80s car spottings now in SoCal.

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80s car spottings now in SoCal.

Postby 89ARIES » Fri Jun 03, 2011 5:33 pm

Status: Very unpredictable with no regularity. Strectches of hours during the day where virtually
nothing is seen driving, and then for some reason around 4-5PM, a rare cluster of them pop out. But, it is so scattered and unpredicable now that you might see four 80s Tempos in one month and then not see any for another couple months. You also have to go to bad parts of town now or poor areas to find the last of the 70s and 80s stuff in many cases. So, they have become almost as rare as 60s cars now here. Thankfully, I still enjoy surprises now and again, like a slow Cimarron on the freeway going 45mph. But, now that its been 22-30 years, 80s cars are not spotted with daily regularity anymore. The only models I see a few times a week now are Crown Vics and Lincoln Towncars. However, I must say, I think 80s cars actually bodywise were built a lot better than 70s cars, as they are mostly rustfree here and seem to hold up to a lot better, even if some of the engines were disasters. Really, its seems 70s cars disappeared faster. The ONLY 70s cars seen with any regularity now here are Novas, Ford LTDs, and the occasional big Thunderbird, but even that is become scarce. 8-)
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Re: 80s car spottings now in SoCal.

Postby K-CAR_WAGON » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:09 pm

I think the rustproofing on the 80's cars is generally superior to the 70's cars. I think alot of the 70's disappeared because the engines were not designed to run on unleaded gas and the valves tended to recede into the heads when they were subjected to unleaded gas at high speeds for long distances. In addtion the 70's cars had carbs which tend to give more driveablity problems. And most of the 70's car were not built for fuel efficiency.
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Re: 80s car spottings now in SoCal.

Postby nszotovich » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:38 pm

The seventies were bad for cars in general. Two oil embargoes, quickly changing smog and safety rules and a generally bad styling. Detroit was caught off guard. It all added to not preserving a lot from that era.Late seventies early eighties was transitional but waking up to reality. Drive-ability issues still plagued the industry during the early eighties before transitioning toward fuel injection and better electronics. Since then cars are easily driven to 200K miles with a couple of tune-ups and normal maintenance. The cars of the last five years are starting to beat out the seventies in the "ugly" awards category. I could name the most egregious examples but don't want to offend any current owners. ;)
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Re: 80s car spottings now in SoCal.

Postby 89ARIES » Fri Jun 03, 2011 8:32 pm

Actually, I love the styling of the big 70s cars better than muscle cars, and it makes me sad
I can't find a 70s Pontiac Grand Am 4dr Sedan A Body. But, I have miracously seen 4 1970s Buick
Century-Regal 4dr Bodies in the last 12 months. Only seen ONE 70s Olds Cutlass 4dr. Also, I notice there are way more surviving American cars period before 1973, even a lot of 60s Chryslers. If I had the money, I would
be perfectly content to drive a 1976 Dodge Royal Monaco 4dr Sedan at 10mpg. 8-)
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Re: 80s car spottings now in SoCal.

Postby K-CAR_WAGON » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:05 pm

If you want a Dodge Monaco go with the 1974 police version.
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