PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

I regularly sneak candy into the movie theater! More than four bucks for a box of candy when I can get four boxes of candy at Walgreen’s for exactly four bucks?!?! Screw ‘em!

 

You gonna see the new 007 movie next year?!?!

 

Im not sure, sounds like they are making it uber politically correct which would be a turn off, i still havent sat down to watch Spectre which was the last one.

 

My favorite newer one to date is Skyfall.

 

Define politically correct.

 

From reading a few things about the storyline it sounds like they are making it too modern.

 

What’s wrong with modern? You mean the spy gadgets?

 

No i love the gadgets too!

 

I'm about to hit 20,000 posts!

 

Some people might consider the cartoon As Told By Ginger the Nickelodeon equivalent of a chick flick, but I loved that show and still do. I was 11 years old when it debuted. My dad watched it with me once, ended up liking it, and watched it with me numerous times afterwards. The quality of the animation is second to none in my opinion, and even almost twenty years after the show first made its debut, the plot of each episode remains fresh. Also, keep in mind that I was between the ages of 11 and about 13 when I watched this show regularly. As I said, the animation was incredible. The main (and titular) character, Ginger Foutley, was a 7th grade girl. Four of the supporting characters were 7th grade girls as well. Then there was Ginger's younger brother Carl (9 or 10 when the series began). I related to Carl a lot because he was a boy close in age to me, and because of his obsession with gross stuff. Unlike many cartoons which follow a floating timeline where the characters remain the same age, the characters in ATBG actually aged. They started out in 7th grade, and were in 9th grade by the series finale. Carl started out in 4th grade and was in 6th grade by the end of the series.

 

The show took place in Connecticut, specifically in the fictional town of Sheltered Shrubs in the also-fictional Winslow County. My mom grew up in Old Greenwich, in Fairfield County, and my Grandma lived in the same house from 1974 to 1999. I was born in 1999 and spent a significant chunk of my first ten years in that house. I can tell you that Sheltered Shrubs and the county in which it is located more closely resemble Old Greenwich and Fairfield County.

Ginger and Carl's mom, Lois Foutley, is a registered nurse and also a single mom. The family lives in a nice but small 3-bedroom home, that oddly has the water heater located in the kitchen, presumably because the house does not have a basement. The house is very Levittown in its design and layout, and was presumably built in the late 1940s or early 1950s. It has been updated thoroughly, but still lacks things like central air-conditioning (Lois states in a Season Three episode where they were having a heat wave that the reason for not having even window units is because the home's aging electrical system could not handle the extra load).

Ginger's best friend and Carl's best friend are brother and sister as well, and live in a much larger house. It is unknown whether or not this house has A/C.

The rich girl, a blonde named Courtney Grippling, lives in a mansion that probably has at least five air-conditioners (probably more).

 

Strangely enough, even though the series takes place in the late 1990s or early 2000s, Lois is shown to be driving a blue 1970s Volkswagen Beetle. I have the utmost respect for people who continue driving older vehicles until it is no longer economically feasible to do so, but you'd think Nick would have put a late nineties/21st century single mother with a good job in something more realistic for the era, or least something with A/C (Years of suggested vehicles are based on the fact that series took place from about 2000-2003)...

• 1987-1997 Honda Accord
  
• 1986-1995 Ford Taurus (I have watched and rewatched the series extensively, and don't think the 1996-1999 Taurus is Lois Foutley's style)
  
• 1987-1996 Toyota Camry (Considering that Lois seemed like the frugal type who would want to save money by holding onto a vehicle, a 1997-2001 Camry seems too new)
  
• 1987-1995 Dodge Caravan (1996-2000 Chrysler minivans seem too new as well)
• 1991-1995 Toyota Previa 5-speed (I believe '95 was the last year for the 3-pedal Previa)
  
• 1989-1995 Toyota 4Runner 5-speed 4x4 (Lois drives an old Beetle and obviously knows how to drive stick, and seems like the type of person who'd prefer a third pedal)
• 1987-1995 Nissan Pathfinder 5-speed 4x4
• Early 1980s Mercedes 240D (If she had to have an old German car, at least this one is larger than a Beetle and has air-conditioning)
• Any 1987-1997 compact 4-door available with a manual transmission (Corolla, Sentra, Escort, maybe even a 1984-1986 Tercel 4WD Wagon
• Since she seems to like old VWs, why not a 1971-1978 VW Bus?
• 1992-1996 Isuzu Trooper
• 1989-1996 Jeep Cherokee

 

Again, even though the series took place in 1999-2004, old cars were prevalent. As stated above, Ginger's mom drove a VW Beetle no newer than 1979...

The family vehicle of Ginger and Carl's respective best friends was a Ford E150 conversion van, no newer than 1991 based on the body style. This more realistic than 1970s VW Bug, because my family vehicle was a 2004 Honda Odyssey that we had for nine years. The E-series would have been 9 years old at the beginning of the series.

