Any Car guys? Large PIC's

[BGoins12]

I'm a big car nut. I've been doing oil changes and tune-ups since I was 7. No pics of my cars right now, but I have a super clean '97 Cadillac Catera (Omega MV6 for the UK people on here), and a '87 Cutlass Ciera Brougham with the 2.5 Iron Duke.

[fuscob]

Since my last post in this thread, I have purchased a car (actually bought it last summer) - a 2005 Ford Crown Vic, the police model. It's a retired sheriff's car from rural Indiana. About 143,000 miles now and going strong. Here it is in front of our lovely skyline:

[mediasponge]

So, is this the new Blues Mobile?

A friend of mine tells this story about the ex-cop car he used to own. He needed to replace the battery at one point. He went into a parts store, gave them the make and model, year, etc. The parts guy came back with a battery.

Car owner: "I don't think that's it. Not big enough."
Parts guy: "That's the right one for your make and model."
Car owner: "Well, it is an ex-cop-car."
Parts guy: "Ah, OK." Parts guy goes away and comes back a minute later. KA-THUNK! places ENORMOUS BATTERY on counter. "Is that it?"
Car owner: "Yep."

[fuscob]

So, is this the new Blues Mobile?

Haha, yep. "Cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks...runs good on regular gas."

It does require a fairly massive battery (750 CCA) and has a 200-amp alternator.

[ajkula66]

Any kevlar in the doors? Chambered tires?

All jokes aside, I love Crown Vics...the last real American sedan in my book...

[fuscob]

Any kevlar in the doors? Chambered tires?

All jokes aside, I love Crown Vics...the last real American sedan in my book...

Unfortunately not; armored doors are indeed a factory option, but my car is not equipped with them.

I agree; I am planning on driving this one until I can find the perfect 2011 model (the last year that they are being manufactured) and hold on to that as long as I can. Sadly, the days of big, rear-wheel-drive V8 sedans are numbered

[mediasponge]

Haha, yep. "Cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks...runs good on regular gas."

It does require a fairly massive battery (750 CCA) and has a 200-amp alternator.

200 Amps @ 12 volts? You could weld with that thing!

You Aussies will love this story. I live near San Jose California. I was driving home on Halloween this year in my Alfa (previously posted), and I come up behind a very odd car. The car was black, right hand drive, with a blower in the hood and a dog in back. The CA license plate was MFP-1. That's right, it was the last of the V-8 Interceptors! The driver was dressed up like Mad Max! I gave him a hearty thumbs up as we parted ways. Obviously a replica, but pretty outrageous for a Halloween costume.

[killer]

@mediasponge: If you were driving home on Halloween this year then it must be 'Back to the Future' rather than 'Mad Max'.

[mediasponge]

@mediasponge: If you were driving home on Halloween this year then it must be 'Back to the Future' rather than 'Mad Max'.

*sigh* What was that sig about time flies like an arrow? Of course that was last Halloween.

I'm guessing the guy with the Mad Max car trots it out to all the local hot rod shows. No idea if the blower was just a prop like in the movie. The car looked more like the one in the first movie, but Max did not have a dog in that movie. In the second movie, where he did have a dog, he was in the same car, but the back had been cut away for 2 big fuel containers. More history on the real car here. The one I saw looked just like the top photo on that page. Apparently, there is an outfit that will build to order replica movie cars. They can get you a DeLorean, but I have no idea if the flux capacitor will work. Given a choice of movie cars, I think I'd like the one Robert Duvall drove in THX 1138. It was a dolled-up Lola T-70 race car.

[goofyGAguy]

Given a choice of movie cars, I think I'd like the one Robert Duvall drove in THX 1138. It was a dolled-up Lola T-70 race car.

I would take this one...

[mediasponge]

@goofyGAguy: Good choice. Very good choice. Having heard a lot of race motors at the track, the Ford race motors have the prettiest sound, but the Chevy race motors sound more like race motors. The Bullitt car was a 390 CID ~325 BHP. Can-Am cars like the Lola were around 500 CID, 800 BHP in a car that probably weighed half what the Mustang did. I took a passenger ride in one once, a black UOP Shadow. Ay Caramba! The one I rode in was the experimental 1200 BHP twin-turbo version. Best $150 roller coaster ride on the planet...

