Well, it took an extra day due to a freak snowstorm in Ohio, but we made it. I’m writing this from the living room of my new house. I’m sitting on sofa cushions on the floor, but I’m here, and I’ve got two sporty coupes from Chrysler to show you, both named after animals or animal parts.
Brian showed you two big German sedans from the Pacific Northwest yesterday. (And thank you for filling in, sir!) He said he liked them both, and I kind of agree. I didn’t appreciate cars like these when I was younger, but now in my fifties, I can see the appeal of a big, fast, comfortable sedan that can just inhale the miles in front of it effortlessly. By a wide margin, however, you all picked the older and simpler BMW over the more modern Mercedes.
If I had to choose, I think I’d lean the same way. Those mid-1990s BMW designs are just so timeless, and I’m pretty sure this one is from after the cylinder liner problem was solved, so it should be reliable. I’d be happy to drive the big red Benz, but I’d rather own the green BMW.
Brian found his choices in the Pacific Northwest, which as regular readers know, has long been one of my favorite hunting grounds for cars. I lived in Portland for sixteen years, and I enjoyed the car-spotting every single day of that time. It’s not really known as a “car town,” but maybe it should be. Oddball vehicles are just part of the scenery, and the classifieds never disappoint. Take these two, for instance. When was the last time you saw one where you live?
1965 Plymouth Barracuda – $6,800
Engine/drivetrain: 318 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 230,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives but “shifts weird”
The celebrated Ford Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964, and is considered the first car of its kind, the so-called “pony car.” Pedantic Chrysler fans, however, will point out every chance they get that the Plymouth Barracuda, which was to the Valiant what the Mustang was to the Ford Falcon, hit showrooms sixteen days earlier, on April 1st. Regardless of which came first, there’s no question which one is a cooler sight these days. You still see early Mustangs all the time, but seeing a first-generation Barracuda is a rare treat.
Like the Mustang, the Barracuda was available with either six or eight cylinders. This one has a V8, but it’s not the 273 cubic inch “Commando” V8 it would have originally come with. This is a later 318 V8, bored 0.040 inches over, with high-performance heads, intake, and carb. It’s backed by an A-727 Torqueflite automatic transmission. The engine runs well, and the car is drivable, but the seller says the transmission “shifts weird.” From what I remember, on Torqueflite transmissions, most “weirdness” can be traced back to improper adjustment of the throttle valve cable, so fixing it should just be a matter of proper setup.
Inside, it looks just like a Valiant, which is no surprise. Not many Valiants have bucket seats and a floor-mounted shifter, though, and of course, the pushbutton transmission controls were gone by ’65. The interior of this one needs some help. The driver’s seat is trashed, the passenger’s seat is “disassembled,” and the dash top has two giant cracks in it. In other words, don’t take this car on a first date until you’ve done some work.
The Barracuda’s most distinctive design feature is that huge rear window, which thankfully is intact on this one. I don’t even want to think about what replacing that would cost – if you could even get a replacement. The paint is black primer from a spray can, and it does have a little rust here and there, but damn if this thing doesn’t have presence.
1992 Eagle Talon TSi AWD – $6,850
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, AWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 65,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, but check engine light is on
A couple of decades later, on the other side of the bleakest era of automotive design and performance in history, Chrysler teamed up with its Japanese partner Mitsubishi to create a sporty coupe sold by both companies. Mitsubishi’s version was the Eclipse, and Chrysler gave a version to two of its divisions: former performance heavyweight turned peddler of old-person cars, Plymouth, and newly minted catchall division Eagle. Eagle’s version was called the Talon, and the top of the range was this turbocharged, all-wheel-drive TSi model.
Cheap, fast cars often lead brutal lives, and this Talon seems to be no exception. It has covered a scant 65,000 miles in its thirty-four years, owing partially to the fact that it spent fifteen of those years sitting around with a blown head gasket. It runs fine now, after a bunch of work including a resurfaced head, a new head gasket, and all the trimmings. The seller says it runs nice and cool, and makes good oil pressure. Something is still amiss, or possibly just left unplugged, however, because its check-engine light is on. This car predates modern OBDII diagnostic codes, so you’ll have to figure out the reason for the light some other way – via a different scanner, or sometimes by performing some ritual with the ignition key and counting how many times the check-engine light blinks. (Was that three blinks, or four? Crap, better do it again.)
