Last Call: Bud-Tugly Edition


And that’s what really matters in life, am I right?
Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day.  It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.
Image: AcidCow

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

22 responses to “Last Call: Bud-Tugly Edition”

  1. Marto Avatar
    Marto

    Asking the big questions here… What is the point of the brand Lincoln?
    I realised today that I had this idea it was meant to be America’s Rolls-Royce – some sort of expensive rarefied object suitable only as coachbuilt limos for heads of state, or for elderly traditionalists (if in a sedate colour) or gauche nouveau riche (if painted in anything more exciting than navy blue). Something several notches above Cadillac – as Bentley is to Jag.
    Heck, Lincoln is even named after someone who’s essentially ‘Murica’s patron saint. However, it seems the brand is kept in some sort of limbo because anyone who understands its identity (car guys) can’t or wouldn’t buy a new one, thus denying it sales, thus denying it development funding, thus preventing it reasserting an identity. So, what IS Lincoln?

    1. Lokki Avatar
      Lokki

      Lincoln is a failed attempt at greatness by a company who understands “the Peoples’ car” pretty well. There is a company in Europe who are also famous for a just-plain-folks mobile who recently tried the same gambit and failed just as miserably if not more so.

      1. Marto Avatar
        Marto

        Phaeton?

    2. crank_case Avatar
      crank_case

      Outside US perspective: 60s Lincoln continental was probably the peak of the brands identity. Old money tasteful (versus the fins and chrome “Look at me Ma! I done good” Caddilac) yet youthful (think Kennedy style glamour). Confidently American, yet tastefully European at the same time. I think the big problem now (and this affects all luxury cars) is nowadays, no-one wants to do understated Luxury apart from Volvo. It’s a hard niche to sell in, Citroen failed in Europe with its last big car (C6). I think a good starting point for Lincoln is take a Volvo S90, and give it a proper engine. New Continental looks nice, but I think it’s gotta be a bit more than a posh mondeo.

      1. Marto Avatar
        Marto

        Ooh, good point. I’m not American either, and the Old Money/Kennedy thing is pretty illuminating. Tasteful, youthful, confident and rich.
        Something Montgomery Burns’ grandson – Chad Burns – might drive … that is, if it weren’t for Larry Burns being a slack-jawed troglodyte.
        And I like the Volvo framing too. So, combining our thoughts, is it the point of Lincoln to be the Bentley to Volvo’s Jag? The VW to its Skoda. The Land Rover to its LandCruiser? Same ladders, higher rungs.

        1. cap'n fast Avatar
          cap’n fast

          the point of lincoln is to go quietly fast as comfortably as possible while not giving a damn what anyone else thinks of it.

          1. cap'n fast Avatar
            cap’n fast

            and i believe ford really has forgotten that.

    3. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      An upmarket brand for people who want an upmarket brand but give a rat’s ass about cars.

      1. Marto Avatar
        Marto

        I thought no one at all gave a rat’s ass about the current Lincolns though – and that this was the problem. The past ones seem glorious to me, but the current ones seem to be Ford’s main car lines with “luxury” bolt-ons and bumpers. Just like Pontiacs were for so long just Chevys with “performance” bolt-ons and cladding. (Quote marks including deliberately).

        1. Vairship Avatar
          Vairship

          “Add 50 pounds of plastic cladding, it’ll make it faster”

  2. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    I’m a Ford fan. I’ve just got rid of my GMC, and I’m after a Ford now. I firmly believe and assert the following,
    Fords: If you try hard enough, you can make them go fast, but you’ll never be able to make them look good.

    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      On the other hand, they won’t fall apart as quickly as their domestic counterparts.

  3. crank_case Avatar
    crank_case

    Very tempted by a Lotus Excel I’ve spotted. Seems to be good condition, roughly the equivalent of $7500. It’s a lot for me, but also would mean I’d pay €50 a year to keep it on the road versus €670 my Eunos Roadster (1st gen Miata). Fully roadworthy. Canny purchase or bad idea? I know it’s got Lotus kudos but is it a better overall ownership prospect in terms of fun and overall experience than a 1st gen Miata? Pros seem to be galvanized chassis/fibreglass body, a bit more interior space.. cons..it’s a Lotus.
    Your thoughts?

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      You know the answer of the random internet dude who has no stakes in it other than living through the adventures of another random internet dude? Of course you need to try it!
      I mean, the Eunos Roadster is very cool, too. Why the colossal difference in what I assume is road tax or some such thing?

      1. crank_case Avatar
        crank_case

        30 year old cars are classed as vintage, less than 30 but pre 2008 are on the cc based system which is very punitive, post 2008 is taxed by CO2

    2. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      Is it in good condition throughout, ie are interior bits brittle/broken/badly faded? Mechanicals shouldn’t be a problem but all the Lotus-specific things will be a problem to replace.
      The other thing is will it fit your usage, including maintenance/tinkering requirements and including the potential out-of-action time?

      1. crank_case Avatar
        crank_case

        Seems to be in good condition throughout. It’d be an occasional use car that I’m not, dependent on for actual transport, but I’d like to do some track use and take some road trips in it and just wondering if it could take being driven *properly* as sports cars should.

        1. outback_ute Avatar
          outback_ute

          Not that I know the model that well, but I would wonder about hard track use vs the Eunos, I suspect there may need to be a bit of ‘development’ or fine-tuning, eg brake upgrades. Some of that will depend on how much vigorous use the car has had, eg renewing suspension components. Could be fun leavened with some frustration!

          1. crank_case Avatar
            crank_case

            I think the Eunos will need all that too to be fair, it was all great out the factory, but it’s an old car now. I think I’m probably going to stick with the boring option of keeping the Eunos partly because it’s not really a great time to be shelling out that sort of cash (though I could get a lot of it back from selling the Eunos) and partly because I have a strong feeling I’d deeply regret selling it.

  4. nanoop Avatar

    I saw the keys to a 2017 Audi TT lying on the right front wheel of it – while locking down the USD30 balance bike at the kindergarten. What’s wrong with me?
    (That’s not unusual when parking the car at the side of the road while you are off in the mountains, hiking or running or skiing – anybody who wants to break in will do so anyway, and you won’t drop the key in the snow three miles off the road and realize that when trying to go home…)

  5. salguod Avatar

    I’m really tempted to get an old Ranger. What’s not to like about a cheap pickup?

    1. gerberbaby Avatar

      nothing. however, my brother has a 2000 Ranger. The seat backrest is curved so that my head and shoulders are pushed forward in a very uncomfortable way. So make sure it fits you. Otherwise its been a very reliable albeit somewhat crude compared to the toyotas of it’s day