Pontiac made their big cars handle a little better and the ride firmer than the other GM big cars. Be interesting to see an Olds 98 or Buick Electra run through it
I grew up driving older boats when they were old trashy cars. Big cars don't handle as bad as you're saying, and Pontiacs handle well for big cars. Just because the body leans doesn't mean they don't handle.
Yes, because how dare people want to preserve history. I'm all here for hooning cars and stuff, but if everyone went around flinging their antique 1-of-a-kind vehicles around corners, you know damn well someone's going to end up totaling a classic.
@@larrycharles-dm2hs "The Examples" are already in museums and private collections as the real collectors know this. What's the point of the "most" that are Not? Pretend valuable?
There is something special about hustling a big softly sprung car around. He really demonstrated it can be fun, and perform better than many people think. A skilled rider can have similar fun taking a touring bike up a canyon.
In 1971, sway bar was where you went for a beer after work. 😂 The power steering on the yachts of that era had ZERO feedback or road feel. Could spin the wheel with one finger.
A family friend had one of these back in the late 90s and let me drive it once. It is still one of the coolest driving experiences ever and one I still think about often.
Parents had the 72' sedan with the 454. That sucker threw out the hot air in the coldest of WI winters. So hot you could not hold your hand by the vent for long. Such a 'boat'.
That was very fast for an old land yacht. Sure, a newer car would be much faster, but it's very impressive for the era. Plus it looks 10x cooler and more fun.
I've been dailying a 1979 Lincoln Mark V for the last 18 years. Once you understand the body roll and how the tires grip, they are far better than anyone realizes. Most people lack the skill, experience, or the courage to try to squeeze the last bits of potential these yachts are capable of.
Full-size American cars are just as enjoyable, though for quite different reasons, as European sports cars. I had a 1964 Electra 225 which suffered brake servo failure on the approach to a traffic circle at around 65mph. Full lock one way, full lock the other, both feet planted on the brake pedal.....and a gentle slide onto the circle, happily into a gap in the traffic!!
I remember back in the 70s, my friends parents had a 74 Grand Ville 4 door burgundy with white top, pretty car, but that thing would do 130 plus! (with the a/c on) I was afraid to get in the car with them lol! But I did it anyway!
No wonder Bill Hickman chose a Grandville for his getaway car to be chased by Roy Scheider in a Ventura in the film "The Seven-Ups"! Best I can recall, he said they didn't modify the car! Simply amazing, though I'd personally prefer something smaller for this task....
Too bad this guy didn’t have a Ventura like the one in The Seven Ups there as well. It had the F41 suspension option which included a rear sway bar, fairly unusual in that generation of X-Body.
I had a 73 LeMans with the 350 w/4 Barrel carb right out of the factory! A previous owner had put Flowmaster exhaust on it, damn did that kick up the horsepower! That baby would burn Rubber all the way up the street, I always stopped after a couple of blocks, it was going too fast!!
Reminds me of the green 73 Olds Delta 88 coupe I had in university - the Lizardmobile. It handled just like this car, though I was nowhere near as skilled a driver.
The algorithm was being a bro and waiting for the sanctioning insurance company’s statute of limitations to expire before recommending this video to everyone.
Lol. Not bad. I had a '70 Catalina. The headlights were the same kinda set-up. Mine had a 400 c.i. transplant from my '68 in it. Later I had a '73 Bonneville, same powerplant. Love those Pontiacs.
Ahhh old school Pontiacs. ❤ This one isnt Gully. But as one put it when the developed the first GTO " A front to nature with too much power". Gotta love it
Goes to show that these cars handle just fine if you know how to drive. Only thing that would have made this better is if he had steel wheels with hubcaps so that one could fly off and go rolling away as he went around the curves.
That's the tiniest course I've ever seen, and I've done a lot of autocross! Love it though. Maybe tiny to keep the speeds low enough that people don't need helmets or anything?
