars a D.O. could own & it was a basic model... "Doo doo metallic brown" w/ a black vinyl roof & endless black vinyl bench seats!

Remote mirror, a lamp package (LOVE the way Chrysler had those instrument panel map lights & why did they give up on fender-mounted turn signals?) and at least A/C... (I don't even remember if it had tinted glass most air conditioned cars had--I forgot, my grandpa's Ranchero truck didn't!) were its only features... Had those big crank windows & smaller ones for the vent windows & no cruise control...

Another neighbor had a 1978 Mercury Marquis Brougham... BOL because the A/C was NOT automatic temperature controlled & had the large disc wheels--not wires or the deep dish mags... Two mirrors, but no opening roof...!

It had full power accessories, but I think it just didn't have a split bench seat; the whole thing moved, as it was the "flight bench"... It had a good stereo (Earth,Wind & Fire's "Let's Groove" was a song I finally appreciated on it, even w/ my Disco S***ks mentality!) but no tape!

Plain appliance white w/ green interior & top, and yet another influence on my plain-Jane Mercury Cougar...!

-- Dave
 
Late 50s MOPARS

were rust prone for sure, but Oh So Beautiful!! I've been a lover of Virgil Exner designed Forward Look fins almost since they were new. See my forum name? Had 6 57s & 58s over the last 25 years, the best of them was a 300-C convertible. But rust?? OY! 'specially the '57s, which I think began rusting before they left the factory - rockers, quarters, over the headlights, bottom of B pillar, trunk channels, you name it, even the roof on station wagons! the '58s and '59s were a little bettter, but not much. But what we do for Beauty! Hopefully, very soon, another Forward Look car will be replacing my now-departed '57 Pank Lancoln!
 
Forward Look . . .

I've always thought it ironic that the Forward Look was mostly concerned with the rear of the car!

 

One iconic car greatly influenced by Exner was the Karmann Ghia. GM started a great tradition of American show cars that were used for both design research and publicity, and in the early '50s both Ford and Chrysler felt the need to follow suit. GM spent vast amounts of money on their show cars, Ford rather less but still a lot. Chrysler couldn't budget so much, so Exner started using the Ghia coachbuilding company in Italy to build the show cars he designed because their costs were far less than making them at Chrysler.

 

In the mid '50s Ghia independantly came up with their sport coupe showcar design on a VW chassis, partly because it was a cheap and easy chassis to design on, being readily available and rear engined. At the time European coachbuilders would try to have a few new speculative designs each year for the show circuit in hopes of drumming up business. VW loved it, bought the design and hired Karmann in Germany to build it. If you take a good look at the side, rear, and roof of the K-G and then look at those Exner designed Chrysler show cars from the early '50s you can see a real resemblance. The scale is very different and of course so is the front, the only part Ghia couldn't crib from Exner as the VW didn't need a front grille. That K-G front has often been criticized as having no relation to the rest of the car, wonder why!

 

 
 
Rust Prone

It seemed no matter which old car brand it was, here in Maine it rusted out. Things did get better with better rustprofing but now the state sprays this salt brine crap on the roads before every snowstorm that supposidly helps cleanup. All it is doing is rotting out brake lines, exhaust systems and frames of any vehicle, old or new. Is there such a thing as a true BOL vehicle with no frills available now?
 
Is there such a thing as a true BOL vehicle w/ No Frills ava

Well, does anyone here remember the YUGO??????

So far no mention of the Chevrolet Vega, either...

A friend of my dad's had a blue hatchback one I vaguely remember... (As well as a Corvette, or two, one which got totalled, the other snatched up by the repo-man...)

There was another neighbor whose 1971 Chevy Vega hatchback I abosolutely DO remember! (A sunshine yellow w/ brown quarter panels placed here & there w/ markings n which parts of the car they go to!) As plain as DIRT! At least an automatic tranny & an after-market-added radio/cassette and that's about it!

Remember one ride in that Merc where I thought the A/C was on, but it was really "Vent"...

I think I did that w/ my Ford Escort: Just kept the windows up, and had the temperature on "Cool" while the fan was on highest setting! (Kept everyone going for a while--until I had a passenger that simply rolled his window all the way down!)

-- Dave
 
mid-'80s BOL imports

seems there was a bit of a boom in small,simple cars in the mid '80s that continued
into the early '90s:yugo '85-90,volkswagen fox '87-93,hyundai excell '86- ,subaru
justy,chevy sprint,ETC...
Some yugos actually lasted for over 15yrs though from what i understand they had
a faulty piston design inherited from fiat;fiat corrected the fault(that could
result in broken piston from high rpm flogging)but apparently nobody told yugo
of the improved design...yugo had a seperate "export grade"assembly area for yugos
bound for export LOL
The volkswagen fox,made in brazil,had lengthwise mounted engine though it was
frontdrive(this car my fave of the BOL mid '80s imports)
In canada,russian ladas,czech skodas were avalible and they also got the RWD
hyundai pony starting about 1984.
For the chevette,i heard GM wanted to discontinue the car around 1979,but it kept
selling good well into the mid '80s so they kept making it-i think production
stopped in early 1988 and i kinda remember kind of a closeout sale on the chevette
at that time,a price of $5200 IIRC-cheaper than anything except yugo and hyundai.
 

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