It's been a while. Hope everyone is doing well.
Quote from: Sir_Osis_of_Liver on Feb 22, 2026, 08:58 PMIt's been a while. Hope everyone is doing well.
The King had returned!
Long live The King!!
;D
Welcome back! Good to see another familiar name in here.
All Hail SOoL!!!
Welcome back. We need a fleet update? Still have the GLI and the Duke? Or has that all changed?
Also, it looks like your profile now says 'Moncton', and not 'Winnipeg'. Or perhaps I'm thinking of someone else.
Hey GBA. I'm the same guy.
Lots of changes the last few years.
GLI is gone, so is the Duke. I went carless for a few years because I just wasn't using it enough to justify keeping it. Good car though.
The Duke was replaced with a Moto Guzzi V85 Adventure. It's mellow and comfortable and I like it a lot more than I frankly expected.
Mum and Dad have had health challenges, so I sold the condo in Winnipeg and moved back to Moncton to look after them. I still work remotely on Winnipeg stuff.
Since I was going to need wheels again, I got a used Touareg TDI. It's in great shape, works well and gets decent mileage. I wasn't planning on keeping it though, because I wanted an EV.
And I ended up with a Lightning. Haven't had a pickup since my '86 F150 work truck. It's crazy roomy inside and Way quicker than a pickup needs to be. I like it. It takes a bit of thought when crossing the province, but there are sufficient chargers, it's not a big deal. The app helps with route planning.
My intention was to get an Ioniq5, ID4 or Mach-E. But Ford was blowing out the Lightning and the lease ended up far less than for those three.
But I can't bring myself to sell the Touareg, so for now I have both.
I'm glad Rrocket got in touch. I've been wondering how you guys are doing.
Thanks for the update.
Far, far better riding roads out in NB than in Manitoba, eh? My family still all live near Saint John, and everytime I visit I enjoy driving out there. The B-Roads out by the coast and through the river valleys are fantastic.
Yeah, there's a route that I've settled on for Saturday morning rides that goes down to the Hopewell rocks then back through to Salisbury before looping back along Lutz Mountain and home.
Lots of nice views and a dirt section just to spice it up. No traffic either.
I used to ride up to Gimli from Winnipeg on secondary roads on Saturdays. Along the lake was quite nice.
Welcome back Sir O, great to see you here.
Welcome back Sir O! Congrats on the rides. If you have the room the hold on to it, why not?
I don't know about Ioniq 5 or ID.4 but some of the Mach-E deals I've been seeing lately have been so tempting if we needed a second car, or I want a RWD fun car. The Lightning is a great truck though, a shame they've pulled the plug. Given that buyout value = market value, are you leaning towards returning it or buying it out at the end of the lease?
Thanks fellas
I leased it because the tech is changing fast enough that I wasn't sure how quickly it would be obsoleted. The subvented lease didn't hurt either.
I like it and have done some trips across the province a few times, even in cold weather. It's worked out pretty well.
It gets the equivalent of 3L/100ms, at least in decent weather.
I might buy it out or keep it. Not sure, really.
Hey welcome back fine sir and welcome to NB. Wish it was under better circumstances but good to have a fellow car nut close by.
May I ask why you desired an EV, just because of curiosity or was there another motivator?
So the switch from a naked sport bike in the Duke to an adventure bike seems like another pretty big change, were you craving some rides off the beaten path?
Hey Johnny. Glad to be here.
Oh, I wanted to try something different, mainly. I had my doubts, and didn't really need anything that large, but only a couple blocks into the test drive I was fairly sold. So quiet, quick and comfortable. I didn't expect it at all.
The Duke was a lot of fun for tossing around, but out on the Prairies it wasn't in its element.
I've done a lot of riding around on the V85 between Regina and Winnipeg, and up into the Interlake. The 23L tank, cruise control, decent wind protection and supportive seat made it a lot nicer without feeling beat up afterwards.
Quote from: Sir_Osis_of_Liver on Feb 23, 2026, 05:17 PMThe Duke was a lot of fun for tossing around,
.
Tossing around or being tossed aground? LOL 😆
Lets not quibble. ;D
Hey Sir O......Nice to see you back. (and welcome home to NB!)
Sir O! Wow, blast from the past. Welcome back, hope NB is treating you well.
Hey thanks folks.
It's like Old Home Week.
After 16 years on the Prairies, it's a bit of a shift, has to be said.
I also conceded that nimble motorcycles don't really have a place in the prairies other than track days. New Brunswick must have some fun coastal roads?
I get being sold on electric. I always figured I would get a fun little manual transmission car again one day after we get to our goal of buying our forever home, but at the moment I'm not so sure.
There are a fair number of nice rides around the province, with a lot more curves and elevation changes than on the Prairies. :)
On the down side, lots of moose, bears and deer in the more rural areas, so you really have to be sharp about it.
I came really close to getting a Fiat Spyder Abarth. Excellent condition and low miles in red. Looked sharp. But digging into it, parts are already an issue, so stuck with the EV plan.
^It's true, had a customer the other day looking for a replacement turbo for the Fiat 124 Abarth, couldn't get anything for him at all.
Quote from: Firm on Feb 24, 2026, 04:58 PM^It's true, had a customer the other day looking for a replacement turbo for the Fiat 124 Abarth, couldn't get anything for him at all.
