A little spare time to think. Remembering my Chevy Vega..

[Otis]

Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available). I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it
merrily for another full
year. That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble. It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was
ever changed!!!! Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it,
but I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess).
When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper.
Maybe it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

[CEG]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list.  I've seen it a hundred
times.   I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available).  I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it
merrily for another full
year.   That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble.  It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was
ever changed!!!!  Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it,
but I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess).
When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper.
Maybe it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

I never had a Vega, but I've owned several Corvair which is also on
that list. I drove one everyday for 6 years until 2003 when I sold it.
A very good car.

[hls]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy engine...That
thing
went out for most people very quickly.

Now, believe it or not, I have seen Yugos still on the road. Even the worst
automaker allows a good one to slip out occasionally.

[Nate Nagel]

Post by hls

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
engine...That thing
went out for most people very quickly.
Now, believe it or not, I have seen Yugos still on the road. Even the worst
automaker allows a good one to slip out occasionally.

Well, seeing as a Yugo is basically a reheated FIAT, they theoretically
can be made more reliable by replacing all the broken mechanical bits
with FIAT bits.

Now whether they figured out rustproofing or not, I don't know - I
haven't seen a Yugo in years. I don't remember seeing one old enough to
have rust on it.

It's a shame that FIAT didn't fine tune their cars a little better. I
remember a neighbor having one as a little kid and it was a neat little
car and darn near indestructable - I think he eventually passed it on to
his daughter when she went to college (a few years older than I.) Owner
was a car guy though, so undoubtedly salt wasn't allowed to linger on
the body, explaining its unusual longevity.

nate

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by Nate Nagel
Well, seeing as a Yugo is basically a reheated FIAT, they theoretically
can be made more reliable by replacing all the broken mechanical bits
with FIAT bits.

Wait... wait.... say that again...
you replace parts _with_ Fiat parts and it becomes more reliable.

This implies that the original parts are actually _less_ reliable than
Fiat parts. Is such a thing actually possible?

Post by Nate Nagel
Now whether they figured out rustproofing or not, I don't know - I
haven't seen a Yugo in years. I don't remember seeing one old enough to
have rust on it.

I see one every once in a while on Rt. 64. It's tiny and yellow, and has
a huge man with a walrus moustache driving it.

Post by Nate Nagel
It's a shame that FIAT didn't fine tune their cars a little better. I
remember a neighbor having one as a little kid and it was a neat little
car and darn near indestructable - I think he eventually passed it on to
his daughter when she went to college (a few years older than I.) Owner
was a car guy though, so undoubtedly salt wasn't allowed to linger on
the body, explaining its unusual longevity.

Okay.... I have to understand this. You're saying somehow that someone
has made a car which is _less reliable than a Fiat_?
--scott

[Tegger]

Post by hls
.

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it
a hundred times. I feel I should put in a good word for the little
car.

That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
engine...That thing went out for most people very quickly.

Anybody ever read the Wiki page on the Vega? It's a pretty good read.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega>

Maybe I'm weird, but I always thought the Vega was a good-looking car. But
then I liked the Plymouth Duster as well.

Post by hls
Now, believe it or not, I have seen Yugos still on the road. Even the
worst automaker allows a good one to slip out occasionally.

The Yugo was never sold in Canada, for some odd reason. Around the same
time as the Yugo was being imported to the US, we DID get all manner of
other, highly-unusual, Soviet-bloc machinery.

Off the top of my head:
Lada 1600 (Russian Fiat 124 derivative)
Lada Niva (small Russian SUV)
Dacia (Romanian sedan; looks like a Renault 11, but dumpier)
Skoda (Czech sedan; had rear engine and side-opening hood)
ARO (Romanian 4WD; about the size of a Range Rover, but impossibly crude)

We also got the Hyundai Pony, a truly, truly, awful car.

