How would you like to see your writing published at TTAC? Over the years we’ve always taken contributions from new writers, indeed many of TTAC’s current staffers (Editor-in-Chief included) started out here by pitching a story to our editors email. In hopes of highlighting new talent, giving our commentators a new stage, and generally providing a little more variety around here, we’ve decided to feature a piece by a TTAC reader or commenter every Saturday. We’re calling it Ur-Turn and the rules are very simple: When the spirit moves you to write something insightful, passionate or entertaining about cars, car ownership, the car industry, car sales, buying cars, or any other topic that you might about read on TTAC, send it to editors [at] ttac [dot] com. We will select the choicest pieces as they come in, provide the lightest of edits, and let you know which Saturday your piece will run. Keep in mind that because we cannot guarantee that your piece will run on a given week, time-sensitive pieces might not be the best idea. Contributions should be at least 600 words, but no more than 1500 words… although we’re willing to make exceptions for the right piece.

TTAC’s greatest strength has always been its dedicated, well-informed and tough-minded commentariat. This is your opportunity to share that story that was too long for a comments section, or start the debate that we’ve never gotten around to. And if you appreciate the kind of high-quality writing that TTAC provides, this is your chance to give back. After all, we ask for so very little…

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off–then, I account it high time to get to a Porsche Club meeting and annoy perfectly decent upper-middle-class people.

One of my favorite shticks is to sit there at the wine-tasting/slow-food dinner/whatever and say, “I love my Boxster, but I love the Cayman so much more.” Knowing nods from around the table. “It’s just that I like the convertible too.” More knowing nods. “What I really wish Porsche would do…”

Pause.

“…is make a Cayman convertible..”

Dead silence.

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One of the world’s foremost authorities on Automotive Journalism recently got their hands on a trio of Corvettes just for fun. But what unfolded was on the verge of hilarity, if not for their self-proclaimed journalistic superiority over us “punk kids with lots of servers and a desire to get free test drives.”

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There’s a wise old saying that warns not to propose marriage to a woman until you’ve met her mother. What if potential MIL is out of the country for an extended period, and you’re in a hurry? You could do what I did in 1977: look in the garage to see what she drives. There I found a BMW 2002 stashed securely away. And it wasn’t an automatic either. It’s all I needed to know: “Stephanie, will you marry me?” Read More >

TTAC Commentator Rehposolihp writes:

I drive a MKV GTI and despite it being a car that always brings a smile to my face when its working…well, just having to make that last qualification doesn’t bode well for me.

Combine that with a warranty on the verge of expiration and I’m fairly sure I should run away now.

The only thing I’ve done to it is popped on a boost gauge, and purchased an ECU flash (which can be locked back into stock), because I wanted to be reminded that I drive a turbocharged car from time to time.  Before I start snapping photos and trying to sell should I replace it back to stock?  I may have possibly broken the poor original vent assembly into tiny little pieces in my clumsy attempt to remove it, but the surrounding bits still look good.  So – is the minor hassle of replacing it back to stock going to net me a profit, or am I over thinking a boost gauge?

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Time to “Revive The Passion”. The Porsche Club of America wants its members to get more excited about their money-raising raffles. Although the raffles usually sell out — I’ve waited too long in the past and missed my chance to win cars like a Cayman 2.7 or Cayenne S — presumably the rate of sale is decreasing.

The first step was to offer cash as an option: disgruntled PCA members who were sick of Porsche’s many concessions to modern cost-cutting reality could then go buy the car they really wanted. Now the club has come up with an even better idea.

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Instead of a “screaming chicken”, the 1979 Firebird Trans Am should have a pterodactyl on the hood. This is truly a living dinosaur, the very last direct descendant of the the original big block/hi-po pony car. Once a thriving species during the golden performance car era, it was all but wiped out by that great natural calamity, the 1974 energy crisis. Challenger, Barracuda, Mustang, Javelin; even its stablemate the Camaro Z28; by 1975 they were all extinct or in deep hibernation. Only the Trans Am hung in there, and then just by a whisker, or a feather, in this case.

