A place to discuss the WSJ Weekly Crossword Contest and other "meta"-style crosswords
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I had one of those too! Great car, was sad when I had to let it go.BarbaraK wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:01 pm OK, if we're talking cars, here's my favorite. A 1990 Mazda 323. Don't laugh! It was a great little car.
When it was 5-6 years old, my husband said the radiator is leaking; you need to get a new car. I said, if the radiator is leaking, I need a new radiator. He was amazed I wanted to keep it but put a radiator in it for me. It was nearly 20 years after that I finally got rid of it.
My 323.jpg
I had a Fiat Spyder years ago. I sold a very sensical car and bought the Spyder. Although it was a very fun car to drive, I was constantly repairing something on it. I still miss it sometimes, anyway.Limerick Savant wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:42 pmWow! I lusted after that car from a very young age. A true classic. When I bought my first car however I settled for a used Fiat 850 Spyder with the rear engine. It only lasted a couple of years before the unibody frame rusted beyond repair but I have never owned a car as fun to drive sinceship4u wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 5:02 pmA 1952 TD in British Racing Green and a tan leather interior. The windshield folded down. I loved it. My second was a 1960 MGA.Bird Lives wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:43 pm
TD? TF?
In ancient times I had a girlfriend who had an MGA. And a St. Bernard. It made for interesting road trips.
Real sport cars.
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Oh, give us a brake and go for it! You could floor us with your wit. You do always come through with a clutch pun after we've all exhausted ours. Have I ever steered your wrong on something like this?
Yeah, I used to do the "practical" car routine. Had my Honda Accord for 11 years. Moved to Subarus (and Toyotas for my wife). But when I moved into the city and hardly ever needed to drive, I decided I was tired of driving a Legacy Wagon for my jaunts out to see my parents, or whatnot. Got the Mazda. The once or twice a year that I was taking the kids on a vacation someplace, I'd just rent something bigger that could hold all our stuff.Bob cruise director wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:11 pm I hate to be the grinch in the group, but I want my cars to get me from point A to point B reliably at the least cost. So, I keep my cars until they fall apart
My track record
1969 Dodge Dart 11 years 185K miles
1977 Plymouth Volare 10 years 145Kmiles
1985 Dodge Aries wagon 9 years 145K miles
1987 Nissan Maxima 10 years 203K miles
1993 Nissan Pathfinder 10 years 172K miles
1996 Toyota Avalon 10 years 250K miles
2006 Toyota Camry 15 years 253K miles
Current cars
2008 Toyota Sienna 14 years 183K miles and mechanic yesterday said it was good for many more years
2020 Toyota Camry a baby with probably more years left than I do.
My very first car was a 1970 Fiat 850 Sport Spyder, bright yellow, with all the chrome add-ons just like the car in the photo. How I loved that car! But boy was it finicky. If it wasn’t tuned exactly right it just quit. Remember what FIAT stands for: Fix It Again, Tony! After a few short years it was traded for the more sensible Toyota Corolla.SusieG wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 11:53 amI had a Fiat Spyder years ago. I sold a very sensical car and bought the Spyder. Although it was a very fun car to drive, I was constantly repairing something on it. I still miss it sometimes, anyway.Limerick Savant wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:42 pmWow! I lusted after that car from a very young age. A true classic. When I bought my first car however I settled for a used Fiat 850 Spyder with the rear engine. It only lasted a couple of years before the unibody frame rusted beyond repair but I have never owned a car as fun to drive since
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Mark, I know you are a runner. Is that how you keep from putting miles on the Acura?MarkWoychick wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:23 pm All the car talk has taken me down memory lane
First car: 1967 Delta 88 (the White Whale)
Car I had the longest - 17 years: 1992 Mazda MX-3, 167,000 miles, still had original clutch when I traded it in on
Current car: 2005 Acura (3 years new when I got it). I've owned it 15 years and it has 97,000 miles on it, so I think it will surpass the Mazda
I love my 2004 Subaru Outback! It served me very well during the Snowmegedon that we had a few years ago.
We love our 2021 Crosstrek. And I remember how well my Legacy wagon handled the snow. (Didn't get the chance to try it out last winter.) There is a hybrid version of the Crosstrek. But we got the Sport model. The EyeSight Driver Assist technology is pretty cool. I love the cruise control in traffic. The car just does all the stop-and-go-work so I don't have to constantly switch between brake and accelerator. But the automatic steering ("Lane Centering") isn't my thing. We argue about exactly where to be in the lane when there's a truck on one side, and my arms get a bit of a workout fighting with it.EVJ wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 2:59 pmI love my 2004 Subaru Outback! It served me very well during the Snowmegedon that we had a few years ago.
It has 167,000 miles on it. Lots of life left. I want my next one to do the driving for me. And probably electric or hybrid. Subaru is pretty advanced with all their driver-assist stuff but I haven’t heard a word about electric vehicles from them. I’ll probably be driving my 2004 for many more years
Well, I guess it’s time to share my MG story. When my future husband and I met on Thanksgiving weekend of 1980 he was driving a 1978 Rally Yellow MGB. We had a couple of disastrous dates that fall, then didn’t see much of each other even though his apartment was just down the street from mine. A few months later I was heading out for a run when I saw him washing his car. It was in the early spring and I made some comment about it being a perfect day to drive with the convertible top down. He agreed and we did just that. I have a very vivid memory of seeing a sign that posted a weight limit for a nearby bridge. Before I knew it, he had slammed on the brakes and, as a joke, told me I’d better get out and walk across to be on the safe side. Can you believe I still married this man?! A few months later we were engaged and my Navy pilot fiancé was deployed to the Persian Gulf. I was in charge of taking care of both of his cars, the MGB and a Pontiac Grand Prix. Gotta’ admit I sure enjoyed driving that MGB – even though I didn’t know I was supposed to drive it like a sport car! I was indeed a school teacher, but don’t have a clue if I drove like one or not!ship4u wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:23 pm
Time for an Old Speckled Hen, a nice British Ale that was named after an MG, my first sport car!
As Ken Miles said of the MG in "Ford vs. Ferrari":
"So, that there, is a sport car. You have to drive her like a sport car. If you drive her like a school teacher, she'll clog up. Try changing up at 5,000 RPM's, not two. Drive like you mean it. Hard, tight, she'll run clean."
That's funny -- my first car was one of the earlier versions of the rotary engine. A 1972 RX-2. Loved that car. Unfortunately got totaled in an accident (not my fault), just shy of 100,000 miles. Still love those early ads "And the Mazda goes Hmmmmm".HunterX wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:21 pm Car Talk: I never owned a classic sports car as many of you have. But I'm hoping some day my current car will be considered some sort of a classic. I got one of the last rotary engine cars in production, the year before they discontinued it--a 2010 Mazda RX-8. Super fun to drive. Six speed. Redlines at 9,000 RPM. (Loved a Dan Neil review that described the front grille as having a "happy mushroom eating grin."