I owned a Sable wagon just like that. It was a sweet car except that I made the mistake of going for the 3.8 instead of the 3.0 engine. The 3.8 had a nasty habit of blowing head gaskets at about 40-60k miles. Ford fixed it at no charge but I never felt quite confident to take it on a long trip again.
2 Likes
When I was dating my wife in the late 70s they had a 1979 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser with every option available. That thing was fast and just plain fun to drive.
One of my first cars was a 1974 Chevy Vega wagon with genuine imitation wood grain panels. Paradise by the dashboard light with my girlfriend, who’s been my wife for 37 years, in the way in the back.
That wagon had a bad oil sending unit that would leak oil and occasionally catch on fire from all the oil that leaked. We used beer a few times to put out the fire.
And speaking of a hearse, I was an altar boy in the 70s, I’ve riden in many hearses with and without a box but always with a priest. Volunteering for funeral masses was a great way to get out of class in grade school.
3 Likes
Wow, IIRC we had a Town & Country that caught fire once when I was riding with my mom. Luckily, we were on a fairly populous street, and were able to get some help. I was only four or five, but man, what excitement!
1 Like
That’s what I was thinking, why would you convert a coupe and not a sedan. A wagon is a family type vehicle, those passenger doors are vital!
2 Likes
That car immediately looks wrong to me. You can tell it was a coupé before it was a station wagon (UK: “Estate Car”). How so? Because the axles are in the wrong place for its current incarnation (hey, see what I did there?). If anything heavy goes in the back, that car looks like it’s going to tip up. Of course, it may well have a really heavy engine. I admit, I’m not a petrolhead.
2 Likes
I had friends in uni who wanted to do a road trip across Canada. They discussed their needs:
- Comfortable to drive long distances.
- Room for four, preferably with a passenger napping.
They found they could get used hearses for fairly cheap. They could close the curtains in the back and it was super-comfortable to sleep in.
As an added bonus, with the curtains closed tailgaters could be shooed away by the surprise appearance of an Oscar the Grouch puppet.
1 Like
10 Likes
A friend hat the Taurus wagon (same thing as the sable, really) and it seemed like a pretty well thought out vehicle. And he got a deal because it was a stickshift.
1 Like
I think you’re underestimating the overall mass of that brontosaurus. You’re looking at a car that weighs 5,000 pounds; the Cadillac 500 ci engine alone is 600 pounds. Everything you see there is steel, steel, and more steel.
Sure, it’s not designed to tow a heavy trailer. But you could pile a half dozen bodies in the trunk and the headlights would barely point up.
4 Likes
I’d rather have a Buick Roadmaster.
1 Like
Sounds practical. The only other car I’d been in that had space enough to lie down was my first car, a Mercury Monterey.
2 Likes
Although, when I say dream hearse…
8 Likes
This was my favourite place to see Harold and Maude (but anywhere is good). A tiny (4 or 5 seat row) theatre that has shown Harold and Maude once a week since 1975.
2 Likes
Now I want to go listen to some Cat Stevens…
4 Likes
Saw it at the Cinema (see below) first (& a couple of times). 30 minutes walk from where I life.
Also saw the first Star Wars here when it came out. Strictly speaking a bit too young per the FSK rating, but my dad took me. (“What? No, he’s old enough. He just looks younger.” (Still true for both of us. Around the time he retired he sometimes had to show ID to prove he was old enough to qualify for old age discounts.))
Also, Bladerunner. Art house cinema or not, they had the first 70mm projector and the sound system to go with it for miles and miles around, and the only one for years.
Film trivia fun fact: Tom Tykwer had an after school job there for a while as protectionist and general assistant. Which enabled him to see lots of movies. Including those he would have been too young to watch as a paying customer. He probably sold me tickets and pretzels at some point.
Cinema Wuppertal
Berliner Str. 88, 42275 Wuppertal, Germany
+49 202 2604310 Cinema Wuppertal - Google Search
(Pictures fished from the 'net. I really should put on my tourist hat and take some good pictures from my surroundings from time to time.)
4 Likes
Are we related? I was carded often when drinking well into my 30s. I guess I could expect being carded for elder discounts next year as well.
Probably much better than being able to claim Tarnatino rented you video cassettes…
3 Likes
Hmm, obviously done before the prices on E-types went north of six figures.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
