What car / cars have you got?

[ColinEssex]

What make and model car or cars have you? What colour? Any gizmo's? What size engine?
How long have you had it?

I have a Renault Kangoo, silver colour, automatic transmission, with Aircon and a CD player and radio. It's a 1.6litre engine, has wind-up windows and is converted professionally to accept a wheelchair up a ramp at the back.

I've had it since June and done 1000 miles although the car has done 33000 miles in total, first registered in 2007 in Scotland.

It's brilliant, goes like sh*t off a shovel.

Col

 

[bob fitz]

Hi Col,
As an "Essex boy" I am familiar with the expression:

It's brilliant, goes like sh*t off a shovel.

Less well informed members may be interested in its origin. See: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shit+off+a+shovel
Not sure I'd fancy the eggs and bacon

 

[Frothingslosh]

GMC Safari. It was a gift from an aunt after my Grand Am died.

My co-workers call it The Child Molester Van. I really need to paint it white and put a fake hand sticking out of the back door. :-D

 

[kevlray]

GMC Safari. It was a gift from an aunt after my Grand Am died.

My co-workers call it The Child Molester Van. I really need to paint it white and put a fake hand sticking out of the back door. :-D

Do you really want a lot of hassle from the local police and outraged parents?

Anyhow I have a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country with 114,000 miles on it and it is falling apart.

 

[Rx_]

2005 Crowne Victoria Police Interceptor with 92,000 miles.
The warranty for the Crown Victoria was 5 years/200,000 kilometers (125,000 miles) – whichever came first
The speed indicator is "calibrated".
The front seats include a "stab proof plate"
Over Drive transmisison.
The trunk has a custom bullet proof Kevlar lining and top for safe transport
Since 2003 model year, the chassis was again redesigned with hydroformed steel. The front and rear suspension were also completely overhauled. New inverted monotube shocks were now used (replacing the old twin-tube shocks that had been used since the 1960s). In the front, new aluminum control arms, and rack and pinion steering (replacing the recirculating ball units). The rear suspension was redesigned for durability in police-duty applications and the rear shocks were moved outboard of the frame rails for better handling and ease of maintenance. As a result, the road-handling manners of the Panther platform cars had improved significantly. The engine output increased due to the addition of a knock sensor for more aggressive timing. 2003 models also received optional seat-mounted combination head and torso side airbags.
Ford altered the transmission, revised the torque converter for better acceleration, and updated the layout of the optional overhead console. Laminated door glass also became available to deter break-ins and thefts, reduce road and wind noise, improve protection from flying glass in a collision and filter out ultraviolet rays, reducing heat buildup and fading of the interior

The Interstate Highway to Vail, Colorado include curvy 6% grades from 5,280 feet to 9,000 Ft (Vail Pass). Speed limit is 75 MPH. Short of the blind corners where bolders the size of a mini-car can fall on the highway, the speed can be what ever with no indication of a lack of power, even if pulling a trailer.

I also have a Crowne Victoria 2003.

 

[Brianwarnock]

Recirculating Ball steering still used at the turn of the century!!

The only car I owned with that system was a 1963 Ford Anglia 105E , think Harry Potter, since then all have had rack and pinion.

I don't drive now but the last car was a Nissan Qashqai as it was easier for my late wife to get out of than a normal saloon.

Brian

 

[Rx_]

LOL, great comment. We would call that style "breaking my balls" over here.
Most newer cars use the more economical rack and pinion steering instead, but some upmarket manufacturers (such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz) held on to the design until well into the 1990s for the durability and strength inherent in the design.

Forgot to mention my 1975 Pontiac Bonneville 2 door hard-top with the 400 cu/in custom engine and the Sports Edition Transmission.
I just shipped that from Denver to New York City area (Kings Point on Long Island).
It is being completely taken apart, engine rebuilt, Fisher upholstry rebuilt, down to the dash bulbs. It has 280,000 miles.
It will be painted Kings Point Blue and Gray.
This is a 2 door 18 foot long car with chromed steel bumpers mounted on shock absorbers. A modern SUV is much shorter than this.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/10737514516/
It was a custom order back in 1974, delivered in 1975 for around $5,000 USD.
I will probably spend $9,000 on the parts and the labor is free.
It now belongs to my son a midshipman who will graduate the USMMA.EDU in June 2015. He wanted this over a new car.

 

[ColinEssex]

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorigan/10737514516/

Nice car. Back in the 70's I always fancied a Rambler Classic convertible, I had a photo of one I cut out from a magazine, I still have that cutting.
To be honest, I have never seen an American car close up, I think US cars from the 60's and 70's are fab.

Steve McGarretts car in the original Hawaii Five-0 a Mercury I think was good. Bench seats, column change automatic, bonnet like a tennis court.

