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**GENERAL BULLETIN** (from John Twist)

Bob Connell ran his MG repair shop in Indianapolis for 30 years. (Before that, I serviced Bob's MGs.) Bob's an octogenarian and has closed his operation. He has an absolutely HUGE supply of new and used parts. Bob and his long-time assistant, Adrian VanOsch, will be on site to oversee parts sales this Friday and Saturday, 7->8 June. Bob's shop is located at 6667 East 38th Street, Indianapolis. If you have questions, contact Adrian at 317 459 7572 or on email: avanosh72@gmail.com

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

Saw this. I am currently disassembling an MGB, and could use some parts, but I’m too far from Indy.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I’ll be over here counteracting that macho advertising scheme by continuing to implore the public to avoid Nissan like the plague. I owned a Rogue for a very short run and had to get rid of it quickly because I was seriously at risk of falling asleep while driving because it was the most BORING CAR I EVER OWNED. What the hell was I thinking?? Well, I wanted a Murano, the nicer option, but my ever practical spouse who would daily drive a 1986 Hyundai if he had the option (because he is not a car snob like me…) didn’t want the extra expense. So the snooze fest Rogue it was.

Jeezus, I totally remember the salesman hard selling the CVT transmission like it was a good thing. Regardless, now that I am a smarter car snob we still joke every time we see a Rogue with saying: Do you think they are bored?

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CVTs are so good on paper but like big-L Libertarianism, just faceplant in the real world.

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5

The only thing worse than a CVT is a CVT with simulated gearshifts. And Libertarianism, of course.

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The first time I experienced a CVT was in a Nissan. It was a red, auto, maxima coupe rental and at WOT it sounded exactly like a shopvac in the next room. I hated it and will never own one. Maybe a Prius if I ever succumb to that. But that would be it.

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To my eternal chagrin, both my parents had CVT-equipped cars and so I learned to drive on them. Mom had a pretty-well-loaded 2005 Nissan Murano SL; Dad had—wait for it—a 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT. Refrigerator white, too. But at least it had keyless access, cruise control and alloy wheels.

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Not the White Dodge Caliber!! 😂🤛🏻

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Oh, and it was an ex-rental car, too. We bought it in 2008 from the local CJDR dealer.

Really, my dad had been looking for a Matrix XRS with a 5-speed, and settled for the Caliber. The Matrix—especially in that spec—would have been a vastly superior mode of conveyance.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

When my Passat TDI got rear ended before I sold it back to Volkswagen the nice people at Enterprise gave me a Jeep Patriot which was the Jeep version of your dad's Caliber and it was the absolute most miserable car I had driven in at least 20 years. If their insurance would have allowed it I would have driven my son's Volvo 850 Wagon and let him drive that crappy Jeep to high school for the three months my Passat was in the body shop.

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I learned to drive in my mom's 2006 Ford Freestyle. Two-tone blue over gray. A CVT, 203 hp, and probably over 5000 lbs with my whole family in it. Rental Caliber sounds practically sporty in comparison!

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We rented a Nissan Altima with the CVT to drive to Vegas and back to western WA. My wife hated it so much that she fell asleep driving it and ran off the road, taking out a couple of reflector posts but staying on solid earth and not running clear over into the creek. Not a mark on the car though....

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“But what if the drivetrain consents?”

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my privately owned H-bomb would sort it out

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Like an EV with simulated V8 sounds.

If it's got an electric powertrain, sell it on that and be proud of that fact.

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right? I don't understand the piped in sounds.

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Rented a Malibu with a cvt. Didn't hate it. Cars inputs and feel were better than any fleet bmw I've rented.

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Unless it is a cvt attached to a Dodge Viper @jackbaruth

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

It wasn't always so. From my mom's 1978 280z to my 1990 Hardbody truck I drove for a decade to my VQ powered 2004 Quest minivan, I grew up and then grew old driving and enjoying Nissans very much. They were all flawed in some way, but they made up for it by being fun to drive. Everything they've made since then with rare exception is just an appliance. Its a shame.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

It totally felt like I was driving an appliance. Maybe like an iron. 😂

And you are absolutely right. Early models were so much better even while being POSs. Had a good friend who had a 80’s something Nissan 4x4 extended cab truck. I rode countless times in the little jump seat crammed behind the passenger seat. We went 4x4ing out in the desert outside of Vegas and around Lake Mead. THAT was not boring.