See that is what I would call an excuse to upgrade the turbo and get it tuned
Quote from: Johnnymac on Feb 24, 2026, 05:29 PMQuote from: Firm on Feb 24, 2026, 04:58 PM^It's true, had a customer the other day looking for a replacement turbo for the Fiat 124 Abarth, couldn't get anything for him at all.
See that is what I would call an excuse to upgrade the turbo and get it tuned
OEM or big? Not hard to find:
https://shopeurocompulsion.net/collections/fiat-124-engine/products/genuine-fiat-gt1446-turbo-1-4l-turbo-applications
https://shopeurocompulsion.net/products/eurocompulsionturboupgrade?variant=30215571406896
OEM, I can't send an aftermarket customer to a 3rd party distributor to buy a $1700 OE Fiat turbo. That OE turbo you linked it just someone marking up an OE Turbo. OE dealer is similar price, but wherever this customer was the local dealer was 3+ weeks to get it.
In either case, $1700 is a lot for a replacement turbo on a little gas engine. The GM & Ford units, which fail at an alarming rate, are between $500-1000 USD and widely available from various reputable aftermarket sources.
Welcome back, Sir O.
Quote from: Firm on Feb 24, 2026, 08:28 PMOEM, I can't send an aftermarket customer to a 3rd party distributor to buy a $1700 OE Fiat turbo. That OE turbo you linked it just someone marking up an OE Turbo. OE dealer is similar price, but wherever this customer was the local dealer was 3+ weeks to get it.
In either case, $1700 is a lot for a replacement turbo on a little gas engine. The GM & Ford units, which fail at an alarming rate, are between $500-1000 USD and widely available from various reputable aftermarket sources.
You said "couldn't get anything at all". Which means "SOL". Clearly that isn't the case.
If I couldn't get anything at all, I'd look aftermarket. So that's why I linked.
Also, they're sub-$700 at Rock Auto..though it wouldn't be a Fiat part.
When I check RockAuto I only get the Mopar # and it's Out of Stock. Are you seeing something different?
Quote from: Firm on Feb 25, 2026, 09:22 AMWhen I check RockAuto I only get the Mopar # and it's Out of Stock. Are you seeing something different?
If you go to a same year 500 Turbo (2017), it has that same Mopar number (out of stock) but also a couple other choices too.
One of them is $700
Welcome back. I was wondering if you'd find this forum.
I had a 2017 Touareg for a short while, kinda wish I had kept it in some ways. They're good vehicles.
Nice to hear you are back in NB, I might see you there...
Anybody heard from Fobroader? Does he know about this place? Have any interest in it?
Quote from: GreatBigAbyss on Mar 02, 2026, 11:05 AMAnybody heard from Fobroader? Does he know about this place? Have any interest in it?
I did speak to him once outside the forum but he was one of the very few that I do not have contact info for.
If anyone knows where to find him...please let him know about the forum!!
I tried. Maybe I'll roam around his little city looking for his vehicles. I vaguely recall he doesn't have a garage.
Keep an eye out for his Tundra ;)
Tundra, LX570, and a Versys?
^ I thought GX?
Is he in Leduc?
Correct on the GX.
Funny, once upon a time I lived in Leduc. I have to imagine it's completely unrecognizable now.
What about KTM? Sounded like he was having some serious health issues just before Autos.ca shutdown, hoping he's still around somewhere.
I did some sleuthing a while ago. He passed away shortly after we lost Autos.ca. Sad, he seemed like a great guy.
There's a mint looking 2012 LR4 for sale in Ottawa with 160k km, asking $12k. His love of the LR4 has me tempted.
:( That is sad. You should buy that LR4 in his honor :D
That's sad regarding KTM. I've always enjoyed his stories. It's inevitable isn't it? Who else did we lose during the autos.ca days?
I'm pretty sure Fob is in Beaumont. I think he does have a garage though now that I recall as being able to fit in the garage was one of his requirements. But his poor Versys has to live outside.
Quote from: Firm on Mar 04, 2026, 02:41 PM:( That is sad. You should buy that LR4 in his honor :D
I second this.
Quote from: dkazzed on Mar 04, 2026, 02:42 PMI'm pretty sure Fob is in Beaumont.
He's on Instagram if anyone has an account...
I presume it's him based on the threads he commented on. (Ie Edmonton Police Service)
Quote from: Tortoise on Mar 04, 2026, 02:11 PMI did some sleuthing a while ago. He passed away shortly after we lost Autos.ca. Sad, he seemed like a great guy.
There's a mint looking 2012 LR4 for sale in Ottawa with 160k km, asking $12k. His love of the LR4 has me tempted.
Yeah, I remember him writing that he didn't have long to go, very sad!
Quote from: RRocket on Mar 05, 2026, 12:23 AMQuote from: dkazzed on Mar 04, 2026, 02:42 PMI'm pretty sure Fob is in Beaumont.
He's on Instagram if anyone has an account...
I presume it's him based on the threads he commented on. (Ie Edmonton Police Service)
Good find, I'm gonna try to connect with him ;)
I fired him a message on Instagram.
Quote from: Tortoise on Mar 05, 2026, 08:40 AMI fired him a message on Instagram.
So did I ;D
Let's hope we see him here soon.
Sir O!!! ;D ;D ;D