U.S. Automotive History and the Chevy Vega

The Chevrolet Vega was the 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year, but problems were soon to follow. The History Guy recalls the forgotten history of the dawn of "subcompact" cars and "the car that nearly destroyed G.M."
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:
www.thetiebar.com/?...
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
Find The History Guy at:
Facebook: / thehistoryguyyt
Patreon: / thehistoryguy
Please send suggestions for future episodes: [e-mail]
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. If you like history too, this is the channel for you.
Subscribe for more forgotten history: / @thehistoryguychannel .
Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at:
teespring.com/stores/the-hist...
Script by JCG
#ushistory #thehistoryguy #vega

[@KENNEY1023]

My mom won a 1974 Vega in a little league baseball raffle. This gave her the freedom to get away from my father and complete her education.

[@uradragon]

Good for your mom

[@nilo70]

Very Good Luck Indeed !

[@jerryendres1632]

I was one of the drivers in the 1975 60,000 miles in 60 day Vega endurance test. 3 shifts of drivers drove from Vegas to Beatty NV, into Death Valley, exited south of Furnace Creek and back again to Vegas, about 7.5 hours including a couple short breaks during the test...during the summer! The cars never cooled down for the 60 days. We were testing the endurance of the aluminum block engine. Even made a TV commercial during the test. Fun job!

[@jerrynewberry2823]

Heating and then cooling IS a problem for aluminum engines. Imagine, torquing and untorquing bolts every time you stop the engine. Why Dodge has problems with header bolts snapping off. Dissimilar metals for corrosion and thermal dynamics is not the best idea.

[@johnwagoner2279]

I had a 72 Vega GT, 4 speed manual transmission that I loved. At 110k miles I replaced the short block with a factory steel sleaved short block. When I sold it, it had 230k miles and was still running strong.

[@durango8882]

Whoa 🥇 medal for you! Mine sucked.

[@johnwagoner2279]

With the manual transmission, I always keep the rpms over 1800..lugging the engine was fatal. That's why the automatics were awful.

[@bobwiley5676]

Vegas rusted badly. Like the pinto and the mustang, camaro and monte, challenger and valiant ect. 70’s cars rusted badly

[@frankpuryear3844]

My manual was fun. After a while i had to start swapping plugs fairly regular . But plugs were easy to get to and dirt cheap. That car did handle Great . A good car for the drunk i used to be. It drove itself. I miss that .

[@MrNunna]

Wow. If I knew back then that GM had a sleeved block available, I would have had them put one in! Oh well...

[@dalekundtz760]

In 1972 I bought a Vega. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles and when I got rid of it in 1975 because I got married and the wife wanted more room. I had NO problems or complaints. When I traded it in, I had 150,000 miles on it and burned 1/2 quart of oil between oil changes. I wish I could find such a vehicle today. The same year, my dad bought a 1972 Caprice and we got 5 miles from the dealer when the transmission fell out on the road. Give me a Vega any day!

[@mattelder68]

"Check the gas, fill the oil" is what my Dad used to say about his Vega...

[@garymckee8857]

I had a Ford truck that had a 302 that drunk oil but wasn't bad on fuel.

[@michaelogden5958]

That was my running joke when I had mine. :-)

[@RickaramaTrama-lc1ys]

My father in law and I tried out a 4 speed Vega in the 70's and being a hot rodder I went through the gears for him and blew the transmission and had to call the dealer to send a tow truck~!!

[@rubberneck2855]

@@RickaramaTrama-lc1ys ha ha, not funny at the moment kind of thing.

[@Crustymarine]

"Check the gas, fill the oil" the FIRST thing that entered my mind when I read the video's title.

[@SaykhelRachmones-um1no]

My father owned a 1976 Chevy Vega. The oil pan hung down below the skid plates. He put three oil pans in that car because the suspension was so terrible he kept bottoming it out on relatively well paved city streets.

[@mranonymous7183]

I think I only replaced the oil pan on mine once. Must be lucky.

[@freddyflintstoned913]

We had a 1975 with the same problem. Junk.

[@LtJackboot]

Install a Monza front end and springs from a Nova- solved.

[@ethanc4920]

I had a 77 Aster, it only had four inches of ground clearance. It was like driving a lowered pickup, it was a drag getting in and out of parking lots.

[@SaykhelRachmones-um1no]

@@LtJackboot Dad sold that car in 1978 for exactly what he paid for it new. He's owned Cadillacs ever since.

[@dadw7og116]

Well done! My first new car was a 1973 Chevy Vega. Within 5,000 miles, the engine burned a quart of oil per tank of gas. It (the entire engine) was replaced under warranty. I sold the car with only 30,000 miles on it. The person who purchased it worked at the same plant that I did and I occasionally saw the car coming in the main gate. Within a few years, the paint had worn off of the roof and there was rust all around the rear window. I would be very surprised it there were very many of these cars still in working order.

[@bobcole612]

I had a 76 Cosworth Vega. Really liked that car. But I knew going in the tendency to rust (think happy thoughts, a Vega will rust if you cry in it). I washed it weekly, even in winter (living in Atlanta helped). I took care it, and it never let me down. Sold it before I moved to Texas in 1978.

[@johnniewoodard648]

I had the 76 Cosworth Vega, blue with white interior. I loved that car. Was stationed in Charleston S.C. at the time. Almost divorced My wife, when I returned from sea and found out she had sold it. Found out later that she had wrecked it first...then sold it.

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

Always thought it a shame that these cars had their problems because they were good looking little cars. In 1974 my Mom bought one just to have the head warp and block crack with very few miles on it. She took it back and came home with a brand new 75 Monte Carlo. Best new car we ever had.

[@bobcole612]

@stoveboltlvr3798 when I turned 16 my mom gave me her 69 Camaro, then she went and bought herself a brand new 75 Monte Carlo, blue with white interior and white landau roof. That was a beautiful car.

[@johnk8825]

In the beginning, 96% of the Vegas produced were still on the road, the rest made it home.

[@kyleglenn2434]

Good one 👍🏻

[@jeffking291]

🤣

[@Jodonho]

LOL

[@sgomez3047]

😆

[@gregparrott]

lol

[@macmccollum6064]

The Vega had the reputation of being the first car to rust on the showroom floor.

[@hesspet]

And winner is: Fiat Nuova 500 and Renault 4, much older... :-) As student I was an expert in fixing holes in the bottom with expoxy and glasfiber.

[@spikespa5208]

'Tis a pity. IMO it was kind of a nice looking little lemon.

[@obelic71]

@@hesspet they could rust as a champion. But there is only one master in rustdisaster The AlfaRomeo Sud . Doors and windows fell of due rustdamage at the showroom floor!

[@edwardmeade]

We bought one of the '76 models at a discount. It was actually a pretty good car for commuting. I took it over 100K miles with very few mechanical problems.

[@rrrogster]

That you remember......

[@bobwiley5676]

They were junk. Motor Trend is paid by auto makers. Car of the year is a scam

[@fastvega]

Still have my 72 Vega, gave $100 for it in 1992. Now has a 377 cid small block, th 350 trans, narrowed 9" with 4.86 gears. Body has all original sheet metal, no rust ever, only the windshield was replaced. 99 times out of a hundred, when I go to a car show or cruise night, I've got the only Vega there. Still see them on the drag strip a lot, very light car.

[@rrrogster]

So to hear of your addiction. 😀

[@davemoss9505]

See that's really cool.

[@Dr-Jan-itor]

This sounds like a strip car now. Quarter times? Also MPG with 4.86 ears? just curious.

[@PeteForester1]

One of my friends shoehorned a 350 into a Chevy LUV pickup. He had to put sandbags in the bed to keep the truck from burning rubber when pulling away from the curb!

[@BenMcneil-hk8xv]

Doing willies with those 486 gears

[@HugoHugunin]

In 1974 I was looking for a new car. I looked at the Chevy Vega because the price was $1,999. BUT(!), 2 speed wipers were optional, windows that rolled down were optional, high beams were optional, a cigarette lighter was optional, a glove box (iirc) was optional, a basic AM radio was optional. I passed on it then. 4 years later I was working in Waukegan, Illinois and needed a car while I was there. I was given a Checy Vega for free. It had 38K miles and had never been in an accident. The great thing about the Vega was that I could not lock my keys in the car. The *ENTIRE* outside skin of the doors, fenders and quarter-panels were rusted completely...GONE! To get into the car, you merely had to grab the rod and pull to gain access. I finally had to let it go when the floor pan was so rusted that the seat came loose and threatened to drop me onto the tollway. Also, the tires were flinging slush and road salt all over me through the non-existent fender well and my judge didn't like me covered in road %#&! while testifying in court every day. Not a good look!