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That’s basically the one! But his was silver. And had chronically squeaky brakes and countless other issues but it was FUN!

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I could've sworn the back to the future truck was Nissan. Memories turning to shit with old age.

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Aren’t we all. I thought that link was a Nissan as well. And we owned a Toyota truck nearly identical to the one in the link 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

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Looks better than anything new on sale today.

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The old Hardbodies were a blast! I could effortlessly hang the tail out in slow corners before we knew what "drifting" was.

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Back when drifting was called fishtailing 😏

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Powersliding!!!

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The term "four wheel drift" dates to at least the '70s.

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50s. See pictures of Fangio four wheel drifting his Maserati 250f.

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"They were all flawed in some way, but they made up for it by being fun to drive."

This reminds me of Mazda as well, with various exceptions, altho Mazda has managed to hang on longer to being better than average. Is my perception accurate -- the long-time similarity between Nissan and Mazda, that is?

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I've never owned or driven a Mazda so I couldn't say. I always thought their products were just different enough to make them interesting though. I suppose their RX-7 and its descendants have similar historical cachet as the old Z cars. Zoom zoom.

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Both my 2001 Mazda Protege and 2009 Mazda5 were a (relative) blast to drive. Really liked them both. Drove them into the ground, they deserved better.

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

I had a Yaris iA (Second-gen Mazda 2 with Toyota badges) 6MT to balance out a half-ton truck, and that was a wonderful, cheap, fun car. Great seats and visibility, engine was smooth at upper RPMs, floor hinged gas pedal, and all inputs were well matched. I sold it for above MSRP during the peak used car bubble. That was a great, inexpensive, efficient, fun little car.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Mazda still seems to be dominated by actual auto engineers and not bean counters or consumer product marketers.

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

The engineers at Mazda have too much control of the final product. To the extent that they dictate what the customer must like. You must accept and appreciate seasickness after a drive on a winding road. Soft springing and no roll bar are the right way to corner a car/SUV, or so I am told by Mazda. Touchscreens are dangerous and will not be provided. Mazda knows best? I can appreciate the A, B & C Miata but there's not enough Dramamine in the world that would get me into a D or any other Mazda..... again. The marketing angle seems to be ...... We know best we make the Miata. Shut up and buy our cars. My personal experience is that all levels of the customer facing part of the Mazda experience sucks. From Sales to Service to Parts the Dealers are hamstrung partly due to Mazda's lack of support and partly because they reflect the Manufacturers attitude re the product. No Zoom-Zoom for you.

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Mazda gets all the love from me if for no other reason that it builds an affordable two-door, three-pedal sports car with a drop-top. And that's on top of an actual sedan. In this day and age, that makes Mazda a jewel to be cherished and celebrated.

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In 1993, the entire Nissan lineup was interesting. Not just the Sentra SE-R, Maxima, and 300ZX...even the base Sentra E and the Hardbody trucks were fun to drive. And everything but the van was available with a manual transmission.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

There was a 1985 Maxima in the neighborhood I lived that I walked by every day going to the bus for high school. I loved that car. It was like the full package deal. Having no real concept of car prices at the time (I was bussing it remember…) I was like, I want one of these! Went to the dealer after closing hours to peek at prices. Needless to say I quickly realized that would not be my first car 😂

Instead I got a brand new absolute piece of shit first generation 1986 Hyundai Excel. Stick shift, four speed, with A/C. That car had absolutely no business having A/C. It could barely get going without the A/C on. The only good thing that came from owning that trash heap was I learned to drive a stick. I am forever not a Hyundai fan. Would never own another one. I even deny them as rental cars.

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founding

I sold those Excels. Not sure I could even convince myself to buy a Genesis.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I wouldn’t. And no one, even Jack or Mark, can convince me to reconsider 😂

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author

Kyree's experience with the G90 has really put me off the idea of ever owning one, unfortunately.

