QOTD: What Weird Car Are You Always Happy To Find?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy
qotd what weird car are you always happy to find

No, this isn’t one of those “one weird thing” clickbait-style posts. You know us better than that.

This morning, we’re asking about weird cars you enjoy finding in any condition. You know what we mean: the cars that appeal to you (probably only you) when they randomly appear amongst the detritus of life.

Given that lead photo, you know where the majority of my Kryptonite is found.

If it’s found at all, actually. Most of this tat from GM was reduced to fine iron oxide filings ages ago, particularly in the salt-laden environment that I inexplicably choose to call home. We one does appear, it is routinely equipped with a failing exhaust system and a brace of space-saver tires.

For whatever reason, it’s the W-Body in particular that causes me to unholster my smartphone and take a pic. Grand Prix, Cutlass Supreme, these GM10 cars — for whatever reason — still appeal to me in spades. Perhaps it is due to their appearance in my formative years as sedans and coupes aimed at families who appreciated a dose of style. Yes, even today, I do think these things look good – the wraparound rear window of the Olds and narrowed headlights of the Pontiac are two of the features that appeal even in 2019.

Their production numbers and shocking build quality assure they’ll never be concours winners but you can be certain this author’s head is on a swivel when he sees one in traffic. Perhaps these cars are at an age when they’re considered “just an old car” like people surely thought of a mid-60s Dart twenty-five years ago. Now, those mass-produced Dodges show up at car shows on occasion. Perhaps the same will happen for W-Body coupes in the year 2044.

What admittedly terrible car, no matter its condition, are you excited to see?

*edit: I had no idea Phil was writing up a W-Body for this week’s Junkyard Find. Great minds, etc … or minds similarly captured by horrifying examples of automotive dustbins. Same thing.

[Images: GM]

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  • Nrd515 Nrd515 on Sep 12, 2019

    A Plymouth Satellite or Roadrunner from '71 to '74, and the 4 door versions that survived many more years as mostly cop cars.. The first car I bought with my own money was the '74 Roadrunner I ordered in May '74. It's alive and more than well in the Las Vegas area, and I would love to drive it again. I recently was driving my '18 Challenger Scat Pack when I saw a stream of old cars heading towards me. Along with the usual Camaros, Corvettes, A and B-Body Mopars, and Mustangs, there was a mid '70's Satellite Sebring, in a decent darker blue(most every one I've seen recently is in a bad green, frosty blue, or beige), in what looked like showroom condition. I turned around, but got stuck at a couple of lights and couldn't find them again. A friend has seen that car at a couple of local classic car shows and he said it has a 440 and Torqueflite in it, and it looks new inside too. It's only change from stock, other than probably the engine, is it has loud custom dual exhaust on it. I would love to have that car.

  • DweezilSFV DweezilSFV on Sep 12, 2019

    Any FWD 80s GM A, J, N, X, L bodies. So schizo: trimmed like little Caddies and Olds and so many powered by tractor engines [2.0 and Iron Duke/Tech 4]. You can almost hear the disconnect all the way from Detroit. Still.

  • Brett Woods 2023 Corvette base model.
  • Paul Taka Hi, where can I find 1982 Honda prelude junkyards in 50 states
  • Poltergeist Make sure you order the optional Dungdai fire suppression system.
  • Prabirmehta I charge my EV at home 100% of the time. The EV is used for in-town driving and the gas guzzling SUV is used for out of town trips. This results in a huge cost saving and rare trips to the gas station.
  • Conundrum Three cylinder Ford Escapes, Chevy whatever it is that competes, and now the Rogue. Great, ain't it? Toyota'll be next with a de-tuned GR Corolla/Yaris powerplant. It's your life getting better and better, yes indeed. A piston costs money, you know.The Rogue and Altima used to have the zero graviy foam front seats. Comfy, but the new Rogue dumps that advance. Costs money. And that color-co-ordinated gray interior, my, ain't it luvverly? Ten years after they perfected it in the first Versa to appeal to the terminally depressed, it graduates to the Rogue.There's nothing decent to buy on the market for normal money. Not a damn thing interests me at all.
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