Pop quiz

Corvair?  Sounds like a mid-engine/rear engine design

Corvair was a rear engine car 

Ah... My Cousin Vinny is yelling 'Tempest!'  Just guessing some era transaxle cars

Corvette?

I think you are right about the Tempest.

Bill

The Tempest Engine had 195 cubic inch engine straight 4 very advanced for the day 

the Corvair was Chevrolets attempt to compete for the compact car market. The Ralph Nader special he hated that car.

my first car at 18 was a 58 dark blue Plymouth Fury with a 350 cubic inc engine called Golden Commando 5.7 with dual quad carburetors it had push a

button transmission. it must have weighed 3 tons 

Is this you?  LOL

John3M

The Tempest Engine had 195 cubic inch engine straight 4 very advanced for the day 

the Corvair was Chevrolets attempt to compete for the compact car market. The Ralph Nader special he hated that car.

my first car at 18 was a 58 dark blue Plymouth Fury with a 350 cubic inc engine called Golden Commando 5.7 with dual quad carburetors it had push a

button transmission. it must have weighed 3 tons 

 

Bill

Yup but mine was more obedient 

Ha-ha, I also immediately thought about "My Cousin Vinnie".  Marisa Tomei rocked in that movie.

What I find interesting is we all pretty much saw the film but whats interesting is you never know whats under the hood when we see just a basic car or something that looks ordinary. And the Tempest was unusual or odd makes me wonder what else im not seeing.  so now onward to other different oddities. Does anyone remember the first front wheel drive American car they were pretty cool. Not like todays basic soccer mobile.

Not sure about the first FWD American made car and I don't want to cheat and google it.  First car in America I saw/drove that was FWD was Renault Le Car (clearly not American).

BTW ever check this out for fun?  Especially if you're watching a movie and see something and say hey what was that?  https://www.imcdb.org/

  I think it was the K car, mid 80s, kinda ugly, grossly underpowered and sold at K-Mart...well at least one in Coeur d' Alene Idaho. Although Cadillac had a front wheel drive land yacht in the 70s.

That's right!  I think my moms Buick Skylark was front wheel drive now that you mention it.  Must have been before 82 since she had it before I graduated.

The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury carmanufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobiledivision of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, making it the first U.S.-produced front-wheel driveautomobile since the demise of the Cord 810/812 in 1937.

Monster power on that front wheel drive for the day

Torque: 1966–67 – 475 lb⋅ft 

Image the torque steer!

I also remember the Toronado as being the first front wheel drive car in the U.S..  I wasn't aware of the Cord having front wheel drive.  My first front wheel drive vehicle was a brand new 1979 Toyota Corolla Tercel.  Got it right out of high school.

The early Pontiac with the Transaxle setup!

When I met my wife at Little Rock A.F.B. in 1976 she was driving a 1972 Honda Coupe.  It was equipped with a 600CC motorcycle engine mounted sidewise at the front wheels.  She drove that little crazy thing all the way from Westr Palm Beach, FL.  When I first saw it I wasn't even sure it was a car.  Some of the other aircraft mechanics she worked with liked to pick it up and put it places.  They would put it sidewise on ramps going into flightline buildings and I saw it once in a while with its headlights sticking out the back of a step van or a pickup truck as it went by a line of C-130s.

Since it wasn't covered by any reg. I knew of and was not doing any harm I would just let it go by and not pull them over.  It always seemed to happen on the days I didn't have my camera with me.