In need of advice -car stuff-

[pacu mom]

I don't dream about cars. Unfortunately, Toyota has discontinued three models all of which I seemed to have bought the last year they were made. I love my Avalon Hybrid, but they are no more. I think I could be happy with the Crown, but it only comes in black leather interior which I do not care to have. When it's 115 in the summer, those seats will be ridiculously hot even with seat air conditioning.

On another note .... a new wake boat.... but I can't justify another boat, especially since I will turn 75 in a few months and probably only have a few years left to play. Some of the new fandangled wake boats are upwards of $300,000. BIG name celebrities into wake surfing now.

I still love my elderly boat (2007), and it looks pretty good when all the water spots are buffed out at the end of summer. I'll keep my boat and for the time being, keep my car until I find something I like better.

 

[Ulu]

I really don’t trust other people to work on my vehicles so I don’t dream after complex, unaffordable, exotic cars, etc. I’ve just gotten too Zen in my old age.

I have plenty of machinery to keep me busy, (None of it is the least expensive or exotic)
and I don’t dream after more than this.

Except that I once owned a 1964 MG midget roadster and I would really like to have that car back. Because I rebuilt it myself, it would mean more to me than any fancy car that I just bought off auction somewhere (exotic as it might be.)

It would need to have a new, more modern power train, and some safety wire on those damn knock offs!

I would probably ditch the steel wire wheels completely & have custom billet mags built for it. There’s a shop right here in Fresno that will build any wheel you want.

The thing is, it’s a car that’s totally within my means, even as a retiree on a fairly modest income. Assuming I did most of the modifications myself.

 

[Simonas]

A lot of american cars in this thread. As a european I have always found the american cars i have driven really cheap and crappy inside and handle like barges.

Is it a patriotic thing to want an American car/truck over a much better japanese or european example?

 

[Jexnell]

A lot of american cars in this thread. As a european I have always found the american cars i have driven really cheap and crappy inside and handle like barges.

Is it a patriotic thing to want an American car/truck over a much better japanese or european example?

European cars typically cost twice as much ( might be a slight exaggeration) for any sort of repair or standard maintenance in America as a domestic or Japanese does, so normally only those who can afford to throw money at them drive them.
Now in my opinion Japanese cars are made a bit small for the typical American frame. They are, again in my opinion, recycle boxes you turn into a new one every 200k miles. No soul to them just boxes with wheels save a few exceptions like older Supras Celicas etc.
Then you have what's called resto mods. Where you rip out ancient tech in a classic car and replace it with modern engines, suspension and interiors you get the best of both worlds. This is where I am, or wish I could be. For the mean time I just pop around in my V8 powered, altitude adjusted American SUV.

 

[pacu mom]

I really don’t trust other people to work on my vehicles

The trouble with new vehicles with all their fandangled bells and whistles is they have computerized proprietary parts making it impossible for the owner to work on them. By the same token, if there ever was an EMP event that the doomsday preppers talk about, most of us will be without transportation. That's a good argument for having at least one older vehicle...which would work while you had fuel. The safest thing to do is to go back even further and keep some horses or mules..... But on the other hand, where would one go in such a catastrophic event with anarchy and chaos everywhere? Best to hunker down in your underground bunker.,,,,

 

[Simonas]

European cars typically cost twice as much ( might be a slight exaggeration) for any sort of repair or standard maintenance in America as a domestic or Japanese does, so normally only those who can afford to throw money at them drive them.
Now in my opinion Japanese cars are made a bit small for the typical American frame. They are, again in my opinion, recycle boxes you turn into a new one every 200k miles. No soul to them just boxes with wheels save a few exceptions like older Supras Celicas etc.
Then you have what's called resto mods. Where you rip out ancient tech in a classic car and replace it with modern engines, suspension and interiors you get the best of both worlds. This is where I am, or wish I could be. For the mean time I just pop around in my V8 powered, altitude adjusted American SUV.
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The cost thing makes sense I was just surprised as the materials used in US cars interiors are so cheap feeling and pretty poor designs.
I'm jealous of your fuel prices, my daughter was living in DC and its so cheap compared to the UK
You guys arent that big surely ha ha

 

[Matth05]

The cost thing makes sense I was just surprised as the materials used in US cars interiors are so cheap feeling and pretty poor designs.
I'm jealous of your fuel prices, my daughter was living in DC and its so cheap compared to the UK
You guys arent that big surely ha ha

I think you make a fair point about American cars and trucks feeling well… cheap lol. Only a few years ago I bought my first car, a Jeep Wrangler. And although I saved up quite a bit of money to get one in very good condition, I still knew what I was getting myself into. It leaves a lot to be desired in terms of interior quality and comfort. And the fuel economy is just horrible. If you’ve driven a Wrangler then you know what I’m talking about . There is something inherently fun about thought about driving that truck in spite of its flaws. I’m sure there’s a similar feeling when driving a big American suv or pickup with a big V8 under the hood. There’s very few things that sound as good as an NA V8 imo.

 

[Jexnell]

There’s very few things that sound as good as an NA V8 imo.

Especially after doing a resonator delete and changing that two and half foot long muffler for a 50 series Flowmaster.
Denali edition really kills all sounds from outside of the cabin, especially the engine. After my corrective actions you can at least hear the V8, tho not so much it sets off car alarms as you drive down the road.

 

[Caperguy99]

1974 Bricklin SV-1. A super car for sure,

 

[Ulu]

There was a time when you were proud to have a job at a place like Ford.

American cars went to hell, and here’s when it happened.

It happened when auto workers no longer felt they were proud to work for this big shiny company with lots of machines and impressive facilities.

Instead they were proud to be a union member (basically a legalized gangster) and make it their life‘s work to be tough on the people who employed them, if they could obtain the leverage.

Which they did.

That was the beginning of the downward spiral that led us to today’s pitiful situation.

This is how screwy it is. I drive a 4 litre Japanese truck which is actually assembled from multinational parts in Baja Mexico. It’s America’s most popular small truck.

My wife drives Americas most popular sedan, which is 2.4 litres, Japanese, but assembled by a completely different (Japanese) company, under license in Kentucky.

Many people here, who have more money than common sense, are buying European cars. A lot of these people are recent well to do immigrants from lands now currently involved in wars they don’t want to be near.

Unfortunately these cars are proving no more reliable than American cars in general, and much more expensive to operate, repair and insure.