rkmdogs

Hudson, Do you recall........ what was the name of the mag that Tom McCahill started on his own? I had the entire publication--- 12 volumes, that I sold with my first collection disposal, but I can't recall the name.

Hudson, I don't have a copy of Motor Trend in that vintage handy at this time, but THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU for the lead to the wonderful story by Mike Davis in the Yoostsbee column. Unfortunately, he did not mention the rival publisher, Argus, that had been owned by George Elliot, nor it's subsequent sale to Prime Media, after George's untimely death. There are so many nich mags out there it is hard to keep track. I remember another good one that pulled no punches, Mopar Performance. Chrysler put them out of business tho, for using their slang name. What a shame! Would you care to share some other long-gone mags with us? I know that I had tons more, many out-of-print, but can't remember a single one right now!

Thank you for the endorsement of the new D-C offerings. I just bought a '05 T & C, with the 3.8L V6. After having 3 Astros that went forever with the 4.3L V6, I was wondering how the D-C boys had done with this older design engine. Glad to hear that it too, is a good reliable design. Maybe someday GM will wake up again and rejoin the mini-van market! The SBC design has constantly improved since Ed Cole did it in 1955, and the new versions in the LS2 configuration seem to carry on that tradition. Just wish that they would put it in a vehicle that I can use!

Hudson, GREAT collection! My all-time favorite tho was "Car Life," published by John R. Bond, I believe after he left Road & Track. Second choice is the earlier "Car Craft", but that has had so many editors, it is like a revolving door. Where do you find the room to store them? I have had 2 collections in the past. The first, went back to 1946, as I mentioned. But then my wife insisted that the attic was sagging, so I sold over 600 issues, back in the mid 60's. My second start was from 1962 until 2004, but I gave that one up when we moved South, for lack of space. The pic attached was my barn, laid out on 3 4'x8' tables as you could see. I also sold over 3600 pieces of dealer lit, catalogs, FSM, and owners manuals to a guy in NY, who sells on the web, by the piece! My collection now consists of only about 200 selected copies, for special items or vehicles of interest. One of my pet peeves----- all the mags & video car shows tout engine changes that include the use of a carb, instead of fuel injection! When was the last time that Detroit, or anywhere sold a new vehicle with a carburetor? This is one of the myths being continued on the great unwashed, because fuel injection is too complicated or requires sophisticated computer programs to decipher. How many of those cars can pass the emissions tests for the street in CA.?

[quote name='Sixty8panther' date='Jan 30 2006, 04:12 AM'] Sixty8..... WHERE, oh where did you cop this pic of a '59 Buick Hearse? This must have been built for some blue-collar funeral home that couldn't afford a Caddy at the time! Gorgeous car tho, do you have any more pics of it? :AH-HA_wink:

Hudson, Who do you consider the Big 4??? All the car mags were created for enthusiasts, who could not get answers to their inquiries from their usual "local" sources. Your inference to "Hot Rodding" ignores the fact that, that was one of the prime movements that created car mags after WWII. Yes, sub-cultures did occur---- later! BTW, I did have a copy of Vol 1, #1 Hot Rod, dated October 1946 (I think that was the year), but I sold it many years ago! I have had voluminous collections of many car publications that have long ago gone by the wayside. Another name to throw out for the foreign buffs was(is) David E Davis, but he too sold out, for big bucks! It used to be that most of the mags were run by frustrated, ex-engineers, who knew whereof they spoke. Today's writers sound like they all grew up with left-handed monkey-wrenches as their only weapon of choice! Anybody ever hear of Doug Marion, over at Super Chevy? He was a hands-on guy, who rose up the ladder & then disappeared! Oh yeah, on the factory parts swapping thing----- when have you seen an article about putting a Buick supercharger on any other GM engine? There have been plenty of articles about this type of modification, but all with after-market, expensive SEMA parts, not with bone-yard resurrections!

