(first posted 9/13/2012. A follow up to yesterday’s Vega Girls post) I always keep the camera at hand (except when I don’t). You just never know when…you might look in the rear view mirror and see a Vega behind you in traffic. Am I surprised? Yes and no. I’ve shot a couple (CC here), but they weren’t actually on the road, which makes this one a first. But that’s just the beginning, folks. Not only have I a caught an authentic daily-driver Vega on the street, but there was a genuine Vega Girl aboard! In case you missed it, please read up on the magical powers of the Vega to attract hot young things. But I have to warn you; that was in the mid-seventies. Nevertheless, someone has managed to hang on to at least one of the many Vega Girls that once undoubtedly jammed into his PM-yellow hatchback.
There she is, The last remaining Vega Girl in the world. And she was so obliging, posing for me and enjoying the attention I was bestowing on her.
It just leaves the question: which Vega Girl was she (in the mid seventies?). One of these?
No; I’d say more likely it was:
This one. Too bad about the other two getting away, but for the long haul, a Vega hatchback really only makes sense for two.
Especially if you’re going to use the back for such tame and domestic uses like hauling a lawn chair. You go, Vega Girl!
There is a nice Vega wagon I know of here in Tigard
If those herringbone seats could talk…
The body looks pretty solid. And Paul, those marketing stickers are supposed to be peeled off the camera!
I have a lucrative sponsorship with Panasonic that has some very detailed stipulations about that.
Do you mean that you are too L-A-Z-Y to peel off the stickers Paul?
That’s a nice Vega alright. I always liked those rims too.
I think Vega girl is using the flowers as smelling salts to revive that poor fellow, the plaid seat inserts probably gave him a seizure.
This reminds me of the time Dad used our Vega to haul our rabbit cage with the hatch open. You sure could fit a lot of stuff in those hatchbacks…
The girl in the fifth photo has just said, “I can live with the plaid seats for a couple years, then it can go to the crusher and we’ll get a Civic!”
Which is a microcosm of many a conversation about small American cars in the ’70s.
Anybody remember the Dodge Dart “Hang 10”?? ’75 and ’76 Cadillac Calais plaid seats (to match the ’70’s old fart plaid golf bell bottom polyester slacks?)
AMC Pacer “Navajo” seats? AMC Levi’s searts??
Oh, gad – do I remember the Pacer with Navajo seats. A girlfriend had one of those around 1984 or so, and I got to (or had to) drive it one time. I have driven a lot of questionable cars in my day, but this was the only one I was ever actually embarassed to be seen in.
You were about 35 years too early! We have one of these cars (’75 with Navajo interior) and people go crazy over it. “Hey, do you want to sell it, etc, etc” . Sure, it’s slow, but it gets lots more attention than our much faster ’67 Cougar! The AC blows cold so no problem here in FL. BTW, we switched the 134a conversion to using 152a commonly known as Dust It keyboard cleaner! Go look it up; lots of on line info/video about this relatively unknown option. Ours blows in the 40-42 degree range in the summer heat.
Yes ! I’ve seen one, maybe two Hang Ten Darts. But looking back, I don’t remember the Hang Ten “two feet” logo anywhere on the car. The Hang Ten brand was the one to have back in the day, but it’s faded away. Gone the way of Op, Lightening Bolt (A Pure Source!), Laguna…
I always thought Hang Ten was just the name of a surf-inspired trim level that some Chrysler marketing guy came up with; I didn’t know it was a real brand. And oh yeah, I remember the brief OP and Lightening Bolt fads (and since I’m from the Maryland/Delaware area, I also remember Sunshine House). All of these brands somehow convinced people to buy $40 t-shirts with their logo on it. For a year or so, anyway….
“Nice Vega” is an oxymoron.
