Car of the Day -LaForza 5 Litre (1988-1990, 1998-2003)

In 1987, the British luxury truck maker Land Rover introduced it's Range Rover to the American market, kicking off what would become the luxury SUV segment.  There really wasn't any other SUV like it, except maybe the Jeep Wagoneer.  It was very uncommon for an SUV to be off-road, capable AND have leather seats, power steering, air conditioning and a CD player.

Meanwhile, across the earth in Italy, Rayton-Fissure introduced the Magnum 4x4, an SUV marketed towards law enforcement and military departments for use as patrol vehicles.  However, someone within the company thought it would be a great idea to market it as a civilian vehicle.  So Rayton Fissure added luxury amenities such as leather seats, padded dashboards, a 6-CD player (uncommon for the time, and air conditioning. Engines came in 4, 6, and 8 cylinders.  To basically sum it up, the Magnum is a lot like the Hummer of it's day.

Eventually, a group of American investors saw the success of the Range Rover and thought it would be a good idea to market the Magnum in the United States.  So what ended up happening was the Magnum was imported in parts to America (San Diego, if I'm not mistaken) and re-assembled using US-spec parts.  The final product (now called the "LaForza") is similar to it's European cousin with the exception of the engine and drivetrain.  For this, the LaForza was powered by Ford's legendary Windsor V8 (aka the 5.0) mated to a Ford 4-speed automatic transmission.

The LaForza 5 Litre went on sale in 1989 and was sold primarily in European specialty shops.  Despite some decent reviews and aggressive ad campaigns in the DuPont registry, the automaker only moved like...12 of them before going under. The reason for this was primarily the price (which I couldn't find, but I want to say it was in the Mid-$40,000 range...and this was in 1990)

But the story didn't end there.  In the mid 90s, a group of car enthusiasts bought out the remaining LaForza parts inventory and marketed the truck on a smaller scale, which gave the LaForza a new lease of life.  With the re-birth, the truck was given an updated Ford V8 engine as well as updated sound systems and interior upgrades. This itineration lasted until 2003.

Overall, It's hard to tell if the LaForza 5 Litre was a decent truck as so few exist and there are almost no forum sites dedicated to the truck.  I was unaware of the car's existence until I came across a blog post from Old Parked Cars (another great site for seeing obscure cars...IN PORTLAND!)  The 5 Litre was probably a decent competitor to the Range Rover, but the marketing, pricing, and the overall unfamiliarity of the maker made potential customers skeptical.  It's rebirth in 1998 gave the truck a clean slate and the benefit of being marketed on a smaller, cost effective level.  Also, 1998 was when the SUV boom was in high effect, so that also could explain some increased interest.  

Car of the day- Nissan Van C22 (1987-1990)

The early 1980s were very kind to Japanese automakers.  At this time, Japan overtook the United States to become the largest producer of automobiles in the world.  People were flocking to Honda and Toyota dealerships to buy their reliable and economical cars while domestic cars sat on the lot collecting dust.  It seemed that Japan had the U.S market in their pocket.

However, right as Japanese carmakers were putting their feet up while the money poured in,  Chrysler Motors released an innovative vehicle called the Plymouth Voyager "minivan."  The van revolutionized the family car business, and therefore sold like toilet paper.  This new type of vehicle caught the Japanese car business off guard.  So what Japan ended up doing was cut out some windows and throw bench seats in the back of their toaster-looking cargo vans and released them as their own "minivans"

Nissan's minivan entry at this time was simply called the "Van."  It's main competition was the Toyota "Van" and the Mitsubishi "Van" (see a pattern here?) Like it's fellow Japanese carmakers, Nissan rushed to transform it's cargo vans into passenger minivans to sell in the U.S. Aside from punching out holes for windows and adding rear seats, Nissan also had to place a larger engine under the hoo-...I mean...under the back seat in order to keep up with traffic.  Nissan would then stuff (and by that, I mean LITERALLY shoehorn) it's 2.4L 4 cylinder engine in there. I want you to bookmark this fact.