Because of its long slumber and subsequent low mileage, it’s in a lot better shape inside than many Eclipses and Talons. Unfortunately, since it’s a first-generation car, you’ll have to put up with motorized shoulder harnesses, but you also get an ergonomic interior with a really nice driving position and a great gearshift. I’ve driven a few of these things over the years, and really enjoyed them – apart from the idiotic seat belts.
It needs paint – apparently, its Rip Van Winkle years were spent outdoors. The clearcoat is shot. But it looks straight and rust-free, and some faded paint won’t make it any less fun to drive, just less fun to show off. But there are so few first-generation Eagle Talons left these days that you’ll probably be a hit at Cars & Coffee even with the bad paint.
I don’t imagine there’s a lot of crossover in the fandoms of these two cars, but you can put me solidly in both camps. Either one would be a lot of fun to own, just in different ways. So I’ll leave the choice up to you: Do you want your fun from a crude, rumbly V8 throwback, or from a sleek, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive rocket?
I prefer the transmission in the Talon, but I went with the ‘Cuda for sentimental reasons. When I was a kid, my best friend’s mom had one. I don’t know why why, but my friend and I liked to ride around in the cargo area under that giant backlight, baking under the glass like a couple of ants caught by an antisocial eight-year-old with a magnifying glass. I still marvel at my childhood tolerance for discomfort and boomer parents’ disregard for safety.
I’ll take the Barracuda for reasons of nostalgia – one of these was my newly licensed mother’s first car when I was about 8yo. It was brown, had the slant six, and threw a rod after a few months. My stepfather was driving it because Mom had managed to crash his brand-new Grand Prix through the back of the garage and into a tree (while pregnant with my brother, which explains much). Barracuda replaced by a ropey early 70s 911 that she kept on the road for nearly a decade. The Poncho was repaired and driven forever too. And he had a long commute so the thing racked up some serious miles, like 300K+.
Pre-OBDII diagnosis is utterly wretched, and once 34 year old electronics start going things just get more annoying. I am probably just whining but I’m going with the Barracuda that I can fix with a wrench and a paperclip.
As much as I like that Barracuda, the manual shifter and low mileage make that Talon a better deal. Were the Plymouth cheaper, allowing more budget to sort out issues, it’d be a tougher call.
I just voted (for the Talon) and was surprised to see it was even that close. The Barracuda has that frightening aforementioned rear window and a crack in the windshield. And I’ve driven a couple of vehicles with 318s teamed up with a three-speed TorqueFlite and am not really a fan.
The paint and the motorized shoulder belts in the Talon are unfortunate, but still, with AWD and a stick, it’s an easy choice today.
As a Gen-X Pacific Northwest mossback, I can NOT resist that Barracuda. The Puddle Cutters and Movie Madness stickers on the dash sold me, but now I have “Barracuda” by PNW heroes Heart rinning through my head, and I just noticed a sticker from a Mopar junkyard that’s like 15 miles from me.
It actually should be driven by a snarly goth-y rockabilly gal though.
LOVE the Heart reference! I’ve been a PNWer (Tacoma) since 1994 with a 6-year exile in SE Texas. So happy to be back (since late 2022). I liked Heart long before moving here from N CA by way of Rochester, NY and Cleveland, OH. Heck, I was a sophomore in high school when they formed. The Talon would have been a lot of fun back East.
So many roads lead here!
It’s a nice area to be led to. It’s been an interesting trip.
I miss Movie Madness. And the sort of Portland women who would drive that car.
That’s one rare Eagle. Going with it today because the chances of seeing another where roached clearcoat is the biggest current issue are about the same as winning the lottery. It’s frankly a steal at that price.
I voted Barracuda. It has a theme song! In reality I might be the weirdo who would look at both of these. Probably best I’m on the opposite coast.
The Barracuda is really cool, but I’m going with the Talon. I had a ’90 Tsi AWD and loved that car. I bought it right after they were introduced (yeah, not a good idea) and had tons of fun with it. Only car I’ve ever driven that had kids giving me a thumbs up when I drove by. It definitely wasn’t the most reliable thing ever, requiring a number of expensive repairs over the eight years I drove it, but this one’s had a lot of that stuff done recently, so there’s a good chance it has plenty of miles to go before something goes very wrong. Only AWD car I’ve owned, and I’ve never had so much fun driving in the rain.
