Is this GM's Most Failed Automotive Invention? The 1971 Flow-Through Ventilation System

[@ddavidson5]

As I recall these trunk louvers were a failed attempt to deal with the deletion of the front vent windows which worked very well at extracting smoke when the front seat passengers lit up (most moms and dads did smoke in those days). I am not a smoker but I still miss those small front vent windows that cars used to have.

[@fhe3220]

wing window

[@edwardbazylewicz960]

@@fhe3220 On my 66 caddy, I called them "cigarette windows."

[@BenLapke]

I just want to say your channel is among the best on KZbin. You always provide accurate and interesting information. Please keep up the good work!

[@1SqueakyWheel]

It's always good when a channel owner is conscientious and takes pride in their content.

[@michaelbergschneider2446]

You have an amazing collection of classic cars. And you keep them in beautiful condition.

[@clinkerclint]

That's just what I was thinking.

[@LakeNipissing]

I would really like to see a video on how he schedules maintenance for oil, transmissions, brakes, batteries, etc. for so many cars. I have 9 cars which are between 30 and 60 years old, and I cannot keep up!!

[@judgegixxer]

You knew you smoked too much if your decklid louvres had nicotine stains. lol

[@RareClassicCars]

Ha!

[@petestaint8312]

😂. Ewwww

[@mpetersen6]

Think about all the nicotine in the interior fabrics.

[@LongIslandMopars]

🤣

[@user-pgchargerse71]

My Dad always smoked in his car. His '67 VWs white headliner was yellow. His next car, a '76 Dodge Dart, had an all gold interior and the smoke didn't show. Still was stinky though.

[@nolanbrown84]

I just can't believe that they popped smoke in an ad in 1971 without playing "Fortunate Son" in the background. Only seems fitting for the era.

[@jmcd3970]

I had a 1971 Buick Riviera with those vents in the back the people in the backseat froze to death in the winter time with the heater on full blast A typical brilliant idea from GM. Gjm

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

That would be a good tradeoff for driving a '71 Riviera, beautiful car like nothing else on the road - one of my "if I win the lottery" cars!

[@MarinCipollina]

I remember the placement of the vents on the Riv were on both sides of the boat tail.. 1971 was the purest of the boat tail Rivs.

[@Primus54]

Backseats in a Riviera are only for packages and briefcases. They were built for that young executive and lawyers. 😉🤣

[@BRAINFxck10]

Ur supposed to leave a Mexican blanket back there 😂

[@fairfaxcat1312]

General Motors is called “the mark of excellence.”

[@robertbabut]

Adam, you are the best. I love your videos. My mom bought a 71 Catalina 4 door hardtop with a 350 2 barrel. It was a great car. The ventilation system worked well. No A/C. My dad bought a 71 Vega. With the exception of the fact that that the car burned oil like a sieve, it wasn't a bad car. Again, no problems with the ventilation system. GM tried to be on the cutting edge in those days. Some of it was great, others, not so much. A lot was learned, and we have much better vehicles today based on those mistakes.

[@patrickdaly5068]

My dad had a 73 Catalina with a 400, and it would fly. I think it was a 2 barrel, but I would have to ask him. If it was, I can’t imagine how fast it would have been with a 4!

[@geraldscott4302]

"we have much better vehicles today" I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with that statement. Today's vehicles are by far the worst in the history of automobiles. I'd rather have a Model T.

[@GTOGregory]

I owned a used 1972 Grand Ville. No vents on the trunk lid. It was a terrific car! Lots of power, very comfortable seats, and a great ride.

[@mattf5207]

I’m glad I finally found out what’s those louvres were for on my 1971 Impala. Which was retired in 1979. lol. Always thought they were just a styling element.

[@62Madison]

I was only 8, but remember my uncle, a Chevy dealer, pointing out the vents to my skeptical dad on his brand new Impala (green, of course).

[@SummitHill79]

I like your Cimmaron. I remember that when these were introduced my Dad and I went to look at them because it came with a standard transmission. He was thinking about getting Cimmaron to replace his 240D that also had a standard transmission. He was a manual guy. I remember being at the Cadillac dealer with him and both of us just laughing at how bad the quality was.

[@RobertSmith-le8wp]

There was a farmer around me that had an old Mercedes diesel and it was absolutely an excellent car. I know at the time it had over 600,000 miles on it. There definitely wasn’t any Cadillac made around that time, or even in the next 20 years that would go that long

[@connormason7907]

I bet that 240d probably lasted him a long time if he kept it.

