http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...ick=pp#slide-1

FWIW some I knew, some I didn't

 

this is really interesting read.

 

Thanks for posting Legend! Great stuff. Unfortunately, I know much of it, and even some of what they posted wasn't entirely truthful. C&D for example, was notorious back in the day for publishing 0-60 times that weren't entire accurate, instead basing their times on "estimates". The GNX was another. Buick didn't have "extra" engines laying around. In fact much of the upgrades were performed by ASC (American Sunroof Corporation) to each individual car (547). The 3.8 engine in the T/A also had a different cylinder head (instead of 8445 casting) because of cramped engine bay.

I thought the 1983 Corvette (or lack of one) was always interesting. Interesting because in the 1983 movie "Scarface", a model year Corvette is actually advertised on a billboard!

 

Cool. I enjoyed reading that.

 

Very cool info! Thanks for the link!

 

Awesome!

 

Interesting read. It's amazing how far along cars have come -- in terms of performance -- since that era.

 

Definitely interesting! Pretty cool about the COPO Camaros. Those things must have been beasts...

 

In safety and emissions too. The old warriors were wonderful, and they definitely had their place, but time and engineering marches on. I'll always have my old warriors, but I love them for what the represented at the time.

 

"So some '78 Firebirds have Hurst T-tops and others have the Fisher units"

 

I'm not an F-body aficionado and thus wondered how turbo V-6 engines ended up in the 20th anniversary Firebirds and whether they were decent engines or not.

I had a buddy with an '84 Camaro with a T-top when it was new... I don't think GM T-top leaks were rare.

 

Two attributes that have contributed to the skyrocketing MSRPs over the years.

 

My father had one of the 1989 20th Anniversary Trans Ams referenced on the last page of that article...got it through my uncle who ran a GM dealership. I still remember my 19th birthday when he let me have it for the day. It's amazing I didn't wreck it...that was way too much car for me back then. Probably still is.

 

Very nice. That's still my favorite T/A to date followed by the WS6.

 

As a kid I used to wonder about the Shelby Mustang taillight's since they looked just a Cougar's.

I never knew about the 429 Boss being reworked by Kar Kraft to fit in the motor.

The 83 Vette was even a mystery to GM workers from what I read, although IIRC officially the first C4 Vette's are considered 1983.5 models by GM.

The GNX also has some amazing legacy from the extremely conservative engine ratings to even using ceramic turbine turbo even before Porsche did for a production car. There are rumors that the Chevy/Corvette management were furious with Buick management over the GNX and it's straight line performance.