Folks Of Interest We're not really sensible people, are we ?

I had to buy the wife a new(er) daily driver. She took a new job that requires her to travel 70 miles a day round trip. She had a VW (new) beetle that had some age and miles on it, and was constantly giving me grief...I worked on that thing more than my old cars. She had that car because it is what she wanted, and I try to get her what she wants, even if I know better....see, I want what I want, and she sometimes thinks she knows better....so it's give and take around here.

To the new purchase...She wanted a newer car with low miles that got excellent mileage...I don't like imports, so we found her a Chevy aveo ( I know, it's an import, but at least it has a bowtie on it..) It's a nice clean 3 year old car that we got for a good price, and it gets north of 35 MPG....I hate it....

While in the shower last night, I figured out why, it's got no soul, it's not cool, it's ugly...blah blah blah....thing is though, it's a perfectly sensible car for her situation, that's probably what bugs me the most.

Guys (gals too) like us want more from our cars than sensible transportation, we expect more, it needs to MOVE us, not just transport us......I wish I could have talked her into that 63 chevy II wagon.....

 

Good luck Drew... but with gas prices going north of $4 again she wouldn't be able to afford the wagon unless you switched out the drivetrain from the new car to the wagon! Hahaha...

 

No, we're not, at least in this one detail. The rest of the world sees an automobile as an appliance, or at best a powertool. There's no magic there for most people. That's why there are Preludes and Aveos.
I keep hoping and dreaming of the GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH that will allow us practical daily use of our favorite cars and trucks. So far, every scheme has fallen short.

 

If you had to buy a transportation appliance, at least you bought an American one.

 

Hell no,my brother-in-law is the most sensible person I ever met and he's a complete jerk!!!! Why would I want to be like that.
Paul

 

We certainly ARE sensible.

Does it make sense to ANYONE to pay thirty thousand dollars for something that gets used EVERY DAY... and ABSOLUTELY HATE IT?

Let's do some math! Yay. I love math.

***umptions:

That there are 262 working days in a year.
A 70 mile commute, which averages 2 hours, round trip.
Vehicle loan amortization is 5 years.

((working days per year * number of years) * average trip duration) / 24 =
((262 * 5) * 2) / 24 =
((1310) * 2) / 24 =
2620 / 24 = 109 DAYS spent in the car JUST WITH DRIVING TO WORK over the duration of the loan.

109 days. That's from NEW YEARS DAY all the way to APRIL 19th, NON STOP. 3 and a little more than 1/2 months.

Would you rather spend 109 days in something fun, or in a little prision death trap?

I'm willing to bet that our daily drivers are still "cool". (I love my dodge truck, for example, and it's beat up all to hell. Even my commuter car (a little J-Body) is fun to drive).

 

Ooooh Noooo Not a Chevrolet!

With gas prices the way they are common sense says that we should all be driving the lightest gl*** or aluminum bodied T coupes or roadsters that we can find with bangers and overdrives. But using hot rodding and common sense in the same sentence is an oxy-*****. Our hobby is based on excess, if your a rodder you want to go as fast and handle the best you can to the extreme. If you are into customs you want to look the very best you can with the best modifications that lead can produce to the extreme. Niether lends itself well to mega gas mileage.

We have one thing in our favor, the economy. If the gas companies want to stay in business they have to sell fuel be it diesel or gasoline. They cannot stay in business if they cannot sell it and they cannot sell it at a high price if we cannot afford it. As long as the majority of the people are not making big bucks and the price stays high they are not going to be selling it. Even if they give it to us on credit eventually we are not going to be able to pay for it and they are not going th be making a profit.

Well hell that was windy wasn't it.

Glad your wife is working and that she got the car that she wanted. Ya got to keep the missus happy. Good luck with the econobox.

 

If I were sensible, I would have chunked my bias ply tires already.

 

Anything but an Aveo!! You could have bought a Toyota, at least it's made in North America. Please, what ever you do, do the TIMING BELT and water pump often. They like to break and wreck the valves

 

Excess? or pure joy? I think Mr Bean hits it right on the mark, cept I think he means pure joy.
Got-to-love-the-HAMB!
What a great thread...thanks guys!

 

Don't take the car in the shower with you, it will shrink

 

I don't get this perspective - it's a JAPANESE car - the profits go to JAPAN, a country who attacked the US 70 years ago (oh yeah, I guess, since that's ancient history we should all just forget about it). They use the "made in North America" pitch to fool people into thinking that buying from them supports Canada or the US. Sure, some people have jobs because of them, but don't kid yourself - the profit does not stay here.

Global economics are killing North America as a world leader.

Sorry for the rant but that **** just irks me.

Steve

 

x2, had one come in with a snaped belt, chunk of valve got stuck in the bore and took out the cyl. wall. Customer junked it, would have cost more for a new engine then what she had in the car...

 

Anything with a timing belt needs maintenance and the belt replaced at or before the intervals the factory suggests. Trying to go longer is what gets guys in trouble.
That said, now maybe you will have more time to work on the rods before the new ride needs attention. A wife with a reliable daily driver is a happy wife with a happy hot rodder hubby who can work on is toys for a change.

 

Yup you bought her a transportation appliance, nothing wrong with that. Mine tells me she wouldn't drive an old car because everyone would be looking at it. She says a 62 Falcon wagon would not be dependable, Of course not, why would a car that has been around for 49 years ever have been dependable? I say this in jest of course.

 

Not to extrapolate the political/economics of the topic, but do you know anyone with Toyota stock? Bet ya do. But hey **** that!

Let's get back to common sense and hotrods. They make all the sense in the world!! Build a *****in gas miser. Decorate a late model twin cam to look like an older Offy or Miller. Put a small turbo on a small V8. Lighten the car. Build a T-bucket like pitman said. Drop a 327 in a Corvair's back seat. With enough thought and a relatively small investment vs new, I'd bet a decent lunch a HAMB-friendly version of a 28-35MPG car could easily be made. This must be the year I finish the 61 Belair. That car started out to emulate the mileage I was getting with an O/T Trans Am at the time. 24-26MPG at 80MPH with the AC on...hard to beat when the car was capable of high 13s in the 1/4 as well. GO FOR IT!!!

 

We kind of killed the hell out of them too. *** of tat. They are still getting back at us for Hiroshma and Nagasaki, and doing a damned good job of it.


As far as the economy you are right. As a nation we are just not the manufacturing giant that we once were. Damned shame.

OK enough politics for one day I guess.

Carry on.

 

Sometimes we don't have a choice.
If I take a stand and don't buy the expensive gasoline, I can't make it to work. If I can't make it to work, I will lose my job. If I lose my job I will lose my house and my garage. If I lose my house and garage I lose my hot rod and most likely my wife(that last one might be a stretch... maybe).
I've been rubbing pennies together to get my daily driver truck to and from work for months now because I love my truck, even if it is thirsty as hell. But when gas went up 40 cents a gallon overnight, I'm starting to seriously consider finding a little car just to get to and from work.
I think making sacrifices in comfort and style so I can support my lifestyle when I'm not working is being sensible.
All politics aside.

 

Should have bought one of these. 50-60mpg, something you don't see every day, can always find a parking space, no room to haul around deadbeat friends and no room for **** bought during extensive shopping trips to the mall. Best of all you can be proud that you bought her a Bimmer.

 

drop that aveo into the weeds, paint crabclaw flames all over the front, put some moon discs & a coffee can muffler on it - she'll love it & it will "look"? cool

 

David
I'm with you on this, but you forgot to figure the 30,000 car payment and gas against the paid for hot rod with higher gas bill. Oh and the fact that 80% of an automobiles polution is made durring the manufacturing proccess.

 

One of us should start a political site just so we can get on a list.

Everyone knows that life ****s then you die. It wouldn't matter who was in charge it is just designed that way and always has been.

my take on it is have as much fun as you can without infringing on someone else's fun. if that means I can only drive 2 miles instead if 3 then I will pack as much fun into that 2 miles as is possible.

As far as getting to work to fund your life you do what you have to. Drive an econobox, ride with a friend, hitchhike, ride a bicycle. You don't need much to get by but cash is one of those things. There are very few legal ways to obtain the money that it takes to get by, working is the most common of these few things. No shame in that.

 

Makes sense to me..

 

It's always good to know you aren't alone.

I'm currently trying to sell my DD pickup, but with the current gas prices selling a truck powered by a 454 is going to be tough. I want to sell it partially because of how thirsty it is, but also because I've been looking at this '65 Beaumont that's for sale here locally. I try to convince myself that because the Pontiac is inline powered, it'll be better on gas...while this is true, old cars have a way of making us hemmorage money...it's a tough life and gets expensive trying to be cool hahaha

 

No kidding! I have been getting all kinds of **** about buying a '54 as a daily family car. "THEY" just dont get it....

 

No, they certainly don't, but it doesn't stop them trying to tell us how we should live our lives....
Paul

 

I like to think I am very sensible person. After the arrival of our son, my wife told me "we need a car that can haul the whole family and be reliable, and I want modern conviences too." She did not want to take road trips in an old car, so my very sensible purchase was a Dodge Magnum SRT8. Although not HAMB appropriate it is a 425 hp wagon, that is a newer reliable car, with heated seats and air conditioning. Everything she wanted in a car.

The real question is, how much did they want for the 63 chevy wagon?

 

Here's a question for you guys...ever lied to coworkers/friends about how reliable your old beater really is??

A couple years ago I had a '53 Chevrolet sedan that I was using as my daily during the snowless months. I drove that this almost every day and if anyone asked I would string them a story about how damn reliable my car was, just as reliable as my (then) '98 GMC (ha!). Of course I was lying through my teeth, but pride and love for my old clunker wouldn't let me reveal that more times than I cared to count I was in the back yard trying to get it back together so I could get to work in the morning. I tell you what, I look back at it now and feel all romantic and misty-eyed over it but at 1am on a tuesday night trying to work out electrical gremlins I was ready to roll it into the ditch down the street at leave it there.

Can old cars be 'just as' reliable as new ones? Hell yeah. Just not the ones I own haha.

 

Naw I never lie about how reliable my cars are to anyone. I don't want anyone to be like me so I just don't answer at all when someone askes me a nunya question.

When I am working I make it to work everyday in whatever it is that I own. The only thing in my life that is any of my coworkers business or even employers business is that I get to work do my job and do it well.

Actually people very seldom ask me anything about my personal life, I guess there is a lot to be said for not being very friendly.

Of course none of this has anything to do with if we are sensible people or not.

Sorry.

 

Haha, fair enough. I work in parts so I have to be friendly, even when I don't feel like it (usually the case it seems). Driving anything old makes you a target for all the 'regular' folk. Hell, there's a 'corvette guy' here who downright doesn't like me because I drive my old cars like they were meant to be driven. He thinks they should be reserved for special occasions. I say any day I'm alive is a special enough occasion for me