Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

venture

oldfarmer50 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I use speed for self-defense. I suppose it is self-evident, but until I bought my 4X4 truck, I guess I never realized that drivers like to push little cars like Minis around, but lay off the big boys. Road bullies!

Funny you mention that. When I drive my wife's PT with it's girlie license plate I get cut off and generally abused. When I drive the Mustang people just seem to get out of the way.

Maybe when that see the 5.0 on the side they figure why bother trying.

When I had my BMW it was amusing to see people move to the right lane when they saw me coming. The only car (other than the Corvettes) that I owned that most people moved over for.

venture

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

My latest day dream.



Would like a convertible or removeable/T top roof to let the wind blow through my 3 hairs. Just for nice day cruising. Wouldn't have to be powerful or fancy. A 6 cyl. auto would do fine.



I always had a thing for late 90s early 2000s Camaros. Like them better than the modern versions.







I know that the latest generation is superior in every way but I can't bring myself to like the style.

Have you ever driven one? I found it pretty incredibly awful. The build quality is atrocious and the interior more suited to a Yugo.

My brother used to have one. It was very fast and incredibly loud and I agree 100% with what you said.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I could live with a convertible Camaro of that generation.

for you, probably cheaper to trade the Mustang in on a convertible model.

What? And not have multiple cars for every purpose? Are you daft man?

oldfarmer50

My posts come with a little note that says "invalid CSRF token, try again". What does this mean? My posts still appear here but things have been real glitchy loading this week. Just me?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

My latest day dream.



Would like a convertible or removeable/T top roof to let the wind blow through my 3 hairs. Just for nice day cruising. Wouldn't have to be powerful or fancy. A 6 cyl. auto would do fine.



I always had a thing for late 90s early 2000s Camaros. Like them better than the modern versions.







I know that the latest generation is superior in every way but I can't bring myself to like the style.

Have you ever driven one? I found it pretty incredibly awful. The build quality is atrocious and the interior more suited to a Yugo.

Sounds like most of my cars.

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

My 3-year old daughter blasted the Alltrack rear door open wide with her legs, and took a good little chip of paint off my TTS I think she understands my Audi is my other child now With the TTS, I have two kids.

Kids! Probably had no idea why daddy was crying.

My 30 year old won't drive the Mustang out of fear of hurting it. He understands.
f

venture

My son and his wife came for a visit last evening. The last time they were here he mentioned that he was thinking about getting something bigger so he could get the dog crate in it and, since they are expecting in October, they could also include all the baby stuff. She already has a Grand Cherokee, but I guess they wanted an option of what to take on trips.

Anyway - they showed up last night and he bought a Land Rover. Not at all what I was expecting for some reason. It's very nice (for an SUV). Hopefully it doesn't have a lot of problems. I mentioned that and he said he did a lot of research before buying it and his opinion is that dependability issues are declining. I guess we shall see.

If anyone is interested in a 2012 automatic GTI with about 55k miles on it - he is probably going to take it to CarMax next week some time. I told him to keep it for a fun car, but that wasn't met with an enthusiastic response from his wife.

driver100

venture said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I use speed for self-defense. I suppose it is self-evident, but until I bought my 4X4 truck, I guess I never realized that drivers like to push little cars like Minis around, but lay off the big boys. Road bullies!

Funny you mention that. When I drive my wife's PT with it's girlie license plate I get cut off and generally abused. When I drive the Mustang people just seem to get out of the way.

Maybe when that see the 5.0 on the side they figure why bother trying.

When I had my BMW it was amusing to see people move to the right lane when they saw me coming. The only car (other than the Corvettes) that I owned that most people moved over for.

I get a feeling driving the E400 people aren't as likely to let me into traffic....sometimes cut me off or not turn left in front of them. I find truck drivers like to cling to my rear bumper a lot, even when stopped at a light. I could be paranoid or they could be having a problem - I don't think it is just my imagination.

driver100

andres3 said:

My 3-year old daughter blasted the Alltrack rear door open wide with her legs, and took a good little chip of paint off my TTS I think she understands my Audi is my other child now With the TTS, I have two kids.

