Rob, while I admire your willingness to stray outside the Bimmer box, I believe a $2800 '95 Benz (or a $2800 '95 7 series, for that matter) is, at a minimum, really a $6K to $7K Benz before registration and tag.  On the other hand, a $2800 Miata . . . ... View more

One of the most egregious examples has to be the Chevy Cavilier/Caddy Cimmeron clones.  It is probably just as well that the sales data existing for these almost extinct examples has to be too scarse to examine.  My money would be on . . . neither. ... View more

Ah, Route 202.  Ran my '72 MG Midget up and down 202 way back when.  Back before I too fell into the BMW fold.  Memories. ... View more

A similar problem cropped up on my '95 BMW 318ti.  A couple of sprays of carb cleaner, some working it around, and everything was good again.  The only problem?  The ICV is buried between the two halves of the intake manifold, and it takes an hour or so of disassembly to get to it.  Nice compact packaging job in design, but what a **bleep** for the repair mechanic.  Those efficient Germans. ... View more

A 528e shout out!  Still operate an '88 528e (with a chipped e2i conversion).  Good A/C, leather, nice stereo, and a trunk large enough for 2 gumbas.  What more do you need?  Btw, nice travelogue.  The kid got lucky in the dad department. ... View more

Loved the Kelvin and Hobbs comic strips from years ago. ... View more

One additional warning about working on another's car.  You have now assumed responsibility for any subsequent fault, no matter how far removed from the original work.  Change the plugs, and now the radio doesn't work.  Air up the tires and now the brakes squeal.  Replace the broken door handle and now the A/C blows warm.  Guess who's responsibility it is now to fix those?  Beware. ... View more

Fins on a Bug?  Wings maybe.  Fins on a Barracuda or Stingray perhaps.  Btw, I still enjoy setting the dwell and timing on my Bug.  Tinkering junkie. ... View more

The 1st car that I bought with my own money way back in '77 was a 5 year old MG Midget. It overheated on the drive home.  It always needed something, that something being tinkering, replacing, and sometimes whacking a misbehaving bit with a hammer.  That emotional purchase (I had went to the Toyota dealer to buy a second hand Corolla, but a glance of the MG sitting on the lot doomed me) led to this life of continuous care of long past their prime cars.  Don't regret a minute of it. ... View more

Card 8 appears to be an early M48 Patton, not a Sherman.  Don't want the kids out there to be misled. ... View more

Love the socks. ... View more

Wow. Very imaginative.  A little dark, but I get it. ... View more

I had a 3 cylinder Daihatsu Charade in the early 90's.  Peppy little thing, (relatively) solidly built, and it got around 40 mpg.  Good car. ... View more

Had a '77 Rabbit in baby poo brown that I GTI'd, sort of.  Bilsteins, biggest Phoenix Stahlflex tires that would fit, sway bars.  Kamei front air dam, and hatch lip.  Painted the 13" wheels and bumpers body color, and semi-gloss black around the rear window.  Still slow, but boy, could it handle.  Loved that car.  Oh, and a golf ball shift knob, gotta have that. ... View more