You "punks" are all too young to even know or remember how car mags in this country got started. It all began out of frustration ---- the car companies would not tell you anything about their products, other than what was printed in the dealer literature. Tom MacCahill at Mechanix Illustrated is the one who broke the ice! He conned Ford into "lending" him a car, for a magazine "photo shoot", and he proceeded to "wring it out", and then write his opinions of it for a magazine article. Nobody would print it, because it was critical, until Mechanix Illustrated took a chance. They ran out of copies! History was started. Similar with Motor Trend and Hot Rod. They were started out of frustration, in order to spread information that the manufacturers would not give you! The turn-around has come about, because those independent pioneers have either passed on, or their products have been sold to people with other interests! All of the big car mags are now foreign owned! Auto Week went down the tubes when the ol' man died! They used to be the most up-to-date source of actual, factual automotive data, but not any more. Now all of these mags are catalog extensions for the car companies or SEMA companies! When was the last time you saw an article about swapping factory parts from one model to another? Two other factors have brought about the demise of GOOD car mags. One is the Federal Clean Air Act, and it's penalties for parts substitution, abetted by the California Air Control Board at their arrogant ostrich-like attitudes. The other is an unspoken rule that all things good automotively have to come from California! There is no other place in this country that has good, intelligent automotive news, if it did not originate there! The outcast exception is GM HighTech magazine, but that is a bi-monthly, and is on a very short leash! Again, it is foreign-owned! Well, these are my opinions, ----- from a very frustrated ol' hot rodder, who is not a pro, and does it because I enjoy mechanical things.

Well guys, I've heard all your rationale & retorts. I did not order the Titan--I was only reporting on a magazine readers letter! As far as ordering an HHR, that's a joke! Production is so far behind, dealers are taking wharever they can get ---- and two dealers told me that they wouldn't even try to special order at this time! So, I finally had to vote with my wallet. Since Chevy and/or GM thinks the minivan market is a dead horse, I went out and got a Chrysler Town & Country with "stow n' go" seats to replace my aging Astro. Oh yeah, the recent GM price reductions----- dropped the market value on my Astro over $800. overnight! Wait until the rest of the former GM owners go to trade---- and find out how they got stabbed in the back!

It has been my experience that if you are not relieving a dealers' floor plan, his price window closes down considerably. Also, in the new issue of Auto Week, is a letter from a reader who ordered a new C-5 Corvette, and never got it--- altho others came in as dealer stock! I have ordered cars in the past --- and had them screwed up, by dealer personel, who presumed to know what it was that I wanted. Rule of thumb, ----- if it ain't there, chances of getting what you want are less than 50-50!

With all the hoopla about the new GMT900 platform, and my recent, unsuccessful search for an HHR that met my needs, I would like to share a letter-to-the-editor that appeared in the March/Aprilissue ofTruck Trendmagazine. Jason Amoriell of Cedar Rapids,Iowa wrote: "I recently replaced my 1997 Z71 Tahoe with a crew-cab Titan. I chose the Titan for similar reasons why you chose the Xterra as your 2006 Sport/Utility of the Year. My Titan's off-road package came with a strong engine,locking rear differential, four-wheel traction control, disc brakes, and larger tires than the TahoeZ71. It seems GM is saving its' best features for Hummers and Cadillacs, at the expense of other brands. That approach may work for maintaining those specific,(lower- volume) brands, but 30,000 layoffs and lost marketshare negate the overall wisdom of the approach. Nissan's"Everything you need; nothing you don't" philosophy seems more suited to the middle-class buyer with an active outdoor lifestyle. I looked at many 2005 Z71 Tahoes, and all the ones on the lot had entertainment systems(for kids) that rival the average living room. That's not where I wanted to spend my truck money." I added the emphasis on the line about entertainment systems, because in my opinion, GM has again forgotten that it is in the transportation business and not the entertainment for kids business! That was the case when I went looking for a new HHR as well! Most of the 2LT models were rolling juke-boxes, rather than top-notch versatile transportation machines. What will it take for GM to wake up and get back into making functional, economical transport machines?

I'm confused! How do you check a gasket..... until you make an observation of evidence that it IS leaking! .... Or are you saying that since they look for evidence of a leak, and not observing any, presume the gasket is O.K., and not leaking? That rationale is far from 100%! Many leaks do not show signs of their leakage.. until damage has been done! However, I do agree with you, that the chances of a dealership employee finding a problem are better than the high-school kid, working at the Quickie-Lube joint part-time finding it. This can all lead back to owner observations, if they would take the time to learn what their vehicle is supposed to look like...... and then take the time to check it themselves, occassionally!

