Robert Hall

Is that not what the Kids are for? I don't have those, can't train my dogs to do it.

Heart attacks from shoveling were probably a major cause of death. I'm buying a snowblower for next winter.

I sat inside a 2.0T one also on Saturday at Barrett-Jackson. I thought it looked better in person than in photos, and definitely better in dark colors..was dark blue. The front is definitely strange, the problem I see w/ the front and sides are too many lines and details, the design is too busy, IMO. The interior is pleasant and definitely feels spacious. I also got to sit in the Chrysler 200, the first of the 2nd gen models I've sat in. Liked the interior, esp. the off white seats and door panel trim. I like the slim grille and headlights...bright blue paint.

I'll have to try one if it eventually makes it to Alamo/National. I've had several '13-15 Malibu rentals, one Fusion, two Camrys, a Sonata and a bright red Avenger in the last 3 years as far as midsize rentals...

I have been to New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana for work, my next move will likely be to a coastal location, but require a snow blower...

It's turtles all the way down, some say..

I grew up in E Ohio and S. Florida, lived in NE Ohio and SE Michigan before Colorado and Arizona.... lots of extremes. Colorado had huge snows, but it was sunny most of the winter, dry snow, never that cold...SE Michigan had ice storms and the occasional subzero cold, NE Ohio had lake effect snow and subzero cold, S. Florida had hurricanes and humidity...I've liked them all..all interesting places.

I've seen a 6000 STE around here a few times in the last 6 months or so..very well worn, bumpers cracked, not sure what the original color was..very sun faded (kind of blueish gray) A/C likely not working (windows down)...still rolling. Summer is surreal here, but some keys to surviving: Cold A/C at home, in the car, in the office Plenty of cold beverages of your choice and lots of water big hats, sunscreen, cotton/linen clothes access to a swimming pool good tires, cooling system, and battery (car batteries last 18-24 months max here) covered parking is great, underground parking even better a good sense of humor and appreciation of the surreal and absurd That said, I do really like the restaurant scene in Phoenix and Scottsdale...lots of great dining, of all sorts of cuisines...

The on road behavior of Wrangler kind of turns me off. I did a fair bit of off roading w my Grand Cherokee and it's been great around town and on cross country road trips...smooth, quiet, comfortable.

Everything is bizzaro opposite world here in the desert. Winter is when the sweet cars are out and about, the convertibles top down...

I think in general they are pretty decent overall as far as reliability, better than Consumer Reports rankings, at least in my experience. I can't speak for the newer ones, but mine is 16 yrs old, 163k. Other than an appetite for rotors, it was fine the first 100k, just routine maintenance. As it's gotten older, I've had a variety of electrical issues--coil packs, lots of sensors, power window and power mirror failures. Some engine leaks (common on the 4.0l6). Some of the issues I've had are probably due to the extremely harsh climate I live in (cooling system issues). But it remains tight and rattle free. I'd buy another Jeep, though I'm only considering the '11 and up 4th gen GCs, I don't care for the '05-10 3rd gen models-- they cheapened the interiors and the exterior was too blocky Imo. Not sure about the new Fiat era models like the Cherokee and Renegade...

I've contemplated a Wrangler. But most likely I'm going to look for a '11-15 Grand Cherokee. My experience over the last 16 years w my '00 GC has been great for the most part.

Such a conversion does seem to have a bit of the mad scientist/crazy mechanic story to it...if you can afford to piss away the money, go for it!

Not sure how Toyotas reliability from 30-50 years ago has any relevance to anything. What counts is late model reliability results.

Sometimes the hypocrisy is correlated to irrational decisions. I know the statistics and popular opinion confirm Toyotas are more reliable, but my preference is still Jeep and Chrysler products in general. Though Consumer Reports and other sources contradict my choices.

Interesting thread. I'm starting to look around for what to replace my Jeep with, thinking about going to CPO route. Don't want something w too many miles.

Toyotas are everywhere...very popular, very mainstream. I generally see way more Asian and German models on the road than domestic models in a typical week. That's just reality. Some people like Toyotas, some don't. I wouldn't buy Toyota because they are too generic and mainstream.

Reason #1 just makes me laugh..paranoia run amok.

For $65k, you could get a well equipped new Tahoe LTZ...seems like a better solution. True, but then it is still just a Tahoe compared to my Suburban and the price has gone down while the miles on the battery pack went up. 400 Mile Solution Installation cost approximately $20,000.00 Part Cost approximately $15,219.00 400 mile battery pack $20,576.00 Total Cost $55.795.00 I just can't see putting that much money in a 22 yr old SUV...a new one would be much nicer...

I could see EV conversions being a thing in the non-so-distant future, along w/ autonomous conversions. I remember a detail of the movie 'Gattaca'...nearly 20 years ago--people were driving vintage cars converted to EVs. Doesn't seem like such a sci-fi concept now.. For $65k, you could get a well equipped new Tahoe LTZ...seems like a better solution.

Interesting..I wonder if this V8 will be based off of the V6 or a clean-sheet design..

Made my annual visit to Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale today. Will post some pics later. Tired from walking 5+ miles this afternoon. Interestingly, in the new car display in the entrance hall, GM had only Chevrolets, unlike last year where they had all 4 brands. Saw the new Camaro SS ht and convertible, the Duramax Colorado (really good looking truck), the new Cruze and Malibu (both look better in person), various Corvettes and Silverados... In the Ford display, they had the new GT in white (looks huge in person), Fiesta ST, Focus ST and RS, Taurus SHO, Shelby GT350, Mustangs GTs, etc. On the separate Lincoln stand, they had the new Continental...wow. This is a car that looks much, much better in person than in photos...looks substantial and has real presence, IMO. Looks great in a dark cherry red. As far as the auction vehicles, saw lots of interesting oldies, the usual muscle cars, 50s-60s land yachts, some vintage race cars, etc.

Saturday morning randomness...at the grocery while loading my Jeep, some clean cut guy on a bicycle rode up and asked if I would be interested in buying his 'survival gear'...said it was 'new, top of the line'...Arizona weirdness..

They have V-series for performance cars, so maybe EV-series for electro.

Saw a '16 Camaro SS today, first I'd seen out and about...dark blue. Looks good..