Automobiles

[ides1056]

My wife bought one and I thought, "what are you going to use that for?'

Everything.

We have a 3010. Seats two. Punches well above its weight. Simple to maintain.

I use the plow to clean up after snowblowing, or if there's only several inches.

I am endlessly impressed by its utility.

[72gmc]

https://www.theguardian.com/business...nder-in-france

May not be rugged enough for a no-deal Brexit ...

[nahtnoj]

A Kei truck is interesting, but this is only a couple thousand more:

130006747_779160872633603_9052192080264842817_o.jpg

[dashDustin]

2021 V6 Tacomas will have dual zone climate control. wifey's 2008 Camry had that. it's good to see Toyota is trickling down that 13yr old tech to models other than TRD with certain packages.

that said...

2021 Tacoma is now priority #1 for me.

traded in my V60 for a Tacoma. so happy to be back in a truck...so happy to have a truck bed.

[caleb]

Over the weekend, I happened upon a nice little article by Jay Leno about driving during the pandemic. Here's a section that sent me down a rabbit hole:

I have a green 1950 Plymouth station wagon that my wife calls a “roundy” car. We drive it to the supermarket. The other day there was a line of people with masks and they were sort of scowling and as soon as they saw this car, they all started smiling and waving because it looks like a big friendly dog. It’s a six-cylinder, goofy-looking car from the 1950s with big whitewall tires, and it seems to make people smile.

It makes more sense to drive something like this during a pandemic than some sort of ridiculous Lamborghini with open exhaust, like some deposed dictator’s idiot son. People would throw rocks at me.

So, while it was snowing, I started digging around about old Plymouth station wagons. Here's Leno's:



I'm not generally into old cars, but this is really cool:





With a back seat that folds totally flat, it's a Honda Element or Toyota Matrix from 70 years ago. It seems like the perfect cabin car for running to the grocery store or driving to the mountain bike trailhead. One sold on BaT a few years ago for $13k: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...outh-suburban/ I feel like I may have missed out.

[sk_tle]

This is the kind of car I would totally want to convert with an electric drivetrain. Sure safety is not on par with modern car, but so much presence. And people tend to drive more cautiously around old car because they actually see them in a see of white/grey/black looking all the same modern cars.

[j44ke]

A friend just bought this. Future conversion to campervan. Or ambulance. Or...

[darkmother]

A friend just bought this. Future conversion to campervan. Or ambulance. Or...

That is pretty nuts. Pinzgauer? How did he get it to the US?

[Tom]

I could live in that thing. Tight space for the bikes and gear but I could make it work.

[j44ke]

That is pretty nuts. Pinzgauer? How did he get it to the US?

Not really sure. He has a lot of connections through auto-racing. He builds race cars. This one was originally Swiss but could have been in the US already.

[robin3mj]

Friends of the family own a restaurant and about fifteen years ago they fitted out a Unimog as a rolling kitchen to take their show on the road. If I can ever find photos of it I’ll post. If you look up balleur in the dictionary it’d probably have a pic of this truck.

And on a related note, the only memorable travel I had in 2020 was a couple days in Joshua Tree ahead of a conference in Palm Springs. Met a British couple who were driving around the world in an overland monster. They appear to have spent most of the pandemic in the Yukon Territory.

https://www.tuckstruck.net/D953A441-9FAE-457F-AE04-91137315EC9F.jpg

[Tom]

Well, my sister went and raised the bar on spousal Christmas presents to what I can't match. She bought her husband a silver 1962 Jaguar MK 2. Thank God Karen's dream is only a mid 60s Mustang convertible.

[rmplum]

Got my daughter out on the skidpad a couple of mornings this weekend. Getting her ready for the stuff they don't teach in drivers training. She got lots of time learning threshold braking, what stability and traction control feels like, etc.

em drift.jpg

Se got pretty good by the end of the 2nd session. Any yahoo can crank the wheel full stop and mash the pedal, but I had a large radius set up for her to practice getting in, controlling and exiting her slides smoothly and she picked it up pretty quickly.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJqssOolrzf/

[sk_tle]

you are a good father.