[@CrawfishCuban]

FYI Cimmarone means Cinnamon Shrimp

[@scottbenjamine4890]

the cadillac cimmaron was the exact same car as a chevy cavalier. even the sheetmetal,,as in fenders hood etc was the same. maybe a different motor option, or a few extra bells and whistles, but still a piece of crap back then. those were bad days for car owners no matter what they drove because of the govt. mandates when the auto industry had no clue how to keep up.

[@CrawfishCuban]

@scottbenjamine4890 hell yeah its a pig with lipstick 💄 😂

[@curtisroberts9137]

In HS a friend had a 76 Olds Omega and it had the same fan system. I never knew at the time where the vents were, they must have been in the door as you mentioned but the fan always being on was super annoying. You could never get the temperature stable in the car and it was always just a bit of noise in the background that you could never shut off. As for the add, "if you've got friends who smoke up your car," THROW THEM OUT AND MAKE THEM WALK!!

[@Mark32500]

I still have my grandpa’s 76 olds omega, but the fan doesn’t always run.

[@afberglund2764]

Olds with that vent and 350 diesel

[@gregharvie3896]

Hi there from Sydney, Australia, In 1972 GM USA actually used the identical plastic breathers in the door shuts that Aussies had fitted to all of the 1971 big Holdens, I don't mean they are similar I mean the exact units. Additionally Adam, my old mate who sold, repaired and had the biggest parts supply stock in Australia told me NEVER buy one of these '71's as if parked at an odd angle in a deep kerb side where the car leaned heavily & was by no means flat, you could well come back to a car with a boot of water. If he took one in to onsell it, he would fit a 1972 bootlid. Here in Sydney we get terrific summer afternoon storms on a very hot day, 20 minutes and the rain is over, additionally in many of the old suburbs close to a natural waterway the councils built huge deep gutters curbside you need to be careful when opening a passengers door as it will not reach the footpath cement, with your car leaning heavily to the left , these deck lids do fill the boot with water, happened to a friend from the NSW Caddy La Salle club with a jade green '71 deVille sedan in just such a storm when we'd had a car show, he parked it at a steep angle and right side of car near 2foot lower than right side the whole boot /trunk was probably 20% full of rain water, what a mess as it damaged all the soft carpet lining and the wood/fibre panels on the outer boot floor, I was shocked at how badly it leaked. Consider somewhere like San Francisco where it's very hilly and think of the complaints GM must have received, and Sydney is just as hilly as San Francisco.

[@HEYTWIDDLELEEDEE-c6p]

I love your channel man. These are the kind of subjects that really get to my heart. I grew up working on these kind of cars.

[@veganguy74]

Very interesting video. Years ago I cleaned out my uncle’s car , a 1990s Volvos, in which he had smoked for years and it was absolutely disgusting how much residue collected on all the interior surfaces.

[@ganderson158]

We had that on my dad's 71Bel Air. Interior still fogged up! That car was great. 2 door & gold. 350 V-8; Trunk wheel well would get water in it as did the rear seat foot well I recall. We had that car 15+ years! Learned to drive on it. It was a tank.

[@scootosan]

You have a very unique appreciation and collection of cars and why not... thanks for being unique.... takes one to know one

[@arnesahlen2704]

It's great to see the numbers rocketing up just after you posted (1 hour as of my viewing time.) As you deserve, highly respected for just-the-facts accuracy.

[@andrewhazenberg3398]

You are the absolute best Adam . Your nice pleasant calm voice and your vast amount of knowledge of those cool classic vehicles from the good ol’ days , is amazing. 👍❤✌

[@charlesdalton985]

I think the Corvette may have hung onto the rear deck area vents a few more years. Later to be replaced by dummy vents. An additional annoyance, at least for me, was having the blower on before the engine had heated up in the winter. That cold air on your feet was not comfortable. Side note - I had a 65 Thunderbird with their version, that worked quite well. Thank you as always, great content ~ Chuck

[@gm12551]

Gotta start the car early and let it warm up

[@MarinCipollina]

Cadillac Climate Control on cold days withheld the blower until the engine was sufficiently heated enough to dump warm air to the interior.

[@5litreho]

I had a 1972 Corvette that had the rear vent diffuser behind the rear window.

