Friday, March 31, 2006

Random Mutts Reference

The license plate reads "SHMILE." (sorry for the blur, we were on the highway.)

Thursday, March 30, 2006

I hate Buicks!



Here's the Hyde side to my multifaceted relationship with Buicks. My old beast is getting worse... now the engine light is coming on before I've barely topped the first hill, when last week it took 6 miles for it to come on. B pulled the O2 sensor out of the parts car to swap in, since we can't find anything else wrong with the Puick. I mean, besides the oil leak, wonky overdrive gear, melted plastic housing under the hood that used to help keep fumes out of the cabin and now adds to them, screwy choke, and recently a bad u-joint. Otherwise the car runs great. Never mind the driver's window that sticks in the summer and won't open at all in winter, or the shrill squealing from the dash on cold mornings (my beloved "dash rat"), or the rusty rear bumper, or the blown back speakers or beginning-to-shred vinyl top. It has "personality." And as long as it runs and passes inspection I'll keep driving it. Hey, the original radio still works!

On the Jeckyll side... Dad's got his '73 Buick out and about now that the weather's nicer. Car just looks and sounds great going down the road. I love driving it, except that one time when some of the wiring burned up in Reading. Something happened and the car started backfiring... considering the area of town we were in, I was waiting for someone to shoot back... and the car finally quit at a liquor store. (Oh, that was a sign. I was tempted.) We rigged it enough to get it to our hotel, called AAA, and rented a Ford Focus for the rest of the trip. It was a good thing, in a way. I can't imagine trying to maneuver that huge old ark around downtown Philly. But I bet people would think twice about cutting us off!

To make up for the photo-less previous post, here's Dad's Electra 225:

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Cheap horny hookers here!

Hubby just finished putting the dual exhaust on his truck- it sounds great! I'll admit, I had a few moments of confusion a couple of days ago when he was ordering the new system. All I heard from the direction of the living room was "horny" and "hooker." Then I heard "Summit" and discovered he was talking about Hornie mufflers and Hooker exhaust. Got a chuckle at my own expense. Parts for my car come under one or two names: "cheap" and "used." Which goes along with that whole theme, doesn't it? :-D

Summit sent him a hat, some Hooker decals (not on MY car, thanks, that would just be asking for it) and a coupon for his next order. He used that immediately, and now we have a brush guard on the way for the Bronco. Not chrome, unfortunately, but black powdercoat, and it has the headlight guards as well. Tax money is spent, y'all.

I keep thinking about that purple Tacoma. I have a kind of "off" feeling about it... it's hard to buy a used truck, simply because most of them (as I've said before) were used as trucks. If I needed a hauler or small pickup for moving stuff around, there wouldn't be a problem. But I don't.

Segue to what another blogger was talking about recently... people getting brainwashed by advertising and commercials... I hate to admit it, but it relates. Y'see, I found a car yesterday that meets all my basic requirements and then some (and then some more- that thing is LOADED) but it isn't... cool. It's not even in the same ballpark as cool. It's at the other end of the spectrum. I've never had a "cool" car (the '63 Nova was Dad's, so it doesn't count) so I was hoping to finally cut loose a bit. I wanted something people would notice, something that might turn a few heads, with more horsepower than I'll ever use and a spoiler and bright paint. Maybe a turbo something. You get the idea. I have to get out of that mindset and focus on what I need, not what other people think is sporty or popular or what car dealers try to sell me on.

The car I found is medium metallic blue. Has charcoal leather interior, power freaking everything, heated seats and mirrors, keyless entry, CD player, cruise, traction control... all the bells and whistles. It screams comfort and luxury on the inside. Outside... um... I'm not anywhere near retirement age. But I believe I need to go lie down and think this over.

Anyone know if they make rear spoilers for *******s?

Monday, March 27, 2006

Purple Taco!

"AAAAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!" ~Charlie Brown

I was doing so well... had it narrowed down to four vehicle models... all cars, all with decent to excellent fuel economy and great options... and then I saw it.

We were cruising down a business route, scoping dealers. Saw a nice Corolla, couple of Legacys, and a whole lot full of Buicks that had me salivating at the thought of continuing my current vehicular comfort level with a modern update. My Buick is 21 years old and it's still the most comfy car I've ever owned; I can only imagine what a newer model feels like. The ratings and reviews laud the LeSabre for comfort factor and I'm leaning hard in that direction. The Limited model is optioned nicely, has everything I want except AWD but it does have traction control so that's something.