I still remember using my Vega with the hatch propped open as a windbreak, my best friend driving, and I’m in the calm air pocket behind pedaling madly on a massively overgeared Bianchi track bike. On I-90, outside of Erie, PA on a Saturday night. This was just after the national 55mph had started and the PA state police were in overdrive to make everybody toe the line. Which meant that everyone was driving about 50-53mph.
Steve towed me up to 35 at which point I let go and started pedaling. He had my CB on in the car, and after we passed the third semi the comments were coming in thick and fast . . . . and the language was salty to put it mildly. We held that for about three miles at which point we figured that it was pressing our luck with the staties to push on any further. Pulled over, loaded up and got the hell out of there. To the salutes of more than a few long haul truckers.
Never underestimate what youth, physical fitness, and some damned good acid can inspire.
If only YouTube had been around back then…
So don’t laugh at that scene in “American Flyers”. It is possible. Just not the way they were doing it in the movie.
You are insane. I mean that as a compliment.
Didn’t they also do a similar thing in Breaking Away?
‘Never underestimate what youth, physical fitness, and some damned good acid can inspire.’
Quote of the year, hands down.
I spewed coffee all over my wife’s laptop… ;^))
Vega. You either love ’em or hate ’em. John DeLorean had an entire chapter on the car in “On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors”. My parents bought one in ’76 for their commute, for $700. It was a ’72 notchback (2-door sedan) stripper, with 35K miles. The only option was the AM radio. On the way home from buying it, Dad put the pedal to the metal; at about 75 mph the front end started to float…. WHOA! For all the bad press and bad rep the Vega got, ours was really pretty good. In less than 2 years they ran it up to 105K miles, trouble-free. Funny thing was, they traded it for a ’73 Fury ex-highway patrol car, with a 440-V8. One extreme to the other.
That’s reminiscent of my aunt’s experience with the 1973 gas crisis–she bought a Pinto that year to replace her thirsty Country Squire wagon, then a year and a half later, when prices had dropped back down, replaced that with an even thirstier Marquis.
I had a college friend who autocrossed his ’73 hatchback. He figured out that if he popped the hood (hinged at the front), it would float up about 6″, relieving the high pressure air under the hood and giving much better downforce on the front tires.
Problem was, he was about 5′-7″ tall and could barely see over the thing that way.
The first picture is very reminescent of the movie “Bullitt”.
The owner of that Vega needs to write a book: “My Life at the Extreme Edge of the Bell Curve.”
I owned a ’76 Vega hatchback for several years, finally selling it in the summer of 2002. I don’t recall it ever being much of a chick magnet, and it did not come equipped with a Vega Girl. Mostly, it was an Old Guy Magnet, attracting lots and lots of “Hey, I used to have one of those,” kind of attention. Oh well…
Not in bad shape, I’m surprised the rust didn’t do her in….
The Vega looks sharp as well.
A sad story about a potentially famous Vega. A lady I know, whose devotion to her family knows no boundaries, bought a used Vega (year unknown) in the late 70’s or early 80’s. I did not know her at the time, so all information is second hand.
Supposedly, the Vega was the one millionth Vega to be manufactured and had commemorative door handles to tell this. It was a copperish color with white or beige bucket seats and interior. By the lady’s own comment, it was a sweet car.
In her 20’s, she still did not have a driver’s license, so the car was used exclusively by her 4 other sisters who, like her, were still living at home. The car was used by the sisters for several months, until winter, when no one, including her father, thought to check the condition of the antifreeze. Due to the neglect, the engine was ruined and sold to a junkyard. The lady says her now deceased father removed the special door handles, but in 30 some years the handles have never surfaced.
She never drove the car once. Shortly after, she got her license, and life moved on. A really sad story.
That is sad. Reminds me of the co-op car I heard of once, jointly owned by the members of a co-op house in New England back in the seventies. It threw a rod on the Connecticut Turnpike. They all looked at each other and said “I thought you checked the oil.”
