If you're a car jinx, buy a pre-1973 VW Beetle. It floats, too. Mr. Ducky would approve.

See if you can have it replaced with a Jasper Engine, made in Jasper Indiana. Fine engines and completely stripped down and rebuilt

Dude, I wish you'd have mentioned wanting to do this on the blog (or I wish I'd have read it, I may have missed it if you did).

I don't have much advice I dole out with 100% certainty, but in this case I do: Don't EVER get a new engine dropped in an old car. EVER. Nobody ever drops a new engine in - they drop in a used, about-to-die engine, and giggle as you leave the garage.

Money invested in a liberal talk radio network is money better spent than paying to have an engine dropped in your car.

It could be worse...you could be dead. OK, this is wicked off topic (and possibly in bad taste, but I don't mean it that way), but I don't know if the news has spread beyond upstate NY.

Seems an older couple broke down or slid off the road in the past few days, I think they went off the road in bad weather. You might have noticed that global warming has taken a breather here in the NE, it's been right around zero for the better part of a week, 10 days. Sadly the guy died and his wife is in bad shape...

Can anyone guess where this story is going?

People are now rumbling about a lawsuit against the cell phone companies for not having enough towers in the middle of nowhere so that this unfortunate couple could call for help.

I guess next anyone that had something similar to this happen to them 10 or 20 years ago will try to start a lawsuit against them for not inventing cell phones earlier that everyone could have handy back then.

I wonder how many lawyers had to laugh in their face before they decided that they couldn't pursue a lawsuit against the car company because it went off the road.

Oh, and you might be interested to note that the cell companies face constant harassment from probably these same groups whenever they propose putting any cell towers in their pristine Adirondacks where this happened.

I appreciate your sharing your personal stuff..there are few of us who have not had a similar moment...I thank you for your blog...and hope you remember...it usually works out..... and screw those who do not appreciate your sharing a frustration we have all been through in one way or another....

Jay - Have you done a cost-benefit analysis between flogging older cars and leasing a small (and more dependable) Japanese or Korean car with a bumper-to-bumper service contract?

I know you seem to like the pimp-daddy ride, but you're getting pretty much up to your bag limit, dontcha think?

Why throw away a good car just because of age. I bought a new 1956 Chevy on Sept 12 1956. I still have the car and drive it in the summer. It is my toy now but can be driven anywhere. Only new car ever owned until wife got a new '99 Cavalier.

Someone in our town still own a classic FORD THUNDERBIRD from 1956 and someone else ha a EDSEL

HOLY SCHLAMOLEY!!! I thought jhow66 was 14 years old!!!