One word: Quality. Not the veneer of quality, but the real thing. I've owned a number of W123s, and any car that remains that solid after 30+ years and multiple (sometimes neglectful) owners can only be so because it is the product of top-notch engineering and top-notch construction. You won't find any soft-touch…

I dig Volvos. I've had more than I can count and there are two sitting in my driveway right now (a 242 and a 745tic, both sticks). But I'm also realistic about them, and that's why I nominated the 240 as the best car (well, second-best really, but the W123 had already been nominated) to rack up a whole bunch of…

I understand where you're coming from, but you're missing my point. Your answer assumes that "free-market capitalism" is *the* answer. That's understandable, given that here in the U.S., we are indoctrinated to believe that a free-market capitalist system is the best system. But what if it's not? I certainly don't…

That may be true, to some extent, but I'm not sure that there was a better alternative, especially as to the automakers, given the situation we find ourselves in due to American trade policies. I certainly don't buy Santorum's (and others') argument that the free market solves all problems and should have been…

Not trying to speak for rev_junkie, but I imagine he's talking about Republican politicians' relative silence on the bank-bailout issue, considering how vocally some of them have criticized the auto bailouts. It just goes to show that it's really not a matter of principle for most politicians, but rather who their…

Not sure what a picture of the Sapporo-based 2nd-gen (1978-83) Challenger has to do with the current, 3rd-gen Challenger attempting to mimic the 1st-gen (1970-74) Challenger.

The 3800 *was* a good engine before GM started modernizing it. I have personally experienced the woes of leaking plastic intake manifolds and coil after coil failing with the distributorless ignition, both of which are common problems. Luckily, we caught the leaking manifold quickly, as they have a tendency to…

In all fairness, the 157 horses of the "H.O." 302 in the '82 Mustang GT wasn't (in retrospect) much to get excited about, either. But the Mustang must've benefited from lighter weight and better gearing, because I seem to remember it getting the better of the F-body twins in '82.

Since the W123 has already been taken, I'll go with the Volvo 240, followed by the 740. Both are comfortable and durable, and great for highway cruising, especially in turbo form.

Obvious answer is obvious.

I've gotta agree with number one—IIRC, the pre-"H.O." 305s in the '82 Camaro and Firebird were even worse; something like 145hp for the 4-barrel version and about 165hp for the unfortunately-named "Crossfire Injection" model (apparently the marketing genius who thought that one up had never suffered the symptoms of…

Sure, it may be a little rougher, but it's also $3,400 less. For what this car is—bare-bones, tough-as-nails, run-forever transportation—the target demographic (WVO enthusiast and/or survivalist) is likely to overlook some cosmetic issues assuming the mechanicals are good.

83 Euro-spec 300D, also non-turbo, also manual trans, comparable miles, for less than half the price here:

Yeah, the misspellings, lack of punctuation where needed, and unwarranted extra punctuation made this a really difficult story to read. A few more examples:

Yes. And there's definitely nothing wrong with that.

I wish the Ecology Center people had been in my grandpa's Suburban to measure toxins while he was on his goat-cheese diet. Talk about catalyzing off-gassing...

I searched their website, but I couldn't find information on my 1960 Simca anywhere. What kind of cotomer sevis is that?

First off, fascists tend to bust unions, not run them. Second, who goes to "AAA meetings"? Tow-truck drivers?

Over-engineered, yes, but the quality had already started to slip at this point. Over time, W126s have definitely held up better than W140s, which in turn held up much better than the W220s.

I've owned a couple of W108s, a W124, a W126, and a whole bunch of W123s. A diesel 123 is the quintessential Mercedes—terrific quality and tough-as-fucking-nails. If only newer Benzes were this well-built!