That is unfortunate....but, maybe a good time for a lesson. "If you don't want to see your daddy cry then please try to open the door more carefully". At least she is a child and doesn't know what she is doing, it is the adults who don't care about other people's property that really bother me. No thought, just slam the door open and not consider the car parked next to you.

ab348

venture said:

When I had my BMW it was amusing to see people move to the right lane when they saw me coming. The only car (other than the Corvettes) that I owned that most people moved over for.

Up here it seems most people who drive cars that park in the left lane failed to order the rear-view mirrors when they purchased them. They are oblivious to whatever may be behind them.

bwia

7 years of plenty followed by 7 yeas of famine. No?

The auto industry had seven years of booming sales and so far this year, four straight months of declining sales. Is the Pharoah's prophecy about to come to pass? Perhaps not,  but sedan sales are difinitely moving in that direction.

Americans waistline and girth are increasing at alarming rates making it difficult to enter and exit the traditional sedan, ergo the SUV and the death spiral of the sedan class. 

Seven years of famine? Not likely, but the spectacular sales levels of the last few years are not likEly to be repeated any time soon. 

driver100

Declining sales in North America are offset by increasing sales in China. Look at the sales of Cadillac in China....doubled in the last year.

Cadillac

All Models

Market
Share

2016 111.532 0,00%
2015 53.086 0,26%
2014 37.256 0,20%
2013 16.564 0,10%
2012 6.185 0,05%
2011 6.916 0,06%
2010 4.701 0,04%
2009 4.404 0,05%
2008 1.458 0,03%
2007 4.116 0,08%

The Chinese love Buicks;
2016 1.229.804 0,00%
2015 1.065.452 5,28%
2014 917.017 4,98%
2013 799.213 4,90%
2012 679.725 5,14%

Whatever sales are being lost in North America are being more than made up in China alone.

bwia

True that but half of the profits of the Chinese made cars remain in China.

By the way, I read in the Boston Globe that the station wagon is making a comeback. I haven't seen any on the road except a Volvo - fake news or wishful thinking?

qbrozen

bwia said:

7 years of plenty followed by 7 yeas of famine. No?

The auto industry had seven years of booming sales and so far this year, four straight months of declining sales. Is the Pharoah's prophecy about to come to pass? Perhaps not,  but sedan sales are difinitely moving in that direction.

Americans waistline and girth are increasing at alarming rates making it difficult to enter and exit the traditional sedan, ergo the SUV and the death spiral of the sedan class. 

Seven years of famine? Not likely, but the spectacular sales levels of the last few years are not likEly to be repeated any time soon. 

Obviously, people without weight issues are also flocking to the influx of lifted hatchbacks for a number of reasons.

Mr_Shiftright

7 year cycles of expansion and contraction in most countries operating under capitalism is actually pretty accurate historically, although the last bust seems to be hanging on longer.

The CUV seems like a good compromise for most people--but you know, when you're 2 or 3 years old, or a dog, you don't care what you're riding in as long as it's not torturous.

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

7 years of plenty followed by 7 yeas of famine. No?

The auto industry had seven years of booming sales and so far this year, four straight months of declining sales. Is the Pharoah's prophecy about to come to pass? Perhaps not,  but sedan sales are difinitely moving in that direction.

Americans waistline and girth are increasing at alarming rates making it difficult to enter and exit the traditional sedan, ergo the SUV and the death spiral of the sedan class. 

Seven years of famine? Not likely, but the spectacular sales levels of the last few years are not likEly to be repeated any time soon. 

Never was a fan of SUVs and I just lost 10 pounds. Sounds like a bargain awaits me at the dealership.

graphicguy

isellhondas said:

houdini1 said:

isellhondas said:

Any used Honda in decent condition will bring big money. If a person insists on using KBB on an exceptional one they will lose out to another eager buyer. A few models will literally break the bank.

A late 80's- early 90's Civic Wagon is a good example. If a person can possible find one with A/C, automatic and 4WD, they can name their price and get it!

1986-1991 Preludes. Find an SI and it'll break the bank. Perfect one would be a 1991 SI Automatic with A/C. Find a yellow one and you'll be in the money!

1996-2000 Civic Hatchbacks that haven't been butchered (good luck) Again, add an AT and AC and they will bring close to what they sold for new.

Any Accord - 1986-1993 EX's are the best and station wagons bring a bonus!

This said, these cars are near impossible to find. People scour the CL ads and other sources and snap these cars up. If you find one with under 150,000 miles you'll get bonus points!

