Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

The only car that my parents owned when I was alive that was not lame was my dad's mustang, but that was in the 90's when ford was rather crap so I would not be wanting that particular one and would go older or newer.
 
I finally got around to using MPG on my phone, my truck has averaged 15mpg. Fuck yeah!
 
Making some travel plans that require car rental. This got me to thinking about the last time I did such a thing.

I was 18 and visiting a friend in LA. She didn't have a driver's license at the time. This was gay. It took about a day to figure out that busses SUCKED SHIT no matter what she said. This was somewhat problematical, because at age 18, nobody wants to rent you a car. ... And then I remembered UHaul.

Yep. I rented and drove around an F-150 longbed in Work-Truck-Spartan-Does-This-Even-Have-Airbags trim with big "RENT ME!!!!!!!!!" stickers all over it for a week as daily transportation. Putting it up in some of the parking garages was hilarious - LA parking garages simply aren't sized for longbed trucks. The thing stuck out in the aisles like nobody's business.


This is particularly poignant because I *STILL* can't fucking rent a god damned car without rapetastic surcharges until December - but I've rented 26000lb GVWR manual-transmission behemoths several times (indeed, I'd done so at least once even before that trip) and never even had to pay a single penny over advertised. I've even been the nominal renter of a damned 80,000lb tractor-trailer combo (I had to bring a driver for that one, though). Yet I have to pay 1.5x rate for a base-model Aveo.
 
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Yeah, but still. You'd think there would be a higher standard of care applied renting out heavy equipment valued at between $50,000 and $100,000 than applied to renting out a crapcan that cost less than $11000.

And it should be noted that it's a LOT easier to destroy a rental truck than it is to destroy a rental car. It just takes a strategically placed bridge.
 
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But how many < 25 year olds will be renting a truck? It's based on statistics.
 
Some random thoughts after checking out some luxobarges on the CarMax website:
Why is it so difficult to find a Lincoln Town Car in a dark color? Doing a nationwide search of cars from 2003-present, with $22,000 as an upper limit, unearthed two - a brown example in Jacksonville, FL and a burgundy car in East Haven, CT. My hopes rose when I saw a green car listed, but this is what Lincoln thinks is an attractive shade of green:
https://pic.armedcats.net/p/ph/phoenixsac/2011/08/07/7747260-3-5-b0b77e0a.jpg
WTF Ford? You owned 3 British car companies at the time that car was built and that was the best green you could come up with?

Checking out the Cadillacs led me to this observation: Why do Cadillac dealers/owners insist upon ruining their cars with those horrid fake convertible tops? Cadillac designers are trying to achieve a clean, modern but elegant style to their cars and along comes a dealer who decides, "You know what that car needs? It needs one of them there carriage tops. Oh, and a Continental kit while you're at it. That'll look classy." And this is the result:
https://pic.armedcats.net/p/ph/phoenixsac/2011/08/07/f_199078762-dfe68410.jpghttps://pic.armedcats.net/p/ph/phoenixsac/2011/08/07/f_199078762-52347a20.jpg
I also decided to see what was available for Jaaaaaaggggs in my price range. Not too much, but I did find a nice looking Jaguar X-Type Estate for sale in NC. (Let's see if that summons Spectre - I think he has the forums alert him when the word "Jaguar" appears.) I have to say, the X-Type Estate clicks several of my buttons. It has decent space to haul my belongings, has a good ride, projects a "grown-up" image (Where the Cadillac & Lincoln present a "elderly grown-up" image), has decent traction in winter driving thanks to AWD, and is rare enough that you wouldn't lose your car in a car park. I know it's a Mondeo underneath, and some people say it looks too much like an XJ8 - like that's a bad thing or something. And I also know that space in the back seat is a bit tight. But most of the time it's just me in the car anyway.

I'm not necessarily saying I want one - but I know I could do a lot worse than an X-Type.
 
Does the X-Type click your buttons for "worst car ever made?" If so, rickhamilton may have to give up his title :p

I don't understand why you don't look at the X300s or W124 Mercs. I know they're "old" now, but they're brilliant cars.

Here's a suggestion for you: Turbo power, nice interior, decent mileage, solid car, AWD, safe and very nice suspension- it's soft and very nice, but will stand up to spirited driving, just remember, it's highway-comfort tuned.
'08 Legacy 2.5GT
 
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Oh, the Legacy GT - in wagon form, anyway - is on my shortlist. Unfortunately the majority of Subaru wagons for sale around here are Outbacks. And the majority of those have 150K+ miles on them.

Speaking of Subaru, why won't they make a car for me? I want a Legacy GT wagon with the 3.6 litre H6 from the Tribeca with a 6 speed manual gearbox. Come on, Subaru! How hard can it be?
 
phoenixsac said:
Oh, the Legacy GT - in wagon form, anyway - is on my shortlist. Unfortunately the majority of Subaru wagons for sale around here are Outbacks. And the majority of those have 150K+ miles on them.

Speaking of Subaru, why won't they make a car for me? I want a Legacy GT wagon with the 3.6 litre H6 from the Tribeca with a 6 speed manual gearbox. Come on, Subaru! How hard can it be?
Click to expand...

Well Japan and Europe got that generation Legacy with 3.0R H6 EZ30R engine which has only a bit less power than 3.6 from Tribeca. You could get that in sedan and wagon with automatic and Spec B version was offered with automatic or modified 6 speed manual from WRX STi.

My parents drive automatic sedan 3.0R Spec B and I don't have much to complain except it has the worst exhaust ever. Flat sixes sound awesome even if they're made by Subaru and not by Porche, so why in the hell they muted it down even in the Spec B version, which got a lot of other sportier hardware, like better brakes, LSD at the rear and Bilstein suspension.
 
I saw a new sonata with a convertible roof thingy....that was very ugly

I also saw one on a last Gen escort of all things o_O
 
rickhamilton620 said:
I saw a new sonata with a convertible roof thingy....that was very ugly

I also saw one on a last Gen escort of all things o_O
Click to expand...

I'm trying to think of a single car that had its looks improved by a carriage top - I can't think of any.

Another funny thing about CarMax. They have the staff at each store go out and take pictures of the cars on their lot. Usually 25 to 35 pics per car. That's a great idea; it lets you see the car very thoroughly before you go to the dealer.

However, operating a camera seems to be a little too difficult for some people.
https://pic.armedcats.net/p/ph/phoenixsac/2011/08/07/7454662-4-5-5c00546c.jpg
Do they really think that a picture like that is going to sell any cars? I ended up cleaning my glasses twice before I realized that that amorphous blob was actually the car they were selling.
 
One of my dad's old Chevelles had a vinyl top. It was a bit of a double edged sword actually. Over the decades a lot of water got under the top and rusted a whole the size of a basket ball through the roof, but the vinyl top helped keep the rain out in those later years. :p
 
Apparently my Land Rover doesn't want to go down to Kent. The speedo stopped working while I was out yesterday and after taking it apart it appears that the cable has snapped. Bugger.
 
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