The Driveway: COBbies talk cars

...Because someone requested it, and its a good notion. So, we've got this cooler of beer and this square of oil-stained asphalt, what to do with it?

Myself, I've always been partial to the old American iron; Mustangs, GT Os, etc.

If there's one practical car that I would like to own, it'd be either the Dodge Magnum SRT-8, the Cadillac CTS-V, or the Ford Focus ST.

Also, I and pvtnum11 requested it, but thanks for making it so that we don't clog up the other thread.

edited 23rd Aug '11 9:39:57 PM by RocketDude

While I won't try to deny the appeal of "American metal" V-8s, I've always kinda had a bit of a soft spot for turbocharged smaller engines, particularly Mitsubishi's 4G63 (1st/2nd gen Eclipse, most of the Evo line, and some others).

I had a 95 Eagle Talon (mechanical sibling to that year's Eclipse), but had to sell it when expenses got too much (the 15 mpg I was getting didn't help, especially on premium gas), and now I'm stuck with a rather gutless Dodge Caliber, as the trade-in value isn't all that great thanks to some minorly bent metal (turned out of the driveway too sharply, dragged the side against the mailbox).

I also like Volkswagens. I drive a VW Golf, and despite looking like a mommy-car that thing can haul some ass.

Stick shifts in general seem to be better at this, however...one of my big gripes against most of the classic hot rods. I dislike driving an automatic.

I kinda have to admit that turbochargers seem nice to have, but natural-aspiration is still rather popular.

Speaking of turbos, there's this one guy who works at Ferrari (or was it Pininfarina?) who had an influence on most, if not all Ferrari cars since the 512 Testarossa, and he apparently wants to see Ferrari's V-12 engines replaced with less-thirsty turbo V-8 engines.

^You might be thinking of what is referred to as the Golf GTI. Unless you have a regular Golf or a TDI, which then says more about the GTI.

Also, these days, manuals are getting phased out for semi-automatic paddle-shifters.

edited 23rd Aug '11 9:40:57 PM by RocketDude

Given a choice of any car, I'd not mind having something light and "tossable", even if they don't have God's Own Horsepower. Think first generation Miatas, but not being 20 years old. Unfortunately, most of what would qualify is in the $20K range, which is beyond my budget.

Nowadays, without going into exotics like Lotuses it seems the only sub-15K cars that aren't hulking behemoths or well on their way to qualify for "antique" are all wimpy econoboxes*

Dammit, I need to get rich. Anyone have about 100 kilobucks I could have?

My very first car was a '69 GTO convertible. Red with a white top. 400 V-8 engine, 4-barrel carb, three-speed manual tranny. I got the only speeding ticket I've ever gotten in that car, doing 90 on the interstate.

@Maddie: ...<worships>

Wanna know the best part?

It cost me $300 in 1977. Dude that owned it was moving from Northern Illinois to Southern California and didn't want to take it along. He was asking "$350 OBO." My brother-in-law at the time said "Offer him $300, if he's stupid enough to sell a convertible in Illinois instead of California, he's stupid enough to take it." The top was torn and needed to be replaced. That cost about $150. Other than that and a tune-up and oil change, it was in fine running condition.

Got about 8 mpg, but hey, GTO convertible.

edited 24th Aug '11 3:37:47 PM by Madrugada

@Noh: Try a Dodge Charger.

^ Sure, got the 30K bucks I'd need to go with a trade-in to get even a barebones 6-banger (never mind an R/T or SRT)?

I like the new Challengers, although I'm more or less a GM man. Dodge knows how to do retro-styling correctly. The new Camaro? Ugh - they would've been better off picking either 1st gen or 2nd gen and basing thier new design off of that, rather than trying to toss in styling cues from all four generations into one vehicle.

Also, I'm bitter that GM axed Pontiac. No new Firebird for me, dang it, unless you count some of the aftermarket body mods that a few shops are doing, but you have to buy a Camaro and then pay ten grand for the mods.

For that kind of cash, might as well buy a Corvette.

Imports? I wouldn't say no to a Toyota Corolla AE-86. Rear wheel drive, light, handles well, and they respond to modifications pretty good. Good luck finding one that hasn't been ragged out from drifting, though.

Mazda? A rotary RX-7 would be fun. Nissan? I'd be okay with a 240SX (first-gen with the KA 24 DE - sixteen valve DOHC).

^^Try finding a Civic Type-R, then?