[@jackpinesavage1628]

I had a '75 Chevy stepside truck with rusted floor boards. I called it the "Flintstone mobile". lol

[@zhubajie6940]

The Vega was the car where you said "Fillerup with oil and check the gas."

[@stevem060]

I used to go through 2 qt of oil per tank of gas.

[@Snarkapotamus]

I never had an issue with oil, but I did with coolant...the thing was always hot.

[@thomasb1889]

I had a few of those over the years but they were all over ten years old and well over 100k miles with very tired engines so it was expected and 500 to the quart was acceptable with a new car. The Vega's engine was lucky to make it 50k and the car was more rusted at two years than other cars in ten. A great idea horribly executed. Now cars are good for 20 years and 200k to 300k with ease. I just put down a 1997 Ford Explorer because the deferred maintenance built up to to high a level to fix her.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

I had a buddy who had a German Ford Taunus. We carried a case of oil in the trunk at all times!

[@dondesnoo1771]

The 72burned 1qt per tank of oil the 74 none but lost coolant .put later engine in the 72 went 6k miles 1qrt. Bet changes.77eng.

[@jamieclay007]

As a front suspension mechanic in the 70s, I became very familiar with the Vega, it had an issue with the chassis spreading at the point where the lower swing arm was adjusted, it would spread so much you couldn't adjust out the negative camber, thus causing tires to wear out faster than they should. There were a few aftermarket kits developed to try and resolve this but for the most part it only slowed the eventual failure. Moog even had special offset bushing to help reduce the problem. What is curious to me is the lack of coverage about this issue. Maybe eclipsed by all the others, but as a suspension mechanic it was often I had to tell the Vega owner the bad news.

[@OKHandleIt]

Great insight for those of us who owned a Vega, but who are not (or never were) motorheads. Mine burned oil like diarrhea.

[@terrancenorris9992]

My younger brother bought a Vega in1972 and babied it almost religiously and it actually never gave him any problems. It was yellow with a black interior and had a floor shift manual transmision.

[@jerrynewberry2823]

11:39 Manual is the key term. Here

[@onlyweknow2]

Best looking small 70's car ever built....That was the dirty trick of it!

[@gregparrott]

BMW's 2002 looked better

[@andyhastings5950]

Looked even better with the front bumper cut to look like the two piece Camaro and a spoiler and front air dam. Oh, yes Chrome the headlight bezels and the installation of Camero mirrors to replace the little dainty piece of shit originals. You had a mini-me Camero.😜

[@98triffid]

@@andyhastings5950 It was also very popular to swap in Chevrolet 350 engines to replace the horrid stock setup. Sadly they live on now, only in my memories.

[@98triffid]

@xr7fanSadly those were only offered after smog laws had gotten...bad. In 1972 you could have had a 250hp version of that engine directly from GM but the Monza was only good for half that, despite being the same engine. (with a far weaker cam, lower compression, etc)

[@98triffid]

@xr7fan I'm glad you experienced them as they were meant to be. Most saw them as a slightly faster Capri V6 but they had the potential to be so much more.

[@phigupot8976]

as a poor college student, it got me where i needed to go, saved me more money for uni living - cheers, my lil red vega)

[@sjwhitney]

As a former Vega owner, I can attest to the great handling of the car. Vegas had interestingly wide tire rims that could accommodate 60 series in back and 70's in the front. It was amazingly stable at high speeds. One day I tested mine by putting my foot on the throttle and not letting up. The speedometer in the Vega only went up to 110 mph. However, not only did the needle get up to that, it passed it and vanished behind the dash! If only GM had used cast cylinder liners and done better rustproofing, as then it would have been a hit. By comparison, a later car I owned was a Pontiac Sunbird. It was really a twin to the Vega and had a Buick V-6 engine and was a road screamer. Alas, the same poor rustproofing plagued the Pontiac as well.

[@bradzimmerman3171]

Some people never learn-gM is professional at ripoff

[@frankpuryear3844]

My vega could go to from long beach to the starwood on less than two bucks. And when you let go of the wheel it would immediately drive straight. I loved that.

[@matthewtarka2804]

as an autobody man......they had welded on door hinges,to the body and the door........non adjustable......what a pain they were!!!!!!! alum block throw away motor.........crap!!!!! fjb and the rinos!!!!!!

[@timomomomo969]

We had the wagon. Rear wheel drive manual, short wheelbase, it could spin on a dime and even do donuts on bare pavement

[@paulklassert7914]

I had a 72. My brother's car. Given to me when he bought his GT. It had a sleeved rebuild that I could play around with and a 2 speed powerglide that I could get to 50 mph in first gear. I loved it because I learned a lot about cars by tinkering with it. Multiple shades of primer covered the body. And, as it was a hatchback, I could carry a half keg of beer in the back for parties.

[@fredflintstone3956]

I bought a well used '75 in '84 when I was in the Navy at NAS Miramar. We had a great auto hobby shop on base, and it lived there for a bit while I went through the engine, and shot a coat of Pennzoil yellow lacquer on it. Out of the Navy, back in IL/IA, took me back and forth to NAS Glenview for reserve duty. Loved that car!

[@durango8882]

🤪

[@OptimiSkeptic]

That's great! My stepdad bought a rusty green '71 Vega with a dead engine in it when he was stationed at San Diego in '72. He and his friends put a 350 in it and tried to make a street racer out of it. It didn't win many races because none of them knew how to mechanic or drive very well. What it did give them was a lot of fun and a lot of stories to tell over the years. He managed to get it home to East Texas but by the time I was old enough to drive, it had been in the junkyard for years.

[@Bellathebear777]

Mr Flintstone Got one of the runners! Mr history should interview you. 😂

[@Bellathebear777]

​@@OptimiSkeptic Lol, late night, my friend would jack his dad's Vega. We'd cruise up to chantry flats in Ca. Lol, it was like driving a 3 legged turtle, whatta pile..... But some people landed on a good one. 🎉

[@Darknamja]

In the early '70s, I spent much of my off-duty time in the auto hobby shop with my fellow aircraft mechanics. Our sergeant successfully installed a small block Chevy into a Vega. He used it strictly as a drag-strip car. 😉

[@RGC-gn2nm]

Mom and Dad bought one new. We attempted a family vacation to Disney World. Never made it back. Always wondered why we flew home. First plane trip ever thanks to that Vega.

[@iancrawford1382]

Great story and I believe it, my parents bought a 72 Vega, and immediately we went to Washington DC but we did make it back. However my Dad said the car was trouble after the trip. My kids who grew up with a minivan and would never know the experience of squeezing in/out of a Vega.

[@jimfritz9503]

Best of both worlds. Drivin + flyin

[@jimstrict-998]

Probably lost most of the coolant out the radiator overflow tube. One of the first recalls was to add a overflow- bottle. Low coolant-levels were fatal for the Vega's aluminum engine. Happened a lot.

[@flagmichael]

@@jimstrict-998 I just added a comment about my own experience with a Vega engine destroyed by low coolant. When we got the head off the view was surreal.

[@dehoedisc7247]

Oh come on. That could have happened in any new car, even a Cadillac. There are always some new cars that have a problem, and the warranty program takes care of repairs. You guys were just unlucky.

[@garrettmineo]

I had a Vega, it taught me a lot about Bondo.

[@zenolachance1181]

I got a friend of mine that had a Vega and we call him Bondo to this day hahaha and he's 70 and still gets called Bondo

[@mranonymous7183]

Mine too! I bought it when it was 6 years old. Petty much towards the realistic end of life for them :)

[@ScottWilliamson]

....and which motor oil is the cheapest.

[@craigcrawford6595]

Lol, good one...

[@greatdaneacdc]

I had a 73 Vega hatchback! It taught me a lot about oil consumption !

[@dennismcfadden7066]

I'm 70 and have owned over 40 different vehicles. The used Vega I drove in 1981 was far and away the worst of them all. My kids probably have undiagnosed PTSD from all the breakdowns, the pulling over every 25 miles on long trips to put another quart of oil in and so on. Best day was when I sold it.

