1972 Buick GS - Speak Softly And Carry A Big Stick

Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President, used the proverb, "Speak Softly and Carry A Big Stick", to  describe his style of foreign policy. He might as well have been describing a Buick GS powered by a  455 cubic inch V8.

 

 

While it looks like Granny's Buick, for it certainly could be, it's anything but a timid, mild mannered grocery getter. That, again, to those who appreciate understatement, is part of the appeal. No wild tape job, no crazy two tone racy paint schemes for the GS. No, sir. This car made itself known through power. Brute power. 360 foot pounds of torque, at just 2600 rpm, worth.  

This car was Buick's answer to the Pontiac GTO. GM was so big back then that they actually had models and makes competeing against each other. So, for those who thought the GTO and the even Olds version of this car, the 4-4-2, had gotten too gaudy, the GS, based on the humble Skylark, was "decorated" just right. I also like the Chevrolet version of this car, the Chevelle SS, but the Chevelle screamed what it was in a way that the GS doesn't. "Speak softly...



and carry a big stick." This is the only indication that behind this grill is lies a very big stick. The GS also came with an upgraded suspension. Oh, let's not forget about a heavy duty battery too.  

"Speak softly and Carry A Big Stick". Although Mr. Roosevelt used the proverb before his monumentally remarkable presidency, Roosevelt used military muscle several times throughout his two terms. Most notably to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, to quell the Anthracite Coal Strike in 1902 and to  give questionable U.S. diplomatic actions during the pursuit of a canal across Central America some muscle. Right or wrong, his use of military might was judicious and prudent; the threat of greater use of force used to stem off any hostility.

One would be wise to be judicious and prudent while driving this car. As much fun as this Big Stick  is, repeated heavy stabs of it will drain the gs tank quickly. That gets expensive even with gas at half the cost of what it is today. Even gentle use of the 455 results in mileage that's not much better than terrible.



GM is a far cry from what it once was and they certainly don't make 'em like this anymore. They also don't make Presidents like TR anymore.

I'll practice what TR preached and leave this at that.  

 

Chevrolet Lumina Z34 - Buyer's Remorse

You know what they say about a sucker being more every minute. I really felt like one the minute I drove this thing home from the dealership in December of 1993.

Back in late 1989, I replaced my wretched but fetching, 1982 Buick Riviera with my first (and only) brand new car purchase; a 1990 Chevrolet Lumina Euro. I don't have any pictures of myself with the Riviera car but I do have this picture with a Riviera drop top I came across on a jaunt in the Hamptons in 1988 or 1989. Not my car but those are my shorts and Reebok high tops.

My 1990 Lumina was rock solid reliable compared to my Riviera and of course, I took it for granted. I didn't have any trouble with it in the four years I owned it: the Riviera couldn't go four weeks without a major repair. I thought it quite handsome as well at least in comparison to anything else on the road at the time that I could afford.

If I had any issue with the car it was with it's 3.1 liter, "MultiPort FI" V-6. Making just 135 horsepower and 175 pounds of torque, while it moved my fairly light Euro amply, it motivation was far from sporty. When GM introduced the "Twin Dual Cam" V-6 for 1991 with a rib snorting 210 horsepower, a scant year after I dropped $15,000 for my new car, I was steamed because had I waited, I would've skipped the Euro and grabbed a "Z34". One more year would've meant one more year with the Riviera and that was not going to happen and what with a monster commute I had at the time, the prospect of driving another used car didn't sit well with me. So, while I drove my Euro I had my eye on a "Z".

I test drove several "Z's" before I traded in the Euro for my '94 in December of '93. On test drives, I thought the Z34 a very strong performer as well as a great looking upgrade to the Euro. Most importantly, the "Twin Dual Cam" V-6 provided great fun. It could really go...when I crushed the gas pedal from a dead stop. I don't recall if I noticed just how unresponsive the gigantic engine was when I wasn't burying the gas pedal.

 

 

Well, when the car is your own, you don't slam the gas to the floor every time you get behind the wheel of it. In fact, I've never done that to any car I've owned. That's what your car or rentals are for.  In everyday driving, the "TDC" had very little of torque at the low end of its power band. That was typical of overhead cam engines years ago and in particular the "TDC". What's more, the "TDC" was a noisy engine. When running, it sounded as though a bunch of marbles were banging around inside the valve covers. To makes even worse, the "TDC" was far less fuel efficient than the 3.1 was.

 

 

On the drive home from the dealership I was immediately beside myself with buyer's remorse. I had traded in my paid off, trusty Lumina Euro for a sluggish, expensive, less fuel efficient lump that would go back to the dealership so frequently it reminded me of the Riviera. When the lease was up I happily returned it when the term was up. "Twin Dual Cam V-6 and all. 

