Your vehicle: what do you have, why do you like it, and what do you not like?

lesmore49 · 06-25-2021, 04:53 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Canada_Rockies

My unusual was a 1958 Mercedes 220S with four on the column. Technically the pattern was an H with reverse offset toward the wheel, but it shifted most like an X. The manual's city driving suggestion was 0-50 km/h in 1st and the drop it into 4th. The reverse gate was neat for tailgaters: the backup lights came on on the gate.

I remember these Mercedes's 4 speed on the 'tree'. I got a ride back in the early '60's in a Mercedes and I recall the driver shifting.

Back in the mid 1950's, I believe it was...one our our neighbours, an older English gentleman (this was the Canadian prairies) had base Mercedes sedan with a diesel engine. I recall he and his wife went for a long trip to Alaska and back, with little issue, he related.

**ChrisPlatt** · 07-01-2021, 04:51 AM - **1 Like**

My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new.
At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy.

My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker".

It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column.
She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout.

Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle.
I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999.
The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php

Chris

lesmore49 · 07-01-2021, 10:26 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new.
At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy.

My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker".

It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column.
She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout.

Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle.
I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999.
The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php

.
Chris

I bought a salesman's demo '69 VW Beetle Deluxe in 1969. It had 6000 miles on it and it was a great car, that I kept for a bit over a year. I put 20,000 plus mile on in that time and being a young guy really drove the heck out of it. Two problems ...the synchromesh on 2nd gear and the steering damper went...both fixed under warranty.

It really went quite well , a bit faster than published reports in road tests of the time. I took it to the drag strip and the Chrondek clocks timed it at 19.4 seconds@ 68.5 mph. Top speed in the manual was listed at 81, but mine got to an indicated on the speedo at around 88 mph....93 mph on a long down hill mountain road.

Now speedos for indicating top speed, could always be out back in those days, but the 1/4 mile times were accurate as they were timed by certified NHRA Chrondek timing .
equipment.

It was a great little car, handled better than my earlier VW's, made more power in it's larger 1500 cc's and had a gas heater which kept everything toast in -30 winter

timb64 · 07-01-2021, 01:13 PM - **4 Likes**

I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon.

lesmore49 · 07-01-2021, 10:12 PM

Originally posted by timb64

I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon.

What a nice looking motorhome. Don't know if you can camp where it is (I'm not familiar with UK camping rules and regs)...but what a scenic panorama if you can.

timb64 · 07-02-2021, 01:35 AM

Originally posted by lesmore49

What a nice looking motorhome. Don't know if you can camp where it is (I'm not familiar with UK camping rules and regs)...but what a scenic panorama if you can.

Unfortunately we couldn’t camp there,”free camping” rules in the UK are very restrictive,but we used it as a day van from which to spend a great day on the beach

We were camping about a mile and a half away but the road to the beach from the site was down a 23% gradient and having walked back up it once we decided we could tick that off the list as an experience!!

**microlight** · 07-02-2021, 07:50 AM

Nice, Tim! We rented a motorhome for a trip up to Scotland ... before the pandemic. Great fun. We also rented one on New Zealand's south island; what a great experience that was.

ChristianRock · 07-02-2021, 12:43 PM

A 2007 Jetta. It's leaking oil from the engine, I'll take it to my mechanic next week to see if he can fix it. Hopefully he can because I wasn't planning on getting a new car anytime soon... it does what it's supposed to do and is good enough on gas mileage.

**blues_hawk** · 07-02-2021, 01:27 PM - **2 Likes**

This is Kitsune* My 2004 Honda civic ex. She's the newest car I ever bought, and I had to do a head gasket on her almost immediately(actually was an egr/thermostat housing issue), but she's since put in about 65 thousand hard mountain miles in varying terrain doing everything from a 40 minute work commute to busting mountain passes(touge) and about a brazillion photo stops. I decided not to push the engine when I put her back together considering honda had already squeezed a whopping 130hp out of the little 1700(also D series has weak rods) So the only mods I've done have been Eibach stabilizer bars to help with body roll and tire wear, michelin defenders and built a decent Alpine bluetooth stereo with better hidden drivers and a couple 10inch woofers plank mounted behind the back seat.
She's been the most fun I've had in a car since my 20's in the MG midget and about 10,000x more reliable.
Why she? why Kitsune? She has a habit of locking me out right when I go to enter, angrily never lets me leave the lights on, as well as letting me know that I actually have a car alarm in full on Chitty Chitty bang bang fashion... while washing the left front wheel. MEEEPMEEPMEEPMEEP! ...tried to open the door ...nope you get locked out now..clack. fu dude. Things like that show you who's really boss in a relationship. Apparently my pocketknife had pinched the recessed alarm slot on the key fob. : D

*(Kitsune is also Japanese trickster god that comes in the form of a fox)

That is "Pentax the red" in behind the car doing a timelapse of an eclipse that never showed itself, my K50. :P

**AgentL** · 07-02-2021, 02:11 PM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new.
At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy.