Ah, happy days.

Col

 

[Brianwarnock]

There was an old Chrysler parked in the service station near Worcester on the M40 , it was so long it risked having its nose taken off despite its rear overhanging the pavement (sidewalk), I would think that driving a 60s or 70s American car in the UK would not be easy.

The largest car I drove in the states was a Dodge Intrepid, we received a free upgrade to it when I complained about the service I had received, Hazel was worried as to whether I could manage it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's horses for courses I guess, or rather cars for roads.

I hope Rx_'s son appreciates and enjoys his good fortune.

Brian

 

[Rx_]

I had a neighbor who owned a Rambler Classic convertible in middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma. I grew up on the Cherokee Strip. There were curvy paved farm roads, little towns of 300 to 1,200 were 15 miles apart with pasture and fields inbetween.
When we crossed paths on the open road, I always imagined being in that seat (to this day). That was just the coolest car in our area.

The B-52 song "love shack" line includes "I have got me a Chrysler, its big as a whale and it is about to set sail". The wide and long wheel base made for a unique ride like a boat. My favorite lines in a parking lot was "these two should do". When driing down the street, "Keep your eyes open for 20 acers, I need to pull a U-Turn".

The kid has always dreamed of restoring it. So, he wrote a proposal to the campus auto club. The instructor only wants "classic" cars so the midshipmen mechanics can learn the old-school methods. The 2-door Bonneville were designed to be convertables except for custom made hard-tops.
So, the trunk is designed to be full-size plus have room for the top to fold.
One of my old engineering specialities was designing speakers for cars/trucks. A trunk like this, I sent him some special speakers. The trunk will have to have a battery to run the amplifier.
The instuctor has over 30 midsihipmen mechanics that will take the car apart next week, all at once. The labor is free, although I might send a few hundred dollars of steaks out there for a cook-out. They do some award winning restoration work on classic cars. My son is so happy about this. So are his classmates. They skype me all the time asking if it is OK to make power-up modificaitons.
I remind him that it only got 10 Miles to the gallon on the highway. If it gets upgraded, that 32 Gallon tank better have a lock. LOL

I use to have a BSA 750 Rocket 3. Quit my job and spent a year touring over 32 US States. I had always dreamed of bringing it back to its birthplace in the Isles and driving the countryside there. It ended up in New Zealand where I understand it still gobbles up the road. I doubt anyone knows what BSA stood for.

 

[Bladerunner]

Do you really want a lot of hassle from the local police and outraged parents?

Anyhow I have a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country with 114,000 miles on it and it is falling apart.

Had one years ago, 383 motor in it. bought it for $5.00. Rebuilt the engine and drove it for the next 10 years with very little problems. Was a tank in an aluminum jungle. They made them back then.

 

[Bladerunner]

Nice car. Back in the 70's I always fancied a Rambler Classic convertible, I had a photo of one I cut out from a magazine, I still have that cutting.
To be honest, I have never seen an American car close up, I think US cars from the 60's and 70's are fab.

Steve McGarretts car in the original Hawaii Five-0 a Mercury I think was good. Bench seats, column change automatic, bonnet like a tennis court.

Ah, happy days.

Col

just went to ca car show, About 4 miles of old cars from the 30's on up including the 60's and 70's. You would have loved it.

 

[Brianwarnock]

BSA - Birmingham Small Arms, if memory serves me it started as an arms manufacturer.

Brian

 

[Rx_]

BSA - right you are.
It was the Triumph Trident (3 cyl)
But, the motor and frame were made from jet aircraft aluminum so it weighed a whole lot less. It had a dry clutch, 3 carburators, 11.5 :1 compression, oil cooler...
Was guarenteed in showroom condition to exceed 125 MPH.
Was clocked on radar exceeding that. In my younger days when I was immortal.

 

[Frothingslosh]

In my younger days when I was immortal.

Oh, man, weren't we all.

 

[fat controller]

Oooh, cars - one of my favourite things in life

Currently I have a 2009 Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI, and so far in the couple of years I have had it, its been a great car. In fact, I have just added a dashcam to it today (living and working within the M25, it seems like an increasingly sensible thing to do) - I'd be happy to provide sample footage to anyone considering one.

 

[themurph2000]

Still hanging on to my 2005 Honda Element. I thought those things were so cool when they came out, but for some reason, I never took the moonroof off in the back and only once did I use the seats like a bed as they had advertised.

But it certainly did its job. 116,000 miles and still going strong. Never really had to make a lot of repairs.

 

[dimitris9]

2006 BMW E63 Series 6 in Dark Grey Matte color with Dakota red leather interior

 

[dimitris9]

And my beater is 2002 Toyota Corolla hatchback in sky blue.