Best Big 3 Land Yacht

[billslark]

1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1961 Chrysler 300 letter cars, Not any better full sized cars ever built for style and performance. Love those fins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.



Bill

[8E45E]

When our 3 boys were teenagers, one of these was our family car:

We hauled a lot of kids, bicycles, and related items in that '71 Caddy Fleetwood 75! We also had a Mercury Colony Park station wagon, but the Caddy was a lot more fun. Used funeral car, jump seats, low mileage, well maintained. <G>

I've always preferred the earlier Fleetwood 75's over the '71 & later models. This '66 8-passenger sedan shows up regularly at the Friday night show'n'shine in the summer months:



Craig

[Noxnabaker]

About stretched Cadillacs; when Mowitz was just born we were looking for a wagon & the cheapest / best condition & such we found & bought was a -81 Cadillac ex hearse that was already changed & used as a family transport, & with 2 relatively big dogs & all that goes with a baby it was beautifull!
& on the highway... FAST!
But the 70's & 80's cars rust more than anything else here so it had its bubbles.

[Gunslinger]

In the late '70s and into the '80s, in an attempt to keep costs down after struggling to meet CAFE, emissions and safety requirements, GM didn't add any type of rustproofing to any car. That's why they rusted so quickly and you don't see as many now as from other time periods.

[studegary]

RE: Craig's post no.62 (referenced the post in order not to repeat the pictures)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer the '71-'72 over the '65-'66.

I drove stretched Cadillac limousines, much bigger than the pictured factory models, for tens of thousands of miles over nine years, so I am familiar with them. My favorite was an '89 with a '93 second. The '90 had the most power, but was not good otherwise. I have driven them only a few miles, like for a wedding or funeral, up to round trips to Atlantic City or RI (hundreds of miles in the day).

What I noticed on the picture that Craig posted ('66), is that the owner was lazy in cleaning his rear whitewalls. He did not rotate the tires, remove the fender skirts or elevate the car in order to clean the entire whitewall.

[Blue 15G]

For styling in that era, it is hard to beat a 1955 or 1956 DeSoto --- well maybe a '56-'57 Golden Hawk is close. For both quality and looks, I like mid-1960s Chrysler products and AMC Ambassadors.

Agree 100% on the '55 DeSoto. I got my Uncle's '55 from him when he bought a new Chrysler Newport in '73. The DeSoto was a 4 door Firedome, 291 Hemi, Powerflite automatic, power steering but no power brakes. The best way I can describe the car is that getting into it and driving it was like putting on your favorite coat or jacket. It was like you were wearing the car instead of driving it. The car was extremely comfortable. Good ergonomics, driving position, ride and handling, room, styling...I loved that car. The only drawbacks were that the brakes weren't the best (Chrysler enlarged them in '56) and the gas mileage was practically nil.

[t walgamuth]

In the late '70s and into the '80s, in an attempt to keep costs down after struggling to meet CAFE, emissions and safety requirements, GM didn't add any type of rustproofing to any car. That's why they rusted so quickly and you don't see as many now as from other time periods.

Apparently they did not even paint theinside of some body parts. I remember my buddy had a 75(?) Blazer which rusted the tailgate out almost before he got it home. I heard of trucks that rused out while sitting on the dealer's lot prior to sale. I never heard it blamed on CAFE before.

[Gunslinger]

I'm not blaming CAFE in and of itself...it was the enormous costs of meeting CAFE, safety and emissions requirements...the costs were cumulative. GM's response to mitigating those costs was to make the business decision to forgo rustproofing to reduce costs or the price rises would have made them uncompetitive in the market. Whether that was a good decision is open to debate but they made it.

[556063]

As recently as ten years ago, people that ran Demolition Derbies in this area were aware of and enforced the "No Imperials" ban that had to be implemented to be "Fair".

It will always have my heart, but even though it was at the time "Land Yacht Lite", my 1976 Cordoba was my favorite car. Lasted me 200K miles and only the water pump gasket had to be broken open. Created thirty years of brand loyalty that sadly is destroyed now. B and C Bodies were darn good cars.

