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Category: Cars
93 Lumina Driver Side Front
I spotted this car on the highway on Saturday and bought it as a “project” for me and our 3 youngest sons. It is a 1993 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1 Euro Coupe, the sporty version of Chevy’s mid-size car from the ’90s. The young guys that I bought it from said they rebuilt the engine, but they didn’t get it exactly right. It won’t idle, and it must have a coolant leak because the low coolant light stays on, even though it does not run hot, and I filled up the reservoir.
They were asking $1,199,so I offered $800 and we agreed on $920. It has 167,000 miles, but the body is in good shape with few dents, and the paint is decent. I went almost immediately to Budget Brakes and had new front rotors, pads, and a hose installed.
Today, we washed it and cleaned the upholstery. It has cleaned up pretty well, but still needs more mechanical work. I will go tomorrow to get the tags for it, and soon I am going to put it in the shop at Free Serivce Tire and have Mike Freeman’s technicians inspect it and diagnose the engine issues.
Lumina Passenger Side Front
We went to Advance Auto Parts and bought some cleaners and air fresheners, STP Fuel Treatment, and a license plate bracket. Ryan wanted to put the license plate on it that was on our Buick when it was wrecked. Ryan was driving himself, Dale and Sean home from school last September when he ran the Skylark off a rain-slick road into a tree and a fence. The Buick was totalled, and Dale took an ambulance ride to U.T. Trauma Center due to a concussion. Ironically, that license plate is an old Dale Earnhardt collectible, which has on it- a Chevy Lumina!
I am going to blog the restoration (such as it is) of the Lumina here, with updates periodically. Here are the details so far:
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Purchased on March 20, 2010 for $920.00 cash
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Front rotors, pads, and driver’s side brake line replaced at Budget Brakes for $338.91
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Turtle Wax cleaners, STP Fuel Treatment, accessories bought at Advance Auto Parts for $36.50
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Total cost so far: $ 1,295.41
Dashboard
Let me state upfront that I am no big fan of Toyota. To quote Mike Dushane of Car and Driver, ” Toyota has earned a reputation in this country over the past 30 years as a maker of utterly dull and utterly reliable transportation appliances.” I drive a 1996 GMC Suburban, the anti-Prius if there ever was one. Having said that, I now intend to defend Toyota based on common sense and some automotive history. 
In the 1960′s Ralph Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed, his opus of bile against the American automobile industry. The centerpiece of the book was Nader’s criticism of the Chevrolet Corvair, General Motor’s attempt to capitalize on the unexpected popularity of the Volkswagen Beetle. Nader asserted that the rear engined, swing-axle suspension design of the Corvair made it inherently unstable in cornering situations. Nader made a critical error that would be repeated by other automotive safety critics, the media, and the U.S. government at least two more times in the next 30 odd years.
What Ralph Nader neglected to mention is that most Corvair buyers had no previous experience driving rear engined cars. The handling characteristics are quite different from the larger, front engine/rear wheel drive cars Americans were used to. The Corvair, as well as the contemporary Beetle, tended to over-steer, that is, the rear end of the car would come around if cornering at too high speeds. Compounding this quirk was the swing axle suspension, which allowed the inside rear wheel to “jack up” in a corner, increasing the chance of a rollover.
Drivers experienced with oversteer conditions knew to overcome them by careful steering correction. American drivers, lacking this knowledge, ended up rolling their Corvairs over or running them off the road. It probably didn’t help that the small Corvair had to share the road with the two-and-a-half ton land yachts of the time. Naturally, as today, the smaller car fared much worse in a collision with a larger one. Thus did General Motors end up with a reputation for selling a deathtrap, and Ralph Nader established himself as America’s first car nanny.
Fast forward to the 1980′s, and the origin of today’s “sudden acceleration” hysteria. Audi was beginning to establish itself in America as a maker of high performance German luxury cars. There were some incidents of Audi 5000 models seeming to take on minds of their own, accelerating when their drivers were trying to brake. CBS-TV’s 60 Minutes broadcast a horribly biased account of these events, using a plaintiff’s attorney’s consultant as their resident expert. After numerous lawsuits, the US government determined that “every single so-called unintended acceleration accident was caused by driver error.” Again, most American drivers of Audis were used to the brake and accelerator pedals being farther apart, as they had traded their Buicks and Lincolns for the latest in high-end autos.
