[roadwarrior_xrs]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

time for an update....

things have been busy with house so car has been a daily driver and not worked on much. still getting 55-60 mpg mixed commute. The tail is starting to show its age, after 3.5 years it is getting close to time to take it off. Two rear end impacts have made both lower corners in need of repair (mostly fiber glassing, structure is ok) the sides have several spots where cargo has made holes in the side that have only been semi repaired. Where I made room for the exhaust has burned/ rusted out and I made a repair but an occasional smell tells me its not 100% sealed up.... In addition to that, where the tail connects at the top has always been a leak prone area and i am out of ideas on fixing it without taking it off and redesigning the interface. If I take it off likely i will not rebuild it as I need a trailer option or a truck at times and $$$ say having a hitch is the cheapest option. I figure the tail saves me $150-$200 a year but a second car's insurance is more then that a year.... not counting anything else.

Then there is the family pressure to improve my "image if i want to get a wife....." Since I am people skills lacking...... I tend to trust them in that area.... Since the "recommendation" is made weekly and i can see some rational in their position.... I am thinking of falling off the car with boat tail list

Sorry to hear the peer/family pressure getting to you. As a fellow Matrix owner I've been a fan of yours for the last 3 years and am always impressed by what you've managed to do. I often show off your mod photos to my coworkers who have never heard of ecomodder and give them a glimpse of what is possible.

Regarding wives, someone you want to spend your life with will respect who you are and what you are interested in. That being said, first impressions do count. You could always borrow or rent a car if you need for a first date. Better to find out sooner than later if your future wife is going to run the other way when you start moding your car. Goodluck with your decisions, I hope this is not your last mod on the site.