Thinking of selling my GS455 and buying something modern. Would love to hear tales of how folks regretted that move or never looked back... I've had the car for 20 years and getting rid of it would hurt but no space for another vehicle so the reasoning of just buy new AND keep the old won't fly.
I’ve had a big block GS since ‘92, and for a while I had an ‘05 GTO 6 speed. The GTO did absolutely everything better than a GS, but it didn’t have a lot of soul. It was a very fast and capable appliance. (Now, these new Challengers and Chargers with big power may feel different, but...). I’d suggest a modern musclecar as a driver, but keep the GS! Patrick
I kinda did that. I bought my WS6 in Oct of 2000. I filled the niche of not having my Skylark on the road but also it unfortunately made me lose interest in working on the Skylark all together. Years go by and I find that the niche wasn't really filled. I miss the feel of the old car, the smell of the old car and of course the awesome look of the Buick. I'm finally getting close to getting one of my Buick's back on the road and putting that smile back on my face.
Had a ‘02 WS6 prior to getting another GS and I wish I had done it sooner. The newer muscle is refined and cool but old iron just feels right for me.
Same here,..I've had many late model performance cars and currently have a 450hp 2010 Camaro ss,..my pop has an 06 Vette,..and I still just wanna drive my buick,..but I do love my Camaro but as mentioned there are literally a thousands on the road in every town.
Dont do it Ken. It's cheaper to keeper. You'll be dreading it later. My moto is If you have to get rid of a car to buy another your messing up
See if this silly post makes sense or answers a thought. More of what gets you nostalgic than out right performance.. I was watching a episode of the original Batman series this morning, the first time in 25 years probably. "Boy it was corny but still cool" and the Batmobile was used more than usual in this one episode on the city streets and there was at the time a brand new tan 66 Skylark hardtop that kept passing it or was behind it through out the filming. I had my eye on the Skylark and not the Batmobile. Yes we have seen the Batmobile to death in shows and such but still, and just this morning also there's a diabetes med commercial for "Ocentic" or something and they are hosting and installed a BBB into a 70 Wildcat or Electra, and in the corner of the garage is a 59ish Lesabre or Invicta.. Maby a Buick guy thing but if it was a new Camaro or Vette I wouldn't have rewinded the DVR 50 times.. Keep your first love or at least one of them..
We bought a new Challenger Scat Pack (like many others on here) and it’s a great car but we kept the old cars too. If you can swing it have both. They both serve different purposes. We drove the 65 Gran Sport on the Power Tour but took the Challenger on a trip out west through the mountains where the bigger brakes, etc. was a safety plus.
Not really "late model" but my 87 GN doesn't really compare to driving my '71 GS, yes the GN is wickedly fast, fuel injected and all, but just doesn't have the style, and soul of older iron, even tho the GS may be slower, its got character, and personality. The newer cars, muscle or not, your not really "driving" them, the electronics do all that for you, your just there to merely suggest what you'd like the car to do, and if it isn't in the program to do it, too bad
X2 what Julian said. In my mind if you are restricted to one car, I'd evaluate what your intention is for the car for and move in that direction. The newer cars are better for getting out on the open road for trips and more general use. The older rides have a lot more personal attachments and we tend to be more restrictive where we take them and park them (fun for car shows and an occasional cruise in but more nerve wracking to take to a store or park somewhere were you cannot watch and keep from unwanted attention). These non daily driver cars are mostly toys and its all in how you WANT to use them! I have both but its more of nuisance to insure and maintain . There is an old saying about feeling like a goat between two piles of hay...
New ones are superior to the old stuff in every way. On top of what has already been said, reliability is excellent. No need for tinkering on something every weekend. That being said, there is something to be said for the sound of a carb at WOT. And there is always the cool factor of old iron. If you have to pick one, decide how you feel about not working on the car that much. Like me for example, sometimes it's a pain but I do enjoy working on my old one.
Dont like feeling like a MAN anymore? Theres pills and BUICK 455s for that little problem... Next time you see one youll get wingis' envy. ws
No, but it depends on what you want. If all-out performance is what you want, modern is the way to go. Personally I'd like a first-generation Skylark GS 400 4-speed ragtop.
