1st Gen Lunchtable Thread - General Discussion

I think it's also a consideration that we almost never get snow so our county infrastructure can barely handle an inch. Plus all the steep inclines ice over cause the few plows they have running don't treat the road in any way

 

Lots of detail on Wikipedia if you're curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Aerostar

The Jalopnik author calls any common shitbox with an uncommon engine or transmission a "holy grail". It's a bit ridiculous,, but it's still fun to see the weird things that were made in the '80s and '90s. My favorites are the AWD 5MT Toyota Previa (mid-engined; it's a race car!) and the turbo Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o72mzONTpJE

 

I found a lion track going onto a cattle ranch this morning. Like the respectful outdoor enthusiast I am, I went and knocked on the door of the ranch house at daylight to ask for permission.

turns out it’s against ranch policy.

I thought they were gonna say I could only run it if I killed it…

 

I remember taking our first Aerostar to Gator Ford in Tampa for service. The previous owner had purchased a 100,000-mile total coverage warranty that I transferred to me for a small fee.
The dealer called during a 90,000-mile service and said that it needed a complete front-end refresh with a new rack, tie rod ends, and ball joints and that it would all be covered under warranty. With two little kids, a house payment, and just getting started, I was so so happy with that offer of help. He said that Ford had been trying to phase out the Aerostar but customers (most likely big fleet owners) raised too much hell so they kept it in the product line. Outside of the parts replaced under warranty, it was one of the most trouble-free vehicles that we owned during the 90s. I really screwed up when I got rid of it in 1994. So in 1996, we found an LWB demo that a dealer's wife had been driving that was still considered a new car. I used Ford credit card dollars to cover something like $4,800 off an already discounted price. That thing rode and drove like a Lincoln or some big luxury car. By then I had 3 kids. It accommodated car seats and strollers all that goes with raising small children in stride.

"As the Ford Windstar was being readied for a 1995 model-year introduction, 1994 was set to be the final year for the Aerostar. In a fashion similar to the planned replacement of the Fox-platform Ford Mustang with a Mazda-based coupe in the late 1980s, Ford received a negative reaction from its dealers and the public. In response, Ford announced it would sell both the Aerostar and Windstar vans for the upcoming future." Wiki article.

 

I was visiting family in Auburn this weekend (up on the hill by Thomas Jefferson HS) and it was a shit show yesterday. It's obvious that Washingtonians (i.e. all the California transplants) have no idea how to drive in the snow. The ditches and sidewalks were littered with abandoned or flipped cars, people putting chains on in the middle of the road etc. Complete pandemonium.

You are lucky not to have to go to work. Even though you are used to driving in it, 95% of people up there aren't and they will fuck your day.

 

Oh no. Damn..

 

Found another one, now I just gotta wait a few hours to gather the hunters and everyone up.

 

@Sperrunner

https://www.instagram.com/p/CX_oOsDrC97/

 

Meanwhile on the good side of the state, the side east of the cascades, we just drive like it ain't no thing.

 

Just a ton of rain here

 

Yup. Same with Central/Eastern Oregon. Got a bunch of snow last night and I was in a group of cars this morning that was going 50-60 mph the whole way. Sure is nice to be home...

 

I'm currently in Southern Wisconsin. We got thundersnow overnight. Not the first time I've experienced that, but lightning-through-snow-through-woods is eerie.

 

The Sierras are a shit show right now. It blows my mind that people are still trying to get here.

 

plow guy for the win last night

 

Saw a newer Camaro in a ditch this morning on my way to work. Like, where did this asshole think he was going in 1 foot of snow on a sheet of ice?

 

When you own a Camaro where do you go? Beer run, MF was out. Doesn't matter what the roads looked like he can't see em anyway outta that thing.

 

Rode shotgun in a co-workers once. Felt like an old chop top, sounded like it was falling apart too. At least it was a manual.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHDscnYlwjc

(I know it's not a Camaro)

 

35’s on the RAV4?