Thought you guys would get a kick out of this:
I wonder if it had as much to do with his driving habits. I have a friend who owns a bunch of older cars. He has SAABs with over 200k miles with only routine maintence. He does change his oil regularly, but He seldom drives over 60 mph, even on the highways, maintains it well and coasts to stops while takes “days” to accelerate to speed. It all works together for longevity.
How did he ever keep that truck under control on icy streets? No electronic traction control! No anti lock brakes! The brakes were definitely drums on all 4 wheels and non power. No power steering! The man should be teaching people to drive.
That’s cause only real men and women drive trucks and don’t need this extra crappolla. Besides, it probably drives too slow to need those devices, like a tractor. I bet everyone is getting out of the way of this beast regardless. Just looking old and ugly gives some of us a distinct advantage, on the road and off, cars or people.
I’ve had those ones where you could watch the road pass under you through the floorboards.
I remember helping a friend tow an old 50s Chevy PU he had purchased from someone. We hooked a tow chain to the vehicles and I hopped into the purchased truck. It was pointed out the driveway and had to make a right out the drive onto the street. Good thing no cars were coming because that front end was so tight from sitting…years…that I was in the ditch on the other side of the street by the time I got the wheel cranked…then I had to straighten out. I was exhausted after the 10 mile trip home.
My buddy…he must have never looked in the mirror, because he had no idea I was having trouble.
Yosemite
“He seldom drives over 60 mph, even on the highways, maintains it well and coasts to stops while takes “days” to accelerate to speed.”
I sure hope this guy drives behind, not in front of me. These people drive me crazy!
Thats no drive, its a short putt. Sorry, just couldn’t let that one pass.
No touch screen info system? I was a little irritated when my FIL sold his 61 Chevy pick up farm truck for something like $500 when he retired. I would have like to have bought it. Basic 6 cyl, manual. No rust in South Dakota. I woulda painted it though and waxed it. Even had a radio.
I think a neighbor of mine is on the way to something similar. He bought a '71 Chevy pickup used back in the early 80s. A bare bones, stripped as a vehicle can be utility vehicle.
He still has that thing on the road on a daily basis and as far as I know the engine and trans have never been touched.
I dunno though, maintains it well? Maybe the drive train but not putting a new muffler on, and letting the rust continue, and not painting it? And duct tape on the seats?
Where I live that truck would be taken off the road within a week. Noise, smoky exhaust, and a mechanical inspection would condemn it instantly.
In a small town where you bowl and drink with the local law enforcement officers you can get away with driving such a wreck.
Some states don’t inspect anything at all. They leave it up to the police. That usually means no harm, no foul. As long as at least one taillight and one headlight work, all is good.
I don’t car about the paint, muffler, sure, holes in the floor, it is up to him. I’d patch it. Truth is, I drove a car just as bad in college. Open the trunk, see your shoes. A dent on every (and I mean the roof, too!) panel, no front passenger seat but all the lights and turn signals worked. Cheap car, got me through a couple of years. Sold it for scrap.
There are no inspections in Minnesota where that truck is but there are fixit tickets issued for equipment problems like lights, mufflers, windshield cracks, and so on. Either local, county, or state police can and do issue the tickets. You have something like 30 days to fix the problem.
@twotone
He leaves early for everything and is always on time. Yes, you DONOT want to be behind him which is why when we travel together, I always volunteer to take my car…another advantage on his part being a slow cautious driver.
Are there any statistics regarding whether mechanically sound “well seasoned” vehicles driven sensibly cause more mayhem than state of the art automobiles driven at their limit?
“Are there any statistics regarding whether mechanically sound “well seasoned” vehicles driven sensibly cause more mayhem than state of the art automobiles driven at their limit?”
I doubt it. Too difficult a metric to quantify.
But I’m sure that such vehicles do pollute a lot more.
Zero tolerance is a lofty sounding goal that rarely plays out to be beneficial. An O2 sensor and catalyst would be a very costly but useless modification on that old pickup. And taking statistically insignificant vehicles off the road would be more punitive overkill than environmental accomplishment.
I find it commical how US automobile manufacturers have successfully lobbied to make their cash cow behemoths the epitome of environmentalism. It’s all about image… And getting your mind right.
Theoretically, the car makers are right. An eight passenger behemoth does make sense…if you carry eight people while commuting. I hear this all the time from people who own them. Then, they compromise the whole idea when they jump into one all by themselves to drive to the drug store to get a prescription filled. The solution is to make compact cars with expandable bodies.
Accordian cars? Another solution searching for a problem. I think I’ll hold off buying stock in that one for a while.
For a couple years I administered a van sharing program at work. We provided the van but the riders shared in the cost for commuting with. Even gave them free parking. We really only had one group that was able to make a go of it for a few months. The math just never worked out. Even for some of us with a long commute, there was no savings. Personal transport pods (cars) really are very very efficient in meeting the needs of the populace. We should embrace it rather than trying to get everyone in a mass transit pod. I think MSNBC came to the same conclusion.
@dagosa: The idea about using vehicles to their capacity for efficiency reminds me of something that happened to my dad, back when he was working.
The company he worked for was prosperous enough to own (a share of) a business jet, yet frugal enough to have a company policy of "only use the jet if there’s at least 3: otherwise, fly commercial. "
Dad wasn’t high up enough in the company to requisition the jet…but he was just high up enough to be “the third guy” when one of his immediate superiors wanted to go someplace. Said he didn’t mind being “ballast”; said it beat the hell outta working!