Text 21662, 111 rader
Skriven 2008-10-08 11:23:31 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
  Kommentar till text 21647 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Cars
============
08 Oct 08 07:55, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB>>> All a matter of taste. It's a reasonably comfortable car, good for
 RB>>> long trips, and it gets you from point A to point B as well as a
 RB>>> 1955 Cadillac.

 RW>> You've probably never riden in a 1955 Caddy. Else, you wouldn't have
 RW>> compared the comfort level of it to your Mazda.

 RB> Actually, I was just using that as an example. I still remember the
 RB> smooth ride the old cars gave - my personal favorite was the 1949
 RB> Ford - and deeply regret my youthful attitude that I would never buy
 RB> one, calling them "bathtubs" and praising European cars.

I traded a $50, 1952 Chevrolet 'Deluxe' and $100 cash for a 1951 Ford,
Victoria. One of the first of that body style to go 'hardtop'. I had to
replace the engine, since it had a cracked block around an exhaust valve
(valve in block engine) and bought a 49 Ford, 4 door for $25. The 51 also
had the brand new Ford-o-matic transmission, which also went in the scrap
heap when I swapped in the 49 Ford drivetrain. My children's mother and I
eloped in that car.

 RB> I would have liked to own such a car at least once in my life, but
 RB> the closest I got was a 1935 Plymouth that I bought for $100 as my
 RB> first car.

My first car was a 1937 Ford...couldn't get insurance on it because of the
mechanical brakes along with my youth and inexperience in driving. Sold it
and bought a 1940 Ford, which was the first year with hydraulic brakes. I
really liked that car.

 RW>> 9000 Euro would buy you a nicely restored 1955 Caddy though.

 RB> Really? Are they that cheap?

They're not as popular as the other cars of that era. I have a 1956
Chevrolet that I paid about 11000 Euro for it. It's worth twice that now,
since it has new running gear; 350 V8, Over-drive automatic transmission,
late model disc brakes and is now very drivable. The 'butcher' who owned
it before me put a Camaro rear end in it and didn't do it right. Formerly,
when you hit a bump in the road, the rear end springs were clamped wrong
and it hopped up and down. (the difference between an 9" long spring perch
and a 6" perch) I remounted the rear end properly on 6" perches and it now
rides like a 56 Chevy should. I've eliminated the 'vent' wing windows and
have filled the driver and passenger window opening with a one piece
glass, raised and lowered by an electric motor; power windows. It also has
an aftermarket AC unit that replaces the original heater core, so other
than the AC outlets inside, you don't even know it has AC. My next project
is to insulate the interior from the firewall to the trunk so that the
exhaust noise (engine has headers and a custom exhaust system) isn't so
loud inside. And then it will be time to put it in a body shop, get a few
places fixed that show a bit of rust and get it painted. She should be
worth three times what I paid for it then.

 RB>>> Incidently, I've always been a cheapskate, but there are limits: I
 RB>>> _hate_ my wife's Opel Aquila (co-production with Suzuki):
 RB>>> uncomfortable, tiny wheels easily damaged by curbs and a motor that
 RB>>> sounds like maybe 2 cylinders with correspondingly low power...

 RW>> Sounds like my friend, Andrew. He swore by his Ford Festiva, a
 RW>> re-badged Kia/Mazda low-bred made in Korea and bragged about 40mpg
 RW>> with a small 3 banger engine. Now he owns a Toyota Yaris, same small
 RW>> size, same small engine, same uncomfortable ride.

 RB> The Fiesta had a four-cylinder engine here.

I could be mistaken, but I know I counted only 3 spark plugs when I looked
at it.

 RB> Might have been something different in the States. The Yaris is hot
 RB> potatos here, so "economical" (in terms of gas), but quite expensive
 RB> to buy.

They're supposed to get 42mpg, but so far, he's only been able to get
36mpg out of it. Perhaps if he lost 100 lbs of body fat, he might get
42mpg. :o)

 RB> I don't like them either, but in Germany nowadays, what choice do you
 RB> really have? The taxes are so high (gas, VAT and yearly tax on autos)
 RB> there's not much left to buy a car. At least I drive accident-free
 RB> for the last 27 years and so have low insurance premiums.

A guy in a pickup turned into the side of my 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass,
around 1980 while I was waiting for traffic to go by so I could turn
right. Last year, some guy in a VW Jetta ran into the side of my Isuzu
Rodeo while I passed him in the next lane.

 RW>>>> BTW, gasoline has dropped from $4/gal to $3/gal here in a matter
 RW>>>> of weeks. Should be under $3 soon.

 RB>>> Lucky you, with those low gas taxes.

 RW>> What pisses me off is that Los Angeles gas prices fell lower than
 RW>> ours a week ago. They're usually 25-35 cents higher.

 RB> I seem to remember gas in Texas was particularly cheap because of the
 RB> many refineries and low transportation costs.

It's still like that.

 RB> That must have changed in the meantime.

Just a quirk, I think. Gas here is now $3.03, while it's $3.32 in LA and
$3.29 in San Diego. Meanwhile, the lowest price in San Antonio is $3.15.

                R\%/itt



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