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

This was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, along with "Hey Arnold!" Both series were very detail-oriented when it came in-show vehicles, which was quite unique for 1990s cartoons aimed at kids in my opinion. Hey Arnold was officially released on Nickelodeon in 1996 and presumably took place in the late 1990s-early 2000s in a fictional Northwestern City. Despite this, there was a heavy presence of 1940s-1970s vehicles, most notable Arnold's Grandpa's green Packard Clipper.

Rugrats, on the other hand, was more period correct in the vehicle it used. The series made it's official debut on Nick in 1991. The series technically used a floating timeline, as it went off the air briefly beginning like 1994 but came back due to popular demand in 1996-1997. Official info given by Nickelodeon magazine gives the birth year of Tommy Pickles, as well as Phil and Lil DeVille (the twins), as 1990. Even though the series can be presumed to take place in 1991-1992, the Rugrats Movie (1998) has details that would not be present in 1991-1992. "Rugrats in Paris" hit theaters in 2000, and there are several things about it that officially "float" the timeline.

1. Kira (The Japanese single mother who Chaz Finster ends up marrying and thus becomes Chuckie's stepmom) can be seen on a laptop early on in the film. Not a huge and thick early 1990s laptop, mind you, but a laptop that is more on par with laptops of the late 1990s-early 2000s in terms of styling.

2. The giant Reptar designed by Stu for Euro Reptarland in Paris features technology that would cost a fortune in 2000 and would have been virtually unheard of in 1991.

3. In one scene, Stu says "Come on, it's a new century!" in conversation with one of the other parents. This would indicate a setting of either late 1999 or 2000-2001. However, vehicles and other details present in both feature films and all post-1996 episodes and TV movies indicate a time period of 1991-1993.

Don't you just love how cartoons don't have to make sense? I firmly believe that all episodes with the kids as babies take place in 1991-1993. Since All Grown Up is supposed to take place 10-12 years later, it's safe to assume that series takes place in 2001-2003.

So, why am I posting this here? The vehicles, of course! As far as I know there were no Tacoma-like vehicles in Rugrats or All Grown Up, at least not that I could see, but one Toyota vehicle was prominently featured throughout the series practically from day one...

The 1991-1997 North American-spec Toyota Previa!

This blue Previa is/was owned by Angelica Pickles' parents, and featured prominently in the season 4 episode "Looking for Jack" which first aired in November 1997. Drew and Charlotte Pickles seemed to have his and hers BMWs, specifically a 1987-1991 E30 325i convertible for Charlotte and a 1988-1991 E34 5-series for Drew, but they had this blue van as a family vehicle almost from day one.




Note the a presence of a left sliding door (a typical animator faux pas)...


The brand name "Wahorn" was applied to a few consumer items in the series as a generic foreign company (most notably to this blue van, a nearly identical red van owned by Tommy's parents, and the range/oven in the kitchen of Tommy's parents' house)…




This episode was called "Looking for Jack" because Charlotte accidentally ran over some debris while taking the kids to a "Dummi Bears" concert and blew the right rear tire, and then attempted to change the tire herself but could not find the jack. Thus, the kids thought she was looking for a man named Jack who could fix the van...




A faithful recreation of the Previa interior...




Same van driven by Angelica's dad in another episode...

 

An earlier iteration from an earlier (pre-1994, pre-revival) episode, of what we can only assume is the same van. Drew is driving and Charlotte is riding shotgun...

Very poorly drawn compared to the post-revival (1996-onward) episodes, and too damn long (4th-row seat?!?!):

 

Charlotte and Drew's van in yet another early (1991-1992) episode where Stu and Drew take the kids mini-golfing...