Anyway we pass a small Subaru dealer and turn in to look at Bajas. Or as my hubby calls them, BAHhahahas. Only one they had was new, so we drove past. Hubby pointed out a Camry... it was fairly dark by then and under the dealer lights we couldn't tell the exact color, so I got out to look. It was metallic mint green and out of price range. Walked over to a blue Legacy and passed a Tacoma x-cab en route. I'd seen it on the way in but since I was no longer truckhunting I didn't look very closely.

That is, until the light hit it and I realized it was purple. Not light blue, not lavender or lilac mist, but deep grape purple. I stopped. I glanced at the rear, no TRD badge. "Ah, it's probably two-wheel-drive," I thought. I read the price. "Yep, definitely 2WD." I read the options list. "HONEY! Come here!" 4x4, low mileage, great price. And did I mention it's purple?! I gotta call about this one. For that price, there HAS to be something wrong with it.

And so, I'm back to where I started, the Tacoma. *Sigh* I'm not even going to try to fight it or reason myself out of it. My next vehicle will pick me, not the other way around!

Monday, March 20, 2006

It's Just Sad

For Tofirius and my dad:

Someone finally moved the old Lincoln away from the parking area at the pond/skate rink. I don't remember the door glass being busted. The car is now closer to the woods. Since it's on private property, and it's been sitting there since the first time I went there six or seven years ago, I don't see it ever going much farther. This car is restorable, in good shape overall and seems to have all the brightwork intact as far as I can tell... been a while since I was able to look up close. I love this beast, would love to give it a good home.

Sightings today: bronze and cream '57 Chevy, just beautiful. Blue Ford Galaxie in a yard, rusting. Two AMC Eagles, one looking sad and the other on blocks, stripped down (parts for the first one, I assume). Early 70's Chevelle. One Kubota tractor that we think someone traded in at the Nissan dealer... oh yeeeeeeah, we're in redneck country!

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Why not a Corvette?

The other night hubby and I made the dealership rounds over in the big town. I must have been out of it, or possibly too much into it, because my automagination went completely out of bounds.

The first vehicle that sparked my interest was- get this- a 1994 Caddy Eldorado. Say what? Low miles, good price, looked like a 90's T-Bird that hit the lottery and got a makeover. So we looked at a few more Cadillacs before moving on. Can't afford a new SLS anyway.

Then it was Buicks. I can't explain that. I mean, there's that whole love/hate thing among my family for Buicks, but I swore I wouldn't get another one unless it was older than me... and here I was checking out newer LeSabres and Park Aves. I will vouch for a nice ride, but... Buick!

So now I'm freaking out, thinking I just aged 40 years. What's next? Lincolns? Oh yes, I went there too... I love Town Cars. *Sigh* Just about everything I saw that I liked screamed blue-haired ladies and left turn signals on for seven miles.

In an attempt to drag myself away from stereotypical retired-person cars, I scoped a VW Cabrio. And I thought it was just... TOO... small. Then a yellow Ranger Edge caught my fancy and I had to remind myself that we weren't truck-shopping this time around.

And then I thought what the heck... can I have an early midlife crisis please? Can I just get a Corvette or something equally ridiculous? That's when the automagination kicked in... thinking sporty, pretentious, completely impractical, or totally opposite of my original car goal. I said I ought to just get a '59 Impala droptop and be happy. Five minutes later, we saw a '59 Impala droptop in a showroom! How weird! But it was metallic pink and made into a lowrider... ewwww. No thanks. I didn't even take a picture of it.

Now, if money weren't an issue, I'd get one of these:

BMW Z5 (now M coupe)... oh yeah, I could live with that. Or a Viper coupe, blue please, with white skunk stripes. Hey, we can all dream!

Friday, March 17, 2006

Good Ol' Boy?


Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) arrested for DUI and reckless driving in New Jersey: http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-03-17-wopat-arrested_x.htm?csp=34

Guess once Boss Hogg let him off probation and he was allowed to leave Hazzard County, ol' Luke just had to go out and cut loose a bit. But New Jersey? Some redneck HE is! At least he was driving a Bronco. Probably a rusty one, if it's local.

Hey Luke, not good trying to get one over on Jersey cops... they aren't near as dumb as Roscoe and Enos! You're gonna be on probation for the rest of your life. It's the Duke curse!