So anyways, the Nissan Van went on sale in the U.S in 1987 and was fairly received by the public.  It was very roomy vehicle despite not having much in front of the driver.  It wasn't as much of a success as the Plymouth Voyager, but still attracted people looking for a spacious family van or cargo hauler.  

So why the short run? Ohh! This is where it gets interesting.  Remember when I said to remember the big engine/small space fact...well, lets put it this way.  In the average car, whenever a car has been driving for a while, the engine heats gets hot and the radiator is what keeps it from overheating.  In a Nissan Van, the 2.4L engine would get hot inside it's tiny compartment.  Because Nissan didn't add a larger radiator, the engine would overheat.  Take both of those factors on a hot summer day, and you'll get something like this...

Nissan would recall the "Van" four times, making adjustments such as upgrading the radiator, installing better fans, and ventilating the engine compartment to name a few.  Despite all this, engine fires continued.  With continued reports of fires and a fear of a lawsuit, Nissan went to drastic measures and announced a buyback of EVERY SINGLE NISSAN VAN in the United States.  According to an L.A Times article dated in 1994, Nissan bought back 33,000 vans, paying customers blue book value or above and even offered credit for any new Nissan vehicle.  All vans that were turned in were immediately scrapped.  This whole disaster cost Nissan nearly $200 million in settlements and crushing all the vans.  While most people turned in their vehicle, there have been a few still putting around, namely in the Pacific Northwest like this one and this one.  

The fact that the Nissan Van is nearly extinct here in the U.S wouldn't surprise me, as I never have seen one in person.  From a personal stand point, I strongly dislike minivans.  But even then, I would not mind having a mid-80s rice-van (but not a Nissan "Van")

first photo credit-Tennen Gas

second photo credit-tribune.com.pk

Car of the day- Ford Durango (1981)

After Ford axed the Ranchero pickup truck in 1979, it seemed to be the end of an "era" for car based pickups from Ford.  The aftermarket coach building industry thought otherwise and made it a point to continue making a car-based pickup.

The National Coach Corporation, based out of L.A, obtained permission from Ford to convert some of their Fairmont "Futura" coupes (a two door Fairmont with a T-Bird looking roof) into pickups.  What NCC basically did was take a hacksaw to the Futura's roof, remove the backseat, and hollow out the area behind the front seat into a pickup bed.   The result was the Ford "Durango." While not an official Ford product, the Durango was sold in Ford dealers around the country.

The Durango was available for only one model year, 1981 (although Wikipedia claims some were built in 1982).  The number of Durangos made is often debated, with production numbers ranging between 80 and 300 vehicles converted.

I first heard about the Durango through an ad on Craigslist a few years ago.  The thing that stood out the most was the taillights, which were integrated into the tailgate.  I couldn't find any specifications on it, like how much weight it could carry, what engine/transmission/interior options it came with, or what their base price was.

To be honest, I think this was meant to be more of a "show truck" than something actually meant to be used as a truck.  Ford probably didn't want to take too much of a gamble making the Durango itself, which may explain why building it was left up to an aftermarket company.  Perhaps, if Ford would have given the Durango more attention, it could have been an ideal competitor to other mini pickups such as the Dodge Rampage, VW Rabbit Caddy, and Subaru BRAT.

Car of the Day-AMC Eagle (1980-1988)

American Motors Corporation was always the underdog of car-makers.  They never had as many resources to update their cars as frequently as the Big Three, nor were their cars as advanced as the competition.  Despite these shortcomings, AMC did manage to pull together some very interesting cars using what limited resources they had.

One of my favorite AMC cars was the Eagle.  The Eagle debuted at a time when American Motors was teetering on the edge of going belly up.  AMC was suffering some long-term setbacks from the Pacer/Matador Coupe disaster.  Using what resources they had, AMC took the body of a Hornet sedan (which debuted in 1970) and placed it atop of a 4x4 Jeep chassis.  The result was the Eagle.

The Eagle was offered as a sedan, wagon, coupe, hatchback, and (pictured above) a sportback.  The Eagle was way ahead of the times.   It was the first vehicle to feature a "shift on the fly" transfer case, which eliminated the need to exit the car when shifting into four wheel drive.  Under the hood, you will find AMC's bulletproof 4.2 liter straight 6 engine, making this a very durable car!  Lastly, this car is often cited as the very first crossover vehicle, a concept that all other automakers would adopt thirty years later.

The car wasn't a HUGE success, but it sold enough cars to keep AMC going for eight more years.  Eventually, AMC would shut down and be sold off to Chrysler in 1987.  Due to it's substantial reliability,  there are still quite a few Eagles driving around today.  Where I live in south-eastern Wisconsin, I come across an Eagle every once in a while, mostly due to it being assembled here.

The Eagle is on my shortlist of cars I want to own someday.  As obscure as it is, parts are relatively cheap and common.  In fact, after Chrysler bought AMC's assets, Chrysler would continue making the straight six engine fun in the Eagle all the way up until 2006.  Also, because it was built in my home state, I see it as a sense of Wisconsin pride, an example of the cool cars that came out of the Badger state (along with the Gremlin, Pacer, AMX, and Javelin...but I'll save those for another time.)

The photo above was taken by myself at an all AMC show in Kenosha.  There were hundreds of AMC cars that lined the beach at Lake Michigan.  Everyone there treated each other like family, so thats another reason why I'd like to get an Eagle, or any other AMC car.

Car of the day-Chevrolet Nova (1985-1988)

I figured since I was on a roll with ranting about the "Daewoo" LeMans, I'll share another GM car that "hampered" a legendary nameplate.

In 1979, General Motors discontinued the legendary Nova nameplate after a mostly successful 17 year run.  The Nova is usually remembered as a mid-sized sedan or coupe that occasionally came equipped with a V8 engine.  By the early 80s, GM was in a  dilemma, imported Japanese cars were becoming more and more successful, and GM cars such as the Cavalier, and Citation weren't doing enough to lure consumers away from Hondas and Toyotas (rather they were doing the complete opposite).  Rather than continuing to fight the imports by making competing models, they decided to fight them by THINKING (or rather acting) like them.

What ended up happening was GM formed a partnership with Toyota to build a vehicle that can be sold by both auto makers.  GM would lend it's Fremont, California assembly plant (which the two would call "NUMMI") to build the car.  In  1984, Toyota released it's newest Corolla sedan.  Chevrolet took this opportunity to revive the legendary Nova nameplate to put on their version of the Corolla.

Now, it's here where you would assume I would go on and on about how lousy the car was and how it "tarnished" the Nova name forever.  The thing is...it WASN'T a bad car.  It's a Chevy with Toyota blood.  Dependability, good gas milage, and a reasonable starting price were huge selling points for the Nova.  The only issue I can recall with these Novas was the typical Toyota rust.

This itineration of the Nova lasted through 1988, when GM decided to take a different approach to marketing their captive imports, which by then, included the Nova, Chevy Spectrum (Isuzu Gemini) and Chevy Sprint (Suzuki Cultus).  Rather than selling these cars as Chevys, GM created a sub-brand called Geo, which would handle all of GM's captive imports.  The Nova nameplate was retired again, yet the car itself was "re-born" as the Geo Prizm, which lasted until 2002.

I actually came across an episode of "This American Life," where Ira Glass discussed the Toyota/GM partnership that spawned the Nova.  The topic of the episode itself was regarding the closure of NUMMI plant in 2010, (due to the economic recession that hit automakers hard) although a large portion of the program is dedicated to it's heyday of building Novas and Corollas.  A link to the article can be found here.

