Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

I recall back in 1979 when my parents were shopping for something to replace the 1969 Volvo, we looked at a Chevette, an Omni (what they ended up buying) and a 2 door Mercury (Zephyr? The version of the fairmont). Not sure why one was a 2 door. All stick shifts. Only remember those 3, but there could have been something else being considered.

You can see where some of my taste in cars came from!

venture

qbrozen said:

venture said:

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

whatever works. and putting the battery under a seat, is nuts.

Under the front passenger seat in the ML63. What I find really absurd is that it is a power seat with no manual override. Now figure out what to do if seat is all the way back when battery dies?

There is a post under the hood, but I can say with confidence that it is not directly connected to the battery.

I saw an ad for a generator the other day that said it had electric start.

Ha. Well, mine has that. It has a car battery. It runs a check cycle once a week to make sure the battery is charged, etc.

Yeah. That makes sense. It didn't make any sense they way they worded it though. I was picturing wrapping a rope around it and yanking on it.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

I like the looks of the 2021 Ford Bronco;

I prefer my car to be more decisive in its choice of color.

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

That is pretty stupid.

There is an old saying that goes "If it's stupid but works then it isn't stupid."

snakeweasel

venture said:

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

whatever works. and putting the battery under a seat, is nuts.

Under the front passenger seat in the ML63. What I find really absurd is that it is a power seat with no manual override. Now figure out what to do if seat is all the way back when battery dies?

There is a post under the hood, but I can say with confidence that it is not directly connected to the battery.

I saw an ad for a generator the other day that said it had electric start.

The electric start could be battery powered.

fintail

Wasn't the power door ideal a thing in the Caddy XLR or maybe a period Corvette? And some guy got locked in it for a long period?

E55 had battery under the rear seat, and when the car was sold at 11 years old, still on the original battery.

Regarding the Omni, your parents made the wise choice out of that group.

stickguy said:

I think there are some cars that have electric openers (trunk or doors?) where if the battery dies, you can't get in to actually get at the battery.

venture

snakeweasel said:

venture said:

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

whatever works. and putting the battery under a seat, is nuts.

Under the front passenger seat in the ML63. What I find really absurd is that it is a power seat with no manual override. Now figure out what to do if seat is all the way back when battery dies?

There is a post under the hood, but I can say with confidence that it is not directly connected to the battery.

I saw an ad for a generator the other day that said it had electric start.

The electric start could be battery powered.

Yeah. It was. It just sounded weird.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

I like the looks of the 2021 Ford Bronco;

I prefer my car to be more decisive in its choice of color.

But you never get tired of the color

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

I like the looks of the 2021 Ford Bronco;

I prefer my car to be more decisive in its choice of color.

But you never get tired of the color

It’s gotta be distracting to get caught behind that thing.🤨

jmonroe

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

qbrozen said:

Never heard of an Isuzu i-mark

I think mostly Buick dealers sold Isuzus.

https://youtu.be/nJMq_7alQpU

graphicguy

Sincerely thank you all for the well wishes. You guys don’t know how much I depended upon having your posts read to me when things were going sideways.

I was/am really surprised how accurate my iPad’s voice recognition accuracy is.

As my late Father used to say...”the only thing you can control in your life is your attitude. Every day when you wake up, you alone decide whether you’re going to be in a good mood, or a bad mood. Choose the good mood.”

I try to live by those words....some days not so successfully.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

Wasn't the power door ideal a thing in the Caddy XLR or maybe a period Corvette? And some guy got locked in it for a long period?

E55 had battery under the rear seat, and when the car was sold at 11 years old, still on the original battery.

Regarding the Omni, your parents made the wise choice out of that group.

stickguy said:

I think there are some cars that have electric openers (trunk or doors?) where if the battery dies, you can't get in to actually get at the battery.

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Wasn't the power door ideal a thing in the Caddy XLR or maybe a period Corvette? And some guy got locked in it for a long period?

