WillMartin

There was one of those for sale near me about 25 years ago, except it was a window version. The seller wanted $3500, and I didn't have $3500 at the time. I still kinda want one someday.

Mine's a Gen 1, so the pressure recommendations are a little different. The door says run the rears at 49psi. Which I do. They don't show signs of any abnormal wear.

Got those for my 2010, just haven't got around to mounting tires on them yet. Time flies!

I had a similar thing happen recently, but the cause was different. I parked the van, got out, did what I was doing, then went to put the transmission in drive. The shifter wouldn't budge. So, I used the override by poking a small screw driver down into a hole next to the shifter to get it into gear. I thought it was the interlock solenoid on the shifter. It wasn't. Then it was the switch on the brake pedal because the brake lights didn't come on either. It wasn't. Turns out, the high mount brake light was shorted out and was busy smoking the wiring. The dealer figured it out, which means they are doing the work and it ain't cheap! But, at least I don't have a shifter to replace. If the solenoid goes out, I'll look into bypassing it. Why replace the entire shifter for an interlock solenoid? The old vehicles I have driven for decades never had an interlock, so I'm used to paying attention.

It sounds great!

I can. And it's way beyond my capabilities.

Yep, it sure is, but if it does what I need and doesn't burn too much fuel, then fugly is outside where I can't see it anyway.

It will last exactly 71k miles and then spend the rest of ever on a hook, following a tow truck. Oh, well.

My Gen 1 is a 2010, and it was a little battered when I got it, but had next to no mileage on it. It is great for what it is, and I'm very happy with it. It's been great for the last year. I hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine.

Bad tires are just flat bad tires. The tires that are on my Gen 1 will spin up on dry pavement if I'm starting on a hill. Mines an older one, and I don't think it has traction control. That said, it spins and spins on Seattle's hills. I haven't lost traction braking or turning, so there's that. The next set of tires sure won't be what's on it now.

Doing that with a TC would be even better. Because it weighs less.

I found that replacing the OEM steel wheels with used Focus alloys was a whole lot cheaper than replacing them with steel wheels. Alloys are lighter, look better, and make you a better person. What's not to like? The only issue for me is that I got a bigger diameter wheel. On purpose, of course, but there's always that if you care.

If you are going with that white, all that color. That would be fantastic.

There are a lot of things I would do if I had way more money than I could possibly know what to do with. And too much free time. One would be to take my Gen1 TC and put a V8 motor in the back with a 6 speed transaxle. It would take some engineering and a whole lot of fabrication, but it would be quite the sleeper. It would have to have bigger than stock wheels and tires to avoid lunching them, but it sure would be fun. It will never happen.

All things being equal, a G2 is probably a far better vehicle, in spite of the roof height. But, I'm cheap. So there's that. I had a full sized Chevy van, and it did everything I could ever want a van to do, except fit into parking garages, parking places, and get decent fuel mileage. So, it went, and a TC is now my van. Can't have everything. My ideal van would be about an inch shorter than the G1, 8' clear behind the seats, and with an even lower deck. And a hybrid power plant that would get 40 or 50 mpg. The chances of that are zero, and even if it existed, I couldn't pay for one, let alone afford to buy one. Hey, a man can dream, right?