I was sitting there in my Edsel...

and started wondering where all the other Edsels had gotten to. There were many on the roads, in the parking lots, and for sale...then WHAM! GONE!

This made me think forward (because I can) to the year 2016 and how it was getting harder and harder to catch a glimpse of a Unicorn or even a Ford Ranger...the old style Ranger with the body where they used real metal and had an actual steering wheel...

Then I sprang forward another 20 years to 2036 and there I saw no more vehicles either on the roads or in the parking lots...not even in the fields...they were all taken up in the Rapture by Jesus and his Angels...

Then I heard that song by the girl who carries her underwear everywhere...and remembered..."Jesus, take my wheels..."

I don't think I would want Jesus "takin' the wheel".............

First no license, and no clue about drivin' cars

Second, immortal being............like givin' the wheel to a teenage boy, only they only "think" they are immortal, Jesus knows he is, lol, it would be a wide ride for sure.


Edsel.........no way to predict Americans taste in anything, Ford spent a ton of dough on market research to make "the car" Americans wanted, except no one, well not enough, wanted it, oops.

Like Trump today, I said "no way" when he started his campaign for President.
Now I feel like Ford did with the Edsel..................WTF, how did this happen?

Good analogy...teens and driving thinking they are immortal...lol

I was like that once...


The other day I did my road test and was thinking about how I did it 45 years ago and passed...this time around I was actually worried more than all those years ago...

I passed...but there were moments when I wondered...

Lots of old Rangers around here in southern Indiana. I see several every day. No Edsel Rangers, though.

That take on driving with Jesus reminds of Groundhog Day.

Funny thing about old cars. I had a 1964 ford in high school, which was 21 y/o when I started driving. It was old then. Not many cars made it to 20. Most junky old cars driven by kids were 10 years old. That '64 was old in '85. Now, how many sad Buick LeSabres from the mid 90's are still on the road? All of them, maybe. Every Corolla or Accord from the mid 90's is still driving. Nobody tries to buy your '95 Taurus wagon from you when you are at the gas pump. My Ranger is a '95--21 years old, just like that old '64 was when I had it. A '95 Ranger isn't old.

My oldest son is starting to drive this year and we are working on a '65 Mustang. It's a 50 year-old relic. I offered him my 330hp steroid-freak Speed3 and he didn't want it. He prefers the 85hp six-banger Mustang because it's cool. I want him in the Mazda because it has brakes and airbags and such, and he can actually drive it so conscientiously that the turbo never spools. Tires only last me 15,000 miles, and he rides with me all the time, but he isn't impressed because it's not cool. The classic Mustang is cool and he wants that.

It may be that when I was learning to drive it was my Mom who took me out on the road most times. If my Dad had been there with me I might have learned differently.

Without sounding disrespectful, my Dad was a hotdog behind the wheel (former WWII RCAF gunner who stayed in too long)...he often talked about how bad others on the road were but I'd seen him drive when he was angry and it was SCARY...because I was with him.

But I learned a healthy respect for vehicles and only a few times came close to hurting anyone through sheer stupidity on my part.

I'm sure you will teach your son well Will...it is as much as you can do to get them through this phase of their life.

And, yes, there are many old cars still on the road...because there are people like us that like them and are happy to take care of them...there are far too many people caught up in the "planned obsolescence" of mass production who toss their old vehicles, literally, when the ash tray is full...

That was an old joke when I was a teen...but it drove home the idea that we are too quick to give up on something when there is something else ready and willing to be ours.

I only just sold my Ranger...a project that had lasted as long as I could manage...and my brother bought me a beautiful Dodge Caravan that is more in tune with what I need. The other day when I was driving it, I noticed the RPMs were a bit high...turns out there is a Shift Solenoid that goes bad and it needs to be replaced...cost is about $400 and i can change it myself...

If that is the problem...but it could also be the PCM...cost is about $1,000 and it can be changed fairly easily also...but needs to be programmed for the VIN...

So...if these parts are both needed...I could have finished my Ranger, paid my insurance for a year, and had a few hundred in my pocket to play with...

Which is why I was afraid of going this route in the first place...but...my brother was generous and even offered to pay for the repairs...but I can see many people jumping from that ship and just buying a used Ranger for about the same price as fixing this newer truck...and that is partly why so many newer vehicles are sitting in junkyards...

The ol' Edsels caught a lot of crap, just looking at them at car shows while they are not the easiest on the eyes they have a lot of cool features.

I want a 60's Mustang so bad it isn't funny... I gotta have a V8 though.

I noticed the 90's are not old to me but my '85 was when I got it when it was 15... then I was talking to a guy that said had a late model GM smallblock he was saving for a project. I asked him what year it was (thinking he had an LS or something) and he said it was like an 86-87... he is in his mid 60's and it hit me if we latch on to what we think is old when we are in high school. Suppose the kids in high school think a '95 is old? Its older than they are, my '85 is a year newer than I am...