Monday, March 13, 2006

I had the opportunity to look over a Chevy Impala yesterday. Someone had one at a family gathering so I picked her brain a bit. Nice-looking car, woodgrain trim in the interior, decent gas mileage... might have to dig a little deeper. My dad and husband both like the newer Impalas.

Would have had a fit if I'd seen this... the boys were out target-shooting, and after one unloaded his gun he parked it against the fender of my Bronco. No scratches, and hubby moved the gun before I saw it, so all's good. I don't buy into the "it's a TRUCK" mentality when it comes to the Bronco. My dad told me that when I refused to drive it up to his house because he hadn't trimmed the bushes back away from the lane. The TRUCK is my husband's. It hauls wood, tools, the occasional appliance... it was purchased to be used as such. Bronco was bought so we'd have a reliable vehicle to drive long-distance and/or in the snow whan my Buick couldn't get up the hill. It was a bonus that it happened to be immaculate and I intend to keep it that way. Most of the guys in the family don't understand that... if someone buys a truck, it's because they need a truck. Scratches and dents are proof that they're getting their money's worth. I want to keep my beast looking sharp so someday when it's a classic collectible I can sell it and buy a muscle car. *sarcastic laugh*


Bruce Bronco was a bit dusty here, but ain't he just sweet? I have a feeling, though, that Bruce is going to be getting a facelift in the future. I made the mistake of telling hubby when we bought it that once it was paid off we could start tweaking it... he's already looking at lift kits, fender flares, and bigger tires. Pipe dream at this point but I think he eventually plans to go through with it. He believes that once I'm safely ensconced in a new(er) car the Bronco is fair game. I guess I could go for it... I like the fender flares... brush guard... tube steps... we'll see. Never had a vehicle I could play with like that before. Of course we can't afford it now so I don't have to worry about it for a good while yet.

Speaking of... the Fords at Carlisle show this year is spotlighting 40 years of the Bronco. I considered entering ours into the original category but we'd have to be there Thursday thru Sunday. Neither of us can take that much time off work. Guess we'll drive down on Sunday like always, spend the day in auto-induced euphoria and come home full of chatter. Oh yeah, former wrestler Bill Goldberg will be there with one of his collection, a '70 Boss Mustang. I've met him and he's a nice guy. More info: http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/schedule/ford/index.asp

Tread Marks (the last item for the day) :

Hubby and I are always joking about Wal-Mart, in that every time we go there we see some car or truck we like in the parking lot. Often we'll see ones we don't immediately recognize and kinda angle past them on the way in to look closer. Now, I tend to be attracted to smaller wagons/hatchbacks. No idea why. Last night we parked next to a small silver thing that caught my eye and I had to go read the tail. Mazda Protege'??? There's one that's never been real high on my list. Mainly because Mazda is not a marque I pay attention to, with the exception of the RX7/RX8. I'd buy a Ford first and get the same thing with a name my husband would agree to. (He isn't fond of imports, even after reading the build sheets on so-called domestics anymore.) So I'm off to read reviews on Mazdas now. I'm learning more every day!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Saturday Recap

Didn't do any car-shopping (yet) this weekend. Well, I spent an hour on AutoTrader looking stuff up, so maybe that counts... instead of going by make or model, I just typed in a price range to see what came up. Ironically enough the first vehicle was a Chevy pickup! (We've had 3, and most of our family members have or had Chevy trucks. There are currently 5 in my immediate circle ranging from '86 to '04.)

Found a Subaru Legacy GT for a good price, read the details and drooled a bit. Too bad it's silver. I'm aiming for BLUE this time, people. As in cobalt or indigo, not teal or turquoise. Other options are that metallic burnt-orange I've always liked and bright yellow, but my hubby hates yellow cars. I'm thinking high visibility in bad weather but he isn't going for it. He wasn't even swayed by a Jeep Wrangler in yellow and he'd love to have another "real" Jeep. Bleah.

Also happened upon a couple of totally impractical cars, ones I'd never really consider but it was neat to see we *could* get if we wanted to. Like a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. A Mercedisease-Benz. Pontiac Firebird, though I couldn't find a black one with the Ram Air induction or I'd have been tempted. Several late-90s to early 2000s Mustang convertibles. (How do you write that? Early 00s? Sounds like breakfast cereal.) Also found a couple Solara convertibles in my range, though every one had over 100K. Yeah yeah, it's a Toyota, it's just getting broken in, but I'm not spending the cost of a new economy car on something with that many miles on it. There's a fine line between broken in and just broken. There were NO Subaru Bajas in my selected price range, and only 2WD Matrixes.

