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Amazing 53 years, looking forward to the next 53!

Slightly larger scale in old buildings being restored and converted American Can Company in Montreal (I grew up in this neighborhood) I dont know if you could tell by this pic, but by the 1970s and 1980s, the building was empty and some of the windows were broken and boarded up. Today and for the last 20 years or so, its a Super C grocery store.

Just got back from a short job from a long-time & utterly helpless customer. Among the list of things, her smoke detectors had been beeping FOR A WEEK. None are hard wired, 4 older units took 9V, no problem. But the main hallway unit (a Kidde) I put up, after dutifully labeling the install date sticker. Now... a smoke detector battery sees totally static battery useage. But this sealed lithium battery unit, blatantly labeled as being a "10 year life" (120 months) lasted only 79. This is why I always doubt battery manufacturer claims. An electric car has dozens of factors that affect battery life. A smoke detector has 1 function and no variables on that function (I guarantee the customer NEVER pressed the test button ONCE).

The only Wrangler I do NOT like is the Gladiator. Love the wheels the guy mounted on his Gladiator though. The 4Runner was great too! Isnt snow great lookin' when in the wilderness? Amongst trees and frozen lakes with snow-covered high mountains in the backround? Awesome Id say! But... Nothing beats the desolate beach backdrop...

This is so much better than the Tesla X!!!

@DavidHappy Birthday old man lol!

The same thing was done to the dealer my 2500HD came from- there since '55, closed in '08, now some sort of 'farm fresh deli / eatery' establishment. They did what looks like a nice job, some obvious but minor exterior changes (I've not been inside since the remodel), but I somehow prefer to see the 'car' aspect of the structure maintained, somehow.

I drove the Tacoma and the Ranger....you know the rest of the story....Toyota has cut lots of developmental costs. Look at how advanced the Ram is and how backwards the Tundra is.

You do have to love what Lincoln is doing with Interiors, though. I really like this, has a bit of 1960's modern design to it....

The video at the top of this page, from Insideevs. Interesting; first the maintenance cost issue gets inverted, now here’s an example where fueling it costs more as an electric. Huh.

Anymore, these look like something from a communist country

Incredible. I would love to take ViaRail, Canada's national railway system, across Canada and through the Canadian Rockies and view a lot of it from the dome car. - - - - - I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Here's the drill: buffet - tryptophan - nap - rinse (decompress) - do not repeat, at least for a good while ...

My sons 2017 Rhino colored Jeep GC. Still looking good!

Wouldn't it be easier to ignore people and talk about cars? Asking for a friend.

In all seriousness that is the problem a lot of legacy car makers have. EVs seem better as EVs from the ground up. Converted gassers as production vehicles don't seem to work as well. Mini didn't sell a lot of EV Cooper's nor was the E Golf a particularly good car.

Happy 53rd @David

The off road / winter mountain trail busting looks cool, but I have zero interest in putting myself in that sort of scenario.

Better than tearing them down....one of the oldest Ford dealers here in Columbus was torn down, cool art deco building that was an old Cadillac dealership got torn down. Talked about both before here. Really beleive in preserving the past...

I think that carmakers are more worried about cutting costs than developing things to that level of engeneering.

Kia does have an EV Soul...not yet in the US, though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Soul_EV

Liberty is a very capable Jeep, buddy had one. Did great in a few bad Ohio snow storms...

So, I'm far away, in the land of fall colors, driving along in the U.P. of Michigan, and I see this old but familiar Buick in a driveway. No, it can't be. I pull off and find a spot where there is room to park. I take out my phone and set it to camera mode. It was a '76 or '77 Regal colonnade coupe. It had the V6 badge. The lady of the house comes out the door and I explain to her that my dad used to have one of these as a second car. I asked if it was for sale. She said that her husband would know the details, that he wanted to rescue this piece of history from going into oblivion, and she gave me their number after we talked a bit. She didn't know much about the car. I explained to her how it was a '77 as opposed to a '76. She said it ran. I suppose I could have turned over the engine, and hear the "odd firing" V6 come to life, but I felt that would have been so random, having just walked up to it. I asked if it had the original engine and transmission. She said she thought it was original. With all the info I knew about the car, I suppose she deduced I wasn't a flake. There was a good deal of rust on it, especially at its base and where the bumpers hook onto the car. The interior fabric is tattered. It's the pale blue base cloth interior. On the other hand, the gizmos are nonexistent. Sure, it has power steering and brakes, but no power windows, tilt wheel, or any of that. Also, as I expected, it didn't have A/C! This thing was hilarious. The price would be low. I still have their number somewhere. Mechanically, it would be very simple, with no bells and whistles. It could be fun to have this .... and it could also be a money pit to bring it back to being presentable. Would you have done it (moved toward buying it) or would you do it (if it's still available)? Photos: Parts of it look okay and parts of it look weathered: you can see the rust at its base ... also, check out the V6 badge! The area where the bumpers slotted into the ladder frame had seen better days ... there was a fair amount of rust I guess this household is voting for "RUMP." I didn't know you could do that. (I swear I didn't trim the photo.) The crossbars in the grille mean it's a '77. The '76 had the basic "Parthenon" grille, with only vertical bars in the grille. I didn't even lift the hood. You'd see that compact engine pushed up against the firewall! I was driving toward scenic sights that were on the checklist, not this Regal from yesteryear. WWCGD? What Would C&G-ers Do?

