Yeah, the G is just a $ suck to run. A brief look on tirerack showed only 1 option (Yokohama) for tires, at $1500 a set, before install. No idea how the insurance would be, in essence, it's just a big 4x4 SUV with a big ol blown 5.5 V8 under the hood

A W211 E55 would be nice, but $35k for one of the only really clean ones on the market & 4x the running cost in fuel alone:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

 

Found a Shinsen edition NB Miata locally, that's tempting as well, but would push us into having 3 cars.

 

You can surely find some higher mileage / well maintained W211s for the low 20s range ...

They do get 20-21mpg on the highway .... seems like a decent trade off for 469hp on a stock tune

 

Yup, sadly, only a handful of E55 on AT right now & the only one that's local is black & has some aftermarket wheels on it.

 

If I did go the Mercedes route ... E55 is the top of my list.

Pretty reliable, tons of tuning potential, huge sleeper status.

My favorite

 

Even stock, not a bad DD.
IIRC, same drivetrain @wackjum had/has in his SL55

 

Yeah, I have experience with the M113 engine and 722 transmission. Solid, although not without their quirks.

If you have questions, let me know!

 

M112 is just the 6 cylinder version of the M113, correct?
Dude, I swapped the trans on that thing with a buddy, no need to remove the driveshaft nor the exhaust and all housing bolts were easy accessible.
A real pleasure.

 

After almost 3k miles of Christmas travel.
Houston > NE Denver, lots of running around up there (Greeley, Estes, Canon City) then Denver > Houston
All the slush as the snow thawed turned the MiniBus into a mess. The before, below, is a lot cleaner than it was when temps were still freezing in CO & the crud was still building up. Luckily, my parents have a 5 bay heated shop, so didn't have to worry about leaving it parked in sub-freezing temps. Kept the power steps from locking up, too.
Double pass through a Quick Quack yesterday took 95% of it off. Still some finer details to clean up & the interior needs a wipe down & the Weathertechs need a rinse.
Truck handled it all great, no issues in the light snow we experienced (about 4" the night we got there, no additional snowfall after that).
Averaged about 19MPG on the drive up & 21-22 on the drive back.

 

That's pretty impressive gas mileage for such a large vehicle.

 

Majority was running 80-85 with 75mph speed limits. Mileage is noticeably better sub 70mpg
On the run back from Canon City to my mom's place, got nearly 24mpg.
And most of that was running 85 keeping up with them leading the way, with a brief blast to about 95 to close the gap when we got split by traffic.
Truck drives the same at 70 as it does just above the triple (double semi pass on a 2-lane).

 

Get that dealer sticker off of there!

 

Yup, on the to do list. We've just been swamped busy for what feels like forever.

 

First thing I noticed too
Great trip, thanks for sharing!

 

Never heard of Quick Quack before. I like the name. We were in the single digits with snow over the weekend, but are now in the 40's. I went through our new local conveyor belt style car wash this morning and will likely go for a second pass this weekend.

A neighbor recently got a new Expedition Max. It is like two or more of my XC40. They're nice vehicles.

 

^ Yeah, QQ let me go through twice on one pay, which was nice. The truck was filthy & it still didn't get everything.
Supposed to be warm this weekend, 63* currently, so may try to get both cars washed.

 

This sounds fantastic.

 

This.

We did 400 miles of Christmas traveling in the Wife's MDX and averaged 26.1mpg - mind you, a much smaller vehicle with much less power

Good stuff @00TL-P3.2

 

Oh hey Sam,

Why don't you go outside and wash ca .....

Oh wait.

 

tiny testes right now. literally.

 

In those temps, it's pronounced ovaries.

 

In Colorado, I have been using Meister car wash. Does a decent job but now the cheapest wash is 10 bucks.

 

QQ was $21 for the mid-tier. Getting to run it twice made it worth it, plus the free vacuums to suck out most of the food crumbs in the back.

 

Considering doing something foolish.

 

I don't know what that is but it sounds fantastic, do it.

 

3 pedals, no roof

 

That is going to the lake weather. Sounds enjoyable right now! Man, I would do anything to see the sun right now...

 

Congrats on the Miata!

 

Just a maybe, following up with the owner to get some more details.

 

Don't maybe us, motherfucker.
You said you're buying a shitbox, you better deliver.
You know what?!? I'm gonna take the S2000 out today just for you.

 

If I can talk him down about 1-2k it'll happen.
Still waiting to hear back. 4hr drive each way, but a good long top-down drive home if it happens.

An S2k would be nice, but they're looking like 2.5-3x the price, and I'd go for an ND Miata for that much.

 

S2000 is nice, but when you're cruising around with the top down you won't care what you're in.

 

Still no reply from the seller, so may be a no-go. Bummer.

 

I can help you find another!

 

I'm sure.
Clean NB2 Miatas are getting rare & this was a limited production model.
Probably for the best, with us about to shell out $ for the pool install.

 

Pools are cool.

 

You can't drive a pool (outside of Florida) though.

 

Pool? You mean skating rink?

 

You'd think so, but it's currently 67* outside.
Though the water would still be too cold to swing until mid-April at the earliest, which should be around when it'll be done, if all goes well.

 

I envy your weather right now but definitely not in the summer.