@@IanLikesVideosSometimes This was at my local fairgrounds during a Goodguys car show. They put on the autocross event in a different section of the fairgrounds now, with a bigger and much more involved course. And now they require helmets and I believe passengers might not be allowed anymore. It is also an additional cost. I haven't personally run a car there in several years now. Used to be if you registered your car in the show, got there early enough and your car passed tech inspection, you could just run what you brought. I had a stock Buick Regal GS on old tires that finished midpack in its class. That run is on my channel. I miss those days.
A lot of people under estimate those big old cars. You just got to know how to it. Watch some old early 70's action movies, stunt drivers threw those big cars around like that often back then. They may not handle exactly like some newer cars, but they did better than most think they can.
That did way better than I thought it would, the man knows how to drive that boat
What exactly is impressive about it? It's a 4500 lbs car, with poor handling, rocking and rolling as it gets turned thru the course?
@@chrisstromberg6527 But the driver handled that barge better than most could. Better than I could.
Pontiac made their big cars handle a little better and the ride firmer than the other GM big cars. Be interesting to see an Olds 98 or Buick Electra run through it
@@chrisstromberg6527 You wouldn't drive it better.
@@chrisstromberg6527tell em how you really feel
I love the grabbing of the windshield to make up for the lack of seat bolstering so much haha
It's casual.
@@popsferealWith the ease of the power steering on those cars, you only need one hand to be epic....
@@cbiltcliffe True, but the "Ease of power steering" award goes to the cars of the 60's, they were ridiculous!!
Exactly
anyone who has driven an older boatcar can appreciate how epic that was
The way he balanced the weight shifting is tremendous. Absolutely nailed it. 😮
Don't even have to have driven one to know what an amazing effort that was. Heaps cool.
I grew up driving older boats when they were old trashy cars. Big cars don't handle as bad as you're saying, and Pontiacs handle well for big cars. Just because the body leans doesn't mean they don't handle.
That's the way I used to drive those things, just to go to the store!! (I was sick and disturbed)
@@painkillerjones6232 😆
That car is living a life 400 times better than all the trailer queens and garage ornaments you usually see of this era of American cars 12/10
truth
Couldn't agree more!!
Yes, because how dare people want to preserve history. I'm all here for hooning cars and stuff, but if everyone went around flinging their antique 1-of-a-kind vehicles around corners, you know damn well someone's going to end up totaling a classic.
@@larrycharles-dm2hs "The Examples" are already in museums and private collections as the real collectors know this. What's the point of the "most" that are Not? Pretend valuable?
How sh1t are American cars?
That car did damn good. A neighbor had one of those when they first came out.
There is something special about hustling a big softly sprung car around. He really demonstrated it can be fun, and perform better than many people think. A skilled rider can have similar fun taking a touring bike up a canyon.
That!! And with a loaded interior of people!! Impressive!!
suspension preload
Definitely better with a loaded interior of people than a loaded exterior of people. That's what the word on the street is anyhow. haha
A leisurely afternoon sailing in a land yacht.
Looks like a former stunt driver for the Rockford files
I was going to leave this exact comment 😂
I was thinking the same thing, but James Garner did all of his own driving in that!
@@ds440RB
But who was driving the cars that chased Jim?
@@AFTER_MIDNITE Good point!
😅
In 1971, sway bar was where you went for a beer after work. 😂
The power steering on the yachts of that era had ZERO feedback or road feel. Could spin the wheel with one finger.
to be fair, running an extra stiff anti-roll setup will just slow you down in autocross.
@@DctrBread there is a big difference in extra stiff and NO swaybar.
Finally this is being recommended to people
A family friend had one of these back in the late 90s and let me drive it once. It is still one of the coolest driving experiences ever and one I still think about often.
Wow that did MUCH better than I thought it would. I have a ‘75 GV but doesn’t have quite the grunt this ‘71 455 has. Pontiac was the best.
Parents had the 72' sedan with the 454. That sucker threw out the hot air in the coldest of WI winters. So hot you could not hold your hand by the vent for long. Such a 'boat'.
Had a 71 2dr with the 455. It was fast !
*That was fun to watch. That old car handled it like a champ. Thanks for posting.*
Did we watch the same video?
