13th Nov 2008, 20:40
"Cheap, Dependable Luxury"
"Drives like a Cadillac"
"Beautiful outside & inside"
Yes, perhaps back in 1984 the day it was purchased. I have to say my Delta experience was far different. Driving without power steering or exhaust while the interior ceiling hangs down in your face wasn't my best car experience, it was my worst. That thing ran forever though, 213,000 miles. Completely rusted, dented, busted up. A huge boat- that things was at least 5,000 lbs. Passed on from my grandfather to my mother to me. Hey, it had a wood grain lighter. True Luxury! Not even BMW, Lexus comes with that.
18th Jun 2009, 17:40
I recently purchased a 1984 Delta 88 with only 84,000 miles! This thing runs like a top. The only problem is a small leak in a power steering hose. The oil pan gasket leaks, but these things will be repaired. I would drive this car on a family summer vacation. The incentives to crush this car for a new car payment doesn't excite me. I'm referring to the new cash for older cars bill just passed.
25th Jan 2006, 15:02
The performance problem is not due to the car weighing 3700 lbs. The performance problem is due to the 307 engine, which has 140 HP even though it's a V8. The big block Olds engines provided more power. The 307 provides more economy, which made sense in the fuel crisis era.
I also think the 307 and similar engines were (partly) the undoing of the big American car market though. Once gas prices went back down in the mid 1980s, everyone wanted more power than such engines provided, and switched over to imports and smaller models that provided the same efficiency with more speed.
Still, the 307 serves its purpose... it gets you from point A to point B within the bounds of the speed limit, quietly and smoothly, and may net you over 25 highway mpg if you use synthetic oil and drive in cruise control on flatter terrain. What's not to love?