Talon. I didn’t even have to look beyond the headline. My first car was a green ’93 Talon ES, and it was such a great car. I drove it for nearly a decade, and didn’t have to do anything worse than the timing belt and clutch. To this day it had the best driving position of any car I’ve ever owned. Nostalgia for first cars, first roadtrips with friends, first girlfriends, etc, can be really strong – but in this case, it’s justified.
Finding a TSi that hasn’t been boy-racered to death is real coup. If I even lived in the same country, I’d be all over this one.
With that said, I like first-gen Barracudas, too. Can we have both?
Talon for me.
I have a tuner friend who got his start on the Eclipse/Talon/Laser cars. Hopefully he remembers them.
Welcome back Mark, this was a really close choice for me. The Plymouth would be a great project to putter away on and have something fun to cruise, but the Talon would be more exciting to drive when it works and today I want something exciting.
For counting “blinks” on an OBD-1 car, pull out your phone and video the dash, just to make sure.
i’m going to assume the Talon is like 100% of all Mitsubishi’s of this era, and maybe all era’s and it smokes.
On another note, when is the last time you saw an early 90’s Montero, Galant, Diamante or Mirage? I think they smoked themselves to death. We had a Montero sport.
Oddly enough – I saw a MINT second Gen Montero just the other day here in God’s Waiting Room, FL! Parked at Target. Oherwise, I can’t remember the last time I saw anything Mitsubishi more than a few years old, though there are myriad current Mirages toddling around here as Grannie’s last ride.
I also recently saw a MINT Ford Windstar of all things. Has to be about the last one left on the road. But you do see oddball stuff around here owned by old people for decades. Like the ’01 Camry V6 I bought for my mother that had 40K on it at 20 years old. Of course, that car would likely have been her last ride if it hadn’t drowned in a hurricane. I respected it as much as I hated driving it.
I had a Mitsubishi Galant sedan as a rental on business in San Diego, gosh, 12 years ago? It wasn’t awful. But it wasn’t an Accord or Camry or even an Impala of the same era either. I owned a 2001 Jetta TDI back then, and although it was roomier, it didn’t have the ride/handling balance of the Jetta. And I appreciate the balance of my ’17 Accord. I know. Boring car. Blah, blah, blah.
At this point in life, I just want something that will reliably start whenever I need it to. The Accord has a decent ride and handling that exceeds what I need almost every trip. It had to do some amazing things avoiding crazies in Texas. And was always up to the task. And if worst had come to worst, probably would have done a decent job protecting this meat bag/water balloon. Going off to the side from a 75-mph two-lane to avoid a head-on, over the rumble strips, off over the shoulder and onto wet grass. ABS working like mad. It just handled it with aplomb.
I hit a massive pothole on I-5 making (at ~70) this last trip down (same car) and the tire, wheel and alignment all seem to have survived unbothered. I hit a curb coming out of a roundabout in Australia in a 2011 Hyundai I45 (Sonata in the US) and it seemed to have similarly shrugged it off. I was impressed by both.
I don’t think the Bavaria I owned in the early 80s would have fared so well. My first car, a Datsun 510, definitely didn’t. The Peugeot 504 I had after that was up to the challenge. The Saab 9000T never got tested. The rest of the vehicles along the way were trucks or company cars. The Toyota pickup and Jeep GC rusted underneath like I couldn’t believe, but that was in the salt belt.
I try not to be mean to cars, but sometimes, stuff happens. Whether it’s my fault or someone else’s.
I had a much earlier Gallant as a rental for a trip from Denver to SE Wyoming 20-odd years ago. It was actually a lot of fun, if not something I ever would have bought. Did 110 comfortably across the nothingness. I was younger and dumber then.
Accords are fine. I just don’t particularly like how they feel. The Honda V6 is a gem – so are their fours just not my idea of a good time. I prefer my engines with actual torque such that you don’t have to rev the nuts off them to make progress. The V6 accomplishes that as well as any other V6 does. But overall, I would rather have an inline 6 (sounds better and smoother) or a good turbo 4 (more efficient). All modern cars are more than safe enough, and the better ones have been for 30+ years now. My BMWs and Mercedes all start every time too…
504s are up to Africa, nothing in the US phases them but the tinworm and American mechanics!
