Back in 1994 I sat in a blue 1967 Rambler Rebel Mariner wagon for sale that had a nautical styling theme with wood grain di-noc and vinyl seats embossed with the image of rope circling a ship anchor, and ever since I have never seen another. I also have yet to see either of the other two trim styles - am I the only person younger than 41 who remembers the Rebel wagon and how cool it was? ... View more

Our neighbor across the street bought a brand new red Thunderbird SC with every option - sunroof, spoiler, tinted windows, CD player, and a grey leather interior with power adjustable bolsters - it was the coolest car on our street, and 180 degrees opposite from his previous car - a brown early 80's Oldsmobile 4 door. It was also the car that made me want to own a Ford. ... View more

California will require a smog check, which involves an inspection for a sticker under the hood - necessary if a hood is replaced - but replacements should be available through dealerships. The smog check also involves a visual inspection for non-compliant parts. Cold air intakes or catalytic converters must appear original or have a CARB approved number, and this really isn't a big problem unless it's a newer car, like maybe 2005 or up, and that's because some cars have catalytic converters that can only be obtained through dealerships, and they can cost thousands. A friend had left his 2007? Honda Accord parked by the border, and a thief had the cat cut off, and ended up scrapping the entire car because a replacement was only available through the Honda dealer and it cost about $3,000. ... View more

1989 Ford Taurus LX wagon in twilight blue over medium titanium. Ford sold hundreds of thousands of Tauruses, but probably only a few people drove away in a car with every option available, and this is one of those, with the crown jewel being the sunroof, which was fairly common on SHO models, and even LX sedans, but very few wagons had this. In January of 2006 I was looking for an '86-'88 wagon with a sunroof, and couldn't find a single one, but there was one 1989 wagon with a sunroof - in the entire country. I searched auto trader advertisements and didn't limit my search distance, and found this in Seattle, 1,200 miles away, and ended up driving it to San Diego, and that's a whole story in itself. The interior is shadow blue, and the headliner and interior lighting are different from non-sunroof models in order to accommodate the sunroof. The code for the keyless entry became irrelevant after about a dozen times of using it, as the motions of my hand and fingers developed a rhythm of punching the buttons which became second nature. Only cars with the keyless entry option have the additional door lock illumination. It's nice to never have to worry about locking your keys inside the car. ... View more