Robert Hall

Before I moved to Michigan and 4WD, I drove 6 Ohio winters mostly in RWD cars...I put snow tires on all four corners (rear alone is not enough) and 50lbs of Quickcrete concrete mix in the trunk. (E. Ohio is quite hilly, not flat like the central and western part of the state).

Or a startup dress code...shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops or sandals w/ socks. Ugh.

That's a really clean Vette. Get that Wheelin' feelin', drive it to Wheeling Downs, Oglebay Park, and Jamboree in the Hills in the summer...

It's going to be the smallest US market Chevy since the Chevy Sprint (Geo Metro predecessor) in the '80s.

Yes, it's pretty effective... I've done a bit of moderation on there over the years...

About the only forum I frequent that has a feature like this IIRC is Slashdot.

I found the Sting Ray concept along w/ the '10 Mustang Shelby at Target the other day. Haven't found the '68 Firebird yet.

From the front, it looks like an angry fish from the future.

I saw them in Denver a couple of years ago. Great small venue, got 6th row seats pretty cheaply. Was a great show. 1st time I'd seen them.

Good point. Hyundai does seem to be going down the same path Toyota did w/ Lexus 20 years ago, but faster and not w/ a dedicated luxury brand. The problem is, can a brand known for cheap generics also be taken seriously as a luxury player?

Transmissions are a known weak spot on the pre-'00 models. Find out if it has the original transmission or it's been rebuilt. Brakes are another weak area. They tend to eat rotors and pads about every 25-30k miles. The '99 was worse than the '00, from what I've read. A notorious weak part is the driver's seat track and frame--they tend to get stress cracks above 100k miles, as I found out this summer. Power windows can be an issue, I've heard (never had a problem w/ mine). I've been able to get about 50k out of a set of tires on mine. According to Wikipedia, it has a 5x5 bolt pattern--the 5 x 5 bolt pattern (also 5 x 127 mm), although common to GM rear wheel drive vehicles and light duty trucks/vans, has spread beyond its use with GM (and Ford with their 1973 to 1978 LTDs and Lincolns). Chrysler first used the 5 x 5 pattern on full-size half-ton Dodge Ram pickups and Dodge Ramcharger SUVs in 1986. No idea about rust areas since I've only had mine in dry climates (CO, AZ). The 4.0L 6 is basically a robust and reliable engine, but is prone to leaks (oil pan gasket, front main seal, valve cover gasket, etc). I've had the transfer case and rear axle re-sealed twice, though some of the leaks and seal issues may be more prevalent in dry climates. Hood struts also, I'm on my 3rd set. It may be because of my past off-roading and curb/median jumping, but I've had to have mine aligned every 5000 miles or so...seems to get out of alignment easily. Rob

How about a late model LeSabre..I see several clean '00 vintage LeSabres on eBay in that price range... I wouldn't consider anything too old. Mo' old, mo' problems. e.g. this one: A blue interior in '00? Amazing..this car looks to be in great shape.. '00 Le Sabre

You mean the same headliner material. I don't think it uses the same part. So what? You seem to focus on pointless trivial details.

Speaking of banks, Chase doesn't do business in Pennsylvania (branches, etc), does it? I have Chase from my Bank One account days in Ohio from 20 years ago...

Speaking of offbeat plow trucks, for at least 2-3 winters, one of the guys that plowed my condo complex in Denver had a flat black '62 Dodge 4x4 stepside truck...was pretty shocking to look out and see a 45 yr old truck plowing the streets.

The Dakotas are more of a midsize, though...a lot bigger than a Ranger, S-10, Colorado, etc.

?? What difference would the cab make on having a plow (since the plow is at the front)?

Looking forward to seeing that episode. BBC America is still behind, it will probably be 6 months or a year until they show the current episodes.

I have checking & savings accounts w/ Chase (had for over 20 years, from when it was Bank One) a checking account w/ Wells Fargo, and savings accounts w/ ING and E*Trade. Generally, I prefer WF over Chase (not just because I work for WF, sort of). I try to avoid cash (use debit and credit cards) and actually going into the bank..I avoid writing checks whenever possible, about the only things I have to pay w/ check monthly are the yard and pool service, everything else, I do electronically. Checks, money orders, etc seem like artifacts of the 20th century, kind of out of place in the modern world.

Dew98 was the Lincoln LS/Thunderbird/Jag S type platform. The Mustang platform (S197/D2C) is different, though loosely based on Dew98. I assume it will evolve/be replaced w/ a next gen platform in 4-5 years. After Panther goes away in '11, the Mustang will be the only American Ford RWD car.

I'd love to see a Cougar revival, based on the Mustang. No FWD Cougar, please.

The original US Camry came out in '82 or '83 to replace the Corona. Looked it up, the first JDM Camry was the 1980 Celica Camry, derived from the Carina....and a legend was born. That pic was of a Carina from around '80. Camry

100%. Wasn't sure with the Camry, never seen one that looked like that, but knew it wasn't a Civic or any of the others...

Sounds like the Mini E is still very much a prototype..

Pingas