E55 had battery under the rear seat, and when the car was sold at 11 years old, still on the original battery.

Regarding the Omni, your parents made the wise choice out of that group.

stickguy said:

I think there are some cars that have electric openers (trunk or doors?) where if the battery dies, you can't get in to actually get at the battery.

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

Whats a GLH? Goofy Little Honda?

tjc78

Shelby Omni GLH .... “Goes Like Hell”

tjc78

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/dodge-omni-glh/amp/

Michaell

And there was the GLH-S....

Goes Like Hell ... S'More

fintail

My dad had his for around 5 years. I don't recall any real issues with it (I was pretty young though), and long after it was gone, he'd remark about its prowess in the snow. I recall him driving it flat out, too.

snakeweasel said:

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

stickguy

my parents first on did not last long (I think it had engine issues leading to burning oil). For some reason they got a replacement, which was a bit nicer. At least had cloth seats. That one I think was mechanically OK (and had the updated engine, I think it went from a 1.6 to a different design 1.7). My wife (before we married) got a Horizon with the 2.2 AT. That was a hotrod in comparison, and still the best car I have ever driven in the snow.

tjc78

My Dad had a Horizon with the 2.2 along with my Mom’s Charger with the same engine. The Horizon got traded for an 86 Shelby Charger. I know I’ve said it before but being a child of the 80s I still love the Shelby.

qbrozen

Given the majority of '80s products, it is kind of surprising enthusiasts came out of our generation at all. lol.

Thankfully, '50s and '60s stuff was big at that time, too.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

Given the majority of '80s products, it is kind of surprising enthusiasts came out of our generation at all. lol.

Thankfully, '50s and '60s stuff was big at that time, too.

I had an '82 Accord.. great car.

1st Gen MR2?
Buick GNX?
BMW E30?
'85 Supra?

A lot of good stuff in the '80s (as long as you don't break it down to percentages)..

fintail

Most of MB's range in the 80s was pretty good - maybe the time when the brand was at the pinnacle of its cachet. Most models were more expensive then than now, relative to incomes, I think - it was more exclusive, and I think had better resale too.

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

qbrozen said:

Given the majority of '80s products, it is kind of surprising enthusiasts came out of our generation at all. lol.

Thankfully, '50s and '60s stuff was big at that time, too.

I had an '82 Accord.. great car.

1st Gen MR2?
Buick GNX?
BMW E30?
'85 Supra?

A lot of good stuff in the '80s (as long as you don't break it down to percentages)..

Like I said: majority. lol.
But even the good stuff was only RELATIVELY good. Sure, the GNX was quick. Like today's family sedan quick. But don't forget GM's deplorable build quality. The RX7, MR2, and E30 handle great and are fun, but totally lack any power. The Supra and 300z were heavy tourers. I think any of these are cooler now than they were then, but the emissions and safety standards were moving faster than designers and engineers could reasonably keep up with, and the results speak for themselves.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

My dad had his for around 5 years. I don't recall any real issues with it (I was pretty young though), and long after it was gone, he'd remark about its prowess in the snow. I recall him driving it flat out, too.

snakeweasel said:

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

It was great in the snow, if you couldn't drive through it you just drove over it.

andres3

Social media pompous:

Audi is as guilty as any German brand lately.

Facebook posts that come to mind:

Man #1 (Responding to a CHP post about a Civic going 132 MPH and getting a speeding ticket): At that speed it it takes a long time to come to a stop, The Civic's brakes are inadequate, because even with 6-piston calipers and 15.6" rotors in my Audi S8 I've noticed this.




Audi Guy #1: The dealer wants to charge me $XXXX$$$ (very high stealership figure) for a brake job on my '17 S6. Am I being ripped off?

Audi Guy #2: I changed my brakes for $XXX (very low do it yourself price probably using bargain parts) doing all the work myself in my garage on my '95 A4.

Audi Guy #3: Because those cars are remotely comparable. IDIOT!

Audi Guy #2 : Wow. Hi. F*** you too!

Sandman6472

I bought a 1976 Buick Opel produced by Izuzu and let me tell ya, it was just AWFUL!!! I didn't have enough $ to buy a new vehicle with an automatic and since I didn't want to drive a manual, our friends were selling a 1976 Datsun B-210 sedan in Orange, I went with the Opel. It was the first year the Japanese made it and it was slow. The a/c kept blowing fuses and freon so it never really worked properly. But the kiss of death happened on my first day of training at the post office in West Palm Beach Florida. As I was on the entrance ramp to I-95 off Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., I hear noises under me, the car loses power and the tranny is dropping out of the car in pieces!! It was a nightmare truthfully. It was towed back to an Aamco tranny store and my dad paid for the repairs as I hadn't even gotten a paycheck yet. This was on December 27th of 1980.
Within the next few weeks, the two front axles broke and needed replacement. The beginning of February, I found an ex-rental in Delray Beach, a 1979 Datsun B-210 hatchback with an automatic and bought it. Traded the Izuzu Opel and took out a small loan of $2500, and never looked back! Tried to get a loan from the folks but, they told me to go suck an egg...they were super pissed I took the post office job and quit school. A loan was my only option so, that's what I did. We paid it off that September the day after we came home from our honeymoon. The Datsun was a superior vehicle in every way, maroon over striped black, gray & white seats...and I was in heaven. Eventually, I put on American Racing rims and tweaked the audio system and generally enjoyed it. At least it was a more reliable vehicle though over the next seven or so years, my mechanic got to know it very well!

Sandman6472

GG, great attitude there, the "making lemonade out of lemons" is the best way to go. I commend you on that. No one knows what life will hand us and one's attitude is what makes or breaks us. Am positively sure no one's life is 100% perfect, we ll have our own sh-t to deal with but it's how one deals which makes all the difference. I know we're truly blessed and I thank G-d daily for what he/she has given us. But, I've always been a more optimistic creature, always looking for the good in every situation.
Just take one day at a time now. Retiring was the best thing you did and seems your support system is great. Keep the upbeat attitude no matter what. My grandma used to tell us a story from her Yiddish grandma that if everyone put their problems in a hat and got to choose just one, one would want their original problems back. That was the jist of the story I guess, that if given the choice, most would keep what they originally had.
So stay positive and am very sure, good things will happen to you!

driver100

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Wasn't the power door ideal a thing in the Caddy XLR or maybe a period Corvette? And some guy got locked in it for a long period?

E55 had battery under the rear seat, and when the car was sold at 11 years old, still on the original battery.

Regarding the Omni, your parents made the wise choice out of that group.

stickguy said:

I think there are some cars that have electric openers (trunk or doors?) where if the battery dies, you can't get in to actually get at the battery.

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

The 1985 and 1986 Omni GLHs gained an optional 146-bhp turbo 2.2-liter engine, with torque in abundance - 170 lb-ft at just 3,600 rpm. That was a huge difference, making the pedestrian Omni into a hard-charging little car, given its light weight. The performance was accompanied by alloy wheels, tape décor, and ground effects.

With the non-turbocharged engine, the 1985 Omni GLH had a 0-60 time of 8.7 seconds (quick for the time) with a 16.7 second (81 mph) quarter mile. It needed premium gas, with or without turbo; but it beat the image-leading Volkswagen GTI by a full second, zero to sixty.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Wasn't the power door ideal a thing in the Caddy XLR or maybe a period Corvette? And some guy got locked in it for a long period?

E55 had battery under the rear seat, and when the car was sold at 11 years old, still on the original battery.

Regarding the Omni, your parents made the wise choice out of that group.

stickguy said:

I think there are some cars that have electric openers (trunk or doors?) where if the battery dies, you can't get in to actually get at the battery.

