occupant

I'm buying this truck tomorrow and I want to know what it can pull. It's got a Class III or IV receiver on the back, no trailer brake controller (I'll get one), 350 4bbl V8, 700R4 trans, and I assume the stock 3.73 axle. 3/4 ton, 4x4, what can it do?

The thing is, I'm saving up to start my own used car lot. And my advertising will be much along those lines... Cash *bleep*ing Money Auto Sales! Fat guys making fat deals! Nobody beats our prices because nobody sells cars that suck this bad! Good credit? No problem, we offer zero percent interest financing when you pay cash in full! Bad credit? No problem, we don't even offer payment programs for broke-*bleep* punks like you! Absolutely sucking credit, like it was rode hard and put away wet and dripping with liens and collections? We'll offer you a running car on a no down payment plan! We simply hand you back the keys to your trade-in and tell you to get lost! Do you need a warranty to protect your new investment? Give us a dollar! Just one dollar buys you a warranty good for 30 seconds or 30 feet, whichever comes first! 100% satisfaction guaranteed! Because if you're not satisfied, we don't care, because the guarantee is for US! Do you have a job? Do you have six months of residency in our local broadcast area? Have you been at your job for at least six months? Do you have six hundred and forty five references? Great! We'll put you into a car no matter what kind of *bleep* has hit your fan. Because here at CFM Auto Sales, we only take cash *bleep*ing money!

I wonder how much differently this forum's members would rate the Suzuki Verona if it were being sold here in the US as it is in Canada...as a CHEVROLET Epica... I'd consider one. After it's a decade old and selling for $1500 or less...

I have yet to own an AMC product but I'm always looking. I think the Premier could have been much better if it had AMC guys running the program and they probably would have introduced a wagon model as well. I have a feeling that today's AMC lineup would be all rebadged Renaults if they had stuck around and stayed French. And considering the Clio, Megane, and Laguna are great cars...I don't think that would be so bad. Then you have the big Renault, the Vel Satis. Took me awhile to find a picture of the latest generation...

Nice. And with all the Monte Carlos...I still managed to see the '80 Impala police car and the Chevettes and the Hot Wheels Citations...

I don't even have a floppy drive anymore. G4/400, DVD-ROM inside, CD-R outside. Wait just a minute...I *do* have an external USB floppy... ...with drivers that don't work in OS X. *DOH*

Between a $2000 Grand Am, $1000 Cavalier, and $200 Aries, I'd buy the Cavalier AND the Aries. Drive the Aries until it's dead, then have the Cavalier to enjoy. All you need is liability insurance so it won't be much compared to a 2002 model. Heck, I wouldn't even put the Cavalier on your insurance until the Aries stops running. This way, you have a backup car, and you can still get some money out of the Aries when you're done with it. Take off the useful parts (lights, radio, computer, TBI unit or carb, anything you can sell on eBay) and junk the rest.

I must be very conventional when it comes to cars. I'll take a full-size six-passenger sedan or eight-passenger wagon over any other kind of car. I'm not the kind of person to drive a BMW or a sports car. The sportiest thing I've ever owned was a wrecked 1985 VW Scirocco and that's only because I traded my 1986 Tempo to an ex-girlfriend so she could go back and forth to work without freezing her butt off in the Scirocco with no rear window. And I only owned it long enough to run around for awhile, enjoy the shifter action, learn how to push-start a manual when the starter dies, and then drive it to the junkyard for $100 cash. Which was what I was going to do with the rusty Tempo that spring, anyway. I like big cars and I cannot lie. I'm a sucker for rear-wheel drive. 'Cause when I'm rolling on the highway and I see a pothole headed my way I'm softly sprung... And I float all over that bump no pain transfers to my rump I barely even hear a thump cause a bench seat's the only way to hump Drive wheels in the back...

You people forgot "hitting the broad side of a barn with a Buick" and "test-driving the wooden Buick"...

The year my parents began putting out pretzel sticks and Diet Coke instead of cookies and milk is the year I stopped believing. edit: we just told our 7-year old last night that Santa Claus isn't for real. She started crying, then the baby started pulling on her leg and she laughed it off. She thinks we're lying to her!

Everybody does, just forward it to me. Seems I have a whole lot of previous addresses around this country... Besides, the paper recycling plant pays $3-$5/100# for the stuff 8)

Dude, it ain't that bad. You ain't got a Beware Of Dog sign pretending to be a floorboard... Your truck is not a combination of blue, primer gray, green, beige, and primer red... Your windshield is not perforated... And you don't have intermittent steering... God, how I do miss my last pickup truck...'70 Ford F-100 bought for $406 on eBay and stolen four months later...why they stole my truck and not the Volvo wagon which ran better and even had the dang keys laying on the floorboard, I'll never know...