Post Script. After a little internet research, I find that 6500 were manufactured in 1973 as “Millionth Vega”. Kinda takes the wind out of the sail, but according to an Internet site, someone from Long Island owns the actual Millionth. I didn’t read any more on it, due to the fact I wanted to clarify my story.
Still a really sad story. It would have been cool if the lady still would have had the car, even at one of 6500, there wouldn’t be many left. Even without the catastrophe of the antifreeze, it would have been a one in a “millionth” for the car to survive 30 more years to this day.
I was about to add that, there were several “millionth” Vegas made in 1973, I dunno about the actuall “millionth” car ending up in private hands, usually GM would keep those for their collection, maybe because it was a Vega, they though..who cares. GM does own the FIRST Vega, which probably has to be the most pristine one left.
I expect that even the first Vega has shown some rust from 40+ years of moisture from the air-conditioning at GM. 🙂 I’m sure that my old 1972 GT Hatchback (Silver with stripe, of course!) is now landfill, but it was a LOT more fun to drive than my buddy’s Pinto time bomb.
Wow, that is quite a contrast from the 320 special edition Morris Minor Millions, built to commemorate the first British car to reach the mark – after 13 years’ production, no less.
I think the girl in the forefront of the fifth photo with the orange Vega is Suzanne Somers from Three’s Company!!
You’re 100% correct. I have that Vega brouchure in my collection. Funny how some Vega Girls aged better than others.
BTW Long,long time Vega owner here. Well Cosworth Vega anyway. Got 2 of them.
Had quite a few buddies that drove Vegas when I was in HS. One was a 73 Hugger Orange 1M and another had a 71 with a Torque Drive tranny. That one reminded me of an exGFs Bettle with the Semi-Auto or whatever they called it. Even had a Yellow 74 to tinker with in AutoShop that was donated to my school by GM. Funny how I don’t remember the Vega being much of a Chick magnet either.
Yeah, Suzanne did modeling before “3’s”. Tom Selleck did a print ad for the ’75 Charger Daytona, the one without vinyl top.
Selleck also posed for a Lincoln ad in ’72 . . .
Here’s one of the Millionth Vega models–or could it be the actual one?–courtesy of Wikipedia. Nice color combination!
One of our coworkers at Amtrak owned a 1972-73 silver Vega GT. It was a painful thing to ride in. The front seat backs were too vertical but unadjustable. I’m not sure why the thing had a tach since it seemed to run out of breath at 3000 rpm. I’ve driven farm tractors with better shifter feel.
The guy that owned the thing was an irascible sort, so one day, another coworker and I decided to use some prototype train markings to spell out “grouch car” on the passenger side of the car. We’re talking 9″ tall letters here so “grouch car” took up about the whole side of the car. My co-conspiritor and I took care to rub the self-adhesive vinyl in the dust and crap on the floor of the parking garage so it would be easy to remove. Well, so much for good intentions. Our friend drove the car with its markings package until he sold the car a couple of years later.
I saw a Vega on the road here in Ohio a few weeks ago. It was similar to this, a post-facelift hatchback, but it was the ubiquitous Malaise brown/orange. I couldn’t get close enough to see exactly what kind of shape it was in, but it looked pretty good. Especially for a Vega.
I’m amazed by some of the daily-driven oddballs I see here in rust country. I used to see the same Volare every morning until I moved…it’s probably still out there. I about wrecked my car rubbernecking at a first-generation Accord awhile back; I haven’t seen one of those in 15 years. But a Vega? I was born in the ’80s and I don’t think I’ve seen one in person…ever.
I just noticed Vega Girl has a Class I trailer hitch bolted onto the rear bumper.
Paul. You failed to mention the optional Rear Hatch Tent package that was available through GM Accessory. Que up “Chevy Van” on the AM radio.
I finally looked at the first photo long enough to appreciate its genius. In one photo, you have captured the hood, the tailgate and the interior of your F100, the famous PN camera (and the hand that holds it) inside the truck, an unremarkable Ford Escape in front of the F-100 and a yellow Vega behind it. All of this in the same shot and at the same time. And without a panoramic lens. I’m glad we weren’t betting on whether this was possible, or I would now be buying someone a beer.