As a college student on a budget I had an Omni, then an GLH and that car was fun to drive.

The 1985 and 1986 Omni GLHs gained an optional 146-bhp turbo 2.2-liter engine, with torque in abundance - 170 lb-ft at just 3,600 rpm. That was a huge difference, making the pedestrian Omni into a hard-charging little car, given its light weight. The performance was accompanied by alloy wheels, tape décor, and ground effects.

With the non-turbocharged engine, the 1985 Omni GLH had a 0-60 time of 8.7 seconds (quick for the time) with a 16.7 second (81 mph) quarter mile. It needed premium gas, with or without turbo; but it beat the image-leading Volkswagen GTI by a full second, zero to sixty.

The Omni GLH had a turbo charged engine, the regular Omni didn't have the turbo, the GLHS was a modified GLH that had a few extra ponies and shaved a fraction of a second off the GLH 0-60 time.

tjc78

That’s a bad picture too. Painted wheels, extra trim and red stripe. This one is more stock, although not the correct wheels. These wheels were from later models. I know the Shadow turbos had them

stickguy

I would take one of those for the right price. Definitely a unique spare car!

Getting something weird from back in that day crosses my mind at times, but I have no idea where I would find something decent enough to have it make sense. But a 1980s Corolla SR5 of some sort? Celica GT? Sure.

Basically going back and looking at stuff that I test drove at that time and didn't buy for one reason or another (usually $ of course).

bwia

Sandman6472 said:

GG, great attitude there, the "making lemonade out of lemons" is the best way to go. I commend you on that. No one knows what life will hand us and one's attitude is what makes or breaks us. Am positively sure no one's life is 100% perfect, we ll have our own sh-t to deal with but it's how one deals which makes all the difference. I know we're truly blessed and I thank G-d daily for what he/she has given us. But, I've always been a more optimistic creature, always looking for the good in every situation.
Just take one day at a time now. Retiring was the best thing you did and seems your support system is great. Keep the upbeat attitude no matter what. My grandma used to tell us a story from her Yiddish grandma that if everyone put their problems in a hat and got to choose just one, one would want their original problems back. That was the jist of the story I guess, that if given the choice, most would keep what they originally had.
So stay positive and am very sure, good things will happen to you!

@GG, I strongly support that sentiment. Remember, in all of this is your lady friend and designated night driver. By any metric, she is a saint. Sometimes, caregivers are underappreciated, don't make the mistake of relying too heavily on her generosity, even if she insists. Use Uber or Lyft as much as possible, especially for social outings. Stay well my brother.

qbrozen

wound up down the rabbit hole. Here are a couple that grabbed my interest.

Yeah, it is only a 6-cyl, but a damned reliable and torquey one.

And another manual 6-cyl coupe, but even more rare.

stickguy

oh my Goodness, I love that red AMX. Brings back memories of my '75 (I think) Hornet hatch. That was the big 6 with a 3 speed on the floor (a conversion from column I think). I would love having it! Though I am sure it drives like a truck and the seats suck.

never heard of that Ford before. Interesting, likely fun, but I would be seriously worried about finding parts!

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

That’s a bad picture too. Painted wheels, extra trim and red stripe. This one is more stock, although not the correct wheels. These wheels were from later models. I know the Shadow turbos had them

Are you sure that paint stripper didn’t come to a grinding halt with a right front wheel weight that size? I’d never allow a weight that size to be put on any car I owned. I have a tale about this but I won’t burden you guys with it now; maybe on a slow day.

jmonroe

graphicguy

Again, thanks all for the kind wishes and advice. All very appreciated.

The GF owns her own bridal service/salon/spa. Believe it or not, she's knee deep in work. Her bridal business took a serious hit, but damned if the fairer gender will be bound and determined to keep coifed, colored and shorn, even during a pandemic.

I gave her a girls weekend at a resort within driving distance for Christmas. She asked what I was going to do while she's gone. I told her not to worry about me. I'll find something to do. She retorted ".....that's what I'm afraid of....".

