The Homermobile was better thought out.
Posted on 10/02/2010 8:21:28 PM PDT by DemforBush
If there’s one constant in this world, it’s this: We live in a world of constant flux. In the automotive world, however, we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing the same group of manufacturers introduce new models each year. You know the names. But for the 2011 model year—thanks largely to the huge economic downturn that began in late 2008—four well-known American nameplates have gone the way of the Edsel, so to speak...
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...
I’m still cheesed off that they discontinued the DeSoto.
Among the pile of corporate corpses since Øbama was inaugurated:
B Dalton
Checker Motors
Circuit City
Continental Airlines
Hollywood Video (Blockbuster bankrupt)
KB Toys
Pioneer Chicken
Earl Scheib
Woolworths
The Aztec...I’m confident to say that the guy who designed it and the guy who approved it for manufacture were both high on crack. It was damn ugly.
Don’t forget Buell motorcycles.
Indeed, Checker:
http://www.checkertaxistand.com/checker_history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Motors_Corporation
And:
An Illustrated History Of Checker Motors
By Paul Niedermeyer on April 15, 2010
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/an-illustrated-history-of-checker-motors/
Not only that but it had a nasty roll rate on tight turns. My son-in-law rolled his one night and we still have no idea how he avoided being killed.
Have you seen the Nissan Puke, er Juke? It is like the baby son of the Aztec.
I like Ford trucks. They finally got their electronics right in the 1990s when they started partnering with Mazda. The one thing Ford should come out and admit however is the design problem in the F-150 engine that kept blowing out one of the spary plugs due to the metal being too thin in the engine casing.
I never liked Mercury. They always looked like Ford but often with minor (and in my opinion, almost always uglier/worse) cosmetic changes you paid a lot more for. It never made sense to me to have essentially the same vehicles but just have a few trim differences, yet pay a lot more for one than the other.
THe Pontiac Transport wasn’t much better (predecessor van). It looked better but really wasn’t that great of a vehicle either.
I had one. The first five years it lived up to its motto “a different kind of car company.” After that its time in the shop showed that it was still a GM. (Also those commercials showing things bouncing off the plastic door panels weren't shot when it was well below zero. At that temperature they just shatter when hit.)
It is (or WAS) called mid-line models. Oldsmobile was mid-line. I had a ‘98 Cutlass wich was a bit fancier than a Chevy Malibu, but not near as fancy as the Cadillac Catera. They do the same with imports (Scion > Toyota > Lexus).
I couldn’t stand Fords after the Firestone fiasco, but now I drive a Windstar and it’s a very nice, well-built car.
LOL, the Juke has some curves at least. The AZtec had no curves but linear edges. I would rather ride the bus than drive one.
I still remembered my high school chum who went to the Pontiac dealership and wanted to see the GTO. The dealership guys HEAVILY pimped the Aztec like it was the car of the future. My buddy was “seriously, dude? You’re kidding right?”
I understand mid-line models.
I am saying I never liked the Mercury line because even though they claimed to be a step up from Ford, often the changes were minor (and to me made the vehicle look worse and less appealing) and they charged you more for a crappier looking vehicle than if you went with the top of the line Ford of that same vehicle.
The Homermobile was better thought out.
I’ll miss Pontiac; loved my Grand Prix.
“The Aztec...I’m confident to say that the guy who designed it and the guy who approved it for manufacture were both high on crack. It was damn ugly.”
I suspect that the Aztec was not designed by any “guy” but was actually designed by a couple of lesbians. I just can’t think of any other explanation for for it.
I will also miss Pontiac more than the rest. I never owned one until about 2 years ago when I bought a used Grand Prix. It’s the best car I have owned, but it’s also the newest non-minivan/station wagon I have owned, so it might not be a fair comparison.
I’m disappointed they didn’t bring back the Firebird/Trans Am to go with the new Camaro.
KB Toys, Checker Motors, and Circuit City were all bankrupt before the inauguration.
According to Wikipedia, Woolworth's has not been around since 1997 but Pioneer Chicken is still operating.
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