[Zachik]

It took 8 months and haggling with a dishonest dealer but my new car came in right in time for gas prices!

Redundant adjective! Just like saying yellow sun, or crappy GE tubes...

 

[Paladin79]

I like the cat (and dog) picture cycles...

I would help out except I have already done my share.

 

[Plautus001]

Gumby or Yiggy
Freya S
Vidar
forgiveness

One of these things is not like the others

Good luck

JC

"it is far easier to get forgiveness, than permission"

 

[macdonjh]

I also had a NAD 3155. I was the center of my first "audiophile system." After about 12 years of service one channel started having intermittent outages. I replaced it with a Golden Tube Audio SEP-1 and SE-40. I no longer have either of those. Wish I had them both to compare them!

https://vintagesonics.com/reviews/amplifiers/nad-3155-review/

Mine, too.

Various CD players (coolest was a Yamaha something which had a door flip down before the tray slid out)
Onkyo cassette deck (I thought it sounded good until I connected after several years of storage and then wondered how I'd listened to it)
Kenwood tuner
NAD 3155 in integrated mode
Boston Acoustics A-80
Velodyne ULD-15 (there's a story behind that, but I think I've posted it here already)

Hmmmm....
Jason lives in California. So do I.
Schiit is a California business.
So, what do we know about California, that you guys dont?...

Not a thing.

I was more apt to drive Z cars and an RX 7. I gave my son a red RX-7 as his first car when he turned 16. Three speeding tickets and a collision with a fence post caused me to get him something larger and slower. Youth is wasted on the young.

Actually, it sounds like your son had a blast, it's your money wasted on the young...

Sadly the 2.5i Crosstrek Sport has their crappy CVT transmission. Oh, sure, you can fake gear shifts with paddles and software but it still doesn't replace the feel and behavior of a real gearbox and clutch. Compared to a manual gearbox they drive like mush. And they aren't as reliable, either. Forced me to buy the lower trim version just to get the manual gearbox. I'd have bought a WRX except I need the ground clearance. My dirt road gets hungry for undercarriage components during the Spring thaw.

Had an interesting conversation with the service manager at my local Subbie dealer recently about the difference between the CVT and the manual gearbox. His take was that the CVT was more reliable (~100K before replacement) vs a clutch (~75K before replacement). I countered that anyone who couldn't get 125K minimum out of a clutch (assuming competent engineering at the factory) shouldn't be driving a manual transmission equipped vehicle. He looked at me a bit funny as I explained that in EVERY Subaru that I've owned with a manual transmission I've gotten over 150K miles from the clutch. The early EJ25 engines were notorious for needing head gaskets at ~130K or so. When I'd have the head gaskets replaced, I'd opt for a new clutch (you have the engine out already, right?) and a new timing belt and water pump. Then drive it for another 150K or so until it succumbed to rust and body rot.

So far my record is 19 years, 324K miles, one set of head gaskets, one clutch replacement, two water pumps, one exhaust, many sets of tires & brakes. All on one 2001 Subaru Outback with upscale trim. I'd still drive it today if it didn't suffer from a fatal structural failure due to rust. Needless to say, that car didn't owe me a thing when our relationship ended.

My '91 Accord LX had 196k and it's original clutch when I finally gave it up (electrical problems, or I'd still be driving it). Its successor was an '04 Infiniti G35. It's brand-new-from-Japan clutch (couldn't get the manual transmission and not the "premium package" in the US, it had to be ordered) was so "tight" I stalled that car for something like three months before I got used to it. It also retained its original clutch until it died in 2016 of an exploded radiator which caused the head gasket to blow out and a repair estimate of $5000 or so. It had 204k on its odometer.

I wonder how @Jason Stoddard has not been lured in with all the car discussion...

Because he's sitting back feeling smug about his daily driver and doesn't want to rub his customers' noses in it.

 

[GearMe]

I'm not sure if I would call the Multipla the ugliest car ever made. After all, the Pontiac Aztek exists. But it's certainly up there!

Aztek's a contender for sure!

How about the AMC Pacer?

 

[OldRoadToad]

I'm mostly happy living in MI (wish it was a lot less humid and cooler in the summer), but coming from CA I would have been happy living in probably 20 other states...

My wife is from Michigan too. I have been there a few times with her and the woman still knows all the different trees, bushes, shrubbery, etc. I know nothing about that stuff.

