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Hi folks, long time. Sadly once again it's disaster that brings me back. My Cruze was totaled in an accident last month. It's never a good time for that, but it was especially crappy timing because it happened two weeks before I was to move from Indiana back to Ohio to be closer to family. Thankfully no one was injured and I didn't need the car for the move, but it was just one more hugely stressful thing on top of another hugely stressful thing. What I DID need the car for was the 800-mile road trip to a friend's wedding that was a week after my my move. Even more frustrating is that I was just a few months away from it being completely paid off. I was really looking forward to many more years of driving it and the financial relief of not having to make any more car payments. Depressed and angry, I had to start thinking about what my next car would be. Before the accident I knew that my next car after the Cruze would be an EV, but that was going to be many more years in the future. And then I thought about getting a car I had always wanted: a Corvette. Particularly an '80s C4; I always loved the pre-facelift exterior styling and the angular dash with now retro-futuristic digital instruments. After I got the insurance payout from the accident, I looked on FB Marketplace and found out that C4s were surprisingly available and relatively inexpensive. One listing looked particularly enticing: it was an '89 (same year as me!), automatic, came with a cover and two sets of wheels (originals and ZR-1 knockoffs), looked in excellent shape, sounded like it had been very well cared for, and was well within my budget. It seemed too good to be true, and I was sure it would be sold before I got the chance to check it out in person. Fortunately it was not. The day after I got everything unpacked from the move, I went down to look at the Vette. It seemed as good in person as it did online - not perfect, but very, very good for a classic sports car at what seemed like a bargain price. The seller was very knowledgeable about it, told me all the things he had maintained & replaced, and let me take it for a spin. We shook hands on it, and the next day I returned with a check and drove it home. Unfortunately I didn't get to take it on the road trip. Because I had just moved and I am not the most organized person, I didn't (and still don't) have have legal proof of my new address and so could not get a new state driver's license, registration, plates, or transfer the title. My parents loaned me their Ford Escape for the trip. I made it to the wedding safely and had a great time with my friend and everyone else there, and that was the only truly important thing. But dangit every second of the drive there and back I wished I was in the Vette. I work from home so I don't need it to commute, but I am still anxious to finally be able to get in it and go somewhere. It is just too cool to not drive and I feel cool in it. Of course it won't be very practical once the winter snows come, so I probably will still end up getting another more practical car in a few months, and I would like it to be an EV to balance out all the gas that the Vette guzzles. Anyway, here it is. I'm still giddy to finally have one of my dream cars. .

I have to say I find this funny! ? Chevrolet Reveals What An EV Garage Can Be, With Gas Station Nostalgia (msn.com)

Congratulations, lovely color, looks great and will always be an enjoyment to drive.! I too like a few others here work from home, but still love to go for drives. #iworkfordell

I saw the Taycan is back on top, still slower than their own Panamera Turbo S though. Mercedes is coming, I think it is interesting that the AMG EQE here is called an AMG 53 in Europe and that's the 670 hp version. So I wonder if there is a "63" coming or if they are just waiting til their 2nd gen battery comes in 2025ish because they have a performance EV architecture in the works and their F1 team has been doing work on the battery and motors. And maybe the the EQE and EQS AMG's are just what they are now, and they'll add a coupe and sedan on the performance car architecture that will basically be the AMG GT 4-door replacement and it would make more sense to make a new sports car rather than try to turn a luxury barge like the EQS into one, even the EQE is as big as a Lucid Air or Taycan. Hopefully Cadillac makes an EV that isn't an SUV, outside of the Celestiq. American car companies outside of Tesla hate sedans.

Nice Vette! I too, prefer the '84-'89 body style. Original front and rear. I also prefer the original dash. But I think the '89, yours, has the redesigned dash. The C4 Vettes to own would be the later ones from '89 on though. So you scored a gem in many ways! Awesome!!!

If Dodge really wanted the Challenger to go a-trackin', they would have made it to go a-trackin' Three letters for you A C R American Club Racing

Just an FYI about jumbo aircraft and who operates them in these changing times. I was contemplating some travel in the future and looking at Google Flights. Of ALL European carriers with scheduled commercial flights to international locations, and especially the U.S. The Airbus 380 is only operated by British Airways* - they are now flying them to quite a few U.S. cities, such as MIA, ORD (Chicago), SFO, BOS, and IAD (Washington DC) The Boeing 747 (8i) is only operated by Lufthansa - they bought almost 20 of them and use them a lot - - - - - * Other Europeans, namely Lufthansa and Air France, have (had) Airbus 380s. It just remains to be seen whether they will return to service or are parked somewhere warm and dry waiting to be sold. If you want to experience flying on an A380 or B747-8i, it will be easier to do so on Asian (Singapore, Korean, Cathay Pacific) and Oceanic (Qantas) carriers. - - - - - It's good fun to hunt and peck (not that slow, actually) on Google Flights and dream ...

Went to a concert last night of the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center amphitheater...2nd row seats, I love classical music and esp. in a semi-outdoors setting.. I love Blossom--beautiful venue in a hilly, wooded setting only 25 min from home.. Beethoven's 4th and 5th symphonies. Going to see Vivaldi at the end of the month at the same place. It's fun going to the orchestra outside--can dress casually--shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, instead of dressed up like I usually do when going to Severance Hall in downtown Cleveland.

So I forgot I had made this thread. Didn't realize it had been over two months ago. But I ended up leasing a red Cruze LT Automatic. I'm pretty satisfied with it. I was very tempted by the Sonic 6-speed manual, but there were none readily available and I needed a car as quickly as possible. No regrets about my choice. It looks great, gets 40+ mpg, smooth ride, and I can play whatever music I want in it. Thanks for y'alls advice!