So, until today, Lee Iacocca was alive

[Gil Bang 25,974]

Guy was a giant in the auto industry and I had no idea he was still around. Rest in peace

[Lhorn 4,914]

Wow. Thought for sure he’s been dead for years. 

[RPM 26,322]

Same here. Thought he died in the 90's. Detroit needs more men like him.

[Sbbruin 21,858]

News to me- on both fronts.

[Gil Bang 25,974]

How would you like to be known as the guy that invented the Mustang?   That's got to be a line that gets you some pussy. 

[Francisco 2.0 32,395]

RIP Lee

 

 

[RPM 26,322]

9 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

How would you like to be known as the guy that invented the Mustang?   That's got to be a line that gets you some pussy. 

The Pinto and K-Car kinda take the shine off the star.

[Gil Bang 25,974]

Dude, when your trying to close the deal on pussy, the K car doesn't get mentioned. 

[Parliament 14,260]

12 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Dude, when your trying to close the deal on pussy, the K car doesn't get mentioned. 

It was all I ever needed to get your mom to drop her panties.

[Anastasis 23,475]

K-code would have me grabbing ankles. 

[Gil Bang 25,974]

those mustang II were vile shitboxes. 

[tbone_ 14,128]

those mustang II were vile shitboxes. 

[Anastasis 23,475]

[Anastasis 23,475]

[Anastasis 23,475]

[DaysOff 7,951]

I had a 66 Mustang I inherited from my dad when I turned 16. He paid 2400 for it in October of 65. That's what I sold it for in 93. Would kill everyone of you to have it back.

[Anastasis 23,475]

Just now, DaysOff said:

I had a 66 Mustang I inherited from my dad when I turned 16. He paid 2400 for it in October of 65. That's what I sold it for in 93. Would kill everyone of you to have it back.

I hear you. Had a 67 and a 68 that i parted with for total dumbfuckery reasons. 

[CooterBrown 18,014]

I passed on a fully restored 66 Mustang for $4500 to buy an 87 Bronco II for my first car in ‘89. Yep. I was a dumb ass.

Also, I’m shocked he was only 97.

[Gil Bang 25,974]

I had a 67.   Bought it when I was 14 for $400.   Bad engine, bad tranny, shit paint, shit interior.  I worked on it for 2 years before I could legally drive.   I learned a lot working on that car. Fortunately for me, "California Mustang", a catalog store, was based a few miles from my house and had a showroom.  I went in there every payday from my pizza job to buy stuff. 

I'm fine with not having it anymore (except for the dollar value).  Horrible understeer, shitty braking, lousy AC, shitty mileage, generally  unsafe.

From a functional standpoint, the worst new car is better than the best old car. 

 

 

[Anastasis 23,475]

8 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Horrible understeer,

My 67 had the shelby drop.  Motherfucker rode like it was on rails. The 68 was like riding a boat. 

[Hate 20,110]

Damn. I had no idea he was still alive. RIP to a industry giant, but Dodge/Chrysler still sucks. I wouldn’t buy any of their vehicles.

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

Actually, for the overwhelming majority of history Lee Iacocca wasn't alive. 

[SHOOTER12 8,810]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

those mustang II were vile shitboxes. 

Jesus, this.  Bought one in 77, biggest piece of crap ever manufactured.

Edited July 3, 2019 by SHOOTER12

[elfenix 34,295]

my mom had a mustang ii at some point before i was born.  my uncle borrowed it and totaled it.  also totaled a firebird not long after.  somehow he still has all his bodyparts. 

[DCA_HORN 725]

Reagan and Obama should have shit canned Chrysler.

[Jkwellborn 6,708]

Like most here, I thought he was gone already.

[staboner 4,984]

i was like who the F is lee la cocoa. 

oh yeah, this dude. thought he died a few times already

[Nueces River Rat 5,539]

7 hours ago, Hate said:

Damn. I had no idea he was still alive. RIP to a industry giant, but Dodge/Chrysler still sucks. I wouldn’t buy any of their vehicles.

The Ram(aka Dodge) truck  is decent. I've heard some good stuff about the latest versions.

And of course Jeep Wranglers  are everywhere.  The new Gladiator has my attention.

But everything else Fiat/Chrysler puts on the road is kind of bland at best.   

[Nueces River Rat 5,539]

6 hours ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Jesus, this.  Bought one in 77, biggest piece of crap ever manufactured.

What American car during that period was not a piece of crap?     There were probably a handful which were good cars and have value today a collectors vehicles.  Maybe some of the Trucks made during that era?   The Trans AM?    I can't think off an everyday car of the top of my head which is sought after by collectors and restoration types from the mid 70's to early 80's?  The El Camino???   