[@harrymills2770]

I bought a used '74 Vega in the early '80s. Maybe it was the Herbie the Lovebug of Vegas, because it ran great. Previous owner treated it gently, as did I. I hate to say that I LIKED the car, in the context of this video, but the guy or gal before me babied it, as did I. In those days, people were used to great big, bulletproof V8s, which in those years were very forgiving of hard use and indifferent maintenance. I liked the way it handled. I loved the fold-down rear seat. I slept in the back of my hatchback many a time. I don't even remember when I sold it or traded it in, but I pretty much went with pickups after that. Not as good to sleep in, but room for all my camping gear!

[@heygetoffmylawn1572]

In my college days I had a Vega station wagon I could fold down the back seat and sleep in along with other “things”.

[@heygetoffmylawn1572]

You were lucky to sell yours. All 3 of mine ended up getting junked, in one way or another. I remember too, having to stop to put oil in. My girlfriend at the time wasn’t impressed at all, to say the least.

[@petecoffman9048]

It sounds like you got a lemon. I had a 1972 Vega gt that used absolutely no oil. It was one of the best cars I ever had. Then I bought a 1973 Vega wagon. Loved that car too. 25 years ago I bought a 73 Vega gt of which I still have. I feel bad you had trouble. People like you give cars such a bad name for no reason at all.

[@fuckyougoogle1148]

@@petecoffman9048 a friend of mine had a Vega that 4 of us piled into for a road trip to Montreal to see ELP for the Works tour. On the way back the car died, not due to engine failure but because the alternator bracket broke probably due to the engine shaking. I don't recall how we got home other than it was sometime after sunrise......

[@williambone7724]

My mom had a '71 Vega Wagon and we loved this car!

[@johnfranklin5277]

Ok, here is my absolutely honest experience with my 1975 Vega. 1st off, this is in Southern California, so rust was absolutely a non issue. I bought it in 1978 off a dealer lot for 1000 dollars, that included all fees. It had 40.000 miles on it, and an 8 track cheap stereo, and aluminum Mag wheels! It was my daily driver for 2 years, when in November of 1980 I bought my 1st brand new car a Toyota Celica. I was 21. I sold the Vega private party with just under 90.000 miles for 1500 dollars! And the guy I sold it was happy to get it. I put almost 50.000 miles on that car, and only repair was a busted clutch cable, and a new water pump. That was it. It was a 3 speed manual, and I drove it all over the place, including up into the mountains many times. I took good care of it, 3000 mile oil changes, a coolant flush once, tires, and 1 brake job. I kept it washed and waxed.. It never failed me, including a trip from home to visit family in Missouri. It didn't burn oil, got good MPG. It was light metallic green, and a beige interior. Now at 62, I've had many brand new cars, But when I think of that simple, no frills little Vega, it brings a smile to my face! 😊

[@shumakerguitarworkssgw9505]

My sister graduated in 74, she bought her 1st new car, a 74 vega gt.. she beat the hell out of it as did my 2 brothers, and it only ever got basic maintenance.. it was yellow with black gt stripes

[@robynperdieu3434]

My brother, a mechanic, had a Vega. Love the style of that little car. And it had issues, but still loved it.

[@sonshinelight]

I always thought of my '72? Hatch as a mini-Z. It was a cool car.

[@busman7228]

You were very lucky

[@JamesWest-iu4jx]

My brother bought his new in 75.......ran it to hell and back at least 3 times, it would not die

[@darthfader6835]

1973 Vega GT was my first car. It almost made me reconsider being a car owner.

[@user-ss2ly1ir6j]

'GT' stood for 'Giant Toilet"

[@hilgo_velomobile]

It was my second car. I was glad when my "friend" Jim stole it and wrecked it in a race with Barry in his Cougar.

[@davidstuber5331]

I bought a 76 Vega with a 5 speed transmission and a slightly hopped up engine, had some Cosworth parts on it. The 5 speed needed rebuilding after about 10K miles but after that I put over 100K on the car and sold it for $600. It turned out to be a great car!

[@carlosojeda1956]

My auto shop teacher was able to get a brand new Vega from a local Chevrolet dealership that had the engine fail for nothing so that we could convert it to a V-8 powered car. We spent a couple of months doing the work. We were able to hone our skills and had a running car in around 4 months. It was a very fast car. Very reliable transportation.

[@anthonypickens3236]

@ Carlos Ojeda God bless you. My friend who passed away just a few months ago bought a black 77 vega and put a 350 chevy in it. That car was fast he used to come down our street burning rubber all the time. This brings back so many memories lol.

[@tommurphy4307]

why put a V8 in it? chevy reworked its 140 motor and so should have your shop class. you guys would have learned a lot more than simply bolting a built-up V8 engine in. your teacher probably sold the V8 car for a profit that he promptly pocketed....

[@korbell1089]

The Vega was innovative, it was the first car made of compressed rust.

[@robertsnearly3823]

Lmao!

[@westernspud504]

wasnt that the chevy citation in the 80s ,

[@alfresco4976]

No, the British had been doing that for years! Their sheet metal really was inferior.

[@briang4470]

That's all 70s era American cars, the sheetmetal on those cars just was not well coated and lots of old cars had exposed seams where the sheetmetal was spot welded and water and dirt would get in them seams and rot the panels especially in places where the roads get salted, the Vegas rusted just as bad as all famous muscle cars from that generation it's just that most people with muscle cars are willing to fix the rust where the vega was a cheap disposable car so not many people would fix the rust as it would start occuring so in my opinion the vega doesn't deserve the rust reputation alone, all cars from that era rotted if driven in salted roads and neglected like most cheap cars of that time.

[@MrSGL21]

20 years ago msn had a website called carpoint. they ran a user poll for worst car. people shared thier stories. one guy said his vega had been made of compressed rust. it broke in 1/2 when going over some train tracks one night. the pinto stories were worse.

[@OfficerLarryNMSE]

It was my first car, I loved it. Two months later, I wasn't quite as happy about the blown head gasket or the transmission that was slipping. Yes, I raised such hell at the dealership that they gave a choice of a replacement vehicle... My new Plymouth Valiant Duster was awesome...

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The family car of my childhood was the first 1971 Vega GT hatchback delivered to the Cincinnati market. The little car worked great for us. We even welded a hitch to the back to tow our 17' boat! I spent many happy hours playing in the hatchback on long family drives. The odometer broke at 180,000 miles, and we kept it another 3 years after that - until the thing finally rusted away in 1982.

[@gdearing1]

My father, an engineer, did all the research. Motor Trend Car of the Year, Consumer Reports Best Buy. He bought a ‘71 Vega. Damn that car. Passed on to me after college. I vowed I’d never again own an American made car. And I haven’t.

[@judsonr1]

In 1984 a friend in high school had a 10 year old Vega GT wagon, we couldn’t drive home after school without adding oil to it, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hadn’t thought of him or that car in years. Thanks History Guy for making me laugh with nostalgia.

[@BigLisaFan]

You added oil and checked the gas.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Should have gotten the Pontiac Astre Wagon version with Iron Duke engine...

[@antonr170]

I loved my Vega! It was my college car, dependable, economical and fun to drive, great on curvy roads though not much top end. I may have had the exception, but I remember it fondly :)

[@petercolquhoun2086]

What year was it? By the last couple of production years they were pretty good. But the damage to reputation could not be overcome.

[@robrod3097]

Totally understand your lucky streaks with the Vega, I went through similar situations with the Chevy Citation, lots of people had trouble with them, but I put 90k + miles with no difficulties, despite others blowing transmissions at about 35/45k miles.... LoL 😂

[@kickahaw]

Yes if you got a good one they were a lot of fun

[@jamesogorman3287]

And the hatchback was great for summer nights.

[@katmandudawn8417]

I had one I loved. We got it out of a junkyard but I drove it for years.

[@cak4539]

I had a Vega way back when and got 120,000 miles on it. The car exceeded my expectations.

[@jimpastore5976]

I bought a Chevy Vega station wagon new in 1975. It came with a 5 year 60,000 mile warranty. I drove it many years and my daughter started driving it when it had about 80k miles on it. I never had any problems with it. I just put one battery, one set of brakes in it. My daughter drove it and then gave it back to me because her friends made fun of her car. It was running when I parked it with 172k miles on it. It never burned oil, and was great on gas and still was fast! The machining process of silicon impregnated cylinder walls was copied by Porsche. The only problem earlier Vegas had was if it lost just a small amount of radiator water, it would overheat. So in '75, they put a much bigger radiator in them and they never had that problem again. I still have it stored and is in great shape for never being in an accident.

