Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Cars, vans, SUVs, Lexus, Scion, and brochures)!

Very well-drawn interior...

 

Also, for years I never knew where Rugrats took place, but the fact that one episode revolved around a blizzard and the area where they lived was shown to get significant snowfall at other times led me to believe that series was set somewhere in the Midwest or Northeast; However, just look at Stu and Didi's house...

I have seen Southwestern style houses like that in my neck of the woods, but not many; If you look closely in some episodes, you will quickly realize that the Pickles family and their friends live San Bernardino County, California. More specifically, they live in Yucaipa, California; This is made obvious by the name of a high school in an episode where Tommy's mom Didi, a high school home economics teacher, brings him to said school for the purpose of teaching her class how to change a diaper. Cars are also shown to have classic blue California plates with golden yellow lettering, and Phil and Lil's dad Howard makes a reference to "the demolition derby in Barstow".

 

Stu and Didi were shown to have a red Previa in a few episodes, but this was retconned out when baby Dil was born; Stu drove a blue 1970s Citroen DS, and Didi drove a green 1980s Volvo wagon (with a mishmash of styling cues from from both the 240 and 740). In an episode where Stu buy a used late model Previa to accommodate his growing family (and it's called a Pastorelli for some reason), nothing is said about this red van from episodes past; Despite the fact that Grandpa Lou is seen driving it in this episode, it is actually Stu and Didi's van...

 

In another episode; The backdrop also strongly hints at the series being set in Southern/Inland California...

 

Here is the yellow minivan that Stu bought after Dil was born, called a Pastorelli; This was the episode where Stu bought the van, and Grandpa Lou can be seen bringing up the rear in Stu's Citroen, which they decided not to trade in...



The inside of the van sorta resembles a Previa, but exterior barely does; Also, Stu states that this van has 300hp...



The earliest Previas had a paltry 135hp, and even the later supercharged versions only had 160hp; The last Caravans as well as the current Chrysler Pacificas have like 285hp, but I am pretty sure that no minivan in North America ever came from the factory with 300hp!

 

A 1991 Previa in Rugrats in Paris, clearly wearing a roughly 1988-1993 California plate...

 

Background vehicle in The Rugrats Movie...

 

Another mechanic who works for my mechanic bought the Camry from my friend's mom for a thousand bucks; He got it running without having to replace the entire hybrid system, had it professionally detailed, and plans to drive it as a fuel efficient alternative to his 2007 Sequoia...

 

Love a happy ending.

 

And a Toyota getting a second chance at life...

 

I saw this 1999 Lexus RX300 for sale near my work and stopped to take a look; My friend might be interested in buying it. My grandma bought one of these new in 2002 and owned it until right before COVID started, putting less than 90K miles on it that time; She sold it because wanted a vehicle with, among other things, a power liftgate...


December 28th, 2021:

Ivyland, Pennsylvania

 

It has 156K miles on it, which is pretty low not only for a vehicle that's about two years from being eligible for an antique tag, but for a Lexus RX period...

 

It is even one of my favorite color combos; Green with a tan interior!

 

I work with a guy, he dailys a RX and i beleive it has north of 300k on it with just regular maint. He was a big influence when i bought my GX.

If its been maintained and rust isnt an issue i wouldnt hesitate.

 

My grandma's 2002 Coach Edition did not have heated seats, likely because it was purchased in Florida, but this one does; I've never seen a heated seat setup where the driver's seat had to be turned on in order for the passenger seat to be on...



My dad's 1996 Nissan Pathfinder SE, which was three years older than this Lexus and decidedly less prestigious (seeing as it was a common Nissan Pathfinder and not an Infiniti QX4), had heated front seats that could be operated independently of each other; I wonder how many married couples got into fights over this setup because a wife wanted the heated seat on, but her husband didn't, or vice versa...?

 

My grandma hates the heat, even in winter, and my late grandpa was always cold; When my aunt blew the engine in my Grandpa's 1993 Lincoln Continental, they decided not to replace it because neither of them drove very much. The Lincoln went to the great parking lot in the sky in 2004, and my Grandpa forced to give up his license in 2010 at the age of 86 due to health issues; Even when my grandpa still had his license, my grandma did most of the driving, and I guarantee you many fights would have broken out during long car rides because my grandpa would have wanted the heated passenger seat on!

 

One thing I hated about the 1999-2003 RX is that they are one of the worst vehicles ever for a car audio enthusiast, and this played a significant role in promoting my grandma to sell hers as well...

Until recently, there was no aftermarket dash bezel or reconfigure kit that would allow for the installation of an aftermarket head unit. I went on a Lexus forum a couple years ago, before Grammy decided to sell, to research installing an aftermarket radio; Grammy was willing to pay to install a backup camera, and the obligatory touch-screen radio, which would also give her Bluetooth handsfree calling (something that even $100K+ vehicles lacked in 2002). I found a thread from 2006 on this Lexus forum, where a member from California detailed the install of a double-DIN touch screen HU in his then-fairly new 2001 RX300 using a dash bezel that he had fabricated himself; It turned out very well, and I would have pursued this if it were my RX300, but after talking it over with Grammy she decided to just sell it to a family friend and buy a new car...

 

When I had cruise control installed in my Taco last March, I asked the guy at the shop if they could install an aftermarket HU in a 1999-2003 Lexus RX300, and to my absolute shock there was an elaborate reconfiguration kit that would allow for the installation of a double-DIN head unit!

The kicker was that the damn thing cost $600, just for the kit; A decent HU would have cost another $300-$400, so by the time all was said and done you were looking at over a grand if you didn't do the install yourself! The reason it cost so much is because the HVAC controls were integrated, and I would have bought it if I had an RX300, though I would have enlisted the help of my neighbor Ryan (who did the backup camera, sub, and amp in my Taco) to install it rather than paying a shop to do it!