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With a hood flatter than Black Rock Desert!

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

Try driving your Mom's Chevette with A/C. I always turned it off at the bottom of every increase in grade. At least it was a 4 speed.

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author

I turned the A/C on and off so frequently in my four-speed 1990 Fox, the printing was wiped from the button by Year 3.

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founding
Jun 7Liked by Jack Baruth

Much like every AC switch in a 240D!

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Even my ratty '00 Maxima beater with a swiss cheese core support and rotten flex pipe felt kind of special/fun to drive, ditto the $500 I30t that I revived (with a "404 core support not found" condition). At the same time, those cars, both with their rust issues, their beam rear axles, and messy/packed engine bays felt nowhere as well engineered as a Camry of the same era. Having said that, given the opportunity, I wouldn't turn down a non-rusted 5spd Maxima of that era.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

In the mid 90s my first wife and I owned an early 1st gen Pathfinder (5 speed v6 hell yeah) and a 2nd gen 4Runner back to back. Working on them both, the difference in build quality boggled the mind. Case in point - the door speakers in the hardbody are simply screwed into the door with cheap metal backing clips that will disappear the first time you pull it out. The 4Runner speaker was in a well built plastic enclosure with the captive nuts molded into the plastic. The Pathfinder was still more fun to drive.

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I came away with the same conclusion after working on the mid-90s Nissan Hardbody my brother briefly owned. We'd both previously owned and worked on Toyota trucks and were used to them. Doing a clutch replacement on the Nissan turned me off the brand forever. Under the covers every where you looked the Nissan used thinner metal, fewer fasteners, and generally poorer construction.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

The Kawasaki of Japanese trucks.

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author

SIR!

Nissan is the SUZUKI of Japanese trucks.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

The 1989-1994 Nissan Maxima was one of my favorite sedans from that era.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

The 4DSC!

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Even now I'd love a nice, clean one - though I doubt any exist.

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People drove the wheels off them. One of the finest sedans to ever exist.

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Another car Nissan should recreate. But do they even remember how to market and sell cars to people with good credit scores?

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Here's a perfect example of the automotive press' double standards.

The A32 Maxima had that beam rear end and was not immediately and savagely pilloried by the autojournos, a move that would've earned an American company universal condemnation.

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I chose a Taurus SHO over it. Can't recall why but was not dissatisfied with my choice.

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Loved those cars as well! 4DSC for sure - you never see them anymore.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I am currently driving a VW Tiguan. Every time I get in to drive I tell my wife to wake me when we get there. The only thing it has going for it is no CVT. I refuse to own one.

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I was a bit harsh. The Tiguan is smooth and comfortable at 80 MPH on the highway while getting 30 MPG. It’s not all bad, just boring.

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Absolutely no need to explain. I’ve been exactly where you are. Unfortunately 😂

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I know for a fact that I have rented Tiguans, but absolutely cannot recall anything about the driving experience either negative or positive. That kind of says it all.

I have also rented an Atlas and do remember liking the adaptive cruise control in rush hour traffic on the 401. That’s it.

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Jun 6·edited Jun 6

I love adaptive cruise. Wife's XC90 has it and I appreciate it so much when there is any traffic at all, that I made it a must have during my last car search. Wound up with a Ridgeline.

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Good thing is that they are slow, so you'll get enough sleep that way.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

In 2015 the guy in the office next to me wanted a midsize 4-cyl SUV to commute from Mansfield to Columbus and back and asked me what I thought of the new-for-2016 Rogue. I warned him off about the CVT transmission. He bought it anyway, and it gave him 180k miles of trouble-free commuting. In 2020 he traded it in for a new one because he heard they were coming out with a new generation and he wanted another of "the good ones." That 2020 has given him 160k miles (and counting) of trouble-free commuting.

Did Nissan fix the CVT? Or is it just that so much of his commuting is freeway cruising? Beats me. But I doubt the new turbo 3 will provide the same "change the oil and forget it" experience of my coworker's 2nd-gen 2.5 4-cyl Rogues.