I had the 504 in N Cal, so not tinworm country. It turned out that the previous owner had picked it up (in US spec) from the factory, driven it around Europe for a month with his family and then it got shipped over.
He was an art professor at UC Davis. One of the family members turned out to be a girl a year older than me in high school and who I had a crush on because of her brain.
She and her best friend (a beautiful Jewish girl) and I were all in the same advanced algebra math class in HS. I actually had crushes on both of them. They both were so fun to converse with. I wonder where they are now. I think they just humored me because I was a year younger. I never asked either one out, because I wasn’t into dating. I didn’t really have the money to do that then. And they were a year ahead of me. But they weren’t “mean girls.” Unlike some of the people from high school, I remember both of their names.
On the rare occasion when the Peugeot needed something I felt would be over my head, there was a French couple that ran a garage about 10 miles away. And it was so fun to just hang out there while he tinkered around. Their conversation would go from to French to English and back. And I had had three years of HS French by then. So, I spoke or understood French like a three-year-old. Maybe a six-year-old. It was pretty amusing. And they loved it when I asked for something in my limited French. They would laugh and then reply in very good English so the meaning would not be lost.
Kind of like when I ordered lunch at a Burger King in Quebec City. It was “trust me, it’s easier if we do it in English.” I developed a similar level of Spanish doing work in LATAM. I would have to think, okay, how would I say this in French and then lateral over to what little Spanish I knew and then hope for the best.
My 504D sedan came from Palm Springs and was 100% rust free, but also about paint-free when I bought it. Had it repainted in Maine. They absolutely dissolved in New England. Expertise wasn’t TOO hard to come by in Maine, because Maine probably had the highest concentration of dealers per capita in the US, having not one, not two, but THREE Peugeot dealers back in the day. The mind boggles. But I did all the work on it myself, it never needed much of anything, was very reliable. Also had the COLDEST air conditioning of any car I have ever owned – an underdash aftermarket Frigidaire unit. Makes sense given it came from the desert.
You sure it wasn’t OTHER parts of her anatomy you were infatuated with as a teen? 🙂 Though I too prefer brains over beauty as a rule. And my partners had best be the same, because I have the looks for radio on a good day.
I can get my point across in French sometimes, and I know a little Hungarian as well, having spent some time there. Thankfully, English is fairly universal.
Still a bit prone to infatuation! I would say that I last fell into that trap back in 2014.
The art professor’s daughter was pretty enough, back in 1974. Neither were particularly curvy. Her friend was drop dead gorgeous. And also, smart. And her eyes!
And I was not a huge catch in the day. Still questionable, physically. Not obese, but never ever ripped abs and all that stuff. Mentally, and socially, I think I am still not a bad catch.
It’s really the mental compatibility now. And I was lucky to have a couple of wives that were kind of close. My son’s mother was great. And we got him successfully launched. Despite the divorce in his mid-teens. And through that, I managed to teach him how to parallel park and not freak out when the ABS made the brake pedal vibrate. He passed his drivers’ test on the first try.
He’s doing well as an attorney in Milwaukee. He and his also attorney wife have a nice home, a cute dog and a baby on the way. I can’t wait to see them.
You done good! Enjoy the grandbaby. I hear they are fun to wind up and give back to their parents. 🙂
Ha! I hear my maternal grandfather was good at that. He would take us out to see or do something stimulating and then give us (me and my brother) ice cream at the end. And then the hand off. “Here you go!”
I made it my mission in life that when my nephew was little I would hop him up on as much sugar as humanly possible, and buy him the loudest toys possible, then give him back to my brother.
Revenge is sweet!
Ha! My brother gave me a black eye once, in junior high, but I never had to take care of his kids when they were young and excitable.
In high school we went from a big house in the burbs and having our own bedrooms to a house half its size on 20 acres, sharing a bedroom and having to milk dairy goats twice a day. And then drinking that on our cereal. I was happy to go off to college.
Now, in our late 60s, we are totally aligned on taking care of our 89-year-old mom who has dementia.
