Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Hemihead said:
A friend told me a slightly amusing story today. We were discussing the Opels from the 1990's (mostly because there is a ugly-ass Kadett with a Cosworth wing around here) and he hand on heart claimed that the best car he ever owned was a first generation Opel Omega 2.0 (Vauxhall Carlton to all the brits out there). He bought the car used with 190k on the clock and just drove it, didn't spend a cent more then needed on it. Then came the day his second child was born, his wife woke him in the middle of the night and told that they had to hurry to the hospital. Load up the lady in the car and then it was full bore towards the nearest hospital 40 km away. After 15-20 km on full trottle the engine started to overheat but he never let off, even when the needle went out of the scale of the temp gauge. When they arrived at the hospital he could see the exhaust glowing orange under the car and steam was hissing loudly somewhere under the hood so he parked the car far away from other cars in case it caught fire.

Now to the punchline, three days after the kid was born he was just about to call a taxi when he decided to see if the Opel would start. He filled the radiator up with water and realized that it had boiled totally dry during the last drive, then turned the key and it started without hassle and ran perfect. He continued to drive that car for another couple of years and then sold it, as far as i know the car is still in traffic today. Now, i rarely hear any good words about the first gen Omega but this certain car was apparently bulletproof.
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Except for the fact that it massively overheated after a few minutes' spirited driving :p

rickhamilton620 said:
The tightest backseat i've been in is split between my brother's friend's Escort ZX2 and my Saturn's.

Both have very crummy rear seat room.
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It can't possibly worse than my friend's 3-door SC.
 
thevictor390 said:
Except for the fact that it massively overheated after a few minutes' spirited driving :p
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That was fairly standard usually even during normal driving. If the car didn't rust in half below you before you reached highway speed. As i said, i have no good experience of the Omega. The only decent one i have drive was my grandmothers Omega 2,4i but that car was cuddled and taken care of like a baby.
 
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rickhamilton620 said:
The tightest backseat i've been in is split between my brother's friend's Escort ZX2 and my Saturn's.

Both have very crummy rear seat room.
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thevictor390 said:
It can't possibly worse than my friend's 3-door SC.
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My father's 2001 XKR from when it was here in Dallas having the engine replaced (thankfully sent back to him now so he won't kvetch about it any more):

IMG_7169.jpg


IMG_7170.jpg


Any question as to why it gets treated as a leather upholstered parcel shelf instead of a seat?

If my XKR had survived, I would have fitted a rear seat eliminator kit, much like the guys with the SN95 Mustangs do - and for the same reason. As to why the rear seat is like this, apparently there's some very strange, arcane and archaic taxation law in the UK that makes manufacture of a two seat grand tourer more expensive than it should be; Aston Martin had the same thing going with the current Vantage until they just gave up, deleted the seat and passed the increased cost on to the customer (Top Gear referenced this in their review of the car). It's not there to actually hold people.
 
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Spectre said:
If my XKR had survived, I would have fitted a rear seat eliminator kit, much like the guys with the SN95 Mustangs do - and for the same reason. As to why the rear seat is like this, apparently there's some very strange, arcane and archaic taxation law in the UK that makes manufacture of a two seat grand tourer more expensive than it should be; Aston Martin had the same thing going with the current Vantage until they just gave up, deleted the seat and passed the increased cost on to the customer (Top Gear referenced this in their review of the car). It's not there to actually hold people.
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The rear seats in my SN95 were usable.
 
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HAHAHAHA oh god. That leg room makes my Beetle look like an suv :lmao:
 
katwalk said:
HAHAHAHA oh god. That leg room makes my Beetle look like an suv :lmao:
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Leg room? What leg room?
All I see is a bench for double amputees.
 
argatoga said:
The rear seats in my SN95 were usable.
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The ones in my friend's 03 Terminator Cobra are useless if you have, you know, legs. Only slightly more space back there than the X100 has.

And NO room at all if you fit a roll bar, which is what I was going to do. :p

Redliner said:
Leg room? What leg room?
All I see is a bench for double amputees.
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The parent XJ-S is the same way. It's only there for taxation purposes. Stupid Brit government. :p

And just to be explicit:
IMG_7179.JPG
 
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Spectre said:
The ones in my friend's 03 Terminator Cobra are useless if you have, you know, legs. Only slightly more space back there than the X100 has.

And NO room at all if you fit a roll bar, which is what I was going to do. :p

The parent XJ-S is the same way. It's only there for taxation purposes. Stupid Brit government. :p
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I had a friend sit back there, but he isn't much bigger than me. And I take the typical white guy position when driving (seat all the way forward). :p
 
argatoga said:
I had a friend sit back there, but he isn't much bigger than me. And I take the typical white guy position when driving (seat all the way forward). :p
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Apparently you like having an airbag crush your sternum, then. :p Current guidance is to sit as far away from the airbag while still being able to comfortably reach the controls as possible.
 
Spectre said:
My father's 2001 XKR from when it was here in Dallas having the engine replaced (thankfully sent back to him now so he won't kvetch about it any more):

*obscenely tiny back seat*

Any question as to why it gets treated as a leather upholstered parcel shelf instead of a seat?

If my XKR had survived, I would have fitted a rear seat eliminator kit, much like the guys with the SN95 Mustangs do - and for the same reason. As to why the rear seat is like this, apparently there's some very strange, arcane and archaic taxation law in the UK that makes manufacture of a two seat grand tourer more expensive than it should be; Aston Martin had the same thing going with the current Vantage until they just gave up, deleted the seat and passed the increased cost on to the customer (Top Gear referenced this in their review of the car). It's not there to actually hold people.
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I actually winced when I saw that....not gonna lie...:eek:
 
Spectre said:
Look at it this way - it's a two-seater with a really nice cushioned parcel shelf and retaining straps for whatever's back there. :p
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:lol: probably perfect for groceries and stuff then actually.....:think:
 
Spectre said:
Apparently you like having an airbag crush your sternum, then. :p Current guidance is to sit as far away from the airbag while still being able to comfortably reach the controls as possible.
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I now own an MG Midget, I'm prepared for death. :p
 
Taxing laws are so damn stupid. It's like that european displacement thing, I lined up a mazdaspeed3 against a mustang and the mazda gets 8 mpg less than the V6 mustang for highway. :|
I don't even know what the point of having the seats in my car is. I have only used them once in my entire time of owning the car. I wish I had piles of disposable money because I could redo the car and shove a big engine back there and make a hilarious sleeper. :lol:

Spectre said:
Apparently you like having an airbag crush your sternum, then. :p Current guidance is to sit as far away from the airbag while still being able to comfortably reach the controls as possible.
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As someone who has to sit with the seat only one click from the farthest up position that airbag fucking terrifies me. I REALLY wish they wouldn't make those mandatory especially when my car has already had to be sent in for a recall on the airbags apparently being too forceful.
 
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argatoga said:
I thought you were younger. I swear I must have early onset Alzheimer.
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I always get LeMans GTR and Aston Martin mixed up. I think they used to have similar avatars.
 
Blind_Io said:
Really? I thought the 90s Mercedes vehicles were pretty good, especially the 190.

I always thought that if I could find a cherry 190 for a good price it would make a decent second car.
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Actually, the 190 really is an 80ies car, production ran from '82 to '93.
 
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