My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker".

It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column.
She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout.

Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle.
I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999.
The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php

Chris

Weren't they the first unibody car? Nonetheless I believe they were well-regarded as cheap and spartan cars. I looked into buying and restoring one as it was available very inexpensively, but ultimately knew I did not have the time for it.

**wtlwdwgn** · 07-02-2021, 06:45 PM - **2 Likes**

It gets me where I want to go and doesn't complain much.

**AgentL** · 07-04-2021, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by timb64

I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon.

That looks a near-perfect size!

timb64 · 07-04-2021, 02:30 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by AgentL

That looks a near-perfect size!

It fits on the driveway in front of my house,which was a major consideration!

**wtlwdwgn** · 07-04-2021, 03:45 PM - **2 Likes**

I hope I'm not offending anyone but I think the recent Mercedes and BMW designers went to the Ugly School of Car Design.

**Just1MoreDave** · 07-04-2021, 05:11 PM

Originally posted by wtlwdwgn

I hope I'm not offending anyone but I think the recent Mercedes and BMW designers went to the Ugly School of Car Design.

It is like they all recently worked on full-size US pickups and decided the Maximum Grille look would translate to cars. They make some recent ugly Lexus designs look OK.

I am on my pandemic road trip at the moment, so my current complaint about my 2002 Nissan Frontier is the highway gas mileage. I get about 250 miles until the needle falls to 1/4, something like 18-19mpg.

07-01-2021, 04:51 AM - 1 Like	#2417
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,694	Times sure have changed My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new. At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy. My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker". It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column. She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout. Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle. I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999. The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php Chris Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 07-01-2021 at 06:33 AM.

07-02-2021, 01:27 PM - 2 Likes	#2424
blues_hawk Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Patrick Co. Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,534	Her civic duty This is Kitsune* My 2004 Honda civic ex. She's the newest car I ever bought, and I had to do a head gasket on her almost immediately(actually was an egr/thermostat housing issue), but she's since put in about 65 thousand hard mountain miles in varying terrain doing everything from a 40 minute work commute to busting mountain passes(touge) and about a brazillion photo stops. I decided not to push the engine when I put her back together considering honda had already squeezed a whopping 130hp out of the little 1700(also D series has weak rods) So the only mods I've done have been Eibach stabilizer bars to help with body roll and tire wear, michelin defenders and built a decent Alpine bluetooth stereo with better hidden drivers and a couple 10inch woofers plank mounted behind the back seat. She's been the most fun I've had in a car since my 20's in the MG midget and about 10,000x more reliable. Why she? why Kitsune? She has a habit of locking me out right when I go to enter, angrily never lets me leave the lights on, as well as letting me know that I actually have a car alarm in full on Chitty Chitty bang bang fashion... while washing the left front wheel. MEEEPMEEPMEEPMEEP! ...tried to open the door ...nope you get locked out now..clack. fu dude. Things like that show you who's really boss in a relationship. Apparently my pocketknife had pinched the recessed alarm slot on the key fob. : D *(Kitsune is also Japanese trickster god that comes in the form of a fox) That is "Pentax the red" in behind the car doing a timelapse of an eclipse that never showed itself, my K50. :P

07-02-2021, 06:45 PM - 2 Likes	#2426
wtlwdwgn Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Billings, MT Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,845	It gets me where I want to go and doesn't complain much. Last edited by wtlwdwgn; 07-03-2021 at 10:34 AM.

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06-25-2021, 04:53 PM - 1 Like	#2416
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,343	Originally posted by Canada_Rockies My unusual was a 1958 Mercedes 220S with four on the column. Technically the pattern was an H with reverse offset toward the wheel, but it shifted most like an X. The manual's city driving suggestion was 0-50 km/h in 1st and the drop it into 4th. The reverse gate was neat for tailgaters: the backup lights came on on the gate. I remember these Mercedes's 4 speed on the 'tree'. I got a ride back in the early '60's in a Mercedes and I recall the driver shifting. Back in the mid 1950's, I believe it was...one our our neighbours, an older English gentleman (this was the Canadian prairies) had base Mercedes sedan with a diesel engine. I recall he and his wife went for a long trip to Alaska and back, with little issue, he related.

07-01-2021, 10:26 AM - 1 Like	#2418
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,343	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new. At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy. My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker". It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column. She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout. Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle. I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999. The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php . Chris I bought a salesman's demo '69 VW Beetle Deluxe in 1969. It had 6000 miles on it and it was a great car, that I kept for a bit over a year. I put 20,000 plus mile on in that time and being a young guy really drove the heck out of it. Two problems ...the synchromesh on 2nd gear and the steering damper went...both fixed under warranty. It really went quite well , a bit faster than published reports in road tests of the time. I took it to the drag strip and the Chrondek clocks timed it at 19.4 seconds@ 68.5 mph. Top speed in the manual was listed at 81, but mine got to an indicated on the speedo at around 88 mph....93 mph on a long down hill mountain road. Now speedos for indicating top speed, could always be out back in those days, but the 1/4 mile times were accurate as they were timed by certified NHRA Chrondek timing . equipment. It was a great little car, handled better than my earlier VW's, made more power in it's larger 1500 cc's and had a gas heater which kept everything toast in -30 winter

07-01-2021, 01:13 PM - 4 Likes	#2419
timb64 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: /Situation : Doing my best to avoid idiots! Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,510	I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon.

07-01-2021, 10:12 PM	#2420
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,343	Originally posted by timb64 I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon. What a nice looking motorhome. Don't know if you can camp where it is (I'm not familiar with UK camping rules and regs)...but what a scenic panorama if you can.

07-02-2021, 01:35 AM	#2421
timb64 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: /Situation : Doing my best to avoid idiots! Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,510	Originally posted by lesmore49 What a nice looking motorhome. Don't know if you can camp where it is (I'm not familiar with UK camping rules and regs)...but what a scenic panorama if you can. Unfortunately we couldn’t camp there,”free camping” rules in the UK are very restrictive,but we used it as a day van from which to spend a great day on the beach We were camping about a mile and a half away but the road to the beach from the site was down a 23% gradient and having walked back up it once we decided we could tick that off the list as an experience!!

07-02-2021, 07:50 AM	#2422
microlight Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,129	Nice, Tim! We rented a motorhome for a trip up to Scotland ... before the pandemic. Great fun. We also rented one on New Zealand's south island; what a great experience that was.

07-02-2021, 12:43 PM	#2423
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,910	A 2007 Jetta. It's leaking oil from the engine, I'll take it to my mechanic next week to see if he can fix it. Hopefully he can because I wasn't planning on getting a new car anytime soon... it does what it's supposed to do and is good enough on gas mileage.

07-02-2021, 02:11 PM	#2425
AgentL Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Seattle Photos: Albums Posts: 1,756	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt My mom had a '69 Rambler (American Motors) American, bought brand new. At the time she said it was the cheapest brand new car she could buy. My sisters called it "El Cheapo". Our earlier 1959 Plymouth Savoy was "The Clunker". It had a straight six, no power anything and three speed manual shifter on the column. She drove it every day to commute to work. Driving it must have been a real workout. Just prior to my parents divorce my father bought a brand new 1969 VW Beetle. I remember there was some dispute over the price, widely advertised then as $1999. The dealer tried to tack on an extra $40 for undercoating. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/dealers/weisvw_queensvillage_ny.php Chris Weren't they the first unibody car? Nonetheless I believe they were well-regarded as cheap and spartan cars. I looked into buying and restoring one as it was available very inexpensively, but ultimately knew I did not have the time for it.

07-04-2021, 10:43 AM	#2427
AgentL Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Seattle Photos: Albums Posts: 1,756	Originally posted by timb64 I’ve had the graphics updated on my motorhome (RV) and I’m enjoying a break away in Devon. That looks a near-perfect size!

07-04-2021, 02:30 PM - 1 Like	#2428
timb64 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: /Situation : Doing my best to avoid idiots! Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,510	Originally posted by AgentL That looks a near-perfect size! It fits on the driveway in front of my house,which was a major consideration!

07-04-2021, 03:45 PM - 2 Likes	#2429
wtlwdwgn Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Billings, MT Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,845	I hope I'm not offending anyone but I think the recent Mercedes and BMW designers went to the Ugly School of Car Design.

07-04-2021, 05:11 PM	#2430
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	Originally posted by wtlwdwgn I hope I'm not offending anyone but I think the recent Mercedes and BMW designers went to the Ugly School of Car Design. It is like they all recently worked on full-size US pickups and decided the Maximum Grille look would translate to cars. They make some recent ugly Lexus designs look OK. I am on my pandemic road trip at the moment, so my current complaint about my 2002 Nissan Frontier is the highway gas mileage. I get about 250 miles until the needle falls to 1/4, something like 18-19mpg.