I have 19’s thanks to the a spec package. I hope the tires last so make it through the lease period.
I had a leaking tire, and with 30K miles on them, and an AWD vehicle, it was just better to buy a new set. I estimated we had 10K miles left, at best. Called three places and no one would repair a runflat. They used to, but not any more. I could have spent the rest of the week looking at options, but that would mean a rental car for my wife. Local tire store was able to get a set the same day.
So, $1400 later, everyone is happy. Okay, only the tire store is happy.
I remember looking at a new Bentley Arnage around 1999-2000 with 19" wheels, and was amazed something so large was on a car, even one that size. Today I'd see them on a C-class and not give it a second thought.
Just replaced 19" runflats on my wife's car, yesterday. Yikes!
My Mini had funflats when I bought it many years ago. First thing I did when they got to around 5/32 was throw them over a fence, got some go-flats, a bottle of Slime and a portable air compressor, and never looked back. Smoother ride, better handling, quieter---no downside. Perhaps runflats are better these days?
Recent post over on the cartalk forums was from an SL owner complaining about the cost of replacing his runflats, and asking about using regular tires at 1/2 the cost. He got little sympathy from the folks there, as you might imagine.
I worked with a guy that had a mini S. He ditched the runflats and stuck a donut behind the drivers seat. No human was ever going back there, so he figured, might as well use the space!
I don't have any problems with runflats from a performance perspective.
It's my wife's car. Not going to screw with the set-up she has (explaining the spare, buying a jack, yada, yada, yada). It is what it is. We've had them on two of her vehicles for the last six years, and this is the first tire failure.
Not sure who fits the top .01 percent but I read that Warren Buffet has a Cadillac and the FB guy drives an Acura. And England's Prince Phillip has a Land Rover.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
I was going through some old boxes, and found this pic, that I took from 1994...
It was a warm Saturday in February, 1994, and I felt compelled to line up the cars, get up on the roof of my grandmother's garage, and take that pic. Hard to believe it's about 25 years ago! Sorry for the bad quality, but I just snapped it with my iPhone...
Anyway, I'm sure the cars aren't that hard to identify, but on top of my '57 DeSoto and my old '68 Dart, that's my '82 Cutlass Supreme at the top, and my '69 Bonneville at the bottom. I always loved the "Light Jadestone" color of the Cutlass. It's kinda funny...the car itself was actually kind of a turd, but sometimes a handsome style and a good looking color can make you forgive a couple of sins...
My Mini had runflats when I bought it many years ago. First thing I did when they got to around 5/32 was throw them over a fence, got some go-flats, a bottle of Slime and a portable air compressor, and never looked back. Smoother ride, better handling, quieter---no downside. Perhaps runflats are better these days?
The Bridgestone RFTs on my wife's X1 are a LOT better than earlier iterations of that technology.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Just going on memory, I think that '69 Bonneville was around 225" long, while the DeSoto is around 218". And, in each case, that length is pretty much all car...no overly protruding bumpers that will add to a car's overall length, but not necessarily make it look bigger.
Even though that Bonneville had a beak, it really didn't stick out much further than the edges of the bumper/grille combo. Anyway, even though the Bonneville was bigger, I think that angle exaggerates it. The DeSoto is pulled forward, compared to the Bonneville, but from the angle I took the picture, it seems like the eye tends to focus more on the rear, where the difference is really noticeable.
As for the fate of that car, I ended up selling it for parts back in 1996. I had bought it in 1992, from my cousin, for $400. It had an appetite for eating starters and solenoids, and had some glitch where, when you tried to start the car, if it didn't catch, the starter would sometimes keep cranking, until you got out and pulled a cable off the battery. If I had the money, I would have kept it, and gotten it fixed, but one day it died in my grandmother's yard, and I just left it. At the time I was going through a bad marriage that was about to end in divorce, and hemorrhaging money, so I had to cut my losses anywhere I could.
However, when it ran, that Bonneville was actually a pretty nice car. For being a 4-door hardtop, it had a solid sound when you closed the doors, although the trunk lid seemed thin. Also, the sheetmetal seemed a bit thinner than it did on Mopars I've had from that era ('68 and '69 Darts, '67 Newport). It was also pretty quick, and for its size, it was a great handler.
