Ah yes, the best cure for a project stalled is a nice hot cash injection. But it seems the farther along the project you get, the shorter that injection seems to have effect. "Hmm, my lower fender bolt that no one would ever see is a little bit rusty. I could buy a perfectly usable generic bolt from Lowes, or I could buy this genuine NOS one for $35..." [clicks buy it now] You could have probably sold the parts car for $3k in today's used car market! Complete with the custom speed holes in the windshield. I am eagerly awaiting more on the progress of Val (I'm nicknaming your car Val, sorry) as it has been a long time. Just let us know when the "you know what? You only live once and I'm not getting any younger" moment happens and you make the big move to get it past the finish line kicking and screaming. ... View more

Such a time we live in where 20" wheels can look small on a vehicle. I remember riding up the highways and noticing how small and skinny the wheels and tires were on cars back in the 1980s - even as a kid. The profile of a K car's tire patch didn't leave me feeling optimistic about the quality of the rest of the car. Same with the boxy Tercels and base model Civics of the time. Those mounted wheels and tires would probably fit nicely within the barrel of the Escalade's. ... View more

Thanks as always for taking the time for this, Sajeev. I imagine it was a bit of a passion piece for you. Mike seemed like a hell of a designer. I am a fan of the Scion xB/Toyota bB - of the first gen anyway. I think most folks failed to understand the point of the second generation where it was rounded and bigger. More powerful yes, but not much better for it otherwise. In 2004 when I was waiting for the paperwork to be complete on my new Scion tC I hopped into a xB in the showroom and I was absolutely stunned by how much room there was inside. Looking back, it would have probably been a better move to get the xB. Especially considering how often I was moving at that point in my life. Again, kudos for the VV. Please keep them coming. ... View more

This story works both ways - as the seller and buyer. When I was selling a truck a few years ago I got the same story from someone who said they wanted to buy it for their uncle, or some such. He was going to send someone to come pick it up after paying for it for my asking price. Which, of course, would have turned out to be fraudulent and I would have been out a truck for no money. I believe that the people are indeed not in the US and I suspect that if they get your car, it immediately goes into a shipping container never to be seen again. I should have held onto that truck (2000 Dakota R/T) ... View more

Is the new WRX as awful looking in person? ... View more

You're right, there is a limited lifetime for auto trends. If you did a stop motion of headlights from the 90s thru today, it would be like watching cars open their eyes really wide and then squint again since the trend in the 90s was tiny headlights, then in the early 2000s headlights were 85% of the front of the car, and now we're back to squinty headlights. The tear duct trend screams of being different for the sake of being different. Kind of like bedazzling Disco Stu on the back of your jean jacket. ... View more

LALALALA!! I'm not listening! Nor was that also shouting inside my head. I am hopeful some other savvy shopper grabbed them. I would be unhappy knowing they went to the crusher. ... View more

There's a junkyard about an hour from me that does a good job photo graphing the new cars as they come in. I check it just about every day to see what they've got. I also enjoy looking at wrecked cars trying to piece together what probably happened. I also search for: 2005-2009 Subaru Legacy and Outback 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO - of which I have never seen any at any you-pull 2003-2008 BMW Z4 2001-2005 Lexus IS300 Cadillac Caterra (uses the same door handles as the GTO but they were made of metal instead of the plastic of the GTO which is prone to severe paint flaking) One time last year I nearly jumped in my car and drove to strip a 2009 Scion tC. It was the RS 5.0 model which had TRD parts and red insert seats. I would have gotten everything off of it despite the fact that I haven't owned a Scion tC since 2010. But, having owned one I knew the parts that are the most valuable and hard to find. And what if I decided to get another tC? I could put all those parts on it and make my own TRD tC. I managed to talk myself out of it by convincing myself that junkyard prices have gone way up recently and I really don't have the space to store them - what with a pair of seats from my previously owned tC still sitting in my garage today. Last month I made a trip looking for an overhead console to replace in my 2007 Legacy GT wagon because a common faulty solder joint in it causes an airbag light to come on intermittently. They had 5 Legacies and Outbacks of the generation but no 2007s. That was when I learned that the 2007 console was a 1 year only part and did not work with the other years there. I left empty handed. ... View more

