Motortrend help link sorted it out. They did a password reset.   Then I had to choose a new password  --typical stuff.   Oddness (to me) as follows: no remembered login name (i.e., email) for Motortrend's site on my computer. Granted their site update may have broken that.   Then, when logged back in it doesn't show me as me in my account, it calls me "Hagerty Member". This is the automatic set up part I was recalling in the post that started this thread.   So maybe I am remembering it wrong, and did in fact enter an email address when I first clicked the Hagerty email to get the free year access but I don't recall such. For what it is worth, I think I can change my name from Hagerty Member. ... View more

That triangle of body panel behind the B pillar is bad enough on the 1960s Crew Cab conversions some outfitters did. Here it is just awful. ... View more

New Z looks good, though it does evoke Mazda's recent design language to me...   Nissan... take one of your smaller platform pickup trucks (smaller than Frontier) and do a global version of this. Plan to sell it unchanged for years and offer it cheap. North America needs a real mini truck again... ... View more

I think you are bang-on where the 4-door bias/dislike fades away with the post-boomers. How it breaks down is trickier since various sources don't use the same definitions for X, Y & Z and most seem to lump anyone under 30 as a Millennial (which would be spanning part of Y & Z). Context matters too (I think)... 4-door Chevelle not cool in 1967 is so much cooler than pretty much any crossover today. ... View more

Your comment is interesting to me PalmEvent   "They won’t 😞 First, they made millions of them. Second, what usually rises in value are the aspirational cars....ie cars you wish you had in high school but couldn’t afford, not what you actually had. They might see a slight rise from the bottom, but will never be “collector cars” "   Millions of VW Beetles, Tri-Five Chevys, and 60s Impalas were made. Doesn't stop them being collectable. Highest value of their respective eras --not usually.   Best investment picks... rarer aspirational models drive the market I agree, I think most would. If you have a locked-away-pickled-low-mile high-spec early 90s Jetta I think you see it sell at a premium. Was it logical to pickle it? --I guess it depends what that premium ends up being... (Is it ever? Take the special edition Corvette situation as many have been pickled since the 70s and they don't always seem to bring high auction money)   I see a lot of people spend a lot of money to have what they used to have, often in a much better form. People also way overspend restoring heirloom cars. How big a slice of the market is this... not sure. I agree that people "finally getting that Corvette" or whatever are a slice and probably a bigger one or at least the one that makes better auction TV --except when someone on the TV auction way overpays the market on some oddball thing. "Had to have it" as they say.   The "never collector's car" argument... I'm leaving that alone. Others can chime in (usually do on that topic). ... View more

retro-distance racer could be a variety of things: Aloha Wanderwell's world-travelling model T, British cars like Austin 7s that did off road racing, big touring cars turned into racecars that did things like desert overland rally racing.   Something that I drive by a bunch of kids and the supervising adult says "Oh that is a 100 year old antique car it must be on a tour out of a museum". And then I turn onto the 4x4 trail drive it right through the muck and minds are blown.   https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2015/10/14/a-brass-era-race-car-that-never-really-retired-the-yellow-peril-1911-oldsmobile     ... View more

My Dad's just-restored C10 had a rear frame rail bent on the lift at the garage doing the safety certificate to allow it back on the road. Not clear how that happened. That was a bad day. Body shop had it for an afternoon to straighten it back out, but had to remove the box to do it.   Service manual for the TR4 have frame dimensions diagram in it? [Most of the old GM ones I have seen do for example.   Getting enough force to bend your frame probably won't be that hard. Old-school hot rodders would get out the torch to heat things before bending (good way to ruin an axle, but it was the way). Preventing unwanted deforming and/or fatiguing things may be a DIYer pitfall.   ... View more

I think part of the sales success at the time was that people knew/feared these were going to be the last truly big cars.   In a sense they were, since big car drivers are all in 4 door trucks/SUVs today.   As far as the younger (Gen X and Y) it is the presence, sofa yacht luxury and solidity that appeals to myself and peers. There has been no reasonable priced big car in a long time, and some rather over-priced pretenders (last Impala I name you...). That's without getting into the 2 door vs. 4 door debate.   These cars were generally bought by people that used them sparingly and carefully and stored them well. High survivor rate compared to a 70s Civic or Vega. Also not horribly overpriced to entry-level collectors today.   You can also customize these cars and arguably improve them in many people's eyes, without dealing with archaic mechanicals (i.e., if doing a 50s Cadillac or Lincoln). ... View more

