Chevy Vega 'Cutaway' Commercial (1972)

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 14 бер 2013
  • Vintage Chevy Vega commercial featuring a cutaway look inside the vehicle. The actor is Richard Higgs ("The Doctors," "Taxi Driver"). End narration by Casey Kasem. Aired New Year's Day, 1972. Visit www.bionicdisco.com for 1970s pop culture fun.
    Fair Use. No copyright infringement is intended. Posted for historical and archival purposes only.
  • Розваги

КОМЕНТАРІ • 126

  • @bluv6
    @bluv6 8 років тому +40

    ....and that's what your Vega actually looked like after a couple of years of rusting out everywhere.

    • @josephsolis3018
      @josephsolis3018 8 років тому +7

      +Al O They would rust in the state of Arizona!!!!

    • @carlover1816
      @carlover1816 8 років тому +6

      +Chaleco Salvavides The only place where a Vega does not rust is a vacuum.

    • @vegavairbob
      @vegavairbob 2 роки тому

      Maybe yours not mine

  • @hugglescake
    @hugglescake 9 років тому +20

    As the white car was being driven to shoot the commercial, the burning oil smoke from the sleeveless, aluminum engine turned the Vega blue.

    • @bluv6
      @bluv6 8 років тому +6

      +hugglescake In 1978 I had a 5 year old Vega wagon that just about went through a quart of oil with every tank of gas. Then the head gasket blew and that was that.

    • @Thinker669
      @Thinker669 6 років тому +2

      hugglescake That's why it's better to swapped in a 350.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому

      @@Thinker669 The z-28 "302"ci motor would be PERFECT!

  • @jrocco36
    @jrocco36 10 років тому +18

    That Commercial should have ended "Chevrolet Vega... We're Sorry.."

  • @owenlewis8006
    @owenlewis8006 7 років тому +25

    Such a shame they didn't build it properly, I think it's a very attractively styled design.

    • @realazduffman
      @realazduffman 7 років тому +3

      I was just noticing that

    • @Spacejunk63
      @Spacejunk63 3 роки тому +3

      It was nice looking.

    • @vegavairbob
      @vegavairbob 2 роки тому

      Robert Spinello
      1 second ago
      they built all two million of 'em just fine, and they sold everyone they could build. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

    • @owenlewis8006
      @owenlewis8006 2 роки тому

      so, all those vegas that rotted out by 4 years old with engine liners ruined by 40k miles were just a myth, then? There are a handful of people who think their olds 350 diesel, HT4100 or Northstar are the best thing ever because their example hasn't blown up yet. It doesn't make them right. How many like yours are left? Enough to vindicate the appalling reputation the Vega has as one of the worst cars GM ever built? Didn't think so.

    • @Channelscruf
      @Channelscruf 2 роки тому

      @@owenlewis8006 I owned two. Have you ever owned one? Didn’t think so. Mic drop.

  • @prel91
    @prel91 9 років тому +23

    Rust free cars, meaning any rust that formed before consumer delivery was free!

    • @joejones5653
      @joejones5653 3 роки тому

      Don't laugh my buddy bought one and it had a rust hole in it before it was even paid off!

    • @vegavairbob
      @vegavairbob 2 роки тому

      a $14,000 Porsche rusted way before a Vega did, but nobody cares to discuss that do they.

  • @gaguy1967
    @gaguy1967 11 років тому +8

    Casey Kasem deos the VO at the end

    • @MovieMakingMan
      @MovieMakingMan 2 роки тому

      Good catch! I missed it the first time.

  • @sferrell1000
    @sferrell1000 9 років тому +6

    That is a Vega after two Cleveland winters, actually, the Vega had the best styling of the small cars, but I got ten years out of my Gremlin.

  • @OuttaHere7
    @OuttaHere7 8 років тому +10

    First new car I ever bought and last Chevy I ever owned!

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +1

      The LAST CHEVY for me was the "Citation". The bar for quality was SO low, even a "Yugo" would qualify! They renamed the car "Citation II", in hopes of erasing the memory of "Citation I"! LOL

  • @BionicDisco
    @BionicDisco  11 років тому +10

    Lol. OK.
    Right at the very end, The narrator who says: "Chevrolet. Building a better way to see the USA." That guy. =)

    • @P00katube
      @P00katube 6 років тому +6

      Bionic Disco The same guy who talked about a dog in a song dedication letter.

