Camino LS6

Not Jaguar, although some of the best looking cars of all time did wear a leaper.

Oh and by the way, I think the most consitently artful cars ever built were built by a certain British automaker. :AH-HA_wink:

All fine and dandy, but it doesn't detract from the fact that car manufacturers are businesses and the relentless march of capitalism in the modern world has seen to it that we all want more for less and there's more competition trying to win our hard-earned cash. You can't blame the Japanese for that; all they've done is work as a business should work. You have to blame the consumer. The blame spreads far and wide, but Japan is the source and author of the trend. If an American or European company were to develop a bog-standard family car which encapsulated the "art" of a car in the manner you're inferring - which these days would require extensive attention to detail and perhaps even hand-built componentry, you'd have to charge at least $40K and up for the likes of a basic Cobalt simply to cover the development costs involved in creating such a unique product. Can you blame the Japanese if noone's interested in forking out such moolah? No. Since the Japanese and European mainstreams don't have badge cachet, they're eager to get in on motorsports to spark the public's imagination in an otherwise plain-jane family saloon - hence the reason for such cars as the Escort RS Cosworth, the Impreza STI and the Lancer Evolution over the years. BS, cars of the past were artful even in the thriftiest models. It's the least common denominator school of thought that's the trouble. I love cars. But more to the point I love the industry. I appreciate anything with an engine propelling four wheels and a seat. What I don't do is blindly favour one country's industry and despise that of another. Nothing blind about it, it's called taste. I do have an affinity for certain European cars, but have yet to be impressed by anythig from Japan. As for the industry, I see nothing wrong with wanting to support the products of one's own home country and make no apologies for that. Especially when they evoke the style and substance which appeal to me. I despise Toyota for their effect on the industry as a whole.

To each his own, those do nothing for me.

Thus art dies. As true as that may be, it is not the reason we are all here at this website. We are here because we love cars. The domestics understood the art of the car, and thus many are preserved, restored, and coveted. Toyotas are recycled. The soulless, bland, pragmatism of the car as appliance is a truly sad thing. Even moreso, when there is no reason that form and function connot both reside in a profitable product. I have to want a car to buy it.

Goofy.

Toyota has never been, and still is not, the top seller in the US. But ask any joe on the street and you might think that they are, that's the disconnect. I hate Toyota with a passion, and for a whole host of reasons, but that pales in comparison to one simple fact: Toyota has never built anything I would ever want. The same can be said of all Asian manufacturers. I credit these companies with reducing the most important aspect of car ownership in the US. Pride. People used to be proud of their cars and where they were built and who they were built by. They were proud of the style , the power, the way the car fitted to their lives just so. The Japanese (with Toyota in the vaguard) really introduced the notion of the car as an appliance and took that ugly perception to the top of the market. The domestics, in their panic, adopted this unpleasant approach and lost much of their own identity for several decades because of it. For me that is the real crime I lay at Toyota's doorstep, the diminishing of the art that is the automobile to the rank of appliance like any washing machine or trash compactor. Like a poison, this mentality has spread to the point that many throughout the world now see the automobile as a necessary evil rather than an expression of freedom and individuality. That's the difference between those who love cars and those that buy them because they have to. And it is the difference between me and those who buy Toyotas.

That kid had to be completely mortified.

Cort, your '76 is damn near perfect! http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/mc1976/76MC1007_15_JPG.html

I think what 68 is suggesting is that you learn to diagnose the problems and then fix them. The more you do in that area, the easier it becomes. I would certainly have done exactly that at your age and in your circumstances. The other side of the coin is that you really don't seem to have any desire to mess with cars that way - which makes it kind of pointless. If that's the right interpretation, then it's time to just unload both cars and find something with less issues. Find the lowest mileage, best condition, granny car you can and you will get the most reliable transportation for the money. Just put your taste aside for this next car, so you can save the bucks for one you really like. What I'm saying is, hunt for the right situation rather than any certain car.

Gotcha. I'll check into the filler panel anyway, just in case.

Everything.

So this BS can stay up but my ad gets flagged?

Sell both cars and buy a Grandma car with low miles. Trust me, it's a strategy that works.

Very sorry to hear that you've bent the Nova. My suggestion would be to go the truck route - you won't regret it. I may be able to get you a new NOS bumper filler for the Nova if it is still where I think it is.

That's just pathetic! What a stupid way to deal with things this "flagging" BS is.

Hope it's a great one!

I am dead set against any more loans, my "fortunes" fluctuate too much. Although 0% could change my mind. Either way, I intend to raise the cash before I sign. And it's going to be damn difficult. So when I twist the key for that first time it will be that much more satisfying.

"Insufficient data to give a meaningful response"

I've seen lots of ads there with links too, so I still don't know what the problem was.

Welcome to C&G, traumadog. You'll fit in fine around here. :AH-HA_wink: Love the Monaro.

Yes. Is that why? If so, that's a moronic thing.

Especially when it roadblocks a new user so badly. Free doesn't make useless good.

I find myself trying to imagine who these ninnies are that spend their time policing those listings. Need to get a life much?!