# How do you decide what your "ride" is?



## FlyingDutchman

You don't have to read or respond to what's below. How did you settle or find your vehicle? What made you choose one type over another? I love all sorts of cars, German, Japanese, Mopars, GM Fords....Am just maybe a bit lost.

Over the years, all the cars I've owned are almost pure consequences, and almost all had some great stories. Someone I knew had this sports car they couldn't sell. My parents didn't drive that old jeep, and my car blew up. My dad saw a truck he thought I should buy that he used to see every day driving in to work, I checked it out and bought it. As a younger, poorer me, I only bought one car from a dealership, and it was the worst decision I'd ever made and set me back years, even though it was a huge pile that broke constantly, I still loved it (and a kid down the road bought it and has v8 swapped it). Now, I'm a pretty accomplished mechanic and all the things that used to stop me and make me sell something (due to issues) won't.

Now I have an absolute appliance of a car I got from a dealership (which is super weird for me) and every summer it drives me insane. I look and look and look and dream and scheme for that perfect ride. The car I have now is because of logic, not consequence, passion, serendipity, hardship or any of the other things that make a great car story. I seem to have burned through and wasted all the opportunities to restore something remarkable that belonged to people who mattered to me. So now I have to settle with something purchased outside. I go to car shows, and appreciate them somewhat but am always just a little bit miffed because I can't participate.

Right now I "think" I want a Corvette. I helped a friend restore his 1963 Split window.

I do not fit in them because I'm very tall, except POSSIBLY a C5 Z06 and early/mid70's C3's before they routed the exhaust under the driver's seat in the later 70's. I drove a C4 with the drivers seat taken out and could drive sitting on the floor. I could hack about 2500-3000 max. So pickings are slim to none (which I am not surprised by.)

My first truck was an 80's squarebody Chevy, a friend is selling one sitting in a field. There's always a need for farm work vehicles. Big flat beds, towing capacity, mud tires, dump beds... So trucks always have an appeal as a dual use vehicle.

The 6.5 diesel truck is use for farm work is way off from a show vehicle, but with some effort might turn some heads.


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## Freudianfloyd

I've basically owned Mustangs and F-150s. We get a discount from Ford, so that is typically the first place I go. When I was single, I wanted a sports car and wanted a Ford, so Mustang it was, then kept trading up. I had a few other vehicles inbetween but typically if I bought a vehicle at a dealership, it was a Ford, honestly, I don't know if I have ever bought a vehicle at a dealership that wasn't a Ford.

Up until a few months ago I was driving a V10 F-250. I am an Engineer and drive an hour each way to work. I rarely needed a truck that big, but I did need a truck as I own a farm and constantly have to haul stuff. My F250 also suffered from terrible rust. So I knew I wanted a truck, but a more efficient one, and I knew I wanted an aluminum due to living in the rust belt (yes I know aluminum will corrode, but not like steel). I also wanted something fancier than my F250 as I am getting older, finally have a professional career, a little more money, and I drive so much. I also wanted better fuel efficiency but without sacrificing performance. These requirements left one option for me....a F150 crew cab ( I have 10 kids so I have to be able to haul some of them as well) Lariat with the twin turbo Ecoboost and 4 wheel drive.

While the truck isn't ideal all the time, I joke that it is too nice to use as a truck, it is the best combination that worked for me. 

With that said, now that I have the vehicle I need, I am now in the market for a vehicle I want, something sporty to drive when I have nowhere to go. No idea what that is at the moment, but I will know when I see it.


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## CentaurG2

You got to go with what fits your personality, lifestyle and budget. This is subject to change at any time.

I drove AMC for many years. You could get them cheap and they were fairly reliable. I moved into Ford Taurus wagons when I started to commute. You could get one-year old lease cars for dirt cheap money. Great AC, 3L Yamaha engine, good on fuel and best cruise control ever. Everyone made fun of my wagons until they needed to move something. I even took them camping many times and slept in the back.

Ford moved to the uber ugly oval style and I switched to Camrys. They were pricy new but I had more money and with a manual transmission, they were rock solid reliable. Toyota decided to ditch the manual and I moved to Honda accords. Only sedans left with a manual transmission. I own 2 a 2017 with a 2.4L naturally aspirated and a 2018 with a 2L turbo. The newer car is a totally different animal than the 2017. It has a lot of tech and it goes like bat out of hell but it feels like you are driving a mud puddle.

Fun car is an mx5 Miata. I use it to go to the beach, out to eat or out for a cruise. With the top down, it will put a smile on anybody’s face and it is a very spirited little ride but they are not for everyone. They are very impractical (you cannot even put a large pizza in this thing), not exceptionally fast and they made millions of them. Next car will probably be a Honda Civic type R. It has a little too “boy racer” look to it but I would easily drive a Pacer or a Gremlin so it should not be a problem. Europe has a sport version that looks excellent but they don’t bring it into the states.

Give something a try. If you don’t like it or it does not fit, vehicles are easy to sell.

Here is a civic r vs a gorgeous Lexus lc 500. I can afford the Honda and it should make a great fun daily driver. The lexus is way out of my reach.








Here is a little mx5 strutting her stuff at Nurburg.


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## FlyingDutchman

FreudianFloyd. What you suggest is something I've been looking at pretty hard at. Its the "hands off, money on" approach. Generally takes no time to keep the new pickup up, its all new, under warranty, and you know how its maintained. Right now I'm kind of looking at resurrecting junk for reduced insurance cost and eliminating a payment, but focusing on non-automotive things could be good, I don't know. Time is money. Also I had to borrow a truck to make a recent trip because mine is too unreliable. Capabilty and confidence is also valuable.

I used to love the V10 engine and wanted one really badly to swap into my Ranger. I quit being a Ford guy after that Ranger though.

CentaurG2, Its been awhile since I test drove anything. Its maybe time to do so at least for fun. The last sports car I knew for sure I fit in comfortably to want to drive it for more than 15 minutes was a Challenger. These are not well regarded by the "enthusiast community." On paper the Type R has more legroom than the Challenger. There is one for sale at the local Honda Dealer. Might check it out. I'd also need to check the insurance rates.

I love sports cars like the MX5, but the Miata is definitely in the "take the seat out to fit" category. Which is why I'm swaying towards older junk I can hack up and not really care as much. For instance, I can't weld the brackets on my boring car because it has airbags in the seat that may go off if the brackets are modified.


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## CentaurG2

The CTR clicks off a lot of boxes for me. Fun, sporty, 4 doors with a practical hatch. Be aware Honda is very proud of this car and they don’t give them away. A “good deal” on a CTR would be MSRP. You should also budget for a new set of wheels and tires. The 20” rims with rubber bands just are not practical and most folks replace them with 18” or 19” rims which give a lot more options on tires. You can also look at the Honda civic sport. You drop back to a 1.5L turbo and don’t get the fancy suspension but you can probably save about $17K. It is the same chassis. Might be an option.




















You could always just buy an old clunker and do a rat rod. They are all the rage here at the car shows and the worse they look the better people like them. I can turn a wrench but don’t have the time or talent to own older iron.


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## CentaurG2

We got zoom yet?


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## FlyingDutchman

Almost headed into the big city for work and test drives but it got called off. I found a 1974 Corvette that I wanted to look at in addition to the CTR. The Corvette was parked inside in the ad but a friend knew the car and said it sat outside for 15 years and the interior was a waste, pictures were just good. Still too much money too with both front and rear bumper cones gone.


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## BigbubdaddyGus

I just feel compelled maybe because of Nationalism to buy American, even if it's by name only. I had good luck with Ford's and Dodge. Bad luck with Chevy/ GM products. 
Currently I have a Dodge 2500, that I ll keep forever probably and my wife a Challenger with the 6.4 Hemi she loves. So far Great luck with both.


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## CentaurG2

Cars are made all over the place now. The mx-5 is made in Hiroshima Japan by Godzilla himself. Top quality fit finish and engineering. My neighbor has an NB that has over 250K on the ticker and it still runs like a watch. I had to order mine. Took me over 4 months to get it. CTR and all civics were made in Swindon England but Honda recently closed or shutter the plant not sure where they are being produced now. The 2020 are just starting to show up at the dealerships.


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## FlyingDutchman

Called into a dealership about the Honda, did talk credit first. Payment was around $650 for the type R with my car as a trade in, if I had good credit. Pretty much the same answer I got 6-8 months ago when shopping 1/2 ton trucks when my 1996 was at the time hopelessly broken. My current payment for a 2016 Subaru is $350. Unfortunately due to work/side work/farm chores, I'm not able to get to the city to just drive it for the heck of it right now.

Basically my debt to income is driving my credit score to sub-prime. I make all my payments haven't missed any for decades. The car I have now is basically right on the ragged edge of what I can afford on paper. So I have to direct trade in or sell the car first before getting financing. I'll lose some on the car if I trade. My bank's advice was to either replace the car with something equal or lesser payment or keep it. Any stiffer of a car loan will hurt my credit even more and make that car loan more expensive interest wise Its very possible that even an equal or lesser loan, it will still hurt my credit due to the credit pull etc, need all the credit I can get for a refinance in a few years. Essentially it looks like I should button down and pay down.

The truck is sort of fun. It's loud (straight piped turbodiesel), tuned and modded, quick on it's feet for what it is. I've owned it for 8 years now so I'm a bit bored with it and constantly fixing on it. Never enough money to make it nice but enough to hold it together and upgrade it a little. Whenever it's down, my car takes a beating being used as a truck for muddy tools and lawncare equipment and animal feed...

Anyways... Back to mediocrity...


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## Blue Oaks

I try to have a different vehicle for different needs. I have my 99 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 with the diesel and 6 speed manual for hauling stuff, vacationing, and general driving. I bought it new and it's got 300k on it. I have the supercharged Shelby for fun. And I have a cheap skate 2018 Focus Electric to get in the HOV lane. It's looking more and more like I might not have to commute the 30 miles each way through the thick of it due to Covid-19, so I might sell that. I hardly drive it these days, working from home. Oh, yeah. I still have my 1964 Falcon convertible which is pretty beat at this point and will likely be a retirement project.

My next car will either be another electric (F150?) IF I need to go back to commuting, or maybe something like the new Mach 1 for a track car if I don't. I'm trying to save for a better/bigger house with a large shop to house a lot of cars at the moment, which keeps me from doing any car buying.

Clearly I'm a Ford guy. And if you're looking to buy American, the new Ranger was recently identified as the vehicle with the most US made content.


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## full chizel

I could never understand the suped up foreign car thing.


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## CentaurG2

FlyingDutchman said:


> Called into a dealership about the Honda, did talk credit first. Payment was around $650 for the type R with my car as a trade in, if I had good credit. Pretty much the same answer I got 6-8 months ago when shopping 1/2 ton trucks when my 1996 was at the time hopelessly broken. My current payment for a 2016 Subaru is $350. Unfortunately due to work/side work/farm chores, I'm not able to get to the city to just drive it for the heck of it right now.
> 
> Basically my debt to income is driving my credit score to sub-prime. I make all my payments haven't missed any for decades. The car I have now is basically right on the ragged edge of what I can afford on paper. So I have to direct trade in or sell the car first before getting financing. I'll lose some on the car if I trade. My bank's advice was to either replace the car with something equal or lesser payment or keep it. Any stiffer of a car loan will hurt my credit even more and make that car loan more expensive interest wise Its very possible that even an equal or lesser loan, it will still hurt my credit due to the credit pull etc, need all the credit I can get for a refinance in a few years. Essentially it looks like I should button down and pay down.
> 
> The truck is sort of fun. It's loud (straight piped turbodiesel), tuned and modded, quick on it's feet for what it is. I've owned it for 8 years now so I'm a bit bored with it and constantly fixing on it. Never enough money to make it nice but enough to hold it together and upgrade it a little. Whenever it's down, my car takes a beating being used as a truck for muddy tools and lawncare equipment and animal feed...
> 
> Anyways... Back to mediocrity...



I have not made a car payment since about 2002. Just pay cash now and dealers HATE cash. Subaru’s are a very popular ride here and you do not see many for sale used. As long as you have a manual transmission, the only other thing that bothers them are the head gaskets. They are a bit raspy and fuel mileage is off but they are a good ride. I have driven a WRX hatch and it was a blast.

Don’t matter what you drive, only how you drive it. Boring Gen 9 accord with a manual is actually a great drive. You need to keep the rpms up to get the vtech to kick in but it shifts flawlessly and is so easy to heal-toe. Good little car.


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## furb

I see what’s in the u pull it yard and try to find one of those cars for sale reasonably priced. My most expensive car in the last ten years was a $4000 04 Sierra 2500. I’ve been lucky averaging 30k miles a year with no major repairs driving usually under $2000 cars. I bought four 94-97 accords to build two and by the time I sold the leftovers off I had made money on them. I drove this one 108 miles a day for almost two years. $125 that I bought for the tires but ended up having parts to throw it back together.


