Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Top 10 Car Moments of the Decade
10. (2000) Gone in Sixty Seconds arrives in theaters. 75 seconds later it heads for DVD. Robert Duvall, Nick Cage, Angelina Jolie... the real star was Eleanor a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 designed by Chip Foose. Not since the General Lee has a character car been made into so many clones. 
9. (2001) The loss of Dale Earnhardt opened the eyes of many to the color and drama of NASCAR. Sadly, since his passing, the sport has become more and more dull.
8. (2002) The death of the mighty Camaro. What killed it? Probably the SUV. It gets blamed for everything in this decade. But seriously, Government Motors was so busy trying to find places to build SUVs they killed off their rear wheel drive cars to make more room on the assembly lines. I think we all know how that worked out.
7. (2003-2007) Ford decides to get into the supercar business with the Ford GT. Internet billionaires and real estate moguls rejoice. Car guys like me get a good chuckle when we read newspaper stories about said weenies driving their 550 hp supercharged racers into guardrails and ditches.
6. (2004) The rise of the Mustang. Restyled for the 2005 model year, the Mustang went back to its roots and its late sixties style. The reborn Challenger and Camaro would follow suit, but the Mustang blazed the way for tasteful retrostyle.
5. (2005) Danica Patrick won Rookie of the Year for IndyCar's 2005 Season. She is to Indy car racing what Tiger Woods is to golf... except all the winning and extra-marital affairs. After Dale Earnhardt Jr., she is probably the biggest brand in racing.
4. (2006) Cars (the Pixar Movie) hits theaters. Each pixel is turned into a diecast vehicle and sold to little kids. In the age of video games and iPods, another generation of kids gets turned on to playing with simple cars. (At about $4 a pop.)
3. (~2007) The Speed Channel finds a winner in the Barrett Jackson Collector Car auctions. Here, the rich guys responsible for the derivatives debacle and hedge funds buy up all the best muscle cars for $100K and up. Hemi Cudas, Shelby Mustangs, and Yenko Camaros are added to collections like vintage wines. The beer and burger crowds are left with 318 Dusters and 4-door Chevelles for $15 grand a piece.
2. (2008) High gas prices decimate the automotive landscape and the economy and what is left of Detroit and Sunday drives. The SUV (killer of the Camaro and Caprice) is effectively dead. Something called a Prius becomes the liberal car of choice. Drill baby, drill.
9. (2001) The loss of Dale Earnhardt opened the eyes of many to the color and drama of NASCAR. Sadly, since his passing, the sport has become more and more dull.
8. (2002) The death of the mighty Camaro. What killed it? Probably the SUV. It gets blamed for everything in this decade. But seriously, Government Motors was so busy trying to find places to build SUVs they killed off their rear wheel drive cars to make more room on the assembly lines. I think we all know how that worked out.
7. (2003-2007) Ford decides to get into the supercar business with the Ford GT. Internet billionaires and real estate moguls rejoice. Car guys like me get a good chuckle when we read newspaper stories about said weenies driving their 550 hp supercharged racers into guardrails and ditches.
6. (2004) The rise of the Mustang. Restyled for the 2005 model year, the Mustang went back to its roots and its late sixties style. The reborn Challenger and Camaro would follow suit, but the Mustang blazed the way for tasteful retrostyle.
5. (2005) Danica Patrick won Rookie of the Year for IndyCar's 2005 Season. She is to Indy car racing what Tiger Woods is to golf... except all the winning and extra-marital affairs. After Dale Earnhardt Jr., she is probably the biggest brand in racing.
4. (2006) Cars (the Pixar Movie) hits theaters. Each pixel is turned into a diecast vehicle and sold to little kids. In the age of video games and iPods, another generation of kids gets turned on to playing with simple cars. (At about $4 a pop.)
3. (~2007) The Speed Channel finds a winner in the Barrett Jackson Collector Car auctions. Here, the rich guys responsible for the derivatives debacle and hedge funds buy up all the best muscle cars for $100K and up. Hemi Cudas, Shelby Mustangs, and Yenko Camaros are added to collections like vintage wines. The beer and burger crowds are left with 318 Dusters and 4-door Chevelles for $15 grand a piece.
2. (2008) High gas prices decimate the automotive landscape and the economy and what is left of Detroit and Sunday drives. The SUV (killer of the Camaro and Caprice) is effectively dead. Something called a Prius becomes the liberal car of choice. Drill baby, drill.
1. (2009) The ZR-1 Corvette is reborn without the dash (ZR1). What it does have is awesome looks and an LS9 supercharged V8 pumping out something north of 630 HP in a car that weighs less than 3,400 pounds. The headline: "GM does something right." Sadly, it may be too late.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Whatcha been working on?
For about the last month I have been working on preparing my dad's truck to be sold. Cleaning, fixing, cleaning, replacing, cleaning, tune-up, cleaning, removing, cleaning... you get the idea.
First stop was under the hood for some cleaning, an oil change, and a fresh tune-up with Bosch Platinum plugs. As my dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it runs." It really does running exceptionally smoothly and quietly for a truck. It also received some new front brakes and rotors for smoother stopping.
Next stop was in the cab for some cleaning, CB removal, seat fixing, and some more cleaning. As Dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it came out." To which I would reply, yes I would, because I know how much time I spent on it.
Next stop was the exterior. For one of Dad's trucks, the outside is in pretty decent shape. The one exception was the rear bumper which showed it experienced a few Maine winters.
The replacement bumper from a local salvage yard. Not perfect, but definitely better.
After some additional outside cleaning we have the final product. As dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it looks." If it didn't have the exact same number of miles as my pickup, I would buy it and keep it.
First stop was under the hood for some cleaning, an oil change, and a fresh tune-up with Bosch Platinum plugs. As my dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it runs." It really does running exceptionally smoothly and quietly for a truck. It also received some new front brakes and rotors for smoother stopping.
Next stop was in the cab for some cleaning, CB removal, seat fixing, and some more cleaning. As Dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it came out." To which I would reply, yes I would, because I know how much time I spent on it.
Next stop was the exterior. For one of Dad's trucks, the outside is in pretty decent shape. The one exception was the rear bumper which showed it experienced a few Maine winters.
The replacement bumper from a local salvage yard. Not perfect, but definitely better.
After some additional outside cleaning we have the final product. As dad would say, "you wouldn't believe how nice it looks." If it didn't have the exact same number of miles as my pickup, I would buy it and keep it.