[@BEdwardStover]

I love your car! My second car that I owned was a 72 Grand Ville. Same roof color, same color interior color (mine was the cloth interior, one of the most comfortable I ever sat in), but my paint was the chocolate brown. Mine was also a hardtop, like yours. Having a 72 and seeing 71s around here and there, I much preferred the front end of the 71. My 68 Impala fastback was still a great car, I had rebuilt the engine at home in my parent's garage. Every day my day would come home from work, discuss what I did that day and make suggestions for the next day. But I was in school for automotive technology degree. I needed a car whose engine I can rebuild and thought it a waste to rebuild and engine I rebuilt just 3 years before. At home at Christmas, I found a great car to use, the 72 Grand Ville. It belonged to a friend of one of my older sisters. I think I paid $25 because it was not in running condition and the owner was aware the engine needed a lot of attention. Got permission from my parents to park it behind the house, so I did not block the garage or driveway, just until summer break. I only had a 2 week summer break because I was on a year round scholarship. A childhood friend was working for a towing company and he towed it for me for free. To get it running again, I needed to replace the distributor. The oil pump drive had sheared off. I got it running. It smoked like crazy and time the accelerator was pushed. The teacher of my engine rebuilding class loved it. Every time he discussed some indicator of wear, my engine had it. We had a full machine shop, I had already taken my machine shop class, so I did everything myself. It ended up bored over 0.050 inches, so was no longer a 455 but a 462. Once I rebuilt the double pumper 4 barrel holley, it was hot. I am from metro Detroit. The rust on my car was unbelievable. Not bad at all when I bought it, but rust continues. The bottom of the trunk rusted the worst (no idea why) and my solution was cutting 3.4 inch marine plywood to fit. It ended up as 2 pieces that had a gap down the center to allow for bumps to be avoided and the plywood to lay flat. I owned it from December 1980 to June 1984. I sold it to a friend who wanted the big engine for towing his camper. It also had the factory tow kit which was large bits of chromed metal bolted to the frame.

[@BEdwardStover]

I went to dual exhaust with a pair of glass packs. Fine if you just cruise by a cop, but push down that accelerator pedal and it could get loud. It also felt like a kick in the butt. My engine was an HD, but with my mods it was pretty much an SD. HD or Heavy duty got all the crankshaft caps heavy duty. SD or Super Duty got that plus a Quadrajet. Mine had a Holley double pumper, that had to have an adapter since it could not use the huge secondaries. Even the forward barrels were slightly smaller than the Quadrajet primaries. The adapter made a smooth transition.

[@allanharris4281]

My Uncle Bruce Davis was Parts Manager at Russell Pontiac Buick (RIP) in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Of the many demonstrators he had, I remember this distinctive front end of this very car.

[@5roundsrapid263]

The hometown of Gordon Lightfoot. RIP Gord…

[@allanharris4281]

@@5roundsrapid263 They were in the same grade!!!

[@GregBeaulieu-c3t]

One problem not mentioned on the ‘71-‘76 big GM cars was related to the blower fan not having an off position. It ran constantly, no fun in the winter after a cold start. But also, every single one of these cars I ever drove had a ticky fan sound, presumably because debris got into the works or maybe the fan motor bearings were dry or worn. Would drive you nuts.

[@mvmorr01]

If the other cars were like my 71 Riviera, there's a thermal switch and relay that are supposed to stop the blower until the car warms up. I tracked that down the first time I drove it on a cold day! Both parts were bad on mine, and the original relay was hard to find, but could be rewired to use a modern relay.

[@Mark32500]

My dads 72 Monte Carlo, and my grandpa’s 76 olds, you can turn off the blower motor

[@rcole3838]

In my 78 Firebird, the blower was always running. Fixed this annoying feature by putting a switch on the ground.

[@Johnfisher12345]

The nonstop blower motor was only in ‘71. Discontinued in ‘72 with the flow-through ventilation.

[@alsmith6246]

My grandpa had a 71 Caprice. I remember the trunk louvers and rubber flaps on the deck lid. I’ve been looking for one for years. They are hard to find these days.

[@dimitriakimov6533]

Adam, your videos are not only informative but also quite entertaining. And yes, we too love your Cimarron!

[@harrydoherty8299]

we had one i bought from the dealer i worked at. what a beast. i never had a major problems with the car.

