TIP-T0P
Veteran Member
No Malibu anymore. Chevrolet 2024 lineup has only one car, the Corvette everything else is a truck or an suv.
Why GM Is Killing The Chevy Camaro After 57 Years!
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If you took one of the modern "SUV" vehicles, chopped off the rear of the roof, put a normal back glass behind the 2nd seat, then what would you have? Certainly not very aerodynamic or sylish and certainly not very "utility". Plus reminding us how really small they are! The higher ride height is needed to see over all of the lifted HD2500 trucks out there, too! Normal pickup trucks have gotten too tall when the low-beam headlights are the same level as the inside rear view mirror on my 2005 Impala, at stock ride height. But that is the "new normal" for younger generations.
FS87LT
FS87LT
Overall - this move towards SUV's and trucks is indicative of bad law and bad vehicle code.
To put this briefly. in the USA, SUV's and Trucks don't have to pass the same safety or fuel economy standards as cars. The vehicle manufacturers are able to build/sell them cheaper than a car, so they are incentivized to do so.
The equivalent station wagon is generally superior to a SUV in every way; more space, better safety ratings, better milage, faster, better handling... I ultimately chalk it up to de-facto protectionism by the American auto manufacturer's, as it knocks a lot of other vehicles out of the market price-wise
More on this
jalopnik.com
To put this briefly. in the USA, SUV's and Trucks don't have to pass the same safety or fuel economy standards as cars. The vehicle manufacturers are able to build/sell them cheaper than a car, so they are incentivized to do so.
The equivalent station wagon is generally superior to a SUV in every way; more space, better safety ratings, better milage, faster, better handling... I ultimately chalk it up to de-facto protectionism by the American auto manufacturer's, as it knocks a lot of other vehicles out of the market price-wise
Every Car Looks Like This Thanks To A Gigantic Regulatory Loophole - Jalopnik
If you haven’t already abandoned Twitter, you’ve probably seen some tweets going around featuring a particularly bleak image: a gaggle of crossovers and SUVs from just about every carmaker on the U.S. market, all seen from the side, rendered in grayscale with their wheels blotted out. All these...
jalopnik.com
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TIP-T0P
Veteran Member
I drive a 2005 Hemi Dodge Magnum. Yes a wagon. I love that car! 75K on it. My wife is handicap and its perfect for her wheelchair and easy access with her wheelchair transfer to the spacious front seat as well as the cars seat and vehicle height with door open is perfect! No american wagons on the market anymoreOverall - this move towards SUV's and trucks is indicative of bad law and bad vehicle code.
To put this briefly. in the USA, SUV's and Trucks don't have to pass the same safety or fuel economy standards as cars. The vehicle manufacturers are able to build/sell them cheaper than a car, so they are incentivized to do so.
The equivalent station wagon is generally superior to a SUV in every way; more space, better safety ratings, better milage, faster, better handling... I ultimately chalk it up to de-facto protectionism by the American auto manufacturer's, as it knocks a lot of other vehicles out of the market price-wise
Every Car Looks Like This Thanks To A Gigantic Regulatory Loophole - Jalopnik
If you haven’t already abandoned Twitter, you’ve probably seen some tweets going around featuring a particularly bleak image: a gaggle of crossovers and SUVs from just about every carmaker on the U.S. market, all seen from the side, rendered in grayscale with their wheels blotted out. All these...
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It's a perverse outcome of CAFE.Overall - this move towards SUV's and trucks is indicative of bad law and bad vehicle code.
To put this briefly. in the USA, SUV's and Trucks don't have to pass the same safety or fuel economy standards as cars. The vehicle manufacturers are able to build/sell them cheaper than a car, so they are incentivized to do so.
The equivalent station wagon is generally superior to a SUV in every way; more space, better safety ratings, better milage, faster, better handling... I ultimately chalk it up to de-facto protectionism by the American auto manufacturer's, as it knocks a lot of other vehicles out of the market price-wise
Every Car Looks Like This Thanks To A Gigantic Regulatory Loophole - Jalopnik
If you haven’t already abandoned Twitter, you’ve probably seen some tweets going around featuring a particularly bleak image: a gaggle of crossovers and SUVs from just about every carmaker on the U.S. market, all seen from the side, rendered in grayscale with their wheels blotted out. All these...
No, it's really not. These bad regulations date back to the 1960's, 40 years before CAFE
We had two station wagons when I was growing up, a Pontiac Grand Safari and an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. They were great, but the 2 wheel drive was a drawback when my dad and I went down the back trails of northern Michigan, looking for trout streams. Some fire trails my dad just wouldn't risk with the wagon(he would never buy a truck). AWD would help, but there is still the advantage of the higher ground clearance of a 4wd truck, at least the full frame ones. Useful in mud and heavy snow.
In the city, with paved and plowed roads, a 4wd truck is probably overkill. Out in the country, in snowy climes, I favor a truck over a station wagon.
Yes, I've wondered why the 25% import duty on trucks has been allowed to stay around so long. Perhaps some domestic automaker and UAW influence. Although Toyota and Nissan got around it by just building their truck factories in the US.
In the city, with paved and plowed roads, a 4wd truck is probably overkill. Out in the country, in snowy climes, I favor a truck over a station wagon.
Yes, I've wondered why the 25% import duty on trucks has been allowed to stay around so long. Perhaps some domestic automaker and UAW influence. Although Toyota and Nissan got around it by just building their truck factories in the US.
My73LT
Veteran Member
I had a new 2004 3.6 V6 Magnum for a few years. Seated 4 big guys no problem, or 3 big guys and 12 scuba tanks plus gear ! Never an argument over sitting in back. Loved that car, and would have bought another if they had still made them. But the electronics started getting weird after 100k miles so I traded it in.I drive a 2005 Hemi Dodge Magnum. Yes a wagon. I love that car! 75K on it. My wife is handicap and its perfect for her wheelchair and easy access with her wheelchair transfer to the spacious front seat as well as the cars seat and vehicle height with door open is perfect! No american wagons on the market anymore
Maybe I should look at an old Vista Cruiser and do an LS swap..
'70 Z/28 RS
Veteran Member
Don't recall the site I saw it on, but there was a nice Vista Cruiser for sale about a year ago. Straight out of That '70s Show!
I kept our '70 Vista Cruiser into the late '80s, but it had a lot of problems. Every single piece of the roof glass was cracked. The rear brake cylinders had failed, and it turned out 1970 was a one-year-only for those cylinders, so no replacements to be had. My auto restoration skills were a lot less back then - I suppose I could have got the cylinders rebuilt, but I didn't know where. And my only thought for the roof glass was plexiglass or polycarbonate replacements, but I didn't know how to bend plastic like that.
The final straw, though, was when I crawled under it and found the frame significantly rusted in some important places. I had a junk yard tow it away. Engine still started and ran(350 Olds "Rocket").
It was originally a light metallic green, as seen in the first picture below. In the late '70s my dad and I repainted it with a Cadillac firemist blue. We got a lot of years and a lot of miles out of it.
The final straw, though, was when I crawled under it and found the frame significantly rusted in some important places. I had a junk yard tow it away. Engine still started and ran(350 Olds "Rocket").
It was originally a light metallic green, as seen in the first picture below. In the late '70s my dad and I repainted it with a Cadillac firemist blue. We got a lot of years and a lot of miles out of it.
