Intrepidation

Problem is public transit in many cities in the US is not very good.

Oh I see, so it's free parking not high unemployment that is causing the economic mess.

Over a 135 mile trip Friday, this was my average fuel economy: This was going 55-65 on one highway and 70 on the other highway...with a few bursts for passing. Easily beating the highway rating of 26 mpg.

Just have a little confidence, do lots of research, and as plenty of questions. That's how I got through replacing the valve springs and seals, the tie rod bushings, the first time I took off the intake plenum, etc.

Of those only two of them are items that aren't normal wear parts, you'll end up having to do with any car that isn't new, or used, like-new and of the two only the intake gasket would need to be done. You're going to run into little issues that add up with any car you buy in your price range that you want. Like I said, you could either spend thousands more and get something that will have more of the maintenance done already, or buy something cheaper that you don't like but wouldn't need much, or work on what you have.

I wouldn't. I hate buses with an undying passion.

Well I wasn't one of them. I'd rather own a Civic...or a Prizm.

I beg to differ.

Well, they way to look at it is this: You're very unlikely to find a car you want that won't be without issues. Your best choice is to either fix what you have, and then you won't get caught in this scenario again, or get something you won't like but will be have a better chance of being problem free for a while from the moment you purchase it. Considering how strongly you feel about what car you want as a daily driver, I think fixing what you have will be your best bet. The problems you mentioned aren't too expensive to fix yourself. That seems to be a consequence of what type of car you want in your budget and the age of the car. Of course your could pay a lot more and get one that will have been well cared for(at least better odds of it), but then you'll have spent more than you would just taking care of this one's issues. A big thing there is that I genuinely fell in love with the car, and I'm the sort of person who never plans to get rid of car. Has it given me a few trouble occasionally? Sure, but those experiences have allowed me to learn more about the car and how to work on cars (I would never have imagined replacing valve springs and seals before). It's my car, I know it's faults and acknowledge that. It's 10 years old and has over 200k on it. But I'm ok with that. I also take great pride (and I'm very anal) about how well the cars run. I can't stand it when there's a foreign noise and will want to find the solution ASAP. Speaking of which, now that the valve spring project is done, time to tackle the rear brakes! And yes, I got bitten by the mod bug.

Could be the coil pack, could be dirty injectors, could b carbon buildup. For the injectors you can add seafoam to the fuel, for carbon buildup you can use seafoam too, although Mopar Combustion Chamber Clear is said to be better (I used that, worked great). GM may have an equivalent product, but I dunno what it's called. It's also a good idea to check the spark plugs to see what sort of condition they are in. You may just need a good tuneup, to which all of the above can apply.

Replace the lower intake manifold gasket yourself. It can't be that much harder than on a 3.5. Gaskets will probably run you $20-$30. Can be done in afternoon. Tie rod end: again, replace it yourself or if you can't be bothered have a shop do that (only takes an hour for them) and then have it aligned. Oil pan gasket: Depends on the extent of the leak. If it's not gushing oil I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep an eye on the oil and top off as needed. You can fix that yourself if you want. gasket's is probably $20-$30. It's the labor that could be a PITA. The Grand Marquis has a leak from the oil pan gasket, but it's such a PITA and such a slow leak it's not worth the trouble or cost of paying someone to do it. It makes a lot more sense to just fix what you have, since you know it's faults, then sell it off just to buy another car that will end up needing work and repeat the process all over again. This is like, the third installment of this sort of thing. With the cars you're looking at you're going to keep running into this, so you might as well end teh cycle and fix this Camaro's problems, and then you'll be good to go.

LOL

I, unfortunately, have. I almost crashed my car so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