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One of my employees just dumped his wives 2017 Rogue after early signs of CVT failure...for a Hyundai. It says a lot that Hyundai is now a step up from Nissan considering where they both were just 20 years ago.

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Ain't that the truth. In the early 90s the Yamaha dealer I worked at shared a warehouse with the Hyundai dealership that anchored the retail center. There was a literal mountain of dead Excel engines in that room. Now I've got a 2023 Sonata in the driveway because the same year Accord felt so cheap and boring in comparison.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Well good luck. The mid 2010s+ H/K engines seem to be earning a hell of a reputation for spun bearings from what I've seen.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Be careful. Family members have had the 2.4 in a sonata blow up on them and their 2.0T in a different sonata which has had a half dozen recalls. Transmissions on both have been fine, though.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

My SIL's 2010 Rogue's original CVT crapped out with right around 180k miles of highway/rural commuting. My brother swapped it out for a Nissan reman unit and the Rogue is still going strong at 260k. Aside from the transmission issue (which would have sent it to the crusher had it not been my brother doing the labor) it's been a remarkably robust and trouble-free vehicle.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

The newer Nissan CVTs are honestly fine if you do the 40K-mile fluid changes.

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author

Ah, the Mansfield-to-Columbus commute!

I'm not enjoying it.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

A couple of years ago I rented a Nissan Altima for a week. Before I could get onto I-70 from the St. Louis airport is was beeping. I went out of my lane without a turn signal. Over the speed limit. Bong. Then following too close. Many bongs. It had the full ex-wife package. By the end of the week I wanted to drive it into a pre-cast concrete block.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

OMG I’ve had the very same experience! Absolutely ridiculous and utter bullshit. I am not a kindergartener and I certainly don’t need my car to treat me as such.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

“Ex-wife package.” 😂🤣😂🎯

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

The older I get the less I like shit beeping at me.

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Or telling me what to do.

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So, if I understand, you speed, change lanes without signalling, and follow too closely. And you blame the car?

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Also, used McLarens can be bought at a sizable discount simply by walking up to a dealer and stroking a check. You don’t have to offer to fellatiate the dealer behind the dumpster and buy three of the crappy models first, at a markup. Or pretend you aren’t just driving an Audi with a coke problem.

I’ve no dog in this fight, but that’s all gotta be worth something. I have heard that even the Ferrari guys snicker at McLaren unreliability, and that’s saying something.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

that alone would be a draw for a first time supercar buyer

if the appeal of a lambo or ferrari wasnt already much stronger because what dude with huracan money buys a 570s unless they really know what they like

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

"you aren’t just driving an Audi with a coke problem" may well be the best description of a Lamborghini yet written.

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author

Contemporary Ferraris are very reliable, which is why they are willing to offer their customers generous warranties and SEVEN years of free maintenance.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

not sure how well nissan can do the whole masculine car thing especially when dodge (sorta) exists

part of the appeal of the charger/challenger is that you can take a rental spec heap and with some tools either dump the v6 or take the 5.7 to a whole nother level of attention grabbing with an exhaust and cam kit

about the only way the turbo 6 in the 400z could match that level of antisocial aural behavior is with hood dumps

also i tried posting my miata for sale on fb market place yesterday and im wondering if pricing it higher than what i wanted to get was a good idea or not and would appreciate if anyone could steer me in the right direction on that

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Nissan used to do so well. S-, Z- and of course BNR-chassis cars that guys WANTED to buy, LUSTED after.

It's been like watching a tyrannosaurus turn into an iguana.

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its absurd just how much of their back catalogue id love to have in my driveway

same with toyota but less so

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A 30-year-old car should NOT be some kind of aspirational vehicle. We're apes living amongst ruins our human ancestors built.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

yeah but the gtr is awesome but not 250k awesome

i get your point however

its not so much that we cant make the cars anymore (but its kind of that) its that we cant buy them like we used to

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No, not $250,000 awesome.

You know how many people would love to buy a BRAND-NEW 1996 Civic coupe? Or an '88 Trans Am GTA? Or a GMT400 K2500?

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I’d be at the Honda dealer today writing a check for a new ‘96

2 door civic Si in Aztec green with a NA motor and 5 speed transmission of Manuel.