I still pine for my 1979 Honda Accord 4-door. One of the first in Kansas City. 5 speed manual and 72 HP. Very peppy. Choice of color, either Ruby Red or Silver. I chose the red. A real little gem.

One of the "old timers" at our store used to tell about what it took to buy a Honda in the late 70's early 80's. The customers would come in pick the color and accessories they wanted and leave a deposit. They would pay 600.00 over MSRP with no discounting. It would take around 6 weeks before their cars arrived.

If they didn't like that they could go down the street and buy a Toyota or something else.

I was one of those people. In 1979, I walked into Concord Honda in Northern California, ready to buy an Accord Hatchback. I was told the same thing and in a very nice and polite way. I let the salesperson know that I had never paid MSRP for any car much less OVER MSRP! He understood completely and suggested that I might be just as happy with a new Celica. He was right! I walked across the street, made my selection (silver) from about a dozen they had in stock. I still remember, it had every option except automatic and I paid 7400.00 for it. It still looked and ran like new four years later when I sold it at 98,000 miles for I think 4200.00. A great little car that I replaced with a 1983 Celica GT that was nicer in some ways but not nearly the tough little car the '79 was.

I always liked the Celica. They ran well and had a hint of sportiness and looked good. Wasn't real fond of the ones that looked like a used bar of soap, but the ones before that (mid-'80s?) were really sharp.

stickguy

I had to lose 50 pounds to do it, but I can finally fit in the front seats of a Golf R! Not sure my wife will appreciate the big side bolsters though.

I have no real issue with the compact CUV craze. Giant truck based ones was always silly (for most people) but a CX5, CRV, RAV4, etc. are just compact wagon/hatches that just happen to sit up higher. And like out RDX, very useful for an only car (you ever try to bring home an assembled gas grill in a small sedan?)

Michaell

graphicguy said:

isellhondas said:

houdini1 said:

isellhondas said:

Any used Honda in decent condition will bring big money. If a person insists on using KBB on an exceptional one they will lose out to another eager buyer. A few models will literally break the bank.

A late 80's- early 90's Civic Wagon is a good example. If a person can possible find one with A/C, automatic and 4WD, they can name their price and get it!

1986-1991 Preludes. Find an SI and it'll break the bank. Perfect one would be a 1991 SI Automatic with A/C. Find a yellow one and you'll be in the money!

1996-2000 Civic Hatchbacks that haven't been butchered (good luck) Again, add an AT and AC and they will bring close to what they sold for new.

Any Accord - 1986-1993 EX's are the best and station wagons bring a bonus!

This said, these cars are near impossible to find. People scour the CL ads and other sources and snap these cars up. If you find one with under 150,000 miles you'll get bonus points!

I still pine for my 1979 Honda Accord 4-door. One of the first in Kansas City. 5 speed manual and 72 HP. Very peppy. Choice of color, either Ruby Red or Silver. I chose the red. A real little gem.

One of the "old timers" at our store used to tell about what it took to buy a Honda in the late 70's early 80's. The customers would come in pick the color and accessories they wanted and leave a deposit. They would pay 600.00 over MSRP with no discounting. It would take around 6 weeks before their cars arrived.

If they didn't like that they could go down the street and buy a Toyota or something else.

I was one of those people. In 1979, I walked into Concord Honda in Northern California, ready to buy an Accord Hatchback. I was told the same thing and in a very nice and polite way. I let the salesperson know that I had never paid MSRP for any car much less OVER MSRP! He understood completely and suggested that I might be just as happy with a new Celica. He was right! I walked across the street, made my selection (silver) from about a dozen they had in stock. I still remember, it had every option except automatic and I paid 7400.00 for it. It still looked and ran like new four years later when I sold it at 98,000 miles for I think 4200.00. A great little car that I replaced with a 1983 Celica GT that was nicer in some ways but not nearly the tough little car the '79 was.

I always liked the Celica. They ran well and had a hint of sportiness and looked good. Wasn't real fond of the ones that looked like a used bar of soap, but the ones before that (mid-'80s?) were really sharp.

My mom owned an '84 - was a great car, even though the timing belt broke and fouled the engine.

abacomike

driver100 said:

venture said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I use speed for self-defense. I suppose it is self-evident, but until I bought my 4X4 truck, I guess I never realized that drivers like to push little cars like Minis around, but lay off the big boys. Road bullies!

Funny you mention that. When I drive my wife's PT with it's girlie license plate I get cut off and generally abused. When I drive the Mustang people just seem to get out of the way.

Maybe when that see the 5.0 on the side they figure why bother trying.

When I had my BMW it was amusing to see people move to the right lane when they saw me coming. The only car (other than the Corvettes) that I owned that most people moved over for.

I get a feeling driving the E400 people aren't as likely to let me into traffic....sometimes cut me off or not turn left in front of them. I find truck drivers like to cling to my rear bumper a lot, even when stopped at a light. I could be paranoid or they could be having a problem - I don't think it is just my imagination.

Definitely paranoid!

abacomike

For as long as there has been an internet where you can buy things online, I have sworn never to purchase clothing or shoes online - after several items I ordered did not fit right - especially shoes. But earlier this week, I was forced into a situation where I had to order a pair of bedroom/house slippers online because no one carries them in a store this time of year - but rather at Christmas time.

I had scoured every imaginable store in four different shopping malls in our area and could not find any place to that carried slippers - at least a nice variety of them. So, in the face of better judgment and past experiences, I went ahead and ordered a pair of Rockport slippers from Macys' website. They carried just about the same styles as Amazon and several other outlets. I selected the size and color using their chart. I ordered a size 12 which is the same as the shoe size I wear, which is what the ordering chart showed.

I got the slippers yesterday and I tried them on. Perhaps trying them on is a poor choice of words because I couldn't actually get them on - they were at least 1 full size too small, if not a size and a half. So, I reboxed the slippers and took them to the Macys store in Boca Town Center. They took them back and issued me a full credit on my AMEX.

I chastised myself to the manager explaining that I broke a rule of mine about ordering articles of clothing or shoes online because no one seems to carry slippers this time of year - which he agreed as manager of Men's Clothing and Accessories.

I guess I'll have to wait until Christmas and will wear socks around the house until then - my current slippers are just unfit to wear any longer. Any of you guys have any ideas? I really need a pair of slippers badly.

driver100

Nah, just a super sensitive person!

ab348

In 1985 I was all ga-ga over the angular Celica fastback and actually went to the dealer to buy one. But they had a MR2 in the showroom and I fell in love with it. So I got that instead.

graphicguy

AB....can't fault you for the MR2. Liked those, also!

driver100

1985 I was driving something like this;

fintail

In 1985, my ride was something like this:



Regarding reactions of other motorists, I don't seem to have issues with my modern MB. It's a pretty ordinary car in my area though. People fawn over the old one and make room for it.

jwm40517

In 1985 I lost 1 of my 2 jobs and sold my 450 mercedes and bought a new Honda Civic for $5500. They only came in light blue and tan. No AC, 4 speed, rollup windows. In the next 4 years I put 120k miles on it with only tires and oil. It got 50MPG on interstates. The hatch back was so handy and hauled many things. I once hauled a complete (apart) small block Chevy engine back from Ashville, NC to eastern Ky . It slowed down a bit in the mountains.

I had a couple of late 70s Civics as extra cars in 1970s and were bought used for about $2500. Oddly one had AC. I put 4 studded snow tires for the winter and it would push snow up to the bumper and you could not get the rear to get out of shape.

explorerx4

Just saw something hilarious.
Went over to the front door and saw a sparrow fly out of the tailpipe of my truck!
It has been sitting all week, so I guess I better start it.

suydam

Hope there isn't a nest in it!

ab348

Geez, @driver100 , I thought you took better care of your cars than that...

roadburner

This was my 1985 daily driver:

tjc78

@fintail
My 1985 ride was pretty similar!

explorerx4

Not sure if the picture is from 1985, but I was driving this at that time.

stickguy

no pictures, but I had my 1985 Colt GTS at the time. All 68 HP and everything.

driver100

ab348 said:

Geez, @driver100 , I thought you took better care of your cars than that...

It was hard to find a 2 door model...about 80% of the Eurosports at that time were 4 doors. I was just thinking, they named it a Eurosport - great name, unfortunately it was about as far from being European as it could be.

driver100

stickguy said:

no pictures, but I had my 1985 Colt GTS at the time. All 68 HP and everything.

lol

Sorry, but a 68 hp Colt....RFLMAO

stickguy

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

no pictures, but I had my 1985 Colt GTS at the time. All 68 HP and everything.

lol

Sorry, but a 68 hp Colt....RFLMAO

it was fine. Just had to downshift to 3rd to pull long hills on the parkway. But I was able to drive on real roads without dying.

best handling car I ever had too, running on super sticky performance summer tires. Which was good, not having to slow down much for off ramps.