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## FlyingDutchman

Blue Oaks said:


> I try to have a different vehicle for different needs. I have my 99 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 with the diesel and 6 speed manual for hauling stuff, vacationing, and general driving. I bought it new and it's got 300k on it. I have the supercharged Shelby for fun. And I have a cheap skate 2018 Focus Electric to get in the HOV lane. It's looking more and more like I might not have to commute the 30 miles each way through the thick of it due to Covid-19, so I might sell that. I hardly drive it these days, working from home. Oh, yeah. I still have my 1964 Falcon convertible which is pretty beat at this point and will likely be a retirement project.
> 
> My next car will either be another electric (F150?) IF I need to go back to commuting, or maybe something like the new Mach 1 for a track car if I don't. I'm trying to save for a better/bigger house with a large shop to house a lot of cars at the moment, which keeps me from doing any car buying.
> 
> Clearly I'm a Ford guy. And if you're looking to buy American, the new Ranger was recently identified as the vehicle with the most US made content.



I used to work in an FCA dealership (Fiat Chrysler) and I got to go to the Jeep Gladiator ride and drive which was also a comparo to all the midsize trucks. The Gladiator was an awesome vehicle but super cramped. I ended up liking the Colorado a whole lot. So much room for a big guy and it was way snappier than the Ranger. That Ranger was a joke, in many ways, cool to see they kept up with the heritage. Had a 1998 and it was a steamer that put me off Ford forever and I was die hard Ford till then.

I won't tell you that you are wrong for liking them, but I don't want to own another without it being free, old or flippable.

Would love to have a 3/4 ton truck like your f-250. My 96 is a heavy half but comes up short hauling. I have upgraded the springs and tires but the frame is too light to push it much further.


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## FlyingDutchman

furb said:


> I see what’s in the u pull it yard and try to find one of those cars for sale reasonably priced. My most expensive car in the last ten years was a $4000 04 Sierra 2500. I’ve been lucky averaging 30k miles a year with no major repairs driving usually under $2000 cars. I bought four 94-97 accords to build two and by the time I sold the leftovers off I had made money on them. I drove this one 108 miles a day for almost two years. $125 that I bought for the tires but ended up having parts to throw it back together. View attachment 838220
> View attachment 838221


Furb, awesome love a penny pinching line of thinking! I sort of did it this way for a long time. Got an older decent model Jap car and ran that. My last car was a 1999 Subaru Legacy. I managed to kill the head gaskets on the 2.2 (impossible, they said) and have tons of intermittent running issues due to Chinese parts from Advance (plug wires that failed in a way that to diagnose without replacing them) tried everything even swapping the ECU! Then the rust and electrical issues elsewhere started to kick my ass. Just bailed on the platform hard, sold everything. My luck is not great. Doesn't look like the red monster has taken your Accords yet.


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## FlyingDutchman

CentaurG2 said:


> I have not made a car payment since about 2002. Just pay cash now and dealers HATE cash. Subaru’s are a very popular ride here and you do not see many for sale used. As long as you have a manual transmission, the only other thing that bothers them are the head gaskets. They are a bit raspy and fuel mileage is off but they are a good ride. I have driven a WRX hatch and it was a blast.
> 
> Don’t matter what you drive, only how you drive it. Boring Gen 9 accord with a manual is actually a great drive. You need to keep the rpms up to get the vtech to kick in but it shifts flawlessly and is so easy to heal-toe. Good little car.



I can do cash with a $1500 car! Haha. Dealers are like banks, the more products they can sell you the more money they can make on you... So just buying a car straight up isn't their favorite no, but its better than no business at all. Cash is the same as financing in advance through your own institution.

I agree with you that the manual transmission is really important to an engaging driving experience. Harder to find nowadays. A cost driver especially on older sports cars, will add as much as a couple grand over the price of an auto.


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## CentaurG2

You will get to where you want to be. Dealers make a lot of money at financing and push sales managers to get you into financing. I have actually walked out of dealership because mangers were not willing to give up “there bonus” to a cash client willing to buy a car. Its like a game, but if you stick to your guns, you can’t lose. Cash is king.

Manual transmissions are just about dead. I put about 36K a year on a car. My girl does the same, so we eat through them fast. I will run a manual until I can no longer get one. Learned to drive on a 3-speed column shifter and I aint about to give em up now.


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## furb

I’m having Chinese issues right now with the accord. The oil pressure sending unit was leaking so I replaced it with a Napa one. It trips the light meaning oil pressure is below 4.3 psi but I suspect the sending unit is bad. The red monster is starting to get it but the plastic on the rockers hide it. Goes in for inspection on the first so I need to get a gauge on it to verify the oil pressure. The are almost indestructible cars. I lost all the coolant from a blown heater hose two summers ago and drove it about twenty minutes home with no lasting effects.


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## SS396driver

My newest vehicle is 13 years old my Dodge does everything I ask of it and comes back for more . My summer car is anyone of my classic vehicles but the 72 Chevy c20 is the most used. My dodge with two tons of pellets . Overloads were just engaging, haven't had a loan in 10 years. My winter beater is an 04 Suzuki XL7 it's actually a real nice car both running and looking so it's not fair calling it a beater. Car has 188k on it no problems ever .


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## holeycow

I find it really too bad that Suzuki doesn't build cars anymore, or at least not for here.

They have had some brilliant engineering in both bikes and cars, but their marketing department should have been replaced many, many years ago.

anyhow, I've never owned a car. They just won't last on the gravel and in this climate. Maybe someday..


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## FlyingDutchman

CentaurG2 said:


> You will get to where you want to be. Dealers make a lot of money at financing and push sales managers to get you into financing. I have actually walked out of dealership because mangers were not willing to give up “there bonus” to a cash client willing to buy a car. Its like a game, but if you stick to your guns, you can’t lose. Cash is king.
> 
> Manual transmissions are just about dead. I put about 36K a year on a car. My girl does the same, so we eat through them fast. I will run a manual until I can no longer get one. Learned to drive on a 3-speed column shifter and I aint about to give em up now.


Dodge/FCA used to have a volume bonus from the dealership, they'd throw down deals for people to meet the volume bonus at the end of the month, but normally they'd pressure them to sell all the glitz. The business sector of the dealership was the anchor, did "cash" transactions all the time for people in the BusinessLink program. The guys on the "floor" selling normally had more incentive to sell that stuff. I don't know how other dealers were set up, but we would literally be cheering when people rolled and and a deal got started on the one that made us meet the volume bonus.

I am still a strong believer in that brand...


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## Blue Oaks

I used to joke that I didn't know how to drive an automatic transmission. Heck, I even converted my 64 Falcon with the 289 from a C4 to a Toploader and I've had my 6-Speed Powerstroke Crew Cab 4x4 for 21 years and 300k miles. But, I've driven the new GT500 on track and at no time was it in the wrong gear. It was always in the perfect gear for corner entry, mid corner, and exit. I've also now had a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) as well as an electric with one speed and they are both pretty amazing. For those that love that interactive experience, just get the Model T and hand crank that sucker. 

I just like having a lot of different cars. I'm now saving up for a house on a bigger, flatter lot with a big shop to keep them in.


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## CentaurG2

Lazyboy with a jet pack might be the American way but there is a reason the Honda Civic type R only comes with one option on the transmission. Paddle shifter?? Never.


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## SS396driver

holeycow said:


> I find it really too bad that Suzuki doesn't build cars anymore, or at least not for here.
> 
> They have had some brilliant engineering in both bikes and cars, but their marketing department should have been replaced many, many years ago.
> 
> anyhow, I've never owned a car. They just won't last on the gravel and in this climate. Maybe someday..


Ya they never capitalised on the American market. That and the stupid insurance institute claiming they were prone to rollovers. Well Duh take any shortwheelbase SUV and turn it hard at 40 mph it's going to flip. Notice that warning is in all smaller SUVs now.


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## FlyingDutchman

CentaurG2 said:


> Lazyboy with a jet pack might be the American way but there is a reason the Honda Civic type R only comes with one option on the transmission. Paddle shifter?? Never.




Today, they let me know at work that my new normal is working from home. So my 30k a year commute is now maybe 3k a year in driving.

I have a CVT in my Legacy with a paddle shifter. In the end, it sold it over the AWD Chargers I was looking at on decision day. The CVT was more fun to thrash than the 8 speed in the AWD Chargers I was looking at. 8 is too many gears when cornering and trying to treat it like a stick. Where it decides it is when entering manual mode was so far off from where you wanted to be to when you switched to manual for aggressive driving, it just annoyed me, and took two or three pedal smacks vs one or two with the Subaru. The polish was there on the Legacy CVT also the Legacy was 10k less. Was an easy decision.

However, the day to day in the Subaru is pretty snoozeworthy. Its an appliance. Beating on it with the fake shift points was way more convincing than it should be, but like my other Subaru, its not fun to beat on.

There is a swaybar upgrade, a brake upgrade, and plausibly bigger rims and tires for contact patch. A friend of mine said, if you aren't happy with the car don't spend money on it. But my financial state says that owning something fun is out of reach.
Great vid, I expected a drag race at first haha!
I will never fit in a Mazda. Would have to remove the seat and make a seat in the floor/back wall with foam.


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## CentaurG2

At 3k miles a year, that subie will last you 20 years. No need for a new ride. You will save a small fortune on fuel/wear and tear. Only car I have ever driven with a CVT was a rental ford focus. You are right. It was very much like driving an appliance. I believe car manufactures are improving CVTs but most upper end cars with automatics get the traditional auto with gears.








You would not be the first person to modify a mx-5.


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## Blue Oaks

Hey Dutch. What do you mean paddle shifter with a CVT? A CVT by definition has no gears to shift, right?


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## FlyingDutchman

CentaurG2 said:


> At 3k miles a year, that subie will last you 20 years. No need for a new ride. You will save a small fortune on fuel/wear and tear. Only car I have ever driven with a CVT was a rental ford focus. You are right. It was very much like driving an appliance. I believe car manufactures are improving CVTs but most upper end cars with automatics get the traditional auto with gears.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You would not be the first person to modify a mx-5.



Yeah, it will last a long time. Doesn't make much sense to keep spending that much for something I will barely use, though. That money would go a long way towards paying off crippling debt.

I almost bought a company called Boss Frog (makers of the "frog arms" and several other products such as Miata LS Swaps) a few years back from some friends who were changing focus to another business. I had a meeting with the bank scheduled.

I didn't have a Miata and I was in the process of buying one from a friend. When we were trying to take out the seat so I could drive it, the rust was bad enough two of the seat bolts spun and the seat wouldn't come out. We were about to get out the grinder and try it but I walked away and cancelled the meeting with the bank. Funny thing is, the swapped Miata our friends had would NEVER start when I showed up. So I've never even gotten to ride in or drive a Miata, good bad or ugly.



Blue Oaks said:


> Hey Dutch. What do you mean paddle shifter with a CVT? A CVT by definition has no gears to shift, right?



The Legacy CVT has 6 "ranges" each with a shift bump programmed into the CVT to simulate a conventional transmission while accelerating. The 2018 up Charger has a similar paddle shift option. Some of the older ones are in the stick on the console and useable in manual mode.

The user can put the transmission into manual mode and use the paddles all the time, or, you can swat the minus paddle anytime to "downshift" then after a bit of "normal driving" it goes back to automatic, which I use quite a bit.

It actually works extremely well. It is less appliance-ey than you would think. There are some spongy ass, sloppy slugs of CVT trannies out there, and this Subaru CVT has real effort put forth to NOT be so. This is the best case you could ever hope for. 

Exhaust note is still droning (forget aftermarket fart pipes). Still driver disconnect. Still that swoopy/puddly feeling when you aren't pounding on it. And the feeling of the shift is there but its been well known for awhile now that that shift feel reduces the transmission life on other MFG's transmissions that used it. So beating on it and feeling it smash though the gears is, for all intents and purposes, potentially killing it.


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## Blue Oaks

OK thanks. I've never heard of that arrangement. My Fusion plug in hybrid was of the "spongy ass, sloppy slug" variety.


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## JeffHK454

FlyingDutchman said:


> The Legacy CVT has 6 "ranges" each with a shift bump programmed into the CVT to simulate a conventional transmission while accelerating. The 2018 up Charger has a similar paddle shift option. Some of the older ones are in the stick on the console and useable in manual mode.
> 
> The user can put the transmission into manual mode and use the paddles all the time, or, you can swat the minus paddle anytime to "downshift" then after a bit of "normal driving" it goes back to automatic, which I use quite a bit.
> 
> It actually works extremely well. It is less appliance-ey than you would think. There are some spongy ass, sloppy slugs of CVT trannies out there, and this Subaru CVT has real effort put forth to NOT be so. This is the best case you could ever hope for.
> 
> Exhaust note is still droning (forget aftermarket fart pipes). Still driver disconnect. Still that swoopy/puddly feeling when you aren't pounding on it. And the feeling of the shift is there but its been well known for awhile now that that shift feel reduces the transmission life on other MFG's transmissions that used it. So beating on it and feeling it smash though the gears is, for all intents and purposes, potentially killing it.


