A Horse With No Name

It's amazing some of the cars that get crushed, which is just a pet peeve of mine. The first ever GNX (pre-production prototype) was donated to a school's automotive department in Indiana on the grounds that it would be crushed when they were done with it. Chris

I would go all the way and build a copy of the Ferrari powered Firebird that GM built in the 1970's. Chris

The 5.0 Mustang thing isn't really my thing but I can see it. The Civic thing I can see if you want a lightweight FWD car to play with that has a large aftermarket. But once an economy car, always an economy car. Actually as I have said before here I don't mind small cars if they are unique in some way. Cooper S, Volvo C-30, Pontiac Solstice = Pure lust IMHO. Chris

Actually when I needed a good 307 Olds motor for my Cutlass when I was in college, I pulled a nearly new (1300 mile) 307 from a very similar car in an Indiana junkyard. That Buick was specially built for a funeral home and totalled when nearly new. I wish there were a good field guide to funeral home vehicles and ambulances, as well as other "specially bodied" vehicles. Chris

I like the way you think! Chris

Pretty impressive. I've always thought GM had some pretty good powertrain design. Chris

I'm in utter lust over that. I wish I had about 30k to buy it. Chris

I do at least like the alloy wheels. They did a nice job with tham, they are very distinctive IMHO. Chris

This is important. We have three teenagers living in our home, and it's amazing the cars (Dodge Charger for instance) that are large cars with horrible rear seat headroom. This would actually be a major selling point to me, along with a smooth 6MT. I just LOVE the 6MT in the S2000. Honda does build some of the nicest shifting manual tranny cars on the planet. Chris

Internet jesting aside, I am glad you seem to have found a car you like and that you seem to be getting near purchase time. However, this thing is really, really, really not my cup of tea. Honda does have great colors, though. My son Joel and I are thinking of doing a project car together and maybe I can use at at least the color on something. But seriously, I am feeling no love whatsoever for Acura products right now. Keep us posted on the center stack controls thing, it looks fairly well laid out, not something I can say for all Honda products as of late. Chris

...it is still a lot sexier than that abomination you were showing us in the Acura thread. But actually, given the choice between 1. Spending my money on a current Acura product 2. Spending my money on a current Hyundai product Or 3. Being bitten by a large, angry rabid dog... I would choose the dog. The pain would only last a few weeks, and rabies can be dealt with by a series of shots. Painfull, yes, but better than 60 months of payments on either. Chris

Thankfully, I can buy a Civic, which is a great car and built here in Ohio. Or if I go for the SI version, it's built in Canada. Chris

Seriously, most Prius owners I know are getting 45-55 m.p.g. out of them, and I have known quite a few that have gone well over 100k without battery issues. The Volt cannot get here soon enough. That being said, there is just something that says "class" about a German diesel. My son Joel and I are probably going to join the local Columbus TDI Volkswagen group (a couple of guys in the local Miata club invited us to Fridays club meeting.) Also, Steve, my body guy/mechanic that helps me on all of my cars has a receptionist/secretary who is married to a guy named Chavez. Chavez runs a garage that mostly deals with Benz, esp. older Benz. They have tried to talk me into benz ownership several times. The last car was a pristine always garaged late 80's diesel with only about 80k on the clock, for $3200. It was white and looked great! But I am thinking if I go diesel it will be VW. Latest MPG,running through the wilds of Ohio with the Miata club and not being gentle, was 26.7 in the Miata. Oh, and Sixty eight...we are running a caravan with the Miata club to Aubrun IN. for the Aubrun-Cord-Dusenberg weekend. If I can break away and go I'll think about you. Oh, and Dodgefan, I thought of you when the Mopar nationals were in town...Joel and I went out to Brice Road and watched the action. We pulled in the BP station next to a Coronet R/t convertible down on Brioce while we were waiting for the action to start. Do you suppose the 440 4V in the Coronet might possibly "outgun" the 1.8 in my Miata? Chris

Kieth Tanner, who is into Miatas and has written several Miata books actually has a blog somewhere about driving his Miata across Canada with his girlfriend. I want to do the same with mine...given the pic I know a stop I want to make! Chris

Economy here is not super strong but Columbus is a great place to live. Overgrown college town, actually. Chris

I was born in Appleton and haven't been back since 1965. I plan to visit someday. Chris

+1 Chris

+1 Chris

And actually, I find it interesting that even my friends that will only buy Japanese cars find this model Acura hideous. Chris

We have a client at work who has several family memebers who compete in Derby's all over the midwest. They have run a lot of cars which started out MUCH nicer than this. Sad to say, but true. Chris

Who said you were laughing alone? Trust me, there are plenty of other people out here laughing with you. Chris

+1 Chris

Actually I was the foreman for the electrical work in the downtown Y, I can tell you some stories.... Chris

QUOTE(moltar @ Aug 7 2008, 06:20 PM) [snapback]417875[/snapback]The '60s Mustangs have been in a few cases related to gas tanks because of the absurd drop-in gas tank design (the tank fits through a hole in the trunk floor, exposed inside the car). There was a big lawsuit involving the '78 Malibu also. Another bad thing about alot of old cars were the fuel fillers on the rear panel or behind the rear license plate..seems like a bad place for a fuel filler. Perahps the dumbest MUSTANG design of the era was the 69-70 Shelby. IIRC, the exhaust exited center under the rear, right under the fuel filler location. Darwin at work again, courtesy of FORD. Although in 40 years the number of Mustang accidents where fire is the result of rear end collisions is no greater than any other 60's car. Chris

The problem with this is that the middle class, the traditional buyers of these cars, is shrinking rapidly in this country. Given our economic situation, perhaps GM needs to build busses for city bus routes instead. Chris