The plastic bumper has really grown on me

[Mad4slalom]

We are 'assulted' by information from all directions, whether it be written in the form of magazine features, or audio visual as in TV, You Tube etc. A lot of that information, especially relating to car is extremely plagiarist in the extreme with journo's literally re-writing/copying articles, features and information.
Something may be been written many years ago in a magazine and subsequently read by 10's, 100's of thousands, perhaps millions of people - the article can be positive or negative, yet people will wholeheartedly believe in its accuracy and for the next few decades will tell about everyone about what they read and how accurate the writer was about his facts......and what could be a total myth becomes 'cemented' in public interstanding......the Clarkson syndrome!
Clarkson and Top Gear have responsible for much public ignorance and misplaced beliefs - people would worship Clarkson and his team's extremely biased and personalised beliefs
So..........journalists of 'the day' didn't think much of GM's Cross Fire system. More likely they based this belief on people who had the system installed for many years, didn't maintain it and the system subsequently failing for lack of maintenance and understanding/knowledge from mechanics and auto repair shops.
Here's another myth for you. '68 (and to a degree '69) Vette's are generalised by 'supposed' experts as being of a poor quality interior with shoddy build quality.......
Why is that?......in late '67 and early '68 GM were rushing to get the C2 chassis with its new C3 body out of the factory gates......so there were many '68 only specific changes made to multiple body and interior components to improve the 'product'. Many components like the radiator were the same as the 1967 C2.
Other years of Vettes also had production/quality issues too. Yet the journo's of the day slated the '68 as being a bad buy comapred with later cars. And that has stuck with the car for years.
Now here is reality!.....How many C2 and C3 Vettes still retain their original interiors and external trim? - being 60 or 70 years old most Vettes will have probably have had at least one interior re-trim and body resto or at the very least a respray......perhaps several.
These cars will have a better quality interior and external finish than when new.
So where do the supposed dodgy build quality and poor interior trim 'myths' now stand?

The urban myth theory is true, I ran bmw Z3M roadster and Z4m coupe before seeing the light and finally getting my C3.
The Z3 “issue” was the rattly Vanos Thing that “some” Not “All” engines suffered from. Together with the rear suspension and diff mount ripping itself out of the boot floor. Both these greatly exagerated but became a “Dont buy one of them”! Issues. Thanks to chinese whispers and magazine editorial mis information and exageration.
The Z 4 initially revved to 8100rpm but a car had spun a big end bearing shell so they reduced the revs to 7100 if I remember.
An owner on the forum decided to replace the rod bolts with upgraded ARP ones and a few others followed , this became a suggestion , then an advisory and then when a magazine did a buyers guide on the Z4M it became a “ Dont buy this car “.. unless the pO has had this done at 60,000 miles and 600quid . I would like to have known the % of cars with/without the issues. I am not surprised some cars had issues given the abuse some clarkson type journos treated vehicles during top gear type tests . A lot of them probably had little mechanical knowlege as to what stresses Their juvenile shenanigans put on a car ‘s drivetrain . (Did’nt Clarkson do some serious damage to a loaned vintage Bentley ? ) I wont be loaning my baby any time soon, even for a gentle ramble between shops on the the antiques road trip as some brave owner on here did, My nerves would never have coped with that !🫣

 

[Roscobbc]

Journalists, company car owners and hire car users can/will abuse vehicles they or employers don't actually own.......so don't bother too much about maintenance schedules, car park knocks and bangs and crap left inside the car.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Journalists, company car owners and hire car users can/will abuse vehicles they or employers don't actually own.......so don't bother too much about maintenance schedules, car park knocks and bangs and crap left inside the car.

So right, I was next to a company van at an inclined traffic light the other day , he was sat there riding the clutch for a whole 3 junction sequence of light changes. No mechanical knowledge of what happens below the pedal or just couldnt GaF! Not his van 🫣

 

[Nassau65]

So true. I know people who have never checked the oil or water in their company car. Their attitude is, is not mine so I don’t worry about it.

 

[Roscobbc]

So true. I know people who have never checked the oil or water in their company car. Their attitude is, is not mine so I don’t worry about it.

My last company vehicle was simply a 'fill-in' vehicle for six weeks during Covid until the company got rid of me. It was 2 1/2 years into a 3 year contract Kia Kona hybrid with about 40k miles on it......the 20 year old person using it had been lauded as some kind of wonder boy (he eventually left looking for better money).......here's the thing......it hadn't ever been serviced from new!
TBH that fact impressed me more than the kinda OK'ish car itself and that it lasted out all those miles without an issue.

 

[Chuffer]

So true. I know people who have never checked the oil or water in their company car. Their attitude is, is not mine so I don’t worry about it.

I know a few private owners who are guilty of that too . What goes on under the bonnet is an alien world to them !!!

 

[Nassau65]

My family’s vans never see a service, they simply “top up” the oil. Then they wonder why things happen which fortunately for them never does. Their VW transporters just go on and on.

 

[Roscobbc]

My family’s vans never see a service, they simply “top up” the oil. Then they wonder why things happen which fortunately for them never does. Their VW transporters just go on and on.

We firstly have the Americans firstly to thank for vehicles being resilient enough to be capable of handling that zero level of care - where perhaps in the 50's, 60's and 70's American vehicles were relatively cheap compared with the dollar in the pocket and typical wages. So people would simply abuse the cars.....if it broke, just drive out in the back yard and leave it to rot......then go buy another one. The Japanese quickly caught on that compact cars would need to stand the same level of mistreatment......and then the European and other far Eastern countries (and the UK eventually) began producing cars with legendary reliability (even when abused)

 

[James Vette]

On YouTube: Worst Engine of all Time: 1982-1984 GM/Chevrolet 305/350 V8 Cross-Fire Injection Engines.
Interesting review.

Love your red corvette by the way!

 

[James Vette]

Clean, stylish, curvy but sharp. Best car ever full of character.