[rmplum]

you are a good father.

Thanks, but instead I'd say call it fortunate to have some snow and a private skidpad to be able to do this safely. Its just as much fun for me as it is for her.

[MisterDangerPants]

Been lurking around here and generally just check out this and the watch thread (my favorites). Anyway, I picked up this 2007 MINI Cooper S Convertible (R52) John Cooper Works (JCW) in May of 2020 from Orlando MINI and had it shipped up here to Massachusetts. It only had 15,345 miles when I purchased it. It has the Premium, Sport, Cold, Convenience and JCW packages, along with Cordoba Beige Soft Leather. The driving lights were dealer installed. The car came with the original window sticker as well as the John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S Tuning Kit Certificate of Authenticity which is kind of cool I suppose. The factory installed JCW Kit was a whopping $6300 in 2007 and here's a nice little description from the interwebs as to what that got you over the base MINI Cooper S:

The John Cooper Works package ratchets power up to 207 horsepower and 180 pounds-feet of torque from the regular supercharged S engine’s 168 and 162 respectively. In a car this small, that’s quite a lot of thrust, which makes the Mini Convertible even more deliriously fun. The added power simply explodes past 3000 rpm and is attained mostly by increasing the stock supercharger’s boost from 11.6 psi to 14.0, and upgrading the exhaust system to reduce back pressure. This equals an engine and exhaust that is far smoother and more free-flowing than the gruff and somewhat unrefined character of the regular Cooper S. This power is put to the pavement by the same wonderfully direct and mechanical 6-speed gearbox featured on the S. Upgraded sport brakes and a limited slip differential are also included in the JCW package.

For inquiring minds, the original window sticker price on this car was $37,150. First owner looks to have purchased it and stored it (just 21 miles) and then it went to owner #2 in 2012 where I assume it was a not a primary vehicle. This is my second R52, I had a 2008 R52 a few years ago (almost identical), though this one has the JCW package which is what drew me to the car. I've also had an R50, R53 and R56 but honestly really dig the R52. The car is in excellent condition overall.

That being said, all wasn't sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Ended up replacing the passenger side motor mount (slight leak), thermostat (leaking), belt tensioner (piston leaking), strut tops (mushroomed), left and right lower control arm bushings (both were fine but the right showed some play so replaced both) and both front axles (passenger side slightly bent and driver side inner was damaged and causing a vibration under acceleration). I think the car had been sitting for quite some time and I gather that's why some of the items needed to be replaced. It was a 13 year old car when I purchased it so age could certainly factor in. All this being said, the car is super solid and an absolute blast to drive. Even when taking into consideration the cost of replacing the aforementioned parts, the car was an absolute bargain.

I also installed a trailer hitch as well as some 25mm spacers. I actually like the wheels, all four are NOS OEM, but might swap them out for some 16x7 Volk Racing TE37s. The tires were almost new when I purchased them (Pirelli P Zero Nero GT) so I might wait until they wear out until getting some new wheels. Maybe.

[Coppercook62]

Stupid power

[72gmc]

Misterdangerpants! Nice to see you. How does the soft top hold up on a Mini?

Coppercook, I had the chance to drive a rental Camaro and the little devil on my shoulder really liked it. I didn't like the huge blind spots on the road, but I think I'd like that car on a track.

[darkmother]

That Mini looks like it would be a lot of fun to drive. It looks pretty much brand new too. Very nice.

[rydesteel]

This just came into the Car Store this afternoon. It's a 2004 Z06 Le Mans Edition, 40,687 miles, all original. It's for sale, PM me for pricing if your interesting and yes a Donation will be made to the Forum if it sells here. Mods feel Free to move this where you see fit but it's a really cool car with a good backstory.