Loser cars: All awesomely lame, but which is king?

[Faust]

Well, my website, The Sprue Lagoon has been up almost a year exactly. I put it up on November 11, 2012, after getting back from Rememberance Day ceremonies at the Cenotaph downtown.

A year later, I’ve had some fun, but now I need some help. I can’t figure out what car I want to build next, so I’m hoping you guys can give me a hand! Sure, maybe you’re not all car builders, but I would love to hear your opinions on what you think I should turn my attention to next. Check out your choices here!

Thanks, guys! Here’s to another great year of the odd and obscure!

Edited November 8, 2013 by Faust

[Tom Geiger]

I'd be building the Chevette! Actually I have one that's been circling my bench, just waiting for an opening. Whenever we see an old car, there's a certain one that we remember from way back when that comes to mind. I'll be building mine.

[slusher]

The chevette looks awsume..

[Scale-Master]

Having driven all three back when they were relatively new, I'd say the Chevette has to be the lamest*, followed by the Pacer, but at least it had a unique personality.

*Most embarrassing to be seen in.

[iBorg]

I'd be ashamed I'd driven any of those yet alone all three. Hmmmmm. A fish bowl with lack lauster air conditioning, A Vega with a new body or a girl that a girlfriend had that had not one but four bolts drop out of the main bearings over a one year period.

All were BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH but I do remember one Chevette with a Chevy II four banger that was a kicker dirt track racer.

[Erik Smith]

I voted for the Chevette. I heart loser cars - my wife had a 1981 Chevette four door, so I guess I love people who drive loser cars too

[Skydime]

If it means you will build it, i definitely vote Chevette. I got a few ideas tossing around my head for a few of these.

[Faust]

That's a lot of love and a lot of hate for these little old losers!

I could have made it worse and thrown an OMNI 024 in the mix, I guess, but these guys seemed bad enough! At least they're all rear-drive!

I hear you about the Chevette being the least lame. I personally think the Monza is the most stylish, though.

I have a soft spot for losers too, as you can see, Erik! I think people have forgotten about these cars. However, they'll not go gracefully into that dark night while I'm around!

[RodneyBad]

Chevette.

[Faust]

Skydime:

I will definitely build whatever the poll shows is the most popular. Did you go and vote? It will matter, I guarantee it!

[Nxr]

i dont know, i just dont have anything against those cars. they are still less embarrassing than a kia soul or a nissan juke... but as for the vote, i am guessing the pacer only because that large back window is so odd.

[Faust]

I have a soft spot for all of them because I remember lots of all of them when I was growing up.

I call them losers because they aren't the big, fast, powerful muscle cars and long, low and wide land yachts that preceeded them. They're cheap and nasty in a lot of ways, and definitely sub-par when it comes to power and style, I think.

Most people, though, with the value of rose coloured glasses might not feel so harshly about them as they did upon trading them in in 1985-1995 for something else.

Cube and Juke are especially abhorrent to me, agreed!

[Skydime]

Skydime:

I will definitely build whatever the poll shows is the most popular. Did you go and vote? It will matter, I guarantee it!

Sure did..my mom and dad both had Chevettes when I was a kid. Maybe that explains why I usually buy cheap vehicles and can't leave them stock.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Skydime

[Tony T]

I voted Chevette!

Anyone else remember the advertising for the Polar bear edition of the Pacer? They were offering free air conditioning on the Pacers due to the expanse of glass to try to get more of them out the door. The days were AC was an option on some cars!

[Kalifornia Kowboy]

Was the 77 Monza the one that you had to pull the engine off the motor mounts to change the sparkplugs?

[Maindrian Pace]

I built the Bear Bait Chevette as a kid, just like the on the box art. I liked it.

-MJS

[Pro Wrench]

I vote for the Chevette. I wish I had one of those models myself. I drove one all through high school for my beater car. The poor thing literally had lived at that school its entire life. A kid bought it brand new in 1976 and sold it to a new freshman when he graduated and that cycle continued until I owned it and I graduated in 1988. By the time I got it, it had been lowered, had Centerline look a like wheels with 285 rear tires, had a header with dual exhaust, and had been painted yellow with black SS stripes. My contribution was a big bowtie Chevy symbol etched into the rear widow. The car looked kinda cool but it ate starters like they were free. Anyone that has ever had to change the starter in one knows what a pain in the ass it is. I got to where I could do it in about 20 minutes but finally just gave up and started parking it where it could be roll started. It also had absolutely NO floor on the passenger side. The only thing between the passenger and the road was the carpet and that was pretty ratty. It was always good fun to find the biggest puddle in town after a good rain and hit it at about 50 to soak the person sitting in the passenger seat. Sadly, its reign at that school ended with the girl I sold it to that got it upside down. I recently saw one here in town that has a V8 in it and it got me wanting another one to do the same thing with.

[Faust]

Man, power to the people!

The Chevette is now in the lead by a lot, thanks to you guys!

Amazing! I never would have thought it.

Any ideas on which colour I should do it?

[Erik Smith]

Wait! If your building a loser car, and the car with the most votes gets built, that would make it a winner, so you can't build the car with the most votes...

I would go with brown or light blue for the color:

But really, they look good in any color.

Edit: I just noticed the standard cigarette lighter - I called the 12v accessory plug a "cigarette lighter" in my car the other day and my kids had no idea what I was talking about!

Edited November 8, 2013 by Erik Smith

[Erik Smith]

Or if you find this green...

[Scale-Master]

Was the 77 Monza the one that you had to pull the engine off the motor mounts to change the sparkplugs?

Only the V8 version, and all we had to do was bore a hole in the inner fenderwell to gain access.

[Dragfreak]

IMO the Monza isn't a loser car, they're pretty sweet. I'd rather be in one than most muscle cars, I guess if you love vegas you like monzas as well.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Dragfreak

[W-409]

I second 100% what Jason said above. Those GM H-Bodies are really nice cars and a lot of fun especially when there's some V8 Power under the hood. We had a '79 Skyhawk for a couple of years and it was really fun car that could make the tires smoke easily.

Chevette wouldn't be a bad choice, either. I think this Chevette that I saw in a Cruising Night here in Finland is very cool.

Sorry about the shaky pictures... It was dark and Freakin' Cold there so not the easiest time to take steady pictures.

[Skydime]

I get nostalgic around this time of year remembering the entire fall/winter holiday season as a kid. Seeing all these pictures and reading all these comments is just making it a lot cooler for me!

[Pete J.]

You considered adding the Horizon. While you are at it, don't for get the Gremlin! All of these cars were attempts by the Big 3 to tackle the Japanese invasion by Toyota, Honda and Nissan(or Datsun as it was known at the time). I guess they were "losers" because the quality just couldn't come up to the standard that the Japanese cars set. A friend had a Cosworth Vega in Northern Michigan when I lived there. It was a good car for about two years and then it just seemed to collapse. Rust holes and engine problems. Not pretty!