A Horse With No Name

Turbo Trans Am pace car we can agree on 100%. Having owned a non-SS-454 70 Chevelle, I can agree on the LS-6 also. Although my dream garage would be: Fun car-Cooper S Old Cars-70 Mach 1, 34 Ford 3 window Street Rod Daily-Me-keep driving my Scion, soon to be paid off Kim, my wife-Cobalt SS TC Elizabeth, my daughter-Colorado Crew Cab 2WD Joel, my oldest son-What else, newer bodystyle Mustang GT. Chris

Actually seeing several on the road here in Columbus, OH. Chris

Actually back in the day...I remember first gen (70-74) Challengers cruising around with plywood and astro-turf inside them. Which along with an 8 track and some groovy bell bottoms might make for a "period appropriate" modifications. Now where were those Bias ply 50 series tires on those rusty crager SS Mag wheels...methinks I need to go back out to the garage... Chris

I think GM is on the right track and I think we'll see the Volt in production. Its great to see GM with some balls, trying new things again... Chris

Exactly. While I may seem negative hre in my posts, really I think I'm just a frustrated Idealist or frustrated optomist. I would really like to see Chryselr get back on its feet, it just ain't gonna happen with the current product lineup though. Chris

Actually I like it. Also, I've pulled 413's out of Chrysler vehicles in Salvage yards (one was an old Indian State Highway Patrol car, so I guess you could say it was "special service") But they definitely were there from the factory. Chris

Given what we've seen out of Chrysler the last few years, do you really think it will possibly be any better???? Chris

I've owned three Chryselrs (first gen Minivan, an Omni 0-24 Coupe back in the 80's and a nice FWD Concorde). Chrysler really was on the right track before Daimler bought them. Now they seem to build silly slab sided vehicles with terrible gas mileage and terrible interiors that no one seems to want. My in laws just adore the T&C and Caravan (previous gen) that they currently own, but don't seem to like the new generation at all. Here's hoping that they change. Chrysler has built some great vehicles over the years but the current lineup is a national embarassment. Chris

...the best hope for a rise in Magnum values in about 8-10 years is the general rise in scrap prices. right now an Escort or Cadaver (Cavalier) is worth about $250 in scrap. A Magnum should be worth $400 right now easy. Adjust for inflation and your all set. Chris

Thanks, guys. Chris

I would agree. Chris

...Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep just have about 19 more models to kill and they should be all set... Chris

It won't solve it, but it can buy us time while we develop other options. A slow transition while we have time to think about things and make smart choices is in the best interest of everyone. Chris

We have strategic reserves enough for that. However, you are right, $100 a barrel oil IS doing us a favor. Chris

Actually for its era, the Cherokee (the older style you are refering to) was a damned good vehicle. These things are simple, seem to run forever, are easily modified, parts are cheap, great resale, people seemed happy with them, often got decent fuel economy... Which is why the current Patriot/Compass is so disappointing. Chris

...and an iceberg? Chris

Don't you mean BMW and Driver? I agree with a lot of the stuff that they write, but they are rather Euro Biased. Chris

What Cadillacs of the 77-2000 era are desireable and which are worthless? I see Cadillacs of this era in good condition scraped, seemingly senslessly, and then I see others bring big bucks. Which cars of this era are the ones to own and which are the ones to aviod, and why? Chris

Have you driven the new Patriot? The seats are just right...for the ass of my 78 pound, 12 year old daughter. Very narrow. Car handles like a bad 1950's wagon on bias ply tires. Fuel economy sucks on them also. I've talked to onwers getting 11-14 m.p.g. out of these, which is much worse than Escape, CRV, Vue, RAV-4, ETC. To me, these vehicles are a horrible, horrible compromise. They aren't as good on the street as the rest of the mini-ute crop (or something much more practical, say a nice Subaru wagon) nor are they easily modified into a trail rig like a 4WD S-10, older Wrangler, or first gen Bronco. So they aren't really a useful street vehicle and aren't really a useful trail vehicle nor are they a good driving or efficient vehicle. I'm trying really hard to see any appeal in them, but methinks a wide awake eighth grade class would be able to see the shortcomings of these vehicles. Why Chrysler builds them is beyond me. Just my modest, unbiased opinion of course. Chris

...or a baseball bat. Chris

Agreed, but that goes for the Chevy truck and the Ram also. Civic is up, Prius is way up, Accord is up, Camry is up...this could be a very, very good time for the Aura and Malibu. Not to mention the Astra, as we discussed in another thread. Chris

Don't feel too bad, newer product is helping. Focus is doing well, Fusion is doing well, Edge is doing well...it will be some tough sledding for Ford, but I wouldn't put them down for the count yet. Chris

Agree on the Astra. Hopefully the weak dollar won't kill it. But 30,000 won't glut the market, just the reverse. MINI only sells 30,000/40,000 cars here annually and those things hold value forever, it seems like. It would be a huge win for Saturn if they could have a desireable small car with great fuel efficiency and huge resale value. This could be very profitable for both GM and its customers. Chris

Nothing would be better long term for the economy than $5.00 per gallon gas. We need to start conserving NOW. The problem for the dollar would not exist if we hadn't been sending so many overseas. Chris

Oddly enough the 80's-90's Cadillacs seem to have about zero resale around here. We've been doing a lot of remodel work lately, and I am a commercial electrician. We've been scraping a lot of copper wire, and ACE iron and metal where we take our wire scraps a lot of cars here in Columbus. I've seen a lot of very clean Caddy's crushed whole because no one wants them. Recently a very clean 95 came in on a trailer with a tranny slip, car was pristine otherwise. Guy took $400 for the car, handed over the title and they crushed it whole while I was standing there. We work for a customer who also buys and sells Cutlass/Monte Carlo (the real kind, with V8 and RWD) on the side as a business. He can't keep the cars around, and even ratty cars are bringing $1500/$2000 if they run. That customer just crushed 3 caddy's (1991, 1994, 1996) that he had taken in trade/bought off the street because he couldn't sell them/no one wanted them. Also, I thought of Sixty-eight the last time I was at ACE. They were crushing everything in the yard as fast as possible because they are getting new scales next week. Someone dropped off what looked like a very restorable early 1940's Lincoln. God knows why they dropped it off or if it is still there, but I thought of Sixty Eight when I saw that. Sadly enough I also watched what looked like a clean 3rd gen Firebird with very little damage go into the crusher when I was there also. Sorry for the rant, just sad to see these cars go. Chris