Intrepidation

Scion ruined the xB for its target customers, is it any wonder the model's sales fell off a cliff?

http://www.powderperfect.com/diy.asp Doesn't seem cost effective to do it yourself though.

I've heard about POR15, I may try that. I'm not quite sure. Have you used it? How difficult is it to apply to a surface under the vehicle? I don't really know much about chroming. It seems there's a couple places in CT and a couple by NJ and some in NY. This is what Google Maps found. http://maps.google.c...hq=chroming&z=8

I've got a lawnmower I could sell you.

Welcome!

I've spent the last few weeks finishing up the mowers to put them up for sale. Sold one today.

Well the weather's getting nice and that means its project time. For my car the first and foremost project is getting a/c system revamped before summer. I want air conditioning in my car. That of course means the whole dash has to come out to replace the evaporator core. Not a job I'm looking forward to doing. Most likely I'm also going to replace the heater core while I'm there. Preventative maintenance. Not counting the heater core, it looks like this job will run $400-$500 in parts. Evaporator core, expansion valve, dryer, compressor, and probably the low pressure line. It'll basically be all-new when done. For summer I want to replace the rear struts, as well as the sway bar links and bushings. If I can find a Special rear sway bar I'd like to swap mine out, but at this point I'll be happy with all the parts I have in good working order! Finally, I want to refinish my wheels and get new tires. Most likely Goodyear Eagle GT high performance all-season tires. Less of a priority but something I want to do is sand down all the surface rust on the pinch welds on the rockers. Its the only rust on the body really, and if I take care of it now it won't be a problem in the future. I'll probably either paint them with bed liner or rustolium. There's a few small mods I want to do but they're on the bottom of the list. For the Prizm I want to replace the brakes all the way around, replace the exhaust manifold, and take care of the rust starting on the rockers before it gets out of hand. I'm fairly confident I'll actually get to do these this year. We'll see of course. How about you guys?

I guess it's FWD for you from now on, XTS in your future? Looks very clean. A nice find. Should be much more reliable than the Mercedes

It looks sad, like a dog giving you those eyes to take it home. Aww...

LAY OFF THE DONUTS.

Ironically, the nicer the paint job on my car, the less gung-ho I am about doing heavy duty work to it. Afraid to screw it up. LOL. I tend to do more on dying paint jobs, where I feel the risk/reward ratio is better. I feel the same way with body work.

Considering that it actually cleans (including bugs, bird crap) and doesn't leaves streaks its hardly useless. Not a bad idea your method though.

What you want to do is wash the car really well, make sure it's completely dry. Then you kneed the clay. Using detailer spray to keep it lubricated, mist the area you want to clay and gently rub in a circular motion, using very light pressure. Reapply detailer as necessary to keep it lubricated. Work ins mall sections at a time. When the clay gets dirty, kneed it until it until it becomes clean again. I believe one clay bar is enough to do one car. If you drop it on teh ground. Dispose of it and use a new one. Claying the car is a crucial step before paint restoration (rubbing compound, polishing compound, wax), because it removes small particles in the paint that normal washing can't get rid of. If a person were to start using rubbing compound with out claying, especially with a buffer, they'd be smearing the particles into the paint, creating micro swirls. Like GMTruckGuy74 noted, you really can feel t he difference. Hope that helps.

If I'm just cleaning the glass I use Invisible Glass. I use Rain-X washer fluid or additive to the fluid. Lately I've been using Mother's Wash and Wax (which smells amazing) to wash the whole car. I don't use anything else, but both cars bead water off the glass so well I rarely use the wipers (on the highway at least).

Seems like a good pricing strategy, very competitive and the trim levels are nicely spread out over the cost spectrum. I'd go for the R/T myself.

That paint color is pretty terrible, but I'd still rock it.

So rides like crap. Something to be proud of. And a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera will go to a top speed of 198.8 mph. Apples and oranges. So you don't don't like the way it looks, we get it. That has no bearing on whether or not its an objectively good car.

Please you must have your head in a vice grip to not see the squeezed tall head of an ugly small car that will tip over easily in a high wind. Yet, as they say, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Enjoy your love of the car as I think there are far better sub compacts than this ugly basterd of a car. You do release that those trucks and SUVs you love so much have a much higher center of gravity than any car does and therefore are much more prone to rollover right? The Abarth has a top speed of 131 mph which is nothing to sneeze at. Styling is subjective but as far as small cars go I think its great looking and full of personality. Much more so than the Spark. It's also selling quite well for a new brand to America with a comparatively small dealer network and in spite of poor advertising.

That's too bad you feel that way, considering this marks the return of an icon, which is no better than ever, featuring one of the most powerful naturally aspirated engine in the world. Ram debuts segment first technologies like the 8-speed automatic for both the V6 and V8, as well as a lightened and strengthened frame, award winning infotainment system, in truck that is 146 pounds lighter than the old one. This, plus improved aerodynamics an air suspension make for a truck that already has the best ride and handling of any half ton now makes 20% better fuel economy without any batteries or electric motors, something you of all people should appreciate. To each their own.

It's ok, better than the last gen, nothing spectacular, although the interior seems a bit fussy.

For those complaining about the chrome. Have you seen a full-size pickup lately? No? Well, allow me remind you: And the biggest offender of them all: With that said, I agree I'm not a big fan of lots of chrome, but then Dodge has offered the chrome-free Sport for those of us who prefer less chrome. Which I like a lot. Anyway, I like all of the exterior tweaks (chrome aside), especially the new headlight elements. I really like the refreshed interior with its new, sleeker, more modern center stack with Chrysler's fantastic 8.4 inch infotainment system. I've used this system in a Journey and its easily one of the easiest, most intuitive systems I've ever used. Of course, as I expected, the new V6 finally gives the Ram a good base engine, and its nice that both the V6 and the V8 get the 8-speed automatic. Seems its going to really help with fuel economy.

You must have a sad, miserable life if you can't find better use of of your time. No I Just Have Good Taste - That's the funniest thing I've heard all day. You have good taste like a dog turd has a good understanding of the Higgs boson.

I actually quite like it. The design language is more mature and restrained than some of Hyundais other vehicles. Nicely proportioned and it has a nice interior as well.