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a34775237/elon-musk-tesla-car-semi-range/

Cool Bronco pic...

From Bloomberg news, one of the few relatively sane news sources in our country. Interesting take on self driving vehicles being used in farming. Worth a watch IMHO.

See my into the storm 4 wheeling off road video I posted...by a Canadian YouTuber. Canada is gorgeous in the winter. I love this photograph.

Ok, you look at current goings-on and see some shocking negative news about someone famous during this long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Four years ago on this same long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, there was high profile news about another famous person. Within the last few days, soccer star Diego Maradona of Argentina died. He died of heart failure and was 60. This is the guy who led Argentina to the World Cup victory in 1986 and was depicted on the side of an Aerolineas Argentinas 747. After his soccer career ended, he dealt with addiction, poor health, poor habits, significant weight gain, and a lot of drama. Before any burial, his casket was at the Casa Rosada, the one with the balcony from which Eva Peron addressed the people, so that the mourning fans of Buenos Aires and Argentina could pay their respects. At about the same time 4 years ago, Fidel Castro died. In contrast, Miami's Little Havana district was roaring with celebrations. I was in South Florida for Thanksgiving that year - booked months in advance - and happened to see it. Castro and Diego Maradona were friends. Castro invited Diego Maradona to Cuba and Maradona supposedly went there as his guest. I wanted to check the dates. They both died on November 25, though 4 years apart. Sad news about Diego Maradona. I wasn't expecting to come across something like this anytime soon.

An epic vehicle that made so much sense and that Cadillac dialed just right. As for this one, I prefer the stock grille to the one shown and think much darker burgundy leather seats would be better than these bright red ones. I would like to experience riding in one ... or driving one. It would be interesting to see how well Cadillac retained the Cadillac in a significantly smaller vehicle.

Free Love

Where did ya read this, that is crazy as I have never seen an EV cost that much to recharge the battery.

Was under my buddy's '02 nissa -whoops- infiniti QX4 last weekend, inspecting a transaxle leak. Then I happened to notice his oil pan had a severe case of rust acne, like those blooms of rust that flake off with a fingernail. He got a pan from Rock Auto cause ni—infiniti wanted $176 for a pan (with no gasket). You'd have to see this pan, it's TINY. Looks like nissan has it sized for about 1 quart, which means the seam between the pan & the block is ALWAYS under the level of the oil. ? Fast forward to yesterday and my son's Jeep's trans pan looks just that oil pan, so when it gets here in the next 4 or so days, I have a trans pan swap to do. Interesting sidebar- Jeep's 3.7L V6 has NO DIPSTICK in the fill tube, just a cap. Hand-in-hand with that; the manual has no listed trans fluid capacity. Should be able to find that online, I hope. infiniti pan was dry, but the Jeep is leaking quite a bit. It's grounded until the swap.

San diego CL, 38K mile original :

Its why I have AAA. When I had a company van with a spare tire like this, someon else spent two hours getting it free when it was iced up in sub zero conditions. My wife brought a hot chocolate and a sandwich and I sat with her in our heated car and watched. SS is probably my favorite ride of yours. Got the timing belt changed on the aveo, it runs much better. replaced the serpentine belt as well. They do that religiously here in Ohio. thankfully I think I have a good decade or so on the Ranger before it starts. I don't even need ran to duck work, usually it's just a good book to read, and a warm cat in my lap. Work is done for the day.

The Suburban tanks are out and about playing in the snow here in Washington.

Take a time machine and you can get this awesome little 1980 truck in your color. They even sold it in Diesel. In Highschool and College, I had my dads 1976 Luv Truck in White like this one. Awesome little trucks, solid and just went. So much better than the S10 Chevrolet replaced it with initially.

At my work's parking lot. Old vs New

That is where China can replace the poor leadership currently in the US by moving tech in Auto ahead showing the world leadership that is missing here. Sadly the US has lost their leadership in the automotive industry with rare leading by Tesla. The next decade is going to really show who is the leaders in the auto industry as we evolve beyond the ICE era.

I forgot to mention that it was a 1976 so your guess was close.

That would have been cool. I circled out and back using Minneapolis (airport) ... ridiculously good Southwest fare. Stories, indeed ... having people wave to you or pointing at you, pulling your hair out looking for parts, haggling with people to restore the rust spots, etc. but you're right about living only once. Would prefer a colonnade coupe with either the 260 V8 or the inline 250 6, and no A/C, to toy with. I know those engines. I periodically look for those. If there was a cheap "even firing" V6 in excellent condition from the late '70s or early '80s that could be swapped in, that would make this more attractive. I had a feeling this unit would rumble like an earthquake if I cranked it over ... but then I could have been surprised. The lady's husband needed to be around for me to ask more questions and look at it more carefully.