A number of Tort Lawyers struck gold and oil during that period thanks to some of the POC's coming out of Detroit.   Also the owners of Toyota, Honda and Datsun  dealerships back then started making their cash after being ridiculed by their counterparts earlier in the decade and in 60's for buying into those small cars and trucks  Japan was sending over here.  Yea, those earlier dealers (or their families if they took over the dealerships) are happy campers now if they still have them.  Along with many of the above note Tort Lawyers and their families. 

[SHOOTER12 8,810]

46 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

What American car during that period was not a piece of crap?     There were probably a handful which were good cars and have value today a collectors vehicles.  Maybe some of the Trucks made during that era?   The Trans AM?    I can't think off an everyday car of the top of my head which is sought after by collectors and restoration types from the mid 70's to early 80's?  The El Camino???   

A number of Tort Lawyers struck gold and oil during that period thanks to some of the POC's coming out of Detroit.   Also the owners of Toyota, Honda and Datsun  dealerships back then started making their cash after being ridiculed by their counterparts earlier in the decade and in 60's for buying into those small cars and trucks  Japan was sending over here.  Yea, those earlier dealers (or their families if they took over the dealerships) are happy campers now if they still have them.  Along with many of the above note Tort Lawyers and their families. 

Not a piece of crap?  '76 Grand Prix.

Sold mine in 92 with over 300,000 miles on it for $500.  It hadn't been started in over a year.  The buyer dropped a battery in it and it fired right up.

[Loco 3,752]

A friend of mine had a K car...  you could occasionally hear parts fall off of it.  Calling it a POS is an insult to POSs.

[Fred Willard 115]

I have a 68 California special for sale. If one of y’all wants it PM me. 

[tbone_ 14,128]

Bad ass car, but Farrah FTW.

[TwiceHorn 31,495]

2 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

What American car during that period was not a piece of crap?     There were probably a handful which were good cars and have value today a collectors vehicles.  Maybe some of the Trucks made during that era?   The Trans AM?    I can't think off an everyday car of the top of my head which is sought after by collectors and restoration types from the mid 70's to early 80's?  The El Camino???   

A number of Tort Lawyers struck gold and oil during that period thanks to some of the POC's coming out of Detroit.   Also the owners of Toyota, Honda and Datsun  dealerships back then started making their cash after being ridiculed by their counterparts earlier in the decade and in 60's for buying into those small cars and trucks  Japan was sending over here.  Yea, those earlier dealers (or their families if they took over the dealerships) are happy campers now if they still have them.  Along with many of the above note Tort Lawyers and their families. 

Those early Jap cars may have been reliable, but holy shit they were ugly and underpowered.  Most of them made the Mustang II and Vega look like pininfarina (who was committing some of its own atrocities at the time).

Emission controls and CAFE and unwillingness to engineer around them or improve them (at first) really undid the US auto industry.  There were other factors as well, but emission controls are a central engineering problem.

Edited July 3, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[Nueces River Rat 5,539]

35 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Those early Jap cars may have been reliable, but holy shit they were ugly and underpowered.  Most of them made the Mustang II and Vega look like pininfarina (who was committing some of its own atrocities at the time).

Emission controls and CAFE and unwillingness to engineer around them or improve them (at first) really undid the US auto industry.  There were other factors as well, but emission controls are a central engineering problem.

The Japanese cars got better in the late 70's into the early 80's as far as looks.  Their pickups were little workhorses and I bet you can probably go to some areas as close as Mexico and still see some of those operating in the remote villages.  

You are correct about the CAFE standards and the lack of innovation around them as  being one of many reason the US auto industry started the multi decade decline during that era.    GM was full of mindless bean counters who also pushed the thinking that America's love affair with the new Japanese cars was only temporary, hence they brought to the market some of the ugliest POS ever such as the Pontiac Aztec.     I think many of those idiots still had that mindset until 2008 when they finally had to file bankruptcy.  I still wonder at times if GM has finally figured it out because having owned one GM vehicle since 2008, it had several mechanical issues that had to be addressed before the standard bumper to bumper warranty expired.  Needless to say we washed our hands of that 2015 Yukon real quick.      Can't say the same for the two F-150's or Honda we've owned during since 2008.  Likewise for the Toyota we traded in for that above noted Yukon in 2015 as I wished we would have gone ahead and kept it for a few years more and then downsized to the Honda my wife drives now.  

 

I should add Ford and Chrysler had their share of the same mindless bean counters.     At least Ford got a clue much earlier than the other two and was a tad more proactive  and avoided the bankruptcy mess GM had to go through.   Barely.  

Edited July 3, 2019 by Nueces River Rat

[CooterBrown 18,014]

Circa '88 kid at my high school got a shitty red Mustang that had a black padded hard top.  Maybe it was a Mustang II? It was the one that looked kinda like a LeBaron. IIRC, it sat at the small town dealership for over 3 years until his parents bought it for him. A shitty brand new 3 year old car.  I was unable to find a pic of a similar car using Google-Fu.

