I'm out.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

With the uncertainty of the car and car parts market, the lack of affordable models and the ups and downs of the used car market I just don't want to talk about cars with anyone ever again.

I would be lying if I told you I can relate to that, but sometimes it's frustrating to notice how newer cars are often so substantially different from those which I was more familiar with. Sometimes, looking so seriously at the car market can be in fact frustrating, seeing cars simply as a tool or an appliance, instead of being able to get one which would end up being some sort of hobby, and then leading to some pleasurable experiences. That's what still makes me lurk about getting a VW Kombi to restomod, for instance

Just take a break, and maybe you'll agree with me, or maybe not, but who knows... Right after the death of MotoGP rider Daijiro Kato, I thought I would never look at motorcycles with any excitement again, for instance.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I would be lying if I told you I can relate to that, but sometimes it's frustrating to notice how newer cars are often so substantially different from those which I was more familiar with. Sometimes, looking so seriously at the car market can be in fact frustrating, seeing cars simply as a tool or an appliance, instead of being able to get one which would end up being some sort of hobby, and then leading to some pleasurable experiences. That's what still makes me lurk about getting a VW Kombi to restomod, for instance

Just take a break, and maybe you'll agree with me, or maybe not, but who knows... Right after the death of MotoGP rider Daijiro Kato, I thought I would never look at motorcycles with any excitement again, for instance.

I hope you are right. Maybe some day I'll be interested in talking about cars. But I feel like the more I talk about them the more depressed I get. Appliance cars, each government party pushing their own vehicle agenda, insurance rates that just seem to only go up higher and higher, the price of parts and repairs, stories of friends getting a car and three months later needing a $9,000 repair, me getting a car and then finding out it needs $9,000 in repairs, the 20-4-10 rule telling me I can't afford more than a 15-year-old car with 250k miles on it. There's just no hope in sight, nothing I want to discuss anymore.

Well, with the exception of older cars like VW air-cooled vehicles and such. I just don't see me buying anything like that ever again even though I'd love to.

[freebeard]

There's just no hope in sight, nothing I want to discuss anymore.

Well, with the exception of older cars like VW air-cooled vehicles and such.

I see only discussing what I can afford as limiting. That rules out plasma actuators and wooden motor homes.



With any old Manx or knockoff, one could get the new hood with the Superbeetle windshield



I drew this in college:



The Volks-aire compressor conversion is out of stock, but New Old Stock or used are possible. vwparts.aircooled.net/Volks-Aire-Air-Compressor-Kit-Standard-Model

With a big air tank and a 115V altermotor with battery bank. Tap the heat exhangers to run water through them and you have hot and cold running water. One unit with AC power, compressed air, hot water and enough power to move it around the shop and yard.

This in 2013:


I could cut up the 1958 Baja for that last one.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I see only discussing what I can afford as limiting.

I guess I think about cars too much and thinking about and discussing cars that I might want but will never be able to afford starts becoming a bit depressing for me. I guess I need to try harder to be happy with what I got. There are other things that are more important. For me, right now, taking care of my parents and my boys is priority.

Originally Posted by freebeard

With any old Manx or knockoff, one could get the new hood with the Superbeetle windshield.

I like VW air-cooled, but the Manx body is on the bottom of my wish list. I need at least some closed cabin heat capability and at least 4 seats, even if the rear two seats are tiny.

Lately I've been dreaming of owning a Thing (Type 181, aka: Safari). I most likely never will though. Now there I go again, dreaming...

[me and my metro]

I am back in my favorite car that I have had in the last 6+ years. I may or may not fix the a/c. I don’t have air conditioning at home so what is the point. I will have to adjust my hair styling though. It is a little scary to look in the rear view mirror while diving with the windows down and the sunroof all the way open! My hair sticks straight up.LOL
I also have a big T turbo Saab 2.0 and an F40 6 speed that can bolt in this car for an after retirement fast ride.
The car gets 30.5 as a commuter for my last year working. Turning 70 this year and I am ready to not do the daily grind anymore. It is closer every day!

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I guess I think about cars too much and thinking about and discussing cars that I might want but will never be able to afford starts becoming a bit depressing for me.

Baby steps. Life is a series of those.

When I bought my used 2006 Acura TSX, I achieved my vehicular aspirations.

True depression is not failing to have a desire satiated, but having all desires satiated and finding it's still unsatisfactory. So long as one has an aim, they posses every ingredient of life.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Baby steps. Life is a series of those.

When I bought my used 2006 Acura TSX, I achieved my vehicular aspirations.

True depression is not failing to have a desire satiated, but having all desires satiated and finding it's still unsatisfactory. So long as one has an aim, they posses every ingredient of life.

Thanks for the encouragement.

What I guess I'm saying is that I feel that I should no longer have any vehicular aspirations or desires.

If I can stay with my parents until they pass away and keep my boys from passing away before I do, then my aspirations and desires will have been fulfilled.

Cars... I've been saying this for a long time, but they don't make any cars I like any more. And you add all the headache on top of that, and they become a frustration. Any and all cars are just frustrations, that's all they are. They are just expensive wheelchairs to get us around.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Thanks for the encouragement.

What I guess I'm saying is that I feel that I should no longer have any vehicular aspirations or desires.

If I can stay with my parents until they pass away and keep my boys from passing away before I do, then my aspirations and desires will have been fulfilled.

I had the aspiration of flying, but then started a family and that interest took a back seat. I've still got it, but the priorities have changed. I expect to fly one day when I have sufficient time to spend on that interest.

Complete tangent, but this weekend I just learned that a friend of mine died in a plane crash with his 19 year old son in 2020.

Probably good that my desire to fly has not yet been satiated.

[freebeard]

My opinion on cars was warped by the 1959 Portland Roadster Show, and specifically a car named My Blue Heaven. I drove cars while I was working for my daily bread, but now I mostly take the bus.

When my mechanic gets back from vacationing in Mexico, the Superbeetle will get a new steering gearbox. Maybe I'll drive more then, the Superbeetle always makes people smile.

Meanwhile for me they are both subject and object of art.

[redpoint5]

A biblical reference, what's got into you? :P