Best Big 3 Land Yacht

[studegary]

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

I agree. One that I did mention here earlier was my 1973 Laguna. I thought that it looked nice, especially for a 1973. I sold it to another Avanti guy for his daughter's use. Years later, I heard that she still had it.

[Jessie J.]

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.

My '71 Satellite was Dark Gold, with the color matching Endura bumper. Almost no chrome other than the window and wheel housing trim.
I have never seen another one exactly like it, not even in pictures. It was one sleek ride from end to end, had about a dozen guys make offers on it, a couple even seriously approached me wanting to swap their 3 and 4 model year newer, new cars for it even up. Only car I have ever owned that for years elicited that kind of 'want it' enthusiasm. And that's saying something as I owned a '69 Camaro SS 396 and a '70 Cougar Eliminator SCJ 428 Drag Pac, as well as several other highly desirable performance vehicles. Now wish I had let it go to someone who would have appreciated and treated it better than sister-in-law.

[jnormanh]

My everyday driver is a '96 Fleetwood that I bought used many years ago. It had been garaged all it's life and had 36K miles. The original owner advertised it for a month. I was the only looker. Paid 25% of it's original sticker.

GM LT1 engine. Switch the traction control off, and it will boil the rear tires for a city block.

20+ MPG on the Interstate. Around town...don't ask.

It will haul four people in luxury and comfort, even six. And the trunk will swallow all the luggage you care to haul.

It's been entirely reliable, and parts are generic GM, available everywhere, cheap.

Best car buy I ever made.

[studegary]

My everyday driver is a '96 Fleetwood that I bought used many years ago. It had been garaged all it's life and had 36K miles. The original owner advertised it for a month. I was the only looker. Paid 25% of it's original sticker.

GM LT1 engine. Switch the traction control off, and it will boil the rear tires for a city block.

20+ MPG on the Interstate. Around town...don't ask.

It will haul four people in luxury and comfort, even six. And the trunk will swallow all the luggage you care to haul.

It's been entirely reliable, and parts are generic GM, available everywhere, cheap.

Best car buy I ever made.

The livery company that I worked for had stretched limousines made out of that style of Fleetwood. They were nice to drive, held up well, were comfortable and got reasonable highway mileage. One problem with them that comes to mind is that they had a propensity of locking the doors on their own. Late one night I was locked out in a customer's driveway. The local police could not get a door open. A manager had to come from his home to the livery office, pick up a spare key and bring it to me. He didn't seem mad and then I found out that the same thing had happened to him and other chauffeurs. After that, I disassembled the fob from the keys when I went to use the car. That way, I had a quick way in when the car decided to lock its doors.

[JRoberts]

I saw the Charger II show car at the World's Fair. I kept pestering dealers because I figured that all that they had to do was lop off some of the rear and they would have a production car. I took delivery of the first one in this area. I kept it nine years and 150K miles. It was a great car, but I would not consider it to be a "Land Yacht", the subject of this thread. I saw a '66-'67 Charger in the staging area at the current Mecum Auction, but I did not see it sold. Also, in the time that I have watched the auction over the past three days, I have not seen any Studebakers.

The closest that I came to owning your other two was a 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe and a 1962 Pontiac Catalina Ventura hardtop coupe.

Why would the '58 Imperial, the '66 Charger and the '61 Pontiac bubble to not meet subject of this thread? Many cars mentioned here are about the same size. As these three, but not all look as good (In my opinion of course) as they do.

[t walgamuth]

The livery company that I worked for had stretched limousines made out of that style of Fleetwood. They were nice to drive, held up well, were comfortable and got reasonable highway mileage. One problem with them that comes to mind is that they had a propensity of locking the doors on their own. Late one night I was locked out in a customer's driveway. The local police could not get a door open. A manager had to come from his home to the livery office, pick up a spare key and bring it to me. He didn't seem mad and then I found out that the same thing had happened to him and other chauffeurs. After that, I disassembled the fob from the keys when I went to use the car. That way, I had a quick way in when the car decided to lock its doors.

That is a lovely car. It does look like a Funeral home car but I like those cars.

[8E45E]

That is a lovely car. It does look like a Funeral home car but I like those cars.

If the Fleetwood had retained its build quality and interior opulence from 1966, and refined the chassis & suspension for outright performance and handling, it could have been a contender to Audi's 8-series, BMW's 7-series and Mercedes Benz's S-class. Unfortunately, in the 1970's GM chose volume over exclusivity, and cheapened the Cadillac brand to the point it will never recover.

Craig