A Horse With No Name

Glad to see them decrease and others increase. Chris

I like the Camaro synergy the best, actually. Chris

+1 Chris

To be really rational about it... Knight could almost fix the 'bird as a reliable daily driver. Get an estimate on frame work, etc. if the rest of the car is solid. If you really want the Buick...just hold on to it. Old cars are a HOBBY. Expect to spend about eleventy billion dollars MORE on it than its worth, even if you do your own work. But I do agree with blue and Cuticle-when you get out of school, buy a Cobalt or Malibu new or nearly new so you have a car as reliable as gravity to get around in. Chris

+1 Chris

Things are just beyond dire here in Ohio as well. Maybe I never should have moved back here from Atlanta...oh well. Dave, your young enough to recover from financial loss, etc. The real question is.... What do you want to do? I found that I enjoy HVAC/refrigeration work...and also electrical work. Doing what you enjoy should come FIRST. Then let everything else fall into place. But unless your wife has a killer stable job...I'd move. My wife has a good, seemingly stable university job that pays fairly well. If she didn't have that, and I didn't own a house that will be tough to sell...I'd be out of Ohio. Chris

He's got the Cutlass bought and paid for. Perhaps maybe Whitenight gets out of school and buys a nice low mile Grand National as another toy and a gently used current gen V6 Camaro as a daily? Chris

Color, like automatic transmissions, is one of those things GM usually gets really right. Like I said in the car color poll, dark green is my fav. on cars. Chris

Nothing wrong with getting what you want. If you and Albert wanted to...the AVI would make a cool tow vehicle with a camping trailer. Take a few weeks off and go out west or something. THAT would also draw me towards an AVI. Chris

Didn't get a good look at the roof...but that car in that color was just AMAZING. Don't usually even like "family" type cars but that one dropped my jaw. I'll have to do some internet research to see other cars in that color. Chris

Actually Carbiz, you made a point awhile back about the Cobalt and Cavi that really, really stuck with me. And I'd like to elaborate. You talked about how GM overbuilt things like door hinges, trunk locks, suspension mounting points, et al-things that will go bad when you really drive one of these things in a harsh environment like Toronto or Columbus Ohio. I like to wrench on cars once in awhile, and I love salvage yards. After you brought up that point...I started paying CLOSE attention to the Toyotas and Chevy's rotting away in a yard after ten or fifteen years of service. Imagine THAT: A CANADIAN of all things was actually RIGHT about something. The Body structure of a Chevrolet/GM product seems to hold up MUCH better over real world time and real world use than that or a Toyota. Not only that, when they are smacked hard, the body structure of the Cobalt holds up really well. Off topic but..saw a red Cobalt 2 door sitting next to a Corolla at the Local Pick N pull. I've watched the crash test video's on you tube, but to me looking at actual wrecked cars seems to tell the true story. AMAZING how much better the Cobalt seemed to hold up from a similar accident. I am a family guy, and if I had to send my daughter off to college in a car, it would DAMN sure be a Coblat rather than a Corolla based on what I've seen in yards. But I'm just a ranting yankee, eh? YMMV. Chris

I don't know but...the HHR SS is on my lust list. I like the Avi and the Buick, but the HHR SS=Lust, pure and simple. An HHR SS panel...now THAT would be unique, rare, and possibly collectable. How is this for an idea that I like but you and Albert might hate- Find someone artisitc in your community. Get them to do up a "Drew's Garage" graphic for the HHR and make it look like a vintage shop truck. Wouldn't have to be a garage theme, but something retro with cool graphics. Lower the front slightly to give the HHR/HHR panel a little bit of rake. And add a nice set of tasteful aftermarket wheels, shake, don't stir (or is it stir, don't shake? I don't make martini's) and you and Albert have a nice weekend cruiser that is tasteful and unique. Chris

I myself have always liked the P71 Panthers, aka the cop cars. Chris

When did they drop the plastic body cladding as a "Mandatory Option"? I myself like them better without. Also, I asked this once before...but forget what you said. They did/do build a diesel avi or no? Thinking they didn't. THAT would make me want an AVI. Chris

Interesting...all sitting at the same traffic light (Hamilton and Refugee) at 2:30 yesterday afternoon. A really built for off road Wrangler Rubicon, a really pristine 60's Lincoln, and a Suburu WRX that is run in rally's by a local SCCA guy. Three VERY different yet cool vehicles, IMHO. Also-Really nice black LS1 TA, Black 64-66 Corvette Roadster (SWEET! on US 35 down by Jeffersonville), slammed mid 70's fullsize GMC truck (also black, great looking truck). I've also seen a bunch of large trucks being driven by very attractive females, but no blondes. Really nice looking brunette driving a large tandem axle dump truck, a redheaded MILF driving a Lifted GMC S-15 ZR2 Jimmy, another redhead driving a lifted Z71, another brunette driving a Semi Truck... Kind of strange. The two I enjoyed the most were the 64-66 Vette and the ZR2 Jimmy. The Jimmy was riding on what looked like 38 or 40 inch tires and was really clean and sharp, dark blue. Chris

...and an apology to you and Albert. My ADHD medication must be wearing off... Chris

If your not going to be able to paint the Intrepid in the spring...that maybe makes sense. Good Luck! Hope it works out well for you. Chris

On the plus side, lots of parts around for Grand Marquis with Cash for Clunkers. On the downside...your pretty much putting money into a crap car. Money you could spend on a better car later. Personally...I wouldn't do it. Drive the Intrepid through the winter and paint it in the spring. Buy a winter beater in the fall of '10, but get a high mile Cobalt or a Subie wagon or something worth holding onto. Just my two cents...and if you get the Grand Marquis, good luck. Chris

...or get an S10 with the Vortec V6. Better yet...get an Astro Van or a Safari. Haul anything, cheap as dirt, and if you get bored, you and alfred can take 5 of your closest friends to a classical concert.

You could also get firewood delivered perhaps. The HHR is my clear vote... Even if gas were 35 cents a gallon...would still like it. Chris

Lastly...took me a second to find it...here is what he did to get it to turn. Interesting read! http://www.cardomain.com/ride/515521/10 Chris

Heres a Youtube Video of the truck racing from inside the cab...he passes a Miata and a V8 Mustang with a 4 cyl S-10! Cool to watch... Chris

Check this out... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/1320/ If you follow the links on the truck he's written about what he's done to modify it...cool! Chris

More evil inspiration... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2194/

Inspiration for you... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2209/ Good Luck, Dude! Chris