I’ll be honest, I don’t usually cruise Craigslist looking for cars for others. I want them all for myself. But here’s one that I’ll pass on due to the Christmas spirit and all that jazz and let one of you make someone’s Christmas morning a little brighter. For a measly $1,200 it’s not often that a one-owner car presents itself on the hallowed pixels of the list, yet here we are.
1981 was of course the second year of Citation production, so on the bright side you’ll be taking the advice of everyone who tells you never to buy a first-year GM product. Seeing as how we are now 40 years beyond this car’s original sale date, well, methinks there may be something to that.
Don’t forget that this is now the second 1981 Citation that I’ve bagged and displayed for all and sundry, notwithstanding the fact that I found the other one a little too late to save it, but let’s not be petty. Paul of course proclaims these to be GM’s Deadliest Sin, well, maybe that’s true for the 1980 ones, but the ’81’s are clearly starting to become thick as fleas here on the Front Range.
This was no garage queen either, judging from the little dabs of sheet metal lightening applique. Never mind those, they sell touch up paint for a reason. Perusing the brochure indicates that the paint color here looks like it’s the “White”. Not Summit or Super or Bright or anything fancy, just plain White. Like the bread. And the standard issue base model hubcaps are present as well, so it’s all gussied up already with plenty of bling. Odd that the side badges are placed so far back, usually they are on the leading edge of the front fender. Could this one have been in a front end incident at one time? Who knows.
The driver’s side presents just as well, actually a little better, as here we see a whitewall tire. Whitewalls were an option but could be had in either glass-belted or steel-belted form, in any case they were 185/80-13 unless you went way upmarket for a lower profile option. I can’t recall the last time I saw an 80-series tire though, props to the owner if they’ve managed to keep it that spec.
This thing’s apparently been a local car all its life judging by the old license plate, the “FK” in 1980-1981 meant Boulder County, although the registration appears to have lapsed back in April. Due to Covid, that may or may not mean anything though, plenty of people have not left their house since then or bothered with petty governmental regulations since.
Back here everything looks A-OK, it’s just the front and sides that got a little blasted by the gravel that the CODOT tends to lay down on the freeways. I’d guess this is a very early 1981 due to the all-red taillights, the other 1981 was built in October 1980 and already had the amber turn signals. But not to worry, with over 800k built for 1980, they had plenty of practice by the time this one rolled down the line.
Popping the trunk shows it in fine nick with even a trunk mat (or an old piece of carpet?) in place. The luggage cover is still in place and this looks almost as roomy as the back of a Saab 900. But sadly the liftover height is far higher than that of said Saab, woe to whoever has to heft their shopping bags or anything larger into this.
Underhood things start off good with a brand new Interstate battery. Then things rapidly and irrevocably deteriorate as we take in the 2.5l (151 cu. in.) OHV inline four “Iron Duke”. Managing to shake free 90 horsepower and do so for 40 years I suppose the mighty Duke must be saluted, but it would take a far hardier soul than me to not be seduced by pretty much anything else by about 1985 or so.
Red (Maroon per the brochure) interiors are the key to long vehicular life. And the burlap or whatever it is Chevy used on these seats has to be one of the hardest wearing surfaces of all time. It’s mint!
Yeah baby, your eyes did not deceive you in the last picture, it’s a manual! Yes, a four speed to whip those 90 ponies and whatever oil is in the crankcase into a frothy lather as the Citation rockets up I-70 toward the freedom of the Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,100 feet and then a seeming freefall afterward only to do it again for Vail Pass (although only 10,600 feet) a bit further down the road. Foot to the floor, in the far right lane, was the driver in third or second, one wonders…there’s a reason so few of GM’s cars came with tachometers, I reckon.
But if nothing else the driver would have had plenty of time to twiddle the dials on the vertically mounted Delco radio trying to get something, anything on the radio, assuming they’d be able to hear it through the standard dual front speakers over the engine’s racket. I do like that little storage bin between the sears though, that looks handy for the days before mankind invented cups that eventually would need a place (or twenty) to go.
Untwist those panties, it’s not quite what it seems, the owner was honest enough to disclose that there should be a “1” in front of that figure. Or perhaps dishonest enough to not disclose that it should be a “2”. But no, that snark of mine is unbecoming the honor deserved by the General’s mighty soldier here. Let’s go with the 163,181 well-maintained miles claim, it seems accurate judging by the visuals.
