Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Was it RHD? I know Lancia are bringing that hideous people carrier here, maybe that too.

It wasn't, no.

And I can't believe that there's enough of a market in the UK for Lancia to re-engineer the car for RHD, especially when the car's at the tail end of its life-cycle.


In other news :

I was motorway-driving on Saturday night, doing about 70mph, at an unlit stretch of M8. Luckily I was paying attention, as I saw a black shadow run across the road. Yep, it was a bloke wearing all black running across a motorway. If he'd mistimed his run, there would have been literally nothing I could have done in time to avoid hitting him.

The worst thing was, looking in my rear view mirror, once he reached the central reservation he just went back and ran across it again! What the hell?
 
Yay for MOT failure. Need to replace both rear spring cups. Otherwise good marks and solid condition.
 
Go look at the specs for some of the cars around 1980 or so, they're truly pathetic. The 5.0L V8 in my Ford left the factory making a whopping 150hp. I know Chevy's 305 wasn't much better. IIRC my '81 Chevy pickup had a 180hp 305.

The 82 camaro z/28 had no more power than the 88 v6 model...

I know. The 220hp I mentioned was in the final form of the engine in the F-Bodys, the 1992 model.

Cut it some slack it was a fuel injected/smog version of the same v8 built in 1955. They improved things with the LT series.

GM should have pushed turbos harder and Chrysler should have stuck with 'em in places besides just Mexico.
 
Go look at the specs for some of the cars around 1980 or so, they're truly pathetic. The 5.0L V8 in my Ford left the factory making a whopping 150hp. I know Chevy's 305 wasn't much better. IIRC my '81 Chevy pickup had a 180hp 305.

try between '74 to around '80

my 2.8 V6 Mustang II... from 1978, had... 90hp...
you also got it with a 75hp I4, and the V8 version had 140hp...
there was a oil crisis around there, so they wanted less power, more echonomy.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
The 220hp I mentioned was in the final form of the engine in the F-Bodys, the 1992 model.
I know. At least those engines had one saving grace; the fantastic torque curve. What did they have? Like 340ftlbs or something?

thedguy said:
The 82 camaro z/28 had no more power than the 88 v6 model...
I believe it.

there was a oil crisis around there, so they wanted less power, more economy.
It was more just that domestic automakers couldn't figure out how to make a big V8 pass emissions. So we got low, low compression, pathetic cams, and heads that were better suited to be boat anchors. The late '70s early '80s V8 cars get god-awful gas mileage because they're tuned to be grossly inefficient.
 
I don't mind the California, it looks pretty good.

And the prospect of having a usable drop-top Ferrari is tempting.
 
I've recently decided that I want a Toyota Sera for my first car. However I think it'll have to wait until after Uni... Shame.

And thats because I am trying to sort out a ?500 cheap car challenge to the 'Ring and stuff, but not a week long trip to North Italy and back, as I said before. Unfortunately the problems faced with doing this are astronomical, for the ONLY reason of different people who may/may not come. I have one very good friend who says no. I have yet to try and convince him to come. There are another two however who say yes, but I would not want them to come. They would piss about more than anything, and have much more chance of crashing/injuring themselves. They seem to think the 'Ring is a fun place for racing and only racing against one-another. One would also prefer to do it in 2009 (when we are all still 17), but German law says that you have to be 18 to drive there (who needs experience anyway - also hes a bit of an arsehole. However if we were filming it - he would be the perfect May character). And then there is the idea that I wanted to film it at least, but the guy who would do the filming says no too, for similar reasons. I don't want to do the trek on my own, because that would remove a lot of fun from it, but I also don't want to have to try and control the few lunatics. And thats about it really, there are other people I don't like who want to come, and some who will say 'yeah I'll go', then never follow through with it. Then there is the problem I don't want more than 3 cars, because then it becomes way too crowded and it becomes a mess very quickly - especially if there are different opinions in the group.

Thats my rant over. Sorry.
 
So turns out you can drive a Miata all year round with the top down, even when it's thirty degrees out ('kay 0 degrees for you less fortunate, not-mericuns.)
 
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So turns out you can drive a Miata all year round with the top down, even when it's thirty degrees out.

thirty is the perfect weather to have the top down.... learn either centigrade or Kelvin you crazy yanks!
 
I thought of this too, recently.
What I'd do is get me a Miata/MX5 for us Euros, put the seat warmers to "melt rock" setting, put the heaters to the max, and drive around everywhere with the top down. It's around 0?c here too now, and it would just be super awesome to go "fuck the weather, I drive a convertible"
 
thirty is the perfect weather to have the top down.... learn either centigrade or Kelvin you crazy yanks!

Why can't everyone just use metric system and centigrades? I mean, it makes 10 times more sense than what they use across the pond :cool:
 
maybe a stupid question, but why are there 2 people in there? One for driving and one for yelling "aaaarrghhhhhh I'm gonna dieeeee!!!!" or what?

the G8 looks 10,000% better as a Holden though, that V shaped logo on the nose is just not cricket.
 
I thought of this too, recently.
What I'd do is get me a Miata/MX5 for us Euros, put the seat warmers to "melt rock" setting, put the heaters to the max, and drive around everywhere with the top down. It's around 0?c here too now, and it would just be super awesome to go "fuck the weather, I drive a convertible"

I borrowed a Volvo c70 last winter and did that in -20?C. :lol:
 
So turns out you can drive a Miata all year round with the top down, even when it's thirty degrees out ('kay 0 degrees for you less fortunate, not-mericuns.)

Other than in rain (thanks to a complete lack of a top) I can drive mine year round :p
 
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