XP715

So what famous person owned this Geo to justify the astronomical asking price?

Seriously, Sixty8, you have a leprechaun shoved up your ass or something. I'll scan my 94 in a 65 some other time

Wasn't my favorite of the Toronados, but I did like mine a lot in the short time that I owned it before it was replaced by my Riviera. I agree with capriceman in that you should snatch it up (or one like it) to save it from a life of 20-inch rims, stick-on window tint with giant bubbles, and some retarded stereo system in place of the weird top-loading slave tape deck mounted at a 45-degree angle in the center console. God, what a weird car. Digital everything and buttons everywhere! It's been two years since I owned mine, and I've yet to even see half a dozen out on the road. I think I've maybe seen three in all this time. Makes sense, though; sales in the Toronado dipped 62% from 1985 to 1986 when they downsized. I read somewhere a long time ago that the year I owned, 1989, was the smallest ever production year, with something like just under 10,000 units produced. Hemmings Motor News recently (February or March issue, can't remember which) picked the '88-'92 Trofeos as one of the top ten most collectible cars along with the future: "The Trofeo (Italian for "trophy") was Oldsmobile's answer to European luxury cars. Debuted as a separate model in 1988, it was GM's attempt to add some sizzle to the slow-selling Toronado. The Trofeo offered sporty bucket seats, monochromatic paint, and a sport-tuned suspension; 1989 saw the arrival of the high-tech, touch screen Visual Information Center. Power was provided by a 3.8-liter V6 coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission, backed by capable suspension that could have handled much more oomph. The classy Trofeo is certainly one of the most handsome GM designs of its era; with good examples available for $2000, there will never be a better time to put one in your garage." Truth be told, this thread sorta makes me want mine back!

Mom had a baby blue on baby blue '79 Monte Carlo with the 229 V6, and then the replacement triple yellow 4100-powered '85 Eldorado. The hood ornament got stolen three times! Dad had a buncha stuff: -1977 Ford F150, red and white, no idea on the motor, but probably a 351W or something -1974 International Harvester 500, ex-New England Telephone utility truck he painted red and used for his welding business -1952 Chevrolet 1/2-ton pickup, red, owned since he was 15 years old, started life out as a rotted out forest green on black ex-plumber's truck with a 216 that went through various incarnations until it finally ended up bright red with a crate 350 and a '73 Grand Prix rear end. My first ever automotive-related job was tearing out the rotted bed wood in this truck at the beginning of its second restoration when I was about five or six. -1935 Ford 1 1/2-ton dump truck, used to be a tow truck but the wrecker body was gone when my father came to own it, bought on a whim for $250 and turned into a three year frame-off restoration project. Original 21-stud flathead was junk and replaced with a later 24-stud 59AB flathead (the 100-horsepower one!), maroon with black fenders and dump body; very sharp! -1987 GMC Sierra Classic 1500, willed to him in 1990 when his father passed away, started out as cream over copper over cream, but was redone in the mid 90's to solid copper. Finally traded in in February of 2001 on his new 2000 Silverado on its second 350 with 216,000 miles. He also owned an ex-Army Corps of Engineers 1955 Byers 20-ton crawler crane. 50-foot boom, twin drums with lagging. I know it's not a car or truck, but I spent many an hour one summer oiling the chains and scraping rust on it, among other various tasks. The original Hercules straight six gas engine was seized and a very early 3-71 Detroit out of a crane mounted on the back of a 1947 GMC cabover was put in its place. Was eventually sold to (and is still working at) a sawmill up in Vermont.

Hah, funny to see one of these things after not thinking about them in a long time. After I wrecked my '90 Cutlass Supreme, I bought an '89 Toronado with the FE3 sport suspension to get me back on my feet before I bought my Riviera a few months later. Wasn't a bad little car until I roasted the transmission!

Yep. And then I'll get down to the bodywork and such over the winter!

I know it means it doesn't have to, and frankly, I think we'd all prefer it that way. We're just trying to make the point that all to often, however, it does mean that the orientation of the engine is east-west and that it's just another reason that people may want their RWD again, if they're into doing their own maintenance. Obviously, if you have your car serviced elsewhere anyways, it's not going to matter if the engine's mounted front to back, side to side, or upside down.

The Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, and the Impala are the only current models I could see being RWD successfuclly; the rest are up in the air. As for the luxury coupes of old, I would like to see a Riviera come back and be RWD because that's what it was conceived as, and was the holdout of the GM E-cars, not becoming FWD until 1979. The Riviera was also more performance-oriented than either of its sister cars ever were. The Toronado should always be FWD because that's what its thing was from day one. I think Jay Leno gets praise and acclaim for what he did with his '66 simply because he's Jay Leno and a million people from GM's Performance Division came out and did what they did to the car on unlimited funds while he stood back and watched, but they still took everything that made a Toronado a Toronado and threw it in the dumpster. It's not even Olds-powered! If Joe Blow backyard mechanic and weekend car enthusiast made a tunnel down the center of the same car and set it up with the final drive and rear end from a Ninety-Eight of the same year (for example), and did it right, and made it look clean, I bet he'd take a lot of $h! for it once the car was done and he was able to finally hit the show circuit with it. He'd be called a butcher and a hack for getting rid of what made the car special in its day. People would make him out to be some idiot redneck who was too poor and too stupid to figure out and properly fix the complex system of the split Turbo 400 that drove the front wheels. As far as the Eldorado is concerned, I think it should be FWD too, should it ever make an appearance again, because Cadillac already has a rear wheel drive performance-oriented coupe in the XLR (and especially the XLR-V!) and would not need two, especially since older folks, who would be the primary buyers of an Eldorado, would not need or even necessarily want it. Eldorados were FWD from 1967 on, so they'd be used to it. They would also be used to it if they owned any Sevilles or post-1985 DeVilles, or the FWD Fleetwoods of the late 80's on. They'd mostly be buying their Eldorado based on name recognition and brand allegience, and be looking for an attractive and upscale-looking car and a cushy ride and all the other trademark Cadillac creature comforts they've been used to over the years and would not be concerned much with what wheels push the car around. Not all of you may agree on this, but I think we can all agree with Sixty8 in that regardless of final drive, a car's engine should be mounted longitudinally. Even though today's cars run a million times better than older cars and don't need even a fraction of the routine maintenance as they once did, it still should not be a hassle on the rare occasions that they do. I shouldn't have to take my '96 Riviera to a shop to have a simple serpentine belt changed, but I do because the east-west configuration of the engine dictates that said belt runs AROUND one of the upper engine mounts. This means that unless I have a special brace that sets on top of both strut towers to support the engine with while I unbolt this engine mount and move it out of the way, I can't do it myself. Same thing for spark plugs; undo this mount and with a giant breaker bar rotate the engine forward 18 degrees, or whatever it is, and hold it there. I swear to God that half the reason we all hate FWD so much is because of the sideways engine orientation that doesn't allow for simple maintenance.

Chili Palmer: What is that? Driver: It's an Oldsmobile Silhouette. Chili: I ordered a Cadillac Driver: Oh..... well, yeah, it's the Cadillac of minivans. Chili: Are you kidding me? Driver: Hey, if you want, the other car rental is right over there, but I think all they got is Rabbit convertibles. Chili: Guess I'll take the "Cadillac of minivans." I think the question that really needs to be asked here is if the movie "Get Shorty" would still be considered an effective marketing tool if the "dustbusters" were rereleased, because I love that effing movie. Sequel was retarded, though.

I'd be tempted if it wasn't a giant effing jigsaw puzzle. Who the hell disassembled the thing that severely, and why?

Yes, this is quite a step up from the bright red Huggy Bear '79 Coupe DeVille, isn't it? The Super 88 is by far the best of the bunch at this current time, though.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: I could only be so lucky! Another dream I often have is of me slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting a dog or a little kid that wanders out into the street and having one of the area's many slanmmed to the ground Civics or Integras driving right under the back of it. That would be amazing!

So I took a ride up to New Hampshire on Friday morning and this little guy followed me home: About three weeks ago or so now, on the way back from a junkyard with SpeedingPenguin, I spotted this thing sitting up at the road in front of a local garage. Being a fan of big tanks in general, and the Cadillacs of 1971 in particular (I love those separated quads; they make the car look ten feet wide!), I of course made it a point to stop and look at it, and I'm glad I did. The car has just about 103K on it, but was taken care of very well; the body has no rot really anywhere save for a tiny amount on the bottom of the rear quarters, and the black interior is perfect, save for a split on the driver's side armrest. The acres-long dashboard is not split ANYWHERE, and the back seat looks like it's never been sat in. 98% of the exterior brightwork on the car needs to simply be gently polished; there's no rust anywhere on it! The big long heavy doors close nice and tight and easily, and do not hang. The 472 power plant could use a good tuneup, and some cleaning and detailing, but runs very well and does not smoke, knock, or skip. The transmission shifts nice and smooth. I'll drive it just as it is for the rest of the season, but a little bodywork and a new vinyl top is definitely in order to keep me busy over the winter. Ever since I sold my '79 Coupe DeVille I've missed having a car like it, and now I have another that is in every conceivable way superior to it! This one is definitely a keeper. **Special thanks to Super88Panther for totally letting me mooch off of his American Traveler's Club service by hooking me up with a free tow home!