[ajkula66]

My favourite car in my favourite movie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vvhELLH ... re=related

[mediasponge]

Or this, also in Paris. Rendezvous by Claude LeLouch. Yes, it has been proven to be mostly cinematic magic, but still fun to watch.

As mentioned before in this thread, my Alfa is virtually identical to the one in The Day of the Jackal (1973) only mine sounds more bad-a**.

[jdk]

My Lincoln LS the day I bought it. Not the nicest picture, as it was taken with my phone, but you get the idea. 60,000 mi.

I love this thing. Traded an absolutely loaded F150 in to get this, and got the car + a few grand cash back in return. Then the gas prices shot up and I made out like a bandit.

[Turbo Audi]

I really liked the LS when it came out some time ago. It always reminded me of the E39 BMW. Nice sedans back in the day.

[sysiphus]

Yes, the Lincoln LS is a great car--a nice V6/V8 with rear wheel drive, conservative/clean/classy looks...pity FoMoCo went off the rails shortly thereafter with regard to Lincoln. I'd never though to compare it to an E39 Bimmer, but that's an apt comparison...except with the BMW, you could get the V8 with a manual transmission! That said, the V6 is a great engine, and is much more efficient than its bigger brother. Nice car!

[jdk]

FoMoCo went off the rails shortly thereafter with regard to Lincoln.

No kidding. I specifically wanted the LS as it was RWD, which is not only no longer offered by Lincoln, but isn't anywhere on the horizon.

[j-dawg]

My Lincoln LS the day I bought it. Not the nicest picture, as it was taken with my phone, but you get the idea. 60,000 mi.

I love this thing. Traded an absolutely loaded F150 in to get this, and got the car + a few grand cash back in return. Then the gas prices shot up and I made out like a bandit.

I love the LS. I think it gets a bad rap for what is a very handsome car. If I could find one with the manual, I'd sell a kidney for it.

I'm also fiending hard for a Miata or MR2..something more entertaining than my Maxima. I'm still young, so I can live with a totally impractical car. It'll be better on gas and I hear insurance on Miatas is cheap (though I don't know about for the MR2). I'd also consider a Mercedes 190E or a BMW E30 if the right car presented itself. Basically I am saying that my life is passing before my eyes and I have nothing but a boring, if competent, car to show for it.

[sysiphus]

I love the LS. I think it gets a bad rap for what is a very handsome car. If I could find one with the manual, I'd sell a kidney for it.

I'm also fiending hard for a Miata or MR2..something more entertaining than my Maxima. I'm still young, so I can live with a totally impractical car. It'll be better on gas and I hear insurance on Miatas is cheap (though I don't know about for the MR2). I'd also consider a Mercedes 190E or a BMW E30 if the right car presented itself. Basically I am saying that my life is passing before my eyes and I have nothing but a boring, if competent, car to show for it.

If you're shopping for MR2s, don't get the last-gen "Spyder." It literally has no trunk. There are impractical daily drivers, and then there's the MR2 Spyder...
I always have had a soft spot for the NA (first-generation) Miata with its pop-up headlights and the little chromed finger-sized door handles. Try and find a BMW Z3 Coupe/ M-Coupe from the Z3-era. It looks a little funny (clown shoe?), but goes like spit, is cheap to maintain (for a Bimmer), and has a ton of usable space. And there's NOTHING on the road that looks like it

[j-dawg]

Dunno if I'd be able to afford a Z3. My budget will be whatever I get for the Maxima, which I don't expect to be more than $3k or so. Hence why I'm looking at Rev1 MK2 MR2s and kinda clapped-out NA Miatas.

I'd love a Z3 coupe, if I could afford one. They look so cool and they've got space for stuff. The only alternative I can think of that I'd be able to afford is a Honda CRX, and those are waaaay overpriced for what they are, as well as being....slow. Not that I mind slow (I'm looking at NA Miatas and non-turbo MR2s), but slow + FWD is probably enough of a dealbreaker that I just wouldn't bother switching from my current car. (A 4th-gen Prelude, on the other hand...)