 The wife and I have been car shopping recently and I had this very discussion with service manager at my local Subaru stealership . In not so many words he told me the entire simulated shift thing is BS , all the perceived control it offers is nothing more than the ECM bumping the throttle body to make some engine noise and spike the tach. He said it was solely add to CVT equipped cars to breakup the mind numbing drone .. kinda like Tesla adding background noise to their cars to breakup the silence.


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## CentaurG2

I think I will stick to my clutch and manual gearbox. Driving should be a fun experience not simulated nonsense.


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## FlyingDutchman

JeffHK454 said:


> The wife and I have been car shopping recently and I had this very discussion with service manager at my local Subaru stealership . In not so many words he told me the entire simulated shift thing is BS , all the perceived control it offers is nothing more than the ECM bumping the throttle body to make some engine noise and spike the tach. He said it was solely add to CVT equipped cars to breakup the mind numbing drone .. kinda like Tesla adding background noise to their cars to breakup the silence.



Interesting, it feels pretty jerky/mechanical to me but I'll have to listen/feel some more. I basically can only pull 28 mpg with my 2016, my 1999 used to only get 20-22mpg. Much more efficient cars out there if you don't need awd.

I would really like to try to to drive a 2020 Legacy, supposedly they really worked over the suspension on them. I love the soft ride on my 2016 for our rough roads, but hate the corner wallow and the traction with the stock tires. The seats are not real good for long drives, they make my legs hurt and my GF's butt go numb. The only problems in 60K has been the infotainment not connecting to Pandora that well, and it needed battery and the stock paint scratches/peels really easy. Got some pine tar on it while on vacation in a cabin and it did permanent damage to the clearcoat on every single body panel.


----------



## CentaurG2

Could be your new ride. This thing looks pretty sweet! I would buy one for the “granny gear” alone but I love the retro look!


----------



## FlyingDutchman

The trim levels sound like they were written by a fired manager from a themed burger restaurant.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Currently, the plan is to sell my car and just drive the truck. I'm going to take that extra payment and insurance money and put it towards my student loans to pay that off in a year. The goal is to refinance my house in a year and see where that gets me financially for a possible vehicle upgrade at that point. Parents want me to drive their spare truck from time to time too. Mostly because I fill it with gas and fix stuff if it breaks. Instead of 10-12 hours a week in a vehicle, I'm spending 1-2 driving to jobs or the store (if that even) the cost doesn't justify the benefit I'll get from an efficient car.

Also the late model used car market is unprecedented right now. Auction cars are bringing retail prices ad dealers are scrambling for trade ins. Good time to trade in and good time to buy new. But also a good time to sell used.


----------



## Blue Oaks

You bring up some good points. I am paying a monthly bill for my sheetbox that I no longer need. It's a Ford Focus Electric that in the before times I used to commute to my office job. Now that I work from home 100% of the time, maybe I should just sell it? It's nice to use on Sundays to hit the local golf course or like today at lunch I shot down to the local mom and pop grocery store, but I could drive my truck for that.

It's a 2018 with about 25k miles on it. I owe about $9k on it, and could probably get the same if I sold it. Hmmm.


----------



## ChoppyChoppy

CentaurG2 said:


> Lazyboy with a jet pack might be the American way but there is a reason the Honda Civic type R only comes with one option on the transmission. Paddle shifter?? Never.




I had a Lotus Elise just like the one in the video.

Putting the top on isn't tough. 2 fiberglass support rods and the top clips into the passenger and driver side.
Maybe 15-20 seconds if in a rush.

Was a fun car! Made my lowered VW Jetta seem monster truck tall!


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Blue Oaks said:


> You bring up some good points. I am paying a monthly bill for my sheetbox that I no longer need. It's a Ford Focus Electric that in the before times I used to commute to my office job. Now that I work from home 100% of the time, maybe I should just sell it? It's nice to use on Sundays to hit the local golf course or like today at lunch I shot down to the local mom and pop grocery store, but I could drive my truck for that.
> 
> It's a 2018 with about 25k miles on it. I owe about $9k on it, and could probably get the same if I sold it. Hmmm.


Sounds like you have more disposable income. I'm doing it because I'm in a stupid financial position so it's sort of forcing me.



ChoppyChoppy said:


> I had a Lotus Elise just like the one in the video.
> 
> Putting the top on isn't tough. 2 fiberglass support rods and the top clips into the passenger and driver side.
> Maybe 15-20 seconds if in a rush.
> 
> Was a fun car! Made my lowered VW Jetta seem monster truck tall!


Sounds like you've had a lot of fun cars! There is a picture of me somewhere sitting in a lotus and my head sticks a full foot above the roof.


----------



## CentaurG2

FlyingDutchman said:


> Currently, the plan is to sell my car and just drive the truck. I'm going to take that extra payment and insurance money and put it towards my student loans to pay that off in a year. The goal is to refinance my house in a year and see where that gets me financially for a possible vehicle upgrade at that point. Parents want me to drive their spare truck from time to time too. Mostly because I fill it with gas and fix stuff if it breaks. Instead of 10-12 hours a week in a vehicle, I'm spending 1-2 driving to jobs or the store (if that even) the cost doesn't justify the benefit I'll get from an efficient car.
> 
> Also the late model used car market is unprecedented right now. Auction cars are bringing retail prices ad dealers are scrambling for trade ins. Good time to trade in and good time to buy new. But also a good time to sell used.



Paying down debt is a smart move. The sooner and closer you get to ”debt free” day, the better. When you finally cross that line and you don’t own nothing to nobody, it is a fantastic day!


----------



## CentaurG2

ChoppyChoppy said:


> I had a Lotus Elise just like the one in the video.
> 
> Putting the top on isn't tough. 2 fiberglass support rods and the top clips into the passenger and driver side.
> Maybe 15-20 seconds if in a rush.
> 
> Was a fun car! Made my lowered VW Jetta seem monster truck tall!



That was an older video featuring the last (NC) generation MX-5 with a hardtop. The latest ND generation has a rally fastback hardtop and will go up or down in 13 seconds.







The rag top MX-5 has always been K.I.S.S easy. If it takes you longer that 3 seconds to put the top up/down, something is very wrong. If the windows are up, the car will automatically lower them about 1” when you release the front or rear clamp.


----------



## CentaurG2

No more manual Accords. Major bummer.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

You were going to buy a type R anyway right? 

Struggling to get the Legacy listed. Wanted to detail/wax it before taking pictures. Spent hours shampooing the seats and now am polishing the body. Going to have to give up at some point.


----------



## CentaurG2

I can’t afford 2 civic type R’s. Base bronco with a sasquatch package is looking like it might fit the other side of the bill. Simple green 50:1 makes for a good easy upholstery cleaner. Just hit the tough spots, give it a brush with a tooth brush, vac out as much as you can with a wet dry vac. Repeat the process with just distilled H20 and let it dry and you should be good to go.

Klasse all in one is an excellent auto polish, very durable and very easy to use. German stuff so it is a bit pricy but you can use it on every part of the exterior and a little goes a long way. Don’t bother with the klasse sealant. Good old Nu Finish will also work very well and is available everywhere. Top end would be 2 coats of Collinite insulator wax followed by a coat of Power Lock but that seems a bit much on a car you are going to sell.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

The problem is the paint on this Subaru is really soft and easily damaged, it does not respond to wax or polish like any other car I've had. I've tried to keep it up but everything damages it. It's not the worst paint ever, a 2008 Focus takes that cake. The paint looks worse imo than the paint on my 96 Truck up close. It's metallic black. Most wax, like reasonably expensive Meguiars synthetic wax and regular cheap turtle wax leaves the car looking greasy and streaky. I did get some Griot's Garage spray wax that seems to work okay I've been using. It's a delicate process to clay bar/polish it enough to even be waxable to not be streaky/ splotchy. Hoping the last sendoff helps me make a little better money on the car.

Several colors of the older RAM pickups like metallic green and black (all names that are discontinued colors) seem to have a similar issue. Guessing it's a paint supplier for multiple mfg's. When I took the car in to the dealership for the pine tar damage, the body tech basically said "they don't make paint like they used to, good luck with that."


----------



## CentaurG2

All modern car paint is way to thin. A pine needle falling out of the sky will scratch Mazda paint. Xpel is about the only solution I know of but it is just so expensive.

You might look into have the car professionally detailed. You could recoup the cost in resale. Another product I have found to work very well on Japan cars is Reload but it needs to be applied to clean and polished surface.

https://www.autogeek.net/cquartz-reload-spray.html



You best bet might be a can of good old mothers carnauba gold cleaner wax. Been working well for years.





Amazon.com


----------



## FlyingDutchman

I have the Mother's Cleaner wax, I haven't tried it in awhile but got the greasy/streaky effect with it too. Tried 3M Fill-N-Glaze, JaxWax spray wax, Meguiars NXT2, Wizards Paint sealant, and Turtle Wax paste. Right now what's working is Wizards Scratch Remover and paint cleaner, a Mother's clay bar and quick detailer, and about 3 coats of this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Griots-Garag...3QE3GSEJ77RE&refRID=PWXTWXCP3QE3GSEJ77RE&th=1 There is still real damage to the paint that needs a buffer and someone who knows their compounds to get it done up right. 

The truck is going to get olive drab flat paint and all the detailing crap is going in the garage sale lol.


----------



## CentaurG2

Yup. There is something to be said for flat camo, desert tan or flat olive drab paint. Best auto “paint” I have ever seen was down on the outer banks in NC. We went on a “horse tour” to see the wild mustangs. The company used real Humvees and they were “painted” desert tan with Rhino Liner. Just hose them down and you are done!


----------



## stihl sawing

CentaurG2 said:


> No more manual Accords. Major bummer.



This new generation is too lazy to shift.


----------



## CentaurG2

They maybe too lazy, but if you can figure out how to work a cell phone, there is absolutely no reason you can’t run a Detroit with a twin stick.


----------



## CentaurG2

Good old Scotty tellin’ it like it is.


----------



## Blue Oaks

stihl sawing said:


> This new generation is too lazy to shift.



A hundred years ago the same was probably said about those who no longer wanted to hand crank their cars to start them. Lazy bastards.


----------



## CentaurG2

I have actually started a car with a crank handle. My Grandfather taught me how to do it properly. If the car backfired (common in them days) it can break your arm. Great trivia question: what was the last car to have a crank handle starter (option)??



From my research, it was the Citroen 2CV. Available upto 1990!


----------



## Blue Oaks

A few years ago, I had a small group of people gather around in a parking lot to watch me crank the '10 T. They were amazed and disappointed to see it fire right up when I turned the ignition switch on. The motor occasionally stops at TDC. That's a feature modern cars lack.


----------



## CentaurG2

I like Scotty’s videos but this one is almost too painful to watch.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

An update, still can't sell the car, should have taken the first offer, which I'm really regretting. Driven it 1200 miles in the last month delivering magazines. It's nice, really nice for that. 30 mpg, ac cranked up cozy as a bug with the cruise control, Vaporwave on blast from Pandora and gps directions playing over the speakers. The people who originally got the route got Covid, hope they're out of the hospital and feeling better or I'll be doing the route again this week. The money is nice, no doubt.


----------



## CentaurG2

If it is making you money, why sell it? The Subaru all wheel drive system is the best in the industry. Marketing would tell you it will sell better in the winter than summer. Winter is coming and according to the farmers almanac, it going to be a doozy. Nothing to lose by waiting a few months.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

The magazine route didn't last, once the former route runners recovered from COVID, they jumped right back into it. Good for them, really.

Had a couple potential buyers set me up to let me down at the last minute, so I've had to completely detail the car a couple times for nothing.

One has been steady requesting for a dealer inspection report and a body estimate.

Yesterday took the car into the dealership and got a battery drain update, the infotainment updated, and an inspection for a potential buyer. The rear brakes need done, and the battery was deeply discharged from the drain from sitting with the battery drain issue (purely ecm power management issue). 

Took it to the body shop and that was a PP slap that I wasn't ready for. They'd have to respray the bumper cover, hood, trunk lid, roof skin, rear quarters, rear doors, and the rocker covers for a total of $5500 to make it perfect. The buyer who requested it was like WTF and wants to bail, pretty much. Tried to give context but I think they are scared away.


----------



## CentaurG2

Winter is coming. Give it some more time. There are alternatives to private sales. There are some online sites that will purchase a car, as will some dealerships. They will never give you anywhere near what the car is worth but if you really need the cash, it might be an alternative. I used to donate my cars to various charities when they got too many miles on them. It used to make for a good tax right off.


----------



## CentaurG2

Mazda is bringing back the Wankel rotary engine. Outstanding.


----------



## CentaurG2

Another good old Scotty telling it like it is.


----------



## Blue Oaks

My dad has been wanting a 1950 Buick Roadmaster Convertible for decades. Probably 60 years or so. He lost out on an auction a month ago or so for a VERY nice restored one that went for about $65k. 

He ended up finding this one on eBay and won the auction for a little over $23k.