90s Civics and Jettas will have their day.   They were the growing up/high school/college ride a lot of people (or their friends) had. So they are memory machines --the fuel for nostalgia, which eventually equals collector interest.   Many 90s things will be future-appreciated for those that want less digital. It will interesting to see which things get enough aftermarket support for hobbyists to keep going and which things you hunt years for a specific dashboard bit or such. ... View more

Totally agree with Jack.   I tested the theory by buying a $2000 99 Subaru Legacy about 5 years ago. Saved $200ish on gas every month... but was over 2k in repairs that first year (but I didn't have to fix the AC...). So I spent between 1-2k more than if I had just run the gas guzzler I already had.   His advice holds true even where I live, where cars rot out from salt and you can't just baby the along forever easily  ---unless you have discipline and keep it oiled every spring underneath and wash it underneath when you can during the winter (those odd high temp days). If I lived in California/Arizona or such my vehicles would live forever  --maybe not with original engines and such, but forever! ... View more

The hot rod, the truck, the family cruiser.   Right now the hot rod is a 69 Mustang coupe with a built (mildly) engine. I would give that slot to something teens/twenties/30s though --but can't decide if I want a retro distance racer, something more Ed Roth, or a street legal 30s coupe in stock-car trim.   The truck will one day be a 69 GMC replicating and replacing my long-gone first wheels. In the short term I have been actively scouting out 70s to 90s shortboxes. Got rid of my truck a few years ago and have regretted it since.   The family cruiser... the spouse loves the 62-66 full size Pontiacs. I like the 73-76 Cutlasses but am not winning that one it seems. Spouse's father used to have a 96 Impala SS so we have thought about revisiting that tradition. The later Mercury Marauders could also work.     Good thing you only asked for top 3. Give me 5-10 slots I could name them easy. ... View more

In my heavy salt-brine on roads, rust belt area we now have people advertising looking for Chevettes in any condition.   This will happen with PT Cruisers in 10-15 years.   Accepting them for what they are (not the pinnacle of build quality or overall engineering) I would have no problem owning one. They were retro done reasonably well and not crazy over priced.   The convertible one in the picture by the other poster looks like fun. ... View more

Nomad concept looks like an early 90s Honda Civic hatch smoothed to look retro. Too smooth like the last Thunderbird to my tastes --but on a track that could have been good.   Cars on this platform were pricey... could have sold a ton of them making them cheap to buy and putting a Chevette badge on them. Just saying. ... View more

Engine shop that did my 69 Mustang 302 rebuild 7 years ago insisted it run a 20W-40 diesel oil.   I have had older mechanics note this and say "yep" while younger ones question it.   Interesting. ... View more

Eventually the borders will fully open and from Michigan you have Canada. Whether you cross in Detroit or Port Huron you are in for a few hours of driving that is very similar to rural to small-urban Michigan. How much time you want to spend can guide your route selection from there.   Routes along Lake Ontario can be scenic (old Lakeshore Highway). At one point you will even get to do a ferry that is more like a barge that can handle a few cars. Keep on this route you eventually get near the St. Lawrence Seaway where you can see the flooded (for the seaway) town locations, Upper Canada pioneer village and neat towns like Belleville and Kingston which the old parts are all limestone construction. Very different feel and look than most of Ontario. Probably most fun if you have a couple of days and do a stopover in Kingston.   Or... you hit Toronto via the 400 series highways (similar to interstate). 2 hours north of Toronto you will hit Muskoka, where the geography turns to Canadian Shield and mostly evergreen. Off the main highway, Muskoka is full of twisty roads with scenery.  Hit up the crazy road to Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Preserve (look that up if into oddball parks).   If you have time, driving the loop to Manitoulin Island and taking the ferry to Tobermory can be fun.   If you have days and days... take highway 17 up along the coast of Lake Superior. Stop at the Terry Fox Lookout.   If you really have time, keep going and experience the big sky in the prairies. Everyone should drive through the badlands of Alberta at least once... ... View more

"I need a 182M loan"   "You have approximately 300M in old cars you are not using and a building that is worth 200M."   "Heh. Can't blame me for trying?" ... View more

Hilarious. And kudos on realizing a dream.   You're going to be able to write a book about this period of your life I am thinking. Keep us posted on the Skoda project. ... View more

The article is fine, the headline will cause some to read it with a negative tone that isn't the author's intention (to my reading). The headline is a reference to the previous Hagerty article that showcased 3 vehicles, one of which being an Eagle, and in theory would boost the vehicles profile. 1 year later and no market boost is seen. Would a headline like "Eagle still an under-the-radar Crossover steal" been a better choice? Maybe. ... View more

