@stephdumas: And it only took five yellow Ford trucks to film that scene, as they kept breaking them!

If I were Spinelli, I'd wait for the "and build" part on your van to be complete before I did the "buy" part myself!

@clinto: It's Detroit! There aren't enough municipal resources to go around, so lots of stuff happens that would otherwise get shut down. You know, kind of like more of America used to be.

@Novaload: nice. You know, I wonder why I never bothered to look it up myself.

My dad taught me to drive in a 5-speed 1983 Renault Alliance. We nearly came to blows at it several times, but the lessons did stick. I've favored manual transmission cars ever since. I don't have one at the moment, but hope to return to the fold next time.

I'll never forget how a review I read of this car called it a "blowsy, ill-built beast." I never knew what "blowsy" meant but I liked the line anyway. Watching this thing lumber around the cones sure helps define the term for me!

@Kris Aubuchon: Yup. Government social engineering. Rankles me.

@Buster Brew: It's not just that, it's about the guvvimint trying to shame us into being better citizens per their definition of citizenry.

And so you mash on the pedal and the front end goes all floaty and darty. Fairmonts were wont to do that even with the anemic 4. But with as much yowza as this car has underhood, it's more like car, meet tree. CP.

Looky here, one for sale in Indiana.

It pains me to say it, because I was a disk jockey for nine years, but none. I'm 43; stations don't program to white men over 40. So none of the stations where I live do jack doodley doot for me.

@mobilene: The logo, not this post.

@mobilene: crud. The upload has to work first.

@MoparRacing43: I'm going to reply to this with a photo I took of a similar hood ornament just because I can, and just because the hood ornament is sixteen kinds of cool.

@Dawgvet06: They're keeping the old shape so they don't have to retool current sheetmetal!

Yaaaaaaaaaawn.

@Novaload: Ah, truth in advertising.

@Novaload: I read somewhere once that Pontiac favored illustrated car ads because they could make the cars look even lower and wider than they actually were.

@tonyola: This is true, but at the same time, did any of the big GM cars really look that different from each other in those days?

I respect the engine swap, especially given the kind of engine. And I love how, externally at least, this thing looks cherry. And I just love little wagons and would have 15 or 20 of them cluttering up my front yard if I were sufficiently backed.