"Go crazy, adding lines that go nowhere and serve no purpose...". Agreed. For me, form follows function. Wheels are round so wheel arches should be round (I hated the rear wheel skirts that some 60's-70's American cars had). Many cars pull off a decent front end but very few master the tail panel. Taillights often get overdone; I like ones that stretch all the way across the back. The back of some Prius' somehow remind me of an Edsel. Now with electric cars and no real requirement for a grille, we'll have to see what works and what doesn't. ... View more

Wow, I'm glad somebody agrees with me that Toyota styling is gross. For me, that includes the Lexus grille. ... View more

Convertibles almost died out in the mid 70's due to the popularity of air conditioning. Then they came back, especially with retract-ables. Why would they die again? IMO, that's the only true sports car; I have 2, SLK320 and SL600. ... View more

70's rock and pop is the best there is. ... View more

Sorry to be off topic but the [early] 70's had some of the best rock and pop music ever. Just my opinion. ... View more

BTW, it surprises me how many people are so concerned about turning in a leased vehicle with excess mileage at $.25 a mile. They never took the total of their down payment & lease payments and divided it by their allowed mileage. It ends up costing A LOT MORE per mile for the initial lease agreement terms (more than double in my case). ... View more

I have a 2018 F150 that is only days away from lease ending. When I got it, I had intended on buying it in the end; I had never leased before and just wanted to see what it was like (didn't like it as I felt I didn't really own it). Received several emails from dealer stating they wanted my truck. Went in to see them a month or so ago and they were willing to drop the last 2 or 3 lease payments, forgive the excess (about 8000 miles at $.25), AND give me some cash (about a grand) if I turned it in early. As enticing as it all seemed, I use my truck as a truck and didn't want to wait another 9 (likely much more) weeks to order a new one (ordering EXACTLY what options you want is so much better than settling). I am here on Hagerty because I also own a sports car that offsets some of the mileage I would otherwise put on my truck. I love the extremes of my two vehicles, big vs small, practical vs fun. I can't say if someone else should keep a vehicle or not; too many variables. but for me, the truck is going to stay. ... View more

My 2001 SLK has over 160k miles and is doing fine. Curious about the "well known interior cosmetic issues". ... View more

Frankly, I doubt the value of a Carfax report. My own car was rear ended in 2006 and the repair cost $9k to fix. The body shop did a great job; to this day no sign of the damage. But I did a Carfax report a year or two after the accident and no mention of it. ... View more

Regarding the Mustang limousine, I'm surprised you didn't say 'no pun intended' when you mentioned 'stretching the truth'. ... View more

I really like the out-of-the-box thinking and it even looks pretty cool, though dated. However, an amphibian still makes more sense as you drive off one boat ramp and up another. Seems to me with America's love affair with 4x4's and boats that a combination that could drive off and onto a beach would be a big success. When you figure a person might spend $50k on a truck and another $50k on a boat, why not buy an amphibian for $100k and have greater convenience. ... View more

Leave it to the French for building such an unsightly vehicle. ... View more

But I want a Challenger convertible; they don't offer that (do they?). I realize the automakers got away from offering every little option separately. Now they're bundling them in packages but some of the restrictions they impose on combining one thing with another seem totally ridiculous. I leased a 2018 F150 with the intention of buying at the end of the lease. I went on the Ford website just to see what a 2021 could option out like and found I could not get the same combination of options that I did on my 2018. The options were still there but there were new restrictions that didn't allow combining them. I'm buying my truck at lease end. ... View more

It should be noted that thread chasers for male threads are the hexagonal shaped dies. The files work OK but have to be used at the helix angle. And some holes that are for studs are made with a different class of fit (tighter) than a regular tap. ... View more

Seriously? ... View more

Probably didn't sell because it has a red interior. And while it has a nice look from the rear (which many cars don't), the rest of its styling is a bit unbalanced. (IMO) ... View more

The clay bar (don't know about others) works wonders on the windows getting the oil film off that is so hard to do other ways. Pulls the grime out of the pitting too making old, pitted windshields not quite so bad. ... View more

I would hate to have to say this is the last one I'm going to build. Never stop. ... View more

I'm not going to be the first on the block to get an EV and with aesthetics like a Prius or Insight, it'll never happen (yeah, I know they're hybrids). As a mechanical engineer who firmly believes in form follows function, the shape of things to come certainly could and probably should change. But I also think that familiar lines will help many people with the transition. One interesting parallel I just thought of is that I am starting to convert from gas powered lawn & garden tools to electric. They're really not taking on new shapes but then they never were particularly known for graceful sweeping lines. ... View more

Back in the 60's my dad owned a Fiat 500 with suicide doors that you could fold flat against the body of the car (180 degree swing). I remember a lever between the seats that would actually start the motor. ... View more

How about this snow vehicle? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328903579013693711/ ... View more

I would think that shipping costs themselves would be lower, not having to ship what amounts to a lot of airspace in a vehicle. This would be partially offset by the cost of crating since a finished vehicle does not require one. ... View more

Anything different for my aluminum bodied F-150? I am real curious to see how it holds up against perforation. ... View more

That was my first thought and even more so as the Saab version was brought up. ... View more

Back in the late 70's or early 80's there were two Isettas for sale for a couple hundred bucks. ... View more

What about the engine that bears his name? Or is everybody only interested in horsepower? Rudolph Diesel. I'm a torque guy and I just love the sound of a diesel tractor. ... View more

I bought a 1995 SL600 a few years ago. It's been sitting since, waiting for me to finish my shop so I can restore it. I really didn't need another car (already have a 2001 SLK 320) but there was the lure of the V12.   I suspect it's going to be a money pit but we all know that's not why we're in this hobby. I think the design is really clean (thanks Mr Sacco) and it represent the first high technology car for MB.   Purists will shudder at what I'm about to say but I may convert it to a manual transmission. The automatics up to and including 95 were not the best so I'd like to simplify things. ... View more

With the list of "highlights", I expected a monetary value assigned and final justification. Perhaps you did and it didn't end as you had hoped. Anyway, I have an F150 and a roadster and I simply love the extremes of the two vehicles; I love the truck when I need big for hauling or towing and I love the car for getting there quickly and always finding an easy spot to park it. As long as I can still work with my hands, making and fixing things as I do, I will have a truck. ... View more

What about the wagons that had the tailgate disappear into the floor and the window went up into the roof? ... View more

I don't know why people think leather is the way to go. I was sitting at a salesman's desk at a dealership and overheard the beginning of a conversation at the next desk "So you're going to want leather, right?" begins the salesman (I didn't hear the reply)? I couldn't believe this was the salesman's opening line.   I was there to buy a P/U truck and specifically had to take a trim level that was lower on the totem pole so I could get cloth seats. Leather is hot & sticky in the summer and cold & stiff in the winter. Why would I want to pay [a lot] more for such discomfort? It's not like it lasts longer. And with products like Scotchguard, the stain resistance of cloth is quite good. ... View more

PCV ... View more

And I was so hoping that you had found the problem... ... View more

Kyle, what did you find when you cut open the old condenser? ... View more

My brother's Fiat Super Brava (lates 70's) also had a mono-spoke steering wheel.   ... View more

Nice to see a reference to a "flat blade" screwdriver when so many call it a "flat head" screwdriver. ... View more