Car Talk

[Pastor of Muppets]

Nice ride.  Brand new or slightly used?  How many miles?

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Brand new, 10 miles on it after my test drive so I'm not sure anyone else looked at it.

[RVR II]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/buy-a-new-car-since-1995-you-could-get-part-of-a-dollar1-billion-settlement
 

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I've had to block Onstar on my cell phone, 2 calls a day from them because my trial is running out and they are desperate to sign me up...

[wihogfan]

Man, I hate dealing with dealerships, but I had to get something because my old vehicle was on it's last legs. Needed something 4 wheel drive (due to living in Wisconsin) and fairly cheap and found a great deal on a slightly used (7,500 miles) 2017 Jeep Renegade. Got a much better than expected trade in amount on my Toyota FJ Cruiser that had 185,000 miles on it. New to me vehicle is smaller than I'm used to and all the electronics are taking some getting used to, but price and trade in were such that I was able to pay cash or the remainder and not take on a car payment. Really wanted a Wrangler instead, but what they're asking for those these days  (even used) is ridiculous.
And yeah, I researched the hell out of all the negatives of the Renegade before getting one, but the price ended up negating those negatives-at least for the short term until I can afford something better.

[CJones]

Does anyone else still prefer manual transmissions?

I recently wrecked my beloved straight shift Honda Accord, and had to replace it with a Toyota Camry There's nothing wrong with the Camry per se, but of the four cars I've owned in my life, this is the first one that's an automatic. And I hate driving it. I once rear ended someone while stopped at a stop light. I bent over to pick something up off the floor, and I must have inadvertently taken my foot off the brake. Something that wouldn't have mattered in any of my previous cars. But since the Camry is an automatic, it started moving while I was looking at the floor I hate that. Now I have to remember to shift into neutral while stopped, something that feels strange to do without a clutch.

And they're so boring to drive. My right hand and left foot have almost nothing to do.

I read recently that in the UK, 80% of cars are manuals. And if you take your driving test on an automatic, you're restricted to driving only automatics. I wish it was like that here. I really feel like driving a stick shift forces you to pay more attention to what you're doing, and is therefore safer. It amazes me how many Americans don't even know how to drive a stick shift. Am I just old fashioned?

[RVR II]

Never learned how to drive a standard transmission..
All my years of toying around with muscle cars and rebuilding automatic transmissions and I never learned to drive a stick.
Never really wanted to honestly

[The Lurker]

Behold the 1987 Subaru BLT (concept)

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Had to google that to see if it was real, and it is, there are pictures of it at some auto show in Japan.

No info on what it was supposed to be.  Was is electric?  There is no room for an engine anywhere, the back seats are up against the rear, and the front leg space goes right up to the front.  I guess a very tiny engine could fit behind the rear wheels, rear passengers would be sitting on top of it.

[CJones]

Some info on the BLT (questionable naming choice BTW): https://www.allcarindex.com/auto-car-model/Japan-Subaru-BLT/

But the most pertinent stuff:

Engine & performance:

Position: rear
Type: 3-cylinder, 9-valve
Capacity: 1190 cc
Power: 100 hp
Drive: 4WD, 4WS

100 hp? For a minivan? My 1981 Datsun 510 hatchback had 92 hp. By contrast, my mom's 2017 Sienna minivan has just under 300 hp.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Some info on the BLT (questionable naming choice BTW): https://www.allcarindex.com/auto-car-model/Japan-Subaru-BLT/

But the most pertinent stuff:

Engine & performance:

Position: rear
Type: 3-cylinder, 9-valve
Capacity: 1190 cc
Power: 100 hp
Drive: 4WD, 4WS

100 hp? For a minivan? My 1981 Datsun 510 hatchback had 92 hp. By contrast, my mom's 2017 Sienna minivan has just under 300 hp.

I had thought they might have put a motorcycle engine in it just to get it around to shows, there a little space in the front center for a small air cooled engine.  No way it could have gone into production with that small of an engine, but concept cars don't end up as production models.

Being a concept car it was probably fiberglass, so it may have been light enough to move well with an engine that small.  It probably never drove with 4 people inside.

[RVR II]

Looks like the knock sensor(s) on my 07 Toyota Sienna is going bad as my check engine light has come on twice in the last couple of weeks.. Estimates are running a few hundred to several hundred dollars to fix. It will require removing the intake to get to the parts.
Found the replacement parts on ebay for a fraction of the normal cost. I was advised to go ahead and replace the knock sensor wire harness as well as it can become brittle from years of engine heat.
I went ahead and bought them and they're actual genuine parts so now I just need to get a figure on labor costs only..
While I'm at it, I'll probably go ahead and replace the ignition coils on cylinders 1, 3, & 5 as they cannot be accessed without removal of the intake as well because they are on the firewall side and cannot be reached from under the minivan. I've already had #6 cylinder ignition coil go bad back in July so might as well get those 3 replaced while the intake is removed.
I'll probably get this done sometime next week when the parts arrive.