In response to Rabin's evaluation of advanced features on the 504, what he
says is, of course, true. Many of those features are only just becoming
available on "normal" cars today. However, when comparing my 86 505 STI to
other cars I've owned, what always spring to mind is a 1959 Mercedes 219
that I had back in 1978-79. And this Mercedes pre-dates the 504 by about 15
years.
It too, had fully independent suspension (although swing axels at the back)
and had about the same ride and handling qualities as a 505 S. It didn't
have rack & pinion steering (although still very good) or disc brakes but I
believe the 220 S sedan of the same vintage did have front discs. However,
it did have an SOHC engine, whereas my 86 STI still uses pushrods.
It once gave a very good account of itself against a Porsche 911 while
crossing Vancouver Island. I figure the Porsche was trying about 70% and I
was trying about 99%. No, I didn't blow him away, but nevertheless...and
this was without having radial tires. You could also drive it fast on the
gravel roads of Manitoba while the suspension took care of all the worry. I
drove it from Vancouver to Gimli, Manitoba (1750 miles, clocked) in 27.5
hours once. Just pegged the needle at 70 and kept it there the whole way.
Beautiful, solid, classic looking car. I've owned three other Mercedes
since, but none has held the magic of that first one.
Another car I really loved (but no similarity to Peugeot) was a 68 VW
Fastback. A real Porsche wannabe. Best car I've ever had for winter
driving. Once drove it from Calgary to Hamilton in 32 hours, total elapsed
time.
Putting all fahrfagnughen (sp?) aside though, I'd have to say that the MOST
reliable car I've ever owned was a 1970 Pontiac Laurentian 350 V8 3-spd
automatic. Bought it in 1976 for $425 with 102,000 miles on it, and drove
it for three years before selling it for $350. Used it on the
Guelph-Winnipeg run several times and once drove from Port Huron to Duluth
all night through a blizzard. It got about 22 mpg hwy on premium leaded
fuel, giving a range of about 400 miles. It would start, without benefit of
block heater, at -32 degrees C and just keep on truckin'. It also had an
ashtray the size of some cars' trunks. I did have to replace the water pump
once, but aside from that I did plugs and points once and the front brake
shoes. Remember, it had a 102,000 on it when I bought it.
I think this negates someone's opinion that N. American cars of the 60's
and 70's were junk. They just weren't fun to drive.
Cheers, scn@mda.ca
Steve Coleman scn 2081