Oct 11, 2015 | American, Cars you should buy
This thing has it all!
A southern two door Tahoe? Diesel? Stripped down with rubber floors and crank windows. So weird!!! I think the sellers assumption is correct that this was some sort of emergency rescue apparatus given the light options, diesel power plant and fire engine red paint. Granted, I am not a big fan of the pre-Duramax GM diesels, but I’ll make an exception for this because of its obscurity. This truck is beyond bad-ass with its winch bumper and oversized tires. I also like how the seller is open to trades. It can make for an interesting transaction.
Craiglist link: http://meadville.craigslist.org/cto/5253215333.html
Ad content:
I have for sale or trade my 1996 Chevy Tahoe 4×4 6.5 diesel. Would like to trade for an S-10 ZR-2 and other smaller vehicle for driving back and forth to work.
The truck is in great shape and free of rust, I have had it oil undercoated twice and never drove it in the winter. The truck is from the south, Georgia I believe, and I bought it in South Carolina. Truck runs great, there is not rust on the body at all 179,xxx miles. Bottom of the doors look like new, same with rockers and rear gate. Truck is clean, you won’t find another one in this clean around here. It does have a scratches and a small ding or two, but nothing major. looks good all cleaned up. I had new shocks, brakes, rotors, pads front, shoes rear, wheel cylinders, and serviced transmission, rearend, front end, and transfer case all done when I bought it a few years ago. In the last year, I replaced both batteries, and the starter. It is due for inspection, but will be exempt because it only had 250 miles on it last year. Tires are great shape, about 7000 miles or so, also has an 8000# electric Super Winch, and aftermarket winch bumper (has some surface rust) on the front and two KC lights. I believe it was a fire truck of some sort of response vehicle. It does have a small dent on the fender and door because I was broke into at my house and believe someone tried to steal the wheels off of it because my fiancee took it down the driveway and the wheel fell off. And it hit the fender and door.
I have made several improvements to the engine, and parts are easy to get. There is a company in Buffalo, New York that makes mod kits for these, you can get this truck to about 450 horsepower for $1500.00 I have replaced the PMD and bought a heat sync for it, also relocated so it doesn’t over heat. Installed a new high flow crossover pipe, and straight pipe, and installed a cold air intake. Truck has good power, 4×4 works great, shifts good too. Has power door locks, cruise, air, am/fm, no power windows. Also has Eagle alloy 589 wheels, but they need a good polish. Asking $3500.00 OBO or would consider trades of boats, horse trailer, or farm tractors, equipment or use your imagination and let me know what you got.
Oct 11, 2015 | American, Asian, Cars you should buy, Japanese
Welcome to my new category! When I stumble upon interesting cars while surfing, I’m going to share them! As much as I’d love to fill my driveway and yard with these gems, doing so would likely lead to a costly divorce as my wife doesn’t seem to appreciate the finer oddball vehicles in life.
How awesome is this? Dodge, struggling to get into the fast growing mini-pickup market, used their relationship with Mitsubishi to badge engineer a Mitsubishi Pickup, and call it the D-50. 4WD models gained the iconic name “Power Ram.”
You win in two ways with this truck. One: you get an awesome mid-eighties Japanese Pickup, amber bubble side windows on the cap and all, and two: you have a truck with an american name to appease the truck nut contingent you may encounter, weather it be tailgating at a sporting event, or going out and towing your power sport equipment.
Don’t forget to get some sort of rustproofing treatment if you are going to drive it around here in the rust belt! Japanese trucks from the eighties rusted away long before their drivetrains wore out up here.
Anyway Check out this Power Ram D-50!
Here’s the post from Craigslist: http://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/5262095254.html
And in case the ad has been deleted:
1984 Dodge D-50 “Power Ram” 4 cylinder 4×4 with factory optional A.C., sunroof, power steering, etc. 5-speed manual transmission, automatic locking front hubs, 4 wheel drive works, 165,700 miles. Runs and drives great! Body is very straight but has some rust damage. Long bed with bedliner and locking shell. New battery. Purchased from the an elderly gentleman in Utah and driven to Buffalo with no problems whatsoever. I bought the truck specifically for the purpose of towing my motorcycle on a trailer from UT to NY. I already have a pickup here otherwise the truck would not be for sale. Clean UT title in my name. Asking $1650. My name is Ed and I can be reached at
Apr 23, 2015 | American
Here’s the hardest part of and why I haven’t posted in a long time; research distracts me from actually getting to writing the article. My wife said to me today as she was leaving for work, that I should write in my blog, so I’m really going to do it today. The first generation Cadillac CTS-V.
Luxury car brands like to have a separate brand within their brand they can tout as their in-house performance division. BMW has the M cars, Mercedes has AMG, Audi has S cars, Lexus has their F designation, Jaguar has R designations, and Cadillac has V. The first car that received the V designation was their already somewhat interesting CTS. A front engine-rear drive, 5 series/E class sized car, that on paper, appeared to be a legitimate competitor to European and Japanese mid -sized sedans. The V version, got upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and most importantly, a 400 horsepower LS6 or LS2 all aluminum V8 bolted to a T-56 manual transmission. That’s it! No automatic slush box for this boulevard cruiser. Enthusiasts rejoice!
So on paper this looks like a winner. Unfortunately, this was pre-recession era General Motors. American cars in the mid 2000s had a reputation for having some pretty low rent material interiors and this car is no exception. Acres of flat black plastic along with a fit and finish that appear to be of the same standard as a Chevy Cobalt of the same era, not of the most prestigious American nameplate that you would expect. Malibus and Camrys of today have much nicer materials and fit and finish over what was then Caddy’s most expensive version of their 5 series fighter.
Look at those vents! You know they make a horrible plastic on plastic scraping sound when those joysticks are moved. Also observe that gauge cluster that appears to be directly lifted from a Cobalt with a V graphic and a couple of low-resolution LCD screens added.
Beige!!!!!!
Aside from the interior, and I think I read something somewhere that these cars had an issue with rear differentials failing, but I have no reference for that right now. I would most certainly drive one of these cars. I liken the Small Block Chevy V8 is to GM, as what the 911 is to Porsche. Both are obsolete designs that have been engineered and tweaked to the point where they not only remain relevant, but are beyond competitive.
I stole photos for this post from:http://www.edmunds.com. If you are the owner of these photos and would like me to take them down, I will gladly do so. jj@doublejslist.com
Mar 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
“Car guy” is a term that has been thrown around for decades as a descriptor of a person who has a passion for the automobile. More recently, the term “Car Geek” has made an appearance on the internet and among automotive social groups. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a distinction between the two.
When someone is referred to as a “Car Guy,” to a person outside of the car world think of someone who is simply into cars. Over the years I am sure that people have referred to me as a car guy. When I hear the term, I think of an alpha male type character, bolting a nitrous oxide system to their five liter fox body. He’s also the type of guy who parks himself in front of the big screen on Sundays watching football. When I think of a celebrity that I could align with this type of guy, Tim Allen hits all of the marks. Let me get this straight, there is nothing wrong with being a Car Guy. At times I think there is crossover into the other category that goes both ways.
A “Car Geek” on the other hand, is the type of person who enjoys facts and obscurity in the automotive world. A Car Geek knows the differences between model years of certain cars. They aren’t necessarily obsessed with dyno numbers and quarter mile times. They are more concerned with what color and options a car has, and if they are original. Car geeks love unmolested original cars. They also like cars that are revolutionary and innovative. I’m not saying that a Car Geek doesn’t like a fast car, but it isn’t the highest priority. A car geek likes a limited edition Miata, just as much, if not more than a 5.0 Mustang. When I think of a celebrity that has Car Geek qualities, I think of Jerry Seinfeld. He has a pension for odd, yet revolutionary vehicles that might not be the most macho, but are damn interesting. If you haven’t had the opportunity check out his video blog project that he has been working on: http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/
Personally, I feel I fall in the Car Geek category for the most part. I love cars that are interesting. Where do you fall?
Sep 1, 2011 | European, German
In 1995, BMW decided to bring it’s compact hatchback version of its iconic 3-series to the US market. This car was already a massive success in Europe, and BMW thought since it was such a hit there, that it would naturally be a sales boom here. It was quite a bit less expensive than the sedan and coupe versions already on sale here.
To get the base price down, the entry level model had a cloth interior, steel wheels with plastic wheel covers, and was only offered with a four cylinder engine. The biggest difference, other than the body style, was the rear suspension. The semi-trailing arm setup was almost the same as what was used in the previous generation 3-series. Not only did this save on cost over the new multi-link setup that was used on the sedan and coupe, it also was more compact, allowing for more cargo space in the smaller hatchback version of the 3-series. Personally, I am not sure if using the older suspension was a bad thing. The previous generation 3 series is still to this day regarded as one of the best driver’s cars of all time, and was again lifted for use in BMW’s sports car, the Z3. It helped give the 318ti its own personality in the lineup.
Throughout the years it was on the US market, the most interesting trim level was the Sport. It had seats with larger bolsters, sport suspension, fog lights, a steering wheel with BMW’s “M” logo at the bottom, and only on 1995 models, you could get a limited slip differential. Another item worth mentioning is the “California Roof” option. Starting in 1996, you could get an electrically folding canvas roof that created a much larger opening than a standard sunroof. A friend of mine had one. It was prone to leaking, but was so cool, that the leaking was easily overlooked.
Unfortunately, the 318ti was not the sales success here in the States, as it was on the other side of the pond. BMW to this day claims that the hatchback style is not popular with Americans. I beg to differ. In Europe, BMW offered many different engine choices. Here, all we had were 1.8 and 1.9 liter 4 cylinder twin cam engines, that produced nearly the same power. Europe had the option of a 6 cylinder that would make an already great car even better. I am not sure if the Germans thought Americans hate powerful small cars, or if they were afraid of the little hatch stealing sales away from the sedan and coupe that already had a strong following. All I know is that BMW still refers to this car when it comes to selling hatches here. This is why we have the mutated looking 1 series coupe, and not the handsome 5-door hatch that Europe gets to enjoy.
However, I’d still love to have one of these cars. The fact that it sold so poorly makes it unique and quirky, yet not so quirky that it isn’t a good car. It’s far more practical than the coupe, and is just more interesting than the standard 3 series. This is why it is on my list.
I stole photos for this post from: http://www.usautoparts.net http://www.theautochannel.com http://www.stusviews.net http://www.edmunds.com If you are the owner of these photos and would like me to take them down, I will gladly do so. jj@doublejslist.com
