Oct. 5 Weekly Open Thread
by Chris Hafner
on October 05, 2009
As always, this is the place for conversation that doesn't really fit anywhere else.
You know those exotic sports car clubs, in which club members rotate through Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and the like? Membership in one of those clubs would be pretty fantastic--but how great would a Car Lust car club be? One week you'd get to sample a 1983 AMC Eagle, the next a 1989 Subaru Justy, the next a Porsche 924, the next a 1974 Chevrolet Laguna, the next an International Scout, the next a 1988 BMW 635CSi ... I'd join that club in a heartbeat. Given the worth of the cars involved, membership would probably be incredibly cheap, too.
--Chris H.
Seth on October 05, 2009 at 05:05 PM
Oh wow that's an awesome idea! There are all these cars out there I'd love to own; they're not expensive, just kinda rare... but of course I can't buy them all and I really would only want them for a month or two. I'm with you Chris, I'd join in an instant!
Cookie the Dog's Owner on October 06, 2009 at 04:56 AM
Speaking of clunkers--er, I mean "offbeat automobiles of a certain age,"--the WSJ has an interesting article on the cash-for-clunkers experiment: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703628304574453280766443704.html?mod=wsj_share_facebook
Would I join the Car Lust Club? Probably, and I'd even pay extra for the privilege of skipping my turn with the 1978 6-cylinder Monza wagon.
...m... on October 06, 2009 at 06:06 AM
...i expect restoration, maintenance, and logistsics to cover fleet downtime would get pretty complex...has anyone ever heard of a similar attempt to create a classic (rather than exotic) car club?..
epilonious on October 06, 2009 at 06:23 AM
I kind of like the idea, but I would want it to be full of econoboxes and other things that fell off the rental fleet.
I would actually like to take a few turns at an Aveo, a Metro, and a sunfire...
Anthony Cagle on October 06, 2009 at 07:42 AM
Hey, for $25 y'all can come up and tool around in my Mustang II. . . . .
Anthony Cagle on October 06, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Off the current topic, but I rather liked this article from TTAC: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/mark-laneve-is-insane/
"Contrary to the MSM’s meme, GM’s sales in “flyoverland” are not down to knee-jerk patriotism. As AN rightly points out, GM’s survival in small town America can be attributed to one simple fact: rural dealers are local dealers."
My gut says this is largely the case. My parents and a lot of their friends and neighbors in semi-rural Wisconsin tended to buy from particular dealerships rather than manufacturers. My mother, for instance, wouldn't buy anything except from Feldner Chevrolet in St. Cloud, WI. They knew her and she knew them and they had a certain amount of trust. We used to argue with her about some of her car choices, but she kept going back and, on balance, they treated her well, with service and purchases. Matter of fact, she consigned my dad's car to them after he passed away and they seem to have gotten a good price for it (1987 Chrysler New Yorker).
Given the kind of crap I've had to put up with in my (thankfully very few) car-buying forays, I can totally understand.
John B on October 06, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Sounds tempting...who wouldn't wantto take a spin in a Pacer?
And Anthony...I'd love to try a Mustang II again. AS my first new car it got me through college. I loved it...even though with the base engine and automatic, it was grossly underpowered. Fow awhile I lived halfway uyp a hill, and to climb it, I'd have to go downhill for a block so I could get a running start at it. Really.
But paying to drive other cars of the 70s-80s? I don't know. As an officer in the Air Force I drove a collection of strippo domestic military staff cars from the 80s...the experience was enough for a lifetime.
Beat up AMC wagons, huge early 70s Plymouths, later K-cars, Chevy S-10 pickups...I drove them all.
All had features in common..numb steering, so-so brakes and indifferent build quality. The fact they were unloved motor pool cars and base models (no radio, cold vinyl seats) didn't help their appeal.
The only one that stands out is a huge late-60s camouflaged Dodge 4-door 4x4 pickup (this is long before civilian pickups had more than two doors..the Air Force called them "six packs") that a grumpy motor pool sargeant assigned me when I had to make visits to the media downtown. That always made a statement.
Aside from the weird (Pacer) and the nostalgic (my beloved Mustang), I think I'll let sleeping cars lie.
Chris Mallow on October 06, 2009 at 01:41 PM
I like the Car Lust Club idea. I mean, if you can have enthusiasts who get excited about "rat rods", why not enthusiasts who can enjoy and appreciate rare and unusual underappreciated models? I would second this because so many of the cars we discuss on here are rapidly fading away as they simply get too old to maintain.
This is why I love reading Car Lust. Supposedly, Don Juan believed that there is beauty to be found in every woman. I like to think that we're the Don Juans of the automotive world.
Tommy's Dad on October 06, 2009 at 02:54 PM
Count me in for a Car Lust club too. I got my degree in History, so Chris Hafner's line from a long while ago about these cars being time capsules from their time and place resonates with me. I'd love to spend a month or two in one of these capsules- and then, when the modern reality sets in and the novelty and fascination of driving, say, a 70s LTD wears off, I can be on to something else.
Imagine switching from that LTD to, say, a Triumph next month. No other car club in the world would offer that sort of dichotomy of driving experience! Sign me up!
P on October 06, 2009 at 04:32 PM
Sure, I'd join a Car Lust club - if it solely involved Volvos!
I would wish for nothing more than to drive a '61 P1800 for a month, then switch to an '87 740 the next, and later to an '05 Cross Country. Now that would be a great experience for me!
John Bono on October 08, 2009 at 05:52 PM
Sure, sounds great. Anyone want to swap rides with me. I have a Saturn.
Anyone?
Anyone?