Automobiles

[sbornia]

A Wily's Wheeler.

Looks so badass, Joe! I just saw a four-door MT at my daughter's preschool.

[Badonkadonk]

anyone here living with a muscle car who can opine on what that's like to deal with? preferably a 70 chevelle ss 454 or reasonable clone thereof. thanks!

[Too Tall]

anyone here living with a muscle car who can opine on what that's like to deal with? preferably a 70 chevelle ss 454 or reasonable clone thereof. thanks!

If you score a 454 Impala I call dibs when you are done.

[rwsaunders]

I was at our youngest kid's track meet yesterday afternoon and this mean, green and very clean Valiant was lurking in our high school parking lot.

[Cookietruck]

I was at our youngest kid's track meet yesterday afternoon and this mean, green and very clean Valiant was lurking in our high school parking lot.

that's probably a 61 valiant, crazy looking cars.
the '62 dodges (dart etc.) are some of my fav's, they were also the first of the max wedge option...

as far as living with a musclecar...
most handle like a boat and scare the shit outta you if you have a panic stop, that's the way those cars were built and you have to be able to appreciate that. there are things that can be done to help though.

also, so many people are going to catch you getting out of the car and want to tell you stories. that's cool.
my neighbors dad is in town from wisconsin and yesterday i was outside so the pops checked out my coronet, he told me stories about a '70 z28 he had and working at a gas/service station in the 60's and seeing the hemi cars. said just sitting there idling, stock from the factory, the whole car shook and you could feel the rumble. I already knew all that, but hearing him talk about it was cool.

[AngryScientist]

New car day! While I loved the Taco, I made some rookie mistakes with the first truck. I like a 2 door, but I should have gotten the extended cab, I also should have gotten the 6 cyl.

Joe - question: I've always wanted a taco, and i'll probably just buy one used at some point. you mention the 4-banger: was this engine wildly inadequate? i routinely tow a [very] small microcamper and also a large waverunner, and i suspect the 4cyl might be outmatched by any towing - thoughts on that. i need the v6, dont I?

[xjoex]

Joe - question: I've always wanted a taco, and i'll probably just buy one used at some point. you mention the 4-banger: was this engine wildly inadequate? i routinely tow a [very] small microcamper and also a large waverunner, and i suspect the 4cyl might be outmatched by any towing - thoughts on that. i need the v6, dont I?

The payload weight is super low on the 4cyl 4x4. I think it 1150 pds including passengers. That said low end power is nothing to scoff at, I have routinely towed full size pickups out of ditches in the snow, so there is that. The towing capacity is 3500 pds, but I would think the 4 cyl would explode on any sustained hill!

Anyhow I would get a 6cyl in the event you have to accelerate in traffic with the camper or wave runner.

-Joe

[roseyscot]

Joe, that's a Willy's owner's nightmare. You meant to find yourself a Tuxedo didn't you?

[xjoex]

That thing is a beauty!

-Joe

[AngryScientist]

The payload weight is super low on the 4cyl 4x4. I think it 1150 pds including passengers. That said low end power is nothing to scoff at, I have routinely towed full size pickups out of ditches in the snow, so there is that. The towing capacity is 3500 pds, but I would think the 4 cyl would explode on any sustained hill!

Anyhow I would get a 6cyl in the event you have to accelerate in traffic with the camper or wave runner.

-Joe

Thanks for the thoughts Joe. I'm likely a few years away, but looks like the 6 is the way to go.

[AngryScientist]

any salon folks check out a new Colorado with the diesel yet? 31mpg, 369 lb/ft torque sounds pretty good. diesel option pushes the truck over $30k and no manual transmission available, but still a strong option in the new truck segment i suspect. ??

[nahtnoj]

I jumped a Wrangler with a dead battery in the airport parking lot this morning.

And last year I pushed a guy in a disabled Cherokee off the center lane of I95 - he was causing a huge traffic jam.

UZJ100 owners have a civic duty to help the misguided and less fortunate...

[Brandon White]

I jumped a Wrangler with a dead battery in the airport parking lot this morning.

And last year I pushed a guy in a disabled Cherokee off the center lane of I95 - he was causing a huge traffic jam.