[@kekelaward]

I had some of my best walks when I had one of these cars.

[@tackyman2011]

LOL

[@ethanc4920]

I learned about how to hot-wire an electric fuel pump in my 77 Aster. The oil pressure switch prevented the pump from running before the engine had oil pressure. This made it a race between the engine wheezing to life or the carb running out of fuel. After I bypassed the switch with a small piece of a coat hanger, the car became reliable.

[@mohabatkhanmalak1161]

...always, always subscribe to AA. lol

[@traycrockett3088]

😀😃🤣

[@micheldevost]

My dad had a Vega in 1979 and when he would turn off the ignition, even with the key out the switch, the engine would keep running. We had time to walk in the house, and finally about 30 seconds later, the engine would stop. To this day, it’s one of my favorite “we had a crappy-car” stories. :)

[@ksharpe10]

Ha, Ha, that was Dieseling or what we called it, to much fun if you had one. LOL. Smokers were hilarious too, in traffic a smokin exhaust, I used to ask my buddy why the Cops would not stop someone with a belching out Smoke, probably felt sorry for the owner.

[@j.dragon651]

Preignition, the most common cause is carbon build up on the plugs. The plugs stay so hot they still ignited the gas even after the car is shut off. Solution, new plugs or clean the plugs. Pre-ignition (or preignition) in a spark-ignition engine is a technically different phenomenon from engine knocking, and describes the event wherein the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder ignites before the spark plug fires. Pre-ignition is initiated by an ignition source other than the spark, such as hot spots in the combustion chamber, a spark plug that runs too hot for the application, or carbonaceous deposits in the combustion chamber heated to incandescence by previous engine combustion events.

[@ksharpe10]

@@j.dragon651 All I know is it was hilarious to hear it after you shut the engine down. LOL. See Uncle Buck with John Candy, he had a smoker/dieseler. LOL.

[@mikeeberts3279]

Yup. My dad's Vega did that!

[@chriscatarcio2983]

Try using better gas. To.

[@mikeallen5596]

Vega Veteran, New Orleans chapter here. I had a '72 miniwagon, drove it to my commuter college from 1977 to about 1981. My dad worked on tugs & supply boats. The oil burning got so bad that he'd come home with gallons of waste oil from the shipyards in gallon jugs. I'd just pour some in every week. I had school friends who lived in New Orleans East. When I drove over what we call the Highrise, a plug would inevitably get fouled and I'd lose acceleration. Yes, I kept spare plugs and a wrench. This experience made me swear that my children would always have safe, reliable cars when the time came.

[@dougharding5231]

I had a brand new 1974 Vega GT. It really was a great car and it did have great handling. I loved it on the curves. It was a hatchback and I made great use of it. It wasn't until I'd owned it for about two years that it began to burn oil. That's when I found out that was a known problem with these cars. So I always carried extra oil with me and I kept that car for another three years before trading it in on a Celica GT, a car I'd actually wanted when I bought the Vega, but the Celicas were about a grand more at the time.

[@stevemann8374]

I thought my dad was a gear head by choice but the ownership of his Chevy Vega now makes me think otherwise lol. Rip poppy

[@GrooveQuest]

Some people are born gear heads, others have it thrust upon them.

[@bcubed72]

Actually, the Vega would have been a great car if it had, like, any quality control whatsoever. The Cosworth and Monza were hot little compacts.

[@byronspears9395]

Out of all the comments i can relate word for word to this one because i was the one who had to hand my dad tools when all i wanted to do was go play outside with my friends. And to this day i think that's the car that made my dad turn to the darkside.

[@user-ss2ly1ir6j]

Back then all GM vehicles were rusting at the dealership...brand new. I know, I used to work there.

[@justme_gb]

'77 Chevy pick-up bed rusted in a year. "Rusty Jones" was a VERY poor advertising choice at the time! It rusted alright!

[@indykurt]

@@justme_gb Ha Rusty Jones. That's a name I forgot as in 1985ish I was working at a Porsche/Audi/VW dealership and they charged $180 (I think) for a 2 part Rusty Jones treatment that consisted of a hole being drilled in the lower part of a door in the jamb and a rod inserted and we pulled the trigger as we removed the rod getting points for spillage then spraying the bottom of the car with the same material that was like tar but dried hard finishing up by putting a 2 part wax on the paint that would wash off with a few washes. People rolled it in with the bank loan and almost every car got it. Time proved that those untreated cars didn't tend to rust that bad except the Audi's.

[@tim2269]

We were all car mad back in Middle School and these kinds of problems were well known to us even then.

[@philleprechaun6240]

My 1st new car was a '73 Vega Hatchback with a 4 speed manual transmission. I was in the Navy and stationed about 350 miles from home. My grandparents decided I needed a dependable new car for trips back and forth, and just generally getting around so they took me to the dealerships and my grandfather even cosigned the loan for me. Drove it for 5 years with no problems until a hose broke one day on a trip. Damn good gas mileage for the time (30-33 mpg on the highway, best trip was 38 mpg).

[@billreal76]

I owned a 1971 Vega Hatchback, green in color with a 4-speed and 2-barrel carb. Bought it for $2400. Kept it till the water pump went out in 1975 while driving through the Portsmouth, VA tunnel to Norfolk. The mechanic said the aluminum engine warped and the piston rings couldn't keep the oil inside. I did fender work to cut out the rust and patch the fenders and LOVED the 4-speed and had fun with it when the muffler fell off from rust. That was a FUNNY final quote!!

[@gregwhite2881]

“I was part of a GM experiment “ is the free T-shirt all of us unfortunate Vega owners should receive!

[@williamsample2631]

You should receive a lot more than that!

[@astrodiver1]

The 140 cu in aluminum in-line 4 was a POS. I used to go to K-mart to buy oil by the gallon to keep oil in it. Bright side is you never needed to change the oil because every 50-100 miles you needed to add a quart. We used to refer to them as 2-strokes.

[@checkwikipediasrsly9274]

There's a 1.8l Eagle Talon/Mitsubishi Eclipse engine that I had that experience with, too. It was SOHC and you could basically fill it up before you left and it would be empty by the time you were home. The valve cover gaskets are crap on them.

[@astrodiver1]

@@checkwikipediasrsly9274 I know just what you mean. I was a Mitsubishi tech in the late 80's early 90's, I remember a TSB on the valve cover gaskets but I don't recall them burning a lot of oil.

[@TheOzthewiz]

LOW maintenance?

[@mirrorblue100]

I kept 3 or 4 cans of oil in the car just in case - on a long (200 mile) drive I'd usually top up once.

[@laurie5098]

Vega was my first car. It had a maroon exterior and a tan interior. No AC ( and I live in the deep south) , AM Radio, 4 speed stick shift and I loved it! I am not sure of the year, but probably a 1975. I thought I had upgraded when I installed an 8 track player! Never had any trouble out of it . When I think about that car, it reminds me of simpler times in my life and oh how I wish I could go back!

[@aattura1541]

My 73 was FILLED with Radio Shack goodies-- cassette player, speakers, wiring, interior lights, the works! Mine also had no A/C -- but I paid for the option of a larger (for A/C) radiator and that helped -- so did a fan and open windows, LOL

[@tdr9204]

I bought my ’74 Vega in ’76 when I was home on leave from the Navy. I bought it used in Wisconsin and drove it to San Angelo, Texas for the next phase of my training. It was a great car to drive, but less than 15 miles from home, the chrome-colored plastic trim on the right-side rain gutter started flapping in the wind. Duct tape to the rescue, until I reached my destination and could epoxy it back in place. The rest of the trip, and time in Texas was great. A comfortable car to drive, and sporty enough looking for a 19-year-old. After Texas, another trip to Wisconsin, then to my permanent station in Homestead, Florida. Again, driving those distances was a dream. No engine issues driving from sun-up to well past sun-down. I arrived at my base in south Florida, less than mile from the ocean, and a couple months later, spent my first winter on temporary assignment down the road in Key West, literally feet from the ocean. Ocean, as in salt water, salt spray, and rusting Vega. Years later someone tried to tell me it was the 2 years up north that caused the rust, but road salt rust occurs in places like wheel wells, and the bottom of the car. My Vega rust (and it was very noticeable on a white car), was the air vent below the windshield, eventually causing rainwater to leak into the cabin by way of the radio. Rainwater running down the back hatch would drain down the back of the Vega above the brake lights, until the rust surrounded the lights. But the death knell came when my Navy work site put in speed bumps. The Vega engine sat so low that they put in steel X plate under it to protect it, but the constant banging on the speed bumps eventually messed up the transmission and I had to get rid of it… before I was even finished paying for it. But it was my first car so I do have fond feelings for it (and blame Florida for being near saltwater, and the Navy for concrete speed bumps). I found a die-cast version of the ’74 Vega on eBay so I’ll always have my first car with me.

