1975 Chevrolet Vega GT from North America - Comments

The only problem I have with the car aside from its lack of power is that it drinks oil, and it smokes pretty bad, probably due to years of setting. The only other problem I have is all my friends want to ride in it!

Great little car! For a 4 cylinder it runs pretty good, I've added an exhaust system to it and it sounds great, removing the old catalytic converter helped give it a little more power. I have added a Blaupunkt stereo and speakers and I am very impressed by them, huge difference over the original single speaker with an AM radio. I've had many people ask me about it, quite a few of them asked to buy it. Nearly every time I drive it I manage to turn a few heads, makes me feel like I'm driving an expensive car, but its far from expensive. I plan on swapping the engine for a v8 or a 3.8 v6 turbo (Buick Grand National engine) to give it more power, but for now it gets me around.

You've really got to be kidding. Many consider the Vega one of the worst cars ever: the benchmark for poor quality. You're probably turning heads because people can't believe they are actually seeing one on the road.

I think they were turning their heads to see where all of that blue smoke was coming from. (You did say that it smokes and drinks oil)

The ear drum shattering noise from the backyard modifications to the exhaust must've turned some heads, too!

Ahh laugh they may.. who cares! I have a 1975 Vega hatchback I built 10 years ago, with a 231 Even fire Buick V6. It took me about 15 hours to install the motor She turns 275 HP has a four speed tranny and the only smoke anyone see's is after I blow past them sideways!!! I eat 5.0 liter mustangs for breakfast.. so more power to you man!

Ahhh...yet another immature boy racer who is probably going to wrap his car around a tree or a utility pole.

Please grow-up before you hurt yourself or someone else.

I had a friend who had a Mustang Mach 1. One night he didn't make a corner at the end of a straightaway.

He hit a huge tree and his Mustang split in half. The front end kept going and wiped out 3 cars on a nearby dealer's lot.

The rear-end remained wrapped around the tree.

When the rescue team arrived they couldn't find my friend,

until they removed the rear-end from the tree. His body was in the trunk. He was 20 years old.

The next morning I drove by the crash-site. The impact was so forceful his music tapes were hanging from the branches of the huge tree he hit. It looked like the tree had been toilet-papered with audio tape.

There was blood, broken glass, shattered plastic and twisted metal everywhere. About 150 ahead was a huge hole in the wooden fence at the dealership where his front-end had gone through and wiped out the 3 new cars. I then drove to the place they flat-bedded what was left of his Mustang. I never saw anything so bad. Two crushed and twisted halves of what used to be a car.

The next night I went to my friend's wake. That was in 1974.

I still miss my friend.

True story. Please don't leave your friends with memories like that.

My family had a series of Vegas in the early 1980's. For some strange reason, my dad was enchanted with them--an odd and disturbing lack of judgement. The '74 Vega station wagon was cramped, had no back seat, and shortly after we "unloaded" it, the frame broke in half while driving down the highway. We had a '74 Vega sedan, and this was the living definition of junk. Top speed of 57 mph--in about 20 seconds. The engine rattled with that lousy aluminum block. In fact, you learn to always look for the Vega in the middle of the biggest clouds of oil smoke--about a quart a week. The doors were sagging, although much of the weight had been reduced from the metal rusting halfway up the door. The starter was always shot. It wouldn't start in weather colder than 35 degrees. The car was plagued by rust, rust, and more rust. These represent the low point of the American automobile industry.

Amazing how these cars keep splitting in half. First a Ford, then a Vega. Is no one safe?

For your information: a Vega's frame can't split in half. It has no frame. It's unitized construction. And the fact that you've seen one Vega in bad shape says nothing about Vegas in general. I've seen three Vegas through the years, ALL driven for years by their satisfied owners.

And the other tragic story, is understandable, your friend made a terrible mistake: he tried to turn a corner in a Mustang Mach 1.

Apparently you didn't notice when the person said that they had a series of Vegas, i.e. more than two at least, and they were all junk. Sounds pretty convincing to me. Yes, I'm certain that he was totally mistaken about the car breaking in half going down the road--yeah right! That's the kind of thing you don't forget!

I know some one who put a modified 350 CI engine into one of these cars and it justs burns tires! (The Car is also modified and is hardly stock) As for Mr. SadStory, please stop posting that on every "performance" car thread. Yes accidents happen, but just because it happened to your friend does not mean it will happen to every driving enthusiast.

I am in defense of Vegas. I am putting a 350 into mine with a three speed right now. My mom drove the car all through high school and college, and it still runs like a dream. (And she drove across Nebraska for college.) It has only needed one brake job, and only one fuel pump put in. It is a very dependable little car that is much more solid then most on the roads today. It might be a little redneck, but I like it.

My dad is enchanted too with a 1973 Vega station wagon. He loves it. People around town all know that car--you just don't see many cars driven daily from the early 70's. Cool car.

I owned a '73 Vega while in college. I bought it in 1978 for only $200 from an ill, but very relieved old lady who had not been able to drive for almost 3 years and who was more than glad to get rid of the thing. It had less than 20k miles when I got it and I put another 25,000.

It was my first car, and looking back the experiences that I had with it were almost comical. It died and left me stuck in every bad neighborhood in the 300+ miles between Miami to Gainesville, Florida (and there are a BUNCH of them). Some places more than once. During the 2+ years that I had it it needed 2 engine overhauls, sucked up at least a quart of oil every 6 days, and I could have hidden a fleet with the smokescreen that I laid down when I passed by. It got so that every time I took it out I had to extract each spark plug and wipe off the oil and gunk or it would not start the next time. I had it towed so often that Triple-A (AAA) wrote me letters every month strongly suggesting that I get a new car. Worse, the interior was 'pulverizing' -- the metal parts turning into rust and the plastic into dust. The brakes failed several times, and once a wheel came off while I was driving. For at least a year, the key was stuck in the ignition and would not come out. The mechanics wanted around $100 to replace the lock, which I did not want to spend, so I kept the doors unlocked with a towel draped on the steering column. After I realized that the insurance would pay me for the thing if it was stolen, I stopped draping the towel over the steering column. There were no takers.

I am 'honored' that Chevrolet made me a part of history -- seeing that this was one of the worst cars ever made, but I have not bought another car from them since.