The Lada 1600 actually drove pretty well. The new example I test-drove had
an impressively precise shifter. The salesman kept yammering on about how
the car's carburetor was "the closest thing you can get to a Weber" without
actually having a Weber, as though that was the vehicle's only selling
point.

I never see ANY of the above anymore, EVER. And I drive a lot.

[Otis]

Post by Tegger

Post by hls
.

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list.  I've seen it
a hundred times.   I feel I should put in a good word for the little
car.

That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
engine...That thing went out for most people very quickly.

Anybody ever read the Wiki page on the Vega? It's a pretty good read.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega>
Maybe I'm weird, but I always thought the Vega was a good-looking car. But
then I liked the Plymouth Duster as well.

My Vega was a sporty bright color, but a plain Jane set of wheels.
One of my friends had a GT which was very cool; a sturdy-looking
and very sporty ride. Another had one of the "Millionth Vegas."

I turned a little green with envy when he got that orange babe.

from http://h-body.org/library/vegabob/vega-history-complete.html

"In May 1973, the Millionth Vega was produced; a bright orange GT
hatchback coupe, with white sport stripes, "Millionth Vega" door
handle
inserts, and power steering. interior featured neutral custom vinyl,
including exclusive vinyl door panels, and orange accent color
carpeting.

"-A limited edition "Millionth Vega" option-ZM5 was offered..one per
dealer."

Another buddy of mine got one of the "Spirit of America" models.
It was flashier than mine, but couldn't hold a candle to the GT
models.
This one ended up sitting in the carport of his parents' house till
just
recently!

[Nate Nagel]

Post by Tegger

Post by hls
.

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it
a hundred times. I feel I should put in a good word for the little
car.

That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
engine...That thing went out for most people very quickly.

Anybody ever read the Wiki page on the Vega? It's a pretty good read.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega>
Maybe I'm weird, but I always thought the Vega was a good-looking car. But
then I liked the Plymouth Duster as well.

I'm with ya there. sure wouldn't mind having either a Duster 340 or a
Cosworth Vega. nothing wrong with the styling of either car.
(actually, there's very little wrong with any duster, even the humble
Slant Six models.)

nate

[Ashton Crusher]

On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:46:20 -0700 (PDT), Otis

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available). I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it
merrily for another full
year. That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble. It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was
ever changed!!!! Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it,
but I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess).
When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper.
Maybe it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

Did you live someplace cool/cold? Here in AZ in the heat they were
dropping like flies.

[Otis]

Post by Ashton Crusher
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:46:20 -0700 (PDT), Otis

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list.  I've seen it a hundred
times.   I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available).  I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it
merrily for another full
year.   That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble.  It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was
ever changed!!!!  Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it,
but I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess).
When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper.
Maybe it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

Did you live someplace cool/cold?  Here in AZ in the heat they were
dropping like flies.

GA, not cool at all, but not AZ either. My wife and I once rented a
tiny green econobox at Sky Harbor, and drove to Tucson, then out
to Yuma, on to San Diego, back to Yuma and then back to Phx,
in May. The little car did well, but WE almost dropped.

[Tim Wescott]

Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up, and
the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred times.
I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available). I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it merrily
for another full
year. That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble. It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the oil
was
ever changed!!!! Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it, but
I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess). When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper. Maybe
it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

I still have mine ('71 Kammback), although it's been waiting for over ten
years for it's engine transplant.

Great looking car. Good basic design. Pile-o-crap execution.

If anyone asks you the difference between "inexpensive" and "cheap", just
park a VW Bug next to a Vega and give them a quick tour of the essential
differences.

For that matter, if anyone asks you why GM went down the tubes, just park
a Vega next to something just off the assembly line and start pointing
out the essential similarities...

[SMS]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

I remember my step-father deciding to get a Vega over a VW Beetle. I
think it was in 1972. The Vega lasted two years before it was rusted
beyond repair. I remember reading a joke somewhere that said that it was
actually constructed out of compressed rust.

At least during the two years it lasted there was no engine trouble.