But Pontiac’s risky gamble to press on against the odds had a huge payoff: not only did Trans Am sales explode by the end of the decade, but it came to symbolize the whole genre. Rarely has one car so dominated the American public’s awareness: in the second half of the seventies, the Trans Am became the icon of the American performance car, for better or for worse. Read More >

NB: I stole the above photo from my own “The Truth About Stigs” article. Said article might be worth a brief glance if you’re really interested in this topic…

From Top Speed:

After a scandalous trip to the courtroom over a planned autobiography and a not-so-smooth release of official documents from the racer’s company, Collins Autosport, Ben Collins has been revealed and canned from playing the part of the world renowned Stig.

Who is Ben Collins? What does all this mean?
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Michal writes:

Normally I can find answers for my friends, however this one has me baffled and Google is no help, maybe Piston Slap can help.

My friend is selling/getting rid of a 2006 Jeep Commander, 4.7L, towing package and ~43k miles. Normally a fairly easy thing to price, however the thing has a buyback note on the title, because of some issue or another, he says it was something to do with a starter, but given that info was probably from a dealer, I take it with a huge grain of salt.

Using the normal ‘quoting’ sources (Edmunds/KBB/etc) a clean title car is in the 14k price range. However this has that buyback/lemon not on it, and I have not found any guidelines as to how to price it. (just advice as to how to avoid getting one) He was given a CarMax quote of 8k. But that’s not enough to cover the note. I told him to be honest & put it up on Craiglist & eBay to see what happens, anything over 8k is extra money in the pocket. But after doing some research that really didn’t pan out, I’m not so sure the 8k was a bad offer.

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[Ray Charlton has been a long-time TTAC reader (amazon ray) and has fed me numerous tips. He has offered to share the story of his experiences with his automotive companion of thirty seven years. TTAC always encourages reader submissions, and we are particularly interested to make this type of reader’s story a regular weekly column. It’s a great way to get to know each other better, and share our automotive-related  passions, careers, crazy stories or?? And you’ll (eventually) be $50.00 richer. Send them to me at curbsideclassics@gmail.com. About 800-1200 words, and if it needs editing, I’m on it. I also need suggestions for a title of this series. PN]

It was October of 1973, and my seventeenth birthday. My father’s idea of the perfect gift was to give me his daily driver: a 1968 Volvo 122 Amazon. He had bought it new and now it had 74,000 miles on it. Well, needless to say I was mighty happy to get the car. But I’m even happier to have it still today. Read More >

Fifty years old, and this venerable Ford is still working hard, hauling construction supplies and debris for its young owner who traded it for “some drywall work”. But in addition to just still being on the job, this F-600 caught me eye for another reason: Read More >

Today’s Curbside Classic is a precautionary tale; a lesson in how difficult it is to predict the future, and how humbling it can be to bet on the wrong pony (car). Read More >

I’ve had a long held fantasy since 1971, when GM’s mega-barges appeared: to take a cutting torch to a Caddy, and make a clean slice across the front and rear, just ahead of and behind the wheels, resulting in something like this (sorry, I don’t Photoshop). The result would be hundreds of pounds lighter, easier parking, better performance, economy, handling and braking, but without any loss from that roomy interior. Turns out that Studebaker designer Duncan McRae beat me to it, by some thirteen years. Read More >

Jeff writes:

Long-time lurker here with a question: I’m currently driving a 1996 Outback with 162,000+ miles. Over the years I’ve had to make a few minor repairs in addition to regular maintenance, but nothing more serious than replacing an alternator. The car still drives well and gets 23-25 mpg in daily mixed driving (and about 28-30 highway), but has been slowly using extra engine oil for about the last 40,000 miles. I make sure I check the oil level at least bi-weekly, but normally don’t have to add any for at about 2-3 months, or after an extended highway drive. (75-80 mph turns the engine at 3000+ rpm; there’s a definite drop in the oil level during the trip.) I’m using full synthetic 5W-30 as recommended by the manual.

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