I think the last time someone sat back here was on the test drive, it must have been the salesman or the owner’s friend that came along. They clearly sat on the passenger side, that driver’s side seatbelt was probably buckled at the factory and remains so to this day.
I guess even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes and if this Citation was as bad as its general reputation, then Mr. Goodwrench did a good job of keeping things rolling for the owner. Forty years on, it’s ready for a new owner, won’t you wrap it up and put it under someone’s tree? If as interested as I know you are, here’s the ad from the Denver Craigslist (Note that it’s remarkably well written and succinct for a Craigslist ad which bodes well):
“This vehicle runs well and is a one-owner car. Very well maintained. New Interstate battery. Runs and drives as it should. Interior in great condition. Some surface rust on the body panels as you can see from the photos.
Clear title in hand.”
It’s 9a.m. here right now, if you catch the next flight, you can get this and Cannonball it home by the time everyone wakes up tomorrow to unwrap things. Make it a Christmas to remember, even if most of the rest of this year sucked…
Wow, this is quite the time capsule. Good thing I’m a two day drive away, and not quite ready to hang out in an airport or get in an airplane with strangers just yet.
$5 white elephant gift?
I never realized just how powerful these were – I imagine that it was sheer motive force that slowly slid those Citation emblems from the leading edge of the front fenders to the back over the course of 30 years. Wind resistance at those speeds is fierce.
Actually, I was all set to take you up on this but without a big red bow on the hood I will have to pass.
Problem solved:
Perfect, JP, let me know when your flight arrives and I will drop you around the corner from where your Christmas treat is waiting for you… Unlike with Ed’s car, I won’t offer to help you drive it back home. Just, you know, due to potential health concerns at this time.
Oh yeah! Eat your heart out, Dave Saunders. This beats an old Studebaker any day. 🙂
I lived in Boulder in 1972 and 1973. The back cover of the Colorado driver’s handbook listed the license plate prefixes assigned to different counties. Maybe it’s changed since, but at the time AA through GN was Denver County, and ML through NF was Boulder County.
At one point I bought a car from a guy in Denver. If we’d lived in the same county, the plate could have gone with the car. Since we didn’t, I had to get a Boulder County plate on it. So AJ-5531 became MU-6051.
A few years later I pulled into a rest area somewhere on U.S. 101 in northern California. I looked at the licenses plate on a motorcycle there and said to the rider, “Hey, you’re from Boulder!” He said, “Wanna smoke a joint?”
I think this business of assigned certain numbers to certain counties has pretty much gone by the board with the rise of computerized DMV databases.
ML-NF was Boulder but apparently so was FH–FP (but nothing else). The info is from what looks like a thorough chart on Wiki. Denver used the first part of what you cited but some of those (the latter parts) were also Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas etc, i.e. the surrounding counties of Denver.
There are no longer county designations on our plates, in fact now we even went to an ABC-D12 format instead of the former ABD-123 and 123-ABC ones. Our newest car got plates a few weeks ago, BKE-M11, so at the current rate we will be needing yet another format in about a decade and a half.
Under your current system, why do I have the feeling that certain 4-letter combinations won’t be used? 🙂
Colorado actually used County codes until 2000, but in 1982 the state transitioned from a two-letter to a three-letter county coding system. There are still a few Western states that issue county-coded license plates (Nebraska, Idaho, Montana), but it’s only a matter of time before those fade away as well.
Colorado’s ABC-D12 format that Jim mentions above began in 2018, and there are now plates issued in that format that go to the middle of the C’s.
More on plates & counties: Wyoming and South Dakota also are county coded; my home county (Laramie) is 2.
Nebraska is county coded only for the smaller counties. Plates for the three most populated counties (in the east) use ABC 123 format with no county identification.
Old Colorado system had “DR” exclusive for a Denver county rental car. “RR” was a rental car from anywhere else in the state.
Sorry for forgetting about Wyoming’s plates!
Both Wyoming and Nebraska have interesting stories about how the codes originated. For Wyoming, the numbers represent the total estimated assessed value of land as of 1928 (I believe). From what I understand, Natrona County wound up being #1 due in part to its mineral resources, which created a lot of assessed value.
