Ask individuals to call an actual clunker and there is a good probability they will go along with the Chevy Vega. This automotive offered like hotcakes and even gained Motor Development’s Automotive of the 12 months award in 1971 however nowadays it could be extra well-known for its frequent mechanical breakdowns than for its fashionable profile or environment friendly (for the time) powertrain.
The automotive’s issues had been recognized to the corporate effectively earlier than the automotive went into mass manufacturing, and the Vega’s seven-year run was largely a technique of frequent remembers, fixes, and design upgrades supposed to salvage a essentially unreliable subcompact.
So, to study that Chevrolet made a one-off particular version to commemorate the millionth Vega off the lot, plus 6,500 replicas to be distributed to sellers all through the nation, is a bit shocking. Much more shocking? This was for the 1973 mannequin. As troubled as this automotive might have been, Chevy nonetheless managed to provide a million models in simply three quick years. An estimated 277,705 had been offered in 1971 alone, then 394,592 in 1972, and 427,300 in 1973.
Not unhealthy for a bit of junk, proper? Here is what you by no means cared to ask concerning the world’s rarest Chevy Vega…
What Made The Millionth Vega Particular?
“It took Chevrolet practically 12 years to construct its first million passenger automobiles. This newest milestone was achieved in lower than three years.”
So declared Chevrolet normal supervisor F James McDonald in honor of the millionth Vega to roll off the lot amid the flash bulbs and vibrant lights of TV crews and newspaper reporters on the Lordstown, Ohio plant on Might seventeenth, 1973.
The Millionth Vega is a visually placing piece. For all of the Vega’s faults, you may by no means actually name it an unpleasant automotive, and it seemed particularly cool in orange with white striping and a customized vinyl inside, like a companion piece to these Grabber Orange “Tornado Particular” Fords. Past the automotive’s distinctive look, the Millionth Vega, and its replicas, had been absolutely optioned GT fashions, that includes…
- Energy steering
- Accent-colored orange carpeting
- Distinctive Millionth Vega door deal with accents
- 140cid 2.3-liter 2bbl inline-four engine
- Upgraded suspension
- Sport steering wheel GT wheels
The “Millionth Vega” was obtainable as a two-door hatchback with the identical three and four-speed manuals, and Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed choices as the usual Vega. Mechanically talking, you may outfit any Chevy Vega to the identical efficiency specs because the Millionth Vega, however the distinctive accents and shade scheme set the automotive other than a normal GT.
1973 Chevrolet Vega GT 2300 Engine Specs | |
|---|---|
Engine | 2.3-Liter 4-Cylinder |
Energy | 85 hp |
Torque | 115 lb-ft |
Bore x Stroke | 3.501 x 3.625 inches |
Compression Ratio | 8:0.1 |
And if you happen to’re questioning, all that basically makes the precise millionth Vega particular, compared to the 6,500 Millionth Vega replicas, is the truth that it is the one Vega that may truly declare to be the millionth off the meeting line.
Why Did They Make So Many Chevy Vegas?
The Chevy Vega’s issues even have rather a lot to do with its sky-high manufacturing numbers. Chevy did not simply make 1,000,000 of those automobiles over seven mannequin years, Chevy made 2,006,661 Vegas in lower than a decade.
We have coated the Vega’s issues at size up to now. The engine was liable to failure partially as a result of it first shipped with no water-cooled radiator, and after they did add one, in 1974, it was inadequate to maintain the inner temperatures down. The automotive itself was liable to rust, because of Chevy reducing prices by dropping plastic fender liners whereas making an attempt out a faulty new rust-proofing system. In some cases, the Vega’s rear axle shaft would come unfastened and the wheels would pop proper off the darn factor.
Overproduction Makes Every little thing Worse
The central downside that compounded all of this was that Common Motors was knocking considered one of these autos out each 36 seconds. Round this time, meeting strains usually produced one automotive each minute. By practically doubling that tempo, GM was sacrificing high quality management with a purpose to push an affordable subcompact to market within the oil disaster years.
As soon as phrase acquired out that this automotive, effectively… sucked, for lack of a kinder phrase, gross sales instantly started falling off, and GM produced simply 78,402 models for 1977.
It is A Purchaser’s Market (If You’ve got Bought Nothing Higher To Spend Your Cash On)
After all the pieces we have simply advised you about this automotive, you are most likely pondering “why the heck would I need to purchase one?” Nicely, for one, you may get it for affordable. For 2, it is an interesting piece of American automotive historical past. At one level within the mid-Seventies, these automobiles had been as frequent because the Toyota Camry or the Ford F-150 are right this moment, after which, similar to that, they appeared to vanish in a single day as everybody realized how unreliable they had been.
And you’ll’t deny that the automotive seems to be actually cool in orange with that white stripe working down its again. Scientists have confirmed that these stripes truly make the automotive go sooner by telling the air which approach to go, in spite of everything. Okay, not likely, however an American race automotive from this period simply seems to be incomplete with out it.
Get Out The Elbow Grease
Unsurprisingly, these automobiles do not pop up all that usually. They solely made 6,500 (and one) of them, and, like we mentioned, the Vega is notoriously unreliable, so a working mannequin is much more uncommon. However we did flip up a Hemmings.com piece on a Millionth Vega promoting for simply $4,900 at a automotive present in New York. It is positively a undertaking automotive, although, with a few of the main points being…
- The fuel tank was eliminated.
- There’s important rust within the physique.
- The tires have rotted away to nothing.
- The rear valance is broken.
- It is a Chevy Vega.
However, the engine nonetheless turns, which means {that a} fuel tank and a few new tires would at the least have this factor cellular. There isn’t any telling what else may be incorrect with it till you get it on the street, but when the engine turns, it is at the least not destined to be a bit of yard artwork. Why we’re celebrating a working 2300 engine… who is aware of? That is the magic of the Chevy Vega, it units your expectations actually low.
A full, working Millionth Vega in near-mint situation with simply 50,747 miles on the odometer was listed on Traditional.com just some months in the past for $40,000, and our guess is that it is simply going to gather mud at that worth. Particular version or no, it is nonetheless one of the unreliable automobiles ever mass-produced by a significant American automaker, and a mildly miserable reminder of the malaise period, when the value of a gallon of fuel was extremely excessive, and we weren’t allowed to make muscle automobiles anymore.
There’s a lot concerning the Chevy Vega that is merely inexplicable. Why did not they sluggish manufacturing down after they realized they had been making a bit of junk? Why did we purchase 1,000,000 of this stuff earlier than we began to smart up? Why did anybody trouble to maintain a Chevy Vega in mint situation? These questions are greatest left to the brainiacs at Mensa. All we all know is you may get a semi-working mannequin for affordable if you wish to soften a Chevrolet 2300 engine out your self, only for the enjoyable of it.
Sources: GM, Chevrolet, Hemmings, Traditional.com.
