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The 5 best GM designs


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It's difficult for me to narrow it down to just one year. Any 63-67 Corvette is great. Same with tri-five Chevies and any early generation Riv.

But did GM design only start in the 60's as this person seems to think?

How about a 35 Chev coupe? or a 49 Cadillac Sedanet or a 33 Cadillac Aerodynamic Coupe? 53 Eldorado or Riv?

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The '63 Vette is the only one I like of these five, although I wouldn't put it in the top 5 all-time GM cars. That's just me, when it comes to GM I think only of Chevrolet, like I said that's just me. It seems like their very first car would be in there. Also, is this based on sales?

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The '63 Vette is the only one I like of these five, although I wouldn't put it in the top 5 all-time GM cars. That's just me, when it comes to GM I think only of Chevrolet, like I said that's just me. It seems like their very first car would be in there. Also, is this based on sales?

No, it's based on one man's opinion.

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l can't get to the list for some reason? l LOVE the '63 Riviera. My list wouldn't get out of the '60s. '61 lmpala? '63-'65 Nova? '67-'68 Firebird? '66 Chevelle? '61 Olds 88? '67 Vette (can't remember when the "shark gills" started. '66?). '65-'69 Corvair? Ok, that's more than 5, but these, in some order, would be on my list.

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The '63 Riviera is gorgeous- can't argue about that one.

The '63 Split window is up there, too, but maybe not top five on my list:

'71 Chevrolet Vega GT:

1973-chevrolet-vega-GT-front-three-quarters.jpg

'67 Cadillac Edlorado has some serious sculpting and sexy lines, though the front end isn't perfect:

1967-Cadillac-Eldorado-4.jpg

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Buick, Cadillac, LaSalle, Pontiac, Olds, etc. don't come to mind? :blink:

Yeah, I know Harry, like I said it's just me, one man's opinion that's just what I like,......Anyway, it just seems on a list of all time best designs the sales figures would have reflected the numbers of which was best. Just saying.
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My vote goes with all the 60s Rivieras, especially the ones with hidden headlights, and the original Toronado. The Toronado would also have made a hugely sexy 2-seater GT in a smaller size. But while they're winners in design, they're losers in the quality of interior materials and finishes. European luxury cars of the era used much less plastic.

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But while they're winners in design, they're losers in the quality of interior materials and finishes. European luxury cars of the era used much less plastic.

But these wouldn't break down every five miles and burst into flames for no apparent reason like a European luxury car of the era- I guess that's the trade-off.

Then again when I think 'European luxury car' I automaticallly think of Jag, so I might be off in my opinion there. :P

Edited by Michigan Madman
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But these wouldn't break down every five miles and burst into flames for no apparent reason like a European luxury car of the era- I guess that's the trade-off.

Then again when I think 'European luxury car' I automaticallly think of Jag, so I might be off in my opinion there. :P

It's only the modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis that burst into flames. Let's not even go into the more mundane problems of 60s supercars. But they had great interiors.

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It's only the modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis that burst into flames. Let's not even go into the more mundane problems of 60s supercars. But they had great interiors.

You're right on that- I guess the old Euro cars were known more for smoldering than outright fire. If only the maufacturers hadn't made a deal with the Prince of Darkness himself... Lucas.

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Well, that was good for a laugh...

Did they just put a bunch of GM car names into a hat and pick out 5? They must really be running out of things to write about over there... To me, this the equivalent of having a "top 5 tastiest meals", "top 5 songs", "top 5 movies", etc...

None of those cars would be on my GM top 5, except maybe the '70 Z/28... but NOT the RS "split bumper". I think the full bumper version looks SO MUCH cooler (The parking light locations and bumper just looks better IMHO).

It almost drives me nuts sometimes when people refer to those Camaros as the "split bumper" cars, especially since there were a lot more produced without them. It was an RS package bumper only.

...And I know they (2nd gens) were produced late for the '70 model year, but the many people calling them "70 1/2" bugs me too (Even on the AMT boxes sitting behind me right now). :lol: Show me a title from the DMV for one that says 1970 & 1/2 or 1970.5 on it!

:END Rant: (before it turns into ten pages) Sorry, I just LOVE my old Camaros :wub::D

To stick to the nature of the thread, I'll try a top 5 of my own (Gonna be hard as a GM guy)

  1. '67 Nova
  2. '55 Chevy
  3. '68 Nova
  4. '67 Camaro RS/SS
  5. '70 Camaro Z/28
  6. ....man! I knew this wasn't gonna work! I have SO many more (and I'm not even sure about the order of my top 5 now... :wacko: ) :lol:
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I would actually give them the 63 Riviera, But where is the 70 Riviera, and the 71?

As far as corvettes go, I would have to say 1967 would be the best.

I don't really think a Camaro belong on the list at all. Style wise I can think of a lot of Cadillacs that look a whole lot better than a Camaro.

Dave

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It depends on how far back you want to go, but if the cutoff is 1960s or newer, I think the 65-66-67 Impala belongs on the list. And I'd take the '68 vette over the '63.

The 66-67 Imapalas certainly belong on the list and the 61 as well. I always thought the 61s looked so much smaller than other Impalas for some reason.

IMO the shark bodied Vettes were the finest of the breed.

The Solstice? No way.

As for the Riv, I'll take the 66 over any of them.

Edited by oldscool
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The Solstice is a great entry level sports car, outdoing the Miata in every possible way,

OK, well let's go with the most glaring figures. Solstice total US sales = 114,773 (production discontinued due to poor sales). Miata total US sales = nearing 500,000, with over 1,000,000 sold world wide. It's still being produced and sold and going into it's 4th redesign. It's the largest selling 2 seat roadster in world history.

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Just to stir the pot a little further, here's my $.02. I'd scratch the Camaro and Solstice in favor of the '57 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham and the '65 Corvair (all body styles!). Or maybe it should be the '60 Corvair, because it was first--but I find the second generation vastly more attractive.

Honorable mentions: '92 Cadillac Seville STS, '61 Pontiac Catalina 2DHT, '66 Pontiac Lemans, '66 Olds Cutlass, '66 Chevrolet Chevelle--yeah, it was a good year--, and '70 Olds Cutlass Supreme.

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OK, well let's go with the most glaring figures. Solstice total US sales = 114,773 (production discontinued due to poor sales). Miata total US sales = nearing 500,000, with over 1,000,000 sold world wide. It's still being produced and sold and going into it's 4th redesign. It's the largest selling 2 seat roadster in world history.

The Solstice and Sky had neat styling, but had a lot of shortcomings..horribly cheap interior materials, non-usable trunk, etc...

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