For Nebraska, the numbers are sequenced based on the total number of vehicles registered in each county as of 1922… the license plate sequence hasn’t been changed since. Most revealing is Sarpy County — now it’s Nebraska’s 3rd most populated county and largely a suburb of Omaha, and of them that doesn’t issue county coded plates any longer. But it was ranked #59 out of 93 counties in 1922. Hooker County is #93 – when I was in western Nebraska two years ago, I kept a lookout for Hooker Co. plates, but unsurprisingly didn’t see any.
In Washington state, the old green on white ABC-123 plates, some of which you still see around, had county designations. Plates beginning with A, I, or O: King County (Seattle). B or T: Pierce County (Tacoma). C or S: Spokane County. D: Snohomish County (Everett). They first started issuing these plates in 1963.
The original Washington plate for the Alpine A106 that was written up last January was AZL-468, which makes perfect sense.
When I moved to Seattle in 1981, all the numbers assigned to King County (and maybe some of the other populous urban counties) had been given out. I got a plate with a KRE prefix. I don’t know what county that was originally assigned to.
A girlfriend of mine in the mid-80s had a ’72 Volvo 145 that she and her ex-husband had bought new. It had Snohomish County plates, although they lived in Seattle. Maybe the plates went on at the dealership. Never having bought a brand new car anywhere, I don’t know how that works in Washington.
Washington later went to 123-ABC and then ABC1234, no county designations. I’d like the current pattern better if there were a hyphen, a space, or a graphic between the ABC and the 1234. The solid block of 7 characters isn’t good for readability, and having once been a typesetter for 15 years, I know whereof I speak.
From what I heard from a long time license agency clerk was that at one point they had ran out of plates on hand for one county and they shipped them ones they had stock that were meant for another county and once they did that they just gave up. She told me that in the mid to late 80’s. (At the time I regularly fixed and sold cars so I got to know her visiting her at least every 3 months)
When we moved to King County and my Dad finally got plates for our cars in 1978 we got EQU.
My 1972 Scout had BSU, it was bought in Burien and the owner lived in Seattle when he bought it.
In WA some of the biggest dealers do now have an in house closed agency but most use the one of the sub-agents a number of which have dealer only lines and only send someone once they have a certain number of transactions.
Israeli brother says “hi” (pic by Doron Enrico Dvash)
Given that I called it “GM’s Deadliest Sin”, it would be be very appropriate penance for me to buy and drive this. It even has the deadliest engine/transmission combination, and most importantly, it’s white. I really need a fourth white vehicle in the driveway. I feel the hand of divine intervention.
That isn’t divine – that’s SATAN!
I need an old priest, and a young priest.
Old priest here! 🙂
While there is no doubt the Iron Duke is a crude engine, I seriously doubt this car would still be on the road if it was ordered with the 2.8 and/or the automatic.
If you want, you could repaint it maroon (an original color) to match inside and out. It’ll need extensive surface-rust repair and it appears to have been repainted once with the side “CITATION” badges mounted high on the fenders behind the wheelwells where all years of the original had them on the leading edge just behind the side markers (as seen on the Israeli car).
This was the worst car I ever had the misfortune to drive daily. One year. I cannot believe this one exists. Same color – inside and out.
It must have been parked for a few decades.
What makes this particular vehicle better than mine was that it is a manual. With a floor parking brake. I drove a few of these while mine was being in the shop for the billionth time that year. A manual transmission would have helped get this heap over a hill.
True fact. I had to personally hear this twice because I couldn’t believe it. When my Citation had only 9 miles on the odometer, the engine pinged and knocked mercilessly upon acceleration. So I had it returned to the dealer to repair. Twice I was told that the engine was not having problems, but that the pinging and knocking was intentional so that the car was more fuel efficient. I never heard such a thing, and when it went back to the shop for another repair, I had someone else look into it and I was told the same thing. I never believed it.
Years later, in always keeping that crazy moment in the back of my mind, I recall having what the mechanics told me confirmed by a printed source from GM regarding this engine. How could this be and I’ve never had another vehicle in all my years of driving ever perform so poorly, so it is a sick lie, right? Guys?
Ever heard of such a thing?
