trinacriabob

I saw this and immediately thought of this, and that I no longer opt to swim in salt water ... Big thumbs up here. I think that Pontiac could have definitely pulled off a great variant of the Corvette. And that I'd rather we had a Firebird on the market today than a Camaro. And that Buick should release the Trans Am-alike vehicle that has been mocked up since they won't be doing regular cars anymore. Lots of "what ifs" here.

I believe that about the early '70s full-size Chevys. And, now that I think of it, I vaguely recall V6 front fender badging on a rare few LeSabres from that year - which would mean before being shrunken and while still "odd firing." Boohoo to that sort of combination. What were they smoking? And, if CR commented on how slow the V6 was in the Century of that time, the word "slug" when fitted to the LeSabre would be an understatement!

Well, it was to make them loss leaders and to make full-sizes accessible to a broader segment. For one, I could hardly see the previous '76 Grandville Brougham sedan with a 6, or even a 4.3 V8. That would be absurd. I can only imagine where the temperature gauge would go when climbing the Grapevine on I-5, for example. With the downsize, a 6 cylinder, together with a bench seat, blackwalls, and wheel covers, could put people who needed and wanted the roominess but didn't need the power behind a full size for less coin. I'm thinking a retired lady in the flat parts of the interior who just needed to shop and go to church. That is, for the most part, who bought the 6s and the 4.3 V8s in these cars. The traveling salesman would go Brougham, larger engine, and all the power accessories. Edit: I am correcting myself. Either a 229/231 V6 and a 250 I-6 was in fact available for all BOP + C entry-level grade full-sizes (Impala, Bonneville/Catalina(?), 88, LeSabre) in that initial 1977 model. @David I forgot to mention the sticker shown for that Bonneville - $ 8,197. Amazing. And that's with an upcharge for the 400 V8 and the heavy duty alternator! Had they gone with a small block V8 and skipped the upgraded alternator, it would have come it at $ 7,9##. Where do I sign ... for that same price? Stat!

They still weighed quite a bit, so they must have weighed a helluva lot before the downsize. The downsize was obviously enough for 250 inline 6s to pull Impalas, 231 V6s to pull LeSabres, and 260 V8s to pull Eighty-Eights, though maybe not in that initial year. I've only ridden in the "post downsize" ones so I don't know if they kept the ride quality of the land yacht GMs that came before them. When the colonnades got downsized (A-body to G-body, I believe), the ride quality remained, but they felt lighter and more nimble.

Today's birthday directory / announcement says it's Sixty8panther's birthday! One of the more colorful personalities who is / has been on the C&G forum. I hope he's doing well.

@David This would be the slightly downsized '77-'78-'79 coupe roofline. The one I saw at Yosemite was either a '75 or '76. Yes, similar to the landau roof and interior color. Those wheels, but not color keyed. The exterior was a dark metallic green. Also, being the larger predecessor, there was a crease at the top of the fender, not to mention slight "fins" in the back to wrap the horizontal lamps around. And, in that fender top crease would rest the lower edge and molding for the landau roof, which looked great, rather than terminating on a more slabby side. The above has a true blue Pontiac V8 - a 400. These would have had 403s (by Olds) slotted into them for Calif. But these downsized ones could, and did, run with 350s, 301s ... Today, these would be considered "very large" cars. I think the '75 and '76 would be considered "enormous" cars. It would be great to get behind the wheel of a large V8 powered RWD American car just to see how different it feels after driving FWD - rack and pinion - McPherson struts for so long. Yep, that's a fine looking Pontiac at the left. That would be the body style of the one I saw. Let's see, going around the semicircle from the left: add Hornet, Cordoba, Monza, Rabbit, Regal (or lower cost Century), Nova, and Elite.

I like the first 2 more so than the last 2. Those were svelte lines coming from fairly chunkier cars during the preceding decade. I did not know that the 88 and 98 were that closely related at one time. By the '70s, the difference between the two, and all their relatives, was noticeable enough (wb, trim, etc.) A couple of things: I think it's great how some Northern and East Central Europeans (HU, CZ, etc.) love some of our larger American cars. I've seen quite a few photos and videos of the colonnades over there with their license plates on them. "Speaking" of 454s and 455s, I found this: Because it's a convertible, the interior is vinyl. The 455's engine paint is in nice condition and it has the Pontiac specific air cleaner decal. The exhaust note could be nicer. (They sure were when they were newer.) Look at how small an adult looks in this video compared to the overall car. I preferred the coupe, and with cloth seats. I will never forget when, one November, I went to Yosemite with my parents - where it was cool, comfortable, and not crowded - and there was a forest green metallic Bonneville coupe with a pale green landau roof, a pale green cloth interior, and the Pontiac sport wheels. That car was a dream.

This basic roofline was "shared" with other GM brands BOP + C at about this time. This was one of the better designs. My favorite one would have been the Pontiac fraternal twin. That funky metallic coral color was fairly nifty and sometimes seen on these cars/brands. Bottom line: I painfully miss the larger American coupe.

Not into the Royals. However, you wake up and learn that Prince Philip has died. RIP. He and the queen seem like decent folks. So, he made it to 99. His 100th birthday would have been 2 months from now. I was hoping he'd make it to 100(+). For one, London, and England, would have probably partied in his honor. Parties can be good. Then, I always like to see centennial birthdays for people who have been going along at a steady pace well into their 90s.

I am aware of this, at least within GM. That the 350s weren't an exact 350 c.i. and were all a little different, as you mentioned before. It was just a numbering convention, and it made sense. Right in that the market supported this ... the different brands, the different models, and the different engines, which became partly irrelevant as time went on. They penciled at the time. Funny, though, that they couldn't give the buyer maroon or blue seat belts with their maroon and blue interiors, respectively, and instead gave you black ones unless you selected the colored ones as an option. Lots of line items on yesteryear's stickers ... that was bad. The opportunity to customize without rigid packaging ... that was good.

Four divisions of GM doing a small block 350 ... and the same four divisions doing a big block 454/5. I'll take the small blocks. And, while I did not enjoy feeding a small block, I sure as heck would not have wanted to feed any of the big blocks ... then or now. I think that, even if GM had scrapped some of the "duplication," the outcome (wake up call in the New Millennium) would have been much the same.

I've been here! Slightly east of Morgantown, WV. It's just that I saw that treed 2-lane road in fall colors rather than the greenery shown in the video. It's beautiful. And, Morgantown has its own charm and still hums because it's the main state college town. (Other WV towns are not doing too well.) There are rattlesnake signs everywhere here. These guys are timber rattlesnakes, from what I learned. They are not as aggressive as some other "brands." The one I would not want to get into a tiff with is the Mojave rattler. Also, with their camouflage that is so damn effective, the signage is but the tip of the iceberg in "preventive measures."

The tight and mild temperature band of the PNW between the Coastal Range/Olympics and the Cascades is ideal for cars ... dense, cool, damp air to suck into the engine's intake, moist enough for tires, belts, and hoses, and no extremes that would weather the paint and corrode the frame. - - - - - I think of Croatia, and its coastline, off and on. I think I would really enjoy visiting it.

:13 boring, dowdy :17 clunky :31 scary - Pontiac could pull off the front end theatrics, but this Mopar maneuver is a miss :38 wallowing suspension :42 too serious the Challenger and Charger seem okay - - - - - POLARa and POLARizing was a play on words. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'd gladly take a Polara, even today, to coming anywhere near a polar bear, FWIW.

Some people in the design studio at Mopar needed to have their hands slapped for coming up with a couple of these models. Also, the Polara was polarizing.

^ with respect to WA state, here's to Gonzaga (WA) over Baylor (TX) tonight. (Little Gonzaga squeaked by big UCLA a few days ago.) Not fanatical about this, but that's the outcome I'd like to see.

It is going to be challenging to go through the check-out at the supermarket in the next few weeks with all that DEEPLY DISCOUNTED Easter chocolate in close proximity.

No. The plates featured cod (or fried fish), rice, and vegetables. I did get some baklava. I have been to some festivals where they have the pasta frola with apricot filling, but it was not here tonight. I'm a big fan of Greek desserts.

They rarely coincide on the same Sunday. Ha. I just came back from a Greek Orthodox church where I bought Friday night's baked cod dinner!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, and happy weekend. And, even if you don't, you can still make sure you eat well (aerial view courtesy of the Chicago Tribune).

Thoughts of the Fontainebleau, and its environs, randomly go through my head from time to time ...

Last day of March Some spotting occurring over several days this month. It's nice to see so many well maintained last-gen Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles on the road - in base 3800 form, and also in supercharged 3800 and 5.3 V8 forms. A fairly timeless shape that has held up well. I like the slightly different grille of the GXP compared to the base model. Here's a base model seen at a Sonic. If they had incorporate the GXP grille and amended the headlamps along those lines, I think they would have sold a few more of these. The question is whether they would have cannibalized from other W-body sales, or even picked up a few would-be Ford Taurus buyers. White is the best color for the last GP. I still have a slight bit of cognitive dissonance and a soft spot for this vehicle. They were reasonably priced for what you got. I've had them as rentals several times and have driven them for quite a few miles.

Q: What do you call someone at Berkeley on a scholarship? A: A "free radical."

Which then leads to either Barry White or Rick Astley ...

It tends to be more civil over here ... Ok, this backs up to mid-March, because it was when I was at the dealership for service. In the showroom: GMC Acadia dashboard GMC Acadia engine compartment - with the 3.6 L VVT V6 This is probably the only SUV/CUV I like. The Acadia has always been among the better looking in this segment, with its clean lines. I actually like the dashboard quite a bit. Also, GM currently features "cleaner" looking engine (ICE) compartments than does the competition. The Acadia slots it nicely in price point between Buick Encore and Envision. * still thinking along the lines of a basic $29 K Dodge Charger *