Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Comparing the new to the old.

These things are nice, and get the job done.

Last week I drove 1,200 miles, to Oregon and back, in a rented 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan.

This week I'm driving around 500 miles round trip, up to Lake Tahoe in my '96 Mustang.

                                             I've been captivated by Lake Tahoe since watching
                                                                         this show as a kid.

Say what you will about new cars, their saving grace is that they are brand new. All the parts are still fresh from the factory. The Dodge came to me with 2,700 miles. My Mustang has well over 213,000 miles.

As I was driving up  Highway 50 I remarked to my Wife that it was an interesting, almost  back to back comparison.

She asked me to describe what the differences were.

First of all, everything on the new car is tight, with no wobbles or slop in the controls, and everything still functions at 100% efficiency. Not only the engine, and mechanical stuff but especially the electrical controls of the dash, door and windows. The a/c was fiercely cold, the power door and window controls were flawless. This is what you would expect.

What I didn't expect was the smooth and flawless power. I've had two older V6 Mopar minivans, a 1990 Dodge Caravan and a '96 Town and Country. This version was certainly faster. It did have a six speed transmission and it used it well. I found that it would run up to 80 mph. very easily, if I wasn't paying attention. My path to Oregon was quite hilly, passing Mt. Shasta is the highest point on I5 at 4,000 ft. elevation. I had four adults in the van and the cargo area behind the second row of seats was packed to the brim. The van never felt under powered, though it had to down shift quite a bit on the longest, steepest sections. Fuel economy as very good, exceeding 24 mpg. on the level sections. My previous experience was 20-22 mpg. on my last two vans.

All the modern conveniences.
I was impressed by the build quality.

Compared to my Mustang there is much more available and convenient up front storage space, cup holders, and cubby holes. Being a mini van it had three row seating, "stow and go" and rear a/c. Also there was better and more convenient lighting. Of course it had a Nav screen in the dash and information readouts in the speedo cluster.

You might be thinking that my poor old Mustang is looking pretty poor in comparison.

In some ways yes. Any old car fan will admit that their car is going to be lacking in modern amenities. There's no way to make a direct comparison.

Still my car has most of the features that you would expect. Primarily a/c and cruise control. The safety stuff like belts, air bags, abs and four wheel disc brakes are also there.

My car is maintained in pretty good shape but there is a little play in the steering and I think a little freshening up in the suspension dept is due in the future.

Still, I felt safe and comfortable, and the car ran reliably. It got a bit hotter than the mid line mark on the temp gauge, climbing the 7,400 ft. mountain, but only  bit. The a/c was on constantly.

As I've stated before, even though the car is twenty five years old, it's still a modern car. The steering and brakes handled the twisty road easily. It has plenty of power to climb the slopes and really felt in it's comfort zone. I will admit that my aggression levels have decreased over the last forty years. I'm not rushing up on cars breathlessly waiting to reach the passing lane. This particular Mustang is happy to be driven at a comfortable pace. So am I.

There are things that I could do to improve the utility of the car.

The trunk is small, with a equally small opening. Small individual bags are better for packing than a couple of large suitcases.

That little spot on the right was promptly filled.

Luckily the back seat can hold a good amount of luggage, and a big ice chest.

Who needs passengers?

What would come in handy up front would be another cupholder. An eyeglass holder, trash bin, and another couple of interior lights. And maybe some kind of organizer thing that would hang behind the front seat. It would also be nice to have map pockets built into the seatbacks.

Maybe I should take a trip to Pep Boys!

I lent the Mustang to my Son so that he could take his fiance for her first ride around the Lake. The best way to experience the drive is in a convertible with the unobstructed views of the mountains, lakes and water falls. When he returned, he told me that the car had gotten kind of hot, the temp gauge swung quite a bit over center. He had seen some water on the pavement while he was filling up with gas before he returned. Though he thought that it might have been from another car that had been at the gas pump earlier.

The car had not spilled any water after my drive up, and it didn't spill any after the trip around the lake. I checked! On the morning before I left, I checked the coolant level. The coolant tank showed that it was low. I added three little bottles of drinking water to bring it up to full. I checked the top of the intake manifold where I was familiar with possible leaks. Luckily I didn't find any evidence of leaks. It appeared to me that it was probably a failing radiator cap that couldn't maintain the 16 pound pressure that was called for.

The drive home was easier, after the initial climb over the summit, then it's all down hill. The car ran fine but I was keeping a close eye on the temp gauge. It stayed in the middle, only moving slightly to the right of the upper mark. Then it would drop down on the long downhill stretches. If it had stayed too far to the right I would have had to stop and let it cool down. Then check the coolant level. That's the advantage of having a gauge instead of a warning light. You can take preventive action before it's too late!

Things seemed normal until I was past Placerville and driving down the long up and down stretch into Sacramento. It was over 90 degrees and I noticed that the coolant level indicator light lit up briefly, although the temp gauge was posting normal levels. I pulled off the freeway at El Dorado Hills to take a closer look. I found a gas station, parked, and lifted the hood to look for leaks. Again I was happy not to find any. I looked at the coolant tank and saw that the level was up to the cold level. I decided that I didn't need to let it cool off and check inside the tank. I would just continue on while keeping my eyes open. There were no more issues on the last leg.

After I arrived, The car didn't spill any coolant. There was some liquid underneath, I stuck my finger in the puddle and found that it was clear water from the a/c condensation.

I emptied three of these bottles before I left Tahoe.

The next day I opened the coolant tank to take a look. The level was as low as I had found it at the Lake. I bought a replacement radiator cap and refilled the tank. Now I'll just drive it for awhile and keep an eye on things.

The auto store replacement cap is not an exact duplicate.

I suppose that this is the real difference between driving a new car and an old one. With an old car you have to be  constantly aware, and monitor  the condition of the vehicle. You can't just take things for granted.  Vigilance is not only called for, it's rewarded. Of course, you shouldn't take everything for granted, even with a new car. I would scan the gauges in the Grand Caravan,  checking the indicators, just to be sure.

You've got to pay attention for a drama fee trip.