She knows me well.

tjc78

I didn’t even notice that. Do those types of weights even get used anymore? I’d think they have all gone to the sticky inner wheel weights.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

I didn’t even notice that. Do those types of weights even get used anymore? I’d think they have all gone to the sticky inner wheel weights.

they get used by me. lol.
The sticky ones are annoying, although sometimes necessary. I have both in my tool chest, but always reach for the hanging type first. I NEVER put them on the outside, though.

fintail

That AMX has to be extraordinarily rare these days, but being on BaT, it'll probably go for 50% over normal market value (either that or be ignored, BaT has no middle ground).

Thinking of hot Omnis and Shadows, I remember my brother had a V6 Sundance Duster, which I think had the same engine from the V6 minivans. I'd imagine it had terrible torque steer, but my brother loved it. Can't recall when I last saw one on the road.

And an image of a not so hot Omnirizon, the blue one at right is my dad's car. I took this pic when I was a little kid, with a Polaroid instamatic camera - I am lucky to have this pic, as my parents didn't take pics of their cars, so the only images are randoms like this. I don't know the year, but my mom's T-Bird (at left) conked out in 1985, so that's an end date. Not sure what's in the driveway, maybe my grandpa's Chrysler:

sda

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/hu/5etdcze36hep.png" alt="" /

I posted a pic of the Shelby GLH in 5/20 in the Auto Brochures forum. Go there to see more detail.

tjc78

@fintail
My Aunt had a 94 Shadow Es (hunter green with gold decals of course) with the 3.0 Mitsubishi engine and 4 speed. It was a quick little car and yes it torque steered almost as bad a late 90s Maxima.

tjc78

Since we are on a bit of audio discussion lately...

Here is a great way to tame a crazy day in the home office. Chris Stapleton on vinyl. Maybe I’ll get a side in before the next crisis!

abacomike

Well, was vaccinated with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at 1:15 PM with no side effects noted. Sure saw a lot of old people at the clubhouse getting their shots.

Got there at 12:40 PM and after waiting in several different lines and filling out paperwork, the deed was done. They gave me an appointment card for January 28th (21 days after the first shot), to return same time - but won’t have to fill out any more paperwork.

The vaccinations were administered by Broward County Health Department. Sure glad the first shot is over with.

driver100

Call me crazy, The AMC was really nice, and the German Ford was pretty cool although very difficult to get parts for it......but, I would prefer to drive around in one of these.....$25k, 84K miles;

[Deleted User]

Now that's pretty slick! Although, with the way people drive around here these days, I'd be afraid to take it out! Were those hardtop convertibles?

qbrozen

driver100 said:

Call me crazy, The AMC was really nice, and the German Ford was pretty cool although very difficult to get parts for it......but, I would prefer to drive around in one of these.....$25k, 84K miles;

Better be a showcar for $25k.

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

Since we are on a bit of audio discussion lately...

Here is a great way to tame a crazy day in the home office. Chris Stapleton on vinyl. Maybe I’ll get a side in before the next crisis!

Digging that.......a lot!

graphicguy

driver100 said:

Call me crazy, The AMC was really nice, and the German Ford was pretty cool although very difficult to get parts for it......but, I would prefer to drive around in one of these.....$25k, 84K miles;

Probably my favorite version of the T-Bird!

ab348

dad23 said:

Now that's pretty slick! Although, with the way people drive around here these days, I'd be afraid to take it out! Were those hardtop convertibles?

No, the hardtop was a regular hardtop. It did come as a soft top convertible as well.

driver100

dad23 said:

Now that's pretty slick! Although, with the way people drive around here these days, I'd be afraid to take it out! Were those hardtop convertibles?

Dad23, I believe they were sold as hardtops or convertibles. The soft convertible roof did go into the trunk. Then there was a Roadster model with a tonneau cover.