[@tommurphy4307]

after years of blaming the wrong people- you finally realized why people slow down for speed bumps.....

[@Erin-Thor]

My dad had a Vega as a company car. Great mileage but I remember him remarking about his losing a few sales as clients got in it and remarked that the company must be having financial troubles. LOL! He shared that with his boss and they sold them all and went back to Chrysler New Yorkers.

[@arachnonixon]

I remember my Dad saying that in the 70s, he was starting in sales & had an old-school mentor that would only drive New Yorkers. they conveyed to the client that you weren't a desperate schmuck, but unlike a Lincoln or Cadillac didn't convey that you were overly-flashy or fleecing them (or so he believed anyways)

[@Erin-Thor]

arachnonixon - Good point, but I was just starting high school in those days LOL! I knew little of those things. I just remember dad not being happy that the new car was costing him clients and business. It wasn’t just him, there were several people in sales that felt the same. Normally if I remember correctly they kept cars for 2-4 years, I’m thinking the Vega’s lasted about 6-9 months. They also had some Plymouth Satelites, which were kinda sporty for the day. Edit - And the ride, fit and finish... I can remember thinking as a kid that it was cheap. But what did I know. My allowance was $2/week back then.

[@rubberneck2855]

I'll look up the "New Yorker", I'm Scottish, not heard of it but that's the great thing about broadband, you can look up nearly anything

[@rubberneck2855]

Looked it up, wow, New Yorker is a BIG car, lots of body shapes and long production run. Interesting.

[@Erin-Thor]

Rubber Neck - As I remember it... it was just a car, a decent one. Rode good! It wasn’t flashy and didn’t stand out. Was a cop car in some versions. But I remember my dad saying the mileage of the Vega was going to pay for the car, remember gas was like .25/gal then. The car had promise, but to get the mileage they went cheap on everything else.

[@macmedic892]

The Vega has a great frontal crash rating… The tow truck usually absorbs most of the impact.

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

😂😂

[@TheOzthewiz]

LMFAO! Thanks!

[@toniaansaldo8140]

🤣🤣

[@nghtwtchmn129]

Car Craft magazine's "Junkyard Crawl" feature once reported that many salvage yards stopped accepting Vegas.

[@toniaansaldo8140]

@@nghtwtchmn129 Makes sense...If nobody was looking for parts,they'd just be in the way. No use other than scrap.

[@aattura1541]

Laugh if you want to -- I still have mine, after 50 years and I love her as much as I did back then. 2 BBL Holley, 4 Speed Saginaw transmission, Positraction, Koni Shocks, Sway Bars front and rear, Red Line (woohoo!!) tires, I changed the oil every 2K miles, took her halfway apart every 4 years and derusted, Fiberglassed if needed, painted inside the fenders and door panels, rocker panels, and other interior body parts with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer, and waxed her body to a beautiful shine - I loved and still love that car. I put 99K miles on her - at 45K I had her engine sleeved (gained 5 hp, needed hotter wires and hotter spark plugs plus a 40K Accel coil.), I did most of the maintenance work on her including adding instrumentation - and WOW -- she was and still is my love.

[@bongobreathman]

In 1971 I bought a brand new Pinto. My friend bought a brand new 1971 Vega, which I told him NOT to buy because of the aluminum cast engine...he said, "That's the latest technology. It will be great." Thankfully I was never rear-ended in the Pinto, otherwise I wouldn't be here to write this...anyway...My pinto lasted 4 years (then I traded it in for another car) without one problem. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles, checked the spark plugs and distributor cap every 10,000 miles. Changed the spark plug wires and distributor cap every 20,000. Plus I kept the carburetor very clean. With 55,000 miles on it, I traded it for a new car in 1975. My friend's Vega was not so lucky. He, like me, took care of his car...but after only about 6,000 miles the engine started over heating. We both lived in San Diego so winter wasn't an issue. At 13,000, the Vega engine seized; overheated and locked right up...it was 1,000 miles out of warranty. Fortunately he had taken the Vega into the dealership and had a long record of engine over heating problems. And much to his surprise (GM would never do this today) GM sent the dealership a new engine and paid for the installation. But, it was another aluminum cast engine. So my friend, since the car looked brand new, worked a deal with the dealership (the owner of the dealership was good friends with my friend's father) and did an even trade for a used '67 Impala SS. He drove that '67 (it had 23,000 miles on it when he got it) for years and years. Of course he meticulously took care of it, nevertheless, engines in the 60s, if you took care of them, lasted a long time...not so with the Vega engines.

[@larrywhitlock6924]

I owned a '72 Vega Hatchback, and lovrd it.

[@arrismalo9953]

My sister had,a Vega , never a lick of trouble , bought new , drove it for more than 10 years , sold it to another college girl, last we heard was still going strong , so not all of them had problems,, thanks for memories , from history deserving of being remembered, this one was definitely in the “ 5 percent “ thank you History Guy

[@fieldinglover]

I have a nice 73 in my garage right now , and it is not rusted out and the best part is it now has a V8 in it and is a blast to drive plus no one knows what it is !

[@chriscatarcio2983]

Ur going against group think.

[@chriscatarcio2983]

@@fieldinglover I had a 73 . That we bought used. It was beat. Overheated ....And so it lived up to being a oil burning rusty peace of shit. So l bough a 75. That had a engine fire . But was in mint condition used the 73 for parts. To fix it. Than I junked the 73. Big mistake. Young and STUPED. I was 17. The 75 ran like a raped ape. But now 6 VEGAS later my 72 GT. Ralley green with white stripes and swing out windows. Is my face. I lost it in a bad storage deal. I have a 79 monza 2+2 nowadays. It's ok but its not the. 72.

[@GD1082]

@@fieldinglover LS?

[@fieldinglover]

@@GD1082 No in the early 60's Buick and Oldsmobile both made an Aluminum V8 215 with a 4 bbl carb and I built one and put it in my Vega and it will pull the front wheels off the ground ! they also put these little V8's into a lot of Jeeps because they make good torque plus they get good gas mileage when you don't have the throttle pegged !

[@chrisbennett812]

My parents bought a new 1974 Vega Estate wagon (artificial wood paneling and all) for my mom to drive. She loved it because it was easy to drive. When the engine was cold, it needed two attempts to start it but it always started on the second try. They ended up selling it after a few years. By strange happenstance the buyer’s daughter had occasion to drive it to our house one evening. By the time she left the engine was cold. It made my dad giggle when it took two attempts to get it started 😉

[@michaeldennison7298]

I had a 1974 Vega when I was in the Air Force. I loved that car. I went thru I290 at 115 mph and thru NYC at that speed too! The car had the most comfortable seats I ever sat in. I was sad to see that car go away!!

[@mikesnider8234]

My brother had iron sleeves and a turbo installed on his Vega wagon and had lots of fun out running many Cameros!

[@scottthomson9813]

Had a 72 Vega in the family for several years. Never an issue. Was absolutely great! Slow, but great!

[@richcardenas8023]

I had a hatchback Vega in the 70’s as a work car for the steel mill in Gary, IN. It was a stick shift. One morning after working midnights a friend and myself were heading out of the mill. The viaduct tunnel under the railway was flooded with all of last night’s rain. Neither of us wanted to drive the two miles it would take to get around it. We drove that Vega with its RPM’s in the red and plunged in. Never stopping the forward roll water breached the windshield, the carpets started floating, that Vega was taking in water everywhere... we looked at each other in terror. As we started to ascend the tunnel we broke into laughter as all the water that entered the car seemed to have left. That was until we leveled out and all the water in the back of the hatchback came forward to awash us in a cold wave. That Vega was never any worse for the wear! True story out of the 70’s.