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

8:46 Your Cadillac Cimarron is a beautiful color, has gorgeous alloys wheels, a wonderful V6 engine and other numerous features that are too numerous to mention!

[@williammaceri8244]

You are absolutely right about GM, and Adam. Very well put.

[@randyfitz8310]

Adam- I really enjoy your channel; a delight each time you release a new video! An earlier design failure that went to market was Chevrolet’s 1923 Series M Copper Cooled Engine. One year only.

[@drippinglass]

Across the board… the federally mandated seat belt ignition interlock system was a one year deal for all American cars. We had a new ‘74 Monte Carlo and my sister had a new ‘74 Duster with it.

[@LongIslandMopars]

My 74 Charger still has it

[@terry-zi7eh]

Dad’s 74 Catalina coupe had it. He got became a proponent of using the seat belts. Thanks, Dad.

[@ericg4042]

My grandfathers 73 Nova had the interlock. It was a late-built (June or July 73) car.

[@williamflack5767]

@terry-zi7eh My dad's 74 Impala had the seat belts lock. Dad always wore belts. I picked up his habit. My first car, Pontiac Grand Le Man's . Beautiful car. You rode in my car. You belted up. In 2000, I had a head-on collision. Seat belts and air bags saved me and the girl going down the wrong side of the road. Buick Park Avenue.

[@eddstarr2185]

Hey Adam, I just saw another KZbin video of a 1971 Eldorado Convertible with a '72 decklid swap and repairs to the trunk due to water damage. The issue is that many 1971 Eldorado Convertibles have had trunk area repairs, but are presented as "all original condition". The casualty rate for 1971 Cadillacs is high and that's why it was a pleasure to see Wayne Kady's Eldorado on your channel. It makes me wonder how many "all original" 1971 GM full-sized cars actually exist. Thank you, Adam, for anther fascinating car history video.

[@kevinlynch1227]

Beautiful Car Brother!!!! Color and roof and ALL!!!!! Congratulations!!! We had the 71 Catalina 4 door sedan in Aztec Gold which was more like a dark gold brown. It was an awesome car and always garaged and waxed to the max ... after a little rust started to developed on the front bumper and on the body adjacent to the rear window trim. Never had issues with the flow through ventilation... the car was always beautiful and appreciated until the 76 fully loaded, 3 seat Grand Safari 455 wagon arrived. That car was even better and kept perfect until sold in the late 90s. I drovevit to college every day/4 years, starting in 1978. Should have kept it forever. 😢... It had the electric clamshell rear window and tailgate. It was cream with the wood and saddle colored interior with brown carpet!! Rally II key colored rims. THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go 71 Grand Ville and GO YOU!!!!!!!!!

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

My folks had a '71 Caprice and kept it about 15yrs and they never had a problem with the flow thru ventilation that I know of. Other than the cheapened interior, I think the '71 Chevy Caprice/Impala (9:51) were beautifully styled and were all-n-all good, reliable road cars.

[@darrellsaunders4267]

On the 67 and 68 Camaro's without A/C, they called their air vents ASTRO VENTILATION.

[@scooterp7009]

I had a ‘69 Camaro with Astro Ventilation.

[@PhilRacicot]

Other cars had Astro Ventilation too. 1968 Pontiac Grande Parisienne coupes had no vent windows and the front windows had "Astro Ventilation" stamped on them. E bodies like my '67 Riviera also had no vent windows (the first to have this) and this ventilation system but it wasn't designated like that. They also had louvera at the back but they weren't part of the trunk door, they were between the back glass and the deck lid. They were drained with large rubber hoses (size of radiator hoses) that went down the trunk floor.

[@tonyelliott7734]

68 and 69. I don't believe 67 had it because they had vent windows.

[@GregBeaulieu-c3t]

The use of the Astro ventilation name at GM began with certain 1968 models after vent windows were deleted, but was different from this because it wasn’t fan-assisted. The car had to be moving to get air from the dash vents, which carried on for several years.

[@rovervitesse1985]

Wow. Thats a beautiful car youve got there. Love the GrandVille!

[@jpb4321]

OMG - I had a 1973 Vega hatchback and remember those louvres on the deck lid and never knew what they were for. Thanks!

[@keithschrack]

As kooky innovations go, I bet the "GM Liquid Tire Chain" dispenser could give a run for the money.

