Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

I got to drive our company's 200x Ford Focus (1st generation AFAIK), complete with rollup windows, k7 player, broken windscreen and blinkers that go way faster than when it left the factory thanks to some electrical glitches. Oh and, surprisingly, a manual transmission :-o

Not sure which engine it had but it was quite fun to drive and brought back some good old memories from when I learned to drive in one (albeit a EU version).

The most noticeable difference I could notice from the one we had (apart from the k7 player and the rollup windows, obviously) was the shift light, telling you to shift up at about 2000rpm!
But you know the worst part about that light? It actually worked... I was in slow traffic in some street in Vancouver and found myself changing up each time the light came on... Mind you, that didn't make much of a difference to the performance of the car in that kind of traffic!

Other than that, the car had 118.000km on the clock and felt quite good!

It's been more than two years since I really got to drive a proper manual gearbox but surprisingly I haven't lost that much skill in my left foot :-d And fuck it feels good! I can't imagine buying a car with an automatic gearbox, ever...
 
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Got to drive my parents 2012 GT-500 today for about 80 miles. Fun car, just a little rough riding over shitty pavement. Comes with ordering it with the SVT performance package, I guess. My biggest issue is I now want one. Got a while to wait on that one. I'll post up more later if I remember. Off to sleep so I can get to work tomorrow morning.
 
Did you not get any WRX before that? Not even just called something different? :blink:

Nope. We got the Impreza, but not the WRX spec version. Best one we had prior to that was the Impreza RS.

Subaru didn't think we'd be interested in the WRX.

Morons.
 
Their lesbian demographic din't like straight line power I guess.
 
Damnit! Almost got 2 sets of wheels for $200...

These to be exact, but debadged.

BMW_Wheels.JPG


It was all on the basis of them fitting on my car, the bolt pattern/width was correct and it was just a offset a bit more, which was fine. But the calipers didn't clear. Damn you brakes!
 
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I made a number of mistakes when driving to a cottage this weekend;
I printed out the shortest route given by Google Maps and didn't check out the route thorougly; not filling up before leaving "to save time", because obviously there were going to be filling stations later; - of course, the route was such hillbilly backroad that it conveniently led me nowhere near any filling stations. I very nearly ran out of fuel, the car started dying on me numerous times but I managed just to get it to a station. I then jubilantly filled up, only to notice the next station behind the bend 200m away had cheaper fuel. Dang.

Also, some of the roads out there were worse than they can ever be in Russia, for example. I never expected to see a sea of sharp-edged potholes all around the asphalt surface in this country.
 
Hmm the prices on VR-4's have dropped quite a lot. $7,000 for a 1992 car with 70,000 miles. Me likey!
 
Also, some of the roads out there were worse than they can ever be in Russia, for example. I never expected to see a sea of sharp-edged potholes all around the asphalt surface in this country.
Well i couldnt believe my eyes (and ass) when my front suspension bottomed in a highway speed (120kph) because of ground frost damage.
 
Yeah, Pori-Tre was terrible this spring but amazingly they have completely fixed that section by now. But Kihni? was beyond belief.
 
HV just as an FYI, I was thinking of replacing my Volvo with a newer model too. Then I looked at other cars and found them to be better. My base model Mustang GT ran circles around my 855T. Don't just buy another Volvo because you liked your current one when it worked.
 
There's a reason for that....

And why are you willing to consider a 1992 VR4 when you won't consider an X300? :p

I'm not seriously considering it, but I just like gizmos - four wheel drive, twin turbo, four wheel steering, adaptive spoilers...I know most of these won't work properly, but nevertheless :)

HV just as an FYI, I was thinking of replacing my Volvo with a newer model too. Then I looked at other cars and found them to be better. My base model Mustang GT ran circles around my 855T. Don't just buy another Volvo because you liked your current one when it worked.

What are you trying to say - it is still working! :p

I just feel at home when I sit in a Volvo, nothing else even comes close. My heart broke a little today, I was car-shopping with my dad here in Bulgaria, and as we were walking through the 25+ used car dealership, I suddenly noticed a familiar shape and the unmistakable color of cream yellow.

It was T5-R Wagon, Manual. They were asking $5,000 and the car...well it was basically fit for the scrapper. It looked so tired, old and neglected. Tires were flat, engine bay was covered in dust . Suspension was sagging. Front spoiler was destroyed. The guy at the dealership told me the owner wouldn't budge from the asking price of $5000 because the car was so rare. Yeah, it's rare but at this condition it's not worth more than $1000.

Such a shame that a rare car like this should be left in such a condition and what an idiot the owner must be - you don't buy something that you can't afford to maintain!
 
Is 65k kms a lot or not to change brake pads? Mine are completely worn (the annoying metal on metal scraping noise when braking is evident)

First time Ive had a car for so long so i dunno if I'm being hard on brakes or not....
 
Guess who just joined the Limp-Wrist Miata Brigade?

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blaro/2011/06/27/257929_10100124375442466_5525513_47648198_5626410_o.jpg

Pics and thread to come soon.
 
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