NYC Auto Show: Chrysler Prez arrives on stage in butt-ugly Fiat

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by MoPar Man, Apr 9, 2009.

  1. MoPar Man

    who Guest

    Our first '79 Horizion 2dr was manual steering and stick stick by choice.

    Difficult to park and the stick shift had linkage problems.
    We traded it on an '80 with power steering and auto transmission by
    choice.

    We also had a manual steering FWD Escort rental in the UK.
    Horrible to steer in close quarters.
     
    who, Apr 19, 2009
    #41
  2. MoPar Man

    Josh S Guest

    I had this problem when I bought a '81 Horizon TC3, with the 2.2L engine
    and stick shift. The manual transmission had problems and I became very
    frustrated that no one in the dealership seemed capable of discussing 4
    spd transmission functions. All they knew was autos.

    Fortunately I found a mechanic at another dealership who understood my
    transmission problems. He patched it several times, until after 2 years
    Chrysler totally replaced the transmission innards with a later design,
    which was OK. I'm still wondering why I didn't dump it for another make.
     
    Josh S, Apr 19, 2009
    #42
  3. MoPar Man

    Josh S Guest

    That was said yesterday by the previous CAW president.
    He said there wouldn't be enough profit in small Fiats to help Chrysler.
     
    Josh S, Apr 19, 2009
    #43
  4. I think this is a general issue. Very little profit per small car. Am not
    sure if the (Mercedes) Smart has turned a profit yet. The (BMW) Mini only
    fairly recently went into the black, AFAIK.

    DAS

    To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"
     
    Dori A Schmetterling, Apr 19, 2009
    #44
  5. MoPar Man

    Steve Guest


    Never mind the Smart crash results, just try to buy parts (or those
    oddball sized tires!) for less than a fortune. No thanks.
     
    Steve, Apr 20, 2009
    #45
  6. MoPar Man

    Steve Guest

    Nothing is changing, its just that the myth of superior Japanese quality
    is finally fading after enough Toyota owners have had to replace engines
    and front suspensions, and enough soccer moms have had their Odysseys
    puke their transmission guts out on the way home from school.
     
    Steve, Apr 20, 2009
    #46
  7. MoPar Man

    Steve Guest

    Not the choice I would have made. The early Horizon/Omni automatics were
    horribly "mushy" shifting, and the power steering was incredibly notchy.
    My father owned a '78 and it (plus a couple of Datsuns) put him off
    small front-drive cars for the rest of his life. Manual/manual/manual
    Omnirizons drove FAR better IMO. My first car was a manual-brake
    manual-steering Ford Ranchero (Fairlane body, not the earlier Falcon
    body Ranchero). It was harder to steer than an Omni/Horizon, but I
    managed to parallel park it just fine.
     
    Steve, Apr 20, 2009
    #47
  8. MoPar Man

    Bill Putney Guest

    When I was a teenager, my Dad bought a 1965 International Travelall that
    was mine to drive. For those not familiar with it, it was a station
    wagon built on a true truck chassis - like the Chevrolet Suburban, but
    heavier - though it had an automatic transmission, it had manual
    steering. It definitely needed power steering. Parallel parking was
    not fun. Just thought I'd throw that in. :)
     
    Bill Putney, Apr 21, 2009
    #48
  9. Depends on the country...

    DAS

    To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"
     
    Dori A Schmetterling, Apr 21, 2009
    #49
  10. MoPar Man

    who Guest

    Your FWD manual steering experiences were totally different than ours.
    We went to FWD power steering in the 80s and have been happily there
    since, with several different FWD cars.
    Yes the 3 spd auto then was mushy, but for our city driving much better.
    On the highway I'd take the manual, but we drive mostly in slower
    variable speed city driving.
     
    who, Apr 21, 2009
    #50
  11. MoPar Man

    Josh S Guest

    You save on wheel bolts, only three of them! >:)
     
    Josh S, Apr 21, 2009
    #51
  12. MoPar Man

    Bill Putney Guest

    Wow - not much redundancy for a super-critical part of the vehicle!
     
    Bill Putney, Apr 21, 2009
    #52
  13. MoPar Man

    Steve Guest

    Was it a 345 or 392 v8? Somewhere I used to have a picture of a bare IH
    345 cylinder block. The thing makes your average Ford, Chevy, or
    Chrysler big-block look like a dainty little ornate metal scupture. The
    345 looks more like a solid block of iron with bits picked away for the
    rotating assembly to fit. Buttresses across the lifter valley. Only
    like 2 coolant holes passing through the cylinder deck. Deep skirt with
    cross bracing around the main caps. The weight engine ALONE in a
    Travelall is enough reason to want power steering!
     
    Steve, Apr 22, 2009
    #53
  14. MoPar Man

    Bill Putney Guest

    Actually it was the 304 CI engine. It actually moved it pretty well.
    But you're right - I always heard that their engines weighed several
    hundred pounds more than other make engines. I think that kind of
    extreme over-design was their eventual downfall. They generally didn't
    progress with the times, i.e., slow in adopting true improvements like
    disc brakes.

    My Dad used IH trucks in his Mechanical contracting business. One of
    the service trucks that he had had a 4 cylinder engine, the design of
    which was literally the V-8 block, head, pistons, connecting rods but
    with one cylinder bank deleted from the casting.
     
    Bill Putney, Apr 22, 2009
    #54
  15. MoPar Man

    Bill Putney Guest

    This is what the '65 Travelall looked like:
    http://jalopnik.com/5052750/1965-international-harvester-travelall-d+1000-with-bonus-proto+suv-poll

    Mine was nicer looking than that - two-tone paint - metallic medium blue
    lower, roof was white. I just remembered too that the front suspension
    was torsion bar.
     
    Bill Putney, Apr 22, 2009
    #55
  16. MoPar Man

    Steve Guest

    I think that's the same casting as the 345. The 392 is, I think, a
    "raised deck" version of the 345 block. Sorta like a Mopar 440 vs a 383.
    It was probably their downfall from the light-duty market sector (the
    Scout and Travelall). But it kept them at the top of the game in school
    bus and medium-duty box truck service for 40 years...
     
    Steve, Apr 24, 2009
    #56
  17. MoPar Man

    Gerry Him Guest

    I will only be beneficial if buyers that fit the Fiats come to buy them.
    I don't!!!
     
    Gerry Him, Aug 6, 2009
    #57
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