Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

[public]

Someone at my school drives a riced out '92 or something like that Honda Civic. It has a "I love JDM" license plate frame, and it has one of the japan "elderly driver" badges, presumably because they don't know what it means.


the badge is:


I'll get a pic in carbage sometime.

Estonians with a 'fresh' licence have a sticker like that. In the olden days ('80s-'90s) Finns used to have to keep a sizeable "80" sticker in the back of their car for a year, when one had passed their driving test, and stick to 80 km/h. Embarrassing, but probably safe.

[Donington]

the badge is:


I'll get a pic in carbage sometime.

hang on, doesn't the infamous 'DivineZ' 350Z have that sticker too...



indeed it does!

[nouseferaname90]

hang on, doesn't the infamous 'DivineZ' 350Z have that sticker too...



indeed it does!

I was going to ask the driver if he was a part of the "crew", but I thought better of it because Modesto is approximately 1:45 from San Jose.

[BlaRo]

Someone at my school drives a riced out '92 or something like that Honda Civic. It has a "I love JDM" license plate frame, and it has one of the japan "elderly driver" badges, presumably because they don't know what it means.


the badge is:


I'll get a pic in carbage sometime.

Haha, it doesn't mean "experienced" or "skilled" driver at all, it just means you're a geezer who's still on the roads somehow. Man, JDM dipshits will eat up anything!

[CrazyRussian540]

I never knew Ohio had such a big exotic market.

[nouseferaname90]

I sat in a Pontiac G8 for the first time today. Convinced my dad to at least look at one since pontiac is dying and prices will be loooow. Truth be told, I was not entirely impressed by the interior. The finish on the one I saw left something to be desired. Parts of the steering wheel did not match correctly, and other small niggles like that, but when added together, was somewhat substantial. There was also annoying rubber stuff used in some places where leather or plastic should have been used. The interior is definitely a tad overrated. Seats were comfortable, but I was confused as to why adjustment was half automatic and half manual. I liked all other parts of the car, especially the seats when adjusted.

[argatoga]

I never knew Ohio had such a big exotic market.

Amazingly enough Ohio has some big businesses. Goodyear and Smuckers for instance. I can see where they will find the cliental.

[public]

So, despite the economic downturn and the uninspiring interior, my dad chose to buy a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-class estate. Picking it up this afternoon from the dealership, it's a C200CDI automatic in black with black interior, and the 'Classic' spec which gives you the hood-mounted star instead of the huge one on the grille.

[NooDle]

good on ya! Star on the hood >>>> star on the grille

on the other hand, the interior of that particular model isn't very good, but the engine and autobox are...

[public]

It's still going to be better than the B-class it replaces Will be interesting to see how the quality turns out to be. The B180CDI had those wheel sensor & bearing issues, and because of those it was a lot less reliable car than the V40 T4 it replaced (that one was a trooper, no real faults in 115 000 km).

[chaos386]

Care to elaborate?

first time huh?

when you hear 22 cars SCREAMING by at full throttle for about 2 hrs straight you have an idea what being deaf is like

being deaf sucks, but what a way to go deaf!

also, picoritdidnthappen

Aye, first time at a Formula One race. Many pics were taken, but they have to be developed and scanned before they can go online. I really, REALLY, need a digital SLR now!

And sorry for the late reply, but I didn't have any Internet access while in Bahrain. The last post was from my friend's laptop at a café.

[_HighVoltage_]

I never knew Ohio had such a big exotic market.

Lamborghini Ohio is the largest official Lamborghini dealership in North America.

[Spectre]

The good news: My Pathfinder just clicked off 250,000 miles.

The bad news: It did so at the end of a weekend that began with an email that contained this from a friend of mine.

During a routine CAT Scan, on April 6th, the doctors serendipitously detected a tumor about the size of your fist on the lower portion of my right lung. Surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7:30 in the a.m. at {location redacted} 

I suspect he's rethinking his cigarette habit.

So, if you're wondering where I've been, here's your answer - driving around and visiting a sick friend. I will probably continue to be distracted by this until he's out of the ICU and in stable condition.

[NooDle]

"the size of a fist"

Hope he makes it...

[Spectre]

"the size of a fist"

Hope he makes it...

If I remember what the medicos and his wife told me correctly, they found out that the damaged area was even larger and they had to take two lobes out of that lung.



OnTopicContent: He's an older guy, but an avid motorcyclist and he loves Top Gear. "Especially that big fella makin' a fool of himself." He is either the present or former president (I never heard how the last election turned out) of the local Gold Wing Riders' Association chapter.

[NooDle]

/OnTopic

what are the chances of seeing 2 brand spanking new Jaguar XJRs on the same road at the same time? In BELGIUM, no less...

[Shawn]

Uh, about 28.56 to 1?

Have the new XJs been selling well? I've seen like 5 on the road since they came out.

[NooDle]

my bad, I meant XKR

[fbc]

what are the chances of seeing 2 brand spanking new Jaguar XJRs on the same road at the same time? In BELGIUM, no less...

I wondered a similar thing last week - in the space of seven days, I saw three Maserati GranTurismos - one of which was first being driven around slowly, exhaust creating it's best woofley burble and crackley over-run, and later driven away on 3/4 throttle. Oh my.

[Shawn]

my bad, I meant XKR

Hah, that's exactly what I meant too. I guess I telepathically got what you were talking about... new XJs are fairly popular here.