Thanks! Actually, that was a bit of a crapshoot (sic), driving, shifting, steering, all the while while interacting with Vega Girl, and shooting away. One of these days…..
Wow! A Vega that apparently still runs and hasn’t rusted away or disintegrated after all these years-sort of like finding a live dinosaur… I had a ’72, it ran pretty well until it reached 20,000 miles and then the problems began; all centered around that infamous engine. Supposedly Pete Estes, who helped design the legendary Chevrolet small block v-8 designed it. If so, that really negates every thing he did during his tenure at GM.
By the time this engine was designed Pete Estes was an Executive Vice President at GM, he hadn’t “designed” anything in quite some time.
In John DeLorean’s version, Ed Cole (GM President) championed a proposal that was designed by the GM central engineering staff (and not by any of the car divisions as was customary). Delorean was Divisional Manager for Chevrolet at the time, and the Chevy people had their own proposal for a small car which was completely ignored. Chevy people were openly hostile towards the project and basically washed their hands of it until late in the game, when they decided that if their name was going to be on it, they had better get in and do some damage control. Chevrolet engineering was convinced that their proposal was a much better car and they were probably right.
. . . nor could Pete Estes then would’ve cared less. DeLorean outlines all of this in detail in his book. In the “what-if’s” category, one wonders what the original small car that Chevy division had been developing (the one that got shot down by GM execs on the 14th floor – making Chevy take the committee desgined Vega shit-box instead) – one wonders what that car would’ve been like? The 154 Chevy-II OHV four? An Opel OHC?? . . . . we’ll never know.
I’ve said this before, but a buddy in the air force bought a Vega GT – a nice metallic brown one. I went with him and his wife to the Roseville auction one day – his car even had A/C! It ran real good.
In February 1973, I was mulling over my future and —briefly—considered re-upping for another two years and buying a Vega wagon – in yellow! Thankfully I came to my senses rather quickly and decided I was getting out that September instead – I got out in August for school.
Interestingly, everyone I knew who owned a Vega pretty much had it fall apart before his eyes! Even wifey, long before I knew her considered one as well. She was smart and didn’t for long.
Me again? well, in 1975, as I was checking out my first new vehicle purchase, I checked out a Cosworth Vega at the dealer. I didn’t consider it.
Oh…I used to prop the hatch/rear glass open for air circulation on my Gremlin, too, I used metal worm-gear hose clamps! Works like a charm.
Zackman, I remember (again, another boring recollection from my youth) seeing in the Campbell-Bishop showroom a black/black ’76 Cosworth Vega. Hood up – pretty impressive. Unfortunately, chocked with an air-pump (this was California in the day) and the restrictive platinum gumball machine, pancake 1st gen GM catalytic converter. Still, it was sharp. What was horrifying was the sticker price. MSRP I recall, was about $6800.00, huge bucks in the fall of ’75.
Sitting catty-cornered from the Cosworth was an orange Corvette. :L-48 350 (remember, this was California and L-82’s weren’t available); THM 350. it’s sticker was around the $7800.00 mark. A high school friend shortly after got, for his 16th birthday (grandma was loaded) a brand spanking new ’76 Trans Am with air, 8-track stereo. The sticker on that one was the same as the Cosworth. For you Poncho heads, beginning in the ’76 MY, the 455 was no longer available in California on the Trans Am. It was installed in the “B” series Pontiacs. Go figure.
So you can see why these Cosworths collected dust on showroom floors back then . . . . or . . . . weren’t built much later on except as special orders.
Damn! I must have gotten a deal on my barely used 1976 TransAm that I bought in 1978 when I was a Senior in HS. White on blue with the 455/4 gear. Paid $2995.00. Bought it off the used car lot from the Chrysler dealer with 11K on the meter. It had every option including the 8-track in the console with a AM/FM Cassette in the dash. Even had the consolette for the rear seat. Later in the year I traded it in on a brand new 78 ElCamino.