1950 Buick Roadmaster | eBay


Vehicle will not be released until cash in hand. California car Hayward bay area. Clean title. Power seat still works.



www.ebay.com


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Centaur Ugh I cannot watch that Scotty guy. I haven't ever been able to finish one of his videos. More power to ya...


----------



## CentaurG2

Blue Oaks said:


> My dad has been wanting a 1950 Buick Roadmaster Convertible for decades. Probably 60 years or so. He lost out on an auction a month ago or so for a VERY nice restored one that went for about $65k.
> 
> He ended up finding this one on eBay and won the auction for a little over $23k.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1950 Buick Roadmaster | eBay
> 
> 
> Vehicle will not be released until cash in hand. California car Hayward bay area. Clean title. Power seat still works.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 865700



Awesome! That is one great looking ride. Always liked them Buick portholes but I don’t think that car would even fit into my garage. You will be just like Steve McQueen booting around in that thing. I have never driven a straight 8 gasser. I bet it really has a pair when it comes to pulling.


----------



## CentaurG2

FlyingDutchman said:


> Centaur Ugh I cannot watch that Scotty guy. I haven't ever been able to finish one of his videos. More power to ya...



Scotty is not for everyone. It’s the voice and the constant hand waving. He reminds me of one of my old college profs. Crazy Uncle Bernie taught accounting and he was truly crazy, right down to playing hacky sack wearing Birkenstocks in the snow.


----------



## CentaurG2

Had to put the roadster away today. Looking at 4 longs months of winter, ice, salt and potholes. I guess it will be alright.



THE CARS ― ALL MIXED UP (1978) - YouTube


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Finally sold the car guys! A dealer picked it up. Got a little windfall even, should also get a check from my insurance company, and possibly the state for the plates, plus my stimulus hit at the same time haha. Time to buy some big rims, Chinese rubber band mud terrains and half of a lift kit! *eyeroll*

My girlfriends dad passed away sadly and they don't have anything to do with his car so I'm using that for now keeping the mice out until they figure out the financials. Its a 2015 Cherokee, fits my tools in the back nicely for doing side work and helping her mom around the farm. I really like it, maybe better than the Subaru.

Keeping my eyes peeled for a C4 or a C3 corvette or a dump truck for the farm.


----------



## Blue Oaks

I put down a deposit on my next ride. For me the requirements of my commuter vehicle are Ford/HOV Lane Compliant/Fun. The Mach-E fits the bill. It's going to be the GT Performance Edition with All Wheel Drive, 480HP and 634 Foot Pounds of Torque. 0-60 will be in about 3.5 seconds, or about as fast as my supercharged Shelby! I won't get it until probably summer or fall, but I'm pretty stoked to be replacing the little **** box Focus Electric with something a whole lot more powerful, engaging, and fun to drive. This is what it'll look like. I'll be tinting the windows and probably will put some black Shelby stripes on it.


----------



## SS396driver

Just bought this . 1985 k20 no need for new cars anymore


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Q


SS396driver said:


> Just bought this . 1985 k20 no need for new cars anymore View attachment 888761


Quit hogging all the nice trucks! *Sad face*


----------



## SS396driver

FlyingDutchman said:


> Q
> 
> Quit hogging all the nice trucks! *Sad face*


Going to look at a 68 stepside 4x4 forestry truck tomorrow. Looks promising


----------



## 1Alpha1

Blue Oaks said:


> I put down a deposit on my next ride. For me the requirements of my commuter vehicle are Ford/HOV Lane Compliant/Fun. The Mach-E fits the bill. It's going to be the GT Performance Edition with All Wheel Drive, 480HP and 634 Foot Pounds of Torque. 0-60 will be in about 3.5 seconds, or about as fast as my supercharged Shelby! I won't get it until probably summer or fall, but I'm pretty stoked to be replacing the little **** box Focus Electric with something a whole lot more powerful, engaging, and fun to drive. This is what it'll look like. I'll be tinting the windows and probably will put some black Shelby stripes on it.
> 
> View attachment 881233



If you hadn't mentioned it being a Mustang, I never would have guessed. Sounds like a nice car, but looks nothing like a Mustang. 

Looks like a typical SUV. Maybe it looks like one from the front?


----------



## Blue Oaks

1Alpha1 said:


> If you hadn't mentioned it being a Mustang, I never would have guessed. Sounds like a nice car, but looks nothing like a Mustang.
> 
> Looks like a typical SUV. Maybe it looks like one from the front?



Ford has started a new direction on branding. Both the Mustang and the Bronco are going to be brands moving forward rather than a body style. For the Mustang, it's going to include this SUV to start out. For the Bronco, they have the full size version as well as the "baby" Bronco Sport to start. I know Ford is going to add a Raptor Bronco but I'm not sure what else beyond that.

The purists are freaking out that Ford decided to brand the new SUV a Mustang. It's actually a pretty smart move to bring tens of thousands of buyers into the fold that would never have given the Ford offering a chance had it been named anything else. Ford plans on producing 50k of the electric Mustang SUVs this year, in year 1. For comparison, Ford only managed to sell 77k gas powered Mustangs last year, in year 55.

Here's the front end on the GT that is coming out in a few months.


----------



## 1Alpha1

Nope......I'd never recognize that on the road if I saw one, as a Mustang.


----------



## husky455rancher

I have different cars for different purposes. I’ve had a 69 charger since 2000. That car is in very nice shape. It’s a nice 20 footer. I built up a good 550hp motor for it a while back so it goes pretty good. I had a 76 camaro before that but I sold that a few years ago it was starting to rot away. I had a 03 Ram 2500 long bed 2wd that had for like 10 years that I sold to get a quad cab Ram so I could fit the kids in. Only bad part was to afford it I had to drop down to a half ton and short bed. Didn’t think I would mind it much but after seeing how much less the little half ton can take my next truck will be at least a 3/4 ton. 
I’ve had various daily drivers over the years. I ran saturns for a while because they are plastic and cheap to fix and buy. Now I also had a 13 dart limited fully loaded I bought used which I really liked a lot but it was a total pos and thankfully I got out of that at the exact right time. After that I got a 2012 challenger rt classic 6 speed. Then a pcp srt 392 6 speed. Currently I daily a little 03 tdi vw golf 5 speed. I always wanted to mess with diesel so this was a good way for me to try it. The car gets 46 mpg all day long without even trying. I had to do a fair amount of work on it when I got it though. The guy I got it from wasn’t very honest with me. I’ve owned it a little over a year and it’s turned out to be a good little car so far. If your paying attention and you can guess the natural progression of things you’ll guess I traded my srt 392 in for a 2016 srt pcp hellcat 6 speed. That’s probly my forever challenger lol.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

When I worked at the dealership I had to look at this purple Hellcat from my office. I love Challengers. When it got dealer traded they trailered it and the guy trailering it rashed the hell out of the rims on his trailer. I was in love with this car.

I don't think I will ever be able to afford anything like this. I'm reverting back to 90s garbage so I can afford my house.


----------



## husky455rancher

husky455rancher said:


> Here is my 392 srt on the left I traded in and the hellcat I have now on the right. Only real difference other than the engine is the hellcat dosent have the sunroof. Well that and the hellcat had hydraulic power steering vs the 392 electric. I did like being able to adjust the steering on the srt 392 that was a nice feature. The hellcat makes up for it when merging on the highway though. No matter the situation there is always enough time to make it haha. You just gotta be careful the car lights up the tires like nothing at 70mph. It’s easy to handle IMO but it’s a bit surprising the first couple times.


----------



## CentaurG2

CentaurG2 said:


> Had to put the roadster away today. Looking at 4 longs months of winter, ice, salt and potholes. I guess it will be alright.
> 
> 
> 
> THE CARS ― ALL MIXED UP (1978) - YouTube



Been four long months but the roadster is out of jail. Now I just need some time to go for a drive.

Formula One Soul .. Taj Mahal .. Do I love her - YouTube


----------



## TBS

I use past experiences that my family has had over the years and my experience with vehicles we use at work. I thought about buying a ram but have seen all the problems we've had had with our rangers trucks from failed wheel bearing to constantly having misfires. When I bought my ford ranger I was driving one at work the prior model year older and it was dead on reliable, I made the salesman drive it so I could listen for any noises. I bought my f150 with the 3.7 after a lot of research and finding that the 3.7 with the select shift didn't have any major issues.


----------



## Ben Hur

Big enough to pull 10 ton trailer, small enough to fly under DOTs radar. Ram 2500 diesel 4x4.


----------



## GeorgiaVol

My "ride" is a bit of nostalgia. It was my 1st car that was actually fun to drive, and now has gotten super rare. 87 Cavalier Z24 with a 5 speed.
It is under the carport right now, and my summer project will be doing an engine swap.
Yanking the tired old 2.8, and stuffing a 200hp 3500 in it. Another 70-80 hp ought to wake this little 2000lb car right up.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Last night dreamed about working on my old 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII that I drove from 2001-2003. Stripping it down and making it fast. Big exhaust out the back sort of like a supercar. Had to dig it out of a train graveyard that had that weird burning electric motor and diesel fuel smell that trains and railroad ties have.

Tonight my little brother an I are going to start putting the bigger turbo (HX hybrid) on my truck. A 4" intake, new turbo drain, and an eternal waste gate and an atmospheric dump. Hoping to satisfy my desire to have something faster, better. Probably will still leak and will still be slow....


----------



## FlyingDutchman

So put on the big turbo and the wastegate ($1700) Sounds cool, still slow

New Wrangler Duratrac Tires ($800) Helped ride. Not bald.

New front end except ball joints on one side and alignment and rear brake drums ($600) Made it not bounce while braking but drive terrible (stiff, won't center.)

New serpentine belt after the vacuum pump pulley broke off ($40)

Still drives like crap and I'm getting sick of it.


----------



## CentaurG2

You will probably need to keep your ride going for a while longer. With the chip shortage, even if you had the money for something new, there is nothing to buy. Some dealers around here wont even talk to you unless you have a trade they want.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

CentaurG2 said:


> You will probably need to keep your ride going for a while longer. With the chip shortage, even if you had the money for something new, there is nothing to buy. Some dealers around here wont even talk to you unless you have a trade they want.


There is inventory locally but the market is still very high for used and new. No deals to be had unless you want to fix junk. At least my junk is rolling at the moment...


----------



## Blue Oaks

CentaurG2 said:


> You will probably need to keep your ride going for a while longer. With the chip shortage, even if you had the money for something new, there is nothing to buy. Some dealers around here wont even talk to you unless you have a trade they want.



My Mach-E is being "produced" this week. But the chip shortage will impact the completion of one or two modules. My dealer said to expect it in November. I'm going to be pissed if it slips into 2022 since I'm planning on getting the tax credits for this tax year.


----------



## CentaurG2

Good luck. The chip shortage has got the auto industry by the short hairs. They are talking going back to analogue gauges to get things rolling again. At a bare minimum, cars might be sold without features like auto braking and lane assist until chips become available. I am not sure what they are going to do but I was at my local Honda dealer last week (they had nothing on the lot) and you could not walk through the door without a salesperson asking if I wanted to sell my car. Cant fault them, they got nothing else to do.


----------



## Blue Oaks

Thanks. The only bright sides are Ford is focused on producing the new cars like the Mach-E and Bronco over the existing models, and I should get a nice trade in value on my Focus EV.

Well, another bright side is that the company I work for (Lam Research) is in the business of engineering and manufacturing the machines that are part of the chip making process. Business as you can imagine is quite brisk.


----------



## Mike Gudgeon

Interesting topic.
Almost all the vehicles I've had have just been covenient (inexpensive too) buys. But I have been know to seek out and collect numerous old Yam 650 twins. Had every model they made but never a Special - 'cos they just don't appeal to me.

Also sought out an XS750 triple 'cos I wanted a 120 degree cranked triple but couldn't afford a Triumph Trident 150, 160 or BSA Rocket 3. Put 2 cranks through that thing before moving on to a spell in hospital from crashing it.

While in hospital I read about the VMax release. Man, I had to have one! But my legs were a bit crook from the crash and I had to settle for a tin-top for a while. So I set about finding the biggest V8 I could find on Parramatta Road in Sydney. Bought a Chrysler by Chrysler thing with a 360 cubic inch mill. Loads of fun to drive but didn't really go round corners well and everytime I closed the door and walked away something or other would fall off the thing.

Years later while living in Japan, I finally got a VMax. What a rush! Had loads of fun restoring it and a lot of fun riding it too.

After coming back to Australia a few years ago I was working with a few other drivers who were all into restoring old bikes, and I got the bike bug again. Way back in the eighties, while working at a bike shop, I had bought an XZ Yam that nobody else would buy. That turned out to be a gem of a bike. Had five people, two boxes of beer and a pizza on it one night! Can't remember why I sold it. Anyway, for decades I pined for another XZ. A couple of years ago a spotted a couple for sale up in Brisbane so I went up and bought 'em. They were in very bad condition, but I managed to make one pretty good bike from the two, which I still have.