  • @IngloriousBitches
    @IngloriousBitches 10 років тому +6

    After a year you can actually see through the car.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +2

      "Acid dipping", provided by Chevrolet, at NO added cost!

  • @Beetlehair
    @Beetlehair 9 років тому +6

    I had a '71 fastback. Actually looked nice with mag wheels. The aluminum block sucked a valve on I-5 and left me stranded.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому

      I agree, that the STYLING was great, but everything else left a lot to be desired.

  • @canadamoose
    @canadamoose 3 роки тому +1

    Great ad and still a great looking car.

  • @corvairdog5885
    @corvairdog5885 10 років тому +3

    Vega's rule man! Long like the VEGA.

  • @bluetickfreddy101
    @bluetickfreddy101 3 роки тому

    My mom really liked hers
    Especially the aluminum block
    Cheers

  • @Srd1126
    @Srd1126 9 років тому +7

    This is the best Don Draper could come up with?

  • @saxongreen78
    @saxongreen78 7 років тому +4

    Just look at that - he's only had the bloody thing for two months, and already it's shot full of holes! Truth in advertising, at least.

  • @timothykeith1367
    @timothykeith1367 Рік тому

    "Now you see them, now you don't" - I don't see Vegas anymore, but I'd like to have one

  • @brig.4398
    @brig.4398 9 років тому +17

    I think this is when Chevy lost a lot of customers to the small cars coming from Japan. People bought a Vega and it was a bad car so they then bought a small japanese model and never went back to buying chevys.

    • @Thinker669
      @Thinker669 6 років тому +1

      Bri G. Chevy Trucks are more in demand, that's probably why.

  • @peters8758
    @peters8758 3 роки тому +4

    Cutaway or Rustaway?
    After a few years in the Rust Belt, my Vega looked like that.

  • @justsumguy2u
    @justsumguy2u 6 років тому +7

    There's even more "extra value"----the Vega was guaranteed to burn oil and blow head gaskets at no extra charge

    • @justsumguy2u
      @justsumguy2u Рік тому

      @Jose Alberto Rosa-Suliveres Woohoo, sign me up!

  • @krystalstarrett6760
    @krystalstarrett6760 Рік тому

    Vega was a safe car! My wife had two serious wrecks, she was not hurt in that SAFE VEGA😊

  • @michaelbabella9012
    @michaelbabella9012 3 роки тому +1

    it was easy to open up, after all, at the time it was listed as the only car that rusted on the showroom floor

  • @pef2867
    @pef2867 9 років тому +7

    They were all cut away cars up north in a few years. Rust wasn't the worst quality problem. They helped sell more Hondas and Toyotas than their (Toyota and Honda) ad campaigns did. I had a '76, it was the car from hell.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +3

      Toyota and Honda never did thank Chevrolet for producing the Vega OR Chevette OR Citation OR Cavalier OR Cobalt OR Aveo OR Cruze OR Sonic...............sorry, the "Sonic" should not have been included. That was a GOOD car!

  • @BionicDisco
    @BionicDisco  11 років тому +2

    I believe you are correct. Good ears!

  • @stevenbaker673
    @stevenbaker673 5 років тому +1

    Best new car i ever owned

  • @johnathanstevens8436
    @johnathanstevens8436 3 роки тому

    Casey Kasem on the last 4 seconds!

  • @DanMan869
    @DanMan869 2 роки тому +2

    That's New York-based actor Richard Higgs--possibly best known for playing the nefarious "Dr. Dan Allison" on the NBC-TV soap opera, "The Doctors," in 1970-72. Sadly, Higgs committed suicide in 1977.

    • @BionicDisco
      @BionicDisco  Рік тому +2

      After nine years we have an identification! Thanks for the info. That checks out. I've added Higgs name to the description. =)

    • @catherineerwin8269
      @catherineerwin8269 Рік тому +2

      Gone too soon! He seemed liked a gentle & talented man. R.I.P. Richard Higgs…

  • @music9556
    @music9556 8 років тому +11

    aluminum block with no liners.