Long before my 16th birthday the Cosworth Vega was my dream car. I can remember reading about it in every magazine. Spent many an hour daydreaming in study hall about the day when I could finally be independent of public transportation. I bought my 1st CV in 1982. Came from the Dodge dealers lemon lot. About 35K on the meter which one could probably say was worn out as far as CVs go. Paid $1500 for it and I’d guesstimate that I’ve dumped another $5K into it over the past 30 years.
Oh,and the CV also used the Bendix EFI that the Seville used. Not a lick of trouble with that system on any of my CVs over the years.
Yes when I think about I’ve owned quite a few cool cars and motorcycles in my lifetime.
I remember the 1976 Vega ad campaign that was on television and in print showing a fleet of Vegas roaring across Death Valley and the narrative that they were now offering a “60,000 mile powertrain warranty.” Too little, too late. I do remember in 1977, while drooling at the Pontiac dealership (Troncatty Pontiac, Corte Madera, Cal.) looking at a ’77 Pontiac Astre with it’s hood up and the little Pontiac OHV “Iron Duke” having a chromed valve cover (!) . . . which was visible underneath the tangle of hoses which was part and parcel of most California emission equipped cars of the day (air pump hoses, vacuum retard, relay, bypass this and that . . . add A/C and it was underhood spaghetti).
For the record, my older brother had a ’71 notchback Vega that him and his friend installed an early ’60’s 225 Buick V-6 – complete with Holley 600 4-bbl, headers on an Offenhauser manifold with straight back 2 1/2″ exhausts with glass packs. You could hear that car two blocks away. Powerglide hooked up to it and he had personalized plates that read “Dr. Doom.” The 1-2 shift would throw you back in your seat.
I called it the “Vegamatic” . . .
Aww, I kinda like the Vega and it’s ilk. Surely the Vega was inspired by the ’67 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe? Just a pity it didn’t have a twin cam engine…The most bizarre thing I’ve seen is footage of the trains GM used to transport them- nose down! AMC Pacers, Gremlins and Hornets also toy with my affections- the paint jobs and upholstery in those days were marvellous, cars now are soooo, well, dull!
Vert-a-Pak option, the Vegas were hung in train cars like sides of beef, you could get more Vegas in train car that way. The cars equipped with the Vert-a-pack option had a special oil pan designed so that the engines wouldn’t flood with oil, the cars were ready to drive once you got them level again.
Note on the right you see a Stack-a-pck rail car with 3 Cadillacs in it.
Holy lack of structural integrity Batman and that tailgate is thinner than a $2 Bill! Nice catch with this Vega indeed and personally I would have put a coat or towel to protect the tailgate and/or glass from the chair.
Nice!
Yes, I have a soft spot for these as my Mom had a ’76 Kamback wagon, had the auto and A/C no less!
It was a great car for us, and she hauled my sisters things back and forth to school when she was in college.
It never missed a beat, except when the carb needed to be replaced. Bought it 2 years old used and drove it until 1983, when it was replaced with a brand new X body Skylark.
This one looks to be a ’75, or 76, can’t tell due to the mirror shot of the front, as the 76, had the full louvered grill over the front turn signals, can’t recall if the ’75’s did or not. I know the 74’s didn’t.
They may have had their faults back then, but I think they still look great, even now, over 30 years later. Thankfully, in places like Eugene, they don’t rust out so finding one daily driven that’s still solid is doable, even now.
The only way I can guarantee you to see a Vega is to go to Epcot and ride Spaceship Earth in the geodesic dome. Right before you get to Steve Jobs and Steve Wosniak building the first Apple computer, look to the left and the orange fastback is sitting there. No Vega Girl in sight, but then computer nerds tended to void the Vega Girl warranty, didn’t they?