She's on her way back from a trip to east Texas. Thought she smelled burning brakes, so she calls me, then says never mind. Apparently a semitruck had a brake fire and the truck driver wasn't stopping to put it out, so then when his trailer started flaming, she pulled alongside and started screaming at him, so he pulled over, and that's the point where I picked up the phone. I thought I was gonna have to pack up the baby in the Celebrity and go get her...

I'm sorry, those are HUBCAPS, you know, plastic things, they now make 18" steel wheels with HUBCAPS???!!! And I thought the Relay's 17" steel wheels and hubcaps were big...

It's kitty litter. I have done nothing to this car so far except drive it home, scrape the old stickers off the windshield, and pull it in and out of the driveway. No time for vacuuming yet.

I will have zero rust worries. Live in Texas, no salt. If it rusts anywhere it'll be where the paint peeled off. With luck, this car will drive well for 3 more months and I'll fix the AC, put in a headliner, tint the windows, and paint it. If it can survive until tax refund time, it'll be rewarded nicely!

Hrmmm...highest to lowest, anyone? previously owned...let's keep it to just the ones over 200K 1989 Ford Escort LX 4-door hatchback 1.9/5spd no AC 351,000 miles 1970 Ford F-150 Ranger pickup, 351W/4spd no AC 277,000 miles 1995 Buick Century Special 4-door sedan 2.2/auto AC 270,000 miles 1998 Ford Crown Victoria 4-door sedan 4.6/auto AC taxi 256,000 miles 1989 Buick Century Custom 4-door sedan 3.3/auto AC 238,000 miles 1988 Buick Century Custom 4-door sedan 2.5/auto AC 231,000 miles 1975 Olds Cutlass Supreme 4-door hardtop 350R/350 AC 225,000 miles 1989 Plymouth Voyager SE minivan 2.5/5spd AC 214,000 miles currently owned 1998 Chevy Lumina 4-door sedan 3.1/auto AC 137,000 miles 1989 Chevy Celebrity 4-door sedan 2.5/auto AC 157,000 miles To be fair, the Escort was bought with 345K on it and I only had it for a few months. The original owner drove 60 miles each way to work 5 days a week for 9 years plus weekend driving. I bought it from him in 1999 on an eBay auction for $202.51 and sold it for $600 when I realized I couldn't take a non-AC car to Texas with me. Stupid move. That thing never had anything done to it except for one driveaxle around 295K. Original clutch and engine and transmission. He changed the water pump and timing belt every 60,000 miles, the oil every 5,000 miles, the coolant every 30,000 miles, and wrecked it three times. The only thing I had to do to it was change the ignition module, $40 part, $5 tool, 30 minutes of work. I was delivering pizzas one night and when it was time to go home it would not start. A little internet research revealed that it's common for that module to die because of heat, especially when idling a lot, and I always let it run through my shift. Didn't leave it running all evening after that.

I posted FQ and CarDomain pages for it... http://fquick.com/garages/viewvehicle.php?id=2733 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2517184 CarDomain is laid out better, I haven't had time to figure out FQ's layout yet, but all the pictures are in both sites. The car had no problems making it 57 miles home. Everything works but the AC and the radio. Clock works, dome light works, so radio should work, I'll look into it later. The AC is known to be a locked up compressor, but I haven't checked to see if it's still R-12 or if it's been converted to R-134a. The biggest driveability problem with this car is that it doesn't like to start when cold. You have to hold the gas to the floor to get it to fire, and then keep holding it until it clears up and runs smoothly. Then you have to pay attention, because it will stall after the fast idle ends. But once the engine is warmed up, it runs smooth and quiet, shifts great, steers light, and brakes solid. Tires up front look almost new but I know they have 29K on them and were installed in 2001. Tires in back are used and have enough tread to drive on but I think they're out of round. Car shakes above 50-55mph. Worst right at 60, smooths out by 65. For those who don't feel like visiting one of the sites, here's a couple of pictures... Front Back Front Seat Back Seat Underhood

I've driven Luminas, Tauruses, and Intrepids. I love the room in the Intrepid but the 2.7L engine scares me. Poor oiling design and the nozzles that spray the timing chain with oil clog too easily. I'm also not too hot about the small trunk lid opening, although the trunk does have tons of room. The Taurus is a Taurus. I don't like the way they shift, steer, or stop. Great engine but I can't buy one on that alone. Made that mistake with an Aerostar. Engine (3.0 Vulcan like the Taurus) was terrific, rest of the van fell apart! As for 2001 model cars, I'd have to pick the Lumina over the others for mechanical reliability. Sure, I can find one with lower miles, but can I find one with absolutely no rust, a fresh paint job, known good powertrain, and have a complete service history? Dallas doesn't mess around with taxi inspections, I was a driver for nearly 3 years and had a near perfect Crown Victoria, and even in its nice condition they still found cosmetic faults to fail me on (phone number decals faded from black to gray, checker stripes on the side peeling on the edges, a cig burn on the back seat cushion).