Interestingly, the majority of the vehicles that came up were Ford Taurus, Jeep Cherokee, and Honda Civic, followed by pickup trucks. A lot of VW Golfs too. I segued over to the VW website and learned that a brand-new Golf starts at 16 grand. Hmmmmmm. If I wasn't so paranoid about new VWs and the horrendous repair stories I've heard I might look into it further. The last VW I had was a 75 Beetle. I wonder if you can get that classic "musty vinyl smell" with a new one. I kinda miss it.



Story Time: On the way to work yesterday I saw a car I'd looked at when it was for sale a couple of years ago. 1980 (don't laugh) Pontiac Sunbird coupe. It was strictly nostalgic, as I owned two of them, '77 and '79, both coupes, not the roachy-looking hatchback. This one is black and has the 3.8l V6, same as the engine in my current Buick, which is one of the reasons I didn't buy it. I'm reallyreally tired of working on those engines. The other reason was that the seller wanted $3500 for it. For an '80 Sunbird! Don't know what he was smoking. Car still looks great but that was way too much for it. I still like them though. It's hard to find one that hasn't been tubbed and modded for racing. My green '77 was a great little scooter. Three things I'll never forget about that car: One, no A/C, California summers and black vinyl interior made for a lot of scorched thighs. Two, someone broke into it once and swiped my sunglasses and a raincoat, and about a month later I spotted an old Mexican woman wearing my coat. I didn't say anything. Three, the man I bought it from liked it so much that when I moved he bought it back from me. Last I heard it was living in San Francisco.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Sigh-tings

On the way to work: bright blue Pontiac Lemans, around '72, all shined up. Pea green 70's 4-door Cadillac looking like a cinder block on wheels. And this one, which I've seen on my commute every day for the past month:

For sale, no price on the sign though. There's some rust on the rear wheel wells and a few dings down the driver's side but from a distance it's not bad looking, is it? I didn't get out to take a closer look, just pulled over for the picture. The owners were home and if I'd stopped I'd have probably talked for a bit and gotten home late.

Also saw a roadrunner today.... I mean a pheasant! A real one, nice male ringneck wandering across the road to another field. There is, however, a purple Road Runner (car) over in town. Have to get a pic of it sometime.

The hubby has been pricing dual exhaust kits for his truck. The crossover pipe on his single exhaust came apart again. I said his catalytic converter might be bad and that's why the pipe keeps blowing off, so he's going to replace everything from the manifolds back once he gets the pipes, cats, and mufflers in. He redid the duals on his last truck and rerouted the pipes somewhat and it turned out good. This time he's going to have the tips coming out the sides because we both got tired of burning our legs every time we had to open the tailgate!

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

I can get a what?

Deciding to buy a car instead of another truck opens up a whole world of options. Instead of "Should I get a Tacoma, or a Ranger?" it's "Oh wow... I never considered a ragtop before!"

Fuel economy and dependability are still the major factors. I have a lot of research to do before I commit to a vehicle, but ya know, I was looking at a Chrysler Crossfire and thinking "Hey, that's kinda cute..." The thought lasted a mere ten seconds, but the fact that I thought about it at all surprised me. I realized that for the first time, I don't have to buy a completely practical car... I can have a bit of fun!

Following that train of thought while browsing the Toyota lineup, I read up on the Solara convertible. Ooh, a drop-top Camry! A FUN Toyota! Then I checked used prices and, after snorting ice water out of my nose, forgot about it. If a used car costs enough to give me brain freeze it is no longer an option. (See Barrett-Jackson link for classic examples... you'll cry.)

I like convertibles, at least the look of some of them, but I prefer hardtops. The area where we live is just chock-full o' critters, both wild and domestic and mostly large. Bears, deer, cows, and horses aplenty here. And the deer must have interbred with squirrels or lemmings because they're suicidal. I swerved to go around one that was almost to the edge of the road, and the dang thing stopped and backed up in front of the truck. Damage: fender trim ripped off and took out entire left side of dual exhaust. Speed: approx. 40MPH and braking. Compensation: none. The deer somehow launched over the embankment (lemmings, I tell you!) and fell into the creek below, no retrieval possible.

