For 1973, Chevrolet marketed its Vega subcompact as “the very happy car.” But in the end, hundreds of thousands of Vega owners weren’t very happy at all.
You’ll notice right way that the tone in this campaign for the 1973 Vega is remarkably similar to the one used by Ford to pitch its small car, the Pinto (see it here). While the Pinto was billed as “the little, carefree car,” the Vega was “a very happy car.” The jolly, light-hearted approach was intended to plant the idea with car buyers that these new four-cylinder, rear-wheel drive subcompacts from the Motor City were fun to drive and easy to own. The Vega was “the little car that does everything well,” Chevrolet added in its print material.
Unfortunately, both Pinto and Vega buyers discovered that the ownership experience wasn’t entirely a happy fun time. For the Vega the problems were many, including production and quality issues at General Motors’ perenially troubled Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant. But the Vega’s major failing was in the unusual 2.3-liter 2300 engine and its linerless cylinder block cast in a special, high-silicon aluminum alloy.
Linerless construction is commonplace today and works fine, but as an early adopter the Vega suffered bore and piston scuffing, excesiive oil consumption, and unreliable sealing between the block and cylinder head. Chevrolet introduced a revised Dura-Built engine in 1976, but by then the damage was done, earning GM a black mark on its permanent record. But in many other ways the Vega was a neat little car, as thousands of hot rodders found when they dropped in small-block Chevy V8s. Video below.
After the Vega’s reputation was irreparably tarnished, GM (lightly) reworked the H body platform into the Chevrolet Monza. In 1980 I bought a base Monza coupe with no power steering or brakes, wind up windows, four speed manual, and no air conditioning. No options whatsoever.
You would think such a basic car after a decade of development and manufacturing would result in reliable car.
Didn’t happen. What was on the car, brakes, carburetor, and other components, needed constant attention at the dealership who couldn’t seem to fix anything. The “Iron Duke” engine, that went back to 1961, wouldn’t have made a good tractor engine. Leaks, wind noise, inaccurate steering all helped make my Monza anything but a happy little car.
Like so many others I went to the Asian car makers and never came back.
Thanks. wise solution.
Bob Lutz’s book “Car Guy vs. Bean Counters” goes into detail about the internal fighting between the engineers and the accountants over the Vega engine and how the accountants won the battle (but lost the war when GM went bankrupt). The book is a great read for anyone interested in the car business.
Test drove one back in ’73 and couldn’t believe how bad it was. Worse than my wife’s 66 Nova with 80,00 miles. Bought her a ’73 Mercury Montego instead.
The happiness theme carried into the next generation of small cars with the Chevette’s launch slogan “It’ll drive you happy.” At least it had no killer flaws, GM having done what they should’ve in the first place and adapted an Opel design. Former owners tend to either love or hate them, with many in the first camp being in my own mid-Gen X cohort who knew late models as cheap beaters in the ’90s and the biggest haters being a generation or two older and, ironically, not owners but people who had them as (inevitably automatic) company fleet vehicles or frequent rentals.
The Panel Delivery in yellow has a whiff of Trotters’ Independent Traders about it.