[@j.l.thomas3912]

I am an avid follower of your channel. I am only getting around to watching this video. Boy, I am glad i did! When I was a teenager my brother's first car was a brand new 1974 Vega. He spent 3 years cursing that car for the non-stop breakdowns and repairs. I never saw him as happy as the day he sold that rusted out shell of a car. His joy was short lived, however, as his next car was a Mustang II. The car that almost killed the Mustang.

[@timothysaye5535]

Again, when those who own the stock of GM, Chrysler and Ford call the shots on profits being eaten by costs associated with manufacturing excellence and build quality, expect the opposite! That's why the Japanese did the opposite-build quality and the demise of the big three was, well...............

[@brucepowell7986]

your full of crap, i owned a 74 and they were not rust buckets like the korean designed 72/73. they were in fact good cars. diff engines and a camaro 4 speed. best economical car on the market.

[@sebastianfibes2126]

Educational and well produced channels like this help dilute the common drivel usually found on KZbin. Kudos to the History Guy.

[@sebastianfibes2126]

@@seanwebb605 True.

[@sebastianfibes2126]

@Intellectual Ammunition Only time will tell. I wouldn't be surprised if they picked a bone with vanilla ice cream. They once tried something with milk but I think they're brazen and emboldened and will go after the White House.

[@Tubluer]

@@sebastianfibes2126 How is a video on the Vega not common drivel?

[@jacksmancave170]

I had a '74 Vega GT. I was popular at outdoor parties, as I could let it run for about 15 minutes after I got there, and the clouds of burning oil fumes would keep mosquitoes away for hours.

[@lancelotlink3907]

Great story. Just curious what part of the country?

[@ORflycaster]

Haha! My first car was a '74 Vega GT (red), and I know exactly what you're referring to! I have very fond memories of that old car because it was "my first." I also enjoyed the handling and seating position (probably also because of my inexperience). The interior had a muscle car vibe to my teenage mind, and while the worn-out 4cyl had no power, I did have fun racing and drifting around on country gravel roads pretending I was Steve McQueen. :D

[@bigredc222]

@@ORflycaster My mother bought one new in 73, I got my license in 76, so I learned to drive in it. I had tons of fun in it. I also loved playing on dirt roads. It did burn a ton of oil by the time my mother sold it in about 1978.

[@mikeallen5596]

Oh, ya' killed me with that one!

[@ORflycaster]

@Douglas Farshtey Eventually I started feeding mine the used oil I drained from other vehicles. That probably accelerated her demise, but eventually I realized the relationship wasn't meant to last........

[@Fiftyx60]

I had always thought they looked kind of sporty, but I once read something to the effect that, "the Vega brought new meaning to the word 'depreciation' by rusting on the showroom floor."

[@roberthampton8682]

I had several Vegas. I actually enjoyed driving them, my last one was a 1976 Pontiac Astre stationwagon. I bought it with a bad engine, replaced that, then a year later, the transmission went out. I came across a 1979 Chevy Monza stationwagon with a V6 that had been wrecked. It only had 33K miles on it, I removed EVERYTHING from the Monza and put it into my Astre. So, for several years I had a 76 Pontiac Astre station wagon with a V6. It ran great.

[@yellowbusguy]

When I was in high school, there was a guy that stuffed a small block V8 into one of these. It was crazy fast. One night he showed up at the local hangout and we saw that the firewall had become separated from the cowl. He literally twisted his car in half. Fun times.

[@mikewysko2268]

We had a guy in high school who installed a chevy 400 on his Vega, land it failed in the same way.

[@richardscotty3669]

Yup. A friend of mine in college out a small block in his ‘72 and had to constantly weld up tears in the unibody around the rear end linkage.

[@ethanc4920]

The Vega chassis could handle around 200 Horsepower. People who successfully race Vegas weld subframe connectors in place to fix this. To be fair, all unibody cars have a limit beyond which they need additional bracing. Modern cars have vastly superior unibody construction and can't hold a powerful V8 engine anyway so the trouble has largely dissipated. Even Mustangs, Darts (real Darts not fiat darts) and Nova's need some help with big block engines in the form of bracing.

[@yellowbusguy]

@@ethanc4920 The only Vegas I see now are on the drag strip, full cages, back halfed ECT.

[@TexasTimelapse]

I had a friend in high school that did the same thing. It was fast as hell, but fell apart.

[@69soulseeker]

my dad and I restored a 1973 Vega we put in a Buick v6. Once you fix all the issues its a very nice car with allot of power.

[@Papa-o33963]

Yes indeed

[@howardcitizen2471]

"Once you fix all the issues" is not a ringing endorsement.

[@21stcenturyfossil7]

GM should have fixed all the issues before they sold the cars.

[@truckshackley373]

My dad had a Pontiac Grand LeMans that had a Buick V-6 put in it. That car was actually quite fast

[@tommurphy4307]

those are some narrow hoodledges- and they tie the whole front suspension together- how did you do it?

[@mentorofarisia371]

I had a 1973 GT hatchback, 4-sp manual. Loved it. Drove it from MI to FL non-stop in July. Lots of cars stopped along the expressway from overheating, but mine went on without issue. I didn't have A/C, which surely helped the car, even if I was sweating. For its day, it handled better than almost anything on the roads - far better than any Pinto, Gremlin, Corolla or Beetle. I think it would do 103 mph flat out, given enough road, which was fast in those days. Yes, the engine was loud and rough - a 2.4 4-cyl, with no balance shafts. But it ran well.

[@WisdomVendor1]

The coolest thing about the Vega was that JC Whitney sold a motor mount conversion kit to mount a 350 GM engine in it.:-)

[@dougterhune9364]

One of my friends in college had one of these. He did not change the oil because it burned it so fast. He just added more.

[@ronfullerton3162]

And not changing oil just made the engine life shorten quicker. That thin microscopic cylinder wall really needed to be kept clean. The oil got a little dirty or lost some of it's lubricating ability and that cylinder wall was toast.

[@blackbuttecruizr]

My buddy had a V8 model in high school, it was super reliable and very fast.

[@pino6247]

No need to change the oil when the vehicle has a relatively constant supply of new stuff... Just need to change that filter and you're good. Its a GM; if it isn't leaking oil from somewhere, something's wrong.

[@dougterhune9364]

@@ronfullerton3162 it was the late 80's and his parents had gotten a new car and he took the vega. It was so beat! Purple with a red interior. His parents had driven the thing all they could and my friend just needed it to last until the end of the semester. It did last that long and on it's way back to long island it finally died. He had gotten within walking distance of his house.

[@burtvhulberthyhbn7583]

Guy I knew used 90 weight gear oil in engine it burned so fast.

[@ochsblogger]

Thanks for the blast from the past. As a teenager, the Vega was my first car, and it was brand new at that, because of its affordability. Most kids had their dad's old cast-off clunker. I had that brand new car the same month that I got my driver's licence. I saved money for two years at odd jobs. Of course, I took a lot of ribbing because it was a small car and those were the days when your manhood was judged by the horsepower of your muscle car. The car lasted almost eight years, requiring only one engine transplant because of warping of the aluminum block, but GM paid for that. It was zippy (had a manual transmission) and luckily mine didn't have a lot of other quality issues. The most notable was that it couldn't take cold weather and regularly needed to be towed to a heated garage to get it to start. I had the clutch cable snap as well, and that was a bummer. I started the car, and went to put it in gear, and the clutch went to the floor and stayed there. As it got older, you pulled into a full service gas station and said "Fill up the oil and check the gas". I loved the car. It gave me freedom as a teenager when many of my friends and peers didn't have transportation. I was quite popular because of my Vega. My girlfriend destroyed it in a collision. Thanks for this trip down memory lane. I still have the owners manual, and it is one of the most treasured books in my library.

[@aubiejazz]

Dear History Guy, As a young man in 1973 I owned a Vega and traded it back to GM in less than a year. I did not experience the problems you mentioned but the one I experienced was what convinced me to get rid of the car. Some my say it was a small thing and it may have been but I hated it. The problem I had with the Vega was that after a rainfall the water on the highway would come up between the gaps on each of the hood and splatter onto the windshield right in your line of vision. So I traded it in so I missed all of those REAL problems that were coming. Boy, am I glad. Thanks for the video.