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Or an original Neon, Mustang LX5.0, Escort GT, 16v GTI…. Aaaarrrrggghhhh…just frustrating myself…

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Yes! I would LOVE a new GMT 400, but I'd also probably try to do something stupid, like shove a Duramax in it.

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Give me a 89 Pontiac Indy pace car.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I'll take 1 of each Z car from every generation and a clean 240sx please.

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Jun 5·edited Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

"We're apes living amongst ruins our human ancestors built."

I just found myself looking for another HP RPN calculator for a proctored test. Apparently they are now high-priced collectables (reprouctions of some models are made by swissmicros.com)

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Sweet baby Jesus!

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Can’t remember if I still have mine. Not sure if I boxed it when I moved to NC. I also had a bunch of HP’s esoteric manuals for complex calculations. Hopefully I’ll come across it some day.

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founding

I was about to suggest the HP 35s, which I bought for $60 back in the day. It's kind of nice, but I don't use it much since I use my 12C about 98% of the time.

Then I looked on amazon and nearly had a heart attack -- $600 for NOS. Golly.

Shuttering the HP Calculator Division was another one of Carly Fiorina's wealth destroying initiatives.

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Still use both of my 15Cs! One at work and one at home.

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Dm me the miata link

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Do you have carmax up there? Take it to carmax, get a quote and go 1,500 to 2k above that quote.

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will check that out thanks

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You might even be able to stretch that a bit with a Miata. I'm not sure how easy they are to get. Jack had an article about selling a car, I think the Green audi, that is spot on. If you have something particular, you just have to wait to find the right buyer. I sold the 335 for significantly more than the Carmax/truvana/internet of things offer. The volvo? Not so much. got 2,500 more than Audi offered in trade. I traded in my wifes mazda 3 on the Audi because the trade in offer was close enough to not deal with the hassle.

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thats the same thought i had

its only been on the market for a day and i got one dude saying i was asking far too much for a clean one which is why i posted on the ad that offers would be considered

i can afford to wait a month or so to sell it

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Basically just assume the first 3 weeks of calls will be fruitless. Guys who will low ball you, scammers, and flakes who won't show up to look at it. Selling a car private party is annoying but it's worth 2k. For $500, i'd skip it.

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if i can get even close to what im asking i can make a few grand easy

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Also look at Miata.net

Specifically: https://forum.miata.net/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=123

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completely forgot about that

by the looks of the first few pages im not all that far off in my pricing

appreciate it

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

in regard to playing the private sale pricing game on a used car, I always used to price fairly but firmly and have generally done well with it, but I think perhaps the smartest move is to work in some wiggle room to negotiate down from, people love "getting a deal." But pricing to the moon will just price you way out of the range of most potential buyers' budgets. The risk of overpricing is that your listing sits, and then to buyers that is subconsciously off-putting IMO. A fresh listing at a decent price gets people excited.

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Good advice. I priced the volvo so high originally, the scammers didn't even call me, Who knew a 2011 xc60 isn't a hot commodity?

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I sold my 315k mile 06 Suburban (rust free but a few dents and scratches) for my $3500 asking price with what turned into a line 10 people deep. Guess I left some money on the table, oh well. Sold two days after listing to a nice older guy who was super easy to deal with who I felt comfortable meeting in my own driveway.

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understood, will adjust accordingly

thanks bro

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Don't start negotiating from the price you want to get for the good you are selling. As a seller you always want to start high, just as a buyer always should start low. Make sure to put real effort into your add with lots of photos to make it seem worth the premium.

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ill take more pics then

thanks

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

You can't man up the new Corvette either. There is no way to do a burnout or go sideways. It has been engineered out like all the fun of working at General Motors was when Mary and the BLT's took over.

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few things more american than doing burnouts in a corvette

i still dont really know why they they decided to focus on things like laptimes when the majority of customers wont ever visit a track

just make the thing loud and fast and easy to live with and youre golden

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Very modestly higher isn’t the end of the world, but I wouldn’t over shoot it by too much either.

Like, if you want $8500 for it but list it at 8995 or whatever that’s cool. Listing it for 12499 will have people refuse to message you about it because it’s too much or outside of their pricing filters.

