The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So when my husband is saying how much he would like a Rabbit GTI I shouldn't laugh? I can still make some use of it? Haha. Everything would be simpler if I was up a bigger car or down an infant but since I won't trade him for anything I think the car is the better option.

What does your spouse drive? I've tried to gently influence what DeeDee drives. Over the years she has driven an assortment of hatchbacks or wagons from a Honda Civic to a couple of Ford Taurus but she currently drives a BMW 330I convertible. The car is a blast to drive but it hardly has room for DeeDee's suitcase of shoes when we go the the beach for the weekend. It's a "phono fact" that if you travel with big honkin' ¾ ton pickup, you won't find a used needle. But it you take the sporty little car, you'll find an assortment of tempting prizes. On a recent trip to the coast with the top down, my first purchase was a VV-IX and an hour later we squeezed in a suitcase Brunswick. It did fit but it was not easy.
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Yes, the Blais' live in rainy Oregon and have two convertibles. Oregon is a great place to go topless. It's been raining for a couple of days now but the previous 100 days were without measurable rain. People normally think of places like Arizona and California as perfect convertible climates but when the temperature rises above 85 or so, it's too hot to have the top down. If it's a little cool you put down the top and turn up the heat.
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Here's another little secret about Oregon... A lot of times when I call someone in another part of the country, I say something like "hi, it's Jerry Blais from rainy Oregon calling". But it very seldom really rains in Oregon. Many of our days are gray and it drizzles a lot. We may have "rainy " days where it drizzles from .25" to .75 inches of rain but it is very rare that it comes down in buckets. On the way home from Union DeeDee and I stopped at the Mall of America in Minnesota. When we left, the rain was incredible. You could only see down the road for the slightest moment when the windshield wiper passed by. I can honestly say I have never experienced anything close to that in Oregon. We've lived in our home for twenty years and last winter was the first time we've had a snowman in our front yard. Jerry Blais

He actually drives a Ford Ranger. It is perfect for hauling but doesn't allow for the 3 of us to ride together. I don't drive stick and his clutch is sticky so I am not inclined to learn. I drive a Jeep. A small one. It lets us all travel together and has fit any floor model we picked. Just thinking about ways to make purchases in RI, store them with my family,then pick up a couple at a time.

Moxie, If you come to Oregon, I'll teach you to drive a stick shift in my Dad's old Mustang. He taught all the neighbor kids how to drive a stick. I've tried to continue that tradition with nieces and nephews, neighbor kids and you could be the first phono nerd. When you learn to drive this, you can drive anything.

BEAUTIFUL car Jerry!

PS: The driver looks like a phono nerd though!

Bruce, you nailed it both times. Jerry

All you need in there is a spring motored 8 track player!

Nice Stang Jerry. My first indulgence after getting out of college and going to work was a brand new 66 Mustang GT.

Of course if there was so much as a drop of dew on the pavement, it had no traction and would just spin its wheels, but I loved it. Ah, the memories.


Clay

Jerry, that is worth a trip to Oregon! I'm a big fan of American muscle. Beautiful car.