Car Talk

The one in 73 was Arab opposition to countries supporting Israel after the Yom Kippur war. The one in 79 was caused by the Iranian revolution. I had just gotten my license in 79, I wasn't needing to fill up much. But all those things you mentioned did happen.
 
I remember the one in 79 better, but I was only buying gas for the lawnmower.
You could take 75 cents worth of change to buy a gallon of gas. It was less than 90 cents when I started driving in the 80s.
 
The lowest I've ever paid for a gallon of gas was 97 cents (1990?). The most I paid was almost $4/gallon (three ninety something), not sure when.
 
I think I paid a bit over $5 once driving from LA to San Francisco. Middle of nowhere CA late at night. #bentoveranoilbarrel
 
I hear buying a new car is difficult these days, there's a shortage apparently? But mine's 10 years old now & 186K miles so I'm gonna start looking. I usually buy in the summer because the next year's models come out soon and I think historically dealers are trying to make room for the new ones in the summer. Do I have any of this information right?

Anyhoo, I've had a '93 Cavalier, then an '01 Sentra. My current car is a '10 Mazda 3. I'm looking for something similar. 4-door with a big trunk (for my 4x10 speaker cabinet). Prefer a standard/manual (I hear those are getting pretty rare for an ordinary car though). High safety ratings a must.

Not looking for anyone to do my dirty work, please don't feel like you have to research or anything. But if anyone happens to know what good options are out there for "not the lowest/cheapest model, the step above that" sedans that I can look into, please share. Thanks!
 
sadchild said:
I hear buying a new car is difficult these days, there's a shortage apparently? But mine's 10 years old now & 186K miles so I'm gonna start looking. I usually buy in the summer because the next year's models come out soon and I think historically dealers are trying to make room for the new ones in the summer. Do I have any of this information right?

Anyhoo, I've had a '93 Cavalier, then an '01 Sentra. My current car is a '10 Mazda 3. I'm looking for something similar. 4-door with a big trunk (for my 4x10 speaker cabinet). Prefer a standard/manual (I hear those are getting pretty rare for an ordinary car though). High safety ratings a must.

Not looking for anyone to do my dirty work, please don't feel like you have to research or anything. But if anyone happens to know what good options are out there for "not the lowest/cheapest model, the step above that" sedans that I can look into, please share. Thanks!
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After my 2011 with 150k miles got totaled, I was going nuts about replacing it with another stick. Out of the 13 cars (and 5 bikes) I've owned, only 2 have been autos: a hand-me-down Monte Carlo (after my car blew up), and an '82 Corvette with the new '84 engine, which didn't have a certified manual trans. But I found a surgeon in Bedford NH who had a beautiful low-mileage '08 328 convertible, so I'm very happy.

The Mazda 3 is a fun car. I don't have any great advice, but a few thoughts. My nephew resells cars from his shop in Windham: LFOD Motorsports. Everything he sells has been totally reconditioned and gone-over. He's got a lot of VWs and Audis, but also things like Subaru WRX's (which could be a good choice for you).

When my daughter got a new, slightly used car recently, it was a 2017 4-door civic hatchback. Hers is an auto, but they make a lot with sticks. They're great driving cars, and the hatch makes it useful. I'd say the Hondas and Toyotas are the most reliable in the long run. As far as American, I like the Ford Escape.
 
Car prices are supposed to be going up for the near future. Supply issues are the problem and inventory is low. If you can wait till next year, it may be better shopping.

You still lug your 4x10 around?????? :bugout: The next time mine leaves my house, it'll either be because I move or die. I'm too old to put myself through that kind of effort.
 
Scotch's post about how Facebook sucks made me think it might be fun to do exactly what he said was dumb about Facebook...but we're a small group and all friends so it's different imo.

What was your first car?
Let's share fun memories.

Mine was a 93 Pontiac Bonneville that I took command of in 2000. It was my dad's car that he let me have to go to school and to drive around for fun on weekends. He was retired by the time I was 16 so I pretty much had it to myself. I hit it into a snowbank once and F'ed up the bumper a little. I really loved that car. It had bench seats in the front and back which made for good times when a horny Dutch teenager was in charge the vehicle.
 
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You trying to break into my bank account?

The first car I drove was my mom's Honda Civic.

The first car I owned was a used 1979 Ford LTD. It had AM radio. I put in back speakers and wired an A-B switch so I could plug in my ghetto blaster as an input. It had a V8 and had a lot of zip.
 
6 months before I got my learner's permit, I bought a red '70 Plymouth Duster with a 3-on-the-floor, for $225. I had it towed to my house. I got it running and fixed up the body, in time to drive it.

My first driving lesson was in a family Monte Carlo automatic. My 2nd lesson was in the Duster. I kept a boom box in the back seat to play the radio or cassettes.
 
JHDK said:
What was your first car?
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1980 Toyota. It was a trade-in that was enroute to the junkyard at a dealership. The only thing in my price range back in '89. $100. When the road was wet, so were my sneakers. The inspection sticker had to have been a favor from the dealership.

My first new car was a '93 Chevy Cavalier. Next was '01 Nissan Sentra. And I'm still driving my '10 Mazda 3. I should be car shopping but haven't made the time yet. Plus I hear cars are crazy expensive right now.
 
sadchild said:
And no exaggeration! Floor board was rusted through. It's not like I could watch the road below my brake pedal, but there had to be holes - my feet actually got wet.
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I was hoping that was a real story. It did make me chuckle...not lol but I made an audible chuckle when I read it. You were like a Flintstone.
 
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