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Casey Jones said:
^^^
The Slant Six was to solve a packaging problem...new styling/design-language expectations required lower hoods. New expectations, plus competition, required overhead valves...up to this time, Chrysler used a flathead six. The flathead lost a lot of power, and had cooling issues...that's all flathead engines; part of the design compromise. What it offered was a low height and simplicity.

So they tipped over their new six 30 degrees. There were actually some doubts that buyers might accept it - the idiot press wondered if pistons not straight-up-and-down might lead to wear issues (ignoring 30 years of V8s and the new Volkswagen engine with pistons horizontal). But it did gain acceptance, and then awards.

It had potential for racing...unusual for a six like that, a heavy engine - but what kept it in production until 1988, was...RELIABILITY. Long, long life. Designed for a compact car, it found its way into Dodge trucks, and became a mainstay.

And Chrysler lost a lot when they pulled production of it.

FWIW, the K-car engine made by Chrysler, was a Slant 4...not the same basic design, but they did tip it over to fit. By that time, priorities were a bit different at Chrysler, and that engine was not overly strong, nor renowned for long life (but far sturdier than the crap they make today). Chrysler learned a lot, back in the 1960s - unfortunately the lessons are lost, with the Daimler takeover and gutting, bankruptcy, the political gifting of Chrysler to Fiat, and now, Fiat's being merged into Peugeot, to make Stellantis. The Brussels management cares nothing for long life or value delivered. They're Woke - they want to make cars' operational lives SHORT, so that the Poor don't get them as used cars. Because poor people must not have cars - because, CLIMB BATE CHANGE!!
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The 225 cu. in. slant 6 was a fantastic motor. You could abuse the crap out of them and they would still get you where you needed to go. They just didn't want to die. Ford had a straight 6 that they put in pickup trucks as well. Not sure how many cubic inches, but it was a reliable motor as well. Lots of torque.
 
CiscoKid said:
The 225 cu. in. slant 6 was a fantastic motor. You could abuse the crap out of them and they would still get you where you needed to go. They just didn't want to die. Ford had a straight 6 that they put in pickup trucks as well. Not sure how many cubic inches, but it was a reliable motor as well. Lots of torque.
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Oh, yeah. The Ford 240, later 300, six.

GREAT truck motor. Find one in an old truck...it's better than any V8, for reliability, and fully driveable.

Difference, though, is the Ford 240 was designed from the start to be a commercial/truck engine. It had a bunch of heavy-duty improvements in the valve train, and seven main bearings in a time when most sixes had only four sets of main bearings. Putting a bearing set alongside each crank throw was a new idea, and only AMC and Chevrolet were doing it. The Slant Six had four main bearings - right up to 1983, when it was upgraded at considerable cost. IIRC, the Ford Falcon engine had four main bearings. The Willys six, used up to 1965 in Jeep products, had, IIRC, three main bearings and a wobbly crankshaft.

The remarkable thing about the Slant Six was, designed for an economy compact, it was, right out the door, suitable for racing and industrial uses; and this with 1950s technologies - two crank throws for each bearing set, solid lifters that required adjusting, and of course, cast iron in block and head.
 
searcher said:
www.jalopnik.com

Ford CEO Says U.S. Must Not Fall To Scourge Of Chinese Cars, It's Already 'Too Late' For Europe - Jalopnik

Plus epublicans figuring out how to ban Chinese cars without banning Mercedes, China's electric trucks, and dealerships that love AI.
www.jalopnik.com www.jalopnik.com
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Billy Ford, Woketard, has his people making GARBAGE cars, and now wants government protection...so we have no choice but to buy "cars" (devices) priced like homes, that last about as long as Walmart appliances.

His use of political pull to block competition, doesn't make what he's offering in the market - a $80k vehicle that lasts 80 months - any more attractive. Or, even, justifiable. Or doable.
 

TROG 26 The Roll In. Part 1 Saturday morning,… ;-)​


Oct 3, 2026 MOREY'S PIERS & BEACHFRONT WATER PARKS
Watch the competitors roll onto the Wildwood NJ beach during The Race of Gentlemen 26 !!