Thanks for the reply. Actually, the majority of the fumes, at least the ones the first night that actually got into the house, were from the gas leaking out the filler neck. I plugged that up (again) and the smell wasn't as bad and is at least contained to the garage. The last time this happened I dropped the tank and re-sealed the sender. And the first time I filled up the new tank the sender popped out the top and leaked gas all over the ground. As I said, there have been many woes. But, that's just with the gas tank. Don't get me started on the rest of the car after 28 years of devotion. Sajeev has actually helped me out with a few of the others over the years. ... View more

I'm actually having a similar issue with my '67. I replaced the whole fuel system a few years ago and the gauge doesn't seem to go above 3/4. But, when I first did it, it did work. I won't go into all the woes of the fuel system since then, but let's just say I drove it for the first time in a few months on Friday, stopped and got gas, and now my garage reeks of gas fumes. Thus is the life. ... View more

As always, loving the VV, thank you for taking the time to do this. I will agree that the front end needs the black paint. But I abide by the body colored hood scoop and especially the body colored rear end. I think with the stock bumper in place it would look perfect. While not a fan of this car, or Sonnetts in general, I have always had an affection for Saab and its total DGAF weirdness. ... View more

Why do I get the sense that after writing this article Sajeev will have a follow-up piece about how he somehow managed to find an ultra rare NOS Valentino tape stripe kit for the Lincoln? ... View more

I went to the Dulles, VA Legends Tour event in 2018 and my take away was, at that time, it wasn't really organized. The parking lot was packed with cars, many struggling to find somewhere to park. Lines for the giveaway car (at that time the green Datsun 510 wagon) and the vending machines were never ending and wound around without any sort of guidance, and ended up in the vehicle travel lane. I stayed for about 20 minutes and headed out. I have to think things have improved. I'd love for it to come back around, if nothing else it provides casual afternoon of seeing really impressive cars. ... View more

What?? You were wr-wr-wr-wrong? How can I trust any of the advice you gave me now? Well, back to inflating my tires to the maximum sidewall PSI then. And when Sanjeev arrives to give advice, you know it's time to increase your agreed value insurance policy amount and roll that thing off a cliff. It's over. ... View more

Of the 5 cars in our possession, 3 are pull up, 1 has a push button below the permanently affixed pull handle, and 1 pull out style. Here's the breakdown: 3 - 2006, 2006, 2007 1 - 1967 1 - 2018 While I much prefer the look of the pull up, flush handles, I don't especially love when they get frozen in the winter. I also think they require stronger plastic so as not to shatter in your hand while pulling. Ever notice how late '90s Eclipses and Sebrings all seem to have black unpainted handles? There's a story there about how the owner went to get into the car and the handle flap went flying without warning one day. It happened to me with my 2000 Sebring LXi coupe. It happened to all of them. ... View more

Nope, no nostalgia for this car from me. Though I never experienced on first hand, I saw plenty on the road. They all seemed to disappear en mass right around 1995 or so. Though I too think I saw more Novas than Corollas in my town. I desperately love how 1980s Motorweek describes the cars designed with a straight edge and a pencil as aerodynamic though. The subsequent generation was, in my mind, where Toyota ignited the rocket engines. The seventh generation put them into orbit. ... View more

Nothing more to add here. The nicest I can put this car is a cynical cash grab by the manufacturer and a misguided vanity purchase by the buyer. ... View more

Your mention of the squinty headlights struck me and made me recall how much I hated the trend in the early 2000s of cars with exaggerated headlights; eg. the Lexus ES, Porsche 996, MR2 Spyder etc. It makes me glad to see squinty headlights making a comeback. I must admit, I don't "get" the prancing horse emblem sticking up. Reminds me of a hood ornament which went out of fashion well before Mercedes stopped putting them on their cars. ... View more

"...contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and even premature death especially among the vulnerable: children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions.” It's COVID all over again! RUN! I went against your advice and looked up Stevens-Johnson Syndrome but I didn't go looking for images - I'll trust you at least on that. It sounds rather unpleasant, to say the least, and I certainly hope you are recovering/recovered. It says that as few as 20,000 people will get it per year, which as we've also learned from some cars in the past, rare does not always mean valuable. And for what it's worth, PFAS will probably kill us all before the GDI particulates will. Hope that Scotchguard you opted for in that 1988 Dodge Aries was worth it! ... View more