Even the wealthy Gripling family's car was old by early 2000s standards, though still one of the best cars in the series, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow (production of the Shadow ended in 1980).

Ginger's other best friend's mom drives an SUV that is obviously a 1987-1995 Range Rover; However, it is a 2-door model, which as far as I know was never officially sold in North America.

Ginger's biological father drives what appears to be a 1970s-1980s Chevrolet C1500 or Ford F150 stepside pickup.

A police car seen in the very first episode (Ginger the Juvey) has styling cues from both the 1991-1996 Chevrolet Caprice and the 1992-1997 Ford Crown Victoria, like many police cars in cartoons and video games. As the name of the episode implies, Ginger (along with three friends) are arrested for attempting to steal an ENTER sign from a local bank (with the goal of giving it to Courtney Gripling as a birthday present). Ginger rides in the back of this squad car, and rolls down the window to talk with friends. The car is show to have crank windows, which in my opinion is a rarity for a nineties cop car. All of the cop cars I've seen have power windows and locks, with the rear locks and windows disabled or bypassed for the obvious reason of keeping suspects from escaping. When I worked at the detail shop, I had the honor of driving a former police car, and that had power everything.

 

Yes, what I am trying to say is that as an 11-13 year old boy, I found Ginger and most of her friends and classmates attractive. The animation was that good!

 

Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and some other Nicktoons had good representation on the IMCDb (Internet Movie Car Database), while As Told By Ginger did not. I found some episodes online, took pictures of vehicles, and changed that in 2016...

CLICK HERE to see Lois Foutley's Beetle

 

Minutes before the engine suddenly caught fire in the 2002 episode "TGIF"...




Ginger and her family bailing out of the car (younger brother Carl's leg can be seen on the left) when the engine caught fire (the car was fixed and appeared in most episodes for the remainder of the series)

 

Apparently, 1977 was the last year one could get a Beetle coupe in the US (I may be wrong). This is 1977 model is essentially what Lois Foutley's car would look like in real life...




This one even has air-conditioning (Apparently factory-installed)! So, it is possible that Lois's car did have A/C!




But just look at the size of that compressor! Can you imagine trying to merge, pass slow-moving traffic, or go up a hill with the A/C cranking on a hot day?!?!

 

To be fair, Beetles from 1971 onward had front disc brakes, and I'm pretty sure they also had lap and shoulder belts. In a car this small and light, you don't really need power steering or power brakes in my opinion; When you think about it, the only modern safety features this car lacked by early 2000s standards were airbags and antilock brakes! ABS was an extra-cost option on many new compact cars in 2000-2004, and even some larger cars! Also, the Foutleys were never shown going on family vacations, so it can be assumed they either flew, took a bus, or rented a larger vehicle for such occasions. I still think a 1986-1995 Taurus or a 1987-1996 Camry would have suited Lois a bit better.

 

Also, Lois Foutley can't hold a candle to Grandpa Phil in Hey Arnold! in terms of oldest daily driver!

Hey Arnold! takes place in the late 1990s, and up to the end of the series Arnold's grandpa drives a 1946 Packard Clipper that he bought brand new after being discharged from the Army. Aside from being drawn with modern lap and shoulder belts like all cartoon vehicles generally are, it can be assumed that Grandpa's Packard is 100% 4-wheel manual drum brake, manual steering, no air-conditioning, original! Strangely enough, the car is shown to have the original radio in two episodes, which you'd assume is AM, but Arnold and his grandpa listen to a local FM station in it.

 

Let's go back to reality...

My uncle bought a 1985 Mazda GLC brand new, and I believe he even paid cash. The car had air-conditioning and an AM/FM cassette, but no other options. My uncle bought the car new in Georgia (I believe it was his very first vehicle with A/C, and in Georgia A/C is kind of obligatory), and my aunt and uncle subsequently moved twice during the time they owned that car (Maryland in 1987 and Virginia in 1994). My uncle was still driving that car in 2001 or quite possibly early 2002; It still ran great and everything including the R-12 A/C was still working. He only donated it to Purple Heart when at 16 years old and with something like 150K miles it wouldn't pass Virginia's bi-annual emissions testing, and replaced it with a new 2002 Nissan Frontier that he still has. My uncle could buy a new Mercedes if he wanted, but he's frugal with his vehicles, and he and my aunt only average a new vehicle every 10-15 years! My aunt and uncle lived in a very nice area in the mid to late 1990s. In 1994-1997, when one of their neighbors had a new Suburban and another neighbor had a couple of Volvos, they had the 1985 Mazda and a 1986 Plymouth Voyager. If I was going to hold onto a minivan for over a decade, I'd prefer a Honda or Toyota over an American one, but I respect people who hold onto their vehicles for years and years!