This brings us to the current day, and the media and government feeding frenzy against Toyota. The most highly publicized incident so far, the deaths of 4 people in a Lexus in California, has been found to have been caused by an incorrect floor mat causing the accelerator to stick wide open. Likewise, the recent incredible story of the runaway Prius is full of holes big enough to drive an F-150 through. All car manufacturers have had cases of unintended acceleration reported to them. The reason Toyota gets more attention is that there are more Toyotas on the road, and, especially in the case of the Prius, most drivers are unaccustomed to newer technology such as hybrid powerplants and electronic,”drive-by-wire” throttles.
In spite of Nader’s assertions and those that have followed him, automakers do not build cars to kill their customers. That would be bad for business. There are many good articles available on the web explaining what to do if your car suddenly accelerates on its own. Please read them if you think you will ever be in that situation. I have driven for more than 35 years, and it hasn’t happened to me yet. Read these reports of runaway Toyotas (and other makes) with a grain of salt, and apply some common sense.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept
Front view 3/4
- rear view 3/4
Driver's Seat
If you are in the market for a mid-size luxury SUV, I highly recommend the 2010 Lincoln MKX. I recently had the opportunity to drive one for several days, and I found it to be quite luxurious and stylish, but also practical, efficient, and a great performer on the road.
Everything about the 2010 Lincoln MKX says luxury, but there is more to the car than soft leather and wood-grain. Lincoln’s mid-size crossover SUV, based on the Ford Edge, is powered by a 3.5 L, 265 hp. V6 that Lincoln claims will motivate the car to 60 mph in about 8 seconds. I have no reason to doubt that figure, as the engine is very responsive and smooth. My observation is that is has a great deal of midrange torque, as passing cars on the Interstate is a breeze. In fact, it is one of the quicker cars from 50 mph up that I have driven. Handling is very precise as well, but not at the expense of the expected smooth Lincoln ride. Those looking for a comfortable highway cruiser would not be disappointed. The 110 inch wheelbase allows for a very short turning radius, making it easy to park and maneuver in tight confines.
The MKX appearance is clean and modern, even with the classic Lincoln grille, a tribute to the ’61 Continental. I find it much better looking than the Ford Edge with which it shares its mechanical underpinnings. The interior in incredibly luxurious, with blond wood-grain and very high quality leather upholstery. I thought the power seats were easily adjustable and very supportive, although larger folks might find them a bit tight.
We drove the MKX around town, running errands and taking kids to school. I drove it to work one day, and it was no trouble to park in my office garage. We also took some short drives, and I was very impressed with its road manners and fuel efficiency. According to the in-dash data screen, we averaged 20 mpg in varied driving conditions. The model we drove was front wheel drive, although there is an all wheel drive option. On slick pavement, the traction was consistently excellent, so I don’t know really how much better the AWD would be.
This is the first time I have driven a car with the Ford SYNC system (powered by Microsoft, the label says), and I found it somewhat useful, but confusing at first. I was able to ‘sync’ my cell phone with the system for hands-free phoning, but I can’t say that I made use of any of the other features. If I had more time, I am sure I would have found more uses for the system.
This particular car was a rental unit with about 15,000 miles on the odometer. I thought that the fit and finish was excellent, the Tuxedo Black paint job was gorgeous, and there were absolutely no squeaks or rattles to be found. I think that Lincoln has really improved their build quality in recent years, and I would compare this car to any luxury brand, foreign or domestic.
Overall, I was very impressed with the MKX, and I will certainly consider it or another Lincoln for my next car purchase. I liked the styling, the performance, and the comfort of the Navigator’s “little brother”.
- 2010 Lincoln MKX
5 passenger FWD crossover SUV
List Price $39,495.00
3.5 L 265 hp V-6
18 MPG City, 25 MPG Hwy
5 Star Side Impact and 5 Star Front Impact rating
I have been watching the first night of the Barrett-Jackson auctions on Speed tonight. They say the first night is the time to buy “entry-level” collector cars. More than 30 of the cars sold on the first night went for $10,000.00 or less. I suppose it is a sign of the times that a Messerschmidt mini car sold for more than a 1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. It appears the market for high-end collector cars has declined along with the general economy. These are definitely not the most desireable cars, as many of them are from the late ’70s or ’80s. While I may like the idea of a 1986 Buick LeSabre Grand Sport, I really can’t see paying 20 grand for one. But, sure enough, someone just did. There have been a string of ’40s and ’50s pick up trucks (one of then a Hudson), a couple of VW Beetles, even a ’67 Ford Galaxie 500 XL. No Corvettes or Shelby Mustangs, those will come later in the week. Now they are on a ’67 Buick Electra 225 convertible, the model famously known as the “duece and a quarter”. That one sold for $14,000.00, what I would consider a bargain. After all, they aren’t making any more 19 foot long land yachts.