[studegary]

As recently as ten years ago, people that ran Demolition Derbies in this area were aware of and enforced the "No Imperials" ban that had to be implemented to be "Fair".

It will always have my heart, but even though it was at the time "Land Yacht Lite", my 1976 Cordoba was my favorite car. Lasted me 200K miles and only the water pump gasket had to be broken open. Created thirty years of brand loyalty that sadly is destroyed now. B and C Bodies were darn good cars.

I agree with you. Just today, I was thinking about cars of different decades that I have owned. The only ones from the 1970s that I liked and were good cars were my 1972 Sebrings, my 1973 Laguna and my 1975 Cordoba.

EDIT: Ones that I left out include my 1971 Camaro, my 1974 Dart Swinger and my 1978 Oldsmobile 88 (others must be blocked from my mind).

EDIT II: I just thought of my 1970 Monte Carlo (just barely in the '70s). It was a good car that I also liked the looks of. I sold it to a guy that I worked with who drove it for many more years.

[Jessie J.]

Out of all the dozens of cars I've owned, my '71 Satellite Sebring Plus was the most outstanding in every aspect. Equipped with the 383 Magnum, Torque-Flite, and 3:23 posi, it was a Road Runner in disguise. Had that part throttle down-shift that was 'right there' responsive and its high speed highway manners were nothing short of amazing. With its 'fuselage' profile it was like flying a jet fighter plane, and flying along at 90 was as relaxed as at 40. Put over a 100k miles on it and it was still in immaculate condition. Damn how I miss that car. At a time that I 'had too many vehicles', and in a moment of weakness I gave in and sold it to a sister-in-law. Drinking, she crashed it within a week, got it out of the body shop and crashed it again the next week. I damn near cried. But the tale doesn't end there because -someone- bought the still gleaming carcass from the wrecking yard, and I like to think that it was restored and is still out there somewhere.

[Kurt]

My vote would be 1965 Buick Wildcat. Big car that looks cool and has the 425 nailhead. You rarely see them anymore. I believe they were considered the “bankers hot rod”

[Packard53]

The best land cruiser that I owned was a 1966 4 door Chevy Caprice equipped with a 396 cid 325 hp engine with a three speed automatic. The car had a top end of over 120 mph. I found that out when racing a Buick GS on interstate 80 here in Penna.

John S.

[studegary]

Out of all the dozens of cars I've owned, my '71 Satellite Sebring Plus was the most outstanding in every aspect. Equipped with the 383 Magnum, Torque-Flite, and 3:23 posi, it was a Road Runner in disguise. Had that part throttle down-shift that was 'right there' responsive and its high speed highway manners were nothing short of amazing. With its 'fuselage' profile it was like flying a jet fighter plane, and flying along at 90 was as relaxed as at 40. Put over a 100k miles on it and it was still in immaculate condition. Damn how I miss that car. At a time that I 'had too many vehicles', and in a moment of weakness I gave in and sold it to a sister-in-law. Drinking, she crashed it within a week, got it out of the body shop and crashed it again the next week. I damn near cried. But the tale doesn't end there because -someone- bought the still gleaming carcass from the wrecking yard, and I like to think that it was restored and is still out there somewhere.

I have owned three cars of that series/body style, but they were all 1972s. One that was my everyday car for many years was a Satellite Sebring with a 318. I also had a Satellite Sebring Plus with a 318 for awhile. Then I had a Road Runner GTX with a 440 and two window stickers to accommodate all of the options.
I also had 1973 Satellite Sebrings. One was a 318 and the other was a Plus with a 400. Neither was as nice looking or as good a runner as the 1972s due to government requirements.

[8E45E]

I also had 1973 Satellite Sebrings. One was a 318 and the other was a Plus with a 400. Neither was as nice looking or as good a runner as the 1972s due to government requirements.

With very few exceptions, that was true with the North American market 1973 offerings.

The 1973 Grand Am, Laguna, Corvette, and the F-body GM's so equipped proved those ghastly 5-mph bumpers that stood out like a sore thumb at each end other 1973 model year cars could be effectively hidden. If I was into third-generation 1973-77 A-body GM's, the 1973 Grand Am (and only 1973) would be my pick.

Craig