Edited July 3, 2019 by CooterBrown

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

13 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Circa '88 kid at my high school got a shitty red Mustang that had a black padded hard top.  Maybe it was a Mustang II? It was the one that looked kinda like a LeBaron. IIRC, it sat at the small town dealership for over 3 years until his parents bought it for him. A shitty brand new 3 year old car.  I was unable to find a pic of a similar car using Google-Fu.

Like this?  

[CooterBrown 18,014]

2 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Like this?  

It looked like this but with the fancy padded hard top...

[Pato del Muerto 52,513]

So is the minivan a pro or a con here?

its had the same impact as the mustang, but for a different demographic. 

[davidg 4,038]

24 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

It looked like this but with the fancy padded hard top...

HS girlfriend had one of these with turbo 4 cyl.  Turbo light on the dash was the only indication when you pressed the gas.  No acceleration, turbo whine, nothing.  Hugh POS.

Just read over the wikipedia Mustang article and what stands out is (excluding the '64 1/2) they sold half a million or more Mustangs each of the first three years.  Compare that to the last 10 years of sales between 70 and 100K.

 

[tbone_ 14,128]

The mid 80s GTs were legit cars, for the time anyway

[tbone_ 14,128]

The mid 80s GTs were legit cars, for the time anyway

 

 

[DCA_HORN 725]

The late 80s GTs were legit cars, for the time anyway

[Guest Lobo]

He was a visionary to be sure.  I'm glad he passed peacefully after a great life.  Because the pride of owning an American depreciating asset is going away, toot sweet.  

the Dodge Intrepid was a cool car, BTW.

[Loco 3,752]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Those early Jap cars may have been reliable, but holy shit they were ugly and underpowered.  Most of them made the Mustang II and Vega look like pininfarina (who was committing some of its own atrocities at the time).

Emission controls and CAFE and unwillingness to engineer around them or improve them (at first) really undid the US auto industry.  There were other factors as well, but emission controls are a central engineering problem.

Let's not get carried away...  I see you put most in there, and that makes it a little better, but the Mustang II should not be mentioned with pininfarina (who also made some ugly cars) 

dat ass doh

Edited July 3, 2019 by Loco

[Jiggy-Z 3,432]

3 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

The Japanese cars got better in the late 70's into the early 80's as far as looks.  Their pickups were little workhorses and I bet you can probably go to some areas as close as Mexico and still see some of those operating in the remote villages.  

You are correct about the CAFE standards and the lack of innovation around them as  being one of many reason the US auto industry started the multi decade decline during that era.    GM was full of mindless bean counters who also pushed the thinking that America's love affair with the new Japanese cars was only temporary, hence they brought to the market some of the ugliest POS ever such as the Pontiac Aztec.     I think many of those idiots still had that mindset until 2008 when they finally had to file bankruptcy.  I still wonder at times if GM has finally figured it out because having owned one GM vehicle since 2008, it had several mechanical issues that had to be addressed before the standard bumper to bumper warranty expired.  Needless to say we washed our hands of that 2015 Yukon real quick.      Can't say the same for the two F-150's or Honda we've owned during since 2008.  Likewise for the Toyota we traded in for that above noted Yukon in 2015 as I wished we would have gone ahead and kept it for a few years more and then downsized to the Honda my wife drives now.  

 

I should add Ford and Chrysler had their share of the same mindless bean counters.     At least Ford got a clue much earlier than the other two and was a tad more proactive  and avoided the bankruptcy mess GM had to go through.   Barely.  

CSB:  I had an '86 Mazda B2000 pick up truck in charcoal grey that I sold to one of my workers back in '96.  He drove it to Durango, Mexico, hit it with a few can of light blue spray paint and it is still going strong to this day, unlike Lee Iacocca.

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1,084]

Thanks to his years at Chrysler, to me he'll always the guy that established that one should expect a huge rebate to buy an American car.

[Anastasis 23,475]

palate cleanser.

[Nueces River Rat 5,539]

4 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So is the minivan a pro or a con here?

its had the same impact as the mustang, but for a different demographic. 

Very con I would guess as you don't see many on the roads these days at least from the US automakers.    You do still see a few made my Honda and Toyota, but that's about it.   They filled void from the traditional station wagon to the what we become the modern SUV.

Having said that, many of what are called SUV's today look almost like mini vans.   They just have four standard car like doors vs one or two sliding back doors.    Brilliant marketing by the automakers.   

[Paper_jam 831]

It's incredible how many different products Chrysler was able to squeeze out of the K-car platform. Budget family sedan? Reliant K. Slap some chrome and leather on it and you have the "luxury" New Yorker.  A sports car? Dodge Daytona. Even the fucking minivan.  And who could forget the Chrysler TC by Maserati...