I had a 1975 Astre GT and do remember it fondly. It was a great handling car with a suspension package and tire size like the Vega GT. Motor Trend magazine was doing dyno tunes back then. I bought their Dyno kit for $19.95. The kit with addition of a different serial number vacuum modulator gave me a wonderful improvement in driveability and 4 more mpg. What a bargain the kit was. The speed limits in Vermont and new Hampshire at that time were only 50mph. We took a road trip and at the slightly reduced speeds got 33 mpg on our highest mileage tank of gas.
they could bring this style out now and it would sell... I love the Vega wagon... and ford Pinto cruising wagon with the bubble back window and 4 color stripe...
@@rnb250 retro styling works..they have made more Dodge Challengers in the past 13 years when they brought back style that "SELLS" then were made when the Challenger name plate began its 3 year run...GM should bring back the 3 sister cars...Monte Carlo, Buick Regal and the Pontiac Grand Prix. ( under a new wing of GM ) Holden , is/was GM's EU manufacturing branch and still made a rear drive two door El Camino versions up until about 3 years ago.They could re-fit that facility and build all 3 cars on that platform, just change front ends and tail lights ..like they did threw the 80's. Its too bad GM, Ford and whoever owns Chrysler now found out ..they don't need to order cars anymore, all they have to do is buy what we say they have too buy...A small Pinto Squire wagon went across one of the auto auctions 2 weeks ago.. it sold for 12 K...Retro Broncos with a few dozen off the dealership floors Ram T-rex pick ups and 4 door Jeep Wranglers filled the rest of the show..With todays tech and all the look- a-like sedans there is a lack of two door coupes.. I believe there is a very important market that could fill this gap...
Even though I know the Astre and Vega are the same, I always thought there was something a bit cooler or distinctly better about the Astre! Maybe it was the sportier colors and graphics, but I definitely liked it better.
@@gregoryclemen1870 How cool was that! Would like to find assembly footage of both being produced at the Lordstown plant! Isn't that plant used for EV production today?
@@carlm8821 , you can find footage of the vega/ astra cars being produced and shipped at the lordstown plant(UA-cam). you can also see the shutdown of that plant. general motors closed that plant years ago.
both the astra, and the vega rolled off of the same line in the lordstown ohio plant. both had the same build quality. those cars starting in 1969,were to have a rotary engine, and "G.M." pulled the plug on it at the last second. the engine used was not tested at all, so G.M. put a 50,000 mile warrantee on those engines that started to burn oil when the warrantee expired. car rust outs were common also.
I had a '76 Hatchback. Nice looking car. Build quality was awful. Take the worst car in the last ten years, much worse than that. Wind noise, engine noise, at 55 if your work enverment was this loud, OSHA would require hearing protection! The worst was how unreliable it was. Something was always broken or not working. Ten problems a year, that's how bad it was. It was a good thing I could fix things as I would not been able to afford the car.
My first car was this '75 hatchback...in red no less. Wish I had the SJ version instead.
I had a 1975 Astre GT and do remember it fondly. It was a great handling car with a suspension package and tire size like the Vega GT. Motor Trend magazine was doing dyno tunes back then. I bought their Dyno kit for $19.95. The kit with addition of a different serial number vacuum modulator gave me a wonderful improvement in driveability and 4 more mpg. What a bargain the kit was. The speed limits in Vermont and new Hampshire at that time were only 50mph. We took a road trip and at the slightly reduced speeds got 33 mpg on our highest mileage tank of gas.
they could bring this style out now and it would sell... I love the Vega wagon... and ford Pinto cruising wagon with the bubble back window and 4 color stripe...
I highly doubt that.
@@rnb250 retro styling works..they have made more Dodge Challengers in the past 13 years when they brought back style that "SELLS" then were made when the Challenger name plate began its 3 year run...GM should bring back the 3 sister cars...Monte Carlo, Buick Regal and the Pontiac Grand Prix. ( under a new wing of GM ) Holden , is/was GM's EU manufacturing branch and still made a rear drive two door El Camino versions up until about 3 years ago.They could re-fit that facility and build all 3 cars on that platform, just change front ends and tail lights ..like they did threw the 80's. Its too bad GM, Ford and whoever owns Chrysler now found out ..they don't need to order cars anymore, all they have to do is buy what we say they have too buy...A small Pinto Squire wagon went across one of the auto auctions 2 weeks ago.. it sold for 12 K...Retro Broncos with a few dozen off the dealership floors Ram T-rex pick ups and 4 door Jeep Wranglers filled the rest of the show..With todays tech and all the look- a-like sedans there is a lack of two door coupes.. I believe there is a very important market that could fill this gap...
Wow that little car sure wallows thru the corners.
Handling was one of it's better traits.
02:23 The 1961 - 63 Buick/Olds aluminum V8 is actually about 10 lbs. lighter than the crap Vega 4 banger!
Even though I know the Astre and Vega are the same, I always thought there was something a bit cooler or distinctly better about the Astre! Maybe it was the sportier colors and graphics, but I definitely liked it better.
those cars were made in the lordstown ohio plant. the astra, and the vega rolled off of the same line
@@gregoryclemen1870 How cool was that! Would like to find assembly footage of both being produced at the Lordstown plant! Isn't that plant used for EV production today?
@@carlm8821 , you can find footage of the vega/ astra cars being produced and shipped at the lordstown plant(UA-cam). you can also see the shutdown of that plant. general motors closed that plant years ago.
wow. i haven't heard that name in a long time.
The Astre was better made than the. Vega.
both the astra, and the vega rolled off of the same line in the lordstown ohio plant. both had the same build quality. those cars starting in 1969,were to have a rotary engine, and "G.M." pulled the plug on it at the last second. the engine used was not tested at all, so G.M. put a 50,000 mile warrantee on those engines that started to burn oil when the warrantee expired. car rust outs were common also.
No, No, No. Same parts on the same assembly line! I owned an Astre, it's build quality was terrible. It's reliability was even worse!
And I still have my ultra rare '77 Pontiac Astre Formula Safari Station Wagon, Iron Duke 4, T50 5 speed overdrive manual, posi rear end...
I had a '76 Hatchback. Nice looking car. Build quality was awful. Take the worst car in the last ten years, much worse than that. Wind noise, engine noise, at 55 if your work enverment was this loud, OSHA would require hearing protection! The worst was how unreliable it was. Something was always broken or not working. Ten problems a year, that's how bad it was. It was a good thing I could fix things as I would not been able to afford the car.
Same here...I bought the '75 hatchback used in '77. "Died" by '80.
Morbid!😎