[@69Applekrate]

Yes, you are correct on those tail panels. Both 71 and 72 Pontiac full size tail panels have been hard to find for over 30 years now. I own several hundred Pontiacs here in Az and offer parts I do not need for my own collection. good video, always nice to learn something.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

"I own several hundred Pontiacs"😲

[@RareClassicCars]

Wow

[@Johnfisher12345]

@philojudaeusofalexandria9556 Yes, Frank the junkyard hoarder who asks for huge money for his parts and is very hard to deal with. And he knows it, just doesn’t care. Many in the Pontiac world despise him.

[@CPS396]

Not quite all GM cars, just full size and Vegas. The reason Grand Ville reverted back to Bonneville was after the disastrous 73/74 energy crises, GM was gearing up for the 77 downsize and "Grand" sounded too big. Not being critical, as this is an excellent informative video and I very much enjoyed it!

[@LuckysMotorcycles]

This flow through feature would be great for guys like me who eat a lot of beans and have associated permeation of cabin air.

[@Victor-Lag]

So this is why you ride motorcicles right? 😉🤣

[@seanhoward8025]

It made sense to keep them on the Vega…all Vegas were crushed within a few years of leaving the lot.

[@thomaswoitekaitis8977]

That's why there is NONE now right? 😂jack wagon statement 😂

[@seanhoward8025]

​@thomaswoitekaitis8977 Or Pintos...

[@3beltwesty]

Astro was the Jetsons best friend too.

[@patrickgr1547]

To enjoy the rear seat AC full effect simply remove those foam inserts from the inner lid. After 50 years they’re pretty stiff so be careful I doubt the dealer can replace them for you.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

This short lived situation kind of remings me of another bizarre GM innovation. Remember in the trunk of some GM cars they had that deicer pump that would squirt that chemical onto the rear tires to melt snow for better traction? I don't know how long that lasted, but I've never seen one in person. I like these older car tricks they tried!

[@jefferysmith3930]

Ahhh….the Cimmeron. The world’s nicest Cavalier. I remember sitting in the barbershop chair in 1983 or thereabouts. I was 13. An ad Came on the TV for the Cimmeron. Testimonials from “customers” who bought the small Cadillac after comparing to BMW, Audi, etc. even at that age I thought, “yeah….right. sure you did” I like them now, though when you can probably pick one up for about the same price as a similar vintage Cavalier.

[@roypavao7498]

Oh yeah....I remember my old man had a 71 pontiac laurentian, similar to this one. He was a chain smoker and always had the windows rolled up. Fabulous times!!!

[@DanEBoyd]

If most of us look up under our rear bumper covers, particularly where they wrap around to the sides of the vehicle, we are likely to see extractor vents in that location. Trucks usually have them on the back wall of the cab.

[@back4more420]

I had a 72 it was like driving a cloud with power everything. Loved it.

[@Alan-yn9fk]

We had a '71 Impala and I don't recall ever seeing smoke coming out of those vents. My parents bought it new and kept it for 14 years and it still looked new. The only problem with that car was it being a magnet to bad drivers. We could be sitting at a red light and WHAM! No one ever got hurt and twice it looked majorly totalled but wasn't. Great car. Dad had it painted several times to make sure tthe paint matched, it was Classic Copper. He traded it in in 1985 when the a/c went out and he wasn't spend anymore on it.

[@MrThrify]

The Seven-Ups car chase was the Grand Ville's finest moment.

[@RareClassicCars]

Agree. That was a 73

[@LongIslandMopars]

That chase was better than Bullitt

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

​@@LongIslandMoparsSame stuntman the great Bill Hickman

[@LongIslandMopars]

@@truckerkevthepaidtourist yep. The guy was one cool dude behind the wheel

[@Iowa599]

Lol. I add a hoodscoop mounted backward to the roof of my xj, back near the hatch. It worked great! It was fine in Florida without AC! Also had a drip tray to prevent water from entering the car, with a screen to keep bugs out.

[@lundsweden]

Here in Australia in the 60s and 70s, you could wind down the window glass on the tailgate on GM (Holden) station wagons. We did this in the summer to get some really good flow through ventilation!

[@HarrisonJBounel]

My father had a Grandville and it was the greatest car I ever drove. Had awesome power, I had to be careful taking off from a stop in order not to spin the tires. Also it rode like a dream on the freeway. Wish I had it today.

