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One more for Sunday, old school American muscle never gets old.

And the model 3 is still better built than the crappy Mitsubishi products, the crappy Nissan products, the dated Toyota products, the bland Honda products (except for the Civic Type R which is lustworthy...)...the GM products with the crappy unreliable 3.6 V6, the marginal Ecosport which is uninspiring, damn near every vehicle built in that maintenance and reliability hellhole which is modern European cars. Let's keep things in perspective. Good, love trucks, looking forward to seeing these on the road! Three pahse motors run forever....I ahve a 1944 Whitney 177 Table saw that ahs had several million board feet of lumber run through it, came out of a west virginia lumber dimensioning plant. Original motor runs like new. 76 years in. Lots of buildings I take care of have 3 phase motors from the 40's, 50's, and 60's that ahve been running continuously for decades. How many 1960 automobiles are elft on the road in daily use?

Not all japanese cars though...you all will disagree but I find this Lexus kind of hot. Nor are all domestic cars that inspring...love my ranger, love Ford Super duty trucks, the f150 is good, an American best seller...but the ecosport....sells slowly...Ford should discontinue IMHO.

Talking with a new customer today, older guy (60), said he 'really like your truck, have you thought about selling it?' and 'Oooo, it's a diesel!' I can't let mine go until I line up a replacement... and I look frequently... AND we never talked a number... but it's good to know there's potential buyers out there. I'd rather sell it privately. But the new truck prices are crazy... and I don't even need a High Country or LTZ. That said, another customer just got a brand new Denali Crew Cab/Short bed 5.3. White, gorgeous. Crewcab Denali 1500s sticker in the mid 60s. He got it for $50K. Now... if I can get a $50K truck down to -say $37K, I'm a buyer.

Only VDubs know how to Roll Coal!

23 pipes to make ya understand! The Golden Goddess Benzo! The newest German Tank added to the fleet...

Thoughtful. They need to build a midsize truck and get it into production so they can ahve the bugs worked out when i get the Ranger paid off. I can do all kinds of things with lumber, for the woodworkers here this might be a feature rather than a fault... (sarcasm) Delorean converted into a back to the future time machine so you can get that 52 Chevy with the inline 235 and single barrel carb....brand new! Love, love love my new ranger, but found a few random bolts in it...I think I found them!

Rant on : This crap drives me nuts. '62 Biscayne 409 / 4-spd car, obviously meticulously restored. Auctioned via Mecum : https://www.mecum.com/lots/IA0711-112558/1962-chevrolet-biscayne/ My beef is, for some damned reason, restorers read a spec somewhere and stick these ridiculous springs underneath. Let's do a lil math. Period Chevs wore 14" rims; that's 7" from the center to the edge (actually- slightly inboard of the edge). Tire sidewall is about 4" by my eye. Rocker chrome is ABOVE the wheel centerline, maybe an inch. That's an even TWELVE inches of the rocker off the pavement! These cars NEVER LEFT the factorty riding that ridiculously high. I'm constantly mind-boggled when I see this, but exactly this is offered as "correct".

coming up on one year. Love this ride. Yes, it's not an SUV..... this rogue little ride has not been getting the use due to COVID and as such, when i purchased almost a year ago to the day as new demo with around 4,000 miles...I am now at only about 12,000 on the odometer. Lots less family travel with father in law passing away and not taking many trips to see mom. But did just get the oil changed at a Buick dealer last week and then drove about 500 miles with it. The gas mileage really took a jump, post oil change. I averaged about 33 mpg over two long legs of the trip and even in town its been pulling higher in the twenties. This may just be an anomoly as it mostly has returned 24 mpg over the vehicle life so far (trending towards 25). For a fuel sucking turbo AWD this is not bad. I've fed it premium fuel exclusively since i have had it...most fill ups at Costco with their top tier fuel, including one at about a 1.50 a gallon earlier this summer. This 2.0 is being retired on many GM vehicle lines now....but I will enjoy the 250hp and 295-lb ft of torque while i have it. It's not a burner but is still perhaps the quickest vehicle I have owned (except for my v-6 89 Taurus SHO...its faster than my v8 SHO). Still yet I would always enjoy more speed.... Everyone who sees this car for the first time thinks its really cool, and then they ask what the hell it is. Then i get the 'I didn't know Buick made that car'. Or the 'that's a wagon...a good looking wagon!'. Even the service manager who assisted me the last week said, 'I've only ever seen 1 other one', shaking his head as if to imply, that is a good looking car why didn't they sell more? I explained to him that i felt they overpriced the car and that the option packaging was terrible. I said trying to find one with all options or at least the way you would accept it was near impossible. I could have gotten into it more that the whole Regal line was botched from a price and marketing / packages perspective....but its a waste of time since the model was cancelled here. Such a shame, because the enthusiasm people get when they see it tells me greatly that if promoted and packaged correctly, it would have seen many more buyers in the market. I visited a completed job site a couple weeks ago to view an apartment tower our company completed. One of my fellow team leader coworkers whose project it was also has a Regal...a Sportback in the same Smoked Pearl Metallic. As we both pulled out of the parking lot at the end of the tour, with some of our other coworkers looking on they made the remark that managers drive gray Buick Regals apparently. Clearly they were making jokes but they all thought our cars were cool. Sometimes its fun having something unique in a market flooded with the usual compact CUV suspects. I just read on another site about the 2021 Regal refresh in China. A 1.5 is standard on the Regal there but the new LSY 2.0 motor is now available on their Regal. It's the same 2.0 with 237hp and 258 Lb ft that is available on many North America GM vehicles. I would be interested in seeing how that compares to the 2.0 in mine. I do know the LSY gets better mpg, and although it is for sure slower, I imagine its a very good match for the Regal, and it should be put in the Malibu here as well. Here's some pictures of over the last few months.....