A few years ago I found a Hot Wheels of this car. It was from the “GM Deadly Sins” collection? But I have it at my office desk and every so often I look at it. It doesn’t give me any positive memories, but no angry one either – this GM Deadly Sin which victimized me for over a year just leaves me numb now. It is like seeing a photo of a bad girlfriend. You try to imagine why you ever liked it, try to remember anything fun you had together, but your mind healed over the worst parts, leaving you looking at her like a vaguely familiar face in a police line-up.
You’re reminding me of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, there was a rash of dealership service departments having to explain that “they all do that”, about all sorts of drivability and stalling issues. When my ’86 F-150 blew up its distributor-related electronic internals, while driving down the freeway, I got my dose of the dealership “they all do that”, followed years later by a check from some class action settlement, because “they all did that”.
Predetonation suggests that the timing was too far advanced, which does improve mileage, up to a point. But it could have been something else, like possibly a manufacturing defect in the cylinder head.
Did you ever try premium fuel? Or maybe premium unleaded wasn’t available at the time. That should have cured it.
But I do seem to remember these early Iron Dukes sounding a bit noisy under full throttle, which you undoubtedly had to use a lot.
Thank you for your response.
There were numerous problems with the car since new, and considering how often the Citation was at the dealers, it should have been sorted out if it was a timing issue. I remember having all the spark plugs, distributor cap, rotors, wiring and carburetor replaced during some time in that year. Yet, the most dominant noise upon acceleration is the deafening pinging and grinding sounds. It never got better, or worse.
The noise was compounded by the engine torquing its way out off of engine mounts, twisting and slowly pulverizing the water pump housing. So, the pinging and grinding sounds coming out of the engine bay were numerous and of varying causes that the Chevrolet dealer in Denver was unable to resolve.
” Twice I was told that the engine was not having problems, but that the pinging and knocking was intentional so that the car was more fuel efficient. ”
At least from the time of the Vega, perhaps before, GM called part-throttle pinging “The Sound of Economy”.
This is not to be confused with heavy-throttle or WFO pinging.
Did these engines have knock sensors? The on-board computer was pretty primitive.
Interesting how the rear doors manage to rust faster than the front ones. That happened on my brother in law’s Citation too. I wonder if the rear doors came from a cheaper and more disgruntled supplier?
I once gave Mrs DougD a turkey decoy (which now appears on top of the tree AFTER Christmas) judging by her reaction to that gift I think giving this gift could be a bad idea.
Happy Christmas All !
Too bad I’m not in the market for a project vehicle. I’m pretty much an Iron Duke fan but I’d be a little leery of this one due to the carburetor. All of the Dukes I’ve had experience were the “Tech 4” variety. Never had a lick of trouble from the TBI fuel injection on those.
This one even has the premium Optional 4th Inflated Tire. Standard equipment for Citations is 3 Premium Inflated Tires and one Default Runflat Tire, usually the left rear.
That little engine, surrounded by gigantic strut towers, makes the engine room look a bit like Popeye, two big arms with not much between them.
That interior tells one that this car is honest. One can detail the exterior, but that close-up of the speedometer and odometer will tell you the truth every time. If it has been left out and abused, the dashboard will show it. The car is still a Citation, and rusty, so two big strikes against it, but it has lived an honest life with some measure of care along the way.
For that ‘special masochist’ in your life…
Ah, the original Cockroach of the Road. These were the cars that inspired my brother to come up with that appellation, I just spread it on the internet. This car is closer to an apparition with it’s white appearance. This being the Christmas season, I’m reminded of Dickens’ meisterstuck and this car reminds me of the Ghost of GM Past. OK, enough alliteration..
Looking at the car and considering it’s 40 years old, I was trying to figure out what the real mileage is. 63K over 40 years is like 1500 miles per year. 163K is 4100 miles per year. 263K is 6600 per year. I feel like eliminating the 263K mileage as cars from this era were not meant to go 250K miles in a lifetime. Although, they weren’t necessarily designed to last 40 years either, but here we are. I’d believe 163K as I could see someone who didn’t have to drive much could reasonably put 4000 miles on a car in a year. With all the lockdowns, I will be under 6000 miles this year.
It seems like someone took relatively good care of it over it’s existence, unless it was one of those cars like my late, lamented Cavalier. My brother-in-law drove it 192,000 miles in 4 years then parked it for three. I bought it and resuscitated it (essentially an oil change and new battery) and drove the damned thing for another 14 years. Best $1078 bucks I ever spent.