[@dj33036]

Unlike G.M., Fords system was far superior. My '66 T-Bird had vents in the front kick panels that allowed fresh air in and when used in conjunction with the Silent Flow Ventilation System and the small vent windows in each door, worked wonderfully. At 70 miles an hour it was like driving with the windows down without any of the wind buffeting.

[@johnplovanich9564]

Another great video Adam.My parents had a 71 Grandville.Dont remember much about it because I was 3 years old.I have been thinking do you know what would be awesome.You and 1 of your cars on Jay Lenos garage.2 of the best you tube channels coming together.As always cheers from Eulethra.

[@RareClassicCars]

Right on

[@mnmarlin6074]

Beautiful Pontiac. Thanks for the video, I don't ever recall seeing the louvres on the trunk lids, but I'll look for them now, though I may never see a 71 GM again. I do recall the plastic vents on the lockplate surface of the back doors.

[@larrygilbert7273]

My 72 Vega had those, too. Quickly, the drain channels in the hatchback rusted out (a Vega rusting, imagine that!) Then the rain water poured into the hatch bed and collected in the spare tire well.

[@sbrown307]

It made sense when everyone smoked. It was the replacement for the vent windows that were on the older GM cars. Those big Pontiac's were great cars and that's a beauty. I loved Pontiac's "Radial Tuned Suspension". I always wanted a car that had that.

[@terry-zi7eh]

I first saw AstroVentilation on the 68 Caprice 4dr that a friend’s father bought new. The small graphic on the driver’s window where the vent window used to be was cool. The 396 under the hood made it a high performance luxury cruiser that would lay rubber for days.

[@dabombinablemi6188]

Vauxhall had the air exit through the (rather thick) C pillars in their flow through Ventilation system (at least on the FD Victor). The intakes were scoops in front of the windscreen, with the scoop on the left side providing air for the heater.

[@Sonichistorian]

My Dad had a 71 Chevy Impala with a 400 . I remember those vents on the rear deck lid. I remember taking over 100 a couple of times when I was 16.

[@allisons3663]

The Cadillac 4-6-8 engine was one of GM's bigger failures.

[@RedRuffinsore]

I will say that if you ever had a heater fail in a car with flow-thru ventilation, you absolutely FROZE during the winter as the cold air continued flowing thru the car. No way to shut it off.

[@rockfangd]

Excellent video. I will honestly say that is a beautiful car. I love the color and the landau. I loved the ad at the end as well. Oh that Cadillac. The poor mans Cadillac.

[@troyandog8749]

Studebaker had a similar system in 1966. Cabin air exited above the taillights.

[@davehad-enough2369]

Hey great story here. Thanks. In Australia GM vehicles (Holden) promoted flow through ventilation from about 1971 (HQ Series) and the exit was at the rear door pillar (lock panel). That seemed to work ok though years later that area would have rust problems. But certainly better than having vents in the deck lid and allowing water to fill the lid .... how could anyone think that was a good idea.

[@antennaandy6893]

The worst thing GM did was go to the antenna in the windshield instead of having a traditional antenna whip. but I believe that happened in 1969

[@nyki7fykxtjxyi]

81 Silverado had that ,but people didn’t tailgate each other back then. Folks had more sense.

[@stoveguy2133]

My 67 fury had a vacuum operated rear vent setup. The flaps would open to vent cabin air. The tubes/hoses were actually ribbed radiator style hoses.

[@BEdwardStover]

The vents in the door openings also made it easier to shut the doors. The interior pressure vented while the door closed rather than build up and requiring the door to be slammed. Flow through did not address this issue. The rear seats were not really very good at letting air flow through.

[@bigalsmallengines]

Very nicely kept Pontiac. I used to have a 73 Catalina and I loved that car and not just because it was my first one.... LOL Cheers! 🍻

[@AirDOGGe]

My '66 thunderbird and my 1974 Capri had flow through ventilation, but the vents were placed just below the rear window. The T-bird;s vent was as wide as the back window and had a vacuum-powered vent flap that you could open or close via a level on the center console.

[@325xitgrocgetter]

I'd say the decision to have rear door fixed windows in the A/G body sedans and wagons of 1978 to 1988 would have been in the top 5 of GM failed inventions or innovations.

[@troyduty]

I agree! I remember our Bonneville having them and you could only open the little wing window.

[@egold1006]

My dad had a 71 Delta 88. They also had a post strike change in the rear deck louvres. He parked under a tree , then debris would cause the channels to clog. My dad was a smoker as well.