AMC design/engineers don't really get enough credit.   While precursor examples exist (various Willys Jeeps/Jeepsters, International Scouts, etc.) it was the AMC efforts that entrenched the SUV and what we now call crossover segments.   Eagle is grandparent to both Subaru Outback, Ford Escape and anything else of that ilk.   I think Eagles are pretty neat. But they aren't popular or particularly respected as a collectable I would agree. Maybe in part because although they lead us to what most people want to drive today, most of those driving said crossovers aren't passionate about them as a vehicle --like say how Dodge Challenger or Toyota 86 owners are. ... View more

I like the big truck version of this look. Things like the Ford C series, even the GM "New Look" buses and such.   Not sure if the big ones would pass the modern safety stuff either... ... View more

Like I posted on the old forums when this article was first posted:   This should be made into a movie. It doesn't need embellishment, Nick Cage, etc.   ------ I love that the guy still has the car in a more usable-in-the-now form for him. ... View more

I get what you are saying. My car is not the best spec example of the breed, in fairness almost the least-desirable: 69 Mustang automatic coupe 302.   The drivetrain is all rebuilt, the 302 has a bit of a bore and stroker crank (needed rebuilt anyways) but otherwise it is rebuilt stock components  --including the gloriously high factory stance that few appreciate.   It's interior is worn and pieces of dash are missing (i..e, bad aftermarket radio left a scar), the windows rattle at low speeds and it has weatherstripping leaks all over. A previous owner cut a large patch of carpet away to fix a small section of floor. So it is not as tight and quiet as it should be, or originally was, or how people resto-mod them now.   On a winding gravel road at 40mph (feels like you are going so much faster) as you have to drive alert to not lose it. Punch the gas the rear breaks sideways.   It is infinitely more fun than my wife's Edge Sport that could go much faster, quietly in a serene cabin with little feeling of being on... the edge. ... View more

I gave a like to your comment dscottbeal, mostly because it reminded me of Cars 3 (this is good). ... View more

These cars are well before my time for seeing them in the wild, but my family has a few 59 Pontiac parts cars stashed as we look for the one-day project to use them on. I mention this... because these are big heavy cars. That 13.40 is truly impressive.   I also think towing the drag car with the same make is brilliant and one of the coolest things I have ever heard about a racer doing.   Great that Tim has loaned it to a museum. Some exhibition passes at some Northeast drag strips (not sure if any of the car's old haunts still exist?) and a Roadkill nights appearance would be cool. Don't have to punish the car, but it belongs on the strip.   Glad the story got told here.     ... View more

look up various on youtube... some do okay I suppose, generally anything low and small.   Minivans not so much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZC8Ykl1esE     However, the test is hitting a solid stationary object at 45 mph... an unguarded bridge abutment would be the real-life comparable?   Does the Jeep flip if it hits a parked car this way (as per the test) or does the movement of the parked car mitigate enough force to not have a rollover?   Telephone pole could snap, car could deflect/wrap around it.   I'd be curious what % of small overlap actual accidents involve extremely stationary objects. I suppose what % of rear-endings qualify as "small overlap" might be pertinent too.   Wouldn't putting crumple things (i.e., bollards, barrels) and angles guards (i.e., Ontario uses cement dividers that are pretty hard to crash into to divide the highway vs. the post and wire systems I see other places) to keep everyone away from the big stationary objects on roadways make more sense? Considering many places are already doing this... ... View more

Great way of looking at the Cord. Fresh as it were.   I have always thought these were exceedingly cool cars.   If you didn't know they were a high-end luxury car that get flipped from one collector to another with few miles ever being driven, and that this hadn't been the case for decades... you could be fooled into thinking this was a hot rodded 30s sedan with radical body customization. It's so different from they typically seen stuff from that decade. ... View more

I don't know... Eugene the Jeep first appeared in comic form in 1936, short film form in 1940. That's not a lot of lead time to soak in popular culture.   Ford's model designation for the vehicle was GP.   I think it is far more likely that GP was said and became Jeep in spelling.   Lots of articles discuss various theories of this: https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/jeep-name-origins ... View more

Talented fabricator/designer for sure.   There is a market for this for sure as some insist on old looks.   I'd be interested in running an electric motor in the old 66 C10 my family has behind a barn... but don't care if the conversion looks space-age at all. I need the price to be compelling. Thus far nothing EV approaches the word affordable that I have seen.   I expect that is changing, curious to see how long it takes. ... View more