[Stewart]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic
as was available). I then inherited it in late '74 and drove it
merrily for another full
year. That little car was never ONE ounce of trouble. It cruised at
75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was
ever changed!!!! Maybe the car was serviced when my sister had it,
but I know
it wasn't during the time I had it (young and car stupid I guess).
When
I traded it in for my dream car at the time (the dreamy '75 Toyota
Celica GT),
it had about 42k miles on it and still performed like a trooper.
Maybe it
was a rare gem off the assembly line I don't know, but I had three
friends
who also had Vegas and I don't remember any of them being lemons; one
did have notoriously squeally brakes though IIRC.

I've had good luck with 60's Ramblers. '63 Classic, and a
'66....great cars, and the front seat folded down to the rear
seat......perfect.

My brother now has 5 of them, all on good running condition...

'60 Classic (flat head 6), '65 Marlin, '67 Ambassador Convertible
(with an AMC 327), '65 Classic Wagon....hmm, I can't recall the last
one at this senior moment.

[uncle K]

I've had good luck with 60's Ramblers. '63 Classic, and a '66....great
cars, and the front seat folded down to the rear
seat......perfect...................

Bwaaaahaha. Memories. I had a '59 Rumbler, stick 6 ("the only foreign car
made in America"). Having done the "nasty" in the front seat of a Hillman
Minx, which requires great agility, effort and concentration, that instant
bedroom feature was a spectacular upgrade. It was also extremely reliable.
The thing would start before you could let go of the key. Also had a '60
American rag top. Very cute, but a real pile of crap, mechanically. Go
figure.

Regarding Vegas, I once had a girlfriend who drove one with that gawdawful
lime green paint. Had to let her go..........................

;-{

[Stewart]

Post by uncle K

Post by Stewart
I've had good luck with 60's Ramblers. '63 Classic, and a
'66....great cars, and the front seat folded down to the rear
seat......perfect...................

Bwaaaahaha. Memories. I had a '59 Rumbler, stick 6 ("the only
foreign car made in America"). Having done the "nasty" in the front
seat of a Hillman Minx, which requires great agility, effort and
concentration, that instant bedroom feature was a spectacular
upgrade. It was also extremely reliable. The thing would start
before you could let go of the key. Also had a '60 American rag
top. Very cute, but a real pile of crap, mechanically. Go figure.

Anyone that has ever gotten twisted up in the steering column up front
has always appreciated the good sense Ramble had with the fold down
seat design. If they had sold more of them, we might have had another
generation of "baby boomers"...

Post by uncle K
Regarding Vegas, I once had a girlfriend who drove one with that
gawdawful lime green paint. Had to let her
go..........................
;-{

[n***@wt.net]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list.  I've seen it a hundred
times.   I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

A friend of mine had a Vega back in the day, and considering
that he drove the living dog crap out of the thing, I think it held
up ok. I mean he tortured that car, and drove it like it was a
four banger race car. He tortured everything he drove.
His gas pedal had two positions. Idle, and full throttle. :/

I never had one, but I did have a 77 Chevette back in the 80's.
I never had any real trouble with it. It was eventually totaled
when a 16 year old clown decided to smack my drivers side
with his parents Impala. We were out in the country on a
dirt road, and he was playing Dukes of Hazzard. He came
flying around a corner nearly sideways and I left the road
trying to avoid him, but he still smacked me right in my
drivers door. Pushed the door into the left side of the dash.
I had three people in the car and no one was hurt. I was
wearing a belt, and besides having glass in my hair, no
damage. But the car was toast. :(
I also rented new Chevettes back in the day from time to time.
I liked them cuz they sipped gas compared to most of the
stuff out there. I probably got 35 mpg on the road which was
not too bad. But on long trips it could get to you because
there was very little room to move your legs around.
But the hatchback was handy. Back then I always had
killer stereos in cars, and I had home speaker systems
laying in the back. It was fairly kick ass.

[rd]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega
is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
times. I feel I should
put in a good word for the little car.

