MarkV

Dave, Maybe you can explain something to me? I picked up my 1989 Buick Lesabre 2 door on Fri. from my Uncle, it runs fantastic, the air works great,etc. and is fully loaded with a leather interior and all the options. Anyway, I did mostly in town driving with a little highway, and I am getting 26.7 MPG. Now of course if I drove all highway, it would be better. Maybe around 30, and this is with the ac full blast. Anyway, why is it that my 20 year old car gets better mileage than most of the cars on the road? Also, since that is 20 year old technology, why arent all cars getting 40 MPG?

Thanks for asking! He is doing pretty good, spoke to him on the phone the other night. Here is an e-mail that his wife sent out: Dear Friends, I am so sorry that this letter is way past due. My computer crashed at the beginning of this whole ordeal and I am just now getting things back together and ready to start catching up. As most of you already know, Jim was in a bad car wreck on May 29th. If you didn’t know, I’m sorry I didn’t you contacted. Anyway, it seems that everyone is getting different ideas of how bad he really is so I thought I would make the picture a little clearer: Jim was going to Denver in our 1962 Studebaker station wagon to pick up a bass guitar amplifier that we were buying. He picked up a friend (Kay Barnett) on the way and they were about 20 miles west of Burlington, CO on I-70 when they were hit from behind by a Penske Rental truck (straight truck with 20’ box) pulling a car on a trailer. The other driver was not paying attention for some reason and didn’t attempt to change lanes until the last second. Therefore, the truck’s front right bumper struck Jim’s rear left bumper and immediately flipped it. Jim describes it as being like tiddly-winks. Jim said that he had no time to react, one second he was driving and the next he was fighting to take a breath. Jim was traveling at 55 mph and the truck was going 70 mph. The car rolled 1 ½ times and the truck rolled ¾ times. Both Jim and Kay were thrown through the side window of the car. Kay was killed immediately. The other driver and his wife had minor injuries. Jim recalls landing on his stomach and having the knowledge that he needed to get a breath so he pulled his fists to his face to create an air pocket and literally told himself he had to breathe in and out. He was taken to the Burlington hospital by ambulance, they did some work on him there and decided he needed to be sent to Denver. He asked if it was really all that bad and couldn’t they just put a cast on his leg and let him go….. they said, “ No, Buddy, you need to be life flighted.” They put him on a plane (he hates to fly) and flew him to Denver. Then they put him in an ambulance that broke down so they called another one and got him to the hospital. St. Anthony’s Central Hospital is considered to be one of the best trauma hospitals in the Midwest and that is where they took him. They took immaculate care of him there. However, they were very had to get information out of. I am guessing that they didn’t want the trauma to be compounded by telling him all that was wrong. So, we are still learning information as we go along. He has 6 compression fractures on his spine and several chips but nothing close to the spinal cord. So, he has full use and feeling of everything everywhere. He cracked his pelvis in 3 places and his tail bone in one. This gives him quite a bit of pain when he gets going on the walker. He has at least 3 ribs broken off in the back and most of the ribs on his right side in the back are cracked. We were told that he broke his right shoulder blade but he couldn’t lift his shoulder at all without pain so they checked the muscles (rotator cuff, etc.) and everything looked fine. So, they didn’t do much more about it. Yesterday we finally found out that the shoulder blade is “shattered” and that is the reason for all the pain and lack of mobility in the shoulder. But, it will heal. All of these things are bones that cannot be casted so he just has to wait to heal. But, they are all held in place by his muscles so they will all heal correctly. He wears a back brace whenever he is out of bed (pictured). The only reason for the neck collar is to keep his spine straight; he has no fractures that high up. The spinal fractures are mid and lower back. The worst break was in his right leg. At top of the lower leg bone where the knee rests on it he broke a large piece away and they had to do surgery to get it back together. They put in a plate and screws plus put in some bone grafting material (synthetic) to build it back up. He will not be allowed to put any weight on that leg for 12 weeks. At that point he will have to start an intensive rehabilitation to walk again. He also had a mild concussion and that has bothered his sleep but he is getting better there, too. MOST Importantly is what is not hurt. He had nothing happen to his face except a black eye. He never lost his senses. He has all of his limbs in tact. He will only have a few scars on one arm and the surgery leg. HE WILL RECOVER 100%. I think that some of you have pictured him all mangled up, not so. He came home on June 20. He is now able to get in and out of bed by himself, in and out of the shower, etc. He gets around really well on his walker and in his wheel chair. We can point out on a daily basis visible improvement; his arm lifts higher, he can lift his surgery leg as needed, he can go farther on his walker before tiring, he can laugh without severe pain! He is healing and improving every day. This will be a long term recovery but it will be complete recovery. He plays the guitar every day but doesn’t sing too much yet because his throat is still a little scratchy from the tube in surgery. He is trying to get himself motivated to do some work and keep his mind active so he is working on a couple of books and trying to finish some studio projects that had already been started.

'The Heartbeat of America' -But little do they know that the heartbeat is actually a failing pacemaker! LOL!

When they recalled the failed oldsmobile diesel! Dave Moon: ''Ever notice that perhaps a lot of the quality perception comes from perhaps not saying publicly "oops, we have a problem?" 'I think the exact opposite has been proven time and again.' I dont think that the exact opposite has been proven, why is it that when a very large recall happens and they are buying back the vehicles at 150% market value, why is that not on the news? Yet every little stupid GM and Ford one is on there!