As it is now, we have a 1998 Lumina (6-passenger sedan) and a 1989 Celebrity (6-passenger sedan). When the oldest daughter comes to visit, and when mother-in-law is here, as it is we will be taking both cars around. I'd love to get a Grand Caravan with Stow and Go. Problem is that still caps us with a 7-passenger seating limit. Even the 8-passenger Sienna leaves me hiding in the floor behind the 3rd seat when the mother-in-law is here (and I actually WOULDN'T MIND being that far away from her...) As for clamshell wagons, I'd love to have one come springtime. There are plenty around in the $1500-$3000 range that would suit us just fine. My biggest problem with that is finding one with three rows of seats, a small-block V8 (350 or MAYBE a 400, but no 454/455, that's too much motor), and WORKING air. If I could have my way it'd be a 1973 Impala Kingswood, 3-seat, no woodgrain, silver or black, 2-barrel 350/350. Then I can drop in a 700R4 later and get even better mileage. I just don't see the point in driving a Suburban when we'd have to park it outside. Suburbans are too tall for the garage. Heck, even a Venture is 72 inches tall and I'd be scraping the door as I pull in and bounce over the little minicurb at the end of the garage floor. I'm 5' 11" and I have to duck slightly walking into the garage even when the door is as high as it goes. I also believe a Suburban may be too long for the garage. Then again, a clamshell wagon probably is, too. I'll have to take some measurements. With the Lumina in there (201 inches long) I have roughly two feet to spare when it's touching the wall.

There is a signage shop around the corner from me in Blue Mound that has three of these out front. They're used as advertising for the sign shop. I thought at first that they were those little GEM electric cars, but on a closer look they are the Smart ForTwos. Haven't seen any of them driven on the road, but I'll snap some pictures the next time I drive that direction.

1st car purchased May 1994, before I acquired a license, private party, and I hid it from my parents. 2nd and 3rd cars purchased October 1994, immediately after getting licensed. 4th in December 1994, 5th in February 1995, 6th in August 1995, 7th in September...etc etc 54 cars, 12 years, most of the time owning 2 or 3 at one time, up to 6 at one time. Not hard to have that many. I'm shooting for 100 before I'm 30, but I got married last year, so I might not hit that mark. I can post the list if you want it, but I'd have to add dates to make it all relevant...

If, by way of job transfer, or whatever unavoidable reason, I am forced to move to Michigan, I will not issue myself a Michigan license. I'll get an Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, or Wisconsin license and use a PO Box for the address. I am not getting sucked into no-fault insurance by any fault of my own.

All the cab companies around here are stacked with Luminas. 2001 was the last year for the Lumina (in fleet only status by then) and they all come off in a few weeks due to the age restrictions. My wife's car was never a cab. I stopped at one cab company whose cabs are white with red tops, and the owner is painting every single one of them back to their factory color. So they have this one 2001 Lumina with 270,000 miles. The sad part is, as nice as my wife's car is, this ex-taxicab was in better cosmetic condition inside and out. If you didn't see a little bit of overspray on the window weatherstripping and the very edge of the headlights, you'd never know it was a taxicab. And that can be cleaned up quickly and effectively. So I wonder if my wife would notice if I hid her car around the corner and put the 270K car in the garage? He's asking $2000 for it. $1800 for some of the rougher cars (body damage, over 300K, bald tires, anything like that). Anything he has under 200K he wants $2200 for, and anything he doesn't paint (leaves it white with a red roof) is $1500 regardless of condition.

And those of us who carry 6 or 7 daily, 8 on the weekends, and 9 when the mother in law visits at least monthly, what do we do? The only 9-passenger vehicles out there are the Suburban, Tahoe, and Yukons. Maybe an Expedition or Excursion. All of these are DIFFICULT to find in a 9-passenger configuration. Maybe a 12-passenger full-size van? those roll over when fully loaded. I guess my family is just stuck with driving used cars forever. Clamshells for us.