Seeing as this is my first passion blog, I suppose it stands to reason that I should take a moment to go more in depth about the subject area we will be covering and why I feel such a strong connection to it. On Koffo’s Blog, I’ll be discussing hilariously bad automobiles from the days of yore. Naturally, auto manufacturers from various nations have at one point or another made awful design and mechanical decisions. Some might say that these cars should be left to fade into obscurity, and for the most part, they have. I like weird things though, I suppose I’m kind of like a hipster in that regard; and so, combining my two biggest passions, cars and odd, old stuff I’m left with this blog.

     With housekeeping out of the way, let’s move on to the subject of today’s entry: The Chevy Vega, a car whose 7 year run was punctuated by constant failure. The Vega was cursed from the beginning, a car designed by management based on focus groups and not by engineers. When compact Japanese cars began to turn up on US shores in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the big three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) were still making 20 foot land yachts that guzzled gas and didn’t fit the needs of a new generation of young car buyers. It is with this in mind that GM created the Chevy Vega. 

    Now the intentions behind the Vega were good, but implementation was nothing short of horrendous. GM tried to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies like computerized welding and simplified body structures to make a car that was more stable and less rust prone. Instead the first prototype spontaneously disassembled itself within 8 miles down a test track. What followed was engineers frantically trying to fix “innovation”, a theme that would repeat itself many times before the Vega was brought to market. The engine was also an example of overzealous marketers ignoring common sense engineering principles. GM decided to use an aluminum engine block, a relatively new technology used fairly successfully by German automakers. Whoever made this decision at GM, however must have failed college physics, because he was unfamiliar with the laws of thermodynamics. By mating an aluminum block with a cast iron head and combining that with an inadequate cooling system you are left with an engine that is prone to overheating and warping itself to the point of complete failure. All of this compounded with failed rust proofing attempts that resulted in cars being sold with rust off the lot led the Chevy Vega to have a terrible reputation. 

    Now, allow me to backpedal a little bit. The Chevy Vega was indeed an awful car, in its original form. However, that makes it an excellent target for cheap performance builds and engine swaps. The Vega was quite a popular platform for pro-street ( a type of street legal drag racing car class) for a few reasons. They could be picked up for extremely low prices, their frames and suspensions could be beefed up to take V-8 power relatively easily and one could cram a small-block Chevy into the little car resulting in a dangerously fast automobile. All things considered, the Vega though largely considered one of GM’s biggest failures is actually quite a redeemable little car.