I said 'speedy'; I didn't say 'good'. JUST saw an article stating Model Y owners are finding composite lumber and zip ties under the front cargo area insert. Tesla- 12 years and still learning how to slip-slap cars together.

A Coke and a smile...

Well, getting back ON topic- I hope they can get it fixed and back to you for some happy motoring......

LOLOLOLOL The gasser 'trend' came straight out of racing; lift the front end even with the (raised for big tires) rear, to aid in weight transfer. Very real world results. Then they came up with altered wheelbase drag cars, and the gasser as leading race tech was surpassed. (and the funny car was born). But donks AREN'T gasssers.

Wasn’t riding high in the back something people did in olden days, maybe to accommodate bigger tires? Like all the ‘lifted’ muscle cars in the 70s? I remember my brother put air shocks on his Firebird Formula 400 and GTO back then.

Supposedly, new leaf AND coils 'settle', but it's a very minor amount. Not as much as a full inch, maybe not as much as a half inch. That's very short term. The long-term change is known as 'losing spring tension'. The spring retains it's spring load rate, but it's ability to hold said weight at the original height sees some lessening. This may, eventually, be as much as 2 inches, maybe a bit more. IMO, neither is at play here - 'settling' will still have this Chevy riding like a Jeep.

Grew up on a farm too, driving John Deere tractors, riding lawn mowers and farm trucks in the field when bucking hay and all, also would sneak onto the road near the house once in a while I love to drive, it makes a big difference getting behind the wheel and learning everything about driving at a young age too.

Yeah, and I remember walking onto a used car lot in the eqarly 80's with 4 legit judges for sale....times change... Diesel trucks still sell for stupid numbers. Would love to ahve bought one when i bought the Ranger, jsut wasn't in the cards. They are just prepping the cars for the inevitable conversion to 24 or 28 inch rims and groovy metallic paint... This is really sad, my son lives in Tacoma....all kinds of horror stories. Stay safe! Love that you still own the SS...

My driving test, taken in this: characteristic dimensions: outside length: 224.8 in, width: 79.6 in, wheelbase: 124 in Passed with flying colors, but of course I'd been driving bigger things than that on the farm since age nine (F-600, F-700, John Deeres), so the Pontiac was a breeze to handle at that point.

Jaw dropping?...nah. Hard pass, the exterior is fugly and the interior is nothing special...ugh those Hyundai/Genesis steering wheels are the worst. And if you can't park you shouldn't be driving for sh!t sake. I learned how to drive in a '91 Suburban and paralleled that b!tch like a pro for my driving test, can parallel and get that perfect distance from the curb no matter what I'm driving to this day.

Disease

Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Kiefer Sunderland, JOHN CANDY, MICHAEL J. FOX, Eugene Levy...from Schitt's Creek, Martin Short, LORNE GREENE just to name a few. Leonard Cohen (From Montreal, as is Captain Kirk) was mentioned. That is not photoshopped. That is an actual mural painted in his honour after his death.

There's always a pole somewhere, looking for a dancer. In fact, I'm a Pole.

Using the Model 3 as an example of speedy production is a poor poor choice given the massive production issues and reliability issues that have dogged them since.

“My tits are too nice for my life to be like this” Can’t argue that.

^ high speed assembly line for a brand new $70K trucklette? Ocnblu is correct, sales are going to be a slim fraction of its competition. Only EV line moving at any speed of note is the Model 3.

Zombie 222 Motor Style!

So the photo doesn't show production vehicles, but pre-production. Otherwise, how would pre-order people get to customize their truck if it's already built? So true production is at least a quarter away from now.

This is a great pic too with FDNY Rescue in the background ????

My wife was in NYC that morning. Few blocks away. Scariest day I've lived thru.

And in New York too! Did you plan that? My dad always watched CNN so when the 1st plane hit and the newsfeed went to NYC and the news was focused on the "accident", he saw the action unfold from the get go. He woke me up immediately to tell me about it. 15 minutes later we were both discussing this as if it was a terror attack. The perception at CNN before the 2nd plane was confusement and bedazzlement. Shortly there-after the 2nd plane hit... It took me 24 hours to sink in but I tell you...that following day, I was in tears all day. Took me about a week to get back to normal. And then anger set it... My wife, who I hadnt met yet, I met her in late November, was actually in NYC. She got in on the 10th. By train. She has an aunt and uncle living in Astoria. Well, she was gonna be doing sightseeing on the 11th. And yes, the Twin Towers were on the agenda. She stayed in NYC for about a week. She has all kinds of personal photos of NYC during that fateful day and week. She still has her train ticket. Her too, was devastated by this event. We discussed this event maybe on our 3rd date just before XMAS and she showed me her pictures and we both cried. Actually, Im about to cry right about now... Love from Montreal!!!!