Huge ice island could threaten shipping lanes Another Titanic? Scientists scramble to plot path of massive chunk that broke off Greenland STOCKHOLM — An island of ice more than four times the size of Manhattan is drifting across the Arctic Ocean after breaking off from a glacier in Greenland. Potentially in the path of this unstoppable giant are oil platforms and shipping lanes — and any collision could do untold damage. In a worst-case scenario, large chunks could reach the heavily trafficked waters where another Greenland iceberg sank the Titanic in 1912. It's been a summer of near biblical climatic havoc across the planet, with wildfires, heat and smog in Russia and killer floods in Asia. But the moment the Petermann glacier cracked last week — creating the biggest Arctic ice island in half a century — may symbolize a warming world like no other. "It's so big that you can't prevent it from drifting. You can't stop it," said Jon-Ove Methlie Hagen, a glaciologist at the University of Oslo. Few images can capture the world's climate fears like a 100-square-mile chunk of ice breaking off Greenland's vast ice sheet, a reservoir of freshwater that if it collapsed would raise global sea levels by a devastating 20 feet. The world's newest ice island already is being used as a powerful emblem in the global warming debate, with U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts suggesting it could serve as a home for climate change skeptics. Researchers are in a scramble to plot the trajectory of the floating ice shelf, which is moving toward the Nares Strait separating Greenland's northwestern coast and Canada's Ellsemere Island. If it makes it into the strait before the winter freeze — due to start next month — it would likely be carried south by ocean currents, hugging Canada's east coast until it enters waters busy with oil activities and shipping off Newfoundland. "That's where it starts to become dangerous," said Mark Drinkwater, of the European Space Agency. The Canadian Ice Service estimates the journey will take one to two years. It's likely to break up as it bumps into other icebergs and jagged islands. The fragments would be further ground down by winds and waves and would start to melt as they move into warmer waters. "But the fragments may still be quite large," warned Trudy Wohlleben, a Canadian ice forecaster, who first spotted the massive chunk of ice on satellite images last Thursday. The chunks of ice could be large enough to threaten Canada's offshore platforms in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, said Wohlleben. And, while it's possible to redirect smaller icebergs, by towing them or spraying them with water cannons, "I don't think they could do that with an iceberg this large," she said. "They would have to physically move the rig." Moving an offshore platform is time-consuming and expensive — and very complicated in cases where they are fixed to the ocean floor. While Greenland's glaciers break off thousands of icebergs into Arctic waters every year, scientists say this ice island is the biggest in the northern hemisphere since 1962. It contains enough freshwater to keep the Hudson River flowing for more than two years, said Andreas Muenchow of the University of Delaware. The drifting ice sheet is likely to remain at the heart of the global warming discussion during its journey. While experts say it's difficult to directly tie the giant ice island to climate change because there are so many factors that affect glaciers in the area, the unusual event coincides with worrisome signs of warming in the Arctic. Since 1970, temperatures have risen more than 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit in much of the Arctic — much faster than the global average. In June the Arctic sea ice cover was at the lowest level for that month since records began in 1979, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The retreat of Greenland's glaciers, which has accelerated in recent years, is one of the least understood pieces of the climate puzzle. A team of climate scientists who visited the Petermann glacier last year, expecting it to crack then, is now planning another trip within weeks. "We did leave behind a couple of time-lapse cameras and 11 GPS (devices). Now we are scrambling to get up there and recover the data," said Jason Box, an expert on Greenland glaciers from the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University. Box and two British researchers traveled to the glacier last year with Greenpeace activists who offered space aboard their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, to scientists studying climate change. They were hoping to capture the event with cameras rolling, which would have been a powerful image just months before the Copenhagen climate talks that failed to produce a binding treaty to reduce heat-trapping gas emissions. "It would have been nice if it had broken off last year," said Melanie Duchin, who led that Greenpeace expedition. "I mean ice melting, it doesn't get any simpler than that." Still, she finds it ironic that the Petermann breakup coincides with another catastrophe linked to fossil fuels. The Arctic Sunrise is now in the Gulf of Mexico, surveying the massive oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon blowout. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38648050/ns/us_news-environment/

Not bad at all! Give it a good cleaning and maybe fix the surface rust and it'll be one of the cleaner cars of that era. I agree with balthy about some tasteful wheels, not sure you'd wanna go that far though.

It's worth comparing what you're looking another big FWD car. It's not exactly apples to apples, but it is worth comparing the specs of the larger, heavier FWD car. 1985 Monte Carlo SS: 0-60 mph in 8.4 seconds, Quarter mile: 16.1 seconds Skidpad: .82g Slalom: 59.02 mph 2001 Dodge Intrepid R/T 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds, Quarter mile: 15.9 seconds Skidpad: .85g Slalom: 65.00 mph So if you can live with the performance of a Monte from the that era, then you shouldn't be disappointed from something newer, and better taken care of than many of these F-Bodies you seem to have in your area. Now, I don't drive my car on the ragged edge (I'd dare not do that from anything out of the 80's mind you), but I do drive it spiritedly on the back roads not far from once in a while, and not only have I never once wished it was RWD, I've always been impressed with the way it handles, and mine isn't even the R/T or Special suspension. Just something to consider about evil FWD cars. Also they can cruise at highway speed without issue. I'm sure I could did up figured for another FWD car if I wanted but you know, I have this sort of thing memorized pretty good. You get the idea.

In all seriousness , something like an Accord might be a good idea. Obviously you're not having much luck with old G Bodies and F Bodies. You need something reliable to drive daily, you're on a budget, and you have the Cutlass for the "real car".

Not often you come across one of those in good shape like that.

I remember when the slave cylinder went on the Prizm. I could pick a gear while it was off but when the car was running it wouldn't go into another gear. Ended up driving 20 miles home in 3rd. Fun times.

That is pretty annoying, I like the way my car's chime sounds.

best looking small CUV on the market IMO.

Local yard has all sorts of old cars in the back. Barracudas, Impalas, Chevelles, Novas, Chargers, Mustangs GTOs, Firebirds, stuff I don't even know...

It's not even the oil that's expensive so much as what the shops try to charge you for it. I know of a shop that will charge you $30 for a basic oil change yet go with M1 and they'll charge you $80 for it, using the same filter. This despite the fact that full synthetic is no more than $10 more than 5 quarts of regular oil.

Not all oils are created equal. Listen to a 3.5 run on regular oil and then on synthetic. It is very noticeable how much quieter the engine runs, and it greatly diminishes and/or eliminates the cold start rocker tick 3.5s are known for.