15th Dec 2012, 16:18

"I in no way "hate" my classic"

Nobody said you hate your classic (at least I can't find the comment that said you did), but we all definitely wonder why you even own it, seeing how it's unsafe, and a burden on the environment.

"CAFE standards didn't 'Ruin' anything"

They most certainly did, what do you think killed the true muscle cars of the 70's, and the recent demise of the Ford durable Panther platform? I don't care how high horsepower ratings are on new V6 and 4 cylinder engines, they are still not muscle cars

"Take a look at most any photo of LA"

BINGO! You said it right there, LA, located in California where there are very high altitudes and the tightest emission laws anywhere. A moped would have difficulty passing. Remember in the late 70's when Oldsmobile built a diesel and it wasn't available anywhere in that state?

"MOST people who see my Mercury actually mistake it for a '56 Chevy Bel Air"

There is only on car that looks like a '56 Bel Air, and that is the '56 Bel Air itself with its distinctive two-tone paint scheme; even the base '210 models can be told apart. This happens to be my favorite full-size Chevy outside of the '59 Biscayne.

As far as your brother's Avalon reaching 300k, I'm sure it did, I read about it on other threads, but failing or faulty power windows, mirrors, power heated seats, CD players and sunroofs are not going to affect the way the car runs. You must have this stuff confused with electronic EGR valves, computers, O2 sensors, TPS, mass-air flow, all of this can fail on these newer cars and cost tons of money. Even my'96 Town Car, as old as it is, it still has a lot of these parts, and on that car they are easy to service, but still can take their toll when they fail.

18th Dec 2012, 17:16

Of course the Avalon will do about 300,000 miles without issues, it's one of Toyota's best cars. And yeah, the CAFE standards were not passed to protect us people at all. Sorry buddy, no such thing as a government that truly cares...