My girlfriend's manual PMYellow Neon SXT kept pace with my '99 Dakota R/T when I tried to show her how fast my truck was one night. I never tried that move again. Already at $12.5k now so too rich for me. I wonder how long the mufflers lasted on road-going models if this one is that rusty after 68 miles. ... View more

Oh my, someone please fetch my fainting chair! ... View more

Wait - $3,000 adjusted for inflation or $3,000 in 1985??? ... View more

This is very interesting to me. So much so that back in 2014 when I had my work-provided Chevy Cobalt replaced with a then totally new Colorado I did a similar comparison. I was one of the first people in the company to get one and it was the first one I had seen in person as they were just hitting showrooms. I parked it between an old Colorado and couple years old Silverado and took pictures. And as I recall, I actually posted them in the TTAC blog that totally existed back then, even if I was the only person who ever used it. The new Colorado was not as dramatically bigger than the old like the Ranger appears. But, to my eyes, the old one was actually wider than the new. I don't have the measurements to back that up though. Not sure if I can post links to images here, but I will try anyway. Hopefully this doesn't show up a bunch of times as I try. https://i.imgur.com/LzXYywb.jpg https://i.imgur.com/T5dV7xu.jpg ... View more

I'm a Lexus fanboy and I am excited for the IS500. But I don't need to see it every time I read an article about every car. Fortunately it's muted by default and doesn't pop up a little video window when you scroll past it. But... that's enough now. ... View more

I'll do one better, I'll link to an old Piston Slap Sajeev answered for me a few years ago: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/08/piston-slap-land-arks-radial-tire-bias/ ... View more

Those are impressive numbers! That car would now shock anything on the road at the time it was built. 390 HP seems like a really good amount for that car. Enough to get it going but not too much where it becomes difficult to drive and dangerous to get on when desired. I've thought about getting EFI as trying to start my car with people around usually ends in embarrassment. It used to only be cold starts that we take a few tries and pumping, but since I got it back on the road last year hot starts are also a struggle. ... View more

Yup, the D4 had a "place" for the license plate. Difficult to explain but it makes sense with all the work the designers did around it. The new on is just off center followed by a shrug from the design team. My 1997 Audi A6 (worst car ever) had a much smaller passenger exterior mirror than the driver side. I never really understood the reasoning for that asymmetry. I kind of get it, but... seems kind of silly for 2 inches of space savings. ... View more

I'm very excited for you! You can do it right or you can do it cheap. And if you aren't going to do it right, why are you doing it? By the way, it'll never be "done." Ask me how I know. ... View more

Thank you as always Sajeev! I suspect this one was one of the easiest for you as it was likely a labor of love. I really dig how the mirrors match the grill, that's something I'd never noticed before. Sometime around 1998 I was getting the Land Ark's annual inspection done and the guy at the shop told me he wasn't going to pass me unless I put amber bulbs behind the front marker lights. Like this car, mine came with running lights next to the headlights on the corners of the fenders. Mine are opaque and almost an ivory color. When lit up they are sort of yellow-ish owing to the incandescent bulb behind it. I pointed out that everything was how it left the factory but this was the time when putting clear corner lights on cars started becoming popular and he was certain I had done that - to a 1967 Impala. The covers at that time were unobtanium, let alone available on the aftermarket in altered form. He took them apart to get the bulb size to replace them with amber and after a few minutes of searching he had to concede that no one made amber bulbs in that size. He probably also noticed that the trim around them had not been removed for a very long time and he put it back together and sent me on my way with a passed inspection. ... View more

There's a mall pizza joint joke in here somewhere but I just can't come up with it. How about, How much for a slice of pepperoni? $395!? I dunno. Man, that overhang is outrageous! And a $55k car in the early '80s was probably possible but it would have to be bespoke. Basing it off a Cadillac, especially one that was itself a compromise was doomed from the start. Has there ever been a successful car that was based on a car built or designed by a major manufacturer? I'm thinking like Excalibur, Tesla Roadster, or Fiat 124 Spider - not in-house badge engineering or Gladiator vans that are sold on the original manufacturer's lot. Others would be the original Honda Passport and Sterling 800 Series. ... View more

