Text 14892, 53 rader
Skriven 2005-10-17 22:23:10 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
  Kommentar till text 14876 av Roy Witt (1:1/22)
Ärende: Re: looters in NO
=========================
> WD> It was a V8 made in Canada. I believe it listed somewhere 5.6l and
 
> Probably 5.8l..they used those extensivily in those vans.
 
Could very well be. An impressive piece of machinery in any case. Quite easy to
maintain, all parts easy accessible.
 
> WD> I loved that car but the taxes and insurance and modifications needed
> WD> here were a headache. The guy that bought it from me knew it, but :
 
> You didn't check into that before you imported it?
 
Yes, but apparently I underestimated what was under the hood. I had bought the
van in Montana for about $6,000 and kept it there stored for my private use. We
traveled so often to Montana and put so much time and mileage on rentals that
it made sense to own a vehicle there.
 
So it was stored with friends in Great Falls who once in a while drove it
around town to keep the parts moving, they maintained the insurance and
registration for me which turned-out to be peanuts there. When we, or I, flew
into Great Falls they had the van serviced and ready to go.
 
After some years my mother's cancer was worsening and she was uncomfortable in
a regular car so I went to Montana, drove the van to New Jersey and had it
shipped to here because it was so comfortable for my mom and we would be able
to take her on vacations.
 
In the US I never worried about the HP of that van, I loved it too much. But
here it suddenly started to matter and the cost would have been horrendous
(appr. $5,392 a year just for the road-taxes and basic insurance) plus that it
was gulping about 20 liters per 100 km (which was OK if it was only used for
specific trips). So the original plan had to be abandoned and I was lucky
enough to find a buyer for it, otherwise I already had someone lined-up in
Montana to buy it for some $8,500 which would've covered my original
purchase-price as well as the cost of round-trip by boat and the travel to/from
Montana.
 
> A year or
> two before he died, he bought a Grand Caravan, just more of the same
> vehicle, except that it had an American built engine. My mom would rather
> have her Olds, so the van was sold.
 
I have now a Chrysler Grand Voyager, but I think that is the Dodge Grand
Caravan overthere. An automatic which is still uncommon here but I wouldn't
want to have it otherwise.
 
It has an American-made 2399cc engine in it which, as I said earlier, leaves it
underpowered when going up-hill.
 
 \%/@rd 

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