^

1. Who isn't bitter about Pontiac's death?

2. Dang, no kit-cars or replicas of the Firebird?

3. I guess a Nissan GT-R is out of the question?

I actually wish that Honda would bring back the NSX. After all, that car influenced Gordon Murray's design on the McLaren F1.

edited 25th Aug '11 5:16:53 PM by RocketDude

A GT-R is a hell of a lot of coin... Got to stay with a budget, yes? The aftermarket for the 240SX is quite large. Plus, insurance.

Only by a fluke did I even get the TTA in the first place, having been content with an '88 GTA with the L98 under the hood.

Ok folks question time. My car is a 94 Ford Taurus 120+K on the odometer. My car runs fine when your driving normally or even at highway speeds. However when idling it seems to run a bit roughly The exahaust sounds a bit rough, and occasionally shudders. We have a check engine light on that I am going to get checked out.

My personal suspicion is that it is a oxygen sensor, leaky gasket, or something similar. There are new spar plugs, spark plug wires, fuel injectors seem to be working just fine.

What do you folks thing?

Oxygen sensor would likely cause the car to not start at all, which is what happened when the sensor on the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG we used have corroded. Wouldn't start at all.

Something probably did blow out, though, from that description.

edited 25th Aug '11 7:11:57 PM by RocketDude

Sounds like I need to check all the hoses and connections as well. I think the oxygen sensor may be going wonky but not dead yet.

Yeah, if the car suddenly doesn't start at all, it probably is the O2 sensor, then.

@Tuefel: my car does the exact same thing. Let me know what you find.

I am going to get that check engine light figured out. I have that niggling suspicion that it is key to my cars current issues.

I'm not sure how to pull codes on an OBD-I Ford. It's different than GM. IF it was OBD-II, it's buy a scanning tool, plug it in and look up the alpha-numeric code the scanner shows.

OBD-I, you have to interpret the flashing check engine light.

See here.

I'll say it again: You don't need an O2 sensor to start the car (AMG might have used heated sensors, which is a totally different animal). The sensors aren't even at operating temp yet, so the computer ignores whatever signal they get from the sensors until the coolant temperature sensor reads a certain temp. That gives the O2 sensors time to warm up and give correct readings.

edited 26th Aug '11 9:08:19 AM by pvtnum11

Ok the official diagnosis is the Catalytic converter is suffering blockage or a leak. It looks like it will be about 100 dollar part. Not bad. I will get my father to help fix it because he has a drive way and a suitable set of tools for the job.

^^Yeah, I heard that the O2 sensor on the Benz was made with recycled plastic that corroded from the Arizona heat.

Tuefel: Get yourself a can of Liquid Wrench. Exhaust heat ends up cooking bolts and other exhaust-related fasteners over the years. After ensuring that the stuff is cold, blast the bolts with a bit of that and let it soak in for a bit. Then get your cheater bars and favorite cheap wrenches (so you won't mind if they break) and have fun ripping bolts out. Try not to strip them, you may have to reuse them.

I was going to "Finally, a thread on this! Awesome!"...but then I realized that...er...no. There's nothing wrong with the thread, and I have always wanted to see a car thread on this forum, but having quickly scanned it, I just feel dumb.

I don't have a car. I'm 21 and got my license at 17, but I only first drove without a family member or driving instructor this July, and only twice, briefly. The truth is, I don't really, strongly need a car, but I desperately want one. Because there's no other way to get anywhere from my house (which is where I am, at the very least, all summer every summer), and because despite my aforementioned lack of anywhere in particular to drive to, I would really just like to keep my options open.

But since I've been told I won't get one until at least after I graduate from college, I've gone and channeled my desires into just...knowing a lot about cars. Sort of. I'm really not-mechanically-inclined, and I have yet to extend my knowledge to anything before my lifetime, or really anything that doesn't fall within the past 15 or so years. It's really more sociological: What kind of people drive what cars, which cars succeeded or failed and why, how are different brands perceived in the popular conciousness, etc...

I go on used-car websites for fun. I get periodically obsessed with particular cars and decide that they'd totally be the right one for me if I was just allowed to get one. It's probably really not healthy, and it's more than a bit distracting. And it all comes off as kind of useless. I mean, I'm even sorry here for dumping such a long and weird post into an otherwise normal thread.

I've been looking for someone besides my cousin to talk cars with, basically, but what I'm ultimately trying to say here is that I doubt any of you would want to do so, and frankly I wouldn't blame you. I don't even know where to start. So that's why I made this post instead.