A 1972 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser with W-30 stripes came to work yesterday, and a very cool lady showed up in an even cooler all original 1958 DeSoto Firesweep tonight.

Link broken!

Pfft, Millionth 1977 Oldsmobile; who cares?! Mine's way lower; number 4,714, to be exact! Snag me that hood ornament next time you're there; mine's missing the black inserts! But seriously, what a collection. It's amazing what GM's held onto over all these years. The Oldsmobile Aerotech really threw me for a loop; I haven't even thought about that car in at least a decade. Very cool.

Hah, at least they spell the model name right; I can't tell you how many receipts, tickets, etc. I have in my file for the Buick Rivera and the Buick Riveria that I definitely don't own

I dunno, I sorta like people not knowing what the hell kinda car I drive, fellow G-body owner. It makes me laugh when people have no clue as to what my Riviera is and then watch their reaction when I tell them it's a Buick, as they have this preconceived notion of every Buick being a boring, stodgy old man's car. The best two "guesses" I've ever had are from the little brother of a girl I used to work with asking me if it was a Rolls-Royce because he saw R's all over the car, and from one day at the gas station when a young woman filling up at an adjacent pump looked at me and said "nice Jag," to which I responded by looking behind me and asking where; boy did she blush!

1964 Pontiac Catalina Convertible, 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 (real, numbers matching). There's also a guy that works at the body shop down the street from where I work that daily drives a beautiful burnt orange '72 Impala two-door from spring until fall that I see three or four times a week.

Well, alright, let me be the first to say congratulations to you then. You get one vagina for the rest of your life. Real smart, Frank. Way to work it through. </Beanie> But seriously dude, congratulations and best of luck to the both of you!

Rap this side of the early 90's blows. Rap was good back when the guys doing it were a hell of a lot closer to real gangstas than they are now, and you could understand it back then too! Back when rap songs used to tell a story every once in a while. I'm a fan of NWA, Public Enemy, Run DMC, early Snoop and Dr. Dre, etc. I miss rap videos where '63 Impalas could be seen and the standard wardrobe was Dickies and a long-sleeved flannel shirt buttoned all the way up, untucked, with a straight-brim LA Raiders hat. Not the Oakland Raiders, the LA Raiders. Beats the living hell out of this bull&#036;h&#33; today where every idiot coon in a pair of Air Force Ones and a size 4X vintage basketball jersey of a player he knows nothing about that can make up a &#036;h&#33;ty half-rhyme about rims and hoes gets a record deal. That's crap. I respect the old school rappers that came up with good lyrics about real &#036;h&#33; and made their own tapes on some piece of &#036;h&#33; four-track in their basement, sold them out of the trunks of their cars, and performed in every underground rathole they could get into to promote themselves, even if only for a crowd of twenty people. That's dedication. Rappers today are all losers. You should all watch the Chappelle's Show skit where he did a rapper called Fisticuff that was loosely based on 50 Cent; that skit is genius and sums up what rap is like today, I think. That and his two R. Kelly skits for "Piss on You" and the "Piss on You" remix. Fantastic! This link will take you to the Fisticuff skit. Says it all about rap today, I think. I know I reference Chappelle's show waaaaaaaaaay more than I should probably, but when it comes to things like this, I think he REALLY has his &#036;h&#33; in one sock. He needs to do the world a favor and get back on television.

Fuel pump on mommy's Bonneville went this morning; what does that make me? .0023?

Because of the Cosworth Twin-Cam Vegas of the mid-70's? That's really reaching when you say there's a link, pal. Not like I would have guessed it in a million years anyways

An '02 Corolla right after T-boning an early 90's Nissan pickup in front of work today, and my big red '79 Coupe DeVille twice! Guy that bought it's girlfriend was doing some shopping in the area, I guess; I saw it at roughly 5:00 and again at 7:30. Made me smile

Porsche 944 convertible