One of my favorite parts about cars is that they are more than machines. The story of people and their cars is sometimes better than the story of the car.
Thomas wrote a GM Hit or Miss on the Oldsmobile Aurora. DMod65:
I had a first-generation Oldsmobile Aurora back in the early 2000s, and it was a fantastic car. At that point in my car enthusiasm, I was still rooting for the domestics, and I loved that I could get the same G-body platform as the Riviera and Seville (complete with a Northstar V8) at Oldsmobile prices.
That Aurora treated me well, too. It had about 160k miles when I sold it, and in the 80k miles I owned it, the only major issues were a cracked radiator and a failed fuel pump. Not bad for a car that ambitious.
It’s a shame things didn’t work out for Oldsmobile. The original Aurora was a bold, forward-thinking car that really hit the mark, but GM fumbled the follow-up. To this day, I still have a soft spot for the first-gen Aurora, as well as the Riviera from that era.
These days I get my grand touring fix with an early R129 SL powered by the M119, but honestly, the Aurora’s powertrain wasn’t far behind in refinement. The Northstar V8 has a well-earned reputation for trouble now, but back in the day, it was shockingly competitive.
I spent my early 20s motoring around in that Aurora, listening to that smooth quad-cam V8, surrounded by spaceship styling and a surprisingly comfortable, futuristic interior covered in buttons and bathed in cool blue backlighting. No regrets at all.
It wasn’t the best car ever made, but it was interesting, distinctive, and a genuinely great place to spend 80k miles and most of my 20s. It makes me smile seeing them get a little recognition now.
Jason wrote about a new Xpeng robot that has boobs for some reason. ShinyMetalAsp:
“MY OPTICAL VISION SENSORS ARE UP HERE.”
Rang:
In fairness, even Data was…how should I put this…fully functional.
Matt wrote about how GM might make regular cars again. NC Miata NA:
Perhaps GM could use this platform to create a new kind of vehicle: something with the lowered ride height of a sedan for improved handling and aerodynamics but combine it with the long roof design of a SUV for additional cargo capacity and practicality. A vehicle like that could have widespread appeal.
The could call it something like a Worldwide Automotive Globally Optimized Nexus or even shorten that to W.A.G.O.N.
Have a great evening, everyone!
The W.A.G.O.N. comment reminds of Adam Something suggesting passenger pods should be connected for efficiency and run on rails.