Posted on 12/07/2025 10:06:15 PM PST by Red Badger
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Jim
Remember Mazdas with the rotary engines? △
My buddy bought a brand new Vega circa 1975. After a few months the transmission went. The best thing about the car was it had a AM/FM radio and 8-track player built in the dash.
I had a 1972 Vega hatchback, automatic. I loved it. I got it with the larger radio for the a/c version, but did not have a/c installed in it. I got 80,000 miles before the engine (piston rings) froze up. I took it to Germany with me and remember my German mechanic at the AFFES garage saying that Chevrolet should have put the Opel 4 cylendar engine in it, as the Opel was a well proven engine that had great mileage and would easily live for a couple of hundred thousand miles.
I came home in 1978 and bought a 4 speed Monza station wagon painted yellow exactly like this 75 Vega. The Monza was just a Vega with the Pontiac Sun Bird cast iron/steel block replacing the Vega’s aluminium block. It lasted for about 160,000 miles until it died when the oil safety plug blew out.
The car with the 30,000 mile engine. I had one of those back then. It was fine when I acquired it at 22,000 miles. At 31,000 miles it was burning oil very visibly. Offered for sale at 100$ and got a counter offer of “I will tow it away for you for 25$.”
And I had a Maverick I got used. I got almost 1k miles with it before the hood latch broke and the hood broke my windshield.
“Pinto’s and Maverick’s were just as bad but they sold millions of them.”
Not by a long shot!
Like a pretty bow on a pig.
“It could have been worse, I guess. They could have choose a Ford Pinto .”
You don’t know.
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