IS-SV

100% agree, that's even uglier than the "classy" car was when new.

Well (as you would say), did you ever desire a Cordoba with Corinthian leather?

The DTS is looking better all the time, lol.

Lil4X

Same here. I appreciate the view over much of the traffic and the slide-in entry, and surprisingly, my wife does too. That's why we've had SUVs in the family for over 35 years.

At a certain age it is a bit more difficult to perform the individual origami required to fold yourself into cars designed for MUCH smaller people, such as the IS. Typical oversights - to achieve that aerodynamic look, the backseat of most 4-door sedans has headroom suitable only for Munchkins. At the same time, some SUV's aren't so utilitarian either - the last gen Durango's back doors are so narrow that I can't get my size 14 shoe through the opening between the seat and the door frame with any degree of grace - and that's considered a mid-size SUV.

caddyowner

A buddy of mine is nearly 60, retired, and is at last searching for a replacement for his beloved, but rusting, 93 Honda Del Sol daily driver. He's looking at the CR-Z and Mazda2. I suggested that maybe he should consider getting a taller car given his age and how long he keeps his cars. He figures he's got at least another 10 years of being able to get in and out of low cars, so he's going to take advantage of it.

IS-SV

Good for him. Nothing wrong with him being limber/fit/strong enough to continue to enjoy these cars. I can relate via having a multi-vehicle fleet with different configurations for different purposes. I have gladly lowered myself into the lower seating positions of Porsches that I've owned, the slight inconvenience was well worth it for the purpose of weekend pleasure drives.

The easy entry/exit of a modern CUV combined with visibility in traffic makes a more user friendly commuter kind of vehicle for sure.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

haha, yeah, they're ugly too.

swish... when i got an rx300 in '99, i quickly fell in love with the ease i (6'3") could slide in an out of it. if i had the money, i'd get an rx450h.

35 years? what suv back then? maybe a grand cherokee? or an amc pacer?

good for him! he must be a great shape.

mmarshall

After my Plymouth Barracuda and the Buicks I owned, I did drive a big Chrysler in the early-mid 70's...(yes, bigger than the Cordoba). But, by the time the Cordoba came out (and the Ricardo-Montalban commercials), I switched back to smaller cars because of the 70's gas-crunch. But after slipping and sliding in the winter, by then, I was also losing interest in RWD.

LOL. Well, go on and get one before they're all gone next year. .....you don't want to miss out on the V6-level Northstar, 4-speed auto, and plastic interior, do you? (Then take it on a nice winding mountain road up there, above Silicon Valley).

IS-SV

I'll have to pass on those marvels of dated technology.

ABC

haha, my parents had this car in the early - mid 80's

IS-SV

Wow, they lived the fantasy.

Lil4X

My first SUV was a 2WD International (Harvester) Travelall, for its time, one of the finest and toughest tow vehicles anywhere. Several of my friends had pretty large boats they were towing with the family car, and even with a big car and a big V8 engine, we discovered that towing two and a half tons would quickly destroy an automobile. What I needed was a pickup, but with the minimal interior storage of a pickup and the heavy forward weight bias unloading the driving wheels, particularly when dragging a large boat out of the water, a typical 1/2 ton truck wasn't really a solution either.

Chevy/GMC was offering their line of Suburbans at the time, but these were still thinly disguised pickups in 1974 when my adventures in trailering really began. Most of the travel trailer magazines were recommending the Travelall as an economic and rugged solution to substitute for the flimsy family fordor.


'74 Travelall restored - Mine had the ugly vinyl "wood" sides, and
standard steel rims, rather than the nicer AR's pictured here.

I found a barely used Travelall for sale by my local IH dealer - an executive car that belonged to one of the corporate VPs who had the misfortune to die here in Houston while on an inspection tour from his home office in Canada. It was "loaded" - if you consider the very short list of options available for it, and included a "Canadian market" heater - a veritable blast furnace that was capable of incinerating the passenger over whose feet it rode.

What sold me (besides the friendly price) was the monster AMC 401 V8 that lived under the hood. That was the optional engine in the AM Javelin and the killer motor in the AMX - capable of vast torque outputs, and in the Travelall, backed with a GM Hydramatic and a heavy-duty Ford rear end. Yes, IH built only the body and frame, and the vehicle was equipped with a long list of parts assembled from the leftovers of other manufacturers.

I discovered quickly that this was not just a tow vehicle, but a handy hauler for all occasions. Easy entry and exit, combined with the raised eye level made it comfortable and sure on the road. Sure the gas mileage was miserable, but with a 35 gallon tank out back and an auxiliary 18 gallon tank forward of the passenger footwell selected by a **** on the dashboard (pull for aux fuel, twist to switch the gauge), fuel stops were few and far between. It had the optional automatic choke on the big 4-bbl carburetor, but since the choke **** was still on the dash, I swapped back to manual operation the first time the automatic choke stuck. Otherwise, other than regular maintenance items, that 401 never missed a beat.

It was a very comfortable car for having such an agricultural pedigree. It could haul a 5500# boat up a steep launching ramp without even breaking a sweat, and cruise at the limit all day long. Having spent a year in Canada with no real rustproofing though, it began to disintegrate about two years after I'd assumed ownership. I had the lower 10" of all the body panels replaced with new metal - twice - I'd undercoated, patched, and painted everything within reach, but the condition was terminal. I finally traded it to my neighbor (who was fortunately a great welder), in exchange for his painting my parent's house. I got a good deal.

I went out and bought my first 3/4-ton Suburban the next week. I've had an SUV in my driveway ever since.

Fizzboy7

Betch ya'll didn't know the DTS was one of the first rides to come with rear LED taillights and turn signals. ; )

caddyowner

... and the turn signal reminder that changes the turn signal volume to LOUD if you drive for more than about 1/4 mile with it on.

jason60050

Get the Buick Lucerne and save yourself some money.

mmarshall

True, but, aside from the nice-looking, dash-wide faux-wood trim, it's got a lot of the same plasticky interior the DTS has, and, likewise, a 4-speed automatic.

caddyowner

I rather liked the Lucerne CXS. It had the 275 HP Northstar (same as the non-Performance editions of the DTS) which actually has more low end torque than the 292 HP Northstar in the Performance. Due to the lower weight and that low end torque, it tested faster 0-60 than the DTS Performance. Plus, it gets better MPG than the DTS Performace due to the standard rear end. The CXS has a stiffer suspension than the other V6 (CX or CXL) or V8 (few CXL units) floaty Lucernes. However, the Lucerne dash looks even worse than that of the DTS and there is only the base level leather available.

Again, the real killer for these cars for me was the frequent chassis shake that couldn't be balanced out. Some cars had it while other didn't. Add that to the likely squeaks and rattles from that old platform and doubtful reliability for the second 100K miles, I would be selling the car before the CPO warranty was up.