The XZ is too old to be used as a regular rider so I went looking for a 'utility bike'. There was a GS550 for sale at a good price not too far away. Jumped into the car and on the way stopped at a bike shop to see what they might have buried up the back. Well, blow me down, they had a 954 Fireblade looking terribly unloved right up the back. Asked the shop bloke about it and he just kept mumbling what I thuink were swear words. To cut a long story short, I bought it for absolute peanuts AND it's in great condition.

But the Fireblade isn't really my idea of a regular rider either - much as I love the tech. So I went looking again.

Now I have three bikes; the XZ550, Fireblade 954, and a Suzuki XF 650 Freewind (basically a roadified DR650 with a twin carb head on it). I use the Suzi XF very much as a hack and it does the job pretty well.

I have my toys now so it's time to think about updating the old Ford tin-top. Almost all pretty modern cars do what they are supposed to do really well but none of them grab me. Might be time for a truck! A proper big one!


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Nice overland rig seen a few days ago in our local Lowe's parking lot. Looks like solar panels are on top of the roof. I like the “Do not tread on me” logos on it.


----------



## Marine5068

FlyingDutchman said:


> You don't have to read or respond to what's below. How did you settle or find your vehicle? What made you choose one type over another? I love all sorts of cars, German, Japanese, Mopars, GM Fords....Am just maybe a bit lost.
> 
> Over the years, all the cars I've owned are almost pure consequences, and almost all had some great stories. Someone I knew had this sports car they couldn't sell. My parents didn't drive that old jeep, and my car blew up. My dad saw a truck he thought I should buy that he used to see every day driving in to work, I checked it out and bought it. As a younger, poorer me, I only bought one car from a dealership, and it was the worst decision I'd ever made and set me back years, even though it was a huge pile that broke constantly, I still loved it (and a kid down the road bought it and has v8 swapped it). Now, I'm a pretty accomplished mechanic and all the things that used to stop me and make me sell something (due to issues) won't.
> 
> Now I have an absolute appliance of a car I got from a dealership (which is super weird for me) and every summer it drives me insane. I look and look and look and dream and scheme for that perfect ride. The car I have now is because of logic, not consequence, passion, serendipity, hardship or any of the other things that make a great car story. I seem to have burned through and wasted all the opportunities to restore something remarkable that belonged to people who mattered to me. So now I have to settle with something purchased outside. I go to car shows, and appreciate them somewhat but am always just a little bit miffed because I can't participate.
> 
> Right now I "think" I want a Corvette. I helped a friend restore his 1963 Split window.
> 
> I do not fit in them because I'm very tall, except POSSIBLY a C5 Z06 and early/mid70's C3's before they routed the exhaust under the driver's seat in the later 70's. I drove a C4 with the drivers seat taken out and could drive sitting on the floor. I could hack about 2500-3000 max. So pickings are slim to none (which I am not surprised by.)
> 
> My first truck was an 80's squarebody Chevy, a friend is selling one sitting in a field. There's always a need for farm work vehicles. Big flat beds, towing capacity, mud tires, dump beds... So trucks always have an appeal as a dual use vehicle.
> 
> The 6.5 diesel truck is use for farm work is way off from a show vehicle, but with some effort might turn some heads.


I had criteria that I needed for towing capacity as I tow firewood and wood pellets for my use every year. I didn't need this all the time so I opted for an SUV rather than a pick up truck. This way I can use it for an everyday driver for my Family as well.
I have a 3600lb trailer (actually 2 of them) that I use.
I looked around and there were only a handful of SUVs in the large size that could tow 3000lbs, the top one being the Jeep Grand Cherokee at 7200lb tow capacity.
I did like the Nissan Murano but it had like 1300 lb max. Very low for its size. Toyota Pathfinder was much more money and felt a bit cheap actually.
So it was back to Jeep and I'm very happy with it.


----------



## Marine5068

full chizel said:


> I could never understand the suped up foreign car thing.


Its because they all saw a movie and thought they were racers too....lol.
Makes me laugh when I see an old guy in a tuner Honda.


----------



## Marine5068

CentaurG2 said:


> You got to go with what fits your personality, lifestyle and budget. This is subject to change at any time.
> 
> I drove AMC for many years. You could get them cheap and they were fairly reliable. I moved into Ford Taurus wagons when I started to commute. You could get one-year old lease cars for dirt cheap money. Great AC, 3L Yamaha engine, good on fuel and best cruise control ever. Everyone made fun of my wagons until they needed to move something. I even took them camping many times and slept in the back.
> 
> Ford moved to the uber ugly oval style and I switched to Camrys. They were pricy new but I had more money and with a manual transmission, they were rock solid reliable. Toyota decided to ditch the manual and I moved to Honda accords. Only sedans left with a manual transmission. I own 2 a 2017 with a 2.4L naturally aspirated and a 2018 with a 2L turbo. The newer car is a totally different animal than the 2017. It has a lot of tech and it goes like bat out of hell but it feels like you are driving a mud puddle.
> 
> Fun car is an mx5 Miata. I use it to go to the beach, out to eat or out for a cruise. With the top down, it will put a smile on anybody’s face and it is a very spirited little ride but they are not for everyone. They are very impractical (you cannot even put a large pizza in this thing), not exceptionally fast and they made millions of them. Next car will probably be a Honda Civic type R. It has a little too “boy racer” look to it but I would easily drive a Pacer or a Gremlin so it should not be a problem. Europe has a sport version that looks excellent but they don’t bring it into the states.
> 
> Give something a try. If you don’t like it or it does not fit, vehicles are easy to sell.
> 
> Here is a civic r vs a gorgeous Lexus lc 500. I can afford the Honda and it should make a great fun daily driver. The lexus is way out of my reach.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here is a little mx5 strutting her stuff at Nurburg.



Good resale on Hondas too.
But most of those cars you mentioned are way too small for my frame.
I'm only 5'10" tall but stout and thick and weighing in at nearly 300lbs I outfit most small cars like Mazdas, or Honda civic.
Small SUVs are even too small across for my shoulders, but large to extra large ones fit me just fine.
Wish I could afford a newer model Escalade. That'd be my fav.


----------



## CentaurG2

Honda makes a great car. The Mazda mx-5 is truly a joy to drive. I get incessant email and letters from dealers looking to purchase them. Trouble is there is nothing on the dealers’ lots to replace them and I think it is going to be a LONG time before inventory’s are back.


----------



## Marine5068

Blue Oaks said:


> Thanks. The only bright sides are Ford is focused on producing the new cars like the Mach-E and Bronco over the existing models, and I should get a nice trade in value on my Focus EV.
> 
> Well, another bright side is that the company I work for (Lam Research) is in the business of engineering and manufacturing the machines that are part of the chip making process. Business as you can imagine is quite brisk.


We're brisk here too. Our company makes toilet paper (also paper towel, napkins).
We're one of North Americas largest paper product producers.
Actually we've had historical record profits for each of the last 7 quarters.
Ya, my work life hasn't changed during this pandemic.


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

this is my ride. It's got nothing, perfect.


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Wat n Tarnation said:


> View attachment 935881
> this is my ride. It's got nothing, perfect.



You got a really nice ride. A real truck with a body-on-frame, not a stinking unibody. My son has a 1978 FJ-40.

The New 2022 Toyota Tundra Still Has a Feature That Is Now Disappearing From All of Truckdom! Ep.3​


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

My 2015 4Runner Limited has Full-Time 4WD. Found it in 2019 with 13,000 miles on it at half the price of a new one. 30K miles on it now.


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> You got a really nice ride. A real truck with a body-on-frame, not a stinking unibody. My son has a 1978 FJ-40.
> 
> The New 2022 Toyota Tundra Still Has a Feature That Is Now Disappearing From All of Truckdom! Ep.3​



I'm in Australia, it's a model you guys didn't get in the states, it's an 83 hj47, originally a 2h diesel 4 SPD, it's been converted to 5 SPD, I fitted a turbo, limited slip diff from an 80 series, power steering and a few more bits and pieces.


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Wat n Tarnation said:


> I'm in Australia, it's a model you guys didn't get in the states, it's an 83 hj47, originally a 2h diesel 4 SPD, it's been converted to 5 SPD, I fitted a turbo, limited slip diff from an 80 series, power steering and a few more bits and pieces.


Being in Oz, I figured your Land Cruiser had a diesel engine that is unavailable in the US. Never seen a Land Cruiser configured as a flat bed truck before. My son's FJ-40 is 6-cyl gas, and he loves it anyway.


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> You got a really nice ride. A real truck with a body-on-frame, not a stinking unibody. My son owns a 1978 FJ-40.
> 
> The New 2022 Toyota Tundra Still Has a Feature That Is Now Disappearing From All of Truckdom! Ep.3​



All body-on-frame Toyotas (the Tundra, 4Runner, Tacoma,, Sequoia, Lexus GX, Lexus LX, and Land Cruiser) will eventually transition to the Toyota New Global Architecure (TNGA) platform. The 3.5L , Twin-turbo, 389 HP, 479 Lb-Ft base gas engine used in the 2022 Tundra runs on regular 87 octane gas. The 3.5 V-6 is a proven engine that has been used in Lexus. Toyota is one of the few vehicle manufacturers that makes engines that can last a million miles.


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> Being in Oz, I figured your Land Cruiser had a diesel engine that is unavailable in the US. Never seen a Land Cruiser configured as a flat bed truck before. My son's FJ-40 is 6-cyl gas, and he loves it anyway.


Yep, we received a few models you guys didn't, we also have the 6cyl petrols I believe you guys only had the 3 spd we had the 4spd in later vehicles. We also had a long wheel base wagon known as a troop carrier it has long seats down the sides in the rear. I believe you guys only had what we refer to as the shorty, short wheel base 2 door.
Very popular over here as well.


----------



## SS396driver

I smile all the time


----------



## Lenny

What is this chip shortage thing that everyone worries about?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

Lenny said:


> What is this chip shortage thing that everyone worries about?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Maybe fish and chips? Hahahaha. Love your rigs.


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

SS396driver said:


> I smile all the time
> View attachment 936043


Beautiful


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Wat n Tarnation said:


> Yep, we received a few models you guys didn't, we also have the 6cyl petrols I believe you guys only had the 3 spd we had the 4spd in later vehicles. We also had a long wheel base wagon known as a troop carrier it has long seats down the sides in the rear. I believe you guys only had what we refer to as the shorty, short wheel base 2 door.
> Very popular over here as well.


Any of the 4runners in Oz have diesels?


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> Any of the 4runners in Oz have diesels?


That's a model we didn't get, but quite a few where personally imported, my cousin had a diesal 4 runner, nice 4wd, hilux utes was what we got.
I had a few hiluxs back in the day, but mine where 4 cylinder petrol and one had a V6 Buick that was converted by the previous owner.


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Wat n Tarnation said:


> That's a model we didn't get, but quite a few where personally imported, my cousin had a diesal 4 runner, nice 4wd, hilux utes was what we got.
> I had a few hiluxs back in the day, but mine where 4 cylinder petrol and one had a V6 Buick that was converted by the previous owner.


On rare occasions, have seen Subaru Brats and Bajas in my area. Cute little buggers they are. Since Subaru utes are not sold here, they were probably imported to the U.S. by their owners.

Have an ARB 37 quart compressor fridge/freezer connected directed to my battery with 12 gauge wire for camping and road trips. Love it.


----------



## Blue Oaks

I picked up my Mach-E GT Performance Edition on Sat. It's a blast to drive with that 634 foot pounds of torque instantly available to feed through all four wheels. I traded in the Focus EV, so my payment is only $900 a month lol.


----------



## FunkyYota

I’ve had great luck with Toyota’s. I beat the crap out of them and they keep going. Also they’re pretty easy to work on. I’ve had a few ford trucks for the higher payload. I get way more frustrated with engineering decisions on the fords than Toyota’s. I just think the Ford look cool and have good payload capacity.





Had to use the Toyota to get firewood since the Ford needed an engine rebuild. Classic ford stuff.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Tried to get a dump truck last night. Had a clean body beautiful frame but every other subsystem except the dump body had some major issue. Fuel spraying everywhere, junk tires, bad windshield, holes cut in the floor, mice everywhere, lights jacked up, front end trashed. Goes to show you can have a clean body and a rotten soul. Super sad, it just wasn't worth the money they were asking.


----------



## Marine5068

SS396driver said:


> I smile all the time
> View attachment 936043


Do you haul much firewood with it?
LOL


----------



## Marine5068




----------



## Brufab

For me It's whatever one is not in the shop. 1997 honda crv/2002 silverado z71


----------



## SS396driver

Marine5068 said:


> Do you haul much firewood with it?
> LOL


Nope . That's what this is for


----------



## Brufab

That is one sweet looking truck!


----------



## Huskybill

I don’t drive anymore but when I plow snow my 55 cj5 Willy’s serves me well. I have her for 26 years. The best $400 I ever spent. She has loc rites in the diffs unstoppable lStay thirsty my friends.


