Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Lincoln gets a cash injection and my new obsession with the Silverado.



So I’ve been quite the lazy blogger.  I’m hoping I can turn this around soon, but I’ve been pretty busy with a million things going on... also I’ve become addicted to the Panther Forum I’ve joined (grandmarq.net).  I’ve had a good time meeting a bunch of folks online who share my (newly developed) obsession with full-sized 1980’s Fords.  For a primer as to why this has happened, check out my last post.  However, my car world still extends beyond 30 year old blue ovals.  Let’s see what’s caught my eye today...


You may be saying to yourself, “Sean, how can I get in on this cheap vintage car craze?”  Well, there are lots of cheap old goodies listed online.  Jalopnik recently posted a list of stuff that’s been put on ebay forunder $10,000.  Of course, for me that’s a huge budget, but that’s not big money for getting into the old car game.  I’m thinking my favourite of the list is the Saab Sonnett.  Not the greatest sports car ever, but it’s certainly a classic that you don’t see every day! 

Good news for Lincoln!  Apparently Ford’s investing $5 Billion over the next few years intoimproving the brand.  Personally, I think this is great.  For too long Lincoln has been putting out rebadged Fords.  While they typically look prettier than their blue oval cousins, I’ve had a hard time reconciling the thought of paying huge premium for a tarted up Ford.  The big news is a new platform that will hopefully result in a rear-wheel-drive sedan!  This will position Lincoln to compete more directly with other premium brands like BMW, Mercedes, and historical rival Cadillac. 

Speaking of rear-wheel-drive, I’m a big fan of pony cars.  The Chevrolet Camaro is certainly a great example of the breed.  And all great pony cars deserve a high powered halo example to lead the charge into the dreams of the car buying public.  The ZL1 is the high ranking Camaro that happily takes this on this task, motivated by a 580hp 6.2L V8.  If you’re like me, you’ll probably never get the chance to drive one.  Check out these editor notes from Autoweek for some great impressions onhow this car drives.  Not anywhere close to as good as actually driving the car, but at least it will provide some fuel to fire up your imagination the next time you play make believe behind the wheel of your daily driver.  Vroom-vroom!!

In other news, back on the home front we’ve been tempted lately by Silverados.  Our neighbours recently acquired one and my uncle did too shortly after that.  They both went with 5.3L 4x4’s, black on black.  They are pretty sharp.  I know I wanted to stay away from pick-ups, but lately I’ve missed having a vehicle with some utility.  And towing capacity.  Here’s a TFL review of the big three’sfull-sized truck offerings... well more of a 0-60 competition rather than a review.  But it’s 0-60 towing 5,000lbs!  I can’t think of a better piece of info than who has the best hustle under load (well, I can, but this is still good to know... and fun)! 

On a related front, here’s a cool video of a Silverado HD in a tugof war contest against a semi.  Check it out for fierce tire burning carnage!  

 And with that, I'm out.  I'm putting together a post of some of the best, coolest and strangest cars I saw at the various shows I attended this summer.  Look for it soon!

TTFN!

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