My brother is 9yr younger than I am, and not the greatest human being then or now. Though he is trying to make some amends with our mother of late. Who thankfully is 78 going on 17, and living her Golden Girls best life across town from me here in Florida. She followed me down after I moved. Came to visit me the first winter, was supposed to be for two weeks but she stayed for four months, and that was the end of her desire to live in Maine. Somehow, I didn’t kill her in those four months, but it was close sometimes. I was on vacation the first two weeks she was here, my first day back I had a flight at 3pm, she was banging on my door at 9am to make sure I was awake and didn’t miss the flight. I’d only been traveling for a living for 20-odd years at that point…
That sounds like quite a change – suburbs to a goat farm?!
At 15, it was quite character-building for me/both of us. Shooting rats in the barn was a team-building exercise. We had two guns. A single shot 22 with shot shells to stun them and an air pellet gun to finish them off. We alternated days with each and after a month or so, had the situation under control.
That actually sounds like fun!
Despite being from a family of Great White Hunters with more guns than many small countries, I have never actually shot a gun. Not that I have THAT much interest in changing that situation. My mother even competed in pistol shooting when she was in the Air Force.
I love shooting guns. Just not at animals, usually. I detest rats, so I made an exception.
I loved the recoil. I loved the smell of burnt gun powder. And I loved the satisfaction of hitting a target, whether it was paper or an aluminum can.
In my newspaper photographer days, I loved the feel of a Nikon motor drive in my hands. It felt like a machine gun.
The motor drive for the Canon A-1 and lenses I bought with my own money back then because the Nikon they provided didn’t have the lenses I wanted for the job, was so much smoother, it didn’t give the same kinetic feedback. They also didn’t provide much money for film, so I started using the budget for 100-foot rolls of 35mm film and using a bulk loader to save them money and not think so much for doing a 5 frame per second burst shooting sports.
Wow. Palm Springs to Maine is almost as far as you can go in the lower 48. That must’ve been quite the road trip.
A Masshole buddy of mine from my working days went up to Vermont and down to Rhode Island back in October for a few days. Now, I just have to set foot in Delaware, and I will have been in all 50.
I really loved my 504s. I bought a second (also gas) one with a stick. The transmission felt great, but it needed engine work that sadly turned out to be above my capabilities or budget at the time. The first one was named Winnie the Peugeot and the second one was a nice shade of green and I named her Genevieve Peugeot in honor of the Canadian actress.
Neither one had a/c which was not ideal in CA’s Central Valley in the summer. But I survived.
I actually bought it in Sacramento. It came up for sale on the Peugeot Mailing List that I was on back in the day. I happened to be going out to Sacramento that next week for work. I contacted the seller – he was a currently unemployed actor who was willing to drive it all the way up there for me to look at it. I bought it on the spot, and bought him a plane ticket home. Dropped off my rental and drove it around the rest of the week, then I had already planned to spend the weekend in San Francisco with friends who lived there. But I didn’t drive it back to Maine, I shipped it. Between lack of vacation time and the thought of breaking down in a 20yo French car in the flyover states, seemed well worth spending the grand it took to ship it. Her name was Annette. 🙂 Sadly I had to sell it when I got laid off 4-5 years later – another of my automotive regrets.
Pictures:
https://flic.kr/p/pbJLGs
https://flic.kr/p/ptcNSb
My missing state is Nevada, oddly enough. Never been to Vegas! The only other major city I haven’t been to is New Orleans, and I am going in a couple weeks for a long weekend with some friends. Been to Louisiana several times though.
Growing up in N CA I went to NV a lot during skiing season. And it’s crazy. I did a project in Salisbury, MD and could have done just a little diversion to the east and crossed that state off, but I didn’t. I won’t mind a trip to Philly and rent a car and head out that way for a few days.
In my software field engineer days, we had a big booth at the second largest convention in LV every year. National Association of Broadcasters. It was two or three days of setup. Four days of the show. And a day of tearing down and repacking the gear we had set up.
And we had sales reps from all of our global offices and some tech guys, all trying to drink us under the table. Mostly from the UK.
After the first year, I learned to just hail a cab when I hit my personal limit and quietly laugh when I saw them show up whenever they did the next day. Usually looking a little rough.
One year, between the trade show and projects I did with customers in LV, I spent six weeks there. I have zero interest in ever setting foot there again.
I mainly just want to see the spectacle of it all. Not my idea of a good time overall (especially now that it’s expensive), though I do want to see Hoover Dam and the nuke test sites. And cross the state off my list. At least I can get there and stay for free.