Again, very crudely drawn, too long, and with 4 rows of seats:

 

A blue Previa, but just a background vehicle (Not Drew and Charlotte's):

 

This may be from the same episode:

 

And then Stu and Didi Pickles had a red one, which is weird. Stu drove a blue 1970s Citroen DS and Didi drove a green 1986ish Volvo 240 wagon. The red van was rarely seen, but like Drew and Charlotte's blue Previa, it made appearances in the original series (1991-1994) and revival era (1996-1998). This is all weird because after Dil Pickles was born, a 1999 episode called "Submarine" centered around Stu buying a used late model minivan to accommodate his growing family. Stu also kept his blue Citroen, and the green Volvo seemingly disappears (Doesn't appear in "Submarine" so obviously not traded; Sold privately?) The green Volvo wagon had plenty of space for a husband, wife, and two infant boys in my opinion. Also, where was the red Previa? That certainly had plenty of room!

My verdict? Retcon!

The yellow Previa-like van Stu purchased used from Looney Larry's Used Cars in "Submarine," seen here at the end of the episode as he drove it home from the dealer, with Grandpa Lou following behind in Stu's blue Citroen:



The most glaring detail here is that as far as I know, no U.S.-spec Previa ever came in yellow from the factory. It has the same basic shape and layout of a 1991-1997 Previa, but it really looks nothing like one. It honestly looks like a mix of 1991-1997 Toyota Previa, 1994-1996 Chevy Lumina APV, and Renault Espace...

Also, in the episode "Submarine," the make of this van was stated by Stu as a "Pasturelli," a fully loaded luxury minivan designed and built in Italy, and equipped with a 300hp engine! It was also described as having leather seats, and was equipped with a sunroof, among other features. At the end of the episode, it is shown as having a built-in phone that the dealer threw in for free. Translation: This van does not sound like anything a suburban married couple (specifically a husband working as a freelance toy inventor and a wife working as a high school home economics teacher) with two infant boys could afford, even used! But Stu got it for half-price because of a sale the dealer was having...

 

I really love the AC on my 04 S2000. It is usually on at 10-20% of capacity (low speed) and is cold enough for south Florida heat. It's original, and after 13-14 years is still kicking in hard. Seems like it is a system for a larger car that they put into a roadster.

 

Best Ac was my 1999 Tacoma single cab. I got that thing down to 32 degrees on the highway on. 105 degree day.
Worst ac was my Nissan Frontier. It worked but it just never seemed to get to where the Toyota was.

 

Same with my 2010's regular cab's A/C! Just had it recharged!

 

My uncle has a 2002 Nissan Frontier XE crew cab 5-speed, yellow in color. I've actually driven it before, but it was only my second time driving stick and I stalled it backing up the driveway (I'm great at driving stick now). He bought it brand new in October 2002 and still owns it. It has like 120K miles on it. A/C is downright FRIGID and has never been serviced.

 

I wasn't saying that it didn't work but the taco would blow icicles in the middle of august. The frontier got cold but the taco did way better.

 

I recommend that women wear a bra in my truck in August. Or perhaps maybe I should recommend that they DON'T wear a bra...

 

I vote no bra. Does the no fattys rule apply to your truck too?

 

My 08 Tacoma was probably the worst, was really weak. Best by a longshot was my 02 Mustang, it had Black Leather interior and still would freeze you out.

 

The 3rd gen Taco uses a new refrigerant for Toyota, 1234yf as opposed to the traditional R134a, and long gone R12.

My tacoma out performed my 17 rav4 easily, but I had a smaller cabin.

I believe that due to the nature of less harmful refrigerant the effectiveness of the ac systems have gone down over the years.

My worst A/C ever was my 2002 BMW 325i oddly enough, conflicting with OP. But I never really checked its charge.

Best A/C I've ever had was my 08 Honda Pilot, it was always too cold, and I loved it.

 

Weak meaning the vents weren't powerful or weak meaning it didn't blow cold?

 

Weak in temp, was like that from brand new, had the dealer check it and got the usual "it's normal" response.

 

Seems like Honda is winning here. The A/C on my 2004 Pilot (purchased new in Oct. '04) is still ice cold after 140k miles.

For the record, I have no complaints with the A/C in my Tacoma so far.

 

Check refrigerant charge.