Like Steve Martin used to say- "Exxxcuuuusssse Me!"

Got some angry and flippant correspondence on the last post about GM A-bodies. These people were pissed that I didn't list all the models available. I did that for a reason-I was listing the ones that are easily obtainable at a low price. I personally have a 73 Hurst / Olds. One of 1,097 ever built. Is that worth listing? I didn't think so-because anyone who has one knows what it is, and if it's for sale their going to want 15 grand on up. Pretty stupid when I have seen rough-but-running 73-77 Cutlasses for as low as $500, and anything over 2 grand is usually pretty nice. The same goes for Hurst / SSJ Gran Prix's-they built what-558 of them in 3 years-1970-72. What's the chance of someone finding one of those, at any price? The same goes for the one-year-only-1977-Pontiac Can-Am. It was a cool performance package for the LeMans-but how many are out there?  As for SS454 1973 Chevelles, or one of the 4,806 1973 GTO's built or a 400, 4-speed LeMans GT, or a 454 Laguna S3, or a 455 Buick Century GS-These are a buy-it-if you-can find-it at a decent price thing, or if you want to spend what the seller is asking. The reason is the way GM marketed the cars- after 1971 The 442 was no longer a separate model-it reverted to option status on the Cutlass Supreme. It basically became a handling and appearance package. Which means you can find a 442 with a 160 hp 2bbl 350 V8 under the hood!!  The same for Chevelles after 1970-"SS" didn't automatically mean "Rat motor" anymore. The SS package was available on any V8 Malibu. Which means you could have a tough-looking machine with a 130 hp 307 V8 or a 165 hp 350 2bbl. That's why I wrote the article the way I did-I'd rather have a 454 Monte Carlo than a 350 2bbl Chevelle SS. I'd rather have a 1977 Cutlass Supreme with a 403 V8 than a 442 with the 260 inch "economy" V8-that option combination was possible-believe it or not. I'd rather have a Gran Prix SJ with a 455 instead of a LeMans GT with a 350, or worse yet- a 301. Some people said I unjustly ranked the Pontiac Gran Prix # 1.  How?  I was rating the cars on "Bang for the Buck"  in stock trim, and for "restification" potential. The GP was number one because it was the ONLY one that came STANDARD with a big-block. All the others had small-blocks in 99% of the examples. So, Mullet-head,- forget that you bleed Chevrolet Orange and that you have a Calvin peeiing on a Ford logo sticker on your pickup. Comparing- "Apples to Apples"-whether your driving it stock or modifying it- would you rather start with a '76 Gran Prix with a pavement-ripping 400 or 455, or a '76 Monte Carlo with a 145 hp 305?.   That's why I didn't put much weight on the "Performance" monikers-"SS", "442" "GS", etc- because they didn't necessarily mean that the car was anything special. If I was talking about "X" bodies- ( Nova based models ) the "SS" moniker on a 1976 Nova with a 2bbl 305 really doesn't mean the same as it did in 1969 on an SS396 model does it?  Does anyone really consider the 1977 Volare' a "Road Runner" even thought it has that nameplate on it? That's all I was trying to convey. Mastermind