The time I had this Bonneville overlapped the time with my '67 Catalina, and my grandmother's '85 LeSabre. Oddly, the Bonneville seemed to handle more like the LeSabre than it did the Catalina! GM must have made some great strides between '68 (which wasn't that different from '67) and the '69 models. I think the main thing is that the steering seemed quicker and more responsive, with better road feel. The Bonneville also had 15" wheels, compared to 14" on the Catalina. But, I now have 15" on the Catalina, and it really hasn't changed its handling/road feel much. Oh, and the Bonneville had disc brakes up front, versus drum for the Catalina. The Catalina would be good for maybe 1-2 panic stops before the brakes would heat up, whereas the Bonneville was much more resistant to that.
That Bonneville was also a comfortable car...nice, thickly padded seats.
Very dated and somewhat (or very) politically incorrect but still interesting filmstrip promo piece from Chrysler Corp., comparing the '70 Polara to the Impala and Catalina of the same year.
I used to not like '70 big Pontiacs, but I've grown to like them since I just NEVER see them anymore. I like the Ventura, Executive, and Bonneville Brougham models, as they are especially invisible now compared to the Catalina and Bonneville models. I'm not crazy about the looks of the Dodge....that '69 and later big-Mopar look just seemed so enormous to me. I was not a fan of Mopar interior door panels of the time, either.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I always tried to get an Intrigue as a rental, whenever I could.
Had one once, in Boston, when I had the family with me. After the business part of the trip was completed, we did a mini road trip to the Mystic Aquarium and back to Boston through RI.
I'm really not a huge fan of the fuselage era Mopars in general, but tended to prefer the Dodge versions. I especially liked the '69 models. They had sort of a clean, muscular look to them, and seemed a lot less "fat" than the Plymouths and Chryslers. I also liked the '72-73 Monaco, with the hidden headlights.
I saw an Intrigue here 2 days ago, a metallic red one driven by an older (than me) fellow. I always look for them because I used to own one and they are now quite rare here. My 2002 was a really good car but the rusties started to get to it by the time I traded it. Sweet engine.
driving around today, a nice looking Mopar. About a 1969, the squared off model. Like a super bee, but I think a different model. Pretty sure had an RT badge on the grill. But no bumble bee stripe, or side scoops that I saw. Body style like this one.
I'm a member of that dangerously unstable fringe group that thought the '68 Coronet was just OK, didn't like the revisions made for '69, but absolutely loved the '70 Coronet with its double-loop front end and revised rear panel.
LOL! Not a fan of the '70. Back then, when they rolled the Coronet coupes into the Charger line for '71, I thought it was a styling improvement. Not so sure about that now though. The Coronet sedans were nice-looking cars I thought, in '71 and later.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
LOL! Not a fan of the '70. Back then, when they rolled the Coronet coupes into the Charger line for '71, I thought it was a styling improvement. Not so sure about that now though. The Coronet sedans were nice-looking cars I thought, in '71 and later.
I never was that crazy about the '70 Coronet, either. As for the '71 and later models, I didn't like them at all when I was younger, but my attitude has softened on them in later years. I think my problem with the sedans is they seem kind of generic or "corporate". Maybe because they were so common as taxis and police cars, that might be why I get that perception. But, I just don't think they have the glamour and style of the GM intermediates of that era, or the wanna-be faux luxury that Ford started doing pretty well, starting with the '72 Torino. The Mopars just seemed more like workhorse appliances...although I guess that's not really a bad thing.
The coupes, I thought, seemed fat and overdone, compared to the '68-70 models. But then, it was the early 70's..."fat and overdone" was in vogue...
You know, it's funny. Mother Mopar did a good job differentiating the Dodge and Plymouth new intermediates for '71, and I liked the Dodges better. Just personal opinion. I never like the Satellite's front wheel openings, front bumper, and the '72 taillights...nor the '71 full wheelcovers with the center circle of holes (also used on Valiants that year). I liked the '73, when the front wheel openings were made larger.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I think they did a good job of differentiating the sedans from the coupes, as they look like two totally different cars. But, I always thought they had too much of a problem differentiating the Dodges from the Plymouths. Even though the sheetmetal was different, they still had a sort of "sameness" about them. Overall, I think I like the Sebrings better than the Chargers. While the hidden headlight option on the Charger is cool, I think I like the way the Plymouth is a bit more creased on the sides...makes it seem a bit less fat, at certain angles.