[@LoriFoster]

My girlfriend now wife bought one at a auto auction in 1978, it was a 1975 maroon Hatchback. It looked good and it also ran well. She got it for around $700. My brothers gave me crap about it but like I said it rain well till she was hit and it was totaled a few years later. She received over a grand for it. Win Win on that Vega!

[@crankychris2]

Can she talk yet, or was that the big win?

[@bentighe4811]

I grew up in a '74 Vega Kammback. A good looking little car, and reliable. We had that car from '77 to '84, and I don't remember it ever letting us down.

[@whitedovetail]

I joined the Air Force in September of 72'. When I finished with my school, my first base was in Austin, Texas. I wanted a Vega GT so bad, I could taste it. But thankfully I ended up buying a VW Super Beetle. And boy am I glad. The Vega was well known for the oil burning and oil dropping. And My VW was a dream to drive. They almost got me!!!

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Hitlers revenge were never a good car. Noisy, slow, handled bad. And a VW without oil leaks? Clearly it had no oil. Yet Nader never got into them, much.

[@Hithere-ek4qt]

Hey what are you smoking dude? VW beetle is one of the great automotive success stories in the world

[@x-man5056]

My Vega never burned or leaked oil but it was a 73 with steel sleeved cylinders. Never overheated and I ran the shit out of it. I lived in California so no worries about rust. The only knock I had on it is that it needed a five speed. Wish I had it back.

[@JDfromWitness]

Had a 71 Vega. Great at high speeds and almost impossible to get stuck in the snow. Really loved it. Fantastic handling. Did my own repairs at the time and only gave up on it when I pulled the head and saw cylinder scorch marks. Got well over 100k miles on ti.

[@funnerthanbefore4947]

I'm too late for that era but i DO remember those cars being on the road and causing problems as a young child in the early 90s..... Just a memory I may not share with many, but just like the history guy says, its history that deserves to be remembered... Even IF not most remember it....

[@osirisandilio]

Glad my first car was a Pinto. They just burst into flames when rear ended. My parents must've really loved me, sigh

[@rontroy3843]

Mine was the Mercury Capri, around 71 or 72, bought mine after college in 77. Parts of it came from the Pinto, but it was built in Europe and apparently had somewhat better build quality. Lots of fun to drive. A 4 speed as I recall, so I really had to learn to use what turned out to be a worn out clutch. But it got replaced, put Aramid belted radials on, and I had the 'right' car for a young guy to enjoy taking out on I80 between PA and NYC. Fortunately my only speeding all those decades ago was uphill!

[@milantrcka121]

Had a '72 2l Pinto. Ultimately some 160k mi. Drove Riverside Raceway (way back in the day) twice... Across USA once.

[@rawrec]

I drove my Pinto from the passages seat sometimes. It created the illusion that nobody was driving the car. I loved Pinto’s form factor and geometry. It was a death trap.

[@rontroy3843]

@Rick Charles There was a time when his word was as good as law. Not so much anymore.

[@rontroy3843]

@@rawrec The surprise for me was that the Pinto engine could be put into a Capri with surprisingly good results! Once I had good tires and a viable clutch, it truly drove like a sport car, with tight handling and plenty of power for it's weight. I'd sort of test that going up hill on I80 crossing New Jersey, and it performed well. Then over the top of the hill toward the speed traps (of the late 1970's) and just let it roll down the other side at a much more reasonable speed.

[@mattbeebe1288]

i still own and drive my 76 vega, love the car.

[@JB-rt4mx]

I bet you watch Smokey the Bandit too !!! 🚗😂

[@mattbeebe1288]

@@JB-rt4mx hell yeah. jackie gleason is bad ass in that movie.

[@Monza62000]

@@JB-rt4mx the 76 had the iron duke in them,,,my sis inlaw had a one,,4 speed too...you cant hurt that engine ,,

[@im12runb4trouble]

holy S__t! Good for you man. Had any offers on it?

[@jameshardeman6590]

I have a 76 kamback with 4speed and air conditioner

[@jasonchristopher2977]

U mean the same guy that does the best WW2 content also covers Auto history too? Where have I been? This is great!!

[@samuelschick8813]

One cannot hide from The History Guy.

[@jasonchristopher2977]

@@samuelschick8813 So glad we live in a time where although eggs are more profitable than black market items, we can have great content!! Do they make a mini cow? I know they have mini horses but if I could get a cow then along with tge few chickens I got ill save $100 a week in eggs, milk, butter, cooking lard.

[@samuelschick8813]

@@jasonchristopher2977, I'm over in the Philippines and the milk here is the crap that sits in a box on a shelf that does not need refrigeration until opened. It's somewhat tolerable and cheap. But I can get imported milk from the USA that has been refrigerated from cow to the cooler in the store. But that cost about $5 for half a gallon. Since I am a disabled veteran that milk is a luxury item that happens about 3 times a year. That does not include going about 30 miles to the store that sells it.

[@mjkay8660]

he is amazing, im glad i dont have to fact check..lol

[@marksmith9295]

My first car was a 73 Vega Notchback 3 speed manual transmission bought from a friends Mom in 1978. It was low miles and only issue i had was a worn out clutch i replaced 2 weeks after buying it. Drove it all over the place for the year i had it before the front end was damaged in an accident. It was towable though so i got a tow bar and towed it from Thunder Bay to Toronto just before Christmas with my new 1980 Jeep CJ7 and gave it to my youngest brother. Was his first car after he repaired the damage and replaced needed parts. Ran well for him as well and we both appreciated how quick it heated up in the winter. Good memories as a first car for both of us. Got my license in a 61 Corvair my family had for 13 years and besides being a rust bucket and bug killer served its purpose well.

[@jamiemarsh6176]

I've often thought automotive 'journalists' were highly susceptible to the Long Liquid Lunch and 'entertainment'.

[@chrisrowland2255]

Still are, but bigger $$$ involved now with internet professional testers.

[@jimstrict-998]

The "entertainment" being a gentleman's club, lol.

[@gregssingletary]

My dad had a '72 station wagon and in the early 80's I was told that would be mine. I didn't care, it was a car and freedom. I turned 16 in November and started driving to school, not caring what other people said. The day after Thanksgiving my dad told me we were going to find me a car. My grandfather was a retired mechanic and knew every used car dealer in Pensacola. He had found some to go look at. We wound up buying a 1970 Malibu, 307 V8 in mint condition. I asked my dad why he bought it. He told me "Because you never complained about driving that piece of shit Vega".

[@camwinston5248]

That was an outstanding story..well told😁😁😂

[@ethanc4920]

That 307 was an unheralded great engine from a reliability standpoint. Transmissions also lasted a long time behind those because of the modest power output. Like a 170 cubic inch Slant Six, the 307 had optimal bore and stroke numbers to make a pleasant and reliable powerplant if horsepower was not the first consideration.

[@camwinston5248]

@@ethanc4920 true...and the 300 straight six.

[@camwinston5248]

My first car was a 74 Mercury Comet with a 302...at the time i thought it was a rocket ship.

[@tyronebrown9936]

Great story!

[@danmoreno37]

I bought a ‘73 Vega Wagon as my first car. It really had no issues. I lived in Santa Barbara, Ca and regularly drove it up 101 and The Coast hiway 1 to Big Sur campouts, drove it to Yosemite thru the Mojave Desert. Never overheated. Good gas mileage. A few years later after beginning a career in the Navy and stationed near Pensacola, i flew home to get my car and drove it cross country on I-10. I watched it turn 80,000 miles as i drove through Louisiana. It did start burning oil somewhat. Before i left the West Coast, i bought a couple of cases of motor oil for the cross country trip. I finally used it as a trade and bought a new Toyota Celica GT.

[@leitheparsons1186]

My dad bought a 73 from his company with a blown motor. He had a 76 motor instslled. It ran trouble free for years and ended up being my first car in 1985. The later steel sleeved motor was a vast improvement. I sold it in 1987 and I saw it on the road 5 years after that.

[@00000.o]

I had one, 73' GT hatchback. Can't complain, always got me home!

[@the_omg3242]

I had one of those as my first car. That thing was awesome till I crashed it.