Speaking of, less than $10k is the sweet spot on marketplace I’ve found. Hard cut off for many people, especially for a toy/second car like a Miata. YMMV with area and such.

Make sure your pictures are pretty too. REALLY helps. When I sold my 2006 Miata last year, my first photo was a sunset picture taken with the bay in the background with a DSLR. Following photos were staged in an empty parking lot in mid-day showing as much as I could with FBM’s 20-something picture cap.

Also had two videos, one a walk round and another of me driving it.

Ad was deeply honest. Every flaw I could think of. Listed for 9750 or something to that effect, sold it for 9500 to a guy who flew out from Cleveland to buy it and drive back home.

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ill change the price on mine then as i was expecting to sell it for about 11500cad or a bit less so i listed it at 13500 but at the same time its only been up a day

regardless i will try to implement your suggestions

thanks man

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Patience would probably do you some good. My experience selling all sorts of stuff on Craigslist is that I'll often get no inquiries for two weeks. Then I'll get a perfect buyer willing to pay 95% of asking.

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Rarely has a term captured the utter, incomprehensible insanity of our modern automotive era of joyless, androgynous, all-things-to-all-people transit modules like "Girlbossbox."

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I chuckled.

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thats why i wont drive nothing but a truck, its all thats worth buying these days

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Jack, I nearly shit myself laughing when I read the "girlbossboxes" line.

I thought I read somewhere that Nissan was quitting the gas engine thing, who isn't, and going all electric. I like the 240Z idea. Fuck that would make some real competition at the mustang and at a good price.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Hold on...don't you have other bikes to ride while you wait AN ENTIRE WEEK for the gasket?

Must be SUPER indeed!

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Permatex THEN proper gasket.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

This is the way.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

My rule of thumb is that if I can't get the gasket, I run to the Honda parts counter for a tube of Hondabond. That stuff has saved me in a pinch several times, and in my experience has proven tougher than permatex.

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author

I've been riding the ZX14R to lunch, which is dangerous because 110 on a 2 lane road feels like 70 on the Bird and 40 on the Midnight Special.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I've been commuting on the giant ST1100 and it is not particularly quick but it is comfortable, compliant, and quiet which leads to speeding without feeling lime it.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I've been commuting 60+ miles to and from work on my ZX14R. It's incredibly easy to turn into the most antisocial person on the road. Something I need to be mindful of as I've already pissed a Honda Pilot driver off while on my way to work....who I didn't realize was a coworker until he pulled into the parking lot a few minutes after me.

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author

GET FUCKED CAGE CUCK

OH HI MARK

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

Sounds like I need to find a used dickhead bike er ZX14R

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author

Assuming you survive ownership, you won't REGRET ownership.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I had the same thought. Jack, don't you have a whole barn full of vehicles you could use for all of one week while waiting for proper parts?

Nevermind any drips of oil,If the red permatex doesn't work well you have to find time to do the repair again.

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author

That's very true. I just happened to have two free evenings to work on it THIS week.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Change the name back to Datsun. Anyone 65 or older (like me) will remember Datsun as a BMW and Corvette competitor. Just market to senior citizens.

They're probably already doing that though.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

They arguably never recovered from the name change. “We are driven” by executives with inferiority complexes over the corporate name not being on the cars.

If it was that important to them and they were smart, they would have kept Datsun and used the Nissan name for Infiniti instead.

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author

Datsun was a great brand and sounded more prestigious than Nissan IMO.

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I don’t think the name matters to the youngsters. I like your idea to reposition Nissan, but I would also tie in the anime/manga culture and other Japanese cultural cues in addition to the Ken Watanabe male track. You need to draw in the youngsters (anyone not a Boomer LOL) somehow, and the way to do it would be to make the brand as Japanese as possible. The new Nissan ads should even be heavy on Japan language characters, with English being a minor component. Counterintuitive, but the idea would be to rebrand Nissan as The Japanese Car Brand in the US, as opposed to Toyota which is just the new Chevy. The youngsters will totally get it if the ads and marketing look really Japanese. There’s a lot of use of the English language in Japan to brand stores and such to give a product or service some American cachet. Nissan should reverse that logic in the US and give their product Japanese cachet. Really, what have they got to lose at this point?