My bestie Amanda and I have been trying to get together a trip out there for years, but haven’t managed to make it happen. She’s who I am going to New Orleans with next month too – and all her myriad brothers and sisters. Who are all world-class champion Irish-Italian *professional* drinkers. I suspect I will be the designated sober person. I drink so little it rounds to “I don’t drink”.
I don’t like most cars with asymmetrical hood bulges. How about neither?
So if it was a twin turbo and had a bulge on both sides you’d be cool with it?
well, no… but it was the first thing I saw.
I could probably make an exception on the bulge for an MGC, but to be honest, it would bug me every time I looked at it.
The Barracuda is ugly. It has presence, but it’s too rough.
A neighbor in a nearby apartment complex drives a rattle can black Chevy Nova with huge tires and dark tinted windows. It looks sinister. I can see the appeal of a car like that. It radiates “Don’t fuck with me” vibes.
So quite the diversion now… Chevy Novas from the mid-late 70s looked bad ass. The local police department had at least six of them. I did a ride along in one back in ’78 (not in the back seat, FWIW) and it was pretty decent when we went hauling ass for an “officer needs assistance” call. By the time we got there, everything was under control, but it was an exciting few minutes getting there with lights, sirens and corners taken at the limits of adhesion. The department had been using Dodge Coronet 440s before that but the cops I talked to (I was a police beat reporter at the time) liked the Novas better. Much better around the corners. I think the Novas had “cop” spec 350s in them, so they were not slouches.
In the US, lights and sirens and ASAP is referred to as “Code 3” on the radio. In the UK, from what I have gathered from watching procedurals from over there, that’s referred to as “blues and twos,” which I thought was charming, given the blue beacons and two-tone horns they used back then. My last time there, I was so sad to see intense red and blue LEDs and hear an electronic siren that you can hear almost anywhere in the US.
I live a couple of blocks from a hospital with an ER and hear approaching ambulances periodically around the clock and I always smile when some paramedic or his partner swaps the siren to the two-tone mode approaching an intersection to get the attention of an inattentive driver.
My favorite siren of all time is what the Italian Carabinieri used to use in their little Alfa Sedans. That was back in the late 80s. I think only the ambulances use it now.
Annoying Italian Ambulance Siren
From what I remember from my naturally-aspirated ES, the bulge was necessary to provide clearance for the timing belt sprockets. It definitely wasn’t exclusive to the turbo engine.
So, I’m 95% sure there were models that didn’t have the bulge… what’s up with that? Just different years designs?
The 4G63 2.0 L turbo and non-turbo had the bulge for the cam gears. The 1.8L didn’t need the bulge.
You couldn’t get a Talon with the 1.8
And for 90-91, you couldn’t get an AWD Plymouth.
Eclipse came every way.
Not even the Gen 3 Firebird with the hood chicken breathing fire into it?
Yeah. I didn’t know if that was deformation from a minor accident or by design. But that massive piece of glass out back, that may be almost impossible to replace now, just makes the Barracuda a hard nope.
I wouldn’t be THAT troubled writing off the Talon if something bad happened, but I would feel bad about a ’65 ‘Cuda, let’s be charitable and call it a classic. And I know I would enjoy rowing the Talon’s gears more than a TorqueFlite.
Although both are a bit scruffy, I have some experience with both offerings today.
Talon for the win.
But only because the Cuda never appealed to me much in the early body style.
And this one feels like there’s something going on with the tranny. Of course parts are plentiful, mechanical bits that is. Body stuff maybe much more difficult to obtain.
The Talon can be cleaned up and hopefully there’s a good bit of hooning and cruising life left to be had.
As always YMMV.
Interesting to see an increasing number of commenters decrying the hatred for motorized seatbelts; seems like that’s the new clever contrarian take, that motorized seatbelts aren’t so bad after all.
However, as so many people already know & have always known, it’s just that many more things to break and those seatbelts never sit quite right in the correct and safest positions. Many’s the time I’ve found such seatbelts to sit too high on my stomach or irriratingly across my neck no matter how I adjust them (some of it due to age & wear in those seatbelt components.)