7:46

TROG 26 The Roll In. Part 2 Saturday Morning,… ;-)


4:54
 
Japan's 'Kei' trucks hitting U.S. roadsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Oct 8, 2026
Auto enthusiasts in the United States are driving a boom in a miniature type of Japanese vehicle. Now, they are leading a grassroots campaign to get more of them onto American roads. NHK World's Inoue Yuki took a spin to see what it is all about.

Japan's 'Kei' trucks hitting U.S. roadsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
5:57
 
James May bought a Series 3 Land Rover and he hates it

Oct 14, 2026
The Series Land Rover. Possibly the greatest thing Britain has ever produced - with enormous charm and historic resonance....but it's also an appalling contraption. The steering and ride are terrible and Lucy Brown is simply too scared to drive it more than a few yards. So why did James buy it?


15:06
 
searcher said:
Japan's 'Kei' trucks hitting U.S. roadsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Oct 8, 2026
Auto enthusiasts in the United States are driving a boom in a miniature type of Japanese vehicle. Now, they are leading a grassroots campaign to get more of them onto American roads. NHK World's Inoue Yuki took a spin to see what it is all about.

Japan's 'Kei' trucks hitting U.S. roadsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
5:57
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He's about 15 years behind the times. They've BEEN here - about two-thirds of states will license them on public roads. There are dealers selling them, primarily on the West Coast; and they pop up in other places now. Our local Nissan dealer had two up for sale - an experiment, obviously; and it didn't work. They were there for months and one of them was heavily discounted.

Two issues with them - aside from RHD controls:

--There's little room inside for a typically-sized American. I mean even one who is not fat. Those are designed for short, small, slight Japanese workmen...who when boys, didn't get enough milk.

--The top speed on most of those is about 45-50 mph. That's really not even fast enough in-town, nowadays. And we're a long way from the 55-mph era on freeways. Take one of those things down the interstate to the next exit...you may not make it, or may finish up as a Volvo hood ornament. The durka-durka driving the Volvo won't ever feel it.

They may succeed here, in the end, anyway. American contractors, the guys who do crafts, who used to arrive in pickup trucks, but who now cannot afford the expensive, hulking, FRAGILE modern bro-dozers...just as fifty years ago they started buying Toyota Hilux trucks, they may again start buying little trucks no one else wants. $8000 and 40 mpg and four-wheel-drive (many of them) makes a lot of sense.
 
macsmotorcitygarage.com

MCG Executive Briefing for October 16, 2026 - Mac's Motor City Garage.com

This 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was among the top 10 sellers at the RM Sotheby’s Hershey auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. Today’s headlines: + Penske Automotive Group will go private as parent … Continue reading →
macsmotorcitygarage.com macsmotorcitygarage.com

macsmotorcitygarage.com

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: The 1933 Willys 77

As the USA sank into the worst economic depression in history, Toledo automaker Willys-Overland very nearly went out of business. The product that kept it afloat, barely, was the unlikely Willys 77. Like much of the American auto … Continue reading →
macsmotorcitygarage.com macsmotorcitygarage.com
 
searcher said:
macsmotorcitygarage.com

MCG Executive Briefing for October 16, 2026 - Mac's Motor City Garage.com

This 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was among the top 10 sellers at the RM Sotheby’s Hershey auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. Today’s headlines: + Penske Automotive Group will go private as parent … Continue reading →
macsmotorcitygarage.com macsmotorcitygarage.com

macsmotorcitygarage.com

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: The 1933 Willys 77

As the USA sank into the worst economic depression in history, Toledo automaker Willys-Overland very nearly went out of business. The product that kept it afloat, barely, was the unlikely Willys 77. Like much of the American auto … Continue reading →
macsmotorcitygarage.com macsmotorcitygarage.com
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The industry was totally unregulated, back then.

WERE we to deregulate the industry again...if we COULD, given all the bed-wetters with Voter Registration we have now, people who get scared when they're late getting their Coe-Vidd booster...IF we could set the industry free, we could again have basic, simple, CHEAP transportation. Some of it would be crap; but, speaking of Willys...someone could haul the dies out for the old Jeep CJ. A 2wd version, the Jeep Dispatcher DJ-5, was popular with airports, industry, and later, the Post Office. A perfect utilitarian work car.

