From J-cars to Hyundai

Happy New Year everybody! Time to do something different.

I've always admired Tom and Ray Magliozzi. They are the Car Talk guys, aka "Click and Clack" on NPR. Their combination of wit, humor, and good advice has won the hearts of millions of listeners (and readers).

Many moons ago, my friend Jason and I conspired to be the next Car Talk guys. I mean, these guys are getting old, they don't always know what they are talking about, and let's face it, they are from Boston. Detroit has had its fair share of blows over the last 30 years, but shouldn't car advice come from the Motor City? A lot of people might disagree, since everyone here drives American cars. I'll be the first to admit that our local car population does not represent that of most major cities, but that doesn't stop me from respecting Japanese, German, and even Korean cars.

Ahh, Korean cars.

Allow me back up a bit. I grew up in Livonia, MI, and my formative years were in the 80's. That was a tough time in the American auto industry, and it was a tough time in Detroit. My father did not work for the Big 3, but many of my friend's parents did work at Ford or General Motors. We never knew any Chyrsler people, since they all lived on the East Side.

"Rick", who's real name will not be used, grew up in a staunch blue collar GM family. Growing up, they had cars like an Oldsmobile Toronado, and a few Chevy Astro's. "Rick's" first car was a 1984 Pontaic J2000, aka Sunbird. We nicknamed it "J", since it came off the J-body platform. Anyway, Rick's father was a welder at GM, and he would not let any Japanese cars to park on their driveway. Rick even refused to ride in one. This was their stance for many many years.

Fast forward to 2001. Rick is going to medical school, and he needs a cheap car. GM doesn't produce a $10,000 car, so he buys a 2001 Hyundai Accent. Now I personally don't have a problem with this, but its kind of funny in light of his former stance on Japanese cars.

For many years, Rick's dad was in the UAW-Delphi (former unit of GM) jobs bank. This is because Delphi sent his job to Mexico, and the UAW contract allowed Rick's dad to get paid 95% to not work. Not a bad deal, eh? Well, after about ~5 years, they finally found a job for him in Flint. So, all of a sudden he had to commute from Livonia to Flint. He was leasing an F-150 that guzzled gas. Instead of buying a new GM or Ford product, he goes out and buys a fuel efficient Hyundai Sonata. It was a nice car for a cheap price, and Rick had good luck with his Accent. Never mind that it was built in Korea!

After driving the Sonata for 6 months, Rick's dad had the chance to go from Delphi back into GM. He felt guilty about the Hyundai and he sold it, and picked up a nice Buick Lucerne.

Rick's Hyundai Accent isn't doing so well. It has 80,000 miles, and the Check Engine light is on. It has a bad Oxygen Sensor. I know this because I hooked my Palm Pilot V up to the car using an Auterra adaptor. I looked under the hood of the car, and I was surprised how rusty it was. I guess they don't have very good corrosion standards in Korea.

So, yeah...the point of this is for me to ramble about cars and field questions about cars. I have a broad automotive knowledge from working in the industry for 7+ years, and I've been an amateur mechanic for 14 years. I've owned over 30 cars. Back in college I used to buy cars, fix them, drive them, then sell them. Below is the list of cars I have owned if anyone was wondering...it now spans 5 decades!

Feel free to ask me any questions like.

1985 Buick Skyhawk
1984 Ford Tempo
1986 Nissan Sentra
1982 Volkswagen Rabbit
1968 Volkswagen Beetle
1971 Volkswagen Beetle
1982 Buick Regal
1982 Mercury Capri
1991 Pontiac Grand Am
1985 Volkswagen GTI
1979 Ford Bronco
1974 Volkswagen Beetle
1982 Volkswagen Rabbit
1990 Subaru Loyale
1982 Ford Escort
1988 Toyota Tercel
1990 Ford Probe GT
1998 Ford Contour SVT
1986 Subaru GL
1994 Ford Crown Victoria
1990 Lincoln Town Car
2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt
1993 Ford Bronco
2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1
1996 Ford Explorer
1986 Audi 4000
1988 Mercury Grand Marquis
1995 Mazda Miata (currently own)
1979 Mazda RX7
1988 Ford Mustang GT
1997 Chevy Blazer
2001 Lincoln LS (currently own)
1991 Mazda Protégé (currently own)