Goodbye Old Paint

[Old TexMex]

I just said Adios to my faithful and stout old Mercury Gran Marquis. Since '99 it served with honor, and is now headed south of the border to be parted out to various Mexican taxicabs, no doubt. The rustbugs ate through the chassis and though the V8 was still strong, she no longer could answer the bell.
Vaya con Dios. I shed a tear as she was led away behind an old mule of a towtruck with Nuevo Leon tags. Sad.

 

[diamonback68]

My '99 is still running great with a 163K on odometer and looks as new as the day I bought it. Disclaimer: It's stored in nice dry garage every night.

 

[keith44spl]

Ah, Ol Friend..........Aprecie memorias dulces



.

 

[A10]

I just sent a bunch of cans of Sherwin Williams to the recycle........

 

[Old TexMex]

I just sent a bunch of cans of Sherwin Williams to the recycle........

Awww, I come to the wrong place lookin for sympathy, huh?

 

[A10]

Sorry, couldn't pass it up............

 

[rock doc]

This comes to mind a MASH episode where Col Potter’s faithful Jeep quit on him. He pulls out his pistol and puts it out of its misery.

 

[labworm]

Awww, I come to the wrong place lookin for sympathy, huh?

It is really hard to let go, but sometimes we have no choice.

 

[4barrel]

If it wuz mine they would be tears of joy. Like a x girlfriend.

 

[amazingflapjack]

So what's next?

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

TexMex-I feel your pain. Ol' Blue (my '99 suburban) is getting long in the tooth as well-345,136 miles and I know all too well that the time is coming where I will have to let her go to someone with a green card working at the sugar mill.
May be as early as this fall when the new GMC's come out-but as long as the old girl gets me to where I'm going and back and tows the boat-she stays.
Same thing with the wife

 

[foggood11]

I bought a new F150 a few months back, and everyone asked me what I was going to do with my '02 Grand Marq. KEEP IT!, was my reply. Shoot, she's only got 81,000 miles on her, runs like a top, is (almost) as comfortable as my living room couch, and is easy on the gas. The first 6,000 were put on by my mom, before she passed. So I know it's always had good care. Why get rid of it?

Alas, I know that some day, I will be in your shoes soon enough, but am not looking forward to it.

By the way, I live in Wa State now, but am born and raised in Cameron County. We mostly saw Tamps license plates in our area.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I feel the same way about my 1991 Ford Explorer Sport 4X4 I sold to a private party 3 years ago. It only had 205,500 miles on it. Still miss the Explorer.

 

[LVSteve]

There are cars I would still own were it not for the crippling cost of registration and insurance in this state.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

My wife and I had a 1994 Ford Escort. It was a good car but was starting to need expensive repairs such as rear main seal, bushings, cv axles, etc. the repairs cost more than the car was worth. I was glad to see it sold. We now how a few month old 2012 Econo box. I have a question, and I mean no disrespect. Why does the older generation like driving "those big boats"? On my dads side of the family for aunts and uncles they all drive a boat. Why is that? They are slow, handle like a brick, will not stop on a dime, and mainly haul around one to two people. LOL. My dad back in 2005 bought my step mom a new afford 500. It has one person in it 75% of the time and has never carried more than three.
Funny! 1970s American cars - damning review: Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld - BBC autos - YouTube

 

[Old TexMex]

My wife and I had a 1994 Ford Escort. It was a good car but was starting to need expensive repairs such as rear main seal, bushings, cv axles, etc. the repairs cost more than the car was worth. I was glad to see it sold. We now how a few month old 2012 Econo box. I have a question, and I mean no disrespect. Why does the older generation like driving "those big boats"? On my dads side of the family for aunts and uncles they all drive a boat. Why is that? They are slow, handle like a brick, will not stop on a dime, and mainly haul around one to two people. LOL. My dad back in 2005 bought my step mom a new afford 500. It has one person in it 75% of the time and has never carried more than three.
Funny! 1970s American cars - damning review: Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld - BBC autos - YouTube

Quite frankly, I had lived for a decade and a half in Australia, and when I got back home my main desire was to have a V8 powered rear wheel drive sedan. I had been forced by treehugging lawmakers in Oz to frontwheel drive economy kars. I got back and was handed keys to what cabbies and cops drove, but in a luxury format. Comfort, handling, a lounge room on wheels, baby.

 

[Old TexMex]

This comes to mind a MASH episode where Col Potter’s faithful Jeep quit on him. He pulls out his pistol and puts it out of its misery.

It was the rust that did her in, the engine was perfecto. 140,000 miles, good for another 100K
I shoulda got a picture of me pulling the trigger on my nickle model 57. A lapse I regret.

 

[JcMack]

That Merc will be "reborn" south of the border in about a week. 500 flattened Hills bros. coffee cans will be pop riveted to the rusted body panels, and half a dozen 2X4's will be strapped to the corroded frame rails. Some guy named Jose will have the newest cab in the fleet.

 

[lonejacklarry]

I have a question, and I mean no disrespect. Why does the older generation like driving "those big boats"? On my dads side of the family for aunts and uncles they all drive a boat. Why is that? They are slow, handle like a brick, will not stop on a dime, and mainly haul around one to two people.

No disrespect taken. You, my friend, have obviously never been at the wheel of a '59 Pontiac Bonneville. Back in the day my dad had one and, on occasion, I was given the use of it. The car was about 20' long and weighed a bunch. It got about 12 mpg but gas was .19 so it did not make a big difference in a gas pump jockey's net worth.

The big plus was a back seat that was the size of a ping pong table. Of course I didn't take up as much space as I now do. Maybe they drive a big car on the off chance they may again need the interior space.

 

[LVSteve]

My wife and I had a 1994 Ford Escort. It was a good car but was starting to need expensive repairs such as rear main seal, bushings, cv axles, etc. the repairs cost more than the car was worth. I was glad to see it sold. We now how a few month old 2012 Econo box. I have a question, and I mean no disrespect. Why does the older generation like driving "those big boats"? On my dads side of the family for aunts and uncles they all drive a boat. Why is that? They are slow, handle like a brick, will not stop on a dime, and mainly haul around one to two people. LOL. My dad back in 2005 bought my step mom a new afford 500. It has one person in it 75% of the time and has never carried more than three.

The reasons are:-

1) Most Americans have never been in a car that handles properly, so they don't know what they are missing.

2) Most Americans have never been in a car with proper brakes, so they don't know what they are missing.

3) Even when presented with a car that handles and stops, most Americans don't know what to do with it because of the appalling standard of driver training. It's a little better in England where I was raised, but the Finns and the Germans consider the Anglo-Saxon races to be barely competent to get behind the wheel.

4) Most Americans have funny ideas about car component longevity, like unbreakable exhausts, 60k mile tyres and 40k mile brake jobs. As a result they are unable to comprehend somebody wanting handling and proper brakes over long component life. Been there, done that at the tyre shop. Salesman totally baffled that I would choose grip over wear rate. His "does not compute" light was glowing brightly.