In some sense, impractical daily drivers are my target here. My current car is a very practical daily driver and it's boring. I just want to be young and stupid for a bit, and then eventually I'll grow up and buy something with four doors again.

[RealBlackStuff]

The Chrysler Crossfire is the nearest lookalike to that Z3. It was even built in Germany (by Karmann).
Due to their lousy sales figures, I'm sure you could pick one up for a song (or two..)

[ajkula66]

I love the look of Crossfire...haven't driven one, though...

[LegendaryKA8]

Wow, I'm surprised I haven't seen this thread before. Major car nut here, though I haven't owned many of any real particular note. I currently run a 1991 Acura(or Honda, for those outside US/Canada/HK) Legend Coupe, with a rare 5-speed manual gearbox and even rarer black cloth trim. I've had it for about four years and have put 34K on it without any fuss; it's been a great car and I appreciate the get up and go of its 3.2L V6. Another rare bird I've owned is a 1988 Toyota Celica GT-Four; only about 2,500 of those made it here to the US. Unfortunately, rising costs of parts caused me to ditch it as a project, but it was great, AWD turbocharged fun.

Other vehicles I would own in a heartbeat are: '96-'01 BMW 740/750 iL, 1991 Audi 200 Quattro, '99 BMW Z3, '90-'95 Toyota MR2 Turbo, '87-'91 Toyota Supra Turbo, and a host of others my sleep-fogged mind can't remember.

[ozzymud]

Excuse the polaroids... digital wasn't out when i was in high school...

I was a car NUT in high school... graduated 1986 btw... then started selling them off,,, hindsight...

Here are some of my old rides...

1972 Ford Maverick (modded with a 390 V8):


1969 Ford Mustang (had to sell to make room ):


1968 Volkswagon (midway thru a baja mod):


1974 Volswagon "sunbug" (the sunroof edition) (1964 Ford Fairlane in background):


1979 Chevy Monte Carlo (modded with a 454 V8):


Partial shot of my 72 Hippy Buggy, ?74? Fiat and ?64? bug in background (neices and nephews in it ):


I think at one time I owned over 20 cars in high school at one time

Still hunting down the old pics i KNOW i took of my 68 Corvair, 58 Impala, 56 Chevy Nomad, 57 Chevy convertible, 57 Chevy hard top, 68 Camaro RS/SS, 77 Camaro, 70 Ford pickup... many many more

[ajkula66]

If my vision is still worth anything (highly debatable) that's a Fiat 128 in the back, correct? One heck of a rare sight on this continent, especially with U.S. bumpers and side markers...the very first FWD Fiat...and a Car Of The Year in Europe...ca. 1969 or thereabouts...

[ozzymud]

I honestly don't remember, just know for sure the Fiat part... i picked it up for like $20... fixed it and drove the snot outta it

[Turbo Audi]

Love the Monte ozzymud. That old body was one of the nicest ever made. I'd love me an SS one day. Or GNX.

[ozzymud]

That car was my mom's bought new in 1979... it died a horrible fate i'm afraid... well, it didn't actually die... I was young and naive... I had lowered it(and i mean LOW, it would get stuck on a tennis shoe )... and was really into the show "The Dukes of Hazzard"... so, a lowered vehicle, big block, and lots of jumping railroad tracks eventually led to MANY stress cracks on the rear portion of the frame... I wound up selling it

[killer]

A few days ago I sold my MG RV8. I had owned it since 1998 and had great fun with it. However, having bought it it my late 40s and now being in my early 60s, owning a Jaguar XF and a VW Golf, it all seemed a bit much. Also it had no airbags and, having been in a major (non-fault) crash in my Jaguar X type where neither my wife nor I suffered injury because of the air bags, the RV8 had to go.

I have mixed feelings; partly sadness, partly relief, and joy that it has been bought by an enthusiast in his 40s.

It was only one of 342 ever made for the UK. If you don't know the MGRV8 car (which never sold in the USA) look it up on Google ... and look at images.

At least I am alive to tell the tale!