In the thirties and forties, GM pioneered and brought to market some of the most innovative, successful and lasting new technologies: diesel-electric locomotives, the modern diesel bus, automatic transmissions, refrigeration and air conditioning systems, high compression engines, independent front suspension, and many more. But GM’s technology prowess was just one facet of its endlessly warring multiple personalities. Planned obsolescence, chrome, fins and financial rationalization were the real moneymakers, especially during the technically conservative fifties. But in the period from 1960 to 1966, GM built three production cars that tried to upend the traditional format: the rear engined 1960 Corvair, the front-wheel drive 1966 Toronado, and the 1961 Tempest. And although the Corvair and Toronado tend to get the bulk of the attention, the Tempest’s format was by far the most enduring one: it was a BMW before BMW built theirs. If only they had stuck with it. (Read More…)
Tagged as balance shafts, BMW, bmw 1500, bmw 1602, bmw neue klasse, buick 215 V8, corvair, GM, independent rear suspension, john delorean, large four cylinder engines, lemans, mercedes, polaris, Pontiac, pontiac 326 V8, porsche 928, porsche 968, powerglide, rear transaxle, rope drive, rover 2000, rover p6, swing axles, tempest, tempestorque, toronado, torque tube, wide track
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racebeer - Just like NASC(rap)AR……
sunridge place - @carrya1911 That is not the same thing. The Accord and X5 are also sold in the US along with those exports. My example was for the Chevy Sail...
danio3834 - A Rampage Prospector!? Who knew such a thing existed? Although it’s hard to imagine anyone prospecting anything but a love seat in a Rampage.
racebeer - You missed it by one year … it’s a 1963. Been in the family since new!!!
Junebug - Hey Racebeer, is that a 1964 Dodge Polara?
AFX - How about a bathtub Nash instead ?. I wonder how this one would stack up against the junkyard Metropolitan in a drag race or on a road course ?. Maybe we...
thornmark - It’ll be interesting to see how much Nissan’s KMart blue special sales promotions pump up sales. In the LT being the discount king doen’t...
jz78817 - AIUI crankshaft torsion becomes an issue with longer engines like I6s; timing variations caused by this can make emissions a chore to deal with.
danio3834 - Nissan doesn’t make a RWD V8 car, and that doesn’t stop them from competing.
Luke42 - EVs are also going to be a technology treadmill for a while, so you might actually get some practical benefits by driving a new one. On the other...