<![CDATA[Comments from slowjoecrow]]> <![CDATA[Comments from slowjoecrow]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, 3-Way Superpower Showdown: Renault R17 Gordini, Alfa Romeo Giulia, or Bond Equipe?]]> The Renault deserves the win, because so many Renaults of that era perished in electrical fires, and it's a convertible so half the body and trim parts are probably unobtanium.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1986 Honda CRX HF]]> The lack of a crappy body kit and fart cannon muffler alone would secure this DOTS status, since the Riceboys have worked their evil on most old Civics.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Is Mercury Worth Saving?]]> Jettison the brand and the cars. Use the money to make Lincoln a proper luxury brand with distinct products like Cadillac. First off, build a CTS killer off the Falcon, second, stop trying to sell blinged up trucks. If they have to have something CUV ish, reskin an XC90 V8.
Also put some more into Ford's US line, the Euro Focus is a must and better interiors and a Falcon derivative to replace the CV and Taurus would be a better use of money than chasing a pointless demographic.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Project Car Hell: 1961 BMW 700 or Three 1955 Austin FX3 Taxis]]> I voted for the 700 because they use almost the same engine as an R60/2 so I always wanted to put an R100 engine in a 700. Of course to add to the PCHness, I would make that an R100 with the extremely expensive and now unobtanium Krause 4 valve heads and a Luftmeister turbo kit.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Convertible Prius Aims For Economy And Style, Misses]]> A Priusamino dirt bike hauler would be great for making treehugger's heads explode.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Four Door Convertibles?]]> You can buy aftermarket soft tops for Land Rover 109 and 110 station wagons. This is a simple bolt on job since the roof comes right off. There is a 109 in the Portland OR area with one of these soft tops and the effect is similar to a Jeep Wrangler.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 10 Strangest Cars Revealed At The 2008 Beijing Motor Show]]>

The blocky camo on the last vehicle looks like an urban camouflage scheme similar to the Berlin Brigade scheme [emlra.org] designed to blend in with buildings

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Morgan Aero 8]]> Aero 8 No, Plus 8 yes, or a Morgan trike re-powered with a Triumph 1200 Daytona mill (British Hayabusa analog, since a Japanese engine wouldn't be cricket). While I appreciate the sheer bloodymindedness of the Aero 8, if I'm going to put a Morgan in the garage I want something purer, and more frightening if the Plus 8 is using a tuned 5 liter TVR engine instead of the usual Land Rover version.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on What's Your Favorite Forgotten Limited-Edition Car?]]> Porsche 911 SC/RS a lighter simpler 911, and the last version built on the original 901 platform.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Question Of The Day: Is It Ever Okay To Wear Racing Team Apparel?]]> When I was kid our local BMW dealer campaigned a couple of 2002s so we wore team t-shirts to the races to show support. Of course we had a personal connection, since they serviced our 2000.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Seven New Cars We Wish Were April Fools' Day Jokes]]> Focus for the lose, because unlike the rest of the list which are either stupid ideas, crappy products,or both, the Focus started as a good car and was turned into a crap car.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250S, With Bonus Benz Poll]]> We had one of those in the early 70's except it was dark Green. My parents bought it used in 69, and in late 73 or early 74 it threw a rod while mom was driving my sister to nursery school, so not all of them last 500,000 miles.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Project Car Hell, South Carolina Edition: GT6 or 429 Mustang II?]]> The GT6 is too easy to fix, just get a Moss or Rimmer Bros. catalog and start spending. The Mustang is going to require serious effort to re-engineer and keep in one piece.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Increased Road Privatization On The Way, According to the Washington Post]]> I'm OK with tolls if the sole purpose is to pay for the road, and when the road is paid for the toll is abolished. Connecticut did that with I-95 and it was working fine when I left the area.
Rail, even subsidized rail may be worth the money anyway because it reduces the traffic load for people going the other way. Oregon 217 used to be a lot more crowded during my morning commute and some of that is attributable to people taking the train. Reverse commuting from an inner suburb to an outer suburb helps, but until I hit highway 26 I'm in Portland traffic as well.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1979 Volkswagen Scirocco: Handles Better Than a Ferrari!]]> @superveloce: I had a similar experience, a 78 with the "Recaro" seats and stripes and rotten strut towers so I junked and bought an 81 S, with an 87 16V engine. Made a good sleeper since it was bone stock on the outside, right down to the 13" wheels.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, Deconstruction Edition: One Panhard or Two Renaults?]]> The Renaults, because a friend in high school had a Renault 15 which perished in the electrical fire induced flames of its own hell.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on What's Killing The Car Stereo Industry?]]> I have older cars, so both have aftermarket head units and one has aftermarket speakers (from Crutchfield). One car had an AM/FM radio, so I needed a head unit and the other one had a blown speaker and a broken tape player. There is still a large market for upgrading older vehicles which still have DIN size head units and more or less standard speakers.
Also many factory units still cannot match the features or performance of aftermarket so there is a big indutry of add-ons and adapters and I even saw a custom fit DVD head unit for new Camrys since there are so many of them on the road that the maker could justify the toolong cost.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1978 Honda Civic: Make Mine Leaded!]]> The yellow car is almost definitely a Fiat 128. Interestingly, gas engined Rabbits ran without catalytic converters until 1980 when the emissions regs tightened. I used to run my 78 Scirocco on leaded regular in the late 80's when it was still available.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, Ice, Rust, och Akvavit Edition: Saab or Volvo?]]> The Saab, because the distributor can go over center and make the engine run backwards.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on First Car You Ever Rode In?]]> 1964 Plymouth Valiant with pushbutton transmission, my parents' first new car.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe]]> To me not being eligible for concours judging is a plus,given my feelings about over restored trailer queens. We should enjoy this for its sheer swoopiness.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on What Would Make The Best American Rally Car?]]> Blown Fiero V6 with carbon fiber body panels, an American Lancia 037.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Chicago Auto Show: Dub Magazine Turns Chryslers Into Pentabortions]]> "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Take The Test: How Malaise Is Your Car?]]> 78 Scirocco, 50 points, mine was the special edition with the pseudo-Recaro seats, tape stripes and an air dam to commemorate an SCCA class win

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1972 Beetle: Don't Worry About Corrosion!]]> Paint adds a surprising amount of weight and drag. WWII fighter planes were often polished bare metal, because it was worth 20 mph over camo paint.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1971 Dodge Camper Special]]> It would look great with a vintage Caveman camper. (no joke Caveman was a popular brand in Oregon)

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, Maggie Thatcher Edition: SD1 or Silver Shadow?]]> The Silver Shadow has Citroen suspension, nuff said.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Wheel Falls Off Racing I-Mark, Symbolizes Isuzu's American Experience]]> @LTDScott: Only if you go to Monterey.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Wheel Falls Off Racing I-Mark, Symbolizes Isuzu's American Experience]]> @LTDScott: Does that mean you're a Jackaroo?

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on The Floating Car That Could Have Brought Isuzu Glory]]> How Jalopnik is an amphibious car?

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on What's The Worst Generational Change?]]> Scion Xb was pretty bad, from small economical,and quirky to big, thirsty and bloated.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, Force de Frappe Edition: Simca 1000 GLS or Two Citroen SMs?]]> The SM is the ultimate definition of project car hell.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Yo! PCH, Philadelphia Edition: Jeep FC-150 or Spanish 2CV?]]> The truly interesting handling of FC Jeeps tips the scale for me.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on What's The Best Model Car You've Ever Built?]]> Tamiya Long Range Desert Group truck, with the concealed radio and the Lewis gun in the back. I actually saw a real one in the Imperial War Museum a few years later

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1982 Nissan Pickup: One Heck Of A Hunk Of A Truck!]]> @johnnyichiban: In 1985 Ford was offering 7.7% and they were overrun with buyers. Of course they thought 60 month financing was risky then and the only 72 month loan I ever saw was on an 18 wheeler.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on BMW 1-Series Accessories Brochure Leaks Out to Web]]> @FLB: No, the M1 should be left in peace with its legacy unsoiled. Making a 1 series based M1 would be like a bad Hollywood remake of a classic movie.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on PCH, Truck Bed Edition: Honda 600amino or Dodge Vanpage?]]> The 600amino cries out for a Blackbird engine transplant.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on 1985 Pontiac Fiero SE, With Bonus Fiero Judgment Poll]]> The late V6 cars were good, but a classic case of GM's hype it, release unfinished decontented POS that fails to live up to hype, fix it so it's what it should have been in the first place, kill it. The SSR is similar, hyped, released with V6 instead of V8, finally given V8, killed because of poor sales.
I do have to give GM props for being the only one of the big 3 to try to build a small mid engine sports car, but at the same time I have to say that the Fiero indicates a company that couldn't organize a kegger in a brewery. OTOH base unit construction and bolt on body panels make this a kit car builder's dream. I wonder if any body has bolt on kits for Saturns to make them look cooler like the PCH Viewt?

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Suzuki Palette, the Kei Car for Moms]]> looks Mazda5 that got run through a trash compactor.

]]> <![CDATA[slowjoecrow commented on Project Car Hell: Citroen CX Diesel or V8 Lotus Eclat?]]> This was close, hydraulic Citroens are hellish by their complexity and Frenchness and Loti are hellish due to flakiness, fragility and in this case suspect mods. Ultimately the Citroen gets the nod, because the Lotus is simple enough to fix with a new wiring harness and some non-Lucas components.

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