That's another first for me. I had no idea power dropping vent windows existed. Which strikes me as curious since I always thought the benefit of vent windows was that you could aim it where you wanted it to. I was born in '78 so vent windows were all but gone when I reached the age to be interested in cars. Though oddly my first car, the Land Ark, possessed(s) them - and that means I've never not had vent windows in my fleet.   I have to say, I am starting to get really excited for you. I know you have a long way to go but getting past paint is a huge step. Every time I see a pre 2000 Lincoln now I think of you. There's an 87 Conti for sale on my local Craigslist. It apparently ran when parked - so it's got that going for it. ... View more

I've definitely been there, my friend - many times. The one that I think about the most is the FD RX7 that someone drove 300 miles up to my house to trade for my very low mile Dakota R/T. I believe the FD is the best designed car of my lifetime and I would love to have one just to look at. He was ready to make the trade if i put a couple grand on top of the trade which would have placed it in the $12k range. But, it's a Wankle. And being as such, it leaked oil pretty severely. Also, if you turned on the A/C, it would die. I did a quick search of the symptoms and everything pointed to a complete overhaul of the engine being needed. But, still, I was running the math in my head. Evidently there is (was?) a renown rotary shop within a reasonable distance from me. Or, less appealing to me, I could do a motor swap to something less failure prone. We stood in my driveway and I hemmed and hawed. Finally, after catching a glimpse of the title and seeing the name of someone other than the guy I was talking to on it, I finally handed him $100 for gas and his trouble and sent him on his way home. ... View more

I still hold a soft spot in my heart for the Millenia - specifically the S. Hindsight being was it is it is likely very fortunate the 2000 Millennium Edition I test drove at a fly-by-night BHPH lot in 2003 was just a touch out of my price range. I might have been able to scrape the payments together each month but if something went wrong I would have been in trouble. I still think it's a beautiful car and the ME had microfiber-type seats that I really liked. The refresh in 2001 made it look cheaper and sort of ruined the unique look I liked so much.   Efini would have had a tough go of it in the US since they were FWD. Acura never seemed to be the equal to Lexus or Mercedes, not that they were necessarily trying to be, but I suspect the prices for the Efinis would have been a tough pill to swallow for buyers. ... View more

Great as always. I'm not a Corvette guy so I've never really examined the C7. This is the closest I'll probably get and some of the details while puzzling nevertheless make a whole that, if nothing else, is interesting to look at. The black A pillar thing doesn't work for me, on any car. My Legacy wagon has no D pillar which is supposed to make it look like it has a floating roof. For some reason it works for me on the back, but not on the front like this, the GTR, and the Scion tC. My wagon hides the pillar behind the glass. When it's in the front it looks like you have a black painted A pillar. And of course, I can never miss the chance to complain about black wheels. These are really attractive designed wheels, it's a shame they are hidden. But, maybe they wouldn't have the same directional look in silver. ... View more

Some interesting comparisons for sure and odd how some turned out.   I can't believe you missed the most obvious comparison though. My first thought went to whether the Silhouette or TranSport would fetch more on the open market. I know people have been stashing them away for years waiting for the right time to list them on BaT. ... View more

Thank you as always for taking the time for my favorite column.   And that's not a leaf, that's mf-ing helicopter. My neighbor has a tree that showers the cars in my driveway in them every spring. They get absolutely everywhere, which I must quietly admire since that's exactly what they should do, but one day I will have a tree grow out of my fender as they collect and trap water in the drain area.   As a certified unwashed plebe, I was never impressed by the Maybach and some of the details you show are a little unnerving thinking about what this car cost new. Were I to be in the position to afford such an automobile (or train, as it were) I wouldn't consider it simply because it doesn't have show stopping presence. It looks like a Benz.   Also, for a 2020 faux-baller in the market for a luxury ride on a Best Buy car stereo installation manager budget, what advantage does this offer over other similarly priced high end used cars? Which brings me to the ultimate horror of super-expensive luxury car ownership - not the eye watering normal service costs, not the Ivy annual tuition levels of depreciation, or the average new car MSRP failed component replacement costs - it's that my car has become laughably out of date with less fancy technology in it than a 2 year old Kia Forte. The most comfort and quietness will only go so far if I have to have a Case Logic 136 CD binder in the back seat.   One last thing, on the photo facing the hood ornament from the driver's door mirror - does the hood line really transition to almost touch the fender? Or is that just an illusion from the angle you're standing? ... View more

I just went and looked, mine is a KDC-X792 https://www.crutchfield.com/S-0dpq8wPlKm3/p_113KDCX792/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X792.html I have built a custom setup in the glovebox so I could put a factory AM radio in place - which replaced the Kenwood tape deck I had installed in 1994 - which replaced the original AM radio. The new one has 1 USB which I ran to the slide out ashtray just below the radio and for a while I had an MP3 player connected to it. But each time I started the car it would start on the same track and I'd have to go into the glovebox and hit random since it sits with the battery disconnected most of the time. The struggle is real. I'm happy with it and realistically as long as I was able to get Bluetooth to work, it's more than adequate - especially since no one ever sees it. I'm just surprised that overall the looks of the units hasn't changed. I remember a few years back you could get one with a mini LCD display - think 2.5" TV. That seems to have been abandoned and overall only features have been added. But what I'm really excited about is figuring out how to reinstall my ultra '90s HiPhonics Olympian Series II 12" subs and Profile 4x400 California amp. The original way of bungee cording it to the car just doesn't suit me anymore. Especially since after every tight turn I'd have to go slide it back in place and plug it back in. ... View more

My contribution would be to add Kia Souls were (are?) available with Beats speakers and I recall that when I was looking at Suzuki Kizashis I noted that the upgraded stereo was branded Rockford Fosgate. And while RF is fine, it certainly doesn't provide the panache of some of the higher end offerings. Though I think I'd prefer it over Fender - who I appreciate for making my Strat, but I didn't think they made audio equipment.   I recently went looking for a replacement for my approximately decade old Kenwood Excelon single din head unit and I was really disappointed by what is available. It's as if development of the units stopped in 2008. The displays are no different with the blocky digital letters/numbers. I ended up getting a USB Bluetooth receiver and kept my old unit. ... View more

It really is a shame about the Cobalt, I think one day there will be a nostalgic market for them similar to the current Japanese car craze. I don't know when that will happen but that one was the right version (turbo) with the right color and option. I think they look best in black because it hides some of the... less fortunate stylings of the Cobalt. One thing I can say is from my experience with Cobalts at work, I had to replace the turn signal bulbs after roughly every 300 miles of driving. I don't know what it was about the front signals, they weren't the DRLs. The fleet cars were lightly driven but it seemed like every 3rd time I got behind the wheel, fast blink! It drove me nuts. You have to take the headlight assembly out to replace it and it always seemed to happen about 3/4 of the way to my destination or when I was running late for a meeting. And I had to take it to the mechanic to fix it - like a regular person!   I see the Lincoln is coming along... well, it doesn't seem to be coming along. But I am not one to judge as my car was sidelined for over 3 years because a gremlin got into it and crossed 2 plug wires - but I digress. You're going to have to have someone make those stripes for you, unfortunately. But luckily, you still have the originals to color sample. The bigger challenge will be the interior unless you are just planning to clean up the seats and keep them. What you've done so far is amazing. I'd be half tempted to put the body panels back on, wash it, and rock it. Rest assured though, once done you'll be king of the "I don't get it but I love it" guys at Cars and Coffee. ... View more

Because of the cool reception it seemed to be getting I was thinking they'd take it back and make some changes. But I think you've pretty well convinced me this is probably what it'll be. Minus the passenger screen and Sable-light bar in front. It's worth remembering the last gen Wagoneer was yesterday's technology at today's prices. It was practically agricultural compared to other vehicles at the time. Very Range Rover-esq in that sense. So that this new one seems underwhelming and overpriced is on brand for the Wagoneer name.   I have a mild obsession with noticing modern cars with body-colored b-pillars. Toyota seemed to be the last real holdout on a few vehicles until fairly recently. ... View more

Definitely some questionable details. Most of all the lower front fender / rocker area. If only that photo was given there's no chance I would have thought that was on a $100+ car. Truly, as you mentioned, it shows that someone could build  car that looks like this for a much more affordable price.   Thanks as always for taking the time to put this together. VV always shocks me how intensely interesting tiny details you spot can be. ... View more