[@wtmayhew]

I had a 1972 Toronado with the 455, and it came with dual exhaust - lots of wide piping and four resonators. Even with the de-tuning for emission control, the Toronado would smoke the front tires when the pedal was punched. Considering how ridiculously large and heavy a car the Toro was, it still managed about 18 MPG on the highway which was about the same as what my 1969 G10 van with the L-head 6 cylinder engine and three in the tree manual transmission got. It’s been a long time, I don’t recall if the Toronado had the black louvers with what looks like Tyvek behind them in the door pillars for purposes of venting the air to the outside through the gap between the door and pillar. I know I’ve seen those vents on other GM cars, I believe, up through at least the 1990s.

[@danielberning1240]

So nice to see your blue Cimarron!! I've been waiting for another video on the Cimarron and for updates. I sure love mine.

[@ncooty]

When somebody's nephew was hired as Head of Design.

[@bobbyjacks3461]

I really enjoy your shirt videos on cars of the past. Keep up the great work!

[@Stevop79400]

Beautiful car. The paint is amazing on video. Pontiac is my favorite brand. Under rated.

[@BradHellman]

My first car was a 71 Caprice. I had those vents on that car and didn’t know at the time that’s what they were for! Wish I had that car back!

[@WayneSummey]

Used one of those cars in a demolition derby. As far as venting smoke. I was raised in the 60's. Our cars had No HVAC systems. Mom wanted horsepower. We always bought clutch with biggest engine they could find. Everyone smoked. No need to vent. My 6 year old lungs provided smoke ventilation.

[@74Husky]

In Cold climates like Canada and a lot of the US, it was brutal on 1st start up. Since you could not turn off the blower motor it was like sitting in a blast freezer until the heater warmed up. Brrrrrrr!!!!

[@davegeorge7094]

My Granma's fav. car with ragtop, had it repainted to last till 94. Flooded engine won't not start because copper carb. float leaked, I soldered it tight and she went on to rust out. Took up whole length garage.

[@veganguy74]

Speaking of drains, I forgot to mention in my earlier comment, I drive a 2013 MINI Cooper Coupe and its retractable spoiler folds down into a recess on top of the rear edge of the hatch and there are a pair of drains that let any water that builds up in the spoiler recess down to the bottom edge of the hatch. So far, after more than 10 years of ownership, no rust there (or anywhere!).

[@jeffgolden253]

Like all full-size GM cars, the early 1971 Chevy Impala that I bought brand new had 36 vent louvers for the Astra-ventilation system (4 columns of 9 rows in a 4 door car). In later '71s they cut them back to 20 vents (4 columns of 5 rows). Two door cars had the same number of louvers, but arranged differently. (The 2 door car in the Chevrolet ad at the end of this vid has 2 columns of 19 louvers each.) In the 4 years and ~110K miles I drove it (mostly in northeast U.S.) I never had a problem with water freezing inside the trunk lid or leakage into the trunk. I also spec'd my '71 Impala with factory dual exhaust, and 400 ci engine, and 4 barrel carb, and posi-traction. Any owners of similar Chevys but with a more normal V8 engine who ever drove my car commented that this was a far quicker car than they were used to.

[@gavinmclaren9416]

Sounds like an awesome car. Was it a 400 small block or a 402 big block? I think if you spec'd a 400 4BBL in '71 it would have been the big block, a factory 0.030" overbore 396 and a great engine. The 400 small blocks were pretty good too, but a big block would be better. I imagine it would be noticibly quicker than the typical 350 that Impala's would come with. Every time I have bought a new car I either found one or ordered one with the largest and/or most powerful engines available. I learned this from my father. He was no speed demon but hated cars that were slow when passing other vehicles by driving in the oncoming lane, a common occurance when he was a young man. He called it "white-knuckling" it and that is an apt description of driving in the oncoming lane while waiting for your car to get past a big truck. I can well remember him shopping GM and Chrysler cars (he was not a Ford fan) and we would end up with either a 440 powered Chrysler or Plymouth Fury, or a big block Pontiac or Oldsmobile that would be our Family's main ride for the next 3 years. Fond memories.

[@jeffgolden253]

@@gavinmclaren9416 I think it was a small block. Only major problem with it was that, from brand new, it consumed a quart of oil every 700 miles. (I say "consumed" because I don't know where it was going ... burned? leaked? I don't know.) When I complained to Chevrolet, they replied that with this engine they considered that normal oil consumption.