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Sell to the weebs! Comes with a Samurai sword and a box of Manga. Other option. Take absolutely the coolest car they used to make, have BMW make a version of it and slap a nissan badge on there.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Yup, might as well leverage Japanese culture being a thing in the US. What’s Fahrvergnügen in Japanese?

Still a mystery to me how they made a cool car in the new Z, yet they are nowhere to be seen. The production and sales and marketing of the new Z is a total fail.

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Just look at this young person ad from Wolfsburg. Surely Datsun could pay homage to it. Or at least translate the Trio song to Japanese as an "homage".

https://youtu.be/KmQvOT1Sxkg?si=dJ7wuERg0IHtLPpV

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

Datsun 280 z 1978 way outstanding looking mean

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They need to reincarnate Yutaka Katayama.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Major Motion from Nissan!

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

At Your Datsun Dealer

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

although I'm more likely to buy a Datsun than a Nissan, I'm also more likely to buy a Fuji Heavy Industries than a Subaru.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I wish I could have bought a Miata from Toyo Kogyo instead of an MX-5 from Mazda.

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

Toyo Kogyo sounds like a character in Akira. I'd totally buy a Toyo Kogyo Miata

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author

I'd be interested in a Eunuch Roadster or whatever they called it!

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

youd think with a name like fuji heavy industries they would sell trucks

imagine a japanese f450

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

the irony is they'd made kei trucks!

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

fuji featherweight industries

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I appreciated the relaunch of Datsun as a low-cost brand in India; the Go actually had cool details like an old-fashioned pull-and-twist parking brake. Indians, however, were offended; they didn't appreciate the frugal cool, wanted "normal". - I would like to see Datsun on our markets with cool, boxy, affordable cars, including sporty ones like that Nissan IDx concept of a decade ago. That would have been a nice Datsun halo car.

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That IDx was cool, but you, I and 10 other people would have bought it unfortunately

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Not so sure. Priced right it might have done very well. A budget M2, a modern Sentra SE-R.

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author

It would have done better than BRZ volume, being as interesting as the BRZ without that horrifying engine.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Indians think of cars as appliances (they often have an idol of their appliance god on the dashboard), and are also very concerned with "prestige." Hence a near monoculture of Appliance White Teslas in Indian-dominated areas.

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Do not offer my god a peanut!

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Change the name back to Datsun, hire Peter Brock to build BRE Datsuns again (he's still very much alive at 87), and bring back the "We Are Driven" commercials.

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founding
Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

And the “Dogs love trucks!” commercials.

Maybe they can hire Joe Isuzu. I hear he may have some time on his hands.

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He's lying.

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founding

Ha.

Maybe.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

I'd like one BRE Datsun 510 please.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Speaking of Nissan and high-performance sports cars, I need someone to talk me out of selling my C6 Z06 and ordering a final model year GT-R. The "Gran Turismo" bad-financial-decisions millennial nostalgia demon on my shoulder is whispering that a base model with the MY2025-only blue interior or a T-Spec in Midnight Purple "will never depreciate."

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

A real driver’s car traded away on what is, basically, the opposite of that? That’s a no for me dog.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Nostalgia demon sez: I live in New England so I can't drive the Vette half the year. Despite me putting all-seasons on it (partially negating the driver's car aspect) I've had a few terrifying aquaplaning incidents in the rain. It's clearly best suited to someplace warm and dry. It may in theory be the better driver's car but does a tree falling in a forest make a sound if the car can't be driven?

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Fair, but OTOH your “the GTR won’t depreciate” goes out the window if you drive the pants off of it in all weather.

If you want an all season supercar, spend ~half of GTR money on a 996TT or 997TT.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Nostalgia demon sez: The Porsche's cost of ownership would be way higher; used Porsche prices are elevated and on a downwards trend, maintenance will be a king's ransom whereas I can get an 8-year, 120K mile factory extended warranty on a new GT-R.

