Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Giving myself a treat. Part Two.

A big pile o' cash!
image from the web.

So, would I really buy a 70,000 dollar car if I had the money? 

I suppose that dwelling on the price so much is a good indication that to afford a vehicle like the two year old used Aviator, I would have to make some real sacrifices. Sacrifices to buy a late model used car doesn't seem like something that a car guy like me should be making. 

You could say that it goes against the grain.

One thing that I've noticed over the years is that I don't get very excited as the new model cars are announced. 

Low priced cars like the new Chevy Trax don't grab my interest, though it, and it's Buick sibling are pretty good cars. The proliferation of high priced cars has produced some very impressive luxury, sports, and specialty cars. They aren't targeted to me, or to the masses, but there is nothing new in that. 

A guy down the street from me bought a new Corvette last year. While I can appreciate the engineering and performance, I don't find myself actually "wanting" a car like that. 

To be truthful, they just aren't making the kind of cars that I really want anymore. Sorry if that makes me sound like a crabby old man.

Maybe that's a feeling shared by a lot of old guys. Maybe that's why they are more into vintage cars. It's not trying to recapture their youth, it's trying to recapture their excitement and passion about cars in general 

So, what about those Lincolns?

Do I like the Navigator? Sure I do, I already have one! Yes mine is old, but it's my favorite design. It cleaned up the styling and detailing while maintaining and improving the classic face. It looks big and impressive, but I don't think that it looks as overpowering, as do the new models. The new model would out perform mine, and it would turn in a couple of more mpg. under some conditions. It's even fancier inside too. But is that worth over 100K to me? 

How about the Aviator? I really like that car. It's the right size. I had looked at the earlier models and thought that they were pretty nice, and they did have the benefit of that Cobra engine. When I sat in and drove one, it felt a lot like my old V8 '97 Explorer. I suppose that if I'd already had an Expedition, I might not be as impressed by my Nav! Since they are so similar. Currently it's the vehicle that I most aspire to. They are expensive, and they haven't been out long enough to depreciate to my level of affordability. But they will eventually. 

The Nautilus is the brother to the Ford Edge. I refer to the earlier face lifted MKX as the happy little whale. Not the first model, that one had a plain grille and front end that mimicked the '63 Lincoln Continental. I've sat in an MKX and it's not bad, but I just don't like the C pillar carried over from the Edge. The later models with the split wing grille look better, and the roof was altered a bit. These are probably the best value. The older models have depreciated to affordable pricing and the vehicle has good utility. 

My initial impressions of the smaller MKC have always been more positive. I like the grille and more importantly I like the roof treatment. I think that the new Corsair looks very sharp and it looks bigger than it is. The interior is a little weak in the MKCs, it has been substantially upgraded in the Corsair. But it doesn't approach the Aviator, not to mention the Navigator. The early models were available with a V6 or a turbo four, even a hybrid if that your choice. FWD or AWD. Lots of choices here. Highway mileage is right at 30 mpg. for some combos. 

Really that's the appeal of this car for me. Something that is luxurious and useful, but returns good mileage.

While I don't fret about gas mileage that much, everything depends on an individual's situation. Where I live most of my travel around the area is on our extensive freeway system, there are also many expressways.  My vehicle's gas mileage is generally skewed more towards the highway numbers.

When I bought the Flex I wasn't thinking about getting a Navigator, and I wanted something that returned a bit better mileage. But I was comfortable with mid 20's highway numbers. Of course looking at things in dollars and cents, a paid off vehicle generally saves you money every month. The extra cost of fuel will not upset that balance. As an "enviro conscious" person, I know that some vehicles will emit less CO2. However the total mileage that I drive annually is quite low, so my impact is lessened.  

This entire discussion is just a lot of blah, blah, blah. It is actually just an amusing, if not tiresome, mental exercise. 

As a hobbyist there are plenty of older cars available. When it comes to Lincolns, the smaller models are already pretty affordable. The Navigator is more expensive used, because it starts out so much more expensive. But the last of the V8 models have depreciated quite a bit, and the new styling design will help the later models hold their value for a bit more. 

What I find kind of depressing is that I'm not very excited by many of the new cars. I've actually considered the idea that I might clean out my stable and concentrate on getting one real vintage car. 

More on that subject later.

Or, I could just concentrate on my Riviera. I bought that car because I wanted to get involved with ROA, Riviera Owners Association, activities. Unfortunately, I found that there weren't any activities going on in my area! So I decided to see if I could reach out to local members and maybe we could start something up.

I have gone to a couple of San Jose Mustang Club C&Cs. There seems to be a pretty solid group of members that participate in actual activities like "fun runs" and track days, instead of just online forum interaction. I noted that most of the members were driving late model Mustangs. That makes a lot of sense, you can have a daily car that you can use for club activities. Back when my Riv was new, that was also pretty common. 

So I will be exploring this club thing, and will see what happens.

The AACA, Antique Car Club of America, which I belong to, has numerous regions in Northern Ca, but seldom has local events. They did have a West Coast Tour last year that occurred in the Mid Coast area around the Santa Ynez Valley. I'm pretty familiar with that area, so I even considered signing up. But it's kind of expensive, and I imagine that most of the members would probably be driving cars that would be much older than my '97 Riviera or '96 Mustang. I had considered just "shadowing" the tour to see what was going on! That didn't work out, but maybe next year.

I've never been a team guy or a club guy. I've always pretty much done the Lone Wolf thing. There are now lots of events like C&Cs, informal car shows, and "Cruise Ins" that will be going on weekly this Spring and Summer. I'm going to try to attend some of these in different areas and see what's up. 

The weather will be getting better and I'll try to drive all of my cars more. Like I wrote before; I've the cars, the time, and the money for gas, time to get out there!