What was your worst demo?

[mryan55]

Yep... the only thing I remember about it was that it was on super late on Sunday nights... well past my bedtime, so I always had to record it.

However, it is the show that got me to start watching Spike TV... I still watch Bar Rescue every now and then, although it seems like new episodes aren't on with any regularity.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

How about THE WORST DEMO YOU EVER HAD?

I'll start off with any 2.2 Horizon/ K car with a carb. Damn thing never ran smooth, hard to start, and in the cold weather we always kept a clean set of plugs to screw in when flooded. Screwed in the clean set and blasted the old set.

I've been meaning to respond to this post.....

I'm in TOTAL agreement with your comments - I hated the carbureted cars/trucks from the late 80s.

Concerning the old L-Body Omni/Horizon I'm almost certain that they were still using carburetors all the way until the end in 1989. The only exception would be the turbocharged Shelby versions that had fuel injection. It was weird because most of the Chrysler cars had fuel injection by 1986 and most of the trucks had it by 1987 but for some reason the lowly L-body was still being built with carburetors.

Other Chrysler vehicles of that era that suffered due to carburetors would include the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Jeep Wrangler with the 4.2 I6 and the Chrysler M-bodies - Gran Fury, Diplomat and Fifth Avenue.

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

But the worst demo ever was a 1976 Trailduster (Dodge had Ramcharger). The damn thing leaked water like the Titanic. It also gave new meaning to rust bucket. The local Ziebart store wouldn't even rustproof them after awhile! They new better.

Ahhh, the good old days....

I remember I bought an old 1979 Dodge Ramcharger mostly on a whim - I didn't really need a truck at that time, I just wanted one.

The Ramcharger had been owned by the Bonneville Power Administration at one time and unlike most fleet trucks this one had two tone blue paint, alloy wheels and had the quad rectangular headlamps - it was a good looking truck.

One of the previous owners installed an aftermarket fuel tank that upped the capacity to 45 gallons and I soon figured out why - the fuel economy on the truck was horrible. The Ramcharger had a 360 V8 with a 4BBL and it had a transfer case that provided full-time four wheel drive. If I remember correctly, the transfer case was actually built out of cast iron as opposed to the cast aluminum used on most transfer cases.

Overall I really liked that truck and I still have a soft-spot for old Ramchargers today.

[chryslersrt8]

Sorry XDCX, from 1988 until they were discontinued, the Omni/Horizon was fuel injected. Sadly, the price kept escalating from about $7200 for one equipped with a/trans and a/c to over $9000. The 1988, especially, was a pretty good vehicle.

Starting in 1978 or 1978 (I think) the Ramcharger/Trailduster dropped the removable top option as they couldn't stop water leaks between the body and the hardtop.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

Sorry XDCX, from 1988 until they were discontinued, the Omni/Horizon was fuel injected. Sadly, the price kept escalating from about $7200 for one equipped with a/trans and a/c to over $9000. The 1988, especially, was a pretty good vehicle.

Thanks for the correction - I would have lost money on that bet.

I guess I was thinking that both the L-bodies and the M-bodies were carbureted until the end.

Concerning the L-body near the end of its lifespan, I agree that it was a pretty decent vehicle for the money. I remember when Iacocca was touting the "America" versions on TV commercials and it was a compelling pitch to buy a car built in the U.S.

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

Starting in 1978 or 1978 (I think) the Ramcharger/Trailduster dropped the removable top option as they couldn't stop water leaks between the body and the hardtop.

I'm almost certain that the Ramcharger/Trailduster retained the removable top until the body was updated with the launch of the 1981 Dodge truck.

I have read, however, that Chrysler altered the initial design of the Ramcharger's removable top after the first year of production due to water leak concerns. The first year Ramchargers, the 1974s, had the window frame for the front doors incorporated into the hardtop so when the hardtop was removed there was no window frame on the door to provide the driver/passenger with a more "convertible-like" experience.

Later year Ramchargers featured window frames that were part of the door structure.

[XDCX]

When I think back to the old L-Body Omni/Horizon I often think of Bob Lutz and his story about the turn signal switch on the early vehicles.

I don't remember where I read it but I remember Bob Lutz made the distinction that a quality is more than just functionality and durability. He cited the turn signal switch on some Chrysler vehicles as having the same tactile feel that you'd get if you snapped a chicken leg in half.

The fact that the turn signal switch did its job and lasted a long time didn't mean it was a quality part if the customer perceived the part was cheap or inferior compared to a competitor's turn signal switch.

For me it was a lasting example of how customers perceive quality and the refinements Chrysler needed to make to their vehicles to make them competitive with the top offerings from Japan.