A Horse With No Name

I think the farmer that drives it is the same guy who raises all those little ears of corn you get in Chinese food... Chris

Our 97 Safari has 132,000 miles and after almost selling it I've decided to keep it. Other than fluid changes, keeping it clean and clear of Ohio road salt, and making sure it gets regular excercise what do you suggest to keep this thing "on the road?" Chris

Visit your local Nissan dealer. There will be no shortage of Horse Manure, even if it is in a large city. Chris

Maybe I need to hang out on church street then. Chris

One of the things Oldsmoboi, Balt, Sixty Eight and others here are making me aware of is how Japanese "luxury" cars don't really have the feel/features/heritage of a real luxury car. I can put up with a cheap interior if I spend $5k on a used 96 Miata for a weekend car. In a $35k "luxury" car like Lexus or Acura or Infinity the Japanese (I am finally seeing) really can't compete. Also realizing how cheap/featureless the interiors of other "upscale" cars like the EVO and STI are also. Wondering if maybe some of youyr Canadian comrades are feeling the same thing. A Toronto Lexus dealership would not be high on my "to own list" right now. With the dollar so weak though, why would Americans go to Canada to buy a car? Also, aren't there a million legal and tax issues for moving a north of the border car south? Chris

Off topic, but... My son is looking at an automotive related trade school. We went to an open house and the local Chevy dealer had a nu bu there and I got to spend some serious time taking a look while Joel talked with the school's teachers. The nu bu is probably one of the hottest new cars in the last 5 years, maybe even the last ten. And I ain't even a midsize sedan type of a guy. The dual cockpit feel of the interior is just perfect-it is similar to the cadillac CTS. Have always liked dual cokcpit feel interiors since the early Vettes and early Mustangs. Nice to have GM back on top. Chris

The restored example that Tulsa had on hand was a nice looking car. Let's see what this looks like when they are done. Chris

That's the other car I regret not buying. About 9 years ago i had a chance to buy a 74 Vega GT with a seriously built 350. Car was one of what must have been 3 rust free Vegas left in the world and would run 12's on street tires. I had a foreign exchange student living with me from France who kept talking about European cars. Had my buddy show up at the house and give the kid a white nuckle ride in that Vega. For some strange reason Oliver never mentioned European cars again. He did smile a lot getting out of that Vega, though. Chris

Son of my friend Lee has a very nice restorable 74 442. Scott picked it up at a grage sale for $700. Some guys have all the luck. Chris

I can drive a Miata without loosing manliness, does that count? (but I still like Camaro) Chris

Would hate to see Ford go away. But I agree, and will donate my Remington to the cause if you will kindly round up the arch-idiots from the design studio who penned these wonders in the first place. Chris

The vintage Mustang guys swear by it. And as everyone knows, the 60's mustangs could have been built out of stainless steel by Ford and kept in a climate controlled garage in Arizona...and they still would have rusted. Seriously, I doubt the Shadow is gone. Find someone who can weld and you probably can be back on the road pretty easily. Shadow is a tough car, even in salt. Brother-Sister in law live in Buffalo and theirs went forever with only minor rust issues so unless your parking yours out in the Atlantic I doubt very seriously if it is "gone." Chris

Be glad to see the real 'volt come out. Chris

Anybody who drives the Kia van and buys it deserves what they get. We drove a new one several years ago when we bought our GMC Safari. Even though the Safari was a refreshed 1985 design it still seemed much better than the Kia. Really not impressed with any of the Kia lineup. Chris

Getting back on track, Mustang sales are down 27+ percent, which does not bode well in some ways for the Challenger/Camaro coming out. Ford is still in trouble. Focus is selling on one feature and price. Taurus sales are wayyy down from a few years ago. Fusion is down, probably du to the 'bu. You can't justify Ford's product lineup on just the Edge, just like you can't justify Mazda lineup based on the success of the '3. Ford really needs better updated product, like it or not. That they only were down 4% seems to me just a mild respite in a period of steep decline. Chris

This is not suprising at any rate. The economy is in horrible shape and both Toyota and Gm have a huge overhead they have to keep fed by building and selling cars. I would expect strong money non the hood of a lot of cars for quite some time to come. The market has too many players for too few buyers, and that juast ain't gonna change. Chris

As I said in another post, Scion is like a one hit wonder band. The xB (original gen) sold well, the TC sold well for awhile, but I doubt that they will get the "majic" back again. Chris

Looking at this fuel economy does seem to be on people's minds. Chris

Glad to see the bu doing well, and Solstice is up as well. Glad to see GM get some nice fresh product to market. Chris

As an off topic aside, I wonder why Chrysler didn't build an SRT-4 Avenger instead of an SRT-4 Caliber. That would have made a much cooler car. While I am no fan of the Avenger I would chose it over the Hyundai, the Nissan, Camry, and perhaps a few other cars in the test. I did like how they (C+D) indicated that their avenger had fewer rattles than the Camry. As another off topic aside those Baloney Sandwiches they talked about in the article are local legend here in central Ohio. One of our other great places to eat is the thurman Cafe, recently rated as one of the ten best hamburgers in the US. Chris

+1 on Altima over rated. Atima coupe is ugly. I saw one at the dealership when my son and I were looking at a used Mustang. At $26,000+ it was ten grand more than a Scion TC and argueably less car. Chris

I beg to differ. One wants to slit ones wrists merely looking at the Sienna...driving it is an extra complication. Chris

A V-8 for sure, but GM could make some serious coin by dialing in the V-6 right. I love the new Mustang but the 4.0 Ford just doesn't cut it. I think someone in another thread said something about the power of a four and the fuel economy of a V-8 and they were not far off. Since most of the people that buy Mustangs are your typical secretary type or older men or who knows, people who do settle for a V-6 for whatever reason... It only stands to reason that having the V-6 really dialed in as far as NVH and so forth is of utter importance. Also, Ford toyed around with having a handeling package for V-6 Mustangs but abandoned the idea. I'd love something about as stiff as the old F-41 Suspension in the old Chevelle SS cars or the suspension in a 70's Cutlass-just a little bit firm-combined with a car that actually liked to turn. That and Hugger Orange paint. Chris

POR 15 is the E-ticket for the shadow. BTW, around here scrap prices are about $250-$300 for a car that size. At the scrap yard the other day they paid out $245 for an Escourt. Chris

Why the hell are they only recalling cars in cold states? I live in Ohio and people move here from Arizona, California, Texas and Georgia all of the time. This is a very serious safety related issue. What happens when a relocated car has the wires corrode and has an airbag problem because of the safety seat sensor? Makes no sense to me. And yes, Honda and Mazda have just as many problems as the domestics...as far as cost cutting goes it's going to happen on any sub-25K car. Chris