balthazar

I should've known such overblown prose was yer boy Clarkson. A retrofitted house is OKee-dOKee but a retrofitted car is 'peculiar' and hot-rodded. "If it was any good, they’d still be making it." Right- and if it was that bad, they'd still be depreciating.... like all cars built in the last 15 years. Instead of setting value records every year. And is it remotely possible there's anything... at all... between an 'exterior gear shift and wooden wheels' and a 200x bmw?????????????? Does he have even a subatomic clue that his current style of 'journalism' (not the rambling idiot junk; the actual minor portion he spends talking about the... you know: car) is a major contributor for how "standardization" to the point of mind-numbing boredom.... allows his very published existance? He's still a dick.

As a vintage car enthusiast, I suprisingly run against the grain of popular opinion in that I do not like convertibles. Oh, I like riding in them just fine, but stylistically, no convertible roof ever looks good on any era car- they are always a 'necessary evil' stylistically, even when down. The retractable hardtop is the ultimate answer for my preferences: you have the thrill of open air motoring with the style-consistant look of a 'hard' roof. Yea; they have comparitively no cargo volume, but what price style?? The '59 Fords won an award for styling (too lazy to look it up specifically right now)- but try as they did to doll them up, they never escaped their 'Ford-ness' and frankly, the rear ends are completely graceless. I was looking one of these over Labor Day weekend. If I had to pick from this group it'd be '57 hands down and that still isn't a thing of beauty. Ford was in the industry's top 5 in styling thruout the '30s and early '40s under Bob Gregorie, but they struggled ever after IMHO.

Actually, I think they will make an exception for a toyota corona. :P

#1: getting it appraised for "$150" is not necessary- classic car insurance is often in the $150 annual price range for cars worth about $5K #2: 'update your steering & brakes or get killed' is laughable, unless you are talking about a vehicle with mechanical brakes and older. The typical vintage car people reading this are likely to pick up (if any) would be from the '60s or '70s, where no updating of either steering or brakes is necessary. #3: mileage limits are indeed fact, but many people drive well over those limits year after year. If you never make a claim, you shouldn't ever have a problem. In my case, getting coverage for what I have invested into my car would cost me MORE than if I insured it on my regular policy, according to one big classic insurance company that gave me a quote.

No: no HUD on the vehicle in question. It's a mind-bender, ain't it? ;)

I think 1 would be a lot more realistic than 3.

Not what I had in mind, but you've peaked my curiosity- how's the 'indi-color' speedo work??

Nope. It is a sort of trick question, but not technically so. The driver cannot see the speedometer...

For a short while, one marque featured a large, clearly-marked speedometer... A speedometer that could not be seen from behind the steering wheel. In fact, no one inside the vehicle could see the speedo. What am I talking about?? This is NOT some obscure, minimally-instrumented, brass-era flivver vehicle, either; it's post-war and well-known.

By '67-68, the '70 Toros were nearly locked in. GM certainly could have 'nudged' Barris a bit. Same thing happened with Ford when the '64 Barris-built Merc Super Maurader had Wrist-Twist steering, yet Merc Wrist-Twist engineering prototypes didn't come about until '65.

1966 Eldorado convertible, registered but parked & for sale. Power windows (including vents), power bucket seats, console, power top w/ glass window, heated seats, A/C, cruise, tilt & telescopic, leather upholstery & real wood trim (not shellaced to death until it looks every bit like plastic, like all modern cars have). Have to call and see how much- am betting it's around $15K.

All those cheering alfa's (yes: short-lived) return do realize that GM (and all others) will see a corresponding marketshare drop, right? Every new player in the already overcrowded U.S. market lowers everyone else's marketshare. I strongly doubt alfa is going to 'take off': they do not have a great reputation with the general consumer. A niche player at best...

No true close calls for me, tho I was scooping boulders in a skid steer along the edge of a septic field hole today when I noticed a huge crack running under my wheels. Problem was it had rained last night and the grade sloped towards the hole; the machine wanted to crab sideways into the hole, but I tiptoed it back away.

No; it's a hand-held microphone so the mechanic that's bent over your grille weekly can tell you the many many many things wrong without you having to get out of your vehicle. Which is just about how you'll feel after buying a mitsu: bent over.

Umm, yes, I was just kidding, Nick buddy! I love bmws too. (kidding again; see how good I am at it??)

Help me. I like to travel. My vehicle does not have this "NAV" system. I cannot drive very far or I am sure I will get lost. I tend to stay within a 50 mile radius of my home. Maps are for people too dumb to buy the "NAV" system, which is not me (the next time I mean). Should I sell my vehicle today and buy one that does have "NAV"?

Good luck; I believe there's only 2 runners at the current time. I would settle for hearing/seeing one drive by.

I had the near orgasmic pleasure of sitting in Chrysler Turbine #18.

Wow razor- where did you find those pics?? And does the Texas plate give you any leads as far as tracking down what may have happened to it?

All right: I went back and actually checked the pics. I drive a back hoe often and no way in hell would I even think of attempting #8. Insanity!

Just upgraded from a '99 G3 to a Dell... whatever it is this spring. Took me about 6 months to get used to the Dell/ non-MAC interface- I worked on MACs daily for numerous years. I'd love a G4 but I cannot advocate the price tag at the moment.

I remember when the swimsuit issue was the only use I had for SI, even that's gotten truely pathetic over the years.

I dunno- Angelina sure is "purdy" but I would not call her the hottest thing ever. And I always liked Aniston, not least because of her (perceived) personality; she seems approachable, Jolie does not.

women live longer than men because (for the most part) they don't have women nagging them to death.

If you work for Company X, are walking on your lunch break in a little-used area of the factory and spot a fire breaking out, do you say & do nothing because your job is not the plant fire marshall? Just curious. With the billions toyota has, you'd think they could produce even one vehicle some folks would desire over the competition. Oh, sorry everyone; I pulled a reg there....