I don't have any personal stories with the NUMMI Nova (although I think my preschool teacher had a rusted brown one)  There is a particular Nova that I personally would like to own.  During it's last year of production (before becoming a Geo) Chevy decided to give the Nova a proper send-off into history by adding 4-wheel disc brakes, a stiffer suspension, upgraded shocks and suspension, and to top it off, a 1.6L twin-cam engine, the same (or similar) engine found in the Corolla GT-S (or AE-86 to you Initial D fanboys).   The car was noted by several car magazines as being able to go from 0-60 MPH in under 10 seconds (if done properly, according to Hemmings News)

Photo credit:GM Media Archives

To top off all those performance upgrades, Chevy painted all Nova Twin-Cam's a sleek black/red trim combo.  To me, that is what I call an excellent 80s sleeper car!

Car of the day-Daewoo/Pontiac LeMans (1988-1993)

(photo credit:Mic V from Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom)

When one thinks of the Pontiac LeMans, people think of the GM sports coupe from the 60s and 70s that also spawned the legendary GTO.  When backwards people like myself think of the LeMans, I think of the small hatchback and sedan from the late 80s and early 90s.

This particular LeMans is (and I'm saying "is" because this car is STILL being sold new, in this itineration in Romania and Poland) actually a freshened  up Chevrolet Chevette, which in turn is a re-badged Opel Kadett.  They were made in South Korea by Daewoo Motors.

In the late 80s, GM began to rely heavily on it's foreign partners for sourcing cheap compact cars. (Chevy LUV, Chevy Spectrum, Chevy Sprint, EVERY GEO EVER)   I personally cite two reasons for this:

1. GM was too busy investing all it's money and research into SUV's, which were beginning to become a "thing"
2. GM couldn't make a good small car even if they tried (Are there any Cavalier or Sunfire owners out there that can back me up on this?)

Anyway, the LeMans arrived at showrooms in 1988.  Not sure if the car was a sales success initially, but according to various forums around the net, it's safe to say that there is a reason there are very few left.  Former owners complained of engines stalling, over-complicated brake jobs, and underpowered engines, just to name a few.  Many Pontiac loyalists were outraged of the once, respected nameplate be affiliated with this lousy excuse for a car.  All these factors plus now, waning sales led to the car being put to death (at least here in North America) in 1993.

I have two personal connections with the Korean LeMans.  The first one may be quite familiar to you, especially those who remember the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.  I remember watching documentaries on this occurance and the one shot that always seems stick out to me is that of a red 1988-89 LeMans hatchback teetering off the side of a collapsed section of a bridge.

  (photo credit: Chuck Nackle/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

My other memory of this car was one of my old neighbors who had a white 1990 (I think) LeMans hatchback. I vaguely remember her complaining about how horrible it was.  If I remember correctly, it was this car in which I learned what the word "money pit" meant.  Now, because she worked at the same place as my mom, she would often carpool in my Mom's Camry while the LeMans was in the shop.  My neighbor liked her Camry so much, she ended up buying one for herself, ridding herself of that "lemonous LeMans."  

Car of the day-Isuzu VehiCROSS (1999-2001)

Okay, so all you common folk and Breaking Bad fanboys out there thought the Pontiac Aztek was a horrifically ugly truck? Well then you haven't heard of Isuzu's VehiCROSS (no, that isn't a typo, that's actually how you spell it).  Then again, I wouldn't blame you for not knowing about this truck.  Isuzu wasn't ever that well known to begin with.  They were always "the automaker that could...but chose not to."  First thing to know about Isuzu was that they sold mostly trucks and SUVs.  Isuzu did make small compact cars  but gave up on that in the early 90s when the SUV boom kicked into high gear.

Like the Aztec, no one knew why this truck existed.  Sure, it had four wheel drive and can seat four people.  But the look of it was just...yeah.  The way I look at it was that Isuzu created this car "just for the hell of it."  I often wonder how and who came up with the name "VehiCROSS."  One might think that with such an exotic name and exterior, the interior might be the same....NOPE!  The interior was literally torn out of a Trooper, another Isuzu product.  And you want to know the best part?  In 1999, the asking price for this hideous snake (btw, doesn't the grille look like the inside of a snake's mouth?) was $28,000!

The VehiCROSS lasted three years and about 4,000 trucks made before Isuzu pulled the plug and replaced it with another head-scratching truck, the Axiom (if you want to learn about that one, just watch Spy Kids 2...seriously, that movie was a two-hour ad for it.)

So just because I spent the last three paragraphs bashing this truck, doesn't mean I hate it.  In fact, the first time I saw it (I think I was six at the time) I thought it was the coolest thing ever!  And that opinion still stands today.  There was even a time when I was shopping for my first car, that I came across a few VehiCROSS's for sale.  Even ten years after Isuzu stopped making the VehiCROSS, these things are still commanding 8 to 10,000 dollars.  It's probably because of how few were sold (and how fewer still remain)  but I do see one every once and a while...but then again, thats probably because it's so odd that I can't help but stare.

Car of the day- Dodge Raider (1987-1989)

The mini-SUV wars were just heating up in the United States back in the mid 1980s.  GM and Ford were going head to head with it's S-10 Blazer/Jimmy and Bronco II.  At first, Chrysler wasn't on board with this new fad.  Their impression was that people would grow tired of 4x4s and return to driving passenger cars such as their K cars and Caravan/Voyager minivans.

But by 1987, Chrysler realized how profitable these new SUVs were and knew they had to get in on the action.  Rather than put time and effort into designing an SUV from scratch, Chrysler (specifically Dodge) reached out to their Japanese partner, Mitsubishi.  The result was a re-badged Mitsubishi Montero two door SUV that Dodge called the Raider.

The truck itself was relatively simple.  It was lightweight, came equipped with a 4-cylinder engine, and had a very no-frills interior (which was typical of a 4x4 in the 80s).  There isn't much to say in terms of reliability, but with what little information I was able to glean from forums, the biggest issue of these things was rust.

The lifespan of the Raider was relatively short, lasting only three model years.  There aren't many records indicating how many were sold in those three years, but I assume there were few of them.  One possible reason for this car's short  lifespan was Dodge's other, larger stablemate, the Ramcharger.  Dodge was still making some decent money off their Ram-based SUV and felt that it would be a much more feasible idea to update the Ramcharger rather than import more Raiders.  Another reason was the Jeep.  In 1987 (same year as the Raider's introduction) Chrysler purchased the dying American Motors Corporation.  In that deal, Chrysler acquired the Jeep division, which included the Wrangler, Cherokee, Wagoneer, and Comanche.  These new step-siblings also conflicted with Raider sales.

I personally like the Raider because it's such a fun and simple truck.  There weren't many power options available, which means less electronic malfunctions.  The interior is very basic, meaning it wouldn't be the end of the world if I spilled something on it.  And due to it's small engine size and weight, the Raider gets fairly decent gas milage.  And let's not forget the 4x4!

(photo courtesy of vwvortex.com)

Car of the day-Ford Tempo (1984-1994)

The Tempo (along with it's Mercury sibling, the Topaz) Was Ford's compact car in the 1980s and early 1990s.  It came in 2 and 4 door body styles.  What made this car stand out was it's "round shape" (most other cars looked like rolling boxes).  Ford called it a "jelly bean design.  It was quite an innovative looking car when it came out in 1984.  However, when the even more innovative Taurus came out two years later, the Tempo became more of an afterthought to Ford.  Aside from a re-design in 1987, the Tempo remained more or less the same until it was replaced by the Ford Contour in 1995.

Despite being in the Taurus' shadows, the Tempo was still a relatively strong seller.  During it's ten-year run, Ford moved over 2 million cars.