So what I'm saying is if I'm going to drive anything smaller than a fullsize pickup, Bronco, or large old land yacht with its own zip code, I would like some solidarity going on overhead in case a deer or stray cow happens to land on the roof. I'm not even real fond of sunroofs or T-tops (exception made for Grand National, natch). A rollcage would be great. Please do not suggest a Jeep. Don't want a Jeep, and in spite of the passing interest in the Crossfire I have no intention of buying any Daimler-Chrysler product. So those are out too.

This explains perfectly why I was just checking out Volkswagen Cabriolet/Cabrio convertibles. *eyeroll* Yep, waaaay over there on the exact opposite end of what I just described. Dunno why, but I always thought they were neat, and it's one of the very few cars I like in red. Looks great with a white top. I have no concept of practicality, do I? Knowing I'm no longer bound by that premise I've gone off the deep end. On the other hand, those little boxes were pretty good on gas!

Honestly, I could probably live with a ragtop, especially after a little road trip we took last year. My husband loves the new Mustangs so I surprised him by renting one for the day. No coupes available but it was such a beautiful, perfect day I was glad we went topless. (My review of the Mustang was less than stellar, since it was NOT designed for short persons like myself, but my very tall hubby had no complaints at all.) Other than seat height and visibility issues, I had a great time cruising and the car was a blast to drive. If it came with a booster seat I'd consider it.

[reality] Back to Subaru. [/reality] I'm kinda stuck on that Baja.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Today's Results

  1. The Barracuda apparently belongs to the owner of the lot and isn't for sale.
  2. The Matrix was kind of a weird gray/brown sludge color. I didn't think it was possible for that car to get any uglier; I was wrong.
  3. Camry was gone. Drat! I wanted to at least test-drive it. We checked the other lots under the same owner, in case it was moved, but no luck. Think it sold pretty quick. Whined pathetically over Highlanders and Tacomas again.
  4. Only one Baja found, a black Sport model with no price. It had been traded in and not prepped for sale yet, didn't feel like hunting down a salesguy. They were strangely absent today. Only had one attempt to approach us and that was at a Suzuki dealership. Those guys are probably desperate for sales.
  5. Saw a FSBO Tacoma TRD near Eckerd's. It was the "Desert Sand Mica" color I like (something like that), fully loaded... I knew it was going to be $15,000-$18,000. It wasn't, only 10 grand. Say what? Of course I had to get out and crawl around it a bit after seeing the price. It was used, hard, and had 97,000 miles on it. And at least seven dings. It was also filthy. Definitely a work/hunting/fishing/farm truck. Price seemed right after that. Passed it up.

Spotted out and about today: blue Boss Mustang at Denny's, red mid-60's Mustang coupe on the Strip, late 60's GTO rusting away in someone's yard, a clean two-tone brown and cream early 80's El Camino, and this one... we were just talking about this car last night. I'd commented that I always liked the body style and wouldn't mind having one in spite of the tendency towards rust. Once again an oddball car I brought up just magically appeared as if summoned:

Yes, that is a Rambler Marlin! Wasn't for sale, but we had to turn around and snap a shot of it. Look at that great styling, especially the black accents around the rear windows. I love these cars! I'm fond of the fastback Chargers as well but the Marlin just has a bit more "funky factor" going on. Seeing this one made my day.

Today's Agenda

  1. Head down Route 11 to check out a red 1965 Barracuda for sale.
  2. Swing by another lot for a Toyota Matrix viewing. Recoil from sticker shock.
  3. Drive up to Billtown, where a 2002 Camry waits to be drooled over... I mean, looked at.
  4. Early dinner, most likely Bonanza buffet. Yay.
  5. Some minor shopping, including Wegman's, the Ultimate Grocery Store.
  6. Cruise the dealership strip, with a stop at Subaru to see about used Bajas. Point out every burnt-orange vehicle I see. Wish the Chevy HHR had all-wheel-drive.
  7. Come home car-less, but with more ideas of local prices. Think about Baja, figure out financing for Camry, dream about Barracuda, ignore Matrix.

Sadly, the Matrix is optioned with everything I want in a new/used car... AWD/4WD, good gas mileage, and it's a Toyota. Too bad it's pretty much the ugliest thing Toyota makes (Prius excepted). Don't get me wrong, I love ugly cars... but this one goes beyond even my tolerance. I wish more manufacturers would follow the Big Three's lead and put out more retro-looking vehicles. NOT Jetsons-type things with tiny windows and short noses.

I leave you with this, an ugly car I can really appreciate: