Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Wait, the Beetle is a 2.0?
Damn, it is actually quite slow given the engine size!

According to the internet I could get a (old K11) Nissan Micra 1.0 to 60mph in 16 secs, or I could get the 1.3 (well, I can't really because I can't insure an engine that big) and get to 60mph in just 12 secs! :rolleyes:

You've gotta' love the fact the 1.0 would cost me ?2000 a year to insure for 3rd party only! :lol:

I can get a .7L four cylinder to 60 in a hair under four seconds. :D
 
Wait, the Beetle is a 2.0?
Damn, it is actually quite slow given the engine size!

According to the internet I could get a (old K11) Nissan Micra 1.0 to 60mph in 16 secs, or I could get the 1.3 (well, I can't really because I can't insure an engine that big) and get to 60mph in just 12 secs! :rolleyes:

You've gotta' love the fact the 1.0 would cost me ?2000 a year to insure for 3rd party only! :lol:

You would be hard-pressed to find a modern car with a 1.0 engine over here. There's the Smart. And.... um..... Geo Metro in the 90s. Not a lot of choices.
 
The only real transportation you can get over here with a 1.0 is usually either blindingly fast or clad in 8 tons of chrome.
 
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Don't count on it being 50%, though. That's just a rule of thumb for not pushing the envelope on a normally aspirated car converted to force-fed.

What's your compression ratio?
I cannot find it listed online :(
I do not know that degree of detail from memory.
Wait, the Beetle is a 2.0?
Damn, it is actually quite slow given the engine size!

According to the internet I could get a (old K11) Nissan Micra 1.0 to 60mph in 16 secs, or I could get the 1.3 (well, I can't really because I can't insure an engine that big) and get to 60mph in just 12 secs! :rolleyes:

You've gotta' love the fact the 1.0 would cost me ?2000 a year to insure for 3rd party only! :lol:
Keep in mind though, it is a convertible making it more pitiful then the hardtop because it does infact weigh 6 million tons
Ok 3,000 lbs but still.
 
My 2.0 Sebring weighed 2900, but that was quite a bit bigger. I can't find any 0-60 times online but I don't think it was as high as 12 seconds. Slow as it was it was not dangerous.
 
I have to admit, I have never had to face controlled onramps. Seems like a pretty poor design anyways.

However I have done many road trips, including NYC, DC, Charlotte and Miami. I've never had to use full throttle for merging into traffic. Mostly because the onramps were always pretty decent. I am always doing 40-45mph on the ramp and then the acceleration to 65-70mph is pretty good in top gear with very little throttle. You don't need to drive like Ricky Bobby in order to survive in NYC.

But again - those controlled onramps seem pretty stupid, and I agree you might need some power on those. But still 12 second 0-60 should be good enough - it's not illegal to do a little brake check on the fatty in the huge pickup truck behind you and make him get out of his cruise control.

(Note: I do want more power in the Volvo, however I don't need it. )
 
You would be hard-pressed to find a modern car with a 1.0 engine over here. There's the Smart. And.... um..... Geo Metro in the 90s. Not a lot of choices.

There was also that Daihatsu Charade thing with the 1L 'three cylinders of fury'.
800px-1990-1993_Daihatsu_Charade_%28G102%29_CX_5-door_hatchback_01.jpg


The charade was that it was pretending to be a car when it was really a go-kart with a body that needed to go on a diet.
And the fury was the driver's, aimed at himself, for buying such a lousy car that wouldn't get out of its own way and broke down all the time.

Wikipedia has this to say about it:
The car sold poorly, despite construction "as tight as a frozen head bolt" and attractive styling for the market segment, perhaps because of its high price, few dealerships, rough running three-cylinder, low performance 0?60 mph (0?97 km/h) in 15 seconds), and unfortunate translation of the name Charade into English, and the company withdrew permanently from the US market.

I have to admit, I have never had to face controlled onramps. Seems like a pretty poor design anyways.

However I have done many road trips, including NYC, DC, Charlotte and Miami. I've never had to use full throttle for merging into traffic. Mostly because the onramps were always pretty decent. I am always doing 40-45mph on the ramp and then the acceleration to 65-70mph is pretty good in top gear with very little throttle. You don't need to drive like Ricky Bobby in order to survive in NYC.

But again - those controlled onramps seem pretty stupid, and I agree you might need some power on those. But still 12 second 0-60 should be good enough - it's not illegal to do a little brake check on the fatty in the huge pickup truck behind you and make him get out of his cruise control.

(Note: I do want more power in the Volvo, however I don't need it. )

It's not the guy in the pickup truck that's the problem. It's the guy in the semi (who is forced by law in many places to stay in the right lane) who can't stop, or the guy in the transit bus who also can't stop. You want to try brake checking them?
 
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I have to admit, I have never had to face controlled onramps. Seems like a pretty poor design anyways.

However I have done many road trips, including NYC, DC, Charlotte and Miami. I've never had to use full throttle for merging into traffic. Mostly because the onramps were always pretty decent. I am always doing 40-45mph on the ramp and then the acceleration to 65-70mph is pretty good in top gear with very little throttle. You don't need to drive like Ricky Bobby in order to survive in NYC.

But again - those controlled onramps seem pretty stupid, and I agree you might need some power on those. But still 12 second 0-60 should be good enough - it's not illegal to do a little brake check on the fatty in the huge pickup truck behind you and make him get out of his cruise control.

