Car Chat

[Eye of the Tiger]

O'reileys does

OH   OH   OH  OH REILEY'SSSSS ...



auto parts



OWWWWWWW!!!!



That's my #2 at work. Primary is Advance/Carqwest. Autozone takes hours and hours to deliver. Napa is too far away.

[cawimmer430]

Wait, the PADS were over 350, but the rotors were only ~38 Euro?  That makes no sense.  Pads are cheap.  Rotors are not.

That's what it says on the bill. I just looked online and the pricing seems about right.









My extremely wealthy 75-year-old lady neighbor just traded in her black Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe for... a gun metal gray Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe (facelifted version). After this car she wants to try an Aston Martin. 

Some snapshots of her new ride.

[MX793]

O'reileys does

We don't have those around here.

[CaminoRacer]

That Benz

[CaminoRacer]

I sat in a CX-5 at the dealership today. Really nice interior design.

Garage goals:
- El Camino (hot rod/weekend toy)
- ND Miata (DD/autox/some weekend trips)
- CX-5 (wife's DD, outdoorsy weekend trips)

[cawimmer430]

I'm not into SUVs, but man these Citroen DS7 Crossbacks are lovely. 

This Nürnberg Citroen dealership had loads of them on the lot. I want mine in that yellow-gold color in the press photos...

[FoMoJo]

"these Citroen DS7 Crossbacks are lovely."

I agree.

[cawimmer430]

This is how I want mine. 







Spectacular interior. 

[giant_mtb]

Huh.  Didn't know the i3 had a carbon fiber chassis.  That's crazy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLfRPT5sEEI

[Laconian]

After considering a billion different cars, it looks like my mom's going with a Soul Red Mazda 3 hatchback.

The Volkswagen Golf Alltrack was the next runner up, but the must-have features were reserved for the SEL (incl. upgraded seats), and that trim level the price tag was substantially higher than the Grand Touring Limited Mazda 3's. An $8000 premium for better seats, nothx!

[CALL_911]

Been using my girlfriends 2012 RDX for the past week. It's the 1st Gen with the 2.3T. First of all, SHAWD is awesome. You can feel it working when you drop the gas around a corner. Def this cars best attribute.

Maybe it's because it's older and things have gotten better, but I really don't like this thing very much. The transmission is lazy (again it's an old 5AT), it guzzles gas for what it is, and it's not particularly quick (but again, it is an older model). Not particularly roomy either and it has to have the most idiotic Bluetooth system ever made. It's exclusively controlled through voice commands which never work. Idk if it's just because it's older, but I wouldn't have picked this thing.

[CALL_911]

On another note, we got dumped with like 8 inches of snow last week. Having additional ground clearance really does make life easier, a solid plus for CUVs.

[CALL_911]

After considering a billion different cars, it looks like my mom's going with a Soul Red Mazda 3 hatchback.

The Volkswagen Golf Alltrack was the next runner up, but the must-have features were reserved for the SEL (incl. upgraded seats), and that trim level the price tag was substantially higher than the Grand Touring Limited Mazda 3's. An $8000 premium for better seats, nothx!

Those things are seriously nice for the price. Congratulations. Why did she dump her mega Prius(iirc?)

[68_427]

After considering a billion different cars, it looks like my mom's going with a Soul Red Mazda 3 hatchback.

The Volkswagen Golf Alltrack was the next runner up, but the must-have features were reserved for the SEL (incl. upgraded seats), and that trim level the price tag was substantially higher than the Grand Touring Limited Mazda 3's. An $8000 premium for better seats, nothx!

Nice!  Trying to get my mom in a Mazda or that Volvo subscription thing once my brother is out of college.  She really wants a RF but it's too low for her to get in and out of.

[dazzleman]

This would be a nice classic:

[CaminoRacer]

Nice Centerlines

[dazzleman]

A mid-60s Chevy that I saw.  I like the early '70s Skylark better.

[FoMoJo]

This would be a nice classic:

Looks good.  '70 Buick Skylark?

'69, '70 Olds 442 are great as well.  Always had a passion for them.

[BimmerM3]

My high school physics teacher has a '70 Skylark that he de-roofed himself back in high school.

[dazzleman]

My high school physics teacher has a '70 Skylark that he de-roofed himself back in high school.

What did he do when it rained? 

[dazzleman]

Looks good.  '70 Buick Skylark?

'69, '70 Olds 442 are great as well.  Always had a passion for them.

It's a Buick Skylark, around 1970 but I'm not sure of the exact year.

[BimmerM3]

It's a Buick Skylark, around 1970 but I'm not sure of the exact year.

lol he put a soft top on it, but that was the only picture I could find on Facebook.

[dazzleman]

Here's another one - a vintage Firebird:

[MX793]

^^^ That's a Firebird.

[dazzleman]

^^^ That's a Firebird.

Damn, you're right!  I didn't look at the pictures carefully enough.

[shp4man]

Go for it Dave. Just think of it as an investment, which it kind of is. Get a nice one that's already been restored. If it breaks, I'll be happy to give you advice..

Those GM "A" body cars like that Buick have a strong following, parts are available, and the market is getting stronger. That was back in the days when the various GM divisions all had their own engine.

[CaminoRacer]

My high school physics teacher has a '70 Skylark that he de-roofed himself back in high school.

He cut the top off a coupe?

I wouldn't recommend that. The actual convertibles (and wagons and El Caminos) had a fully boxed frame. The coupes and sedans weren't boxed, so cutting the roof off a coupe makes for a much flimsier car than the real convertibles.

[BimmerM3]

He cut the top off a coupe?

I wouldn't recommend that. The actual convertibles (and wagons and El Caminos) had a fully boxed frame. The coupes and sedans weren't boxed, so cutting the roof off a coupe makes for a much flimsier car than the real convertibles.

Well, based on his age, he's had it like that since the mid-80s. I also don't know details of the build - i.e. whether or not he reinforced the frame.

He definitely doesn't DD it anymore, and he's not the type of guy to auto x or anything like that. I'm sure it wouldn't hold up as well in a collision, but you probably shouldn't be driving a 50 year old car at all if you're really concerned about accident safety.

[Soup DeVille]

He cut the top off a coupe?

I wouldn't recommend that. The actual convertibles (and wagons and El Caminos) had a fully boxed frame. The coupes and sedans weren't boxed, so cutting the roof off a coupe makes for a much flimsier car than the real convertibles.

There were DIY conversion kits. I can't imagine them being very well engineered, but they did often include an extra frame brace arrangement.

[CaminoRacer]

There were DIY conversion kits. I can't imagine them being very well engineered, but they did often include an extra frame brace arrangement.

True, it's not super hard to weld some plates on to box it. Quite a few guys do it for their protouring builds if they don't buy an aftermarket frame