That was very fast for an old land yacht. Sure, a newer car would be much faster, but it's very impressive for the era.
Plus it looks 10x cooler and more fun.
That's a lot of car to hustle around an autocross track, well done 👍
It was the small aerodynamic tweaks that kept it glued to the ground even at those speeds. Time to change the bilge pump.
Good driver. Was able to synch with the soft suspension nicely.
Just like from an old "Car and Track" rerun. Well done. Looks easier than it was.
Holy body roll!😮
It actually did a lot better than I thought it would do though.
I've been dailying a 1979 Lincoln Mark V for the last 18 years. Once you understand the body roll and how the tires grip, they are far better than anyone realizes. Most people lack the skill, experience, or the courage to try to squeeze the last bits of potential these yachts are capable of.
There were less than 1800 Grand Ville convertibles built in 1971. So that's a rare beast!
Seems to me like it was pretty regular for Pontiac to put out convertibles in low numbers- I have a 1983 Sunbird, 1 of 600-ish made.
Full-size American cars are just as enjoyable, though for quite different reasons, as European sports cars. I had a 1964 Electra 225 which suffered brake servo failure on the approach to a traffic circle at around 65mph. Full lock one way, full lock the other, both feet planted on the brake pedal.....and a gentle slide onto the circle, happily into a gap in the traffic!!
this was everyday returning back to high school from lunch period with friends in car. 1980s
In Soviet Union, you didn’t eat lunch, lunch ate you.
@@tiov3001You will own nothing, and you will be happy.
I remember back in the 70s, my friends parents had a 74 Grand Ville 4 door burgundy with white top, pretty car, but that thing would do 130 plus! (with the a/c on) I was afraid to get in the car with them lol! But I did it anyway!
That is the DEFINITION of a land yacht ⛵
Love it🎉
Now that’s a convertible. The side profile is so nice, surprisingly
No wonder Bill Hickman chose a Grandville for his getaway car to be chased by Roy Scheider in a Ventura in the film "The Seven-Ups"! Best I can recall, he said they didn't modify the car! Simply amazing, though I'd personally prefer something smaller for this task....
Too bad this guy didn’t have a Ventura like the one in The Seven Ups there as well. It had the F41 suspension option which included a rear sway bar, fairly unusual in that generation of X-Body.
Great movie 🍿
I recall a phrase/saying that went something like this...
"American cars can't handle, or are your balls not big enough?"
*LOL*
🤣 I love it
I had a 73 LeMans with the 350 w/4 Barrel carb right out of the factory! A previous owner had put Flowmaster exhaust on it, damn did that kick up the horsepower! That baby would burn Rubber all the way up the street, I always stopped after a couple of blocks, it was going too fast!!
the Corvair vans are the funniest to watch in an autocross.
i was not expecting to see the titanic take those corners like that 😂
And just think, that run only took a gallon and a half of gas.
He's got skills awesome to see
That guy sure can drive, and the way that this car can actually handle is remarkable indeed- 🇺🇸👍🏻
Like these vintage road tests. 😂
Automotive design peaked in the 70's.
Reminds me of the green 73 Olds Delta 88 coupe I had in university - the Lizardmobile. It handled just like this car, though I was nowhere near as skilled a driver.
Congrats to that man for getting some oversteer in that boat
I'm surprised they allowed 4 people in the car. The club I autocrossed with required helmets too.
The algorithm was being a bro and waiting for the sanctioning insurance company’s statute of limitations to expire before recommending this video to everyone.
all that with an arm up on the windshield post, great show!
Base curb weight on that angel is 1975 kg / 4354 lbs. Add in a few hundred pounds of smiling people. Skill, practice and fourteen sets of whitewalls.
Dude can drive!
Lol. Not bad. I had a '70 Catalina. The headlights were the same kinda set-up. Mine had a 400 c.i. transplant from my '68 in it. Later I had a '73 Bonneville, same powerplant. Love those Pontiacs.
Spare the attention seeking.
@@Atomwaffen-y3s spare the what?
Makes me think of the Hunter S Thomson's book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 😊😊😊
Same.