First thing I missed- you were in the UP? Too bad I didn’t know....we could have met up if you were going south down 75.... ? Second thing- If the price is good- jump on it! If it costs you a few bucks here or there, no big deal- you only live once. Worse case, you could resell it to a car person if it became too much.. Plus, you would have some great stories to tell... I recently had a chance to get a wagon version of my first car, a 1987 Cavalier RS. I totally regret that now. I kept coming up with excuses to say no...but it was in good shape! Did need some stuff though. I say give it a shot!

You already know my answer : too new / completely uninteresting. I'd certainly do a walk-around on the International shell in the background!

A lot of good facts here and with all the low 3 liter V6s and 4.3s in both V6 and V8 form, it's easy to get them confused and/or forget them. I had forgotten. There was a 3.3 V6 in the downsized Malibu because, that same year, they put out a 3.2 V6 (196 c.i.) for equivalent Buick products, such as the Regal and the Century. I knew someone who had this engine in a hand-me down in a 2-door Regal, and he said it was reliable, economical, but had no oomph. It was great that Chevy's downsized full-sizes kept the inline 6 because the engine bay had room for it. I believe 231s were available in the BOP full-size base cars. I think, in that era, I'd opt for the inline 6 over the 231. I don't know what the 4.4 V8 was based on, which was also found in Malibus and Monte Carlos. 4.3s by Chevrolet can be confusing, since they made them as V6s and V8s. Both were excellent engines. The 4.3 V6 (Vortec) was sliced off from a Chevy 350. Who'd have thought that this engine was a slam dunk for 300,000 miles? A few Astro van drivers have told me that their 4.3s would not give up the ghost. I think that, in that era, the 4.3 V6 (~ 262 c.i.) with simple TBI was better than the 231 c.i. V6, even if the 231 had gone even firing. And, yes, it showed up in the 1985 MY model year. I had the opportunity to drive a RWD Monte Carlo (bucket seats and console!) coupe with that engine in the NYC area and the extra ~ 30 hp (if I recall) came in handy for short ramps and getting out of the gate after paying a bridge toll. The 4.3 V8 was a de-bored 5.0 (305 c.i.) V8. It showed up for the 1994 MY in RWD form but only stuck around for a few years. If in excellent condition, the purr that they make is music to the ears. It also can go the distance ... just hope the Optispark ignition control doesn't give out, which can be costly. For some reason, the smaller GM V8s have nice, quiet exhaust notes and I like quiet running cars. Also, in the late '70s, Chevy had some batches of 305s and 350s that had premature camshaft wear problems. I knew a few people who had problems with them. That definitely skewed me towards Olds designed V8s. However, with all of that behind them, I would gladly drive a car powered by the L99 engine (4.3 Chevy V8) that the thread discusses.

I'm not 100% sure but I believe we have the Commercial Service as we have an old building that's zones both commercial and residential and we have a 3-phase service. I'll have to check out our bill as we've only been in it for a just over a month. But, here are my rates.

Just wanted to do a simple calculation of cost per mile based on my location EV vs ICE. Correct me if I am wrong. The numbers are based were I live, I don't care what prices are in California or Washington. From my electric bill the electricity charge is about $0.13kWh with ALL the fees and charges (about $0.09 without). Today gas price in nearby Costco is $2.45 for regular. EV Kona rated for 26/31 kWh (city/highway) per 100 miles. For easier calculation lets take average of 28.5 kWh per 100 miles. So purely on energy/cost calculation it will cost me $3.71 to go 100 miles in EV Kona. ICE Kona MT used has 30.8mpg average fuel economy. So to go 100 miles in ICE Kona will take me 3.247 gallons which will cost me $7.96. Taking average of 12000 miles driving a year EV will cost $445.2 and ICE will cost $955.2. So just on fuel there is a saving of $510 a year on average. Of course there is a savings in maintenance, oil changes and brakes, however on a basic car they should not amount to more than $200-250 a year. Lets take $300. So to get back the extra investment of at least $10k on the price of the car with $800 savings a year will take at least 11-12 years. I like EVs and I think they are the future, but the bottom line TODAY they don't make sense financially.

I know they liked the EV over ICE Kona, however if you look at the price difference (and they choose both vehicles with similar equipment) it is still doesn't make sense financially: $29k for ICE vs $46.6 for EV. Even taking into account $7k deduction for EV it is still a staggering difference of almost $11k for basically the same vehicle. I like EVs but right now it still doesn't make sense financially.

Thanks for posting, this is a good read on a even comparison of the Electric Kona to the Turbo Gas version and how both ended up liking the electric over the ICE. Not planning for charging, I can understand the stupid increase in cost, but so much more to like about the EV. Great Read!

Those estimates were based on the oil from 20+ years ago. I do the oil in my Toronado at 5,000 miles or 1 year (I often hit the time mark rather than the mileage mark) but I use full synthetic and I use a zinc additive required for the age of the car.