As much as I’ve enjoyed my time in Colorado in the past, I don’t think I’ll be making the trip out there for that ‘roach. Maybe something with a Pontiac dart (arrowhead) on it or a some kind of Mopar…
This Citation is a sort of Christmas fruit cake. It looks like hell on the outside but decent on the inside. That still doesn’t mean it tastes good.
This is the perfect teenager car. It’s homely, slow, a stick shift, so they can learn how to drive stick, and will build loads of character. I always tell people that after you teach at McNair middle school for a year, nothing worse can happen to you for the rest of your life. That has been very true. If you have a 1981 citation in 2021 as your first car, nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of your life and you will sail through untroubled by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
I’m guessing if it survived this long, someone painstakingly corrected all the factory issued standard defects and it might be pretty solid now.
When I was a kid, my best friend’s family added the one of these to their driveway as a more efficient alternative to the Pontiac Grand Safari and Buick Park Avenue in the garage. The Citation was a certified pile of junk from day one, but us kids were just weirded out that the windows rolled down and up in an opposite rotation than every other car on the planet.
If this had a V6 in it I’d be all over it. I really would. See if my family{s dood luck with X-cars still holds 40 years later.
I had a 1980 Buick Skylark with the infamous Iron Duke in it; one day it started pinging so off to the dealer it went. They kept it overnight and called me the next day that the pinging was caused by carbon buildup in the cylinder head. The dealer added some type of additive which eliminated the problem, at least for a while. The engine repeated the noise again-back to the dealer for more additive. It was absolutely the worst vehicle I ever owned, and I swore after it never to buy a GM car again.
This was an odd bird of a find. More of a turkey than a Christmas bird, though, eh?
My ’81 Westy has almost identical mileage. I know that the previous owner weathered a period of eight years where it only logged 200 miles. My guess is that this Citation sat hibernating for a long time.
Savageatl offered up the idea that this would have been a perfect teenager’s car. I agree! It seems like the kind of hand-me-down that would have populated my high school’s parking lot…25 years ago. But yes, it would be a cool car to learn how to shift on. Sort of the ugly stepsister to David Saunders’ Fiero.
Euphemism of the week: “sheet metal lightening applique”.
Is this Iron Duke week at CC? This makes two in a row after yesterdays’ Astre…
Having driven an ’82 Phoenix for years, I know my Citation clones pretty well. Thus, must note:
a) This car does not have the standard issue Citation hubcaps but rather the popular full-coverage upgrade. The standard Citation came with the dog dishes shown below. Trivia: the exposed six-slot steel wheels surrounding them (sometimes with trim rings) were body color in 1980, black in 1981, and metallic charcoal in 1982. 1983-85 used the new A/J-car wheels. I found this out when one of my wheels got stolen.
b) Note that this car has no A/C, which gave GM permission to axe some of the dash vents. I’m impressed Chevy didn’t cheap out and use a plug to fill the hole in the far right of the dash, instead opting for two separate dash pads for A/C or non-A/C cars.
c) The console tray was new in 1981, required by law because there was no seat belt in that position and thus GM had to prevent someone from sitting there. This was the rule for back seats too starting the same year, which is why the J2000 from earlier this week had a split rear seat cushion.
d) The amber rear turn signals have nothing to do with whether it’s an early or late 1981 car. All Citations had red rear turn signals unless the custom exterior trim group was optioned, in which case it got the amber rear lights as well as extra chrome trim around the wheel openings, windows, and door sill area.
e) P185/80R13 tires are indeed hard to find nowadays – the only ones Tire Rack sells are for trailers. A search on Amazon yielded two brands of car tires in that size – Maxxis and Westlake. Both whitewalls. The optional size was P205/70R13 which were rare even then and are pretty much unobtainium now.
f) The Iron Duke was durable but very lethargic, calls by your right foot being answered more by a groan than any discernable extra power. My 1982 car at least had throttle-body fuel injection which while maligned at the time was still a huge improvement reliability-wise from the 1980-81 carburetor.
g) This car is missing the luggage area side plastic trim for some reason, which was standard on Citation hatchbacks as was carpeting. A light with its own on/off switch was optional. It was nicely trimmed back there. Oddly, the cargo area cover was standard on Citations but optional on the base Phoenix. GM being GM, they designed completely different luggage area trim pieces for non-cover Phoenixes; the cover could not be easily retrofitted to cars not originally so equipped.
h) This fully color-keyed maroon cloth interior still looks better than the drab grey leather found in 90% of 2020 models, and is quite roomy and easy to see out of.