I was pretty young, but remember parts of the Mt. St. Helen's eruption. Grew up about 75 mi. (as the crow flies) from it. Pictures my Mother took of it in the distance were ominous for sure. Those Wildfires are getting a bit problematic up that way. There was one that started near the Columbia Gorge when I was home last month, light smoke and haze made it to the Willamette Valley where I was. Nor. Cal has red skies during the day it's so bad there.

@ccap41 According Rivian, Jan 2021 is when existing pre-order customers will get access to customize their R1T for building and delivery. 60 to 90 days after that, the sales will open up to everyone who is not a pre-order customer. Mitsubishi built millions of auto's on that assembly line. Rivian has stated that they will start off slow to insure quality over quantity and speed things up as they get everyone trained.

^ Oh no, pre-impact it certainly was in the $80K range- quality GTOs are mad pricey these days. And if the shell doesn't have significant damage, what's there IS worth in the neighborhood of where it's at. It's wearing Judge stripes, but no Judge logos... Judge stripes are a relatively common addition on restorations... but documented, quality Judges sell in the quarter million dollar range with frequency. My point was it's no longer worth $80K NOW.

Agree no way it was ever worth $80,000 let alone I would not spend the $12,700 they have as current bid. Crazy who ever is trying to buy it. I do agree with you that this is far easier to fix and will still be stronger than a crashed Unibody auto that was stretched back into shape.

^ Interesting, I think I saw that car pictured elsewhere last month. Bill of sale is fine; some states don't have titles for cars that old (NY is one; '75 or newer). Another frame & front clip and it's back. The valuation is questionable- that's not he value in its present condition...

The warranty campaign covered up to 2012 vehicles. That's 8 years ago, not 20. [How old is the current tundra's frame?] No; a single event doesn't necc mean anything RE a current, different product. But a monsoon of problems, deficiencies, engineering cost-cutting and recalls over 20 years speaks loudly to a corporate mindset / SOP. Plenty of choices out there, not worth the risk on a mediocre appliance.

• No one said how old the picture I posted was. • Yes, they rusted out / broke in half / had to be scrapped a decade ago. But it speaks to the Company that such a occurrence could even happen on their watch. That catastrophic structural failure may not mean much to hardcore loyalists (??), but coupled with the sixty million other vehicles recalled in a decade & a half... that paints a pretty damning portrait.

Those are all old ones, though...and Tacomas, not Tundras. The thing I see here in NE Ohio is a lot of cab and bed rust out on 10-20 yr old Rams, Fords and GM trucks...frames probably rusty also. Rusty framed Tacomas from 15-20 years ago have no relevance on what they are building now.

This is one truck that will continue to sell to the Toyota Faithful. Otherwise it is a totally forgettable truck.

curious, does it really look better w/o cladding?

Yeah, she literally went in to grab some milk, and parked out deep in the parking lot. Not sure why the dude was so angry, sounds like he did it to others as well. Wife just hurried and got the heck out of there.... Good news is that I can’t feel the scratch. I threw some cleaning wax on, and seems to have gotten some of it off. Think I will try some compound by Meg’s to see if I can get most all o the scratch out ( I hope) It’s why my Nox is not driven much to the stores any more. Between the hit to my Cobalt and then this- people are simply out to break stuff.......

Worried about my friends on the West Coast..... Boy the Facebook folk are really pushing the conspiracy theories right now.....I hear the next up is a year long power outage.... Spent the weekend working on the cars.....sadly someone who was pissed off slammed a shopping cart into her Trax and yelled at her, for no reason at all..... ? Big scratches on the side now....

Speaking of good things from Canada, I've been enjoying the comedy 'Schitt's Creek' lately....also in the past have enjoyed 'Corner Gas', 'Trailer Park Boys' and 'Red Green Show'.... of course besides William Shatner, Canada is also the birth place of great actors incl. Donald Sutherland and Christopher Plummer...and a lot of music I'm a fan of...from Rush, Neil Young, Robbie Robertson, Gordon Lightfoot, to Leonard Cohen and Mylene Farmer..

Woke to falling ash and terrible visibility

No need

Isn't it a shame after 22k miles? And the internet is full of hits on the issues. Hey statue, if GM, the inventor of the fully automatic transmission and the most successful manufacturer of them with their world famous Hydramatic Division, cannot manufacture a trouble-free unit after making untold MILLIONS of them... what on Earth makes you think they'll be able to manufacture a decent EV, which is, face it, new and relatively untested? Look at Volkswagen, a formidable manufacturer in their own right, getting PANNED in their home turf automotive press for their new ID.3, and all of the problems they've had up to now launching the thing. You're going to be in a world of hurt if you believe EV's are going to be perfection personified in rare earth metals and petroleum-based plastics.