I bought our Toyota Sienna All Wheel Drive new in 2006. It has been totally reliable and low maintenance. The only bad thing about it was the noisy, harsh-riding run-flat tires. I ditched those as soon as they wore out.
PhaetonV8
d-m-schwartz
As far as I can tell, nobody has figured out how to keep a scramjet running for more than a few minutes. Computer models don’t count.
As soon as I can time travel, I plan to key Hitler’s Benz. A lot easier than assassinating him.
Right on, Hark! Out of the many bikes I’ve owned or borrowed, the only one I could launch easily was a 250cc Ducati. I totally glazed the clutch on my KZ1000 trying to get a good drag start.
I have no idea why the photo won’t load with the initial post.
OK, but the Ford is $45K off the lot here in CA. Six months ago, I went the cheap Benz way to an 11-second class muscle car: SL55 AMG. With taxes, initial repairs and a full warranty it cost me $23K. Granted, to get to mid-11s, I’ll need to change the supercharger pulley. (about $300)
My VW Phaeton V8 is kinda “normal.” Although its reliability and driveability are mainstream, the maintenance costs are more towards “exotic.” My other two cars are not at all normal: a 1967 Imperial Coupe and a 2004 SL55 AMG.
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Our bad weather/skiing mobile: 2006 Toyota Sienna All Wheel Drive. Bought it new. Been totally reliable and low maintenance, despite three teen drivers.
I thought the answer was 42.
The C4 ZR1 was on my must-have list until I got a test drive in a one year old coupe with about 7,000 miles on it. The levels of creak, rattle and shake were way too high for me. I expected some harshness, but the ride quality was unacceptable.
Somewhere in these comments, a guy pointed out that Jalops are anal retentive about car washing. Right. Also, a bit OCD. The hazards of automatic car washes are overstated. Three examples from 50 years and dozens of vehicles: 1974 Ford F150 (VT) was in the car wash machine maybe 4 times a year until 1994 when sold…
The Mercedes-Benz SL500 is pretty cheap these days and still looks like big bucks. (Assuming it’s still shiny and the interior is good)
What I most enjoyed, aside from the great riding quality of the KZ1000P, was watching drivers toss their cell phones aside when they saw me in the mirror.
Good tips! I rode for 50 years and only quit because my doctor convinced me I was over the hill, health-wise. The one thing I will add is, if you commute regularly on a bike, get one that is big and highly visible. I’ve had 2 surplus police bikes for commuting and they got more notice and respect on the highway than…
NP. I bought a running, rideable 1997 KZ1000P for $1300 in 2012. It cost me about $800 to put it into very good, but not perfect condition. I used the KZ as my commuter bike for several years. Fast enough, gets mucho respect on the road from drivers, and the gas mileage was an easy 41 MPG on regular. The respect…
Yes to minivans! At 20 years in, we’re on our 3rd one, a 2006 Toyota Sienna AWD. It has been heavily used and abused by the whole family, including 3 teen drivers. Now at about 125K miles, it’s still totally reliable and very low-maintenance.
Perfect! A no-excuses car aimed at the dick-waving market. Those buyers really need to have the fastest, flashiest ride available even if they only drive it to the country club and back at 40 MPH. Congrats to GM for building it and making more than a few bucks on each one.