[@dwderp]

I had a 1985 Buick Electra P.A., and the first winter I spent with it, my legs were regularly cold. I realized that the vents had a constant flow of cold air coming out of them, unless I turned the heat on. My dad, who was an old car guy, explained what was happening, and told me there was no way to stop it. That didn’t work for me. My feeling was that it was outrageous that an expensive Buick would go around making peoples legs cold. So I removed both lock pillar grills, put a solid piece of plastic sheeting over the openings, and then reattached the grills over the plastic, thereby blocking the air’s exit. I don’t know where the air went after that, but my legs stopped getting cold.

[@chavitacanta008]

We had a 71 Catalina ! Nice car red with black vinyl roof ! Had it for years never had a problem !

[@corgiowner436]

Those louvers are cool however.

[@edwinmassie]

Another issue with this system, and the revised one, is that during the summer if you do not use the AC (or it is malfunctioning) the air coming out the vents or the floor is hot. Pretty unpleasant on a humid summer day!

[@jacobnewkirk3385]

Studebaker instituted a type of flow-through ventilation (called "Refreshaire") for the '66 model year, which ended up being their last year. The air exited through the top half of both taillamp housings. I don't know much beyond that as far as how it operated. But it was good to see they were innovating right up to the end.

[@RichardsMovies]

My dad had one, it had a huge V8 and it was a beast on the road.

[@chuckmaddison2924]

It's a brilliant idea. You should see what GM did In Australia. They took an in line 6 and chopped 2 pots off, thinking folks would love it.

[@bobpierce115]

Another excellent video, Adam. Though this ventilation system was a failure, yes, they meant well, and did fix it. If I had to pick some real GM whopper failures I feel were worse, it would have to be much later, in the 80's, with the V8-6-4 that didn't work out so well. Also the conversion attempts to diesel that hit GM hard, especially Oldsmobile. Back when '20/20' and 'Dateline' did investigative consumer reporting (instead of murder mysteries) one of them did a story on an Oldsmobile dealer whose customers were trying to unload their diesel 88 and 98's and the offers were ridiculously low. The sales manager at an Oldsmobile dealer fessed up he told a few of them that in all honesty, they'd get more for it from their insurance letting it drive off a cliff, crashing below.

[@kroge007]

Gee Adam didn’t know you owned this one. I’m so glad my Dad waited one more year and didn’t get that Astro ventilation.

[@HelpingHand-ic4wt]

One other 1 year option that didn't even make it a full year, the "Automatic" swivel front seats in Chrysler products. Introduced the year before, the 1960 models with this option came with a cable attached between the door hinge and the seat release lever. The trouble was in a crash, it could cause the quick disposal of the occupants onto the street. I believe they curtailed this feature mid-year and resorted back to the 1959 manual release for 1961, and ended the whole swivel concept that year.

[@darlenegeorgeboyd8493]

I had a 72 Catalina and a 76 Catalina. Both had the 400 cubic inch engines with two barrel carburetors. Best riding cars I've owned.

[@Backin_Theday]

Astro ventilation is how they got away from wing windows. Exactly why a 67 Camaro has wings and the 68 (with original glass) has side windows with a small etching in the lower portion "Astro Ventilation." The venting was into the door jam area.

[@gruntherblendin388]

I love the '71 Pontiac front & rear styling!

[@bryanaisenbrey7188]

Mopar vehicles had this too on their late 60’s full size cars that were 4 door hardtops. I believe in 67-8 cars for sure. Also, the 66-67 Chargers had vent flaps you could see when you opened the trunk. Went away after that.

[@Johnfisher12345]

FYI, the single exhaust two barrel 455 in ‘71 uses different heads and camshaft vs. the dual exhaust four barrel 455. The power difference is not just from the dual exhaust. ‘71 Four barrel 455s in big cars used #96 heads and were rated at 335hp. Two barrels used #98 heads and were rated at 280hp. I know these in part because I have owned both, and still have my dad’s ‘71 Bonneville he bought way back when. GREAT cars. The flow through ventilation never bothered me a bit, but then I never drive it in inclement weather, so there’s that.

[@RareClassicCars]

The 4bbl engine also came standard with single exhaust.

[@McVaio]

This car looks so beautiful