A friend of mine had a Vega back in the day, and considering
that he drove the living dog crap out of the thing, I think it held
up ok. I mean he tortured that car, and drove it like it was a
four banger race car. He tortured everything he drove.
His gas pedal had two positions. Idle, and full throttle. :/

I think I knew this guy. Did he have red hair?

[Neo]

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list....
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic as was available).  I then inherited it in late '74 and
drove it merrily for another full year.   That little car was never
ONE ounce of trouble.  It cruised at 75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was ever changed!!!!

I drove a 1974 Vega GT (2 dr hatchback coupe) for serveral years.
My mother purchased it new and after 7 years gave it to me -
I drove and cared for it for the next 5 years.

I only did minor updates to the car. I replaced the stock
AM radio to a AM/FM/stereo cassette radio and add
stereo rear speakers.

Being a poor student at the time I tried to do most
of the maintance myself. I changed the oil, oil filter,
air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, points and
condensor, rotate the tires, replace tail lights, replace
the headlights, cleaned the carborator, etc. During
the lifetime of the car, beyond replacing the tires
and battery, I also had to replace the had the shock
absorbers, exhast systems ,the alternator,
the radiator and its hoses. Near the end of its
life I was going to the car junkyard to find
replacement parts to fix it (broken tail lamp
lense). I remember a local auto mechanic,
refusing to repair it - saying that I should get a
replacement car and to put the Vega out of
its misery.


The aluminum cylinder heads and iron/steel engine block
expanded at different rates so it had a tendency to burn oil.
Unlike the Toyota Corolla or the Honda Civic, the Chevy Vega
was very heavy and it had weak engine. The sluggish automatic
further handicapped acceleration when using the stock 4 cylinder.
The car intially got about 24 mpg but as it grew older it got about
21 mpg.(combined highway and city driving). The interior
did not age well. Near the end of the car's life, The back of
the driver's seat became warped.


The Chevy Vega was the first car that GM used an all automated
robotic assembly line; unfortunately, the robotic spot welding
was rough and as the car got older and the paint job started to
fail one could see where Chevy had used body puddy to cover
up flawed welding. The Vega started to rust from the inside
out behind the front wheel wells fenders and along the flawed
welding points about the 7th year despite all the efforts to keep
it clean and dry.

[Otis]

Post by Neo

Post by Otis
Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list....
My sister got a new Vega in early 1973 (a stripped-down one at that,
about as basic as was available).  I then inherited it in late '74 and
drove it merrily for another full year.   That little car was never
ONE ounce of trouble.  It cruised at 75 mph like
a charm, never burped or coughed, and I actually don't know that the
oil was ever changed!!!!

I drove a 1974 Vega GT (2 dr hatchback coupe) for serveral years.
My mother purchased it new and after 7 years gave it to me -
I drove and cared for it for the next 5 years.
I only did minor updates to the car. I replaced the stock
AM radio to a  AM/FM/stereo cassette radio and add
stereo rear speakers.
Being a poor student  at the time I tried  to do most
of the maintance myself. I changed the oil, oil filter,
air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, points and
condensor, rotate the tires, replace tail lights, replace
the headlights,  cleaned the carborator, etc.  During
the lifetime of the car, beyond replacing the tires
and battery, I also had to replace the had the shock
absorbers, exhast systems ,the alternator,
the radiator and its hoses.  Near the end of its
life I was going to the car junkyard to find
replacement parts to fix it (broken tail lamp
lense).   I  remember a local auto mechanic,
refusing to  repair it - saying that I should get a
replacement car and to put  the Vega out of
its misery.

But sounds like you got your money's worth! I've got a
'90 Mazda--no working heater or AC and it was "totaled"
3½ years ago when a woman ran a stop sign and slammed
into its rear door....repair cost exceeded market value, hence
totaled. It still drives great, and believe it or not, I still wash
and WAX it, just wax over that nice body damage! The car
looks about two years old under the hood. The machine
has character.:)