The thing sold for $1400 in 1965, when most compact entry-level cars were selling at about $1900. Gives you an idea of the savings - right around 26 percent.

We'll never see it. Because we SO LOVE government regulation! And our kids are being indoctrinated to hate private cars...and private homes, private choices of anything. Collectivism...

FWIW, the engine in that Willys 77, was made until 1971. Heavily beefed-up for wartime use, it became the engine for the Jeep MB, and later the CJ series until 1971, when American Motors stopped making it and put their own-design huge six in that little engine bay.
 
In this one Ed and his father get down with VW. They're really into VW.

Volkswagen Pilgrimage: The Autostadt Museum and Wolfsburg Factory Review!

Oct 28, 2026
A classic car connaisseur and his father travel down to the heart of Volkswagen, the Wolfsburg Factory and the Autostadt theme park! Autostadt features pavilions of many of VAG's brands, including Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Skoda and Cupra. We explore them and look at some of the cars, try an offroad course in a V6 Volkswagen Touareg SUV, are deeply impressed by the huge factory and visit the Zeit Haus car museum. Hungry? We also try Volkswagen famous currywurst sausage....


28:17
 
Another dead brand.

It just hasn't locked up the office, not yet. Maybe they can sell Chinese electric cars with VW badges pasted on.

What else can they do? They can't build cars, not without energy. Germans, Europeans...actually, not even Americans, in large numbers, can BUY those cars. And anyways, VW threw away its reputation for quality, two generations back.

They can't design cars, not without money to pay engineers. Are there enough qualified engineers, in Third-World-ed Germany, to actually DO it? Can they run the line and build quality product, while stopping things eight times a day, each shift, for prayers?
 
Casey Jones said:
Another dead brand.

It just hasn't locked up the office, not yet. Maybe they can sell Chinese electric cars with VW badges pasted on.

What else can they do? They can't build cars, not without energy. Germans, Europeans...actually, not even Americans, in large numbers, can BUY those cars. And anyways, VW threw away its reputation for quality, two generations back.

They can't design cars, not without money to pay engineers. Are there enough qualified engineers, in Third-World-ed Germany, to actually DO it? Can they run the line and build quality product, while stopping things eight times a day, each shift, for prayers?
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The last good car that Volkswagon made was their little TDI. Small diesels in small cars and trucks are actually a good idea if they are built right. One of my nieces had a TDI and was getting around 52 mpg out of it.
 
CiscoKid said:
The last good car that Volkswagon made was their little TDI. Small diesels in small cars and trucks are actually a good idea if they are built right. One of my nieces had a TDI and was getting around 52 mpg out of it.
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The TDI and that generation, were engineered well - for immediate performance, that is, they drove well, were comfortable. And high fuel mileage. Well, we know what happened to the TDIs and Dieselgate. I blame the EPA but the Germans should have known what would happen when (not if) they got caught at it.

I meant the pre-NSU Volkswagen. Up until 1972 or so. VW had focused on a small group of cars that mirrored what stood out with the Type 1 - durability and reliability. Because of emissions, and because they never had to design ANY new car (the Type 1 was handed to them, as the German KdF ministry was closed and Ferdinand Porsche was arrested), they were stumped. NSU was Germany's version of Renault - beautiful, innovative cars with the longevity of a souffle. NSU, remember, employed one Felix Wankel. That engine was theirs. Again, brilliant in concept; absolute garbage in real-world use.

NSU was going broke; and the German transport ministry ordered Volkswagenwerk AG to take them over. What happened, obviously, was, NSU took over VW from inside. The signature car of the era, the Golf/Rabbit, was designed by NSU before this shotgun marriage.

A whole different group of executives, took over VW. Like McDonnell Douglass took over Boeing, with Boeing's money.

Like American Motors took over Chrysler, after Lido bought them. Which was what happened - only Lee and a couple of his top cronies stayed put; the engineering teams from AMC had top priority. It was not a bad thing, except that they were young, and somewhat French. Why all the trouble with the resultant Chrysler "Cloud Cars."

But that happened to VW, too...and now, VW, and Audi, and soon Freightliner, also...fragile and shoddy and overpriced product. Now made by a company within a nation committing cultural and economic suicide.
 
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