A Horse With No Name

Things are looking up with the new Fords and the new refresh on the VW product. My next car will be a small one...my current thinking would be 1. See what the Ford Focus is like when it is revamped 2. See what is available in terms of a very gently used HHR SS. 3. Obviously, MINI Cooper, prefer S. 4. VW Golf in either the GTI or TDI flavor. That's it...the more I look at the Civic, the less I like it. Which is painful because I have a lot of friends that work for Honda and tell me what a great car it is...but my wife just hates the new Civic, even in the Si trim. Fit is a neat smallcar but a little too small, and I don't like the styling inside or out, either one. Chryco-Nothing of value Astra-Great small car, resale will tank and the after market will never even know this car was built as far as us available stuff goes. Cobalt SS - Cool, but not sure it's love to the point of the 60 payment thing. Nissan-Everything they build other than the 370 Z pretty much sucks, and I'd rather have a Vette Used than a 370Z new, plus a 370 is not a small car and not four seats, so...nothing from Nissan. Toyota-Corolla is bland, Matrix is ugly, what am I missing? Be interesting to see what happens with the Joint venture with Subaru and the coming RWD/AWD sports car. Methinks with the current climate that car will be more or less vaporware. Scion-One hit wonder. TC, not very impressive, XD, so ugly I would be embarrased to ride in one, xB (current model) What the original Chryco minivan should have been. Suzuki-Who cars? Mitsu-Screwed the pooch on the E-Clipse, Lancer is nearly midsized and IMHO not good looking... Audi-builds some nice upscale stuff but... C-30-still looks like a yuppie mommiemobile from the front, less than stellar suspension tuning, hard to find in manual, less than stellar aftermarket support...and its a Volvo. Kia-Improved, but still not up to snuff. Hyundai-Great marketing, bland cars. What am I missing? Chris

This is my thinking and also my hope in starting the thread. We seem to be a little down on the general lately as a forum, and I think we forget how much he has given us over the years. 1950's Caddy ragtop...yes. There is a restored one now in the showroom of the Caddy dealer near my parents home in Hendersonville, NC. Sweet car! Saw another '59 Caddy on the road the other day, another ragotp that had been painted pink. Chris

I have directional tires also, and rotate them per directions of MFR> Chris

Weddings are a PITA! Chris

I see the point on the interior, but none of the Chevy's has a great interior. The Z06 showed up at our autocross yesterday and I rode in in once...my daughter Joanna rode with Ginger (owners wife) during 5 of her runs. Amazing car. Interior isn't much better than the Camaros. Not holding my breath for a better interior in the Camaro. Somewhere in an alternative universe a Firebird version of this car is being built and has a better interior. But that's not the universe we live in. Chris

Sounds excellent, 'blu! Chris

Gunmetal grey indeed, it would look great in that color, Cubical. Again, to me there is only one real euro exotic I want, a Ferrari F-40. Chris

...and isn't it a little funny that we bugged GM for six years to build this damn thing and then...we bitch about it when it gets here. How many Camaro's have the fine people at GM sold to C and G regulars? How many of the Half million posts here are about the new Camaro? Toyota builds the Camry in 52 flavors because they can sell 52 flavors of Camry. GM will sell 52 flavors of bland midsize if they can sell 52 flavors of bland midsize. Not that the Camaro doesn't have it's faults...it has a ton. But every single car with charactor and personality does. How perfect do you think the 60's muscle cars were back in the day...hmmmm.... I still give it an A plus. But if you don't like it. don't worry. It will be the last of the breed, trust me. In 2018, you can get your Cruze Hybrid XFE and you all will be happy.... Chris

The Mustang guy on Cheers and gears gives the new Camaro an...A plus. You guys keep talking about lightweight cars and how heavy cars have gotten. We live in Central Ohio and am involved in Motorsports. I know quite a few people who work for Honda. A bunch of us were standing around an Integra today and talking about how nice and light it was compared to the current SI Civic. Shawn, my friend (who actually designed and developed parts of the SI package for Honda) said that every engeneer for Honda would give their eye teeth to build a car like the Integra again...but it will never happen because of safety items. We've beat this thing to death on this forum with the whole B pillar thing and why there will never be any more cars without B pillars, etc. Went out for a coke tonight with my oldest daughter, Elizabeth. Parked next to a Toyota Corolla. Keep bitching when they give us something good...and you'll be driving a crapbox like the Corolla. Chris

Maine is beautiful, glad you went. It's on my road trip list. Keep us posted on the Intrepid. Chris

THANKS, DF! Chris

I could see a Viper ACR. One of our Miata Club guys, Mark, has a Viper that he drove cross country on the HOT ROD Power Tour. Awesome car. Chris

+1 On BOTH! Chris

When your about to die, what will you regret never owning? For me right now,. two GM cars come to mind- 58-62 Solid axle Corvette (never be able to afford one, although I'd love to own one) 63-65 Buick Riviera (still think this is the coolest looking Buick of the 1960's.) What will you regret never getting to own...? Chris

I think the event is called Hell on Wheels, but I know for sure it is at National Trail raceway. Forget which large car club, all pre 72 American stuff, is holding a big get together. They are going to have drag racing and they also want an autocross, so the local (OVR) chapter of the SCCA and the Buckeye Miata club are going to help to run an autocross. Let's see...cars with 300, 400, 500 horsepower...guys who have never done this...some cool old cars...beating on them like they are ment to be beaten on....hmmmm. Also Next weekend the local SCCA is holding a huge Rallycross event, like autocross only on dirt. I'm not racing in it, but will probably ride along with a few friends who are racing. What are you all doing? My oldest daughter Elizabeth (19) and I are going to British Car Night at Quaker Steak and Lube tomorrow night...we have a neat Road Rally scheduled for October Third. I'll try to post some pics... Chris

I find stretching to be the only way that I can keep my back from hurting. Helps me feel a lot better in my 44 years of "old age" Chris

Mine too... Chris

Nice pic, Frogger! Chris

NOTHING like being out of debt. Would love to be there myself, getting there slowly. Good luck with the physical therapy, redtruck. Chris

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/classifieds/1223/ Chris

We do a lot of HVAC work, resteraunt repair work, and Electrical work for a chain of truck stops. I've noticed a lot of truckers love the Lucas stuff. Lots of them swear by it. Anyone tried it? I'm trying it in the wife's car. Chris

How often all of the bags will blow in a modern car when it is hit and how often just some of them will? Just saw a vehicle that had been hit hard in the side, and only the side impact air bags had blown, not the fronts. Also, what are the laws regarding used airbags? Does anyone know? I know in some states salvage yards are not allowed to sell them. Chris

Also enjoyed the comment about the # of "thugs" that drove them. The TC seems like more of an actual chic car than the new Beetle. I actually see more men driving beetles than I do TC's. Chris

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm...ar/13962/page1/ Here is a discussion I started over at Grassroots motorsports. A lot of guys over there are really into asian cars and...they don't like the TC either. Interesting to hear it from the other side. Chris

Bob-nice to see that we have shared passion for silver cars. Would love to drive through the Pacific Northwest. Shot of the bridge in the background makes me want to go out there even more. Chris