Old iron Well I really dont need to tell you go one... modern stuff well of course it handles better and all that jazz.. Blah Blah Nobody cares. Whats the difference between a Kia car and lets say a Challenger hepcat or whatever they call it??? Nothing...... they are souless cookie cutter cars. Nobody gives you a simple nod. I can not see any pride in ownership in a cookie cutter.
my dad recently bought himself a Tesla. Not the top of the line one but not the bottom. He took me for a ride to show me what it could do. I have to say I have never felt acceleration as instantaneous and pushed as hard into my seat as the tesla. He drove it 357 miles and still had 15% charge left . 40 to 80mph to 100 is almost as fast as you put your foot to the floor. Very quiet but the acceleration makes up for it. Its out of my league but something to think about
In 2016 I bought a new Chevy SS, not a Camaro, Impala or Malibu but the Australian car made by Holden that the Pontiac G8 would've become if GM didn't axe Pontiac. Has a 6.2 LS3 with 415 HP and a 6 speed manual Trans. That car is loaded!! Dual mode exhaust, lane departure warning, magnetic ride control...the car will even parallel park itself!!! Hard to get in and out of but not as bad as a Vette or Camaro. Super fun to drive, period!! But as was mentioned above, it has no soul. It looks like a rental car! It blends in with just about everything on the road and disappears; that's not necessarily a bad thing. For the first year or so I drove that car every chance I got! I made up excuses to go for a drive. And I ran the crap out of it too!! Banging the gears at redline was awesome and thrilling! I loved the way it handled, especially on this one off ramp that is banked to perfection. If I hit the ramp at 35 mph going in I was doing 70 on the way out. And the car stayed as flat as a pancake!! As time went by I found myself driving it less and less. It was no longer exciting shifting the 6 speed, it seemed more like a chore with every shift. Any time I got stuck in traffic I began to hate it. Soon I was making excuses to not drive it. That morphed into almost refusing to drive it at all. In all fairness to the car, this was around the time that my dad got sick. He had a massive stroke that left him incapacitated. He struggled in the hospital for a month before they let him go home to... My wife and I drove that car back and forth to the hospital an hour each way almost every day. It was easier to drive and maneuver in DC traffic and easier to park in the hospital parking garage. I probably began to associate that car with all the negative emotional feelings surrounding the timeframe of losing my dad. We were close. I sold it back to the dealership. Of course, I didn't make any money, but I didn't lose as much as I would have if it was a Camaro or a Corvette. I haven't missed it at all. To me there's just something about old iron that is comfortable. Sometimes they're hard to start and they break down but I'll take it. Maybe it's just the nostalgic feelings and memories they can provide, or maybe they have more personality than today's cars. If you need a commuter car or a daily, then there's nothing like a new modern car. If you're looking for a toy or something to play with, in my opinion you can't beat a classic car or truck. When the new Stingray came out in 2014 I wanted one, BAD! They're now releasing the new Vette to take it's place and I couldn't care less. Maybe I scratched that itch with my SS, maybe I've learned that there's not as much satisfaction in a soul-less robot as there is in a car you have to tinker with....
I could be wrong (and not owning any new muscle, but I would like to, just kinda playing devil's advocate here), but to the average person weren't our "old" cars cookie cutter back when they were new? Not much different than today - To us, a Hellcat or ZL1 Camaro (whatever they are), or for that matter the AMG Benz I was behind the other day stands out, but to the masses? Certainly I'd think to most owners and car guys it does (?). Back in the day, a GS was a Skylark with a funny hood if it got noticed at all - They were everywhere. I wasn't around (or at least old enough) in '70 to notice but I was 19 y/o in '86 when the first GN's showed up at the Nationals so we took note of every GN or T-Type on the road but weren't GN's (or better yet T-Types) really just cookie cutter G-Bodies? So today a Hellcat may be cookie cutter, but in 20 or 30 years? Do you want to restore one - I cannot imagine restoring a GN when I could've and almost did buy one new? You can buy a concours Hellcat today and be awarded the preservation class certificate at the 2045 Mopar Nationals, lol.
