The "winter" is when I bring the cars out the most. It's finally starting to cool down here.
Gonna take the silver car out to a cruise-in next week.
I surely do not miss the cold, salt, brine, sand, aggregate BS from where I grew up in Maryland.
Florida will forever be my home, been here for 35 years, graduated from UCF, never wanna live anywhere else (unless forced to).
Gun laws are decent. No state income tax. Relatively conservative state. Surfing. Space Coast. Can't get any better for me.
So, to speak to the original subject, my beater is a 2010 Civic coupe. Soon to sell and get a 2014 Infiniti G37 from Oldsranch Dave Worthington.
That'll be my winter beater haha.

 

We just got our first real frost here in western SC, yesterday and today. I doubt any roads around here are ever sanded or salted, that's a wait and see.

 

you buy a Yugo

 

I got the hell out of Orlando after half of Puerto Rico moved there.

 

I stay away from Orlando unless forced. Here on the tech SpaceCoast, ya can’t swing a cat without hitting an engineer.🤣

 

You could not pay me to live in Florida. Engineers...give me the Puerto Ricans!

 

Agreed!!! My wife is 100% Puerto Rican. My Espanol is getting bettah.

Seriously, Florida is great for a lot of reasons…

especially the Puerto Ricans!!

 

Yeah I like all that plus the nice dependable rain every afternoon and decent weather in general but every once in a while you get those... whataya call'em? HURRICANES.

 

I’ll take an occasional hurricane over a Midwest tornado.🤣

 

At this point in my life I still very much enjoy all four seasons. It's hard to beat sitting in front of a warm woodstove sipping on good whiskey..

 

I believe here in Central NY is up there with the worst for Winter corrosion. Constant snow off the Great Lakes Erie and Ontario, and subsequent salting of roads multiple times per day, takes it toll on vehicles and infrastructure. A couple of used car dealers advertised clean Pennsylvani cars, and they did look pretty good compared to our own. I had a couple of GM daily drivers were I'd have to redo brakes every Spring as the rotors would start to delaminate (and I was buying the supposedly premium alloys) and sliders would corrode up. A Buick and my friends GMC where we had to replace all the brake, fuel, and transmission cooler lines.

This was my friends Sable, about 9 years old at the time. He was really proud to keep that thing going. Being a uni-body I don'y know how it didn't collapse. Those plastic rocker cover trim pieces held on with duct tape must have been really strong.

 

I think that I would almost prefer a tornado. At least you can see them coming. How about all of the d@mn sinkholes in Florida? Lying in your bed and the next thing you know, half of your home is in a 50 ft deep hole.

No thanks.

 

I've serviced my daughter's boyfriend's Ford Fusion a couple times. He's from Manlius. It's getting to the point where I'm pretty sure the rear arms on my lift are going to push into the rear seat

 

Hurricanes are WAY more predictable and “can see them coming” than tornados. And where I live, no sinkholes like ever. Sinkholes are much more prevalent in the center of the state. Not so out here on the beach.

 

I've serviced my daughter's boyfriend's Ford Fusion a couple times. He's from Manlius. It's getting to the point where I'm pretty sure the rear arms on my lift are going to push into the rear seat

The Manlius town line is 4 miles down my road. My friend who's Sable I pictured was from Auburn. His twin brother is still there.

 

Wow so much rust This car have been forbidden to use here. Do you change to wintertires at your place ?

 

In my immediate area, which is hilly and receives on average probably 160 to 190 inches of snow per season, snow tires are extremey helpful. Unfortunately another expense and chore to perform each November and April.

 

Yes we must also put on snowtires by law. Would be much easier to live in a warmer climate.
But we don´t need to have wintertires on our old cars , hmm strange.

 

😳😬😵

I would not live anywhere gets snow like that. The foot or so total we get per year is more than enough to make me happy. You can have the damn ice storms too, and we usually get more of that than we do snow.

Ya mighta guessed winter is not my favorite time of year.

 

There's two kinds of people in Florida. Those who move there, and those who were born there and leave. You're the former; I'm the latter, and I was there before you were. The Orlando of the '70s was something to behold. It's all gone now, that, and most of the state. You and yours are welcome to it.

 

I like your style JetStar. Thats what Im doing now. Buffalo Trace and black walnut & locust burning low n slow. Its 30° and snowin now.

But Ill gladly sip on my Bourbon somewhere else. Somewhere warm n dry so I dont have to worry about salt except on my corn & fries!

We have 3 good months of "summer" here. The other 9 its damp, raining, snowin, blowin, or just slit-my-wrists gray and gloomy. Dont see the sun for weeks. All plant life is dead. Summers are often Florida humid with mosquitoes the size of Pterodactyls. All 12 months the ambient conditions are not kind to metal. So ya daily drivers get used up quick.

I must keep my 442 and Vette in a semi climate controlled garage. Even the summer dampness isn't good and requires de-humidification. I burn up dehumidifiers every 3-4 years(junk).
About the only thing this place has going for it is deer season and no shortage of water. I will retire somewhere warn n dry and salt free.

 

I remember going to Orlando and Disney World back in '78 when I was spending the summer with my Grandmother down in Naples. . Remember when you used to have to buy multiple tickets to ride each ride. "Oh you want to ride this coaster? That'll be an A and an E ticket sir."

The town was so much smaller then. And it was still a town back then. I took the kids there a few years ago, and the whole area is just way to built up for me.

 

Damn John, it’s not that bad! I had been visiting here since the 70s with my grandfather and you’re right, wayyyy better then. However, I’ll take DeSantis-land over Mary-land any day. I guess there are other states that are not too bad, but my comparison is stark in my experience. I’ll see ya in July!

 

You're right, and I owe you a beer.

 

🥳 Looking forward to it! Can’t wait for next summer already!