Sajeev Mehta

Tuning the brightness of polarized film on a digital gauge cluster (that nobody is stupid enough to restore) is playing automotive restoration on hard mode.

Be it passive radiator speakers or pushrod V6s, sometimes you get a lot of punch in a little package. Sometimes.

Daaang, that's choice. Too bad I like my 2011 better 😂

Unfortunately the LS lost its luster with me pretty quickly. The MN-12 underpinnings of my Mark VIII are complicated enough for this Lincoln collector, but I certainly hope that LS goes to a good home.

Vellum Venom: Citroën Karin vs. Tesla Cybertruck - Hagerty Media In this installment of Vellum Venom, we compare the Citroën Karin and the Tesla Cybertruck, two examples of minimalist car design.

Thanks to social media buzz about them, I took a serious look at two radically modern car designs. Perhaps the wrong minimalist wedge made production?

I noodled around with an '85 once when I was in 7th grade. I was jealous of anyone that had one back then!

Had to dust off a classic because my stupid smartphone wasn't cuttin' it.

But before that, some motivation.

2011 wasn't a bad year, but there were way too many oversized implements of promotion. 1994, OTOH, was wicked cool. Backdating for the win.

Hey look, I was quoted by @sajeevmehta.bsky.social in Hagerty.

www.hagerty.com/media/hagert...

What a magnificent quote!!!!

We all make mistakes, but I appreciate it. If the Slate turns out to be better than my Ranger, I will have to be picky and find the right buyer. (One kid wanted it and I declined because of how he treats his vehicles.)

take a number on that :-)

I mean that's a solid point.

They have aged tremendously well, from a fleet truck with no appeal to something that's gaining a cult following. People ask me if its for sale every few weeks, and now I might have a reason not to say no.

And all that length was probably in the bed, which moderately bothers me about the Slate. I use my 6ft bed on a monthly basis, but maybe 5 is good enough for me.

I put a deposit down, so I had to write about it. Who else in the market bought a compact Ford Ranger when it was new, and is now taking a hard look at how @slateauto.bsky.social can replace it?

www.hagerty.com/media/opinio...

Want to see things from my unique perspective? Well, there's the link!

You are right. Mine is a 2011 with 60k-something miles.

I am usually not an impulse buyer, especially for a vehicle. But @slateauto.bsky.social tugged at my heartstrings, and my dream of a practical and affordable EV truck that's Made in America is impossible to resist.

It may replace my Ford Ranger, so join me on that journey as it unfolds on Hagerty.

Nobody will ever care about cleaning cars as much as us enthusiasts do. I have seen too many cars in junkyards over the decades to ever think otherwise...but it sure would be nice!

I mean, dirt colored mats do a great job hiding dirt.

How I long for the day when floor mats are as brown as a paint-to-sample Porsche can be. (Should be.)

Odds are you would have inhaled some of the cocaine everyone was snorting.

I mean if your world doesn’t turn upside down at 110 miles an hour, you’re clearly flying too close to the sun.

Very clean! Just has 80,000+ miles of road rash on it!

Me: Crud, I need a photo of an automotive Easter Egg for an article I am writing.

Car: Hey moron, forgot about me? Come to the garage and look in my eyes.

Me: That's kinda mean, but thank you!

It's easy to love the W123 as a vintage design from a famous automaker. But many elements of its design should come back into new MB products, they would be more unique and desirable in the market with them. (mostly the luxuriously horizontal grille!)

www.hagerty.com/media/opinio...

Three of my favorite Lincolns, ever. What a great time to be a Lincoln-Mercury Fanboi.

Yeah like 5 of them :-)

5-speed diesels were supposedly only built as prototypes. Shame though, it woulda been much better with a stick. You have to floor it everywhere with the auto.

No there never was a 5-speed option for the Mark VII. Supposedly a few of the 85 diesel models were fitted with a manual, but never made production .

Conversions are straightforward but the details are tough, the parking brake connects to the transmission shifter, so a workaround is needed.