During a wrecking yard trip recently, I found an older BMW with the built-in phone. Yes, the phone was still there. Looked to be in surprisingly good shape.

NHTSA centralizes the recall info - but not the car owner info. The nhtsa.gov site can’t tell you where all of the affected vehicles are, who owns them, and how the owner can be contacted.

TheTexasCajun: Fires caused by problems in non-running cars affect many automakers. BMW is one of them; Google “BMW parked fire” for some good reading. I know of someone who left their BMW 5-series parked, thankfully, outside in front of the garage. It caught on fire, destroying the car and damaging the house.

I had a ‘74 X1/9. I scored a deal on it many years ago - because it had been parked at the side of the road after snapping the timing belt (yup, it’s an interference engine). Three valves bent; the fourth broke off and punched its remains into the head. After scrounging a good head from a Fiat 128 - and lot of time…

Came here to make sure this reference was in its proper place. Leaving satisfied.

Probably not. Many of them use cassette systems that are pretty easy empty without worrying you’ll need a hazmat suit.

Yeah, the Vixen stretches the definition of “normal” garage. It looks like the pop-top version takes care of most height concerns. But the length... So I just checked: They claim it’s 21' long. There are homes out there that annoyingly claim to feature a “full size garage” when only 19' deep. But there are quite a few…

...and I try to combine that gas trip with other errands in the area (when that’s possible).

Depends on the vehicle, and the price difference. Currently, the station just up the street from my office is 50 cents a gallon more expensive than a station that’s 8 miles away (for those who care: Maryland suburbs; just verified on GasBuddy at $2.79 vs. $2.29). My Suburban has a 35 gallon tank, and my minivan a 27…

Yes, I had to Google “impel vs. compel”, too.

And if you spend that fortune to remove the paint, you’ll almost surely discover why they painted it. Which will require yet another fortune to deal with.

See the Popular Mechanics article here:

I have a 1995 Contour GL V6 - and it is my current daily driver. Purchased new - but late in the year (got a deal because the ‘96 models were already out).

Regarding X1/9 engine swaps: Go with the Honda K20 engine; the details have already been worked out: http://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-1029-acura-honda-k20-engine-swap-kit-for-fiat-bertone-x19-stage-1.aspx

Years ago, I had a ‘74 X1/9 that I found at the side of the road, not running for $350. Yup, the timing belt had snapped. Three valves bent; the fourth broke off and punched a hole in the head. Thankfully, parts were available - and cheap - due to being shared with the 128. The X1/9 remains my definition of the…

Didn’t Ford have a similar system 10+ years ago? It gave windshields a strange gold tint - and make replacement pricey, which is probably why I don’t see them anymore.

As someone who once owned a Fiat X1/9: Yes, that’s what they did. Fiat was especially clever: The transmission linkage was essentially a single rod that could rotate - and slide forward and backward. The casting for the transmission case was configured so that the rod could exit from the “rear” of the transmission…

People who want to live in pricey areas - and have access to other people’s money in order to pull it off.

Keep looking: You’ll also find “Multi Caliber Individual Weapon System”

Great screen capture! Yeah, it was assembled - quickly - from whatever was immediately available...