[@-jeff-]

My '76 Vega station wagon stayed on the road until a driver ran a stop sign and T boned me on 87. I spent hours on keeping it in shape thanks to the Air Force having Hobby Shops on most of its bases. I put aftermarket steel sleeves and numberous other mods that were available, but one thing kept it running more than mail order parts. That was the fact that I could and did buy numberous other Vegas from the local junk yards to use as spare parts when a "big ticket" items like rear axles needed swapped out. In fact I bought one from a junk yard and drove it home under it's own power more than once. Though usually after I put a set of tires on it. In those cases imagine sputtering and banging down the road while laying down a smokescreen that could have hidden a fleet of tanks and you are close to the mark. Ah the good old days!

[@mikaelgaiason688]

Cool story. Too bad it's bs.

[@-jeff-]

@@mikaelgaiason688 Nothing there to BS about I don't think. Forgot to mention it was Vega Yellow though. Lots of lemon jokes there.

[@mikaelgaiason688]

@@-jeff- You put steel sleeves in it? Do tell... As a master mechanic I feel like you're about to teach me something, otherwise you're talking out of your ass to tell a YT story

[@-jeff-]

@@mikaelgaiason688 Nope. You had to bore out the cylinders and press in the sleeves. Look around because there was not only the sleeve kits but some companies had custom blocks with the sleeves already inserted. Heaven knows that somewhere on the internet you might find either the sleeves or the custom blocks. Basically either way, getting rid of the stock aluminum sleeves was the only way to keep it from eventually burning tons of oil.

[@mikaelgaiason688]

@@-jeff- I'm aware of the process and the equipment needed to do it, hence why I know you didn't do it yourself.

[@uncidave]

My first car was 71 Vega. I got it in 1981. Low mileage, but it barely made to 60,000 miles. I had just purchased my second car when the manual transmission went out on my way home. I had to push it to the side of the road, abandon there, and walk home. Before then, it went through a quart of oil every 50 miles. I left a trail of blue smoke everywhere I went. It was my only car that I put Bondo on (or had to). It was the only car that I added extra speakers and sound control to (I think as a first car that is obligatory). Ah! All good memories and life experience. Thanks GM.

[@Mr1fish2fish]

Dear Mr. History Guy: this is a comment on subjects you might be interested in doing: I think the European and American graffiti along the railroads that were left behind during the Great Depression and have been kept clean and bright that are easily seen passing as a cab view train ride video goes along, is a history that deserves to be remembered.

[@martinbrown2076]

Back in the 70's a friend of mine had a Vega and I had Ford Pinto. We usually took my car because it was reliable at getting us home.

[@thebigksmoosey]

My first car was an 18 year old 76 Vega. I loved it, even though it was a bit of a junket. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

[@tommurphy4307]

a 'junket' is actually a trip- a walk down memory lane- you could use a good dictionary.....

[@robertbenson9797]

I had a 1973 Vega GT with a manual transmission. Black vinyl seats made it uncomfortable in the summer. Also, no A/C. But it was fun to drive until I had problems with the fuel pump. The Vega was one of the first cars to have the fuel pump in the gas tank. If you ever ran out of gas, you could damage the fuel pump because it used the gasoline to lubricate the pump. To replace the fuel pump, the gas tank had to be dropped to access the pump. Now, almost all vehicles have the fuel pump in the gas tank.

[@sunbeam8866]

At least some foreign makes have access plates in the trunk or under the rear seat to reach the pump!

[@marioncobaretti2280]

I worked mainly on Vegas from 77 to 80 in a chevy dealership. Once you replaced the engine with the warranty chevy steel sleeved motor, there was no problem with them

[@henrycomputer1403]

I used to work in a machine shop rebuilding engines. I remember these engines coming in. We actually sleeved them with sleeves for 9n ford tractors. Most customers that had a vega would have a 350 chevy built to install for racing

[@keithshubert4007]

A friend of mine worked at the Lordstown plant and owned a Vega. A few years into his ownership, he was waxing it ,and his hand went partially through the body. He concluded that the Vega was bio-degradable.

[@josephgaviota]

Green New Deal before its time! Call up AOC!!

[@michaelangelo8001]

Rusting was their biggest issue.

[@sabrehawk-427]

my ex father in law worked at lordstown his job was driving off assembly line he told me parts would fall off before it got outside and sometimes it would not make it outside

[@edsahara]

Same thing happened to me. I was washing it and my hand went through the rear panel. The car ran well though. Never gave me a problem in 91K miles.

[@Scoobydue420]

Nice lie.

[@m444ss]

I learned to drive in a '76 Chevy Vega hatchback with stick shift. I loved driving it.

[@walterspaceman5592]

The Vega as an automotive masterpiece was an amazing engineering marvel. In summer, it had no air conditioning, and it was designed by jackals from hell who inadvertently designed and kept all outside air outside, none would come into the passenger compartment. NONE. BECAUSE THE BACK WINDOWS DID NOT ROLL DOWN BUT WERE FIXED, STATIONARY ! A equatorial nightmare joy beyond description or comprehension in the summer. I had a water squirt bottle were I squirted my self liberally and constantly in the face, but it only lasted jusy a few moments as it was so hot inside the car, the squirted water immeadiately evaporated. Like unbelievably immeadiately !!!!! The spark plugs had to have " raised cylinders " attached to the spark side, as the oil from the aluminum cylinders was vastly loose letting too much combustion stroke oil in. And would soak the spark gap making it impossible to drive without the extra raised protective cylinder covers, looked like thimbles with a hole on the bottom for the spark to get out. If you considered suicide this car would help you get there. Best wishes.

[@crazysteve9390]

Chevy Vega: I was so bad some people think I nearly destroyed GM Cadillac Cimmaron: hold my beer

[@milfordcivic6755]

Luckily for GM, the Cimmaron wasn't as heavily marketed, nor was it within the price range of the average small car buyer. It was supposed to compete with the BMW 3 series of the day and was a hell of a lot more reliable than the Vega ever was.

[@tehbonehead]

Cadillac Catera: Hi there!

[@jamesogorman3287]

Pontiac Aztec

[@caravan1ify]

cimmaron....an expensive cavalier!

[@RickaramaTrama-lc1ys]

Good One~!!!

[@georgemckenna462]

Vegas were already showing rust new on the dealer lots. The siliconized cylinder walls provided the hand grenade engine!

[@QuantumRift]

They didn't have inner fender wells....

[@jonmeray713]

QuantumRift where did he say that

[@RemusKingOfRome]

6 stages of rust improvement.

[@georgemckenna462]

@@QuantumRift The vega's inner fender wells can be clearly seen at 6:34 . As I understand it the Vegas were made with a lower grade of imported "dirty steel" and with out rust prevention measures rapidly corroded.

[@QuantumRift]

@@georgemckenna462 The two Vegas I owned, first production run, didn't have them..they had some sort of lame thin plastic deflector installed.

[@glorybound7599]

The Corvair or Monza, of the 1960’s was one of the best cars ever built by Chevrolet.

[@Theywaswrong]

I had a 1962 Corvair Monza "Spyder" convertible. Black with red interior. I loved that car.

[@wandaburns8075]

@@Theywaswrong Awesome. I'd love to see a pic.

[@normanacree1635]

That isn't saying much.

[@PH_INFO_101]

@@Theywaswrong I was blessed to drive a restored 1962 Corvair Rampside as a delivery vehicle in 1984. I will never forget the experience.

[@jupitercyclops6521]

The 70s monza s were cool when people put 350 in them. My dad bought one new & hated it It's for sale if anyone is interested; 74 (maybe) monza. One owner. All original, including paint 5 spd transmission Original interior Never been wrecked. (Idt) Have title Won't last long! Don't let this one get away! Must be trailered as dead battery & low tires. For sale as is. Sight unseen probably work best for me She's been sitting , I mean stored, in the fresh air for at least 3 decades. Seriously though, I'd take current scrap price + another 50% She's rougher than 65 yr old Russian stripper

[@DrJeffDrJeff]

There are a lot of us who owned and drove Vegas who thought they were great. A good daily driver and scary tight cornering. I set some good times running Mullholland in the Santa Monica Mountains.

[@johnnywadd3020]

whos us??

[@StevieWonder737]

Mine was great. Loved it. Silver hatchback with 4spd manual. Never a moment's trouble ... EVER

[@aattura1541]

With Konis and a sleeved engine mine could beat out Porsches-- oh those drivers were NOT happy ! LOL

[@StevieWonder737]

@@aattura1541 Maybe in a drag race but not on a legitimate road course. Oh, ... and drivers of equal talent