Buick=Old People Oldsmobile= Old People Pontiac= Old People The WWII generation bought them and now they are slowly dieing out, along with the brands they bought. Cadillac, however was able to shed the old people's image.

Well the public a a misconception that good MPG is limited to the rice burners. My dad and I got into a heated argument about my Uncle's lesabre and what kind of MPG it gets. My dad was like 'I know those kind of cars....' and 'that you should buy a honda or Toyota that is good on gas' And now after research on here and thanks to all of you guys letting me know we have now found out that they get between 25-30 mpg hwy! And it has leather seats! And is not made by our WWII enemies! Marketing certainly brainwashes people into thinking stupid things like that the Hondas or Toyotas are better.

I could drive the Mustang V-6 to school because it gets good gas but, the insurance for full coverage is outrageous! It is like $800 bucks for 6 months for full coverage at 8-10 grand! and that is on my dad's policy! But, I want to keep my classic car insurance! So, upfront, I will be saving about $500. Wheras the Buick can be insured with Liability only (since it is a cheap car) for around $300 bucks! for 6 months! + I get the luxury and amenities that I love!

Amen! See, my commute is about 40 roundtrip, so, a tank should last me a week and a half (5 day weeks)! Insurance will be low! registration will be low! And I will be a Buickman! And it is a comfortable car! For a 6'2'' guy like me, that is a blessing! Since the only comfortable car that I have is the MKV and it gets about 7-11 per gallon!

Take the $$$$$ because she will need it in the future and she can put it in a long term acct. Also, $ is usable, wheras a old car goes up and down in value and cannot be sold sometimes. What Casino is it? Where is it?

Just some armor all, steel wool and a new tire and you are done!

Yeah, it is a great car, hopefully I will buy it this week, if I have the time, I am moving but, I need a car for the commute (about 40 miles roundtrip) so, that is why I am buying the Buick. It is the old person's model with alot of chrome trim! I love it! I will post some pics when I get it! JD Power named it one of the top cars of 1989 from what I read.

I am getting an 89 Buick Lesabre 2 door. It is my Uncle's and he bought it from the first owner, who was an old lady (seriously!) She came into his Buick dealer and bought a brand new Buick and traded in this old one a couple of years ago. It is immaculate in every sense of the word, if it didnt have 20 year old styling you would think it was new off of the lot. It is a V-6 power everything every option possible, extra gauge package and the leather interior is immaculate, probably if it was entered in a Buick car show, it would take 1st or 2nd in it's class. Are you Buick guys allowing later cars at the shows now? Lincoln people have started doing it. I drove it about 40 miles or so, and it drives like a dream, very comfortable, good pick up and go, and it feels like I am driving my Lincoln Mark V except it is better on gas! I hear that the Lesabres from this era get 25-30 mpg hwy. according to everyone who posted on my question about it on the board.

Reatta, watch your mouth! LOL! I will be a Buick owner next week! (hopefully!) (actually that was the sound of a Lincoln hitting a Lucerne! LOL!)

I need to find that pic. of that 40 something Buick in my grandparent's backyard....I'll bother my grandma for it.

So, do you buy new or used and why? Any interesting stories? what kinds of cars have you bought new or used?

We can take over again! In regards to the auto industry. Here are some problems, I have noticed: 1: Cost of new vehicles is very high- In years past people were able to buy a car and not have to wait 6 years to pay it off 2: There are no radical new designs- Look at a parking lot, everything looks the same 3: Comfort- Alot of cars lack comfort in general 4: Cost of living has gone up- People now have to work 2 jobs or husband and wife have to work just to make ends meet and barely pay the bills- In years past just the man worked and they had enough money for everything 5: Advertising slogans- Lack of a good advertising slogan or spokesperson (remember Chevy's Heartbeat of America?) 6: Lack of getting MPG news out- Everyone has been brainwashed to think that Honda and Toyota have the MPG yet, alot of their cars are no better than the big 3! Chevy needs to get the news out there that most of their cars get as good or better than the rice burners. But the U.S. auto industry is screwed right now. My Uncle was let go the other day for financial reasons from his chevy/buick dealership after working there for 15 years and working for Chevy for over 50. And he was the top salesman at that dealership, he was also a fleet salesman. So, it shows me how bad the industry is, when a dealership cans most of it's staff and then their top salesman and fleet manager because of finances. Alot of the problem that Chevy has for an example is that alot of the dealerships were built from the 1920's-1950's before the advent of fwys. Alot of the dealerships are in bad locations because the fwys were built after they were built, so, the dealers are stuck in a spot that was a main road 70 years ago. Wheras the Toyota and Honda dealers are newer (1970's) After fwys came in.

Buy it! And tell me if it works! That sounds pretty cool!

Thank God...Did you find out who did it and why?

I daily drive mine!

Come to So Cal, mine is out all the time!

So, Dave, what is conservation? I could be conserving more than my neighbor, someone could conserve more than me, etc.? So, what is conserving? Global Cooling= Funky, hip, disco 70's Global Warming= The Hot modern 00's

You were talking about all the speculators, 'digging any hole they could' in texas and Alaska in the 1980s!

Oh, and the point is pollution, let us not forget back in the early 70's here in L.A. The skyline was dark, like it is in China, so, even though we burn more oil, we have smog controls on vehicles.

But, the consumption of those countries is going up! And it has no where to go but up! As cars become easier to come by for poorer peoples. Maybe Toyota needs to make a Model 'T' and revolutionize the industry in China, India, and Japan!

You said about the oil crashing in the mid 80's! Back in another one of our discussions about digging in West Texas!