UZJ100 owners have a civic duty to help the misguided and less fortunate...

According to the insurance inspector, my 1997 wrangler caught fire on it's own ... in 1999. And my friends '97 5 YO Grand Cherokee caught on fire on it's own too. I still want another wrangler though.

[AngryScientist]

I've owned a few Jeeps, and currently own a GC that I bought for next to nothing. the inline-6 engines are pretty much bulletproof and have been known to go to 250k+ easily. Considering i do all the maintenance myself on the truck, and parts are cheap and readily available at any auto parts store across the country - it's a pretty good vehicle. Sure - they have some issues, but generally the Jeeps that have issues, do so because they stay on the road for so many years. rust will likely kill my current Jeep before mechanical issues do.

[Too Tall]

Yup. Still trying to decide if I fit in the truck. What they have done with this and the gas Colorado is terrific.

any salon folks check out a new Colorado with the diesel yet? 31mpg, 369 lb/ft torque sounds pretty good. diesel option pushes the truck over $30k and no manual transmission available, but still a strong option in the new truck segment i suspect. ??

[Brandon White]

I've owned a few Jeeps, and currently own a GC that I bought for next to nothing. the inline-6 engines are pretty much bulletproof and have been known to go to 250k+ easily. Considering i do all the maintenance myself on the truck, and parts are cheap and readily available at any auto parts store across the country - it's a pretty good vehicle. Sure - they have some issues, but generally the Jeeps that have issues, do so because they stay on the road for so many years. rust will likely kill my current Jeep before mechanical issues do.

The 4.0 Sport was one of my favorite engines I've driven. The engine w/ the ability to do a full 360 turn w/o the rear tires moving (I'm exaggerating a little) was awesome. I had a lot of fun in that car.

[Polyglot]

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Attachment 91960

I try to drive through the MD's parking area periodically. Spotted this the other day. I don't know much about them other than they cost a bundle and look really nice.

Mike

I recently bought the baby brother of the i8, namely the BMW i3 (see below). The i8 and the i3 make up the range of electric or partial electric vehicles made by BMW. The i3 is presently the most efficient car on the road in the US, rated at over 110 MPGe. Everybody in the household simply loves the car. We got the Range Extender model, meaning that it generally runs on electric power alone but when the battery charge drops down to less than 5 %, a BMW 650 cc motorcycle engine starts up to recharge the batteries, effectively extending your range as far as you want. We have driven the car about 1500 miles in the last 5 1/5 weeks and have used the range extender twice. We have averaged about 3.8-4.0 miles per KwH and at the cost of electricity here in NJ we spend about 1 cent per mile for propulsion, which is about 1/5th what we spend on our Saab (which gets relatively good mileage). The car will outaccelerate almost any car around up to about 30 mph and the suspension and handling are that of a true BMW. You can throw it into corners with abandon. Folding down the rear seats, I can easily fit two bikes inside (removing the front wheels), and think that 3 bikes could fit in with some care (I haven't tried). Yesterday, I loaded my daughter and a classmate and all of their belongings for part of their drive home from college (they car-pooled to another friend's place 40 miles from our house). After 80 miles of suburban and urban driving we still had about 10 miles range without needing to resort to the range extender, this notwithstanding the full load. I realize that it might not be ideal for everybody but for us it is absolutely perfect and the first car that I would wholeheartedly recommend to any of my friends.

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[mmoore]

having a hard look at large vans to convert into a expedition van these days.... something about them is calling me.
the trip to California didn't help seeing them out and about.

[72gmc]

hellafab--this morning's walk with the wife featured a Mercedes sprinter 4x4 sighting. She began, unprovoked by me, to talk about how cool one of those might be. You aren't the only one.

[xjoex]

It is a rabbit hole to go down... My big factor/want is a shower in an adventure mobile. Because after riding all day I want to get clean. Otherwise I might as well camp. But the shower equipped models jump up in price so much.

I have been looking at these SylvanSport GO | Lightweight, Small Pop Up Campers - Camping Trailer and these Lightweight Sports Trailer for Camping, Hauling, Hunting | SPACE™ Trailers but no shower, mostly so I can give the dogs more room in the car on road trips!



-Joe