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That Country Squire . . .

Reminded me of a funny story. When I was in college in the early '80s I had a buddy who was a short kid with red hair, inevitably named Rusty. He'd grown up as a military brat, and went to high school in Germany. He told me of learning to drive in his mom's loaded early '70s Country Squire with the 429 V-8. If one of his parents was with him on the autobahn he was restricted to 100 mph . . . however, if he managed to get out alone he said it would wrap the old strip speedo right past the 120 mark. I'd love to have seen the looks on the faces of other drivers on the autobahn after seeing that woodgrain monster passing them at warp speed, with a mop of bright red hair barely visible behind the steering wheel . . .
 
WOW! Awesome replys! That country squire sure is something different!

It reminded me of the car in national lampoon's Family vacation. XD

Love the Austin, and that gorgeous mercedes posted too!

When I get back from my All State Orchestra event in lincoln saturday I will take some pictures of my dads 2007 Mustang GT. :)
 
Another Mercedes

1997 C280, about 146K on her right now. Bought it from the original owner 2 years ago on New Years Eve. I have done some minor things to it, replaced a couple of sensors, battery and alternator. She's my daily driver. I keep looking at newer models, like an SL or perhaps an E Class wagon. However I like this one so well I don't really want to get another one yet. Last year she took me from Las Vegas to Disneyworld in Florida. Got about 30 mpg and no troubles at all.

Todd, are you in the Mercedes club? I love that coupe! I hear a rumor there will be a tristate meet in May or June in either San Diego or Palm Springs. I'm hoping to go to that one.

And Doug that LTD wagon is wonderful! My dad's last car was a 1969 LTD and I think in the same color, Brittany Blue.

Also, who here likes Top Gear? I got hooked on it over the summer when my nephew told me about it.

ironrite++11-18-2010-07-31-11.jpg
 
Chris, the transmission in your Morris needs to be rebuilt. When you're ready, I can do it here in the States, or you can email a buddy of mine in OZ at:
k_green1310 at yahoo dot com dot au

Ralph, the Avant is a fantastic car, but like anything German, especially Audi, the over engineering can be a challenge. We love it though, and the Quattro AWD is amazing in bad weather, especially when we ski it.

Michael, I never did join the MBZ club. Love my Coupe, but it's had a very hard life, and is very rusty. In fact, if I was smart(er) I'd just cut it up and put in a dumpster. But she's my gal and I love her anyway.
 
a VW Passat, of course....

1998 1.8T, turbo has been chipped to give 65 extra HP over stock; Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs. 135K miles, runs great and gets 35 mpg on the highway. The turbo chip upgrade produced a lot of squat/dive, because the stock HP was 150 and the suspension was not intended to deal with 215 HP, so I switched out the springs ASAP and then replaced the shocks when the stock shocks wore out at c. 40K miles.

The 1.8T was de-tuned (HP lowered) in early Passats to avoid competing with the V6 engine, which produced only 190 HP. The same engine was retuned to 170-180HP for the GTI and Jetta, and--with a larger intercooler---was offered in a 225 HP version in the Audi TT. While in Europe and other areas, the Passat was offered with as many as ten engine options, the initial US offerings were the two engines above. A six cylinder TDI was offered in the USA, but did not meet California or Northeast air quality control laws, and hence was not sold in many parts of USA (California has agreements with AZ, NV, and OR not to sell cars to CA residents that do not meet CA emission laws; those who wanted a Passat TDI had to go to a dealership in St. George, Utah, as Utah did not have a similar agreement with California. New Mexico was also a source of VW Passat TDIs---which consequently were rarely seen in California).

The current 2.0 turbo engine makes about 200 HP, making chip tuning less of a payoff. However, the upgrade was well worth the extra 65 HP on early 1.8T engines, because VW had deliberately tuned them down. For those not famliar with chip tuning, it increases the turbo "boost" (higher psi of air incoming into cylinders) which delivers more oxygen and thus more power from combustion.

Sorry for the low res photo, it was taken with 35 mm APS film and then scanned. The car still looks the same but I don't have any recent photos of it (just haven't bothered to take pics). This was taken at the summit of Ortega Highway (State Hwy 74) between Lake Elsinore and Orange County, CA. Elevation about 4000 feet.

passatdoc++11-18-2010-09-49-5.jpg
 
one more from the front

one more from the front. You can see part of Lake Elsinore (2500 feet below) in the background. This is in the parking lot of the The Lookout cafe (see link below), a popular place to stop for coffee or a meal and enjoy the magnificent lake and mountain view. The website has some lake views on it. The mountains in the background (the San Bernardino mountains) are 60-100 miles away, with heights of up to 10,000 ft. In winter they are snow-covered and host several winter sport resorts.

http://www.lookoutroadhouse.com/
passatdoc++11-18-2010-09-49-36.jpg
 
PassatDoc's VW in white

is my ride, though you'd think by my nickname it'd be something else! Love my VW for all its 104K miles. No rust but plenty of dings thanks to the THD parking lot where I work. Just a plain 4-banger for me with TipTronic trans. My days of hot-rodding are way over!

