Do you still have your first car?

[chief455]

Actually no...

Pontiac upper management, already worried about losing sales of their Grand Prix models (the Can Am and the Grand Prix used the same dashboard and console, so a sale of a Can Am was seen as a loss of a sale of a Grand Prix by some senior Pontiac executives), decided to scrap the project after approximately one half year of production

[Mike M]

Never understood that car. It was Fugly. The Grand Prix on the other hand was a winner.

[TP Derrick D]

77 Can Am = one year only. 1377 made. 400 cu.in. Pontiac power only, except California cars got an Olds 403
White paint / red striped only, most had red interior. Few had tan interior...by my memory.
Based on Lemans body. GTO went back to a Lemans option in 72, dead in 74.
Also was Grand Am - available in 4 door and 2 door coupe. A nicely optioned Grand Am is likely what you saw from 73-76 era.
Only odd things on Can Am was column shift (rare) or floor console shift. Otherwise pretty much all the same.
Yah, same generation 442/Hurst Olds had the true Lightning rod shifter - what a hassle! but cool as hell.
I'd rather have a 77 Can Am than 77 Trans Am to be different.
Sadly, prices are up, up, up.

Yeah you are probably right on the car I thought was a Can Am in '74-'75 was a Grand Am. I remember the time frame because I was in Jr High and still riding the bus and who ever had that car came by bus stop one morning showing it off to all there. It had to be someone a few years older than me and either a Sr or just out of school because we all knew each other in the neighborhood regardless of age. By '77 I was driving to school also and not getting on the bus.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...cd2918&vxp=mtr

[Jeffonebuck]

Doing a frame off resto as we speak,,,


Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen.

[chief455]

Doing a frame off resto as we speak,,,

Coolest first car in the thread!

[FastMerc]

Some pretty good ideas as to why the CAN AM production stopped but no one got it yet...

[chief455]

Some pretty good ideas as to why the CAN AM production stopped but no one got it yet...

Do tell, do tell.....I really thought it was lower than expected sales, found that executive Grand Prix sales excerpt from Wikipedia, sounded reasonable - so what then?

[FastMerc]

OK the reason for the end of CAN AM production was due to a clumsy employee that dropped the mold for the spoiler on the rear of the car. There was only one mold and it was specific to that car. So there you have it.

[FastMerc]

[kirk]

OK the reason for the end of CAN AM production was due to a clumsy employee that dropped the mold for the spoiler on the rear of the car. There was only one mold and it was specific to that car. So there you have it.

It took so long to respond because......well it just took that long to think about.

What was that conversation like with the boss? Can you imagine if they took the projected profits out of his paycheck. WOW!

[chief455]

OK the reason for the end of CAN AM production was due to a clumsy employee that dropped the mold for the spoiler on the rear of the car. There was only one mold and it was specific to that car. So there you have it.

hmmmmm

It took so long to respond because......well it just took that long to think about.

What was that conversation like with the boss? Can you imagine if they took the projected profits out of his paycheck. WOW!

that would be bad
It seems this same story went around the 72 Judge 'duck bill' spoiler. Uber rare, not reproduced, folk lore has that the mold was dropped...
pics or it never happened

[kirk]

Nothing on snopes

[chief455]

hmmmmm

that would be bad
It seems this same story went around the 72 Judge 'duck bill' spoiler. Uber rare, not reproduced, folk lore has that the mold was dropped...
pics or it never happened

quick research says correct on both spoilers:

[BIGNELSTER]

I'm selling my mm perfect conditionhttp://youtu.be/cQ2-EmBSYQI


Sent from my mac air using Tapatalkvggovjloojimoobupmpnob

[R. Jones]

Not exactly,

The first car I owned was a Jeep Comanche. Fresh blue paint and a straight six that sounded like a tractor. My current girlfriend is sleeping in the bed next to me. She's adorable. No photos. That'd be weird. I had the Comanche when I met her; she said it was cute; we drove to New Orleans on our first real date; we fooled around for the first time on its vinyl/tweed bench seat parked under the trees by the horse track.

I'm honest about the Comanche though. Everything except the paint and the engine were messed up. Constant random failures. I remember walking into Autozone for the third time cradling a busted, warrantied radiator in my arms and the manager looking me up and down like a bartender.

I got into a wreck when cash-for-clunkers was ongoing. I drove most of my car to the Jeep dealership and got "9,000 dollars" for it. I remember my salesman, shaking his head when he saw the "car" I was trading in. He test drove it around the parking lot with the drivers side mirror hanging from its wiring, bouncing alongside the Jeep.

I still sorta have the first car I drove though. I'll post it when I have some photos.

- Robert