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

Will you really drive a new GT-R in bad weather is the question. If so, go for it. There will always be low mileage Corvettes available for sale. Midnight Purple or Jade Green sounds good to me.

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Also, the final GT-R is a lot closer to being a "Driver's car" than a 2008 intro model.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

midnight purple is likely to be a far more desirable colour on the secondhand market if r34 prices are anything to go by

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Not on purpose but the weather here can change on a dime.

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I doubt the GT-R will be much better in bad weather (maybe the weight would keep it from aquaplaning) and the maintenance will be horrifying compared to the Corvette. If the GT-R does hold value well, how could it possibly depreciate less than the ZO6, which bottomed out four years ago.

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Just buy a playstation and Grand turismo and keep the z06.

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author

I say DO IT.

It's what you want. And you'll be able to put a lot of mileage on it with relatively little cost.

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

You own Peak Corvette. PLEASE COME DOWN, WE LOVE YOU

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Jun 5Liked by Jack Baruth

In for deets on the z06.

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I own a very not stock C6Z and recently spent some time including running a ProSolo with a 2013 GTR. My take is unless you're doing autocross/track days/time trials, the GTR is probably a better pick.

0) The GTR is a much rarer car if that matters.

1) The only thing worse than mid/late aughts GM interior is early aughts GM interior. The GTR isn't amazing, but it's still a way nicer place inside than any C6

2) For all the claims about it being a video game car - at least the 2013 was surprisingly... mechancial feeling - especially when compared to modern german cars. It fits a unique nichce similar to the C6Z relative to its more modern counterparts. Not sure if the latest versions have kept that or if they've been made more civilized.

3) It feels way faster on the street, and is more fun to drive at less than 10/10ths. I always felt the C6Z felt pretty sluggish and boring until you were really pushing - at which point if you were on the street you were on your way to jail.

HOWEVER - no way would I spend 130k+ on a GTR when the 2013 is out there for half that.

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Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences. I appreciate it!

Re "HOWEVER": Eh, I could go bargain-hunting for a 13yo one just repossessed from owner 7, aspiring influencer and "street takeover" enthusiast "Maxx Cheddar." But as a wise man once said, and I have learned the hard way (kids, just say no to used Audis), "if you can't afford a new one, you can't afford a used one."

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Jun 6Liked by Jack Baruth

C6 Z06s are not appreciating in value. There will never be another 7 litre LS or LT engine available again but that LS7 has serious issues. The heads wear out valve guides and the connecting rods wear with the titanium coating coming off. Its like getting colorectal cancer and Alzheimers all at once.

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Jun 5·edited Jun 5Liked by Sherman McCoy

Allow me to be childish about your prior comments on how the UJM is superior to modern middleweight naked bikes.... bwahhahahahhahaha said the xsr900 as it got to its destination without smelling funny, overheating and faster.

Nissan DOES have macho ads presented by a square jawed and very serious person. (I'll show myself out).

on to the SERIOUS talk of McLaren:

The stick I give YOU is due to what I see as absolutely unjustifiable fandom from your end. And I MEAN fanatic.

If the notion is empirically that something that is HAIRIER to drive, and less predictable, but makes the same or similar laptimes and general performance envelope as something that is docile and approachable automatically makes its a 'driver's car'; well, I'll be charitable - its as irrational a position as a 50+ year old going to harsh menopause. (the 50+ year old is supposed to be more mature than when she was 15). This is as a 'driver', someone who enjoys driving, especially competitively.

As an engineer, this is a statement worthy of having been uttered by someone with a 60 IQ.

The McLarens are good cars, but they don't do ANYTHING better enough for the dogshit build quality and aftersales services and all the other shenanigans to be worth it.

The irony here is if someone really wanted to be masochistic for 30seconds of REAL driving pleasure they can also suck off someone like Radical, who are also British, for a lot less.

The irony here is that the conditions you describe in which the McLaren becomes 'worth it' were only possible because someone greased the proverbial skids a LOT for it to happen for you in a previous life. No owner is going to come close to experiencing the white glove handjob you got (free car, gas, empty racetrack to yourself, etc.), while they will have to live EVERY day with the piece of shit that it is in real life.

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