(Note: I do want more power in the Volvo, however I don't need it. )

I don't trust people to be paying attention or to be servicing their cars properly. I had a guy in front of me slam on the brakes a few months ago, I stopped fine but behind me I hear a horrible screeching noise as the beater behind me barely stopped in more than 2x the distance I stopped in. Fuck man, if you have to spend any money on your car, do the damn brakes and tires so you don't end up dead.
 
The charade was that it was pretending to be a car when it was really a go-kart with a body that needed to go on a diet.
And the fury was the driver's, aimed at himself, for buying such a lousy car that wouldn't get out of its own way and broke down all the time.

hey now the Charade GTi was a pretty great little car with plenty of success in rallying.
 
I don't trust people to be paying attention or to be servicing their cars properly. I had a guy in front of me slam on the brakes a few months ago, I stopped fine but behind me I hear a horrible screeching noise as the beater behind me barely stopped in more than 2x the distance I stopped in. Fuck man, if you have to spend any money on your car, do the damn brakes and tires so you don't end up dead.

Emergency stops have nothing to do with merging from ramps, or the power of your car, which was the initial subject.

And after I drove in Paris, I realized it's not about what you drive - it's how you drive it.
 
Emergency stops have nothing to do with merging from ramps, or the power of your car, which was the initial subject.

And after I drove in Paris, I realized it's not about what you drive - it's how you drive it.

You mentioned brake checks for the car behind you didn't you? If I merge onto a highway at 40 and traffic is going 60 someone is going to have to hit their brakes or I am dead, that is the point.
 
And after I drove in Paris, I realized it's not about what you drive - it's how you drive it.

And the French drive badly. Though shouldn't it be, "It's not about what you drive - it's how quickly the youths of Paris can set it on fire?" :p
 
If it is not what you drive, but how you drive it, why the fuck doesn't any European (other than cowboy, obviously) understand the American pickup truck.
 
You mentioned brake checks for the car behind you didn't you? If I merge onto a highway at 40 and traffic is going 60 someone is going to have to hit their brakes or I am dead, that is the point.

Slowing from 60 to 40 isn't that big of deal. It's stopping from 60 to 0 that most cars fail to do in a timely manner.
 
Came back from that Career fair. GM brought a pre-production CTS-V Coupe to campus.

https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2010/09/14/IMG_1307.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2010/09/14/IMG_1308.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/c/cr/crazyrussian540/2010/09/14/IMG_1310.JPG


I was just going to look at the car since I had 30 minutes between classes, but the recruiter recognized me from last year and we just talked cars for a bit. He then let me sit in it, start it, and rev it. I had a crisis.


And I after seeing it in person, I really do think the CTS-V coupe is the best looking new car you can buy for under $100,000.

And I'm debating picking up a used one after I graduate and start working. Would make for a nice daily driver. That said, thats still 2+ years down the road, and I'm not abandoning my dream of finding a 95 850 T5-R wagon in yellow.

Damn you. I should wander over there on a daily basis just to catch these things. All I get for my career fairs is people with tri fold boards with pictures. Engineering 1, Business 0

I've met freeway ramps terminated in stop signs with no acceleration/merge area. Pennsylvania hates you and wants you to die. No merge area is generally the rule in Pennsylvania, unless HEAVY truck traffic is expected when they first construct the ramp.

Well of course they do, if you survived, you would notice how there are cones on EVERY ROAD IN THE STATE. And behind these cones, there are no workers.
 
Wait, the Beetle is a 2.0?
Damn, it is actually quite slow given the engine size!

According to the internet I could get a (old K11) Nissan Micra 1.0 to 60mph in 16 secs, or I could get the 1.3 (well, I can't really because I can't insure an engine that big) and get to 60mph in just 12 secs! :rolleyes:

You've gotta' love the fact the 1.0 would cost me ?2000 a year to insure for 3rd party only! :lol:
Out of curiosity, how much would it cost to buy a 1.0 K11 Micra in the UK? I have a feeling that despite cars being much cheaper over there, it will be considerably cheaper to insure one here for a young driver and hopefully balance the price out.
 
If it is not what you drive, but how you drive it, why the fuck doesn't any European (other than cowboy, obviously) understand the American pickup truck.

Thank you again for FUCKING generalizing all Europeans here. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Godammit. I'm getting SO tired of this shit.
 
Thank you again for FUCKING generalizing all Europeans here. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Godammit. I'm getting SO tired of this shit.

Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed today.

Sheesh.

I guess I need to pepper posts with more emoticons.
 
Thank you again for FUCKING generalizing all Europeans here. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Godammit. I'm getting SO tired of this shit.

Consider how we Americans feel about all the "ALL YOU AMERICANS ARE SOOOO STUPID/AMERICAN SUVS ARE STOOOOPID/AMERICANS SHOULD DRIVE SMALLER CARS" posts. It's only fair to hand back what you're given, right? :p

If only, I don't know, there were some sort of, maybe, policy that could and would be, perhaps, evenly enforced on all that would, possibly, punish those making excessive generalizations like this no matter what continent they're on. :p :mrgreen: :evil:

Edit: And I say that as one of the people who does it quite a bit - in response to what I see as provocation. I'd stop if we could get everyone else to stop.
 
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