Sleepers

[leighton]

Sleepers are my favorite cars. Ever since my dad used turbo Volvo Wagons to piss off Corvette drivers in front of their dates, I realized they are the most fun vehicles to own. The wagon "Looked like it was standing still even when it was doing 90".

Much like this minivan beating a Mustang:

Comments

[otterpop]

The new GTO's styling is somewhere between snore inducing and crap. It looks like a Grand Am that some ricer tried to make look more like a Mustang.

[leighton]

But they did keep in line with the original GTO's spirit: Make it boring (or common ugly Pontiac in this case) and blow the doors off of any detractors while fooling cops. It doesn;t look like a Mustang at all too me. If anything it looks more front wheel drive. And all the body mouldings / scoops were either removed or are remove options on the new one with the 6.0.

[existentialista]

we've had the GTO discussion before...otterpop is right re: the styling...it does come equipped with a killer sound system as its interior saving grace...the handling is amazing, tho'...i don't like the body styling at all...*shiver*...but the ones i test drove were hella fun, i'll admit...but you know i prefer the classic GTO...

the only reissued classic in recent years that even looked decent and comparable to its original form was the tbird...

[leighton]

The whole revival thing is almost a parallel to music 9go for the easy cover tune or dress up like it's 1969). The revivalists who go for rehashing the body with an easy retro-look aren't being true to the original idea, visually at least. Mechanically, the new Mustang is true in the sense that it's actually on the same platform as the new Lincoln / Tbirds, yet is a fast / cheap car.

The new Tbird tanked worse than the 1st 2nd gen GTO's, so it doesn't always work. (Supposedly the new GTO's are backordered now with the new engines though).

[flastron]

It's a question for the scholars whether Ford implements bad ideas, or takes good ideas and implements them poorly. All I know is the Cougar is the worst badge engineering ever.

I wonder if they'll Torino the Fusion

[leighton]

They'll Gran Torino it.

Just like GM 442's the Quad 4 Olds?

Stang

[brandonkierdorf]

Best thing most Mustang's are good for is getting pulled over. C'mon officer, this Escort ain't that fast.
I locked my keys in my car one day, the tow truck driver I kinda knew from high school. Driving around in retrieval of his slim jim he had loaned out, we had fun beating a Mustang who had challenged us at the green light.

Re: Stang

[leighton]

A blown Escort GT is really fast. Did it have anything?

That was the original idea behind the 1st GTOs, Buick RS and Cutlass SS: Take a common car and make it fast, but don't attract cops.

Kids today won't want to buy these things because they aren't flashy enough and you can't get the girls / boys with them....sad.

Re: Stang

[brandonkierdorf]

No. Nothing in it. It was an Escort, really. No, GT.
I drive an "S" class Sonoma now. I wish it picked up the girls. It ain't for hauling anything much more than a friend's mattress on a dry day.

Re: Stang

[leighton]

Sure, it can pick up girls in it still. You just have to knock them unconscious before they ever see your vehicle, then you throw them in the bedlined Sonoma/ Pre-Colorado.

[flastron]

Don't forget the 1986 Omni GLHS, the S is for Caroll Shelby.

I once saw a Chrysler minivan with a big block conversion, and a push button transmission. I forget if it had a 383 or a 440.

For a while, in addition to wanting to build a funhouse in my backyard, my insanity manifested itself with dreams of building a JuSTi, which is a Justy with a WRX powertrain. You could do it with an STi powertrain, but that's almost too much. It's suppose to be driveable.

[leighton]

You could keep the CVT in the Justy and have no shift loss! (well, after axel loss).

If you ttok the badging / wings off a WRX / STi, they's be true sleepers, but as it they look ricer for sure.

[flastron]

Those CVTs were mostly experimental. Also, the chain-based ones aren't good for absorbing/transferring large amounts of power. To go near or past 200 hp, you need the twin-toroid CVT design developed by Audi. And a 3-d visual to understand what the heck it does.

What I really want to do is make a sleeper 1991 Crown Vic. Nowadays, most on the road are granny cars, I'd like to first reduce the curb weight:replace panels/hood/trunk with fiberglass, take out the power windows and doors, redo the cushy bench seats to appear the same, but jus tbe the skin stretch over lighter mesh seats. Then put in a crate engine and open a private detective agency.

[leighton]

I dunno, even if a 109 year old spinster tailgates me in one of those Crown Vics, my feet involentarily lift off all pedals. Teh headlight pattern alone can throw up brake lights in opposite lanes for miles.

Maybe a Taurus SHO with no badges and the police spec?

[annahplanet]

They're my favorite too. Though I really hadn't put much thought into the newer cars. Maybe the GTI? No, that's too obvious.

My dream car is a 64 Falcon sleeper in something dull like navy blue.

[leighton]

There was a VW "GT" (no "i"), but they kinda blew their cover in general. Supposedly the VW Quantam (?) had a wagon / turbo version.

In the early 80's , it was all about the Turbo Volvo Wagons..the bigger ones.

There was a Pinto in the early 70's with some factory monster engine in it. Heh.

[annahplanet]

You know what? I'd always thought of them as modified cars - only the engine modified though. Everything else regular. You seem to refer to them more as cars with surprisingly powerful stock engines. Maybe you should argue with Wikipedia.

[leighton]

Generically to me, a "sleeper" is a car that doesn't look like or have a reputation for being fast. But it is fast.

Sometimes they come that way from the factory, sometimes (like with the minivan) they are made fast on the inside, kept bland on the inside.

Cops and knocking down flashy egomobiles are the reason for sleepers.