----------



## Wat n Tarnation

Marine5068 said:


> Do you haul much firewood with it?
> LOL





Marine5068 said:


> Do you haul much firewood with it?
> LOL


Yep, all the time.


----------



## ElevatorGuy

After making the 3rd p.o.s. Mopar mistake I bought my first Toyota. I will never own anything again from that company, Everything they make is garbage. I will actually probably never buy another American vehicle.


----------



## Brufab

I feel ya. Did you get a tacoma? I see alot of import trucks have differential locking option on them.


----------



## ElevatorGuy

No Tacoma, I have a 4Runner and a Corolla.


----------



## Brufab

Nice! That corolla is a 500,000 mile car. 4 runners look good too!


----------



## SS396driver

ElevatorGuy said:


> After making the 3rd p.o.s. Mopar mistake I bought my first Toyota. I will never own anything again from that company, Everything they make is garbage. I will actually probably never buy another American vehicle.


Actually Chrysler hasn’t been an American car company for a while. They were good prior to Daimler and ok during their ownership . Fiat has screwed Chrysler up . Not a fan of anything made by them


----------



## SS396driver

I have a first gen Tacoma . Still going strong at 18 years old . People ask if it’s for sale about as often as the 72 C20


----------



## ElevatorGuy

SS396driver said:


> Actually Chrysler hasn’t been an American car company for a while. They were good prior to Daimler and ok during their ownership . Fiat has screwed Chrysler up . Not a fan of anything made by them


I’m well aware of the trash company and the many owners that have tried to change them. Mopar was trash long before fiat ever got involved. They should’ve died in 08 ish. Their name and rep sucks so bad they changed the truck brand to a new name. Same junk, different name. They could rename dodge Toyota next time and it wouldn’t improve reliability.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

I worked for FCA for awhile, they make excellent trucks and have come a long long way. I'd be driving a RAM or a Charger/Challenger in a heartbeat if I could afford any of them. We had many die hard customers that were screwed over by every other brand a time or another. RAM is working hard to steal away commercial truck sales from Ford. The initial quality is better than Ford and the upfit ease for bodies is the best in the industry. I still get to see trucks I delivered with Knapehide bodies driving by my house every single day.

Even what people thought were horrible cars (2014 Chrysler 200) beyond some interior quirks that I don't like, my dad has put 150k on a 2014 200 and he gets around 40mpg with it and beyond one wheel bearing it hasn't needed any work besides regular maintenance. He never washes it, no rust. The 2016 Subaru I had had multiple issues, including the battery would go dead after a week of sitting, the paint was absolute trash and it was starting to rust with less than 50k, despite being washed and waxed constantly. The transmission was constantly messing up and even with AWD, the car was terrible in the snow and got stuck frequently. Dealership was absolutely horrible. The only thing I'm glad for is that they hold their resale so I could get rid of it.

After years of searching, got my dump truck finally. How sweet it is.


----------



## SuperDuty04

I’ve had a passion for Jeeps since my dad bought me my first one 33 years ago. I’ve owned several since then. So when I was buying a new vehicle this spring it was an easy choice to get a new Wrangler. Of course it had to be a two door Wrangler as I don’t do 4 door jeeps lol. But I also still have my low mileage F250 quad cab 4x4 diesel for my work stuff.


----------



## Blue Oaks

My girlfriend has a 2016 Ram 1500 and it's a complete POS aside from the transmission. Constant bugs in the operating system and the exhaust leaks, OMG. If I upgrade her to wife, she'll be driving a Ford soon after.


----------



## ElevatorGuy

A reliable mopar trans?! You just haven’t waited long enough, it will self destruct. The other issues are typical mopar junk issues though


----------



## Brufab

I was surprised at the ram 2500s when i was a commercial flat roofer. Maybe a 2008ish towed a 14' enclosed double axle trailer loaded to the max 6 days a week for 250k+ miles but that could of been the needle in the hay stack though. I find dodges interior quality to be poor at best. We got newer rams in 2013-14 and had some trans troubles with them.


----------



## Blue Oaks

ElevatorGuy said:


> A reliable mopar trans?! You just haven’t waited long enough, it will self destruct. The other issues are typical mopar junk issues though



It's an eight speed I think. I drove it several hundred miles last summer and the transmission was the best part of the truck. The seat was the worst. It was like there was something wedged up against my right thigh, giving me a charley horse by the end of the trip. I tease her by telling her she's going to get a Ford Lightning Electric. She give me the, "you're dead to me" look. This is the girl who wore her cowboy boots when I first took her hiking.


----------



## ElevatorGuy

You don’t need good seats when the truck is sitting in the repair shop. However those heated tailgates are slick when you need to push that garbage off to the side of the road in the winter time!


----------



## PasoRoblesJimmy

Serious overlander rig with Alaska license plates.


----------



## Huskybill

I switched from troublesome gm cars and trucks to new Subaru’s in ‘97 it’s been trouble free Subies ever since. One Subaru with high mileage is the dog mobile for vet and walks. The newer Subaru is to go to work for misses. I’m retired for nearly twenty years. I drive tractors and my old Willy’s jeep.


----------



## SuperDuty04

Huskybill said:


> I switched from troublesome gm cars and trucks to new Subaru’s in ‘97 it’s been trouble free Subies ever since. One Subaru with high mileage is the dog mobile for vet and walks. The newer Subaru is to go to work for misses. I’m retired for nearly twenty years. I drive tractors and my old Willy’s jeep.


I thought only tree huggers drove suburus!?  totally kidding HB! I’d love to see a pic of your willys. I drive a new willys and love it.


----------



## DutchWoodPecker

Decision is based on:
1: Do I fit in it?
2: Does it feel right? This feeling can be any combination of things, that is hard to put into reason. This feeling that everything just makes sense.
3: Does it have a hitch to appease the misses. I only get her blessing with the ability to pull a trailer. She's a champ!

Once test drove a Mustang GT 2010 with a V8, classic 5-spoke wheels 'n everything. 
Most orgasmic engine noise ever and did not even need to put the seat all the way back, not did my head brush the ceiling, but I could never get used to looking in those Mickey Mouse ears on the dashboard.
I would never buy new. Taxes on new cars easily run into the triple digits, and the Americans on this here forum would die of heart attacks if they saw (pun intended) out gas prices.
Just got back down to the equivalent of about 9 dollars per gallon, so everybody here is relieved. 'nough said.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Last year I agreed to buy a sports car sight unseen from an estate for $3k, none of the family wanted it. After 4 months of title mayhem I got a very nice 2000 Mazda Miata that needs minor work.

Bring almost 7ft tall this didn't work at a and while with great difficulty I can drive its completely undoable. Had to have help to drive the car home, but did drive it a few miles around home.

It was a taste of the good life.

Pretty much agreed to sell the car to my little brother and make a little money but lots of frustration and emotion coming back wishing for a fun car. 

The engine blew a head or head gasket on my truck, and I had 4 parts engines on hand. Tearing them down for parts and scrap and figuring out what to use for my truck. An incredible amount of work with extremely small rewards.


----------



## Blue Oaks

I'm actually surprised that at some point you thought you'd fit in a Miata. I'm only five foot fourteen, but I'm quite sure I wouldn't try to sit in and drive a Miata. Sorry to hear about your truck.


----------



## FlyingDutchman

Blue Oaks said:


> I'm actually surprised that at some point you thought you'd fit in a Miata. I'm only five foot fourteen, but I'm quite sure I wouldn't try to sit in and drive a Miata. Sorry to hear about your truck.


My knees had the steering about locked and I could just barely use the clutch right with ankle action. I had to hunch over like driving a crotch rocket or my head stuck entirely over the windshield. Due to the leg cramp I had to be pulled out of the car physically.

But I beat it around some country roads and stuff. I could take the seat out and drive it normally but the seatbelt comes out with the seat.

Truck is a huge bummer but was expected. Just not this soon. Getting 4 engines broken down and out of the garage will be a blessing. Even with huge amounts of mods the truck is still really slow and the stuff I need to take it to the next level will cost as much as a decent C4 Corvette (which has less room than a Miata). So I'm playing the line between fixing the truck or "building" it...


----------



## camel2019

I drive anything big 3(or small North American companies when it comes to older stuff)when it comes to cars and trucks currently own a 93 ranger a 90 Chevy 3500 dually and a 1988 mustang(have a 84 mustang but it’s a roller drag car). when it comes to bikes and ATV mostly Japanese but love Indian motorcycles have a 93 Suzuki katana 600 and a 83 Yamaha maxim 750 that’s getting a Yamaha RD350 engine after I hard tail it.


----------



## 1Alpha1

Wish I could have a Ford F250 pick-up, with a Cummins Turbo Diesel, and an Allison 10-speed transmission in it.  

Now that would be a pick-up!


----------



## camel2019

1Alpha1 said:


> Wish I could have a Ford F250 pick-up, with a Cummins Turbo Diesel, and an Allison 10-speed transmission in it.
> 
> Now that would be a pick-up!


I’ve been eyeing up a eatons 10 speed from a 5 or 10 ton truck for my dually they look like someone made a bigger a sm465


----------



## ElevatorGuy

1Alpha1 said:


> Wish I could have a Ford F250 pick-up, with a Cummins Turbo Diesel, and an Allison 10-speed transmission in it.
> 
> Now that would be a pick-up!


Yup it’s a shame the Cummins engine is put in such a pile of $hit truck otherwise. You’d want a 350 though, the payload and pin weight is too low on a 3/4 ton truck when you add the diesel. My 2015 f250 6.7 had 1200 less payload than my buddies gasser just because of the gvwr.

What really needs to happen is yota to bring an hd diesel here and that should do dodge in once in for all.


----------



## camel2019

ElevatorGuy said:


> Yup it’s a shame the Cummins engine is put in such a pile of $hit truck otherwise. You’d want a 350 though, the payload and pin weight is too low on a 3/4 ton truck when you add the diesel. My 2015 f250 6.7 had 1200 less payload than my buddies gasser just because of the gvwr.
> 
> What really needs to happen is yota to bring an hd diesel here and that should do dodge in once in for all.


Think their coming out with a dually this year.


----------



## Ian178

I'm cheap. Here's my favorite current "ride".


----------



## bigbadbob

ElevatorGuy said:


> Yup it’s a shame the Cummins engine is put in such a pile of $hit truck otherwise.


I had a cummins 24v and the famous 53 block.
And yes it did crack.
Some junk is better than other junk


----------



## SS396driver

ElevatorGuy said:


> Yup it’s a shame the Cummins engine is put in such a pile of $hit truck otherwise. You’d want a 350 though, the payload and pin weight is too low on a 3/4 ton truck when you add the diesel. My 2015 f250 6.7 had 1200 less payload than my buddies gasser just because of the gvwr.
> 
> What really needs to happen is yota to bring an hd diesel here and that should do dodge in once in for all.


Yota would need a whole new platform . The current Tundra doesn't even have the capacities of the f150. 

I may diss my Dodge but it's been one of the best trucks I've owner. All three have their own problems.


----------



## SS396driver

In all honesty if I were to buy a new truck it would not be a diesel .


----------



## camel2019

SS396driver said:


> Yota would need a whole new platform . The current Tundra doesn't even have the capacities of the f150.
> 
> I may diss my Dodge but it's been one of the best trucks I've owner. All three have their own problems.


The newer f150 has no capacity for towing what so ever the frames are so thin you can cut them with tin snips and the body’s peel open like pop cans. I’m a ford guy But not interested in the newer stuff dodges up here don’t last 5 years without something rusting off.


----------



## Blue Oaks

camel2019 said:


> The newer f150 has no capacity for towing what so ever the frames are so thin you can cut them with tin snips and the body’s peel open like pop cans. I’m a ford guy But not interested in the newer stuff dodges up here don’t last 5 years without something rusting off.



Wait, what planet are you on? Plenty of towing capacity.



https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/vdm_ford/live/en_us/ford/nameplate/f-150f-150/2022/collections/3_2/2022_Ford_F150_Towing_Info_Oct20.pdf


----------



## camel2019

Blue Oaks said:


> Wait, what planet are you on? Plenty of towing capacity.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/vdm_ford/live/en_us/ford/nameplate/f-150f-150/2022/collections/3_2/2022_Ford_F150_Towing_Info_Oct20.pdf


Yeah but you put an empty 26ft car hauler on the hitch of one with the IRS rear end and she squats and that’s with a weight distribution hitch. My ranger can haul more after I put in a set of $20 helper coils. The frames won’t last in southern Ontario without oil spray anyway. their main selling point here is the “military grade”(read this a s***y)aluminum body. but when the frame is 12ga sheet metal don’t matter yeah it’s a clam shell and that heads extra strength but when the salt spray gets to it(lots of open holes in the frames for it to get into) it won’t be for long.


----------



## 1Alpha1

I'm not in the market for a new pick-up. Good thing too, as I'd have a real challenge picking the best one. 

As far as I'm concerned, all new(er) vehicles aren't anywhere's close to the quality that I'm used to seeing from older vehicles. 

Plastic seems to be the new steel.


