Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

I should record the noise mine makes now if I try that. :lol: NO ONE WANTS MY TOP DOWN BELIEVE ME, YOU SHOULD ALL BE THANKFUL. It is a shame though, I had no issue with it being manual, DAMN YOU VW making it noisey so now I cannot use it!

Plus, don't you turn into a lobster/burn victim under direct sunlight?

Every time I drove my boss's C4 Corvette convertible, I would pull into a parking lot out of sight of the dealership and put the top down. I got to be pretty good at it - unlock the two clips at the windshield header, press the button in the doorjamb that unlocks the rear latch and unlatches the cover, pull the back of the top forward while opening the cover, and flip the top into the exposed well and close and latch the cover. If anybody caught me with the top down, I was prepared to tell them it was safer that way as I had better visibility. (Which was the truth, actually.)
 
You would be excited about a toyota wouldn't you :p

"Good" Toyota's yes. The piece's of shit they call them now, no. One used to buy a Toyota for the near impeccable build quality and the excellent interiors. They've lost the plot on nearly every current vehicle in their lineup on both counts. The last Sienna was often called the "Lexus of minivans" for it's premium interior trimmings, even in the base car. Similar sentiments were said about Tundra/Sequoia "Camry of pickup trucks/full size SUV's" Now they have horrible interiors.

Same goes for Camry, Corolla and Venza. Piss poor fit and finish, in some cases it's so noticeable one cannot help but wonder "Who couldn't spot this?"

Add in the fact that most Toyota's drive pretty boringly to most enthusiasts (the corolla was fine imo...but I drive a POS soo...yeah :p) and that's another nail in the coffin so to speak.
 
I'm sincerely excited about the new Yaris...The old one was a current Toyota that I actually kinda liked, especially in hatch form, this new one looks very sharp indeed. Now if only the interior is up to snuff, as the new one will start a bit more than the competition, it has no excuse not to be: http://news.consumerreports.org/car...is.html?EXTKEY=I91CONL&CMP=OTC-ConsumeristRSS

In other words, it's going to be completely awful and nobody else will like it.

PS: Historically, it's been a truly horrible idea to buy any US Toyota that's smaller than the then-current Corolla. Inevitably they turn out to be piles of crap. Even when Toyota was making reliable cars they were crap. Look around; where did all the Echos, Paseos, Tercels and Starlets go? The old Corollas are still with us, but all those cars I've just mentioned? Gone.

Plus, don't you turn into a lobster/burn victim under direct sunlight?

I thought it was more like a vampire thing where unless she's wearing SPF9000 sunblock she bursts into flames or something. :p :mrgreen:
 
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And now, a conversation with my father, under the hood of his car:
<Dad> Wait, what the hell is this fluid reservoir for?
<Me> That would be brake fluid. And it shouldn't be black.
<Dad> What, did someone put the wrong stuff in?
<Me> No, it's probably just 10 years old.
<Dad> There's nothing wrong with that.
<Me> Actually, there is. It absorbs water out of the air and stops being effective. I don't know where the black crap comes from, but that's not good either.
<Dad> Now you're talking like the guy at the tire shop
<Me> No, really. It's a hygroscopic liquid, which means it absorbs water out of the air. You're supposed to replace it every 2 years or so.


So now I have a set of speed-bleeders on order for his car. He's not normally this stupid, I swear.


The brake system is sealed to avoid the water absorbing quality of it. And the black stuff is the particles of the seals that are wearing.
 
I used to be able to put it down at night though :(
Convertibles at night are fun. So are drizzle day convertibles.
 
Their loss; they don't get to hear the requests of schoolkids on buses asking me to do a burnout. Which, unfortunately, I can't do; damn you mid-engine traction! :shakefist:

Bullshit, foot buried on brake, other playing with the throttle. If it can't turn the tires over, you need :jc: MORE POWERRRRRRRR!

I should record the noise mine makes now if I try that. :lol: NO ONE WANTS MY TOP DOWN BELIEVE ME, YOU SHOULD ALL BE THANKFUL. It is a shame though, I had no issue with it being manual, DAMN YOU VW making it noisey so now I cannot use it!

I could make a few jokes with this, which I'm sure you can imagine, but I'll just leave it alone.
 
Nissan apparently is about to sell the March here.
Yay?
 
I'm sincerely excited about the new Yaris...The old one was a current Toyota that I actually kinda liked, especially in hatch form, this new one looks very sharp indeed. Now if only the interior is up to snuff, as the new one will start a bit more than the competition, it has no excuse not to be: http://news.consumerreports.org/car...is.html?EXTKEY=I91CONL&CMP=OTC-ConsumeristRSS

New Rule. If rickhamilton620 likes a car, don't buy it. Henceforth, this will be the official Final Gear litmus test to determine if any car is shit or worth having.
 
Hopefully he doesn't cause any problems to half of the members by buying MX5...
 
So I just, nearly, ran a dog over. No leash, the owner called it from the other side of the road. Luckily I managed to stop the boat of a car I was driving (current gen Ford Mondeo, which at least by European standards is a pretty big thing) about a meter away. Dog owners- KEEP IT ON A LEASH D:
 
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New Rule. If rickhamilton620 likes a car, don't buy it. Henceforth, this will be the official Final Gear litmus test to determine if any car is shit or worth having.

So, rickhamilton620, how do you like the Nissan March? :p
 
So I just, nearly, ran a dog over. No leash, the owner called it from the other side of the road. Luckily I managed to stop the boat of a car I was driving (current gen Ford Mondeo, which at least by European standards is a pretty big thing) about a meter away. Dog owners- KEEP IT ON A LEASH D:

Even by Euro standards the Mondeo isn't a boat. I don't understand why you are having so many problems with its size.

New Rule. If rickhamilton620 likes a car, don't buy it. Henceforth, this will be the official Final Gear litmus test to determine if any car is shit or worth having.

In his defense he hasn't driven many cars.
 
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Even by Euro standards the Mondeo isn't a boat. I don't understand why you are having so many problems with its size.
Mondeo is more mid size saloon, not large really. More average than anything else... which, being a Mondeo, isn't surprising.

I suppose it is a large car compared to a Polo though!
 
Finished my brake upgrade this weekend.

http://img198.imageshack.**/img198/7370/gtobrakes.jpg

Rotors from Powerslot. Hawk Performance HPS Ferro-Carbon pads and stock calipers, which are dual-piston calipers from PBR.

No, that's not me in the orange shirt. You can, however, see a tiny bit of the blue ZR1 on the right side of the frame! One of these days I'm going to get a picture of both of the cars outside to use as a signature.
 
Mondeo is more mid size saloon, not large really. More average than anything else... which, being a Mondeo, isn't surprising.

I suppose it is a large car compared to a Polo though!

In israel a Mondeo is fairly large. an average-to-large family car there is a Mazda3 or Impreza sedan so anything bigger is really, well, uncommon. That said, many people have humvee or larger experience in the army.
 
Wow the Camaro convertible weighs 4,116lbs.
 
So, rickhamilton620, how do you like the Nissan March? :p

I hate the March because our new Versa sedan is essentially a stretched March with a trunk instead of the Tiida, so it shares the god-awfully cheap interior and other cost cutting moves. The old Versa made you feel like you got a lot more car (in terms of features, interior quality, styling) for the money whereas the new sedan probably doesn't.

I'm hoping the redesigned hatch, which isn't out yet here, doesn't stray from the Versa's premium subcompact car roots.
 
Wow the Camaro convertible weighs 4,116lbs.

Holy crap! That's only about 280 lb. lighter than my XTerra, and I'm hauling around a 4WD powertrain and a truck chassis!
 
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