A lot of car enthusiasts think cars were better in the past. Maybe it’s because your favorite car no longer comes with a manual transmission, or maybe it’s because you don’t want tons of screens and no buttons. Sadly, you can’t really buy an old car that’s new, aside from maybe a Chevy Express. But you can come close.
Thomas wrote about how someone paid Porsche a bunch of money to restore their old Cayenne. Eggsalad:
I get it. Like many Autopians, I think cars were better before. Most everyone here has thought to themselves, “If I could buy a brand new [insert your favorite old car here] I absolutely would”.
And that’s basically what the owner of this Cayenne did. Good on them. They couldn’t buy a brand new, 400hp, manual transmission SUV at any dealer at any price, so they did the next best thing.
Jason wrote about the absolute worst gifts that you can buy a car person. The readers figured out even worse gifts. Scott Ross:
I would have added 11 mm sockets, because you all know you need 10mms at anytime.
Live2ski has a diabolical idea:
Mislabeled 11mm sockets as 10mm.
Shop-Teacher gives a great defense of Unsafe At Any Speed:
I’m going to push back on “Unsafe at Any Speed”
While the writing is very dry (I tried and failed to get through it when I was in high school), it was written by a lawyer after all, I found it really interesting when I went back to it as an adult. Very little of the book is actually about the Corvair, in case any of you didn’t know that. Just because I love cars, and I do love cars, doesn’t mean I don’t want to know about the instances in which an industry I care about was indeed in the wrong.
Educate yourself folks.
Anyways, it’s actually a hard book to buy. It’s long out of print, so used copies are rather expensive. I was able to get a copy from the library last year. I think it’s a worthy read for any enthusiast.
Brian wrote about a company that wants to protect charging station cables by shooting thieves with blue dye. Grey alien in a beige sedan:
I think Eiffel 65 is the VC funding this company.
Have a great evening, everyone!
I read Unsafe at any Speed back in high school, when it was neither as old as it is now, nor that hard to find. I noticed then that it was nowhere near as much about the Corvair as the Corvair’s fate would lead you to believe, and it was indeed interesting if a bit niggly. I imagine that everyone in this forum has at least heard of the book, if not read it already. And while it’s kind of a dry read, I still think it’s a good read.
Proud to have been selected. My second COTD!
Congratulations! I hear that after third time you get a vial of rust powder from David, so I’m putting some effort on my comments towards that goal 🙂
Welcome to the club. If you get COTD five times here, Mercedes will come to your house personally with one of those squeaky toy hammers and then lightly bonk you on your forehead. But that’s only if you are a member at the rich corinthian leather level. Congrats!
We should ask for award badges. That would be fun.
I was pleasantly surprised to see multiple defenses of Unsafe at Any Speed in those comments.
I’ve been looking for a good copy at a reasonable price to add to my library.
Depends on your definition of “reasonable”. I see copies from about 30 USD upwards.
If I found a local copy for $30 I’d probably spring for it, $80 online I’m not so inclined towards. It’s just on my list of books I scan for when I visit Halfprice Books and antique shops. No rush but I’ll find it someday.
I was having a look at Abe Books etc. Of course it depends on the condition you are looking for.
I prefer my books in “readable” condition. No missing pages or so brittle that you’re afraid to touch it. I don’t hold out for pristine though, just decent condition. Most of my library consists of classic SciFi from the 40s-60s and look it.
They are rapidly going away, but you can still buy some old Motorcycles as new! Just bought a Yamaha TW200, which has only received one update since 1986, the deletion of the kickstarter, and the addition of a front disc brake. I bought a 2007 with 2000 miles, makes me happy I could waltz into the Yamaha dealer and buy the exact same bike, along with 40 years worth of parts.
The TW200 is about the only bike I could seriously consider owning for actual riding. After the Rokon I think the TW200 is about as close to a tractor as you’re going to get in the motorcycle sphere.
Take about new old. Yamaha are certainly getting a return on their development dollars; you can still get a brand-new TW200 for just $5000. If you want to go everywhere in general in no great hurry, that’s the ticket.
I debated for quite some time to either just buy new, or to save a little (and I mean little) buying used. My patience rewarded me though, my old boss gave me a total “good buddy” deal on mine.
Nice, I took my MSF class on a TW200.
I’m thinking mislabeled 3/8″ sockets as 10mm. Not quite as evil as 11mm where you would immediately round off the bolt, but visually nearly identical.
A friend has a car with a 3/8 socket pounded onto one of the 10mm lug bolts. A 3 pound hammer got it to fit but it was impossible to remove.