There were two things that made this otherwise blah car stand out

1. All wheel drive-Between 1987 and 1991, Ford equipped certain Tempos with an AWD drivetrain, which can be activated and de-activated with the push of a button.
2. V6 engine-throughout most of the Tempo's life, customers were limited to getting an underpowered 4 cylinder engine in their car.  During it's last year of production, Ford figured "why the hell not" and shoe-horned their Vulcan v6 engine under the hood.  This gave the car more power to an otherwise underpowered concept.

The reason why I like this car is because they came with automatic seatbelts (a stupid idea, but a hilarious novelty) Also, the car is fairly uncommon these days (especially in the rust belt, where I live).  While the Taurus is usually regarded as the car the led the way for making cars rounder, it was the Tempo that introduced America to the design, and I'm all for rooting for the underdog.

(image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Car of the Day-Chevrolet Citation (1980-1985)

Introduced in 1979 for the 1980 model year, the Citation was what led General Motors into the 80s (it was even advertised as "The first Chevy of the 80s") The car featured innovations such as front wheel drive and a hatchback body style (which was unusual for GM at the time). The Citation came in three body styles: a 4 door hatchback, a 2 door hatchback, and a 2 door notchback.  

Upon introduction, the Citation was well received by both the press and the public.  The car was the recipient of several awards, such as Motor Trend Magazine's "Car of the Year" for 1980.  In 1980 alone, Chevrolet sold over 800,000 Citations alone.  People were drawn to it's front wheel drive layout, good gas milage, and reasonable price (about $6000 in 1980 dollars).

Unfortunately, the Citation's success was short lived, as high buyer demand caught GM off guard.  To keep up with the sudden increase, GM cut corners in it's development and production.  This led to poor build quality, several recalls, and hundreds of thousand pissed off owners.  GM refreshed the car in 1984 that corrected most of the issues (even going so far as to re-christen it the "Citation II")  But that wasn't enough to improve sales and the Citation was put out of it's misery after the 1985 model year.

To most car historians, mechanics, and people who had the misfortune of owning one, the Citation is often considered one of the worst cars ever made.  It's also cited (get it!) as one of the reasons for the rise of imported cars in the United States.  Vehicles such as the Volkswagen Rabbit, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord not only were equipped with front wheel drive, fuel injection and came in hatchback form, but the reliability was much better and were priced competitively.  

I personally have seen ONE Chevy Citation in person, and it was at a Chocolate festival (don't ask what I was doing there).  I was waiting in the parking lot for my parents to leave when I saw a dilapidated 4-door Citation II with what sounded like an engine misfire pull up across from where we were parked.  The guy driving it looked (and smelled) like he just returned from a Doobie Brothers concert.  The one thing that stood out to me was the color-an ugly seafoam green with matching interior...ICK!

(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)  

  

Intro/first post

Hello and welcome to my car blog!  A place where I discuss my car interests.

What type of cars do I like?

Well, unlike most car enthusiasts who lust over '70s muscle cars, fancy european luxury cars, and Japanese performance cars, I prefer cars from the 1980s and early 1990s.

Why?

Because no one else does!  The 80s and 90s were a pretty "meh" era for the car industry, especially the big three (or 4 if you want to include AMC).  At the time, most cars were small, boxy, slow, or all of the above.  American car makers were starting to lose ground to Japanese imports such as Toyota and Honda.  And any performance car made during the time were more "show" than "go"  

Fast forward to today, most cars from the 1980s and 1990s are still in "automotive purgatory," where they are too new to be considered classics and too old to still be common.  If I were to ask any car guy about memorable 80s cars, I would get responses along the lines of Buick Grand National, DeLorean, or "walking." I usually look past all of that to see all the great (and not so great) cars that people forgot about.

The goal of this blog is to bring to light this "forgotten era" of cars.  Cars that I grew to like!