The Car Thread

[Blueberry]

Paging Mr. S - you can finally talk about your zoom-zoom on TE

[Mr. Bloom]

I won't say I'm a "car nut", but I have some zoom zoom too!



I'm the second owner, and my mechanics, Hans and Jorn, love me because I believe in fixing things and fixing them well. I have every receipt and piece of paper work going back to the sticker from late '68!

However, I am still getting used to having a car classified for insurance purposes as an ANTIQUE - it's 6 years younger than me

But, I feel fortunate to own a car that I've admired since I was 10 years old!

And my Madone fits in the trunk (when I leave the spare tire at home)

[Tuckervill]

What's a "wink" mirror?

I have never been a big car freak, but I have owned 4 red Beetles in my life time and I do know a lot about them. I really appreciate the New Beetle people and the Honda Element people I've met through the clubs I've encountered online. Such fun.

I was way more into my New Beetle than the Element. The Element doesn't require any extra knowledge because it's a Honda, but the Beetle...you HAVE to know how to change your own headlights, or pay the dealer $100, and it's NOT easy!

Karen

[melissam]

My dream car has always been the Porsche 911. For me, it has everything -- good lucks, fantastic handling, a bit of oomph, and some quirkiness (air cooled rear engine, anyone? )

I promised myself I'd by a 911 when I graduated from college. So, upon getting my first "real" job after graduation, I went to the Porsche dealership and found out that the payments would take up most of my paycheck. That didn't even include insurance and maintenance.

I had to go with Plan B for a while -- non-Porsche sports/sporty cars. I bought a Pontiac Fiero GT (not as bad as its reputation, it was my Porsche in training), a Ford Probe GT, an MGB. All were nice enough cars, but they were no Porsche 911.

After over 10 years of "real" jobs, I could afford a 911 and its upkeep, and still make the mortgage payments. I bought a used '90 911 and have enjoyed it for the past 10 years. We've been to a few track days and autocrosses. For a while it was my daily driver, now it is in semi-retirement in the garage.

Here's my car doing what it does best at an autocross school, with me in the driver's seat:

[mayanorange]

VW Scirocco junkie here... I went through 3 of them and there's a new 2009 (the last one was 1992ish) coming out soon! I'm sooooo excited.



Currently driving a Pontiac Vibe, which is fun too, but nothing beat my old 16V zoom zoom

[reddDesign]

Very nice! I almost bought an older Merc...included a hard top and a brand new soft top...but at the time needed some welding done. Looking back I probably should have gotten it, but it wasn't right at the time.

What's a "wink" mirror?

A wink mirror is a full length, paneled rear view mirror ala:


My mirror fell off so, since I do a lot of driving and road rallies, I opted for that style instead.

I had to go with Plan B for a while -- non-Porsche sports/sporty cars. I bought a Pontiac Fiero GT (not as bad as its reputation, it was my Porsche in training), a Ford Probe GT, an MGB. All were nice enough cars, but they were no Porsche 911.

Awesome...funnily enough...I love Fiero's, my 3rd car was a Probe GT (the motor/trans from that is in my car now!) and a good friend of mine owns an MGB...was his daily for awhile.

VW Scirocco junkie here... I went through 3 of them and there's a new 2009 (the last one was 1992ish) coming out soon! I'm sooooo excited.

Ever checked out the durocco? http://www.durocco.com/

[redrhodie]

I drive a 13 year old beater that I feel safe in, but my bikes are hot!

[reddDesign]

Hey now...my car is 16 years old and my daily driver, and cost half as much as my bike

[Karma007]

I drive a 13 year old beater that I feel safe in, but my bikes are hot!

That's funny! When I moved back to CA, I didn't want a car at all, but bf thought it was a good idea. I have a 1998 Mustang, in black. It looks really sharp, especially w/ the bike rack and my red/white/black bike on the back. It's just too big for me. I have a hard time seeing out the window and parking.

[ZenSojourner]

My dream car has always been the Porsche 911. For me, it has everything -- good lucks, fantastic handling, a bit of oomph, and some quirkiness (air cooled rear engine, anyone? )

Oh yeah, I had one of those in college. It was in a '69 VW Fastback.

I loved that car. It was my first car that RAN. We'll ignore the Mercury Comet that never ran, bought on the advice of a bf who of course never fixed it.

And I learned my lesson. I learned to fix things on that car MYSELF.

Ah, the happy memories, me on my back, scrunched up under the car with a half a hacksaw blade, sawing the hose clamps off the fuel lines so I could replace them . . . me on my back, scrunched up under the car with a socket wrench, removing the oil screen so I could change the oil . . . me on my back, scrunched up . . . well, you get the picture.

You know, I haven't owned a car since that I could get under without having it on a lift.

I bought a book, "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive". It was spiral bound, in black and white, and it told you EVERYTHING about your VW, up to and including step by step instructions for how to tear down and rebuild the engine. I was chasing the Snap-On man around town, looking for that one elusive specialty tool I needed that nobody else sold (it was some kind of specialty torque wrench) so I could accomplish the engine rebuild, when I opened the trunk one day (which was on the FRONT of the car) and found myself looking at the tire, and I don't mean the spare.

Turns out the only reason the car had held together as long as it had was because the extra heavy duty trunk liner was holding the chunks of rust together.