Well, what can you expect ....... in that climate where the sun bakes your brain! The West Coast has long been notorious for hating anything labeled U.S.A.! The rest of the world is waking up from their nightmares! But that still does not address the size, nor comfort issues. Like I said, this is a very recent realization, that most of the car companies have not addressed, except Ford, and they are beating the drum on these points.

Depending on your degree of energy, I would report this flagrant violation of the consumer fraud laws to the manager at the dealership, and ask for your money back, or report them to your States Attorney's office under the consumer protection laws. I had a dealership try to pull a shady deal on me once, ----- and it cost them a brand-new engine, enforced by the States Attorney, if they wanted to stay in business!

Toni, It sounds like you were really, "had", so to speak. Like changing the air in your tires, 'cause it is worn out. I wish that you had asked to see the "cracked plug", 'cause it is a solid steel part! What usually happens more times than not, the lot boy--- who does the oil changes between car washes, cross-threaded the plug while putting it back in. This happens alot, and then the plug, or the crankcase threads get stripped, and you have a humongous leak! If it was the plug that stripped, and the oilpan was not damaged, then the fix is a new oilplug. But if the pan hole threads got stripped----- then you have big problems! Usually requires re-threading the pan, with oversize thread, or an insert if possible, and then a new plug to correspond to the new thread dimensions. Either way, it should be the dealers' responsibility for their error, and you should not have to pay! Now, most States have laws that if a part is being replaced, for whatever a reason, the servicing business MUST offer to give the old part back to you prior to disposal, so that you can assess the defect claimed. They not only saw you coming, they saw the flashing neon sign on your forehead, claiming "sucker". I totally agree, don't go to that place for service ever again --- send your worst enemy there!

Re: Gurgel.... Shades of a Corvair ramp-side van that got mated to an Avalanche! What country claimed this "dream" truck, Harley?

What has oil changes, their intervals or where they are done have to do with a loss of coolant and/or a cracked gasket? That has to do with periodic inspection for problems in an overall service plan. A lot of "quickie" oil change places claim to perform these service inspections, but I have seen many flagrant omissions of some very obvious things done by them, and dealerships as well! I concur that the oil change time is an excellent one to perform these other inspections, but that still begs the question of does the inspector know what to look at? In this day & age, the average car owner may not, since so many things are "buried" in the engine compartment. The other factor is product general technical knowledge---- and that one is sorely lacking in most of today's average car owners! Smoky Yunick, one of the most respected racing mechanics that ever lived once wrote in his book that if his car broke down on the road, with the complexity of todays' drive train systems, he could not do a quick-fix without proper sophisticated, diagnostic equipment! That's why I lament that people buy cars today, and some don't even know how to open the hood!....................

Definitely no! That problem, and I have not seen a clear-cut report on the investigation, probably occurred due to poor internal ventilation, brought about by the stringent evaporations requirements to prevent air pollution. Somehow water vapor was being trapped, 'cause sludge is nothing more than congealed oil and water. But when it dries out......... then it is called T-R-O-U-B-L-E! That in all likelyhood is a internal design problem, that never should have made production, but hey! you know that the final test fleet of any manufacturer is the cars bought by its' customers!

I have been reading these opinions with much interest, 'cause there does not seem to be much consensus, just brand loyalty, but flybrian you just hit a nerve with your comment. I have owned several late-model Chevrolet trucks, and one area they just cannot get right is--- MIRRORS! Especially ones for vehicles used for towing. I have yet to see GM offer anything that matches the Ford mirrors for extendability and steadyness. I had 3 sets on my 2001 Express, and they never could get them to stop vibrating so bad that you could not tell what you were seeing in them! And when I hitched up the trailer, I could not see any closer that almost 30 feet behind it, because they did not set out far enough. Side windows---- the cut-down that Ford has on their truck windows is not just a styling quirk. It lets the mirror sit lower and lets you see better in the blind spots. Lighting: At GM the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Since the DOT stopped making standard-sized lamps a requirement, and has allowed contoured plastic lens covers, actual lighting optics has gone in the dumper on most of GM's vehicles. They need to get an optics department to work out a correct lens design for each body model, so that the lights do a job, and not be just another decoration! And this business of a quad lamp system, but only two light at a time----- that's why people are buying and using mis-aimed fog lights! When I added after-market relay kits, so that all four lamps could stay on, on high-beam, what a world of difference for night driving on a black, country road, with no street lights. GM touts its' heads-up display and shows picking up deer at night in its' display. Well, if you had a 4 light system that worked as it should, and was used responsibly, that would be a far cheaper solution!l