Michaell

1985 - I drove 3 cars that year.

First was the 1979 Sunbird I bought my senior year of HS, in 1982. Totaled it in July or August - got $2000 from the insurance company for it.

Since I only had a couple months before I graduated college, I bought a '77 Olds Omega - 350 V8, 2 door, Paid $1000 for it. Turns out it was only running on 7 of the 8 cylinders. Took two tries to pass emissions, and had to put 2 new tires on it. Probably why, to this day, I doubt my skills in buying used cars.

Sold the Olds the day I graduated college. I moved back to CA and bought a one year old '85 Honda Accord LX Hatch. 16,000 miles, 5-speed, burgundy over burgundy. I paid $8650 for it from the local Toyota dealer. Drove that car from CA to MI and back the following year on vacation.

suydam

I think we still had this in '85. It would have been on its third water pump. By #4 we gave up and got our beloved Mazda 323.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

This was my 1985 daily driver:

OK, you win.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

Geez, @driver100 , I thought you took better care of your cars than that...

It was hard to find a 2 door model...about 80% of the Eurosports at that time were 4 doors. I was just thinking, they named it a Eurosport - great name, unfortunately it was about as far from being European as it could be.

Actually the Eurosport was a step above the base Celebrity. It had a higher output 2.8L that needed premium gas and had some suspension tweaks that improved handling. My 84' was a nice ride for the time.

I didn't get my Celebrity until 87' so in 1985 I was driving this:

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

Geez, @driver100 , I thought you took better care of your cars than that...

It was hard to find a 2 door model...about 80% of the Eurosports at that time were 4 doors. I was just thinking, they named it a Eurosport - great name, unfortunately it was about as far from being European as it could be.

Actually the Eurosport was a step above the base Celebrity. It had a higher output 2.8L that needed premium gas and had some suspension tweaks that improved handling. My 84' was a nice ride for the time.

I didn't get my Celebrity until 87' so in 1985 I was driving this:

And you lose!

qbrozen

In 1985, I probably had my BMX with red mag wheels.

bwia

In 1985 this was daily driver, a Dodge Mirada. In those days I drove 35k plus miles per year, now about 5,500 miles per year. http://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/vCYAAOSwG-1W0jQN/s-l225.jpg

ab348

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Actually the Eurosport was a step above the base Celebrity. It had a higher output 2.8L that needed premium gas and had some suspension tweaks that improved handling. My 84' was a nice ride for the time.

I didn't get my Celebrity until 87' so in 1985 I was driving this:

And you lose!

I remember I had a rental Omni in '84 for a week, driving around Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and environs. It had the 2.2L engine and was quite zippy. I recall liking it a lot and it had tons of room.

stickguy

Farmer, I got married in 1985, and my wife had that exact car (well, the Horizon version). That color.

was not really a bad car. And was the best thing in the snow I have ever owned.

driver100

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Actually the Eurosport was a step above the base Celebrity. It had a higher output 2.8L that needed premium gas and had some suspension tweaks that improved handling. My 84' was a nice ride for the time.

I didn't get my Celebrity until 87' so in 1985 I was driving this:

And you lose!

I remember I had a rental Omni in '84 for a week, driving around Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and environs. It had the 2.2L engine and was quote zippy. I recall liking it a lot and it had tons of room.

Weren't those Omni/Horizons really VW Rabbits?

My brother got the first Rabbit and it was in the shop more than it was on the road.

graphicguy

Not sure I want to admit this, but in 1985 I was driving a Renault Fuego.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

Not sure if the picture is from 1985, but I was driving this at that time.

I still like that body style.  Looks like it was an LX, probably with the 5.0 Lopo 

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

In 1985 this was daily driver, a Dodge Mirada. In those days I drove 35k plus miles per year, now about 5,500 miles per year. http://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/vCYAAOSwG-1W0jQN/s-l225.jpg

Wow, I never even heard of that and I was a Chrysler fan back then. I kinda like the looks.