----------



## camel2019

1Alpha1 said:


> I'm not in the market for a new pick-up. Good thing too, as I'd have a real challenge picking the best one.
> 
> As far as I'm concerned, all new(er) vehicles aren't anywhere's close to the quality that I'm used to seeing from older vehicles.
> 
> Plastic seems to be the new steel.


Yes unfortunately it is and I had to deal with it lots in my last few years as an auto body technician since those plastic welders came out anyway we fixed bumpers more then replaced them.


----------



## ElevatorGuy

SS396driver said:


> Yota would need a whole new platform . The current Tundra doesn't even have the capacities of the f150.
> 
> I may diss my Dodge but it's been one of the best trucks I've owner. All three have their own problems.


The current tundra as in the brand new one? If so you should probably look again but I’m not exactly sure. The big 3 probably don’t want yota to get into the hd diesel game. I’d love to see it because I’ll never buy another American vehicle and I’d love to see dodge go belly up for good.


----------



## SS396driver

ElevatorGuy said:


> The current tundra as in the brand new one? If so you should probably look again but I’m not exactly sure. The big 3 probably don’t want yota to get into the hd diesel game. I’d love to see it because I’ll never buy another American vehicle and I’d love to see dodge go belly up for good.


The 2022 Tundra payload 1740 to 2300 lbs towing 12,000 pounds . That a half ton range truck, bigger engine isn’t going to make the rest of the truck heavy duty no V8 option . It’s got 6 lugs wheels .

Don’t think you will ever see Dodge go belly up .


----------



## JRM

Wat n Tarnation said:


> View attachment 935881
> this is my ride. It's got nothing, perfect.



I love it 

Here's mine






nowhere near as nice as yours....but 55+ years of living in the rustbelt will do that to a vehicle....
But it's got nostalgia, was my dad's for many many years. My first 3 on the tree I learned to drive on, the linkage eventually got so sloppy I ended up replacing it with a newer Landcruiser 3 speed on the floor linkage.
Eventually when the kids are grown I will rip the body off and give it some much deserved TLC.

I gotta say the brand loyalty on this forum is intense! Pretty strong convictions, particularly from the pickup crowd. I think if we are honest with ourselves we could all agree that they are ALL junk...yes even the Toyotas. It comes down to learning to live with and repair what ya got. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for.....ever.


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## Wat n Tarnation

I like the fact they are simple, everything unbolts, every component down to the indicator flasher motor can be unscrewed and serviced.


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## JRM

Wat n Tarnation said:


> I like the fact they are simple, everything unbolts, every component down to the indicator flasher motor can be unscrewed and serviced.


Yes they are super simple. My comment was more in reference to the newer generation stuff - the older Japanese Era steel in these parts have been off the roads for decades now except for the rare one that's been stuffed in the back corner of a barn, like mine. It gets used to run the property, back roads and lease roads and an occasional trip to town in the summer. It hasn't seen a snowflake in probably 30 years and that's a good part of our climate. It spends a lot of time sitting for preservation purposes.

Unfortunately the newer stuff doesn't last any better. This is farm country - no one, and I mean no one drives a Tundra. It's a race to the scrap yard between which will rot out faster, the body or the frame. To Toyotas credit they did step up and put new frames underneath the earlier generation. But when you walk by a mall crawler at the local gas station on a couple year old truck and the fenders are already blistered up, holes in the bed floor and the bumper wouldn't survive a fender bender with a Hot Wheels car it doesn't instill much confidence.
For all the problems the big 3 have they have all stepped it up in the corrosion department. Gotta have a workable platform to be able to keep it on the road.


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## ElevatorGuy

SS396driver said:


> The 2022 Tundra payload 1740 to 2300 lbs towing 12,000 pounds . That a half ton range truck, bigger engine isn’t going to make the rest of the truck heavy duty no V8 option . It’s got 6 lugs wheels .
> 
> Don’t think you will ever see Dodge go belly up .


If you go back to my original post, I said Toyota not Tundra anyway. They build things for overseas that don’t make it here.

Dodge almost and should’ve went belly up around 08. Don’t you remember they bailout? Gm almost did too that’s why Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer was killed off.


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## SS396driver

ElevatorGuy said:


> If you go back to my original post, I said Toyota not Tundra anyway. They build things for overseas that don’t make it here.
> 
> Dodge almost and should’ve went belly up around 08. Don’t you remember they bailout? Gm almost did too that’s why Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer was killed off.


Toyota does not and never has made a true 1 ton pickup for ANY market . So I stand by my comment of they would need a new platform. Hino's are their big truck and are sold here . I dont see many around .


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## JRM

ElevatorGuy said:


> Dodge almost and should’ve went belly up around 08. Don’t you remember they bailout? Gm almost did too that’s why Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer was killed off.




By your standards GM should also have went extinct. For the record I do not agree with much of the bailout details. But to let them just go belly up would have meant much, much more than just GM and Chrysler employees losing their jobs. Contract manufacturing, dealerships, food and entertainment, the list is extensive. All told 100s of thousands of jobs if not millions would have been affected if the govt didn't step in and do SOMETHING to keep the lights on. That's a tough stance to take on the future of so many people.


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## PasoRoblesJimmy

JRM said:


> By your standards GM should also have went extinct. For the record I do not agree with much of the bailout details. But to let them just go belly up would have meant much, much more than just GM and Chrysler employees losing their jobs. Contract manufacturing, dealerships, food and entertainment, the list is extensive. All told 100s of thousands of jobs if not millions would have been affected if the govt didn't step in and do SOMETHING to keep the lights on. That's a tough stance to take on the future of so many people.



Have you been brainwashed by the organized-crime thugs of the United Auto Workers (UAW)? 

The rotten anti-USA management of GM used its U.S. bail out money to build a Buick plant in China. 

Please expain how a Buick plant in China is good for jobs in America.


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## PasoRoblesJimmy

JRM said:


> I love it
> 
> Here's mine
> 
> View attachment 983292
> 
> 
> nowhere near as nice as yours....but 55+ years of living in the rustbelt will do that to a vehicle....
> But it's got nostalgia, was my dad's for many many years. My first 3 on the tree I learned to drive on, the linkage eventually got so sloppy I ended up replacing it with a newer Landcruiser 3 speed on the floor linkage.
> Eventually when the kids are grown I will rip the body off and give it some much deserved TLC.
> 
> I gotta say the brand loyalty on this forum is intense! Pretty strong convictions, particularly from the pickup crowd. I think if we are honest with ourselves we could all agree that they are ALL junk...yes even the Toyotas. It comes down to learning to live with and repair what ya got. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for.....ever.



The "J" in the Toyota FJ Landcruiser sands for "Jeep". Great vehicle for off road, not so good on the highway.


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## PasoRoblesJimmy

JRM said:


> Yes they are super simple. My comment was more in reference to the newer generation stuff - the older Japanese Era steel in these parts have been off the roads for decades now except for the rare one that's been stuffed in the back corner of a barn, like mine. It gets used to run the property, back roads and lease roads and an occasional trip to town in the summer. It hasn't seen a snowflake in probably 30 years and that's a good part of our climate. It spends a lot of time sitting for preservation purposes.
> 
> Unfortunately the newer stuff doesn't last any better. This is farm country - no one, and I mean no one drives a Tundra. It's a race to the scrap yard between which will rot out faster, the body or the frame. To Toyotas credit they did step up and put new frames underneath the earlier generation. But when you walk by a mall crawler at the local gas station on a couple year old truck and the fenders are already blistered up, holes in the bed floor and the bumper wouldn't survive a fender bender with a Hot Wheels car it doesn't instill much confidence.
> For all the problems the big 3 have they have all stepped it up in the corrosion department. Gotta have a workable platform to be able to keep it on the road.



From what I understand, the rusted pickup frames that you rust-belt inhabitants keep harping about was corrected years ago.

So please explain how the composite beds in Toyota Tacoma pickups get holes in them from corrosion.


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## JRM

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> Have you been brainwashed by the organized-crime thugs of the United Auto Workers (UAW)?
> 
> The rotten anti-USA management of GM used its U.S. bail out money to build a Buick plant in China.
> 
> Please expain how a Buick plant in China is good for jobs in America.


Nowhere did I excuse the actuons of GM. Before making yourself look even more foolish than you already have go back and read what I wrote, word for word. If English isn't your native language Google translate is an invaluable tool. Maybe then we can debate what I said.


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## JRM

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> The "F" in the Toyota FJ Landcruiser sands for "Jeep". Great vehicle for off road, not so good on the highway.


Wrong, but nice try. The F is the engine type. The J is what denotes a Jeep body (who would have guessed it was the J and not the F!)


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## JRM

PasoRoblesJimmy said:


> From what I understand, the rusted pickup frames that you rust-belt inhabitants keep harping about was corrected years ago.
> 
> So please explain how the composite beds in Toyota pickups get holes in them from corrosion.


I'm quickly starting to see a pattern here with you. 
What year did Toyota (Tundra, not Tacoma) switch to a composite bed?


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## jolj

I am a truck man. 
DW has a1997 Honda accord.
I had a 1995 Nissan pick up, the wiring harness went bad, so I bought a used 2005 Nissan crew cap truck. 
I got tried of one or the other being in the shop, so I went looking for another used truck.
My son told me to get of some money & buy a new truck, to solve my problem.
So that is how I got a 2022 Toyota Tacoma, black, basics four cylinder, auto trans.


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## Wat n Tarnation

JRM said:


> Yes they are super simple. My comment was more in reference to the newer generation stuff - the older Japanese Era steel in these parts have been off the roads for decades now except for the rare one that's been stuffed in the back corner of a barn, like mine. It gets used to run the property, back roads and lease roads and an occasional trip to town in the summer. It hasn't seen a snowflake in probably 30 years and that's a good part of our climate. It spends a lot of time sitting for preservation purposes.
> 
> Unfortunately the newer stuff doesn't last any better. This is farm country - no one, and I mean no one drives a Tundra. It's a race to the scrap yard between which will rot out faster, the body or the frame. To Toyotas credit they did step up and put new frames underneath the earlier generation. But when you walk by a mall crawler at the local gas station on a couple year old truck and the fenders are already blistered up, holes in the bed floor and the bumper wouldn't survive a fender bender with a Hot Wheels car it doesn't instill much confidence.
> For all the problems the big 3 have they have all stepped it up in the corrosion department. Gotta have a workable platform to be able to keep it on the road.


Do they salt the roads where you live?
I'm in Australia, it snows a little where I live but not usually enough to settle on the ground for more than 1/2 a day. Lol


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## JRM

Wat n Tarnation said:


> Do they salt the roads where you live?
> I'm in Australia, it snows a little where I live but not usually enough to settle on the ground for more than 1/2 a day. Lol


We avg north of 100" a year snowfall. Fortunately we have warm spells in between where it melts off occasionally unlike colder areas where it just accumulates.

They use Salt and brine mixtures and calcium chloride, aka weasel snot 
The stuff sticks to every nook and cranny and is worse on vehicles than salt, IMO. First snowfall is generally November but we have got some good ones in late October. Last snow fall is usually mid to late April, Last weekend we got a few inches but it melted pretty quickly. Hopefully that's the last of it.
That's a picnic table out there....3 days prior we were sitting at it having a fire


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## PasoRoblesJimmy

JRM said:


> I love it
> 
> Here's mine
> 
> View attachment 983292
> 
> 
> nowhere near as nice as yours....but 55+ years of living in the rustbelt will do that to a vehicle....
> But it's got nostalgia, was my dad's for many many years. My first 3 on the tree I learned to drive on, the linkage eventually got so sloppy I ended up replacing it with a newer Landcruiser 3 speed on the floor linkage.
> Eventually when the kids are grown I will rip the body off and give it some much deserved TLC.
> 
> I gotta say the brand loyalty on this forum is intense! Pretty strong convictions, particularly from the pickup crowd. I think if we are honest with ourselves we could all agree that they are ALL junk...yes even the Toyotas. It comes down to learning to live with and repair what ya got. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for.....ever.



My son owns a mint 1978 FJ40 with a bare hint of surface rust. It has an inline 6 cyl gasoline engine. In contrast to Oo, California puts sand, not salt, on its icy roads.


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## FlyingDutchman

Thankfully my life has evolved enough to boil me down to a point finally where I'm looking at everyone's favorite truck category, 30k and down 2500/3500 trucks. 

Side business requires heavy towing occasionally. My 96 k1500 is broken down with a bad head gasket. So is the 2000 c3500 dump truck I bought last year, after spending tons of money on the dump fixing a misfire I couldn't figure out, the bottom end developed a bad noise. The dump truck has cost me all of the savings I had for the last 2 years before. So I'm just beyond upset and fed up.

Have my first kid on the way and no running vehicle. The dump truck and k1500 can't fit a car seat.

However, car shopping in this era with a budget is no fun. The ideal ones slip away and what's left is perpetually too expensive or junk.

The current target is a 2500 or 3500 2015 up Chevy/GMC gas truck. The ride is really good on the 2500 I tested compared to a Ram (from what I remember), which is my second choice, but I need to assess the ride on a Ram again. The roads here are the worst, so ride is very important.


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## sean donato

FlyingDutchman said:


> Thankfully my life has evolved enough to boil me down to a point finally where I'm looking at everyone's favorite truck category, 30k and down 2500/3500 trucks.
> 
> Side business requires heavy towing occasionally. My 96 k1500 is broken down with a bad head gasket. So is the 2000 c3500 dump truck I bought last year, after spending tons of money on the dump fixing a misfire I couldn't figure out, the bottom end developed a bad noise. The dump truck has cost me all of the savings I had for the last 2 years before. So I'm just beyond upset and fed up.
> 
> Have my first kid on the way and no running vehicle. The dump truck and k1500 can't fit a car seat.
> 
> However, car shopping in this era with a budget is no fun. The ideal ones slip away and what's left is perpetually too expensive or junk.
> 
> The current target is a 2500 or 3500 2015 up Chevy/GMC gas truck. The ride is really good on the 2500 I tested compared to a Ram (from what I remember), which is my second choice, but I need to assess the ride on a Ram again. The roads here are the worst, so ride is very important.


You need to keep looking. Picked up a nice escape for my wife for $900.00 this past July. Needed a few minor things. 165k miles on it. Very clean inside. Seen it on waste book and got ahold of the guy right away. Picked it up 2 days later. Took longer for the dmv to get me plates then took to fix it. Truck market is just shite right now. Honestly you may just be better off fixing what you currently have and selling that to fund the next truck. If I were to replace my 96 f-250 with a comparable newer truck I'd be in the $30-40k price range. Even if I found something that was rough with high miles I'm still out $20k. Crazy times right now.


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## FlyingDutchman

Great job with the Escape, Sean. 

Economy, gas and interest rates are going to tank the truck sales, I'm wanting to do something now but will just have to wait and bottom feed off it. There's some older crew cabs and Suburbans etc that could fit the bill as well


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## Sierra_rider

My 2 pickups(not county projects and yard art) are my '18 Tacoma and my '08 Dodge 2500.

Reasons for the Dodge...I wanted a newer diesel, but only wanted a Cummins...the other things I needed/wanted were a manual, long bed, 4wd, and a crew/quad cab. The Dodge fulfils all those requirements. I really wanted a 5.9, but the deal I got on my 6.7 was absolutely ridiculous...I basically paid $10k less than the going rate should've been for that truck(low miles too.) After the emissions components fell off on a particularly bumpy road, it's been a phenomenal truck. 

The Tacoma...I drive a lot, but don't always need a big truck. I tried the commuter car thing, but the winters are too harsh here and I ended up driving the Dodge a lot. Even then, 2500/3500 trucks don't work so well in mountain snow...plenty of times that I couldn't even get out of my own driveway in the Dodge w/o plowing. I looked at all the mid-size pickups except the Ranger, I wasn't happy with my previous Ford product. Considering that I'm a manual transmission snob, the Tacoma was my preferred choice. Sure enough, I found mine with the 6 speed manual, also 4wd, quad cab, and TRD OR package(locking rear diff.) It's been a great little pickup, it does really well in the snow up here.


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## sean donato

Sierra_rider said:


> My 2 pickups(not county projects and yard art) are my '18 Tacoma and my '08 Dodge 2500.
> 
> Reasons for the Dodge...I wanted a newer diesel, but only wanted a Cummins...the other things I needed/wanted were a manual, long bed, 4wd, and a crew/quad cab. The Dodge fulfils all those requirements. I really wanted a 5.9, but the deal I got on my 6.7 was absolutely ridiculous...I basically paid $10k less than the going rate should've been for that truck(low miles too.) After the emissions components fell off on a particularly bumpy road, it's been a phenomenal truck.
> 
> The Tacoma...I drive a lot, but don't always need a big truck. I tried the commuter car thing, but the winters are too harsh here and I ended up driving the Dodge a lot. Even then, 2500/3500 trucks don't work so well in mountain snow...plenty of times that I couldn't even get out of my own driveway in the Dodge w/o plowing. I looked at all the mid-size pickups except the Ranger, I wasn't happy with my previous Ford product. Considering that I'm a manual transmission snob, the Tacoma was my preferred choice. Sure enough, I found mine with the 6 speed manual, also 4wd, quad cab, and TRD OR package(locking rear diff.) It's been a great little pickup, it does really well in the snow up here.


Snob....
I'm not a chevy truck guy in the least. But had to pick between this old wt1500 and a sprinter type van..... rather shift gears.


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## artbaldoni

My main "ride" is actually a RIDE... I ride year around down to 15f. I have a ratty old Subaru and an F250 for snow and ice and heavy hauling.


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## Sierra_rider

sean donato said:


> Snob....
> I'm not a chevy truck guy in the least. But had to pick between this old wt1500 and a sprinter type van..... rather shift gears.


I'm actually an old school chevy/gm fan...those older trucks were so simple. I've got a couple of old trucks, a 72 k20 and a 71 k2500. The k20 is a project in my shop right now...I swapped the th350 for a sm465 4 speed that I rebuilt, small block, disc brake 14 bolt in the back, shackle flip, suburban tank, etc I'm going to build a flat bed for it and make it my tree/firewood truck. I'm trying not to do a full-blown resto on it, just making it a clean driver.





After I finish the Chevy, I'll move onto the old jimmy. This one is going to get restored to stock/original condition. I originally bought it as a parts truck for the 72, but it has too many uncommon options for me to part it out. Factory AC, dual batteries, 350/4speed, bucket seats, saddle tanks, factory tach, it even has a dealer-installed cruise control. It's in rough shape, but isn't missing anything. Also as rough as the body is on it, it doesn't have any rust...the other truck actually had more rust in it.


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## jolj

Sierra_rider said:


> I'm actually an old school chevy/gm fan...those older trucks were so simple. I've got a couple of old trucks, a 72 k20 and a 71 k2500. The k20 is a project in my shop right now...I swapped the th350 for a sm465 4 speed that I rebuilt, small block, disc brake 14 bolt in the back, shackle flip, suburban tank, etc I'm going to build a flat bed for it and make it my tree/firewood truck. I'm trying not to do a full-blown resto on it, just making it a clean driver.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After I finish the Chevy, I'll move onto the old jimmy. This one is going to get restored to stock/original condition. I originally bought it as a parts truck for the 72, but it has too many uncommon options for me to part it out. Factory AC, dual batteries, 350/4speed, bucket seats, saddle tanks, factory tach, it even has a dealer-installed cruise control. It's in rough shape, but isn't missing anything. Also as rough as the body is on it, it doesn't have any rust...the other truck actually had more rust in it.


Reminds me of my 1966 twin beam Ford F100 truck.


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## SS396driver

I have 4 Chevy trucks two 68s a 72 and an 85 k20 .












The 68 stepper is just about done


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## ElevatorGuy

Not sure if I had already posted the car in here or not and wasn’t going through all 10 pages to see lol. I’ll never buy another American car after owning 3 p.o.s. Mopars. Japanese only for us, The Acura was built in America though. Cleaned it all up yesterday, It doesn’t leave the garage unless it’s sunny and dry.


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## ElevatorGuy

My Tundra was also built in America, The Corolla was built in Canada. American car manufacturers will never catch up to the quality of the japs. Our 4Runner was built in Japan, Amazing truck as well. I’m never going back to American companies when it comes to vehicles.


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## SS396driver

Think I need more cam


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## JRM

ElevatorGuy said:


> View attachment 1029379
> Not sure if I had already posted the car in here or not and wasn’t going through all 10 pages to see lol. I’ll never buy another American car after owning 3 p.o.s. Mopars. Japanese only for us, The Acura was built in America though. Cleaned it all up yesterday, It doesn’t leave the garage unless it’s sunny and dry.


LOL! Make any car a garage queen and it'll last forever. Granted, Chrysler has been hit and miss depending on platform and generation, but to act like they all don't make crap is disingenuous. 
I could write a book on Honda/Acura, Toyota, (anyone want a Mitsubishit pile for free? ) 

But if you know, you know.


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## ElevatorGuy

Chrysler is just a miss.


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## JRM

How's this for a pile of Mopar 

Driven year round, in the rust belt, 100"+ of snow annually. NOT a garage queen. My teenage boys first truck, it was a good project for us.


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## FlyingDutchman

After months of searching and both of my other trucks broken down bad, got this 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew with 140k for 13k. It has everything I wanted, from the subwoofer to the backup camera, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, a great snowplow, a pretty sweet topper. I have a handyman business so the topper is going to come in handy for tools.

It's pretty clean to boot. It's small potatoes compared to what many people drive but I couldn't pass up on the price.

It's so nice I can't feel comfortable about it being mine feels alien. I just don't believe it because I literally get the brown end of so many things.


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## Sierra_rider

FlyingDutchman said:


> After months of searching and both of my other trucks broken down bad, got this 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew with 140k for 13k. It has everything I wanted, from the subwoofer to the backup camera, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, a great snowplow, a pretty sweet topper. I have a handyman business so the topper is going to come in handy for tools.
> 
> It's pretty clean to boot. It's small potatoes compared to what many people drive but I couldn't pass up on the price.
> 
> It's so nice I can't feel comfortable about it being mine feels alien. I just don't believe it because I literally get the brown end of so many things.


Congrats man, I know the feeling of a purchase that you're proud of. The next morning, it almost feels like your brain just made up a cruel dream on you and then you walk outside, and you'r shiny ride is sitting right there. Such a good feeling.


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## wood4heat

My original ride was a 1980 Toyota long bed 4X4. I beat that poor truck like a dirty rug! Soo much fun wheeling that thing! It hauled my MX bikes and took me literally anywhere I wanted to go. As my budget grew the trucks grew, toys grew, trailers grew eventually leading to an LML Duramax. It’s a great truck for pulling but I only abuse the toys off road now! 

Some years ago I quit daily driving the truck. Got a sweat deal on a 1980 RX7, then an ‘89 MR2, a ‘93 turbo MR2, a manual transmission Lexus IS300 (my absolute favorite!) but I needed something more utilitarian. My latest car is a Subaru Crosstrek. It’s not fast but it is super capable, takes me up into the mountains on some surprising old roads. I don’t care if my muddy dog jumps in. It cleans up easy and has no delicate surfaces. For that matter I don’t mind getting in wet and dirty myself. Just wipe it out! It’s a utensil but it averages 32mpg and does the things I want in a ride right now.


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## Goinwheelin

wood4heat said:


> My original ride was a 1980 Toyota long bed 4X4. I beat that poor truck like a dirty rug! Soo much fun wheeling that thing! It hauled my MX bikes and took me literally anywhere I wanted to go. As my budget grew the trucks grew, toys grew, trailers grew eventually leading to an LML Duramax. It’s a great truck for pulling but I only abuse the toys off road now!
> 
> Some years ago I quit daily driving the truck. Got a sweat deal on a 1980 RX7, then an ‘89 MR2, a ‘93 turbo MR2, a manual transmission Lexus IS300 (my absolute favorite!) but I needed something more utilitarian. My latest car is a Subaru Crosstrek. It’s not fast but it is super capable, takes me up into the mountains on some surprising old roads. I don’t care if my muddy dog jumps in. It cleans up easy and has no delicate surfaces. For that matter I don’t mind getting in wet and dirty myself. Just wipe it out! It’s a utensil but it averages 32mpg and does the things I want in a ride right now. View attachment 1035995
> View attachment 1035996
> View attachment 1035997
> View attachment 1035998
> View attachment 1036000


Those Subies rule up here. Surprised you got it to spin tire like that lol.


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## wood4heat

Goinwheelin said:


> Those Subies rule up here. Surprised you got it to spin tire like that lol.


Traction control-OFF! Best part is my 15yo daughter was driving!


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## Goinwheelin

wood4heat said:


> Traction control-OFF! Best part is my 15yo daughter was driving!


I love the snow. This was last Tuesday. Not much but it’s dumping up there right now. Can’t wait to hit it again


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## JRM

How do you like the new Bronco's? 

I've been thinking about dumping our Explorer for one for my wife. Kids are grown and its too much vehicle for our needs anymore.


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## Goinwheelin

JRM said:


> How do you like the new Bronco's?
> 
> I've been thinking about dumping our Explorer for one for my wife. Kids are grown and it’s too much vehicle for our needs anymore.


Love it. It has its quirks with the soft top but it’s to be expected. drives nice even with a lift and big tires. Can’t speak to the Bronco Sport because that’s entirely different rig. Kinda like a Subaru but better looking. More in line with the explorer


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## JRM

If I get one it won't be a Sport. I want a frame under my rig


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## samaritan

Well, it's no 68 camaro or 71 chevelle, but I love my 07 odyssey, 174k miles, runs like new, goes like a bat out of hell.


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## samaritan

Well, it's no 68 camaro or 71 chevelle, but I love my 07 odyssey, 174k miles, runs like new, goes like a bat out of hell.


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## samaritan

Sorry for the duplicates, not sure what happened


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