Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

I'm going to the presentation of the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta today. My mother is quite interested in it and sort of wants one.
I'll take some pictures when I'm there.
 
Took a 2005 F350 4x4 CC/SB FX4 out for an extended drive today (borrowed from a friend). It's the same truck as the model I'm looking at except for a couple of minor interior changes and of course the different engine. Seemed easy enough to cruise around with on both the street and the highway, performed well and was surprisingly easy to park. They definitely feel smaller (in terms of external size) than they actually are in terms of driving. I even averaged 22mpg while testing it. Not bad; I definitely feel that I'm on the right track for my next vehicle.

In other news, you don't get much more blatant a comparison than this without arranging it yourself. Callum XJ in the center, Lawson XJ on the right:
IMG_3070_001.JPG

"Daddy, someone overinflated the XJ!"
 
How much of that is due to Euro/Federal regulations though?
 
A friend's family got a turbo Bora some time ago. He got sick of the frying pan wheels and sold them to us, so they're now under the family MkIV Golf. He got 17" Keskins for the Bora, which resulted in it riding absurdly high - so the solution was to get a Weitec kit for it. It's now installed, and his parents are complaining :lol: "Had to go ruin a perfectly serviceable car, it's now too damn hard! Can we go swap the old suspension back?" The Bora does look the business now, from what I saw it looked deliciously meaty on the fat tires, deep wheels and dropped more than -30mm.
 
Hey, I don't like a hard ride either. Big rims and lowering always seem to do more harm than good unless it's a sports/track car.
 
Hey, I don't like a hard ride either. Big rims and lowering always seem to do more harm than good unless it's a sports/track car.

I choose to interpret that in a sexual way.
 
In other news, you don't get much more blatant a comparison than this without arranging it yourself. Callum XJ in the center, Lawson XJ on the right:
IMG_3070_001.JPG

"Daddy, someone overinflated the XJ!"

Even after all the stuff that you've said about how the best Jags are the X305/X308, For reasons i can't quite grasp i just like the X358 better. Don't worry, i deny the existence of the X351.
 
The low profile was what set Jaguar apart. It is a shame they aren't like that anymore. I'm not sure if it was a new design language or government that changed it.
 
The low profile was what set Jaguar apart. It is a shame they aren't like that anymore. I'm not sure if it was a new design language or government that changed it.

The former. There were no government regulations on interior room, after all, but somebody wanted to compete with other companies on interior space at the expense of aesthetics.
 
To be fair, there were complaints about the X30x model that needed addressing. Purely as an aesthetic object, the X30x is better looking. :p

Such as what? A big selling point of a Jaguar sedan is for the interior to be sports-car cosy, not for it to be cavernous and echoing.

Even after all the stuff that you've said about how the best Jags are the X305/X308, For reasons i can't quite grasp i just like the X358 better. Don't worry, i deny the existence of the X351.

That *is* an X350 in the center.

The former. There were no government regulations on interior room, after all, but somebody wanted to compete with other companies on interior space at the expense of aesthetics.

Gee, I wonder who that could be.... :p
 
I knew, I'd get one over a X30x.

*hides.
 
Spectre, you sound like Ian Callum personally killed your pet dog with a shotgun when you were growing up or something.

It's this "purist" attitude where people worship their beloved brands so seriously that turns me off brand loyalties in general - and that's me putting it lightly. You're a smart guy (for a right-winger :p), you ought to get over this vendetta and quit blaming everything on one man like he's the Antichrist. (Or maybe that explains your Obama rants?)
 
Spectre, you sound like Ian Callum personally killed your pet dog with a shotgun when you were growing up or something.

It's this "purist" attitude where people worship their beloved brands so seriously that turns me off brand loyalties in general - and that's me putting it lightly. You're a smart guy (for a right-winger :p), you ought to get over this vendetta and quit blaming everything on one man like he's the Antichrist. (Or maybe that explains your Obama rants?)

Hey, I'm just trying to make sure I have a parts supply in future - Callum's crap isn't selling at all, so the sooner they pitch his ass and get someone in there that knows what he's doing. The sooner they do that, the sooner people will start buying the cars again, the sooner they edge away from Tata shuttering the doors, and the more assured my parts stream is.

Also, Callum is the guy standing up and claiming responsibility for everything - so if he wants the glory, he can get the hate, too.

Finally, you haven't seen anything yet. You've only seen about a 6 on my scale of 1-10.
 
This is making me glad that BMW sold Land Rover.
 
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there are worse cars to be "toying" (passing, letting them pass, repeat) with for 30 kms on a windy highway than a mint Ferrari 355 in yellow :heart:

the noise :heart:
 
My dad considers the X6 good looking. I'll get him some glasses.
 
How does a rev counter on a 1991 Mazda 323F work/not work? Mine displayed an annoying tendency to "tick" to 4krpm every now and then when driving last night. It wasn't due to the engine speed changing, I was doing a constant ~100km/h / 3000 rpm, and the needle spasmed to 4000 regularly irregularly. Then after a while it stopped doing that. At this point I had been driving for 20-30 minutes, so the car was properly warmed up and all. I had been thinking earlier that this parkinson action in the corner of my eye was just my imagination, but then I caught the needle in action.
 
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