ORT

 

[OldRoadToad]

A WRX built Crosstrek is exactly the car I wanted. Which they don't make. Sigh. I'd be in line to buy one in a heartbeat, with the paperwork for my 2022 Crosstrek in hand for the trade-in.

Nice car, BTW. Bet it's fun to drive on twisty turny roads, too!

A co-worker/good friend is a BIG Subaru fan and until recently owned a nice WRX. He now owns an AWD Beemer wagon. It is pretty neato!

ORT

 

[OldRoadToad]

Aztek's a contender for sure!

How about the AMC Pacer?

The only car built to resemble and serve as a mobile Hothouse! Sweeeeeet! They were ugly cool but out side of the AMC Javelin, my fave was the Levis edition Gremlins! Gremmies are totally bitchin'!

ORT

 

[golfbravobravo]

Once upon a time these were my automotive nirvana.



The Peugeot is the 306 Gti6, which for those in the know, and Jeremy Clarkson, was Peugeot's stealth hot hatch and the object of surprise and disbelief to many a Golf Gti / BMW / other boy-racer driver as they dwindled in the rear view mirror.

With its sport suspension derived from years of rallying successes and passive rear steering then under load in corners the rear wheels followed the arc of the corner and it felt like a slot-racer car with a peg at the front and a peg at the back following the curve. Its cornering ability was phenomenal.

The Toyota, however, was built for the drifting market, so you always had the option of cornering sideways as well as, er, frontways. Skip to around 4:10 here and you'll see what I mean.

Now that they've moved on from me, maybe I can afford the pieces of Schiit that will give me my end-game audio.

Why an X reg, was it imported?

Cheers

 

[golfbravobravo]

That made me laugh @ArmchairPhilosopher
My late father in law described the Multipla as 'the ugliest car ever made'.


Maybe I'm not that secure in my own skin.
I took plenty of flak about my Multiwagon though, mainly from BMW owners who probably envied my low running costs and almost zero depreciation.
This is the beast:
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/car-reviews/fiat/stilo/stilo-multiwagon-2003-2007/

You're not recovering your reputation by declaring the MG?

 

[tincanear]

I know of a few places around here, where that would have passed state inspection...!

Me, my daily driver is an '07 Outback Base. Head gaskets, timing belt, and water pump at 152K. At 200K a new radiator, thermostat, and power steering pump. New brakes, calibers, and rotors too. Now, at 223K, it's developed a very rough idle, due to a compression issue with cylinder 3. Not sure if I want to drop upwards of another $2K into it? But, it's in great shape otherwise. Conflicted.

if the brakes, calibers and rotors changed recently, then makes sense to fix the compression issue, assuming the transmission isn't showing any signs of slippage.

 

[OldRoadToad]

Once upon a time these were my automotive nirvana.



The Peugeot is the 306 Gti6, which for those in the know, and Jeremy Clarkson, was Peugeot's stealth hot hatch and the object of surprise and disbelief to many a Golf Gti / BMW / other boy-racer driver as they dwindled in the rear view mirror.

With its sport suspension derived from years of rallying successes and passive rear steering then under load in corners the rear wheels followed the arc of the corner and it felt like a slot-racer car with a peg at the front and a peg at the back following the curve. Its cornering ability was phenomenal.

The Toyota, however, was built for the drifting market, so you always had the option of cornering sideways as well as, er, frontways. Skip to around 4:10 here and you'll see what I mean.

Now that they've moved on from me, maybe I can afford the pieces of Schiit that will give me my end-game audio.

Those are soooo COOOOOOL! I truly mean this. They are neato! And yes, I am comfortable with the term/word, "neato".

El Toado Verde with ENVY!

 

[golfbravobravo]

Because he's sitting back feeling smug about his daily driver and doesn't want to rub his customers' noses in it.

He's not the only one.............

 

[OldRoadToad]

My favorite car was a 1983 Honda Prelude. While its 96HP wasn’t great it was still fun to drive. It’s low center of gravity actually worked well for me one winter when I had to drive through a blizzard. I was very thankful that I had a manual with FWD as I watched several RWD cars lose control in that mess.
The only downside was replacing the clutch was expensive because they had to pull the whole engine out to get to it.
I was bummed when they stopped making them. The last ones with the VTEC engines were very peppy.

The Honda Quaalude was a cool car, brother! Excellente'!

ORT

 

[OldRoadToad]

I can afford the first 3!

At the same time?!


ORT