LOL...wrong wheel...

My first cars were all 60s vintage...66 Biscayne, 66 Stratochief (loved that one), 62 Ford Galaxy 500, 69 Delta 88...

And they were still in really good shape (except the Chevy) with low mileage...but back then people tended to drive them till they broke...even though they didn't break easy...that seemed to be the game plan.

We still have an "old car" group where I live and they get together every Thursday night so others can ogle their possessions and listen to 60's era music. I have yet to go to one of them because I would probably overload on memories...and mostly because I can't even afford to think about owning one of them never mind going through the repairs or whatever...

Definitely lottery win or inheritance from unknown benevolent benefactor needed for me to be in that game...

Did you sell your old Ranger or the one you had just got?

I am in a car club, I have one of the newest rigs there, one of the most unfinished and not even a car... they are more than ok about it. They even put me on the poster a few years ago.

I sold my recent one...the one I would have loved more with the new dash...and fuel injected 4 banger...

I had to go on disability pension and they don't pay much...and they have this wacky restriction where I cannot own a vehicle worth more than $5,000...or they deduct money from my penson...

My brother took me out to look at a 2011 which was awesome...but it was $18,000...when I called about it they said "NO" don't buy it or even have someone give it to you or we can stop your payments for a year...

Anyway...cool poster...

I have seen a few trucks in the group around town...mostly 50's and earlier...but one guy has a really nice old Chevy that has been rebuilt...80's vintage...

That's just messed up. It's like they don't want you to have anything worthwhile anymore. If you lived closer I'm sure you'd find something to occupy your time that you'd like. Did you see the post in the free to good home section. A poor Ranger that just needs a home and some love. I hope things get better for you soon.

Thanks...things are pretty good now compared to a few years ago, but I can always find something to complain about...

I feel the same way...they don't like seeing us getting ahead or off their support system for some reason. I told someone I might be able to find part time work driving and they were on that like greased lightning saying I must report every dime and it goes against my pay...wtf?

Ah, well, I know I am very fortunate to even have what little I have...would have liked to have kept the Ranger but I cannot drive a manual now...so must be automatic...which is why my Ranger had to go...

I will check out the free to good home Ranger...I had a friend with one too but hers was manual transmission too...so even free would have been problems

how ironic, I saw a green Edsel wagon for sale near Athens Ohio yesterday.
looked good from the freeway at 60 mph.

Hmmm, what should I do with that 460 SCJ in the basement?

I believe that you are allowed a sliding scale percentage of earnings before deducting from your regular pay.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Mark_88 said:

I sold my recent one...the one I would have loved more with the new dash...and fuel injected 4 banger...

I had to go on disability pension and they don't pay much...and they have this wacky restriction where I cannot own a vehicle worth more than $5,000...or they deduct money from my penson...

My brother took me out to look at a 2011 which was awesome...but it was $18,000...when I called about it they said "NO" don't buy it or even have someone give it to you or we can stop your payments for a year...

Click to expand...

My aunt got into that, she has tons of medial problems and someone left her $10k. Not enough to really live on but it threw her Medicare/aide into a fit... so she used it to pay for her funeral.

alwaysFlOoReD said:

I believe that you are allowed a sliding scale percentage of earnings before deducting from your regular pay.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

On disability alone I can earn up to $300 before they even start to deduct...and then it would be something like 50 cents on the dollar up to $600...after that it is dollar for dollar...

However, due to circumcisions beyond my circumference, they are now in a position where I am being subsidized and pensioned (disability) meaning I no longer should be working....

There is a good legal advisor in Toronto and I read through some of the stuff he has done....does pretty good to stand up to the government and getting people better deals...I didn't see anything that applied to me...yet.

85_Ranger4x4 said:

My aunt got into that, she has tons of medial problems and someone left her $10k. Not enough to really live on but it threw her Medicare/aide into a fit... so she used it to pay for her funeral.

Click to expand...

LOL...smart...

So far, the only option that might help me is to go for full early pension...but I am too young for that without steep reductions...I need to wait until at least 65 to tap into CPP or anything else.

I'm OK...making money would only be good if I can get it under the table...and I really don't want to get caught doing that...these people (government) can make your life easy and great...or complicate things. I know they are just following the rules so I need to make sure I'm playing on the up and up...

At least they don't have snitch lines like they do in North Korea...where they offer incentives to your friends and relatives to turn you in...

"how ironic, I saw a green Edsel wagon for sale near Athens Ohio yesterday.
looked good from the freeway at 60 mph."

I've never seen one up close...I wouldn't mind having a look at them...the wagons are another dimension that I would be interested in too...I do remember a friend of my brother had a 60 something Pontiac wagon with a monster under the hood...that thing was awesome...so I see the wagons as a sort of preview to minivans and SUVs...