Saweeet. Didn't look too bad, and the passengers weren't rattled, LOL.
Dude was out there spinning the wheel like he was pulling a tube. Love it
Probably more exciting than some of the other cars there and 4 people got to enjoy the ride.
Sling that led sled!! That's the way I did it, back in the day!! (73 Newport- 72 Delta 88)
That dent on front fencer is icing on cake
You’ve gol to love the way it lists through the turns.
Wow, it's just like in the movies!
Thank you Andrew, that was great!
wow, that thing moves
Love it that car is SO bad it's going walking speed and STILL knocking comes down haha!
Better than I expected! Some sort of limited slip that still worked.
Whoa that looks like a ton of fun with that suspension!
Who needs a Miata when you got a land boat?
Should have this in 2021 - land yacht/barge autocross!
That's awesome. I've always wondered what its like to be in a 70's car chase.
When most cars wallowed on a track. Nice Gran Ville convertible!
Makes me miss my 68 Bonneville convertible
Gotta get them hubcaps flyin’
Ahhh old school Pontiacs. ❤
This one isnt Gully.
But as one put it when the developed the first GTO
" A front to nature with too much power". Gotta love it
Beautiful driving. It's how I always envisioned these cars driving. Where's the muscle in cruising around town?
I should do this in my Park Avenue.
Fantastic balance on that beast. 👏
That man knows how to handle a big girl 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Hahahahhaha. Man, that is a big frigging car to be moving around like that!
He drove the hell out of that
Goes to show that these cars handle just fine if you know how to drive.
Only thing that would have made this better is if he had steel wheels with hubcaps so that one could fly off and go rolling away as he went around the curves.
That was epic. Just to be a passenger would’ve been awesome.
what a nice car
That's absolutely fantastic.
He drives like me on my way to work
Rock n roll Pontiac ! Kick ass ride.
The captain at work
I was expecting a lot more body roll, respect.
ole girl did good...smogged the tires all the way + pulled a drift!!
Fast enough!.... and comfortable .
400 Pontiac. beast mode
That run just increased Earth's average temperature by 0.1°C
I hope that everyone was wearing their life jackets on that boat!
That's the tiniest course I've ever seen, and I've done a lot of autocross! Love it though. Maybe tiny to keep the speeds low enough that people don't need helmets or anything?
@@IanLikesVideosSometimes This was at my local fairgrounds during a Goodguys car show. They put on the autocross event in a different section of the fairgrounds now, with a bigger and much more involved course. And now they require helmets and I believe passengers might not be allowed anymore. It is also an additional cost. I haven't personally run a car there in several years now. Used to be if you registered your car in the show, got there early enough and your car passed tech inspection, you could just run what you brought. I had a stock Buick Regal GS on old tires that finished midpack in its class. That run is on my channel. I miss those days.
Alright.....that guys pretty damn cool. Lolol
Fantastic!
Looks like fun. 🎉
Corners like a Lotus. Fantastic! 😂
Excellent.
Probably had the A/C on, keeping everyone cool, with the top down 😃
Gotta get one of these tbh
Dude is a driver
Love it!!
That was the most Swedish thing I’ve ever seen 😂
Thats some Crazy Taxi shit
A '70s land barge probably ran outta fuel before the course ended..
I didn’t know big cars could do that.
They can't. That wasn't a high speed course, the car flopping everywhere just made it all look fast.
A lot of people under estimate those big old cars. You just got to know how to it. Watch some old early 70's action movies, stunt drivers threw those big cars around like that often back then. They may not handle exactly like some newer cars, but they did better than most think they can.
@@StrongEnough78 The best highway car I had, in terms of stability at speed, was a 1973 Impala.
@@stephendavidbailey2743 I believe it. The cars from that era are notorious for that.
That Beast body Pontiac Grandville convertible can handle the auto cross better if it have better suspension
Rear axle is in a different post code / zip code.
Pontiac knew a thing or two about design and powerplants 1964-1975. Everything sadly detuned by 1975.
the grand vile :D
Oh my this is car Bliss