[gOOber]

How much is a Veyron goin' for these days, gOOb?  About 2 mill a pop?

It`s all academic to me.

[Eliza D]

^Nonsense, it's clearly a Bugatti, not an Academic. 

[luvdemwhoppers]

^Bugatti sound like some kind of pasta, and academics? when taught, I was out sick, so i'm lost

[luvdemwhoppers]

1966 Olds Toronado, Jay Leno's resto.

[solvegas]

1966 Olds Toronado, Jay Leno's resto.

Yes, that's the ticket. When the Toronado, Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado came out in 1966 with front wheel drive they were a technical tour de force. It was not the first time front wheel drive came out ( In the 20's and 30's a few cars were like that ) but I believe it was the first time any of the Big Three did that. Their engines were far to large to put sideways so they had the traditional orientation of rear wheel drive which is why they had such loooong hoods. The trunks were relatively short and since in those days cars had full size tires for spares, the trunks were not relatively roomy for such large vehicles. But they were very fast. Such beautiful styling. No melted butter bar look on these cars. 

[Cris_H]

^I almost bought one in the late 70s, but didn't because of two things: 1) I was told that the "knuckles" on the front wheel drive half shafts were a bitch to replace and prone to wear and 2) when I sat down behind the wheel, I was a bit overwhelmed at the sheer size of the hood.  My previous car had been a 1976 Honda Civic 1200cc. 

[solvegas]

^I almost bought one in the late 70s, but didn't because of two things: 1) I was told that the "knuckles" on the front wheel drive half shafts were a bitch to replace and prone to wear and 2) when I sat down behind the wheel, I was a bit overwhelmed at the sheer size of the hood.  My previous car had been a 1976 Honda Civic 1200cc. 

Yes, I can imagine that the size difference would be disconcerting. Talk about David and Goliath comparison. I laugh when they talk about todays " large " cars. Compared to what was being built in the 50's, 60's and pre-oil embargo 70's cars, todays are just the size of a midsize of then.

[Eliza D]

Yes, that's the ticket. When the Toronado, Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado came out in 1966 with front wheel drive they were a technical tour de force. It was not the first time front wheel drive came out ( In the 20's and 30's a few cars were like that ) but I believe it was the first time any of the Big Three did that. Their engines were far to large to put sideways so they had the traditional orientation of rear wheel drive which is why they had such loooong hoods. The trunks were relatively short and since in those days cars had full size tires for spares, the trunks were not relatively roomy for such large vehicles. But they were very fast. Such beautiful styling. No melted butter bar look on these cars. 

A 1966 Buick Riviera had front wheel drive?  I know the Caddy Eldo had it (no where near as good looking as the Olds Toronado, in my opinion), but the Riviera?

[solvegas]

A 1966 Buick Riviera had front wheel drive?  I know the Caddy Eldo had it (no where near as good looking as the Olds Toronado, in my opinion), but the Riviera?

Yes, the Riviera had it. As huge as it was, it was not considered the BIG Buick because it was about 2 feet shorter than the Electra 225. The Riviera, Toronado and El Dorado were built in the same production line and shared many of the same underpinings even though their engines were not the same. The El Dorado was the only one that remained front wheel drive till it was put to rest. The Toronado died in the 80's and the Riviera about ten years or so ago never achieving their glory days after the first oil embargo of 1973. Crying shame. 

[Eliza D]

HAGERTY disagrees with you, SolVegas.

So does How Stuff Works

Concept Carz too.

Just sayin'.

[solvegas]

Eliza, now that I'm forced to eat crow and my memory has been proven to be defective, what kind of cooking do you recommend to eat the bird with ? 

[pedonbio]

For the non-existent record, here is a 1936 Cord 810, the first production-level American front-wheel drive car. It was, however, well behind the French Citroen Traction.

[Eliza D]

Eliza, now that I'm forced to eat crow and my memory has been proven to be defective, what kind of cooking do you recommend to eat the bird with ? 

I dunno.  When I eat someone's bird, I usually just gulp it in one go! 

[luvdemwhoppers]

muscle cars were my thing, but I always liked these.

[pedonbio]

   Recently I've been looking toward the future. Thinking about an Elio: