Car Talk
 

Talk about your cars. Or other cars.

I never had a sunroof before. Now I don't think I can live without it.

Man, I don't want to deal with the leaks. I wouldn't mind a removable hard top though.

I don't think I'd like a sunroof, but I also never ever put the windows down, and I'd never convert a convertible, so it's probably just not for me.

I like a convertible whose top I never actually have to use. Parked in a garage with the top down, only driven in nice weather. :science:

Incidentally, pulled mine out for the first time of the season today. Woot.

My only quibble with Agnes is the lack of a sunroof--I had one on my Cavalier Z24 and I didn't think I'd learn to love it as much as I did. It's nice being able to get air circulation without having it turn your hair to a rat's nest or have one ear unable to hear the stereo. I'm not a big fan of ragtops but I definitely like the sunroof.

I STILL miss my sunroof, but it was not an option, alas. I haven't had one in over a decade, but maybe I will again, someday.

I absolutely LOVE my Ford C-Max. Yes, it does have less room to haul stuff than a Prius, but I don't care. I'm averaging 46mpg. :thumbs:

I bought a mom car a couple of months ago. Overall, it is pretty zippy and doesn't feel as large as it is. Maybe the new car smell is doing a number on my head but I really like my Pilot. This is from someone who chose smaller, sportier, manual cars up until now.

I just spent the last month working in South Carolina, so I had rental cars for my two trips down there. My first was a Hyundai Santa Fe and I really quite liked it. Roomy, pretty easy to see out of, comfortable and zippy enough to get on the freeway in a reasonable fashion.

On my second 2 week trip, National was practically out of cars and I grabbed a Jeep Patriot as it came into the lot from returns. I was highly underwhelmed by it. Not terribly comfortable, tough to see out of, and the engine performance was anemic at best. The transmission seemed to take forever to shift and I always felt I was about to get rear ended when I pulled out in traffic. Or away from a red light for that matter. The gas mileage was a lot worse, too. The Hyundai was getting above 26 and the Jeep only got 17 mpg driving all of the same routes. It did have plenty of room, though. I could sit in while wearing a hardhat, and I couldn't do that in the Santa Fe.

I love my convertible! This is the second one I've owned. The first was a 1992 black Celica convertible. By 2004 it was beginning to have problems, so my husband talked me into a 2000 Corvette convertible. It only comes out of the garage when the weather is perfect, and by perfect, I mean anytime it isn't raining, snowing or slippery. It can be 20 degrees, if it's sunny, I have clothes.

Some of those Jeeps have a continuously variable transmission, which basically means it doesn't actually ever shift at all in the traditional sense, it just changes gear ratios as it goes along. I bet those do feel pretty weird if you're used to a normal automatic transmission.

My van didn't come with a sunroof, but I own a sawsall. Now I've got a thermostaticly controlled fan that'll keep out rain even while open and running. Lets in lots of light and has a screen to keep out bugs. It's more than ten degrees cooler in my van than outside while parked in full sunlight. It'll get even better when I shade the roof with solar panels.

No, this was a pretty standard 6 speed slushbox. It had just been tuned to the octogenarian setting.
I'm sure it contributed to the beast getting all the way up to 17 mpg. The engine was severely undersized for a vehicle weighing that much.

Nice! I've thought about doing something similar using solar panels and the regular heater fan. Just to draw fresh air through while it's roasting in the sun.

Rentals aren't known for being fun and peppy--if they are it leads to big trouble and expense for the rental company. :innocent: Although Hertz had those drastically overpowered Shelby Mustangs with the black/gold paint schemes back in the day, I bet few of those made it out of the rental market unscathed.

The CJ5, now that was a rig. 304 V8, stick shift, 4 inches of lift, simple as dirt.. Good thing it comes with a roll bar.

Glazer, I wouldn't mind seeing photos. or drawings.

because it sounds interesting! :p

I've got the white one to match my van. But no remote. That cost a hundred bucks extra and I don't need it. Just set the thermostat and leave it alone. It runs whether the van is running or not.



And I cleaned those stupid stickers off. I did a much better job caulking it than whoever did that one in the video.

I think she meant pics of the van - at least I hope she did, because I'd like to see it my self.

I have a sunroof in the Highlander. It has an interior hard cover, so I can close it when it's scorching. It opens, or tips up the back edge for airflow. I notice that when it's hot out, I really don't like the sun beating down on me, even if I can have the air.

OK, my feeling on sunroofs will change if there is leaking.

I once owned a Triumph that had no top, just a leather cover that snapped to the chassis when not in use. Fun to drive, but PITA to care for. I sold it to my brother for a song, and now he drives around Albuquerque with it.

I still love my 2016 Spark. I'm getting over 30 miles per gallon in the city, I've seen the display read as high as 30.7 and this is all city driving. I don't even use the freeways if I can help it. No sun roof, no removable top, but with the manual transmission it can be zippy if I get the RPMs out of the comfortable 2k-3k range. It's baby blue, an unusual color makes it easy to find in a parking lot. I've only put stickers on glass so far, but anyone behind me knows I'm a roller derby fan. I've also put my first scuff on it, backing into the driveway. I've put less than a thousand miles on it so far, I only drive two days, most weeks.

I wish I had pics of my bil's van that he drove from the Oregon coast to Alaska. It was an old delivery van from the 70s that had the top of a VW squareback mounted on it as a sunroof.

