Rick - I had a E250 Ford Supervan, a Chevy S10 Blazer, and currently I have a F150, my brother and I had a
1954 Ford Mainline sedan and we built up a flathead V8 for that with Offy heads, Isky cam and lifters,
Edelbrock triple duece manifold and headers. So, yeah. When I was in college I could barely afford
the used Ghia my father sold me for $300, and just barely could afford to keep it running. When I got
out of college, the "oil embargo" was on, and buying a muscle car wasn't a good idea because of the
shortages of fuel. I'd have loved to have owned a muscle car in the 1969-1972 range, but was in college
thru 75 and having $100 that wasn't locked in to some fixed expense was like being rich. Even a $1500 used car
in college would have been the stuff of dreams.
So, I ran old worn out VWs for a while, then switched to new Hondas. Trucks - I think the US ones are
pretty good, and have had them for when I need a truck or van. But, my 4Runner is way, way better than
my Blazer ever dreamed of being, although the Blazer would definitely do the 4WD in snow deal that I
got it for in the mtns of Colorado.
Had lots of friends with Detroit iron, and by the time I could afford a newer car, about 1976, pretty much all
cars were hideous disasters of poor fuel mileage and horrid drivability as they tried to figure out the
whole emissions thing. Frankly, from 76 to 86, IMO most new cars were junk as they rolled off the lots
and all my cars were pre-emissions until 86 when they started to figure things out a little bit. IMO, I missed
nothing skipping 76 to 86. Mustang II? Vega? Yikes. Didn't need or want a big sedan of any make.
As far as a daily driver, I would never have a truck or SUV. I am very pleased with my 2017 Accord 5 speed.
If I was 6'4", I might feel differently, but I am not. I NEED a PU, so I have one. And it gets driven enough to keep
the battery up, and to do gravel, plywood and lumber hauling, and occasional moving or trailer towing chores.
Otherwise, it sits. Like my 1980 911 Targa. It sits until I want to "Go play racecar", and then I get it out and
run it. Same for the Cayman, just newer and I will take it on long cross country trips. The 911 doesn't get driven
enough to fully trust it launching to Cali or something, although it has never let me down in the 34 years I have
owned it. I really need to sell the 911.
Yeah, the real SUs were way better than the smogged Hitachi CDs. Smart move by somebody. Fortunately, I have
never lived in a state that thought my car was any of their business. Fla had safety inspections for about 10 years,
cancelled it when it didn't change accidents. Check brakes, lights and ball joints.