I loved that car. The owner's manual was in German. It had been bought by a service man or woman IN GERMANY and then shipped back stateside, in fact I found an old driver's license (long expired) when cleaning the car out one day with a picture of a pretty young black woman in uniform. The first thing I found after I bought the car was an ashtray full of illegal drugs - apparently one of the mechanics at the dealership where I bought it had thought it was a safe place to hide his stash. I was about to throw it all out when my older brother offered to do it for me. Well, I'm sure he disposed of them SOME way (I was young and naive and it never occurred to me what he intended or I'd have flushed them myself, but I was honestly afraid to touch them).

That car had a NAME. Oh, I've named cars on occasion since - the Tetanusmobile, the TestosteroneMobile - but not like this. This car had a PERSONAL name.

Lola. Because "whatever Lola wants, Lola gets".

I remember rejoicing when the odometer turned over 100k miles. I remember long drives in the winter - well they SEEMED like long drives - with me wrapped in 2 quilts, bundled up in a heavy parka and mittens, ice scraper in one hand and the window open because the air cooled engine didn't work up enough heat to defrost either the window OR the driver. So I would alternate scraping off the ice forming on the inside of the windshield with scraping off the ice forming on the OUTSIDE of the window. A running joke among my friends was me getting a speeding ticket in winter: "But officer, I'm telling the truth - I HAD to go 60 in that 35 mph zone because the heater won't work if I don't!" The only warm spot in the car in winter was the rear seat, right over the heat exchangers.

I was pissed because JC Whitney cashed the check I sent them for parts AFTER they had gone into bankruptcy (this was 'way back before the internet would warn you about things like that). They were my prime source for parts, I was waiting for some stuff that was supposed to turbo-charge my heat exchangers.

I once snapped off a stud when replacing the oil screen after an oil change and gave myself a huge goose-egg on my forehead, the morning of a family Xmas get together. Boy did my older sister pi ss and moan about how I ruined the family pictures (and that gives you some idea of HER personality, that all she cared about was "ruined" pictures, not that I might have given myself a concussion).

Oh Lola, Lola, Lola! Fond remembrances! It's a lost and lorn woman I am these 29 years since your passing. There'll always be that Lola-shaped hole in my heart where you rested easy while you were with me! Wherever you've gone must be car heaven, for in what universe could justice and mercy exist were it otherwise? You were my chariot of fire, who carried me forth boldly and brought me home safely. You saw me through lean times when selling my plasma for grocery money was the only way to keep from starving. It was in you I learned to drive, and to love driving stick. You were a forgiving teacher and easy on the pocketbook back when gas prices lurched from 35c to over FIFTY CENTS A GALLON (29 mpg, thank the lord!)

Wherever you are, may God hold you in the palm of his hand, but never clench his fist too tight!

[Mr. Bloom]

And I learned my lesson. I learned to fix things on that car MYSELF.

Good for you ZenSo!

So, in 1986, Silver and a couple of women from work took AUTO MECHANICS

Although she bought all the stuff to change her own oil, she only did that once (and I think I just saw the filter wrench in the garage...20 years later)

But, where it served us well was when we bought a 1987 Mazda 626. It totally disarmed the saleman that:

• While Mr. Silver is sitting in the front seat playing with the stereo,
• Silver is under the hood talking with him about "rack and pinion" this and "fuel injected" that

I realized that we were on to something, so we decided (over HER objections) that SHE needed to negotiate the price!

Well, we knew this was good when she laid out a price...and the salesman said "SHOULDN'T I BE TALKING WITH YOUR HUSBAND?" and she said "Nope, this is the deal..."

To this day, I'm absolutely convinced that we got the car for less than invoice (because she got twice as much on our trade as it was worth...)

But, that was a different day...

[reddDesign]

Mazda 626 Was it the older two door one?

I have a soft spot for Mazdas...clearly...

Oh and Zen...my car's name is Macy

[sundial]

I was way more into my New Beetle than the Element. The Element doesn't require any extra knowledge because it's a Honda, but the Beetle...you HAVE to know how to change your own headlights, or pay the dealer $100, and it's NOT easy!

I drove a 1984 Volkswagon Thing. The engine was in the rear and the front was the trunk so to speak. Our family piled into that car and drove 1000's of miles on a vacation. And dad always had his repair manual ready. Of the cars we owned in the 80's, the VW was the easiest to repair. I wanted to take auto mechanics in high school but my parents wouldn't have any of that!

[mayanorange]

I drove a 1984 Volkswagon Thing. The engine was in the rear and the front was the trunk so to speak. Our family piled into that car and drove 1000's of miles on a vacation. And dad always had his repair manual ready. Of the cars we owned in the 80's, the VW was the easiest to repair. I wanted to take auto mechanics in high school but my parents wouldn't have any of that!

So jealous you had a Thing! I had the opportunity to buy one a long time ago and it was too much for a HS student, but a steal because it had 12000 original miles.

[crazycanuck]

We recently novated a Toyota Hilux after many moons of trying to decide what vehicle to get. Ian spent quite a few months up on site around mining vehicles & the Hilux won him over. I love it as it's fast , holds our mtn bikes nicely, doggie goes well in the tray & people give us room on the roads. If a rough chick or dude on a mining site in Australia can't break the vehicle, must be good!!!

Prior to owning the Hilux, we mainly had second hand vehicles and all oddly enough have been Toyotas.