I drive a manual Yaris and it gets ~44 mpg out on the highway. I found the trunk to be positively massive for such a small vehicle.

I do miss my convertible. The only vehicle that I've had with a sunroof got turned into one with a skylight when it began to leak. I would have to get a really good deal to ever go back to one.

I should really break down and actually buy a car now that I live in the suburbs but I don't want to. So far my girlfriend's car has been sufficient when it's too lousy to take out the bike and/or I've got to carry a bunch of stuff.

We've toyed with the idea of getting a zippy little convertible for good weather pleasure driving. Something used and plan on replacing the top first thing. Probably not in the immediate future, but maybe someday.

I guess I've had my fill of convertibles, after my experiences with the Triumph. For this area (PNW), there are not as many "good driving days" to enjoy with the top down or off. A sunroof is a more practical application.

I drove a ragtop jeep in Seattle for five years, and several different street bikes before that. The romance of the wind in my hair has long since worn off.


All your stuff and your tools too? I guess that's your senior project on a Master of Packing degree.

We get 270 days of sunshine a year, but sometimes it's pretty cold. </Humblebrag>

I keep my tools in my work truck. I can fit them in the van but plan on getting a small trailer for them. I don't have much stuff. And the back of my van is 6'6" X 6' X 16'.

Along with your hair? :driveby:

My first car was a convertible. Loved that stupid car.

No, but it did lead to a rather oogy experience. Coming back from a day trip with my girlfriend, I kept feeling like there was a bit of sand in my eye. But we were almost home so it wasn't worth pulling over.

When I got a good look in the bathroom mirror I could see there was a bit of hair in my eye. No biggie, I dabbed it out and got ahold of one end. But when I pulled it out it kept pulling out until it was almost a foot and a half long. It was my girlfriend's hair, and the wind had somehow whipped it into my eye and then wrapped multiple times all the way around the eye. It felt like my eyeball was going to pop out before I finally got to the end of it. Needless to say, an extra pair of sunglasses was stationed in the jeep that day.


That's some elbow room.

Mechanics used to joke that those were the easiest cars to work on because when you needed to get under them you just tell 'em to roll over.

Next time I have an attack of the stupids and want a toy car, it'll probably be one of these. It's zippy enough to be fun but parts are a dozen in a dime bag and any mechanic will be able to work on it. Probably last longer than I will. :lawn:

What say we add some go to the show.

My car is a pickup. A 2008 Chevy Colorado 4-door with matching topper, 4WD, air, power windows and seats, cruise control, sprayed bed liner, and OnStar. I love my pickup. I even got Saddleman saddle blanket seat covers for it.

Shit, that looks just about perfect. There's a 2000 model year on eBay for $15.5 that isn't moving, so actual price looks to be under that. And damn, do they look like fun.

Yeah, the gearheads were queefing themselves when those little suckers came out. The neutral weight distribution gives them the handling of the gods and there's a lotta horsepower and torque for a very lightweight vehicle. They're holding their value super well, too, since they stopped making them in 2009.

What you need now are a some awesome WeatherTech floor mats! :thumbs:

My current "car" is a 2008 Toyota Tacoma, 2 WD, 5 speed manual transmission, 4-cylinder engine, with power windows, A/C, cruise control, etc.

It also has just over 222,000 original owner miles on it and hasn't needed anything other than regular oil changes, a couple of batteries, one brake job, one new set of spark plugs and 5 sets of tires. A few weeks ago I was considering when to trade it in on a new model and decided that I'd drive it to the moon first. So when it hits a bit over 238k, I'll start looking for a replacement.

I currently have three vehicles, which is way too many. In my defense, though, I've had the propane powered Chevy van since 1999 and it did buy me my house. The Dodge pickup is my workhorse for hauling heavy/dirty stuff around and the Subaru Legacy wagon is my grocery getter. Everyone thinks I should sell Time Bomb (the van) but I keep thinking how useful it would be come the zombie apocalypse and I chicken out yet again.

You got that straight! Both sons have been put on notice that Dad's birthday is upcoming, please see attached linkey thing, and oh, by the way, don't both of you boys have those in your pickups? Yeah, the Old Man knows how to yank that guilt chain!

Nice! I have an '04 four door just like that, minus the 4WD and OnStar. Love my truck, but I still like the M Roadster better. The roadster is getting up there in years, being a '99, but it's torquey and fun and basically impossible to keep all four tires planted (because it's too fun not to, not because it's such a beast it can't be controlled). I had to drive it to the smog place on expired plates on Saturday so I knew I should be driving conservatively, but I just couldn't help myself.

Then at the other end of the scale you have your basic M936 6x6. 13,500 lb of Cummins powered anvil with a 20,000 lb crane on it. You could get some stuff done with a rig like that.

I remember when we turned in all our old duce in a halves for those when I was in Korea. They're real fun to drive. And will easily do 85 with the governor off.

My '99 Camry with 235K miles just lost another water pump. :( Wouldn't be so bad, but a week ago we put on four new tires.

Sigh. Maybe it's time to go crawling to the bank.

This was supposed to be my last car (bought it new), but Ron's getting tired of trying to keep it running.

I love this car.

I did - nice van, Glazer - but I was glad to see it's possible to regulate the air that way. :thumbs: