Hudson

There are very few light-vehicles assembled from kits in the US. The Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter is one of the few I can think of currently on the market.

Rapture by Blondie (Mercury, Subaru) Slick Black Cadillac by Quiet Riot (um....Cadillac?) Volvo Driving Soccermom by Everclear (um....Volvo?) Boys of Summer by Don Henley (Cadillac, again) Holiday by Nazareth (Jag-oo-are)

King's X and Body Count

I understand the outside supplier thing...just like the Camaro SS. But the Firebird service manuals covered this trim level as well as the regular Trans Am.

I have never seen anything official that would break out the Turbo Trans Am as a distinct model...the repair manuals didn't even go as far as to break out any trim levels for the Firebird in the book's title, VIN codes were just trim level changes, and nobody I've worked with inside GM or outside has treated it as anything other than a trim level. While the Charger hasn't come up in work-related settings, I would figure the same would happen there.Let's agree to disagree...and move on from this debate, unless significant proof can be shown one way or the other.

I'm on board if someone can find the funding.

The Trailduster ran from about 1974 until 1979 or 1980, and the RWD Voyager also ran from the early 1970s until the FWD Voyager arrived in 1984. I would put the Dodge Warlock truck in the same category as the Monte Carlo SS or Dodge Charger 500 as a trim level.

The Chevette also had a 1.4L at one time...but even that's too big.

Like Wildmanjoe said, they dropped below the headlights when the lights were turned on. The Dodge St. Regis used the same setup. Pennsylvania State Police used the St. Regis in that timeframe.

Okay...related question: What's the smallest four-cylinder in an American-built car since World War II?

I always thought it was more...but you're probably right. How about the entire 1979-1981 Chrysler R-body range, which ran only 3 years (Chrysler New Yorker, Chrysler Newport, Dodge St. Regis, Plymouth Gran Fury). It ran for 4 or 5 years, believe it or not.

No different than any other trim package. The Turbo Trans Am still falls into the Pontiac Firebird family, just as any other Trans Am would.

I'm guessing that you have not driven many of these cars, by your ranking.

Tangent alert!Here's my view of nameplates and trim levels. A few years ago, GM stated that "Bonneville" and "Malibu" were "brands." Historically, this seems correct but times have changed and the automotive industry has evolved. In the days when GM created the model year change, a "brand" (Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth, etc) typically referred to a particular design of a vehicle. When you bought a "Ford," nobody asked "which one" because there was basically only one "Ford." Sure, you could get slightly different versions ("models") of vehicles at that time, but they were all basically based on the same car. This concept can be explained better by showing how brands expanded their lineup at that time. When Oldsmobile or Oakland or Buick or Cadillac needed addditional "models" in their lineup, they introduced a new "brand" (Viking and Marquette and Pontiac and LaSalle). After World War II, each brand started expanding their lineup within the existing brand name by offering unique products unrelated to the rest of the lineup. Kaiser introduced the Darrin. Chevrolet introduced the Corvette. Ford the Thunderbird. Nash the Metropolitan. Dodge the Lancer. Plymouth the Valiant. By the time the "compacts" came on the scene in the early 1960s, nearly every brand had more than one "model" on their showroom floor. These "models" would have been called (and in some cases the dealerships advertised them as) different brands (Plymouth-Valiant dealers, Lincoln-Continental dealers, etc). Today, few people notice that a "trim level" was the equivalent of a "model" not all that long ago because the market has evolved that way. Just one historian's perspective. End of tangent.

The aforementioned 1980 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. And, a bit off subject, but 1986 is the only year of the 4th gen MCs that the SC, LS and SS models were available all at the same time. Those are all trim levels.

The 400 was introduced as 2-door, 4-door, and convertible in 1982 while the 600 came along in 1983. I believe the 2-door and convertible 400 (the 4-door is fairly rare) gained the 600 nameplate in 1984, which lasted through 1986.And yes, there were many LeBarons. The M-body lasted from 1977 until 1981 (when it became the New Yorker). The K-body 2-door, 4-door, and convertible lasted from 1982 through 1986...the 4-door continued until 1988 (the wagon was the Town & Country). The LeBaron GTS (H-body) ran from 1985 through 1989. The J-body coupe and convertible ran from 1987 through 1994 (the coupe was dropped a year or so earlier than the convertible) when it was replaced by the Sebring. And then there was the A-body which ran from 1990 through 1994, when it was replaced by the Cirrus. Not quite 27....but atleast 10, but all lasted more than a model year.

This is my point. I am making no comments regarding the Corolla's interchangability because anyone with half a brain can see that no parts would swap. My point is only that the modern Type 1 shares NO PARTS with the original...that's all. They only LOOK similar.

It was supposed to be called "A6000" (along with the T1000 and J2000), but it never happened. The 6000 was always the 6000 in production. The "Stanza Altima" was technically the "Stanza Altima" for much of the first generation. The "Pathfinder Armada," though, was only that for PART of the first year...probably the shortest-lived nameplate in modern times where the vehicle continued. I believe the E-Class was replaced by the Plymouth Caravelle in its second year. The Dodge 400, however, lasted two years, I believe, before taking the Dodge 600 name. I thought the Demon name was a one-year only name...but I could be mistaken.Trim levels like "Turbo Trans Am" and "Charger 500" don't seem to fit into this same category. I believe "Pontiac 2+2" was the official name of the "Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2" which would take it from "trim level" into "model name." How long was the Saturn L-Series known as the LS1, LS2, and LS3 before dropping the "S"? On the American market, the Chrysler Voyager only lasted a year or two. Same with the Chrysler Prowler. I think the Mercury LN7 lasted two or three years.

Yes...any Aud-based Volkswagens (first and fourth generation Passats), Volkswagen Polo (US market Fox)Audi (except Volkswagen-based models) Honda Legend (second and third generation) Honda Vigor (first generation) Renault, Lancia, Alfa Romeo (many older models) Toyota Tercel (first generation) Datsun F10/Cherry Saab (prior to the 9000) Subaru (four- and six-cylinder models)

Duryea...Springfield, MA

The export version of the Cadillac Seville claimed 305hp (DIN)

Cadillac's 500cid (8.2L) engine was the largest regular-production V8 engine in a car. There have been larger engines than that in cars including the 12.7L Bugatti straight-eight Type 41 Royale and the 13.5L straight-six found in the 1912-18 Pierce-Arrow, 1912-14 Peerless, and 1918 Fageol....and of course the 8.3L V10 in the current Dodge Viper. But you asked about the largest V8.

There is a theory that with modern engineering and equal-length half-shafts that 300hp is the maximum that can be streetable. Cars like the top of the line Cadillac front-drivers (DeVille/DTS, Seville, Eldorado) have 300/305hp ratings.

I hope I don't seem condecending in my response, but I know the car. The Volkswagen Type 1. And I restate that virtually nothing was interchangable between the first generation Type 1 and the last one produced. While they may have looked similar, they had not interchangable parts.

Sorry to dispute this, but not one part from the 1939 will fit on a 2002 Volkswagen "Beetle." They are not even close to beign "99% the same car mechanically." I agree with the latter part (maybe 70-75%, but I agree with the concept).