This quality argument could last as long as the hundred-years war! There is one other very important fact you are all ignoring. In fact, down here by me, they just had a TV feature special on it. That fact is, as a whole, the actual car buying populace is getting older! This site caters to the car enthusiast, but the general populace couldn't care less--- they want comfort. And to them, that perception changes as their bodies change with age. The TV special acknowledged that the only manufacturer who has addressed this factor is Ford---- with their new designs. The 500 and the Fusion are being made taller, with larger acess openings, for people who can't bend and flex as they did 10 years ago. Their seats are more upright and they have multi-levels from front to back for visibility. Chrysler blew it in their new look, with tank-slit windows, and openings almost as bad as the ol' pony cars! The TV show went on about the "baby-boomers" getting older but being the affluent ones who have the ready resources, good credit and best buying habits, instead of the old "youth" crowd that the manufacturers used to cater to with their best offerings. That market is shrinking in this country. GM needs to wake up and realize that the ol' fuddy-duddy Buick-buyers now represent the majority of the new car buyers. The kids buy clunkers, used cars, or back-door cheapies, like the Scion. Hm-m-m, maybe that's why Toyota created that niche, cause the young turks couldn't afford their mainline offerings.

ocnblu, If you are really hot to see the results, settle in for a long down load and go to: www.michigan.gov/documents/MSP_Eval_146823_7.pdf But like I said, be prepared. It is a 3.45Mb pdf file that is 97 pages long! Have fun! :o

In the only factory brochure that I have seen to date, it says" with its seats folded flat, HHR can accommodate cargo items up to eight feet in length." They do not show a picture with any dimensions on it, nor do they say if this 8 feet capacity is with the right front passenger seat folded as well, since it can do that. However, the front seat folded is not at the same elevation as the rest of the flat floor, it is higher.

With the 2LT you should have the 2.4L engine which is the hottest one available right now. Rumor says that the Cobalt Turbo version may come later.

Yeah I had this kind of problem with an old '89 Suburban that I had. When the original OEM part quit, I was appalled at the replacement part price, so I went with the after-market cheapy. It didn't last 2 weeks, and the check engine light was back on! Went thru 3 of these, at my expense, 'cause electrical parts have a warranty that barely gets you out the door. Then I went to NAPA. Their part was $80.00, but it was a Bosch-made OER!!! Put that one in, and never had another problem. There is a reason why the good stuff costs more. It is called reliability! :o

Toni, I think your friend was in line when they were handing out "dumb" pills. Oil, or rather lubrication is a somewhat complex subject that is probably beyond 90-95% of us, with all the variables to consider. It is the engine designer that has to sort these out, for their application, but the manual recommendations are written by PR people or tech writers, who wouldn't know 10w-30 from crude if you gave to them in $100bill cups! Selection of viscosity has to do with engine clearances, temperature, weather, wear and a host of other factors. The schedules are guidelines to function as CYA, and prevent warranty claims! Oil never "turns bad", it still lubricates as long as it hasn't broken down from heat or oxidation. The problem is contamination! The products of combustion are water and soot. Some of this gets into the oil, at various times when the engine is running. The other factor is, engine wear! As an engine runs, microscopic particles of the metals at the moving surfaces are scraped off, and deposited into the oil as it lubricates these moving parts. The reason for oil change is to remove the oil containing these contaminates, to prevent more wear, or in the worst case-- seizure, due to no lubrication! Driving conditions are probably the best scale to use to determine when to change oil. Short trips, stop & go driving, idling long times, cold weather, severe use(i.e.,-towing) are factors that contribute to the most wear and therefore require a more frequent change. Moderate weather, long-haul highway driving, complete warm-ups, are factors that minimize engine wear. The arbitrary time intervals published in the various handbooks are mainly to prevent worst case situations from damaging the engine, when the manufacturer would be either liable, or subject to bad publicity, like the Toyota case with the sludge problems. Use common sense, and evaluate your driving situations; then act accordingly. Back to you, on the soapbox.......... :AH-HA_wink: