Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

The front lip of the bumper?
 
"'71 Triumph Dolomite 1500" for sale locally advertised in the paper as suffering from light crash damage but sold with spares and is dirt cheap. Sounds like something to check out if it isn't already sold, I'm phoning tomorrow...

Slight issues with it already: no pictures, very little info and the Dolomite 1500 didn't actually exist in 1971... Lets see how this turns out. :lol:

The front lip of the bumper?
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Front grille is different too.
 
The bottom of the front fascia is scraped up.

The lip spoiler on the green car isn't stock.
2008-buillit-mustang2.jpg


captain_70s said:
"'71 Triumph Dolomite 1500" for sale locally advertised in the paper as suffering from light crash damage but sold with spares and is dirt cheap. Sounds like something to check out if it isn't already sold, I'm phoning tomorrow...

Slight issues with it already: no pictures, very little info and the Dolomite 1500 didn't actually exist in 1971... Lets see how this turns out. :lol:
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Light crash damage = wadded into a ball.

Front grille is different too.
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It's a billet grille, but that's easily and cheaply swapped back. The front lip is more worrying as they IIRC had to drill the fascia to mount it.
 
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Yep. The front bumper and the grille are not Bullitt items. They've been replaced.

Most likely because the car was in an accident.
 
I was going to say the real Bullit had no front badge... :mrgreen:
bullitt-mustang-leadbig1.jpg
 
Why are cars getting progressively harder to see out of? Every time I get into a newer generation of car I notice it is really hard to see out/where the damned edges are...

The design timeline has gone something like this:
Ford_Zodiac_MK1_22.JPG

Gee Bill, good job designing the new Zodiac, but it is a bit tricky to see out of, could you sort that out?

70_triumphdolomitesprintrea.jpg

Damn Bill. A massive glass area and styling that makes the edges of the car impossible to miss, is there anything the driver CAN'T see?!

mk4-030-nagy.jpg

So erm... Bill... When did we ditch the whole "people don't crash as much when they can see out of their car" idea?

Seriously, the blind spots in cars now are HUGE, forget "THINK BIKE", you could miss freaking buses with A pillars so thick. The new DS5 has actually split it in two to give you at least some chance of being able to see the cars, elephants and small continents you'd otherwise miss. :rolleyes:
 
captain_70s said:
Why are cars getting progressively harder to see out of? Every time I get into a newer generation of car I notice it is really hard to see out/where the damned edges are...

The design timeline has gone something like this:

Gee Bill, good job designing the new Zodiac, but it is a bit tricky to see out of, could you sort that out?


Damn Bill. A massive glass area and styling that makes the edges of the car impossible to miss, is there anything the driver CAN'T see?!


So erm... Bill... When did we ditch the whole "people don't crash as much when they can see out of their car" idea?

Seriously, the blind spots in cars now are HUGE, forget "THINK BIKE", you could miss freaking buses with A pillars so thick. The new DS5 has actually split it in two to give you at least some chance of being able to see the cars, elephants and small continents you'd otherwise miss. :rolleyes:
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There are several reasons for this factor:

* Thicker pillers for increased structural rigidity: Even the US Govt's 5 star testing has gotten a major upgrade. Earning 5 stars has been a big deal since the 90's. Ditto our IIHS testing.

* Thicker pillars for airbags

* Higher beltlines make people feel safe: Studies show that people like the cocooned feeling that having the beltline at shoulder level provides. It's subconcious but people love that for some reason, especially if they're downsizing from a large CUV/SUV to a smaller vehicle.

* swoopy designs call for a higher beltline and reduced glass area: People love that look.

Ironically, when the last gen Sonata got a update in 09, Hyundai boasted how they didn't sacrifice visibility for swoopy styling...look what's changed. :p

There are still recent designs that offer great visibility. The Ford Five Hundred/08-09 Taurus:

2008_ford_taurus_actf34_fd_1_717.jpg


Mercury Montego/Sable, and Freestyle/Taurus X:

2008-Ford-Taurus-X-SEL.jpg


are a very good example. They not only offered expansive greenhouses, but were the first to offer "Command Seating" that placed each row of seats close to CUV/Minivan height to better coax SUV drivers into considering them. That idea Kia actually borrowed and used in last gen Optima as well. Tis a shame that people didn't necessarily want that styling with stuff like CC in the competitive set that made the cars above look downright dowdy.

No one wanted the Freestyle or Taurus X because, even though it was a very well executed American answer to the first Honda Odyssey, no one wanted a MPV with a shape that resembled a wagon.

The current Passat has pretty good visibility too, large windows all round with relatively thin pillars. Congrats to VW for bucking the trend, although to be fair they can do that more easily due to the CC. Ford's Fusion isn't too bad either, partially due to the fact that the main body design hasn't changed since 2007.
 
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rickhamilton620 said:
No one wanted the Freestyle or Taurus X because, even though it was a very well executed American answer to the first Honda Odyssey, no one wanted a shape that resembled a wagon.
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Not entirely. This ad is what killed sales.

"Buy a Freestyle and your wife will leave you, taking the kids, the car, the dog and all your money."

Yeah, that's a great message for selling a family car. :rolleyes:
 
Spectre said:
Not entirely. This ad is what killed sales.

"Buy a Freestyle and your wife will leave you, taking the kids, the car, the dog and all your money."

Yeah, that's a great message for selling a family car. :rolleyes:
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*Shudders* The infamous "divorce" ad...I agree...that was awful. :lol:
 
rickhamilton620 said:
*Shudders* The infamous "divorce" ad...I agree...that was awful. :lol:
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Sales went from "meh' but getting better slowly before that ad to complete flatline after. Even renaming it and giving it a facelift didn't help.

The problem wasn't necessarily that people didn't want a CUV/wagon but that they didn't want that specific wagon. The only way it could have been worse is to rename it the Ford Failure At Life.
 
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rickhamilton620 said:
* Higher beltlines make people feel safe: Studies show that people like the cocooned feeling that having the beltline at shoulder level provides. It's subconcious but people love that for some reason, especially if they're downsizing from a large CUV/SUV to a smaller vehicle.
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Dear these people, fuck you. Because my car is a convertible there is no pillar and therefor they cannot put it there. Every not convertible car attempts to strangle me with the damn belt as adjusted as low as possible in most cars it is still on my neck.
 
katwalk said:
Dear these people, fuck you. Because my car is a convertible there is no pillar and therefor they cannot put it there. Every not convertible car attempts to strangle me with the damn belt as adjusted as low as possible in most cars it is still on my neck.
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If it is still on your neck, should you not adjust it *up*?
 
Spectre said:
If it is still on your neck, should you not adjust it *up*?
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I think she's short enough that adjusting it up would make the issue even worse.
 
Then it would be on my nose.
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Left to right, my car, mom's car (low belt), mom's car (high belt). As far as I know the only solution is an equally uncomfortable clip thing that you use to reangle the belt so it doesn't slice into your neck like that (it stabs you in the stomach instead). I have actually been asked "oh god what is wrong with your neck because of this.
 
That would create a similar problem for different reasons. Padded things are way too warm.
 
katwalk said:
That would create a similar problem for different reasons. Padded things are way too warm.
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From female friends who have them - those are fairly cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's sheepskin.
 
Spectre said:
"Buy a Freestyle and your wife will leave you, taking the kids, the car, the dog and all your money."

Yeah, that's a great message for selling a family car. :rolleyes:
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This is true, but it would have done wonders for the mustang.
 
Spectre said:
From female friends who have them - those are fairly cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's sheepskin.
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It's probably fine for normal people, though if these female friend are also in Texas I think we have different definitions of the word warm here :p
The best solution really is "I know you hate driving long distances mom, let me drive for you" as for whatever reason the DRIVERS seat does not have this issue because it adjusts. Pisses me off that it is set up that way to make people "feel" safe and is not actually for safety reasons at all. That is even worse than the damn airbags, at least those have a reason.
 
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