"How's your car running?"

I have no idea what made me think of this. When I was young and owned a succession of thoroughly used cars and trucks, that was about the first question two young men asked upon meeting.

How's your car running?

Pretty good. It was running shitty, but I put a new set of plug wires on it and it's really running good now. How 'bout yours?

Good, man, just need some front tires and I'll be set.

Memories

Two cruise ins this weekend. Common question.

Not bad actually. Need to fix the wipers, fan isn't blowing like it should, still got the front end project to do... but it runs fine!

I have had similar conversations with my high school age kids. Definition of a good car when I was a kid was that it started MOST of the time. They have a different baseline now. For what its worth, we had a Datsun B210 that my sister would try to start and I would then spray that can stuff right into the carburetor. Most of the time, ha.

The question now is How is your Health? Followed by" you look good," which is a euphemism for you look really old.

quote:

we had a Datsun B210

My sister had one of those. In green it looked like a big fat banana.

Like the wimmin I'm trying to date.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Like the wimmin I'm trying to date.

Sorry to hear about your backfiring issues.

For the wimminfolk

For your vehicle

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcolaefinition of a good car when I was a kid was that it started MOST of the time. They have a different baseline now.

You've got that right! Nostalgia aside, the cars today are FAR more reliable than anything back then.

Yeah man... Good times! That's a very interesting observation. One's car at that age was likely one's only possession. And more importantly, it represented freedom. In many ways, it was independence in a transition to adulthood.

My 77 VW bus is running ok. The heater is nonexistent. But I just drive really fast with the window cranked down, and then I crank it up. I feel warm for the rest of the drive. But it's so cold the batteries in my boom box won't work. So no tunes till spring.

How's my car running? The one I always park facing downhill a little bit so I can bump/push start it? It runs fine after that.

(That was an old car I had ~20 years ago. My current one runs fine.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Two are running great, the other is barely running. Modern cars aren't bulletproof.
BMW - silky smooth inline six. All good. Slight valve cover leak.
Honda - 4 cylinder/electric hybrid that won't die. No matter what we do to it.
Nissan - VQ35DE engines apparently like to consume copious amounts of oil, at times. I'm chasing the symptoms around, hoping to find the cause. Maddening.

Runs good, handles better now that I installed a 28mm anti-sway bar in the rear where there wasn't one and replaced the factory 28mm front with a 34mm. Very flat and neutral through the corners and don't fell crosswinds at all. The real test will be the next time I hook up the 15,500lb toy hauler and drive in 40mph crosswinds.

Thanks for asking.

Ah yes...

Back in the days when all you needed was a rudimentary set of tools, a roll of tie-wire, some duct tape, and a can of starting fluid. You could actually crawl inside of the engine compartment and work on it yourself.

IIRC, there was an episode where he got a Chevy/Geo Metro because it was easier to push.

My car must be running pretty good. My lovely wife took it to go get some flowers about an hour ago.