Both of them do a pretty good job at nailing down the "musclecar" look, though. I'm also probably a bit in the minority though, that I think I prefer, style-wise, at least, the '73-74 Sebring. It's a bit more conservative, less aggressive looking, but I think it comes off fairly attractive.
I preferred the 71 Plymouth Sebring looks to the Charger that year primarily because I'm generally not a fan of reverse C pillar designs. I thought the 71 Sebring had a more aggressive look than the GM counterparts, but those GM Intermediates were quite attractive looking cars as well. However, I never understood why Chevy went to single headlights on the 71 Malibu. An Intermediate from that era that I liked the looks of was the new for 72 Torino fastback coupe model. But I must be an outlier on that one, because the aggressive initial 72 styling on that particular fastback model didn't hang around all that long.
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
So, $1400 later, everyone is happy. Okay, only the tire store is happy.
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
It's my wife's car. Not going to screw with the set-up she has (explaining the spare, buying a jack, yada, yada, yada). It is what it is. We've had them on two of her vehicles for the last six years, and this is the first tire failure.
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It was a warm Saturday in February, 1994, and I felt compelled to line up the cars, get up on the roof of my grandmother's garage, and take that pic. Hard to believe it's about 25 years ago! Sorry for the bad quality, but I just snapped it with my iPhone...
Anyway, I'm sure the cars aren't that hard to identify, but on top of my '57 DeSoto and my old '68 Dart, that's my '82 Cutlass Supreme at the top, and my '69 Bonneville at the bottom. I always loved the "Light Jadestone" color of the Cutlass. It's kinda funny...the car itself was actually kind of a turd, but sometimes a handsome style and a good looking color can make you forgive a couple of sins...
Do you still have that Bonneville? I don't recall seeing it the pictures you post.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Even though that Bonneville had a beak, it really didn't stick out much further than the edges of the bumper/grille combo. Anyway, even though the Bonneville was bigger, I think that angle exaggerates it. The DeSoto is pulled forward, compared to the Bonneville, but from the angle I took the picture, it seems like the eye tends to focus more on the rear, where the difference is really noticeable.
As for the fate of that car, I ended up selling it for parts back in 1996. I had bought it in 1992, from my cousin, for $400. It had an appetite for eating starters and solenoids, and had some glitch where, when you tried to start the car, if it didn't catch, the starter would sometimes keep cranking, until you got out and pulled a cable off the battery. If I had the money, I would have kept it, and gotten it fixed, but one day it died in my grandmother's yard, and I just left it. At the time I was going through a bad marriage that was about to end in divorce, and hemorrhaging money, so I had to cut my losses anywhere I could.
However, when it ran, that Bonneville was actually a pretty nice car. For being a 4-door hardtop, it had a solid sound when you closed the doors, although the trunk lid seemed thin. Also, the sheetmetal seemed a bit thinner than it did on Mopars I've had from that era ('68 and '69 Darts, '67 Newport). It was also pretty quick, and for its size, it was a great handler.
The time I had this Bonneville overlapped the time with my '67 Catalina, and my grandmother's '85 LeSabre. Oddly, the Bonneville seemed to handle more like the LeSabre than it did the Catalina! GM must have made some great strides between '68 (which wasn't that different from '67) and the '69 models. I think the main thing is that the steering seemed quicker and more responsive, with better road feel. The Bonneville also had 15" wheels, compared to 14" on the Catalina. But, I now have 15" on the Catalina, and it really hasn't changed its handling/road feel much. Oh, and the Bonneville had disc brakes up front, versus drum for the Catalina. The Catalina would be good for maybe 1-2 panic stops before the brakes would heat up, whereas the Bonneville was much more resistant to that.
That Bonneville was also a comfortable car...nice, thickly padded seats.
I did like the Dodge better than any of the other big cars in its class that year.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Had one once, in Boston, when I had the family with me. After the business part of the trip was completed, we did a mini road trip to the Mystic Aquarium and back to Boston through RI.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/dodge/super-bee/2226604.html#&gid=1&pid=10
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
The coupes, I thought, seemed fat and overdone, compared to the '68-70 models. But then, it was the early 70's..."fat and overdone" was in vogue...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Both of them do a pretty good job at nailing down the "musclecar" look, though. I'm also probably a bit in the minority though, that I think I prefer, style-wise, at least, the '73-74 Sebring. It's a bit more conservative, less aggressive looking, but I think it comes off fairly attractive.