Recent Comments:
Chrysler planning stand-alone service centers {Autoblog}
Apr 18th 2008 6:31PM This isn't new, not even for Chrysler. The small town where I grew up had a Dodge authorized service garage for years. The gentleman who owned it used to be a Dodge dealer, but he retired from sales in 1967, and the service side stayed open through the early '90s.
And back when Studebaker was still selling new cars, they had a good many "service dealers." These were independent garages who participated in the company's training programs and purchased X amount of parts and accessories. Even though the last Studebaker car was built in 1966, and Studebaker "officially" terminated all of the dealership contracts on July 1, 1972, the last authorized Studebaker garage stayed open until early 1991.
It has a nice personality: Ford boosts Focus production by 30% to meet demand {Autoblog}
Apr 15th 2008 2:44PM I've seen several new Focus S (base) models running around here, and it seems Ford has dropped the faux vents at least on those. The S sedan I saw on the local dealer's lot is likewise thankfully missing the vents. The car looks much better without them. Should my wife and I go ahead and buy one -- and we're considering it -- we'll take ours plain.
Toyota paying big bucks for bad Tacos {Autoblog}
Apr 8th 2008 10:06AM And to think I actually considered buying a Taco once to replace my Ford. Kinda glad I decided not to, considering my '87 F-150, while its body is slowly turning to dust, has as solid a frame as anything. Guess I'll just see how many hundreds of thousands more miles I can get out of it. (It has 247K on it now and still runs like a champ.)
Solving Michigan's decrepit roads by going back to gravel? {Autoblog}
Mar 26th 2008 11:56AM Some counties in Indiana and Kentucky use a method known as chip-and-seal on their rural roads, which is basically very small gravel with tar mixed in. It's laid on pretty thick, and once it sets up (it doesn't take too long), it holds up about like asphalt and is fairly smooth. And it's pretty inexpensive.
This method also creates a better base for an asphalt overlay than gravel alone provides. Often this is done as funds become available.
World's tallest man presented keys to custom built car {Autoblog}
Mar 25th 2008 1:28PM Back when I was in high school and a member of our basketball team, we had an exchange student from Spain who was 6'10". It was my job to drive him home after practice each afternoon. Back then, I had a Dodge Diplomat sedan with the straight-across bench seat, and at 6' myself, I drove with the seat all the way back.
But even that wasn't far enough for our oh-so-tall friend.
After pondering what I might do, I raised the possibility with Coach of asking my grandfather (who is now deceased) if he could bring out his Dodge Grand Caravan on the afternoons when we had practice. Of course, being a HUGE basketball fan in an Indiana town, you should know my grandfather would bend over backwards to do ANYTHING requested of him for "his" team!
Anyway, this was an early-'90s model, one of the first with the quad bucket seats, and the auto shop class removed the front passenger's seat, purchased the necessary parts from Chrysler to make that seat removable just as the middle and rear seats were removable, and reinstalled everything. If you didn't know it was modified, you wouldn't know. Quality work. When we transported him, the front seat could be removed, and when he wasn't along, it could be replaced in a matter of seconds.
Anyway, that van became our long-legged Spanish friend's primary mode of transportation for the next two years. He appreciated the kindness of everyone who pitched in to help him ride comfortably and never again had to get an up-close-and-personal look at his knees while riding!
Ford developing new rear-drive platform in Dearborn {Autoblog}
Mar 24th 2008 11:53AM I'm skeptical about this. I'd love to believe it will happen, but until I see something in the metal, I doubt Ford will do it.
The only still-desirable product coming off the Panther platform these days is the Town Car, and they managed to keep it out of production long enough during the change from Wixom to St. Thomas that all but the most stalwart TC fans went shopping elsewhere. It's really a shame, too, because the newest TC is by far the best.
Ford ramps up F-150 production ahead of 2009 model changeover {Autoblog}
Mar 17th 2008 7:36PM Some of the larger dealers in my area are selling XL (base trim) F-150s, longbed models, no less, for around $13K, with A/C, V6 and stick. Good deals can be had on "loaded" ones, too. Heck, I even saw an F-450 for $46,995 today ... it was a high-end model, too.
VanTastic: 2009 Ford E-Series upgrades {Autoblog}
Feb 26th 2008 2:10AM The new-for-'08 front end is really not that bad when you see it in person. I didn't want to like it, but it's really better than I thought it would be. It has more presence than the low-mileage '02 E-350 Super Duty Extended Wagon I bought recently for our church.
That said, I'm going to reserve judgment on the new dash until I can see one up close. I think it's good they're finally making a change, but I want to see the quality of materials up close and personal. Our '02's engine cover (and especially the swing-out glove box) is made of some pretty flimsy plastic. I hope the new one is better.
VIDEO: Ford spins F-150 at six Gs... for real {Autoblog}
Feb 4th 2008 7:24PM Ford would do well to get rid of the moron (I can't STAND Mike Rowe) and these stupid, stupid commercials in favor of spending what little money they have on something worthwhile ... you know, maybe on products (other than the F150) that people might actually want to buy!
Review: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT {Autoblog}
Feb 4th 2008 2:35PM I really, REALLY wish people would quit knocking Chrysler over "the horrible quality of the materials" inside the new vans. You wanna know something? It's a MINIVAN. MINIVANS are used by FAMILIES. People with KIDS. And as most of us know, KIDS can do some horrible things to car interiors. I love the fact that I can wash the interior of my van. Hard plastic is pretty darn easy to clean. And it looks like, even though they've tarted up the interior somewhat over my '02, I'd still be able to wash it down nicely.
And I like that!