    • @barryervin8536
      @barryervin8536 3 роки тому +2

      Yeah. And BMW had the same problem 20 years later.

    • @BigEightiesNewWave
      @BigEightiesNewWave 2 роки тому

      saved them money. Who needs reliable ??? LOL

  • @karlelliott9254
    @karlelliott9254 3 роки тому +1

    The Vega was right out of The Wizard of Oz. It was truly a great car if it “Only had an Engine”.

  • @realazduffman
    @realazduffman 7 років тому +4

    Cutaway? I thought that was just where it rusted away

  • @senorkaboom
    @senorkaboom 8 років тому +4

    At the time, the neighbor's oldest daughter bought a '71 Vega. She'd had it for a few months and this one morning went to start it to go to work. She cranked and cranked that car until there was a backfire you wouldn't believe. It started, but wasn't running worth a damn. It disappeared for a while and I asked her dad what happened. Seems that backfire did some damage and it needed a new engine, one with sleeves in the cylinders. She got it back and it was a better car, they kept it for a while. I tell you, to have to replace an engine in a new car in under a year, what a pile. By the time Chevy got the Vega right, damage had been done. A great idea, lousy execution.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому

      The irony, when Chevy "got the Vega right", it was probably the MOST reliable small car that they had ever built!

    • @21stcenturyfossil7
      @21stcenturyfossil7 2 роки тому

      @@TheOzthewiz The J cars, such as the Chevy Cavalier, were much better than any of the Vegas. Not that the J cars were great but they were OK.

  • @SiliconeSalad
    @SiliconeSalad 11 років тому +1

    OH lol I thought it was that little bit on the radio.

  • @hamradiotimes5586
    @hamradiotimes5586 Рік тому

    The chevy vega and ford pinto is what made Honda and Toyota today....

  • @kierancurtis8545
    @kierancurtis8545 3 роки тому +4

    In that case, I'll take an AMC Gremlin 😄

  • @robertdevoy3119
    @robertdevoy3119 3 роки тому

    I had a 1972 Vega GT with 4 speed manual. I loved that car while it lasted, but it had a very hard ride.

  • @andrewfeltz9445
    @andrewfeltz9445 4 місяці тому

    I remember going to junkyards back in the day, the vega,s looked good, no dents perfect body's. 😅

  • @sartainja
    @sartainja 7 років тому +5

    Toyota needs to give thanks for the Vega because it killed American's believe in GM small vehicles. I knew a fellow who said that he gave $25 for a Vega that actually run back in the mid 1980's.

  • @emeyer6963
    @emeyer6963 4 роки тому +3

    By the late 70's they all looked like this thanks to the rust monster

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому

      Weight savings for INCREASED economy of operation!

  • @markg7030
    @markg7030 9 років тому +6

    That's not a cut away car. They fell apart before they were sold. It sure was noisy too.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +1

      That was the NEW way to "see the USA in your Chevrolet"......................behind a tow truck! LOL

  • @pcno2832
    @pcno2832 6 років тому +3

    This car was so much better looking than the hideous Monza, it was ahead of its time in some ways and the engine technology was eventually perfected. It's too bad GM didn't "sweat the details" in the first few years; the car never shook its bad reputation. Remember the 1977 "Monza S", just a leftover Vega with a Monza-like nose stuck on it. GM probably figured that even the same car with a different name would be easier to sell.

    • @unitedcity_mc4421
      @unitedcity_mc4421 10 місяців тому

      I agree that the Vega was a very handsomely designed vehicle, but the Monza was nice too.

  • @davidhinckley9488
    @davidhinckley9488 3 роки тому +1

    If you think its a shitbox now, wait until you're making payments.

  • @2121Pike
    @2121Pike 11 місяців тому

    Wonder where they actually recorded that solid-sounding "thunk" at 0:38? Certainly NOT a Vega's door being closed.

  • @davidhinckley9488
    @davidhinckley9488 3 роки тому +1

    Back when composite rust was king.

  • @jonnycarcano
    @jonnycarcano 6 років тому +4

    Frankly, just another little car would've been an improvement.

  • @stevejohnson1321
    @stevejohnson1321 3 роки тому +1

    Nah, I would and did prefer "just another little car," which wasn't prone to cowl rust and engine cylinder scoring. Then they tried to build 100 per hour, which meant most had defects and missing parts. Some people got lucky, but there were quite a few left at the roadside while the owners walked home.

  • @CEOkiller
    @CEOkiller 10 років тому +3

    .08-- see the engine melted though already...

  • @keithlowe1982
    @keithlowe1982 8 років тому +1

    Side impact beams in '72 ? ... I thought they were a recent addition to cars.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому

      NO! Chevrolet ALWAYS had YOUR SAFETY in mind!

    • @danr1920
      @danr1920 3 роки тому +3

      It was the law in the U.S. Chevy wasn't looking out for your safety.

  • @music9556
    @music9556 8 років тому +1

    good for v8 build very light body.

  • @mikeatv
    @mikeatv 3 роки тому

    showing the shitbox interior really helped....i dont think 1 made it past 60.000 miles without overheating

  • @ACF6180T
    @ACF6180T 3 роки тому

    It's a shame that they did not get wright , till it was to late that was a great looking car

  • @v6monza
    @v6monza 8 років тому +2

    I had a 73,I bet I waxed that thing once a month,with the exception of winter and it still had rust.If GM would have put the Buick v6 in them and did a better job with the paint,they wouldn't been able to build them fast enough

    • @Tyrone181
      @Tyrone181 8 років тому +1

      +v6monza What kind of Buick V6?

    • @senorkaboom
      @senorkaboom 8 років тому +1

      +Tyrone Jones
      The V6 Buick built.

    • @Tyrone181
      @Tyrone181 8 років тому +1

      +s1enorkaboom The small block, right?

    • @senorkaboom
      @senorkaboom 8 років тому +1

      +Tyrone Jones
      Sure.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +2

      Waxing the car, will DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for preventing "rust out". Rust starts from WITHIN! Flushing the UNDER BODY , OFTEN (especially in Spring), will do MORE in preventing rust out than throwing a ton of wax on it every week!

  • @afterhourshotrods6882
    @afterhourshotrods6882 3 роки тому

    I would like to know what happened to that cutaway car wonder if it still exist!!!!

    • @21stcenturyfossil7
      @21stcenturyfossil7 2 роки тому

      It was melted down in a Japanese steel mill and came back as a Toyota.

  • @Spacejunk63
    @Spacejunk63 3 роки тому +1

    Exceptional? 😮

  • @jakemadden4308
    @jakemadden4308 Рік тому

    Self destruct engines.

  • @davidschleyhahn1610
    @davidschleyhahn1610 5 років тому +3

    There's a special place in hell for those responsible for this horrible car.

  • @brig.4398
    @brig.4398 9 років тому +6

    And off he goes to the nearest repair shop...these were awful cars, the radiator was too small so they had overheating problems. And then Chevy decided they didn't need to put steel sleeves inside the cylinders so the the pistons moving up and down quickly wore out the engine block.

    • @sldl04
      @sldl04 9 років тому +3

      Bri G.
      Don't forget the rust issues due to not using liners in the fenders where the rust could form. There were far too many cost-cutting measures by GM with the Vega. It was a sharp looking car for 1971, but the build quality was horrible. Great idea with poor implementation.

    • @brig.4398
      @brig.4398 9 років тому +4

      sldl04 i think this is way GM lost so many customers, they were out looking to buy a small car that was easy on gas so they got a Vega. But then after having a lot of problems with it bought a Japanese car instead. I remember riding in one of the first Toyotas back in the 1960's and our mechanic friend saying how wonderful it was, well built etc.

    • @sldl04
      @sldl04 9 років тому +5

      What's really amazing is how many Vega' s GM actually sold. Production numbers were staggering the first 3-4 years even after the engine and rust issues became well known. GM came out with the "Durabuilt" 2.3L engine but by then it was too late and the damage was done. I was only 6 in 1971 so I never drove a Vega but still interested in the history.

    • @brig.4398
      @brig.4398 9 років тому +1

      ***** really? I'm not a mechanic but spent many years working on cars, a sort of backyard mechanic. You would have to change the drivetrain, transmission etc. to handle the extra torque.

    • @brig.4398
      @brig.4398 9 років тому +1

      ***** ... those mouse motors you could really build them up, my friend's chevy truck had a 350 and he rebuilt it and it was super fast.The Vega I'm sure weighs a lot less so it must have really took off.

  • @SiliconeSalad
    @SiliconeSalad 11 років тому +1

    Good ears nothing! I still can't hear it. I think he could hear a pin drop in a drum factory!

  • @johnricci4511
    @johnricci4511 8 років тому +1

    I had a 71 sedan in 74 or so. I got it in a trade for a fresh Chrysler block that I didn't need. That Vega was subjected to unspeakable abuses and when that 4-banger finally packed up, the car became one of the earlier examples in my region sporting a small block.

  • @pastormatthew4362
    @pastormatthew4362 8 років тому +5

    Chevy could not have picked a worse time to cut corners on their small car. They knew the Japanese brands were a real threat. They should have made this car bullet proof, especially with it's Camaro-style looks. Sad. But I had a '76 Toyota Celica that was the worse car I ever owned, so reputations can be overblown.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +3

      Who could have known that a 1994 Toyota Celica would become the "bench mark" for automotive reliability!

    • @21stcenturyfossil7
      @21stcenturyfossil7 2 роки тому

      I'm not so sure GM knew the Japanese cars were a threat. In 1970, unemployment was low and gas was still cheap. GM brass might have had their heads so far up their collective a$$e$ that they never considered that their customers might want a well built small car. Crummy cars for low profit customers GM didn't want or care about. 4 years later, the car market had turned upside down.

  • @keedeeaylaisonmeghalowtsik1235
    @keedeeaylaisonmeghalowtsik1235 7 років тому +3

    I had a bunch of them. The Vega GT was a nice little car... EXCEPT for the morons who designed the motors !!! Can you say "furnace" Sure. Say it 10 times ! Amazing people get paid big money to design flawed engines which consume oil.

    • @TheOzthewiz
      @TheOzthewiz 3 роки тому +1

      Chevrolet was trying out "new" over-hyped technology, trying to save weight for improved fuel economy.

  • @jakemadden4308
    @jakemadden4308 7 років тому +2

    It rusted out!!

  • @pacbeltrr38
    @pacbeltrr38 6 років тому +2

    Those weren't cutaways - that was how much the Car RUSTED before the Commercial could be shot!!! 😱😱😜😜
    Unless you were one of the FEW, lucky ones that bought the limited edition Cosworth Vega.... You bought a complete pile of CRAP!
    That ENGINE..... Aluminum, NON sleeved Block, Cast Iron Head, with that horrible *flat side,* and undersized Radiators, that if you pushed the car, even in warm climates, would nearly MELT the Block and Pistons!! 🔥🔥
    If you ordered one with the TWO SPEED Powerglide Automatic.... You could be outrun by BICYCLES!! 😭😑😒😣
    That is, if it didn't stop running, because one or more critical suspension mounting points didn't *RUST* First!!

  • @troynov1965
    @troynov1965 4 роки тому +3

    Cool looking cars but that engine was shit. If they had put steel liners in the cylinders would have made a decent cheap transportation or used a Opel engine.

    • @21stcenturyfossil7
      @21stcenturyfossil7 2 роки тому

      The engine had alot of problems. The valve guide seals were lousy, the head gasket was crap, quality control was poor, the radiator was way too small and a single overheat could blow the engine, let the oil level get low and the engine could blow, etc, etc.

  • @krystalstarrett6760
    @krystalstarrett6760 Рік тому

    Good car, the engine was a POS.😢

  • @mobilewired
    @mobilewired 6 років тому +3

    Chevrolet junk

  • @lowd747
    @lowd747 3 роки тому

    Maybe the second worst car ever made - after the Yugo...maybe the Trabant is worse too.

  • @Mork007
    @Mork007 3 роки тому +2

    One of the worst cars ever produced my any manufacturer.