A Horse With No Name

....nahhh...guy like you...a 57 ranchero would round out a collection of El-Camino vehicles just fine. The 67 Ranchero was also a nice looking car (the fairlane style body with the stacked headlights, not the mini-falcoln they came out with.) One of the heating guys on the job we are doing has a 1 of 1 bench seat 70 or so SCJ 4 speed Ranchero, maybe not my thing but cool none the less. Now a Camry made into a pick em up...that I couldn't see. Chris

So enjoy a few old, old cars... Chris

If anyone is interested... http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=295314 Some cool old pics here of model T fords and so forth, from a recent trip with the local Miata club. The silver car on the far left in the first pic is my car, go on down and lots of cool pics of old Fords in this thread. Oh, and BTW, if you look at the really hairy guy standing next to the blue and white 55 T-bird, with the little girl behind him...that's me with my daughter Christina in tow. Enjoy Chris

No, but quality of life would make up for it. I used to live in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a great place but just a bigger citthan I wanted to live in so I moved back to Ohio. Chris

I want to learn about the Monte Carlo Convertibles-first gen. People have built them by crossing Monte's with Chevelles, but were there not a few prototypes or a few released from the factory-I can't remember but it seems like I read something like that a few years ago. Also, the 66-67 Nova as a ragtop makes a good looking car. I've seen a couple of these custom built as phantoms. I would also like to see a first gen Camaro with a turbo six, like the Pontiac Firebird Sprint. Chris

Nice looking dog! Chris

Your not the only one. Chris

I'm not religous but I am praying the tundra goes away. It really is a lousy product, Toyota or not. Chris

I'm jealous, I'd love to live where you do. Chris

+1 Chris

There are cars I just want to hang my head in shame at being a memeber of the race that designed them. This Mitsu is one of them. Chris

I went with the 42 Buick...LOVE that car! Chris

I think Crossfire is discontinued. Neighbors have one and the design is growing on me a little bit. The Mercury designs are growing on me as well. Chris

I'm talking overall average, everything for sale. CTS Coupe and Lacrosse both are beautiful. I guess I just see a lot of really ugly (IMHO) cars being made and don't like the styling direction of a lot of carmakers. Chris

So lets open it back up and recap-Cars I think are worth fixing Honda CRX-Wonderful car, little pocket rocket. Co worker owned one, more fun than a barrel of monkey's. Great aftermarket support and fan base. Porsche 944-NASA has a spec 944 class, and these cars are very "tough cars." I've seen them rolled over at Porsche club, SCCA, and Nasa events and put back on track a couple hours later with minor repairs. They handle great and IMHO they are great looking cars. Any E-30 or E-36 Chasis BMW that can be bought in decent shape without spending a bilion Dollars. Fox Body or 3rd Gen F-body cars make great projects. My son and I have looked at a few. Any Midsize 2 door BOF RWD V-8 GM car (Regal, Monte, Grand Prix, Cutlass). (the 80's cars are cheap right now, and available in good condition if you look) C-4, C-3, or even "worn" C-5 Corvettes are available everywhere. Believe it or not, when my wife and I walk in the evening we pass about 6 (yeah, six) C-3 Corvettes sitting behind garages or in peoples yards. These things are everywhere. Flame me if you want, but Miata's are great cars. For a cheap daily driver, the Focus is not a bad car, and updating the suspension with SVT parts is so easy even i could do it. Fullsize 70's GM convertibles are collectible and affordable, and probably worth the investment of fixing up. There are others. Chris

For a city car the Fit is not bad, but yeah, most of what people are talking about here is stuff that I am not on board with. IMHO I don't like anything Suzuki builds at all. Chris

Warning-this is a rant, but it is how I really feel. This comes in part from Miata net and hanging out with a few of the VW/Audi guys...and talking with people at work or in various social circles. The feeling seems to be widespread that most of what is being built right now is just plain..well..butt awful ugly. I need to know if you all think 2009 is the worst year ever for car design. I just look at what some car makers are building, and I just want to weep. Not to sound like a Cheers and Gears nutjob, but a rusty 73 Maverick on jackstands looks better visually IMHO than the following: Anything from Nissan other than the 350Z or the GTR. The Z and GTR aren't all that great, but they aren't ugly either. Ridgeline, Anything Acura, and the CRV from Honda. Just awful. My wife is not a car person and she laughs out loud every time she sees a Ridgeline. She finds the CRV, the Acura's and the Civic even uglier. The entire Toyota lineup is horrible, other than the TC. Mitsubishi...the new Lancer/EVO I think looks horrible, the Eclipse is amazingly bad (consumer reports is right in giving it a horrible rating, IMHO...just nothing on this car is "right" visually or in the way the interior is laid out.) The rest of the lineup just plain is awful as well. BMW...not on board with anything other than the Z4, and BMW is putting a lot of money on the hood of the Z4 to move it. I still like the old Z3 better than the Z4. Mazda..the CX-7 and CX-9 are really not good looking. Merc-Benz...I like the cars from the earlier eras better. Subaru-the Big SUV (Tribecca or whatever) Ugly, even without the vagina inspired front end. The previous car is an Ob-Gyns worst nightmare come true, and the restyle IMHO makes it even worse. Chrysler...I can't say nasty things about a few of the products because people here drive them or like them, but the Caliber is not good looking by any measure. Am I off base or is 2009 one of the worst year for car styling in a long time? I'm going to find a Delorean, a mad scientist named Brown, a length of wire, and a Court House...and go back in time and buy a 57 Olds ragtop like my grandfather used to own! Chris

Welcome, Vader33! This place is a little nuts, but it is a lot of fun. Oh, and I'm into small cars but I love trucks too. Congrats on owning a Z-71, I am jealous! Chris

Amazing that Astra for example is the best selling car in Europe but they can't give them away here...and it is a damned good car. I really think the best of the new GM (Astra, Aura, Sky, Solstice, G8, CTS, Cobalt SS TC, HHR, Enclave, Outlook, GMT 900 et all) is awesome product. Gm has done a wonderful job with the product itself, now let us get it into the hands of people who have money and need cars. Chris

The old E-30 style cars (the 80's era small BMW's) were way cool and I still want to find one and fix it up. However, I'm with you on the newer stuff. Audi just has its act together, and VW is really getting there. Chris

+1 Chris

Thinking outside of the box is what is fun about loving cars. Chris

I would really like to disagree, the Aveo isn't even on the same planet as the Fit. Chris

I wish I still lived in either Atlanta or Chicago, great ethnic food both places! Seriously, I think it says something that there are no really crative ways to modify most Asian cars. Chris

What about merging the two threads, Phantoms and this should be mine? I'll take a 87 El-Camino pick em up with an SS front end, but made into a convertible, like GM did with a (1965, I believe) El Camino for a show car. I would much rather actually have THAT than a Prius. Oh, and did you know that all Prius come with navigation systems? They drive themselves from one self righteous destination to another... Chris