Ex Lives On . . .

[jollyjoker]

Out running errands this morning . . . another new Prius drives by. Am I the only one who can't help but wonder if there is some Japanese engineer sitting in a cubicle somewhere in Tokyo, with a poster of a rear 3/4 of a 59 Dodge or 60 Chrysler tacked up on the wall?

 

[Newport 66]

Our neighbors bought a new Prius, their 2nd or third. I wave and give him a thumbs up when I have our dual quad big block Newport parked in the driveway. I thank him for saving gas so I can consume it......

 

[BigblueC]

I was thinking more like the "predator"

On a side note; every time a prius gets close to me I get nervous as those people can't be "car guys" and just don't care about any car/truck. It's evident as all prius' that are just a few years old are beat n' battered.

 

[413]

When i am riding in a classic car I like to look at the people in the other cars to see who is checking it out. The tree hugger drivers rarely look over at the real cars!

And yes they are beat to crap and never get washed either.

 

[ImpJay]

@413
Ever happened to you that a kid points at your car while shouting: "what a car! Nice car! Look!" while either of the parents tries to drag her/him away?

 

[BigblueC]

Ever happened to you that a kid points at your car while shouting: "what a car! Nice car! Look!" while either of the parents tries to drag her/him away?

I had that happen once while driving my grandpaw's '55 Studebaker President. This was 15+ years ago and I still giggle about it now and then. Two little boys spotted us in a parking lot and hit their tongue rev limiter with audible excitement. Mom & dad were just trying to drag them into a restaurant and couldn't care less. But those little boys liked all of that bright work and V8 rumble. I like to think they turned out to be car guys themselves.

 

[PeugFra]

The tree hugger drivers rarely look over at the real cars!

That's probably because they think cars in general are not that important. Tree hugger or not, everybody recognizes a piece of art.

I confess that I am a torn soul. I care a lot for the climate and once in a while I like to drive cars that happen to be gas guzzlers. Depending on the weather I can choose between a car and my bicycle for most of my day-to-day transport needs.

As the weather is really nice down here, the bicycle wins out most of the time. Which in turn is good for my sense of guilt because I guzzled gas. Just have to find an equilibrium.

 

[413]

@413
Ever happened to you that a kid points at your car while shouting: "what a car! Nice car! Look!" while either of the parents tries to drag her/him away?

Yes it did, had my fwd look (1960 Chrysler) out in the driveway and 2 kids on bikes stop in the street, one kid was in a trance looking at it.

This is a dead end street, very quiet. I invited him to come over and put his bike down and check it out. So he did. He couldn’t get over the fins and all the glass! “It looks like an airplane” he says. He was about 10-12 years old and just majorly diggin the car !!

His friend kept saying, come on let’s go we gotta go, blah blah blah. So he left pretty quickly. Never saw them again.

I moved away now, I wonder what that kid is doing now, if he is a car guy with the habit really bad, like us.

 

[CBODY67]

"Gas guzzler" is a relative term, dependent upon the basic point of reference. A hybrid will guzzle gas once the battery power depletes (zero gasoline use) and then the engine starts to run to generate propulsion power (using gasoline).

A 440 6bbl 'Cuda will guzzle gas compared to a 318 Barracuda.

Can't forget the mid-'70s one-ton Duallys, Chevy 454s and Ford 460s, which did good to break 8mph, unloaded, going down hill, with a tail wind. But then they'd "work" as a Prius never can!

Back in the later '90s, I was walking across the lot at work. Almost every car that GM sold back then, with either the Chevy 60-degree V-6 (3.1L, 3.4L single cam) or the Buick 3800 V-6 had an EPA highway rating of 29+mpg (27mpg on the supercharged 3800 Regal GS and Grand Prix GT), which they'd do on a trip. I happened across a new Nissan 2-dr little 4cyl car, with an EPA highway rating of about 23mpg. Where's the gas guzzler there?

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[PeugFra]

"Gas guzzler" is a relative term, dependent upon the basic point of reference.

Absolutely!

My basic point of reference is my European daily driver, that gets me 47 mpg of good old diesel. And downtown I can't even use that car during the winter months, because, being a rather old diesel, it emits too much particulate matter. It is by no means a "clean" diesel.

At which point my gasoline-fired US car steps in, as for now its emissions remain below the accepted PM10 level, with an EPA rating of 16/24 mpg. So that is a gas guzzler to me.

 

[BigblueC]

one-ton Duallys, Chevy 454s and Ford 460s, which did good to break 8mpg, unloaded, going down hill, with a tail wind.

Ain't that the truth. But you didn't have to slow down pulling up a mountain, especially with the EFI trucks. Gear down and keep moving. I kind of miss those old big block trucks....

 

[jollyjoker]

Happy Easter to all!
Interesting where this thread went . . .
My OP was actually directed more at the style and specifically the rear 3/4 view of the car (Prius). Maybe I'm hallucinating, but the Prius really does seem to be sporting a mini set of Exner style tailfins. I see 60 Chrysler the more I look at it. From what we saw in the 50s - early 60s, tailfins really needed a long car to pull it off - think 60 Chrysler vs Dodge Lancer. But then this Prius design comes along and actually gets away with pseudotailfins on a modern design, and a very short car. I just find it very interesting from a design standpoint, and really could see Ex trying it out if he were around today. What do you think . . . ?

 

[PeugFra]

You're absolutely right! Same thing with the Toyota C-HR and some Hondas. Tailfins are making a big comeback. Their horizontal development makes me also think of the Chevrolet's flat tailfins.

At the front gaping grilles, another 50s design feature, are already back. Too many examples to list.

 

[MoPar Maniac]

Ever notice whenever you see a Prius its always going 10-15 over the limit?

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Top gear did a comparison of a Prius being followed by a BMW M3. Prius was driven around the track as hard as it would go which the Bimmer easily kept up, basically spirited driving. The Prius averaged 17/mpg the Bimmer got 19/mpg. How true or scientific it was, I do not know, but it sounds believable.

 

[3C's & a D?]

@413
Ever happened to you that a kid points at your car while shouting: "what a car! Nice car! Look!" while either of the parents tries to drag her/him away?

One of my favourite things is noticing little faces raise up behind the dashboard of oncoming traffic to notice the old car coming their way. The future inspired!