It may be that I’m just a bit clumsy, as are some of my friends & acquaintances, but all too often those motorized seatbelts would be a hazard for those of us with long hair. I’d always make sure to wear mine in a ponytail whenever dealing with such seatbelts but I’d occasionally find errant hair in the mechanisms. In the early 90s I knew a few people active in Renaissance fairs and some of them had hair so long they could sit on it; of course they were terrified of those seatbelts, lol. In fact, after more than one mishap a Ren fair friend got rid of her new Honda, as much as she actually liked the car otherwise, and got an airbag-equipped Toyota.
So of course motorized seatbelts can go jump in a lake after taking a long walk on a short pier…
I get the feeling that the majority of people who think that mouse-belts are fine never had to live with them day-to-day. On a daily basis, they are merely annoying until the day the track gets clogged and the belt won’t move to the secure position. Now you’re either spending extra time to clean and grease the track, making you late for work/school, or driving to work/school without a secure seatbelt. I hadn’t heard about the hair issue (except for the pandemic, I kept my hair fairly short), but that does seem like a major PITA, especially if it gets caught when opening the door, dragging your head towards the windshield.
I lived with one in my ’90 Eagle Talon for eight years and it never really bothered me.
Those belts were never mandated in Canada, so most cars (including the Talon) that got them in the US came with normal belts here, but I remember a couple of models where the manufacturers decided that making normal belts for Canada wasn’t worth the effort, which made those models unsellable here (thus circular logically justifying the decision to not put normal belts in).
That’s correct – my Canadian-market Talon didn’t have them. I remember finding the motorized belts in a rental Sentra in Hawaii pretty novel, but annoying after the first day. Glad we were spared them.
Even though I am the exact age that I should want that Talon, they never did much for me. It would make me smile to see one in person now, but I don’t wish to own one. I’ll cruise the V8 with my kids to the ice cream shop. After I put the interior back together.
Eagle Talon for me. I lusted after these when they were new. And I know that these are not the most reliable (but that might be partly due to the types of owners these attracted) and can be expensive to keep in tip top shape.
But they are way more fun to drive than that old Plymouth. And the manual vs slushbox helps seal the deal.
Hard. Hard hard hard choice. Two sporty coupes, same iffy black paint (for different reasons), both have slight issues under the hood, both could have potentially been sold at the same dealer 27 years apart, and there’s only 50 bucks in the price.
I think I have to vote Eagle just for the stick, its in-one-piece interior, and its compact dimensions, but I still love the glassback ‘Cuda, and would be perfectly happy with it too.
…also I live like…30 minutes from DSM so there’s the extra appeal of taking it home and wistfully remembering the old days while the factory churns out Rivians.
Mark, welcome back and for the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with motorized seatbelts. Some of us actually liked them!
Back in the day I had a ’91 TSi AWD (Popup headlights FTW!!!) and loved that car (when it was running). I always thought the ’91s and earlier looked better than the ’92-94 due to the aforementioned popups and the spoiler on the Talons going all the way up to the side mirrors. The interior and drivetrain are mostly the same though the later ones got a 4 bolt rear end that was stronger than the ’91s 3 bolt. It really only mattered if you got it down in the 10s though, otherwise the 3 bolt was strong enough. Still, as much as I like the funky rear glass on Barracudas and Marlins I’m 1000% voting for the Talon and its motorized seatbelts!
Talons are cool cars, but I don’t want one that got flogged and then abandoned for 15 years after the less than caring owner broke it.
That Barracuda is pretty awesome as is. I would absolutely take it on a first date. If your date curls their lip at it, then it wasn’t going to work anyway.
“Talons are cool cars, but I don’t want one that got flogged and then abandoned for 15 years after the less than caring owner broke it.”
Isn’t that all of them though?
I picked the Barracuda too.
Can confirm, I was a young street racing shithead with no money and that’s exactly what I did with mine.
My best friend took a first date on a dump run. He knew he’d struck gold when she was as excited as he was about the dump. Still married >35 years later.
GENIUS!
I want triples of the Barracuda. Triples is safest.
I had a ’90 Laser, manual, bone stock, no options. Had all of 93hp, and was the first car I bought new, and one of the few cars I’ve deeply loved.
Years ago, I had a coworker who would bring his garage queen ’65 Barracuda to work occasionally. He would get royally pissed when I would call it a Marlin. For that reason alone, I pick the Barracuda.