Perspectives Change

Smart Red

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My dream vehicle would be one from the fifties. Not that I'd ever expect to own one again, but heck, being able to work on the vehicle myself was a big part of the fun of having a ride back then.
 

catjac1975

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Speaking of 'few frills' - I was looking at this little sweetie yesterday when parts started falling off my truck and littering the road behind me.
http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car...c-b59d-b8f2630a339c&Ep=search:results:results page
I have looked at that Jeep. The new ones are very cheap and the consumer report sAYS THEY ARE NOT VERY RELIABLE. I DO LOVE THE WAY IT LOOKS. I guess because it is different.That seems very high priced to me when I had seen new ones for 17 K. Maybe thats a fancier model.
 

digitS'

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I have a appointment thur for 100,000 mile service. . .
You know how unusual it was to have one of those cars from the '50's make it to 100k?

I'm not sure if the Dodge will make it to 200k. It's getting close. I have to have the headlights replaced. That used to be so easy with sealed beams. I could even align them. Now, I don't have a clue.

Took it to an auto electric place. They said to take it to a body shop. Body shop!?!

New tires for that pickup. Shoot. That rubber sure must not grow on trees ...

Steve
 

seedcorn

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Cars before the 80's were lucky to make 100,000. Now, 100,000 they are just getting broke in. The engineers have done well.

Now I understand that the car manufacturers want more environmental laws passed that will make engines wear out quicker.
 

Carol Dee

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My fantasy car (truck) is a Basic Vehicle, manual shift, manual windows, manual seat adjustment, a/c is nice but it's possible to go without in this climate. A heater of course and a radio of some sort.

Dream on....that will never come back.

I dislike those doors that shut themselves, whose dumb idea was that?
If you don't have the strength to open and close your door or hatch maybe you shouldn't be driving either.
Thistle my DH bought a NEW truck in 2012 it is exactly what you are asking for! Single cab, full box. There where actually two in the lot. No power anything. Rubber floor mats, cloth seats. AC and radio. Nothing else. :) They had them to sell to companies for work trucks. About 10 years before that when he wanted that, it was a SPECIAL order and he had to wait forever to get. Crazy
 

Carol Dee

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Some of the most common cars of my youth are now, rarely seen. At least by me - I don't attend car shows.

Yesterday, I passed a parked Ford Fairlane. I'm pretty sure it was a '57. Shoot. Mom and Dad used to have a '57 Ford. I had a '64 Fairlane Sports Coup.

Anyway, it looked so low and wiiide!

There are quite a few new cars I don't much like the looks of. I hadn't quite realized how far that those new ones are from what cars looked like 50+ years ago!

Steve
My sister and brother shared a Ford Fairlane as their 1st vehicle. :) Can you imagine a set of teen siblings SHARING a Car now a days?
 

Carol Dee

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I learned to drive on a Galaxie from that era, straight shift of course. There wasn't a whole lot to them. Windshield wipers, a heater, and lights were standard but a radio was an add-on. We had 4-40 air conditioning, 4 windows down and 40 miles per hour. That wasn't bad on those back country gravel and dirt roads. It did hug the road pretty well. Power windows depended on the power of your arm. Power brakes, well if you pushed hard enough. Automatic locks, well if you forgot to lock your door Dad took steps to ensure locking the door became automatic when you went to town.

They were made out of metal, not plastic, so yeah they were kind of heavy. They were pretty easy to work on too without all those extra add-ons that are pretty standard now. You could get to things, you did not need special tools to work on it, and you could actually fix things. They did not have the safety features that are required now.

People often think back as that was the time they really built good cars, but those cars were not asked to do much except go. With all the safety features, climate control, entertainment centers, power assist driving aids, and cup-holders todays cars are also very well built but there is just so much more that can go wrong it doesn't seem that way.

I'm not a classic car nut but I like the cars I grew up with. They bring back some really good memories.
Ridge my 1st car was a 1971 Maverick. No power anything, it did not even have a glove box. Canary yellow!
 

thistlebloom

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My DREAM CAR would be a 4wd full size crew cab pickup with a tricked-out hauling package... lol.. ahhh.. good to dream....

We share the same dream truck Cane!

One of my clients owns a dealership. Their son was visiting one day, driving a crew cab 4WD off the lot. The stickers were in place on the windows so I moseyed over for a peek.
Now, I've been daydreaming of a bigger truck, one that will hold 2 full grown adults, and preferably 4, and I had some vague notion of what that might cost, but it about blew my socks off when I saw the price.This was just an F150 too, but it was priced at $54,000!
That's about 4 times what I paid for my truck in '04 brand new.

I know I am seriously behind the times to have been shocked by that. But there is just no way in this lifetime I'd be able to buy one like it. And if I did I'd be scared to death to drive it alongside the average maniacs on the road.

I'll just stick with my girly truck. Come to think of it, it's what I want anyway. Manual windows, locks, transmission, seat....basic basic.
 
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