Dodge Diplomat, Aspen, and Mirada; Plymouth Gran Fury/Caravelle and Volare; and Chrysler LeBaron, Cordoba, New Yorker/Fifth Avenue, and Imperial (F/M/J bodies)

I dont mind electric cars it's the way they are being forced in I don't like. As they become a true viable alternative that's actually usable without charging issues and sustainable for long term ownership more people will buy them.

I don't like the immediate shift to full EVs.

I do believe hybrid vehicles are an excellent option for those who DO drive more than a thousand miles a month or have a commute over 20 miles each way.

I think the plug in hybrid vehicles are an excellent option for those who have a place for a charger home to plug them into.

IMO the plug in hybrids and electric vehicles are useless for people who fall into several categories: a) people who live in apartments b) people who live in trailer parks c) people who have homes without garages and park in the street or alley d) people who are homeless and those four categories add up to at LEAST half of America.

Electric cars are fine for people with shorter commutes, especially those who work at the large corporate campuses that provide the giant solar panel carports with charger access.  Electric cars are great for inner city use especially for taxicabs as long as the drivers can charge at cab ranks or swap out for another vehicle every few hours, but it wouldn't work for long distance cab rides like say, transferring from Newark to Dulles.

Battery technology has come a long way from the EV's of the 70s-80s-90s with piles of lead acid batteries filling the trunk, engine compartment, and back seat areas of regular cars.  But that advanced battery technology comes with a cost.  Not just the price of the battery, but the minerals and exotic metals that go into them.  They are building a cobalt refinery here in Lawton Oklahoma and nobody wants it except the fat cats on the city council who gave the company every tax break and subsidy they possibly could.  Lithium is a nasty mess and extracting it is dangerous and filthy.  And then you have to understand how strained the power grid is around the country.  California and Texas are two states that have brownouts and blackouts on a regular basis in the winters and summers and adding to that strain is not a smart idea.  We've all seen the fires in battery powered Teslas and such, wouldn't that be so nice to park your $70,000 car in your $400,000 house and have them burn to the ground together?  Nope.  Don't like that idea.  So I'm not convinced that going electric is the best option.

I'd like to say I have a better solution, but I don't.  Used cars are so expensive right now that switching to a fuel efficient car isn't an option for most folks.  My wife picked up a little Chevy Cruze for way too much money and we're feeling the hurt on that, but we needed something and it was what we had to get at the time.  My van is STILL at the transmission shop but he thinks I'll have it back in a week or two.  We'll see this time if I get to drive it for more than 200-300 miles before it fails again.  The Town Car actually got the best mileage of the three vehicles outside of the Cruze but it's knocking hard.  I am still not sure if it's valvetrain noise from sitting for a few months, a wrist pin, lower end bearings spun out, or a cracked flexplate, but when I get the van back the guy at the shop said he had a good used 4.6 and he'd be willing to look into it.  If it's the flexplate that's not bad.  If it's valvetrain noise well it needs seals anyway so could do that.  If it's the wrist pins or a lower end noise I might have him put the 130K engine in and then I'll do the heater core and it'll be good for a couple years I guess.

What I'd like to get would be a Fusion Hybrid, not the plug in Energi just a regular hybrid, 2013-2016 (before the dial shift knob).  40mpg and I could do all my deliveries and sell the van, keeping the Lincoln for personal mileage.  The Explorer is probably going to the stepson when he moves to Pennsylvania probably next summer.  But if I could do anything I wanted I'd pick up a nice clean 70's Granada and throw in a small engine (2.3 Duratec from a Ranger sounds good) and manual transmission (probably a T-5 those go in Granada/Monarch pretty easy) and a Ranger/Explorer 8.8 axle with 3.73 gears.  Should be good for 20-25mpg, and people hate Granadas so I'd love angering them by keeping one on the road.  $1200 would buy a running brown on tan 2-door '75 with a 302/4-speed near me needing a gas tank and radiator and that would be a great start.  Or $1000 could get me a gray on gray '77 sedan supposedly running and driving with 302/auto but then I'd need to find a clutch pedal assembly and linkage and it would get complicated.  Maybe an EFI unit for the 302 would smooth it out enough to get in the 20s, probably not.

Just thought I would pop in here to see if you checked the post. Still looks for 5. Thanks,

I'd replace with poly.
ESPO Springs N things should have them. Better than rubber, not as harsh as solid.

Hey! Long Shot.
Do you have any of the 15x8's left?

Hello guys,     been years. I'm working on my last 5th Ave, getting it going, I've ordered all the brake stuff and, while I was under there I noticed the front K-Member bushings are on their way out. Does anybody have a source for those?

This could be the case but I think the ugly side is not being discussed and compared to weigh the pros and cons. The digging into the Earth mining for the materials needed for the batteries and the inability to bury these batteries at the end of their lives creating huge battery mountains, for example. Also, as EV's continue to be pushed and mandated electric grids will become overloaded (we've already seen it starting).

I agree.  I am also not ready to make such a huge change in my car.  I love the look and the sound and the feel of ICE cars.  And the freedom from being watched and recorded on cameras.  My old Dodge is like a warm blanket and I would never trade it for an EV.

Given time, electric cars are going to end up faster and cheaper than gasoline cars. Not right away, but probably sooner than people think.

This could be the case but I think the ugly side is not being discussed and compared to weigh the pros and cons. The digging into the Earth mining for the materials needed for the batteries and the inability to bury these batteries at the end of their lives creating huge battery mountains, for example. Also, as EV's continue to be pushed and mandated electric grids will become overloaded (we've already seen it starting).

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