Damn, if I lived a bit closer, I would be all over this Citation. I’d bring it to Texas and roam the freeways with it!
I just received a Malört (infamous Chicago liqueur) gift box from a friend. The slogan on the side seems oddly appropriate for this car.
I’d be wary of jumping on this too quickly without doing more research. After all, it has a stick, so it must have been the “sport” version, likely flogged on tracks and back roads by young hooligans. Are there irreversible performance mods? Do the numbers even match?!?!
So what are the odds? After Vince C’s Monte Carlo article, we have this one from Jim Klein on the ’81 Citation.
And what car replaced my mother’s ’73 Monte Carlo? You guessed it, a Citation like this one, except hers was silver with the same maroon (but all-vinyl) interior, V6, and automatic. What else when 2 oil shocks intervene between cars?
As a 2nd-year Citation, hers was surprisingly reliable, although she didn’t drive all that much by that time. It did develop the common “morning sickness,” where the power steering provide little assist on startup on cold mornings, and she had to carry a broom handle in the back as a prop rod for the hatchback.
My sister had a Mutation. It was surprisingly a comfortable car. She was lucky it was destroyed by an RTD bus before it gave her any problems.
That my friend is basically a rolling lump of coal. Approximately posted on Christmas 😜
Merry Christmas to all and thanks for the daily posts
I feel like I need to at least say a few positive words about the Citation we had for a while. I don’t remember the year although It was an X11, which I don’t think was available in the first year. Our oldest daughter drove this car back and forth to high school. The high school she attended was on the edge of town and the road past the high school had a fairly high speed limit. I think it was 50. Down from the high school about a half mile was a signal light. My daughter was stopped at that light along with a number of other cars, as high school had just let out. She was the last car in the line up. Along comes a Chevrolet Blazer, driven by another student. He drove into the back of the Citation. There were no skid makes, so he was probably going close to the speed limit. The Citation then hit the car in front of her. The rapid deceleration of the Blazer caused a Chev PU to run into the back of the Blazer, who then hit the Citation again, which hit the car in front of it again. The Citation was towed to a storage lot. I went down to look at it and there was not a body panel that was not bent. Both the front and rear were bent down and the passenger compartment sat about a foot higher than normal. The front passenger compartment was largely intact. So the good news in this was the daughter was unhurt. She was stiff for a couple of days, but that was it. I’m not sure many other cars of the time would take this kind of a beating and still protect the driver, but I’m sure glad the Citation kept my daughter unhurt through this ordeal.
Guess I dodged this bullet, I was looking for a FWD car in 1981, after my 1974 Datsun 710 slid on black ice on I89 (maybe exactly 40 years ago?) when I was driving to my Parents’ home in Shelburne VT. from my first job after college in Massachusetts. I looked at Plymouth Reliant (just came out that year) and a Pontiac Phoenix, but probably not the Citation (though my Dad owned a ’78 Caprice Classic wagon at the time I didn’t consider Chevrolet for myself). Guess I wasn’t tied to a specific size; also couldn’t quite afford to buy new (which most of the FWD vehicles seemed to be back then, as RWD was still common) and wanted something sportier, so I bought a used ’78 VW Scirocco, still the favorite of the cars I’ve owned (though I’ve only had 5 cars in 47 years of driving so far).
Still I really like at least the “idea” of these today, there really isn’t a midsized hatchback from any manufacturer. A few years later they came out with the Camry Hatch, but by the time I was looking for the replacement for the Scirocco, it was no longer sold, though I did look at the Accord Hatch (which also soon disappeared) as well as the 626 hatch (guess it has come back but disappeared for years in between).
Seems like I have a timing issue; by the time I’m ready to buy the model that I’m interested in is no longer being sold.
I had driven the ’78 version of the predecessor for these cars when working as a transporter at Hertz but of course they were RWD, but not nearly as fragile as these ended up being. Guess that’s part of the price of being an early adopter.