Funny story:

When my ex and I were just dating, she had a '68 Road Runner (Plymouth). 13" Hurst clutch; hot wheels. I-80 was under construction here in NJ, and a section of about 5 miles had just opened near us. One July night we decided to take it up there and see what it would do. She was driving (I swear she sometimes channelled Shirley "Cha-Cha" Muldowney). We were both dressed like trash, cutoffs, sweatshirts, her hair up in rollers. Flying along with the windows open and radio blasting, cop appears out of nowhere (it was about 2 a.m.). He was really, really p.o.'d. "Young lady, do you know how fast you were going?" Her (in mega-tears mode) "I don't know, officer, the speedometer only goes up to 120!".

Married her anyway...
 
Another VW owner here, except mine is a 96 Jetta. The car is a 5 speed--one of my few "must buys" in a car. It has over 250,000 miles, with the original engine in place. I don't know the exact mix of city vs. highway, but I was told the original owner was a salesman, and almost all the mileage racked up during that time was highway. The Jetta feels amazingly solid still.

The only real complaint I have is cargo space. You can forget about stuffing a washing machine in the back of a Jetta! When I bought this, the other final contender was a small Toyota truck. But I decided that 99%+ of the time, the Jetta would match my needs much better. Although, if I were to have a second vehicle, that second vehicle would be chosen with a bias towards getting good cargo space. Even if it meant (shudder!) getting an automatic transmission!
 
"German stuff . . .Is pretty overrated in my opinion with regard to reliability."

I think part of the reliability rating on German cars is a holdover from years gone by. I have known people with older German cars that have been quite good, and seem to run forever. Then, I hear about many people who--even with the best care--barely hit 100,000 miles before the car needs repair job.

I think it's like Maytag--a lot of people think Maytag washers will last forever, but they are going by the experience (personal or others) of a Center Dial Maytag, NOT what has shipped in recent years.
 
I forgot about our other car! Its a 1984 BMW 528e. It has 172K on it, uses a touch of oil and is rock solid. I bought it 9 years ago from a client for $1800.00. It's needed things over the years, but still drive well. The old owner ask about it from time to time when we see him a parties. It's getting new tires this week. Greg
 
Odd thing about VW . . .

Is that they love, love, love the Jetta, and hate, hate, hate the Golf. It's really weird given that they're the same exact car except for the tail. One reason I bought my Golf is that the hatchback enables me to carry some pretty good sized items - I once stuffed a 54" long Hewlett-Packard HP650 plotter in mine, plus file cabinets, etc. It's not so capacious as my old Saab 900T, but then again it's a smaller car (thankfully). When I was shopping for the Golf, almost every VW salesman tried to sell me a Jetta instead. One local dealer had nearly 150 Jettas in stock, and less than 20 Golfs. They don't like manual transmissions either, or diesels, so it took a long time to find my car even here in SoCal where we have lots of dealers. To my eyes the Golf is more attractive than the Jetta, it carries far more, and is shorter and therefore easier to parallel park, something I do almost everytime I leave my house.
 
The Golf would be my preference for cargo space. But, when you buy used, you take what you can find.

A Saab 900--the "real Saabs", at least--would be even better for cargo. I knew one Saab collector who told me he'd managed cram amazingly big things in Saabs--even dishwashers.

"When I was shopping for the Golf, almost every VW salesman tried to sell me a Jetta instead."

Probably, the Jetta is a better seller, so the dealers order more. Many buyers probably already have a SUV or van, and so cargo space is irrelevant. And, of course, when a dealer has a ton of something, they want it to move. And, of course, when there is a ton of something, it's easier to match the customer with preferred color, etc. In the end, it just comes down to making the sale. As long as the salesperson gets his/her/its (somtimes, I think many "salespeople" aren't human!) commission, he/she/it is happy. Even if the customer ends up with something that's totally wrong.
 
'95

Ford Explorer XLT. Bought it new the day before my birthday that year. It now has 329,000 miles on it, and still in relatively good shape. It's been serviced at the dealer all but one time (that was a mistake). Just had to have some work done on it last week; got a new LF axle, and front brakes. I hope to get at least 30,000 more out of it.
 
saabs,germans,ladas.

I have hauled lots of large heavy items in my old '71 saab 99:
v8 engines
v6 engines
american car rear axles
washers
HiFis
and much more! rear seat folds forward,creating a large flat
cargo area.
German reliability:
other than minor electrical,my old '81 porsche has been
absolutly reliable for over the 7yrs i have owned it
tough too-its a real panzer among foreign GTs
Lada:
true about the hand cranks,also there is a knob on the dash
to adjust the headlights while driving.
Older ladas are basicly russian-made fiats with a russian
designed engine instead of a fiat designed engine.
 
Todd, if you just want to give her a good home send her my way. Years ago I had a 66 Fleetwood Brougham that I had to sell due to rust. Was one of the best cars I ever had.

I see a badge on the grill, is that from the 250K club or so? Just got an update that the Mercedes Club will be having there tristate meet in Borego Springs in March.
 
Jim (passatDoc) That's pretty killer about the chip mods. I'll bet that thing screams.

Michael (ironrite) Ha! I think I'll probably be burried in the Mercedes, so don't hold your breath. In fact, the next big project around here is building a 40x20 4 car metal garage that will house the Austin, the Mercedes, the 1986 Kawasaki Ninja 600R, the camp trailer, hopefuly the car tow dolly, and the Suburban.
 

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