2000 Chrysler Town & Country Limited Van 163k Miles One Owner on 2040-cars

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NYT profiles Blue Nelson, a reclusive and interesting CA car collector

If it weren't for his Dale Earnhardt Sr. looks, Blue Nelson could be one one of those soft-spoken, nondescript guys whom you meet briefly and never learn much more about. However, as The New York Times shows in a recent profile and video, behind closed doors, Nelson keeps a fascinatingly eclectic collection of automotive oddities and vintage bicycles.
While his main career is in the movie industry, Nelson's other job is as a car hunter. He takes on clients searching for a specific model and helps them find and restore the dream vehicle that they're after. Hiring him takes some dedication, though, because Nelson doesn't advertise his services. "If people want to find me, they know how to find me," he says in the video.
Beyond being an automotive private detective, Nelson has a fantastically varied collection of vehicles of his own. He likes to have models that people don't usually see, and his garage holds a classic Chrysler New Yorker and an extremely rare Rometsch convertible. Although, the one that means the most to him is the 1962 Porsche 356 convertible that Blue came home in as a baby. Check out the video to learn more about Nelson and his philosophy about forming a bond with a car.

Autoblog Minute: New car customer satisfaction down according to latest ACSI report

Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. The American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI released its updated numbers and according to the survey, new car buyer satisfaction is down for the third straight year. According to an ACSI press release, customer satisfaction with new automobiles has fallen 3.7 percent, to 79 on its 100-point scale. The ACSI report is based on over 4,100 customer surveys collected in the second quarter of 2015 Sitting at the top of the industry in customer satisfaction is Toyota's Lexus brand with a score of 84. Which was good enough to dethrone Mercedes-Benz, which fell 3% to a score of 83. Of the Big Three, Ford was the only domestic automaker to maintain overall customer satisfaction with its score of 81. General Motors slipped 3% to 79 and Fiat Chrysler had a 5% drop, registering a score of 75 out the possible 100. What's driving this trend of customer dissatisfaction? ASCI points to the rise in recalls and car prices. Where do you land on customer satisfaction spectrum? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the current state of car ownership and brand quality. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Ownership Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

Junkyard Gem of the Week: 1979 Plymouth Horizon (with the Woodgrain Package!)

While Ford and GM proved to have sufficiently deep pockets to design their own US-market subcompacts for the fuel-starved 1970s, Chrysler had to look to its overseas outposts to create such a car. Turning to Simca, which had become part of Chrysler Europe after Chrysler's absorption of the Rootes Group, a promising hatchback concept was developed into both a European-market version and a significantly different American-market version. Today's Junkyard Gem is an example of the latter type, found in a Denver-area self-service boneyard last summer. The first of these cars came off the Belvidere Assembly line in Illinois as 1978 models (sadly, Stellantis just shuttered Belvidere in February). The Dodge-badged version was the Omni, while the Plymouth version was the Horizon; the generic term for this car is thus Omnirizon. The Omnirizon was a great success for Chrysler, and many other vehicles were based on its platform. To name a few members of the extended Omnirizon family: the 1982-1987 Dodge Charger, the Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp minitrucks, and even the Plymouth Turismo of Cocaine Factory fame. Astoundingly, production continued all the way through 1990, which meant that these thoroughly 1970s cars stuck around long enough to get airbags as standard equipment. Just as was the case with the Mitsubishi-built Dodge and Plymouth Colts, there never were any significant differences—pricing or otherwise—between the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. The Omnirizon got a fascinating assortment of engines during its first half-decade or so. For 1978 through 1980, it received the same 1.7-liter Volkswagen straight-four that went into US-market Rabbits, Sciroccos, Jettas and Audi 4000s. This one was rated at 77 horsepower and 90 pound-feet. Chrysler began bolting in its homegrown 2.2-liter four-banger starting with the 1981 Omnirizons, with the hilariously quick Omni GLH and GLHS getting turbocharged versions a few years later. From the 1983 through 1986 model years, penny-pinching Americans could buy their base-model Omnirizons with 1.6-liter Peugeot-built Simca engines delivering 62 French horses to the front wheels. This Horizon is absolutely loaded by the standards of late-1970s economy cars. The MSRP was just $4,278 (about $18,843 in 2023 dollars), but this automatic transmission would have added another $319 to the cost ($1,405 today). The base transmission for 1979 was a four-on-the-floor manual.