1967 Ford Thunderbird - Cool Is Timeless

My wife thinks I love all old cars simply because they're old. That's not true. If it were, I'd appreciate Nash Ramblers, Studebakers, Saabs made before the 900 came out in 1978 and the Volvo 444. So, you see, dear, I don't like all old cars. However, when I do love an old car, I love it completely. And unconditionally.

 

Sigh. What a beaut. I love Ford's gigantic '60s Thunderbirds coupes so completely and unconditionally that I can look past those dreadful "Landau bars", vinyl roof and finned wheel covers. Love has a way of making you see past imperfections almost to the point where we can find them endearing. Almost. I hate those darn Landau bars. Yeccch. Everything else on this beast is eye busting awesome.

 

My older son is smitten with older cars but just like his old man, not all of them. He's not model or make specific much like his papa so there's no senseless grand standing about a Chevy over a Pontiac or Dodge or in this case, a big ole Ford. He just likes cool cars. And that's old and new. Because cool is cool. And cool, from what I've gathered during my time on this sweet earth is not only universal, it's timeless. My son approves of the '67 Thunderbird. Big time. He's 16. There's no one more in touch with what's cool and what's not cool than a 16 year old.

 

The all-new-for-1967 Thunderbird was the last great Thunderbird. Sorry---I should be more specific---the two door Thunderbird was the last great Thunderbird. Yeah. There was a four door version of this car that was horrible. Updates to the '67 for '68 and '69 were fussy and pointless and Ford went off the rails with the 1970 update. Forget about anything after 1972. However, for a very brief 1967 model year, all was right with the world.

 

Makes me wonder if they just got lucky when they came up with this design. It happens. It happens in movie making, music making, art and science....winning the lottery. You name it.  I for one would rather be good than lucky. Anyone can get lucky. The good get lucky too. Thing is, good is forever and the good will get it done more often than the lucky ones. Throw in luck for good measure and you've got yourself the potential for a winning streak.

Just like with anything, Ford's winning streak, didn't last for forever. The only thing that does last forever is cool.

 

Cool is timeless.

 

Amanda Beary's 1986 Monte Carlo SS

What Amanda Beary, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight had to endure for a decade (or more in the case of Michelle) boggles the mind. The more details that come out the more we're sickened. Let's  thank God they're free and on their way to hopefully making the most of their lives.

 

 

(Picture by: Isla Harvey / Splash News)

 

Here's some neat news. Amanda's 73 year old grandfather, Troy Berry, is ready to hand her the keys to this SMOKIN' HOT!! 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Nascar Limited edition. "Mandy (Amanda) always loved that car, I promised her she could have it when I'd taught her to drive," said Mr Berry, a retired steel cutter for Ford. "After she went missing I could never bring myself to get rid of it, not even after ten years. I was saving it in case she came back...now I can finally give it to her...".

 

Safe motorin', Amanda! 

 

1968 Red Buick (Electra) Convertible - Abraham, Martin and John

My wife was on the East Side the other day when she ran into the owner of this "all is right with the world", 1968 "Deuce And a Quarter" (note the plates) convertible. This car is a Buick Electra "225". The "225" denotes the car's overall length.

I say "all is right with the world" with tongue firmly in cheek. For in 1968 all was certainly not right with the world. Hopefully, whomever owned this car back then found respite from the events of the day by dropping the top and going for a nice long drive.

 

I know I would.  

1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency

"I found one of your cars in the parking lot" my wife said to me when she met me at the Avon Relay invitational last Saturday morning. "I think you'll love it. Go check it out. Bring back coffee".

Truth is I didn't love it. I didn't even like it. Which only confused my wife more than ever. Poor thing. For years now she has valiantly tried to understand my taste in cars.

 

Y'see, 1985 was the first year for GM's new, "full size" front wheel drivers. I wasn't a fan then and I'm certainly not a fan now. Now, had this been an '84 like the beauty above, well, it would've been a completely different story. In fact, I might've been inclined to leave a love letter or two on it asking the owner to contact me if they wanted to sell it.

With coffee in tow I uploaded to my wife my dismissal of the '85. "Phooey," I scoffed. "That's an '85..'85 not so good. '84, now, that's good". My wife was incredulous as she sipped her coffee. "You're an idiot. And you put a pink packet in my coffee. I like the blue packets".

What's really interesting is that the '85, despite it's very odd proportions and awkward profile, is a vastly superior automobile to the '84. Where the '84 floats and bobs, the '84 is taut, firm. Dare I say "sporty". Well, compared to the '84, it certainly is. The fuel injected 3.8 liter V-6 provides much better acceleration than than the carbureted 5.0 liter V-8 in the '84. That I could fix by swapping out the engine for a modern power plant. I can't do much about the styling of the '85. Yuck.

 

As I went back to get another cup of coffee for my wife with the correct sweetener, I took another gander at the '85.

 

Still not so good.