Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Now what did you do?

Death Wobble as a result of the PO only changing shocks/springs when lifting. Got a work plan to correct it by upgrading the control arms and steering to compensate for the lift laid out in my PYC.

For those unfamiliar with the condition

[video=youtube;EqtdD3gm-hw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqtdD3gm-hw[/video]
 
Last edited:
"Designed and built quickly, and made primarily of wood [...] could be assembled by semi- and non-skilled labor, including slave labor".
It was also held together by (defective) glue and rushed into service. Proably the reason the He 162 wasn't all that reliable :p

Actually, even when the thing was properly assembled (there was at least one post-war example built under Allied supervision to see how the design worked), the tail (the fin and rudder sections) had a nasty habit of coming apart under stress.

However... 'designed and built quickly,' 'rushed into service' - hmmm....
1024px-Saab_9-5_2.0_TiD_Vector_%28II%29_%E2%80%93_Frontansicht_%281%29%2C_13._M%C3%A4rz_2011%2C_Wuppertal.jpg
 
I saw a Malibu Maxx SS in my work's parking lot today. Can't believe someone bought one of those cynical turds...and I like the idea of the Maxx....if not the execution. :lmao:

Actually, even when the thing was properly assembled (there was at least one post-war example built under Allied supervision to see how the design worked), the tail (the fin and rudder sections) had a nasty habit of coming apart under stress.

However... 'designed and built quickly,' 'rushed into service' - hmmm....
1024px-Saab_9-5_2.0_TiD_Vector_%28II%29_%E2%80%93_Frontansicht_%281%29%2C_13._M%C3%A4rz_2011%2C_Wuppertal.jpg

But it looks fantastic, is rare, and rides on (one could argue anyway) somewhat proven GM underpinnings...so pass for being gorgeous?
 
Last edited:
Aside from the "Service Steering Wheel Lock" message that a lot of other GM products also suffered from (needed software upgrade) the 9-5 haven't had been reported to have many things go wrong. As for rushed, they probably polished it for far too long before putting it in production. But it's easy to say when you know how things turned out...

Question: Does the Trailblazer have air suspension? Because the rear suspension of the 9-7x at the Saab museum have totally given up. They've parked it way back to the rear wall where they hope nobody's looking (next to a 9-2x).
 
However... 'designed and built quickly,' 'rushed into service' - hmmm....

The NG 9-5 was anything but rushed into service. Saab was too strapped for cash to put it into production so they kept it under wraps for a year or three after it essentially was done. It did show its age in certain places when it finally launched. One thing that comes to mind is the lack of Daytime Running Lights. Every new (or facelifted) car in Europe had had that for a few years already when the 9-5 launched without them.

The NG900 is a much better example of a rushed Saab design. The OG900 was a quarter of a century old (based on the mid-1960's 99) and GM forced the new one out the door based on Vectra bits that were going stale already, with the new Vectra already waiting in the wings.

 
Actually, even when the thing was properly assembled (there was at least one post-war example built under Allied supervision to see how the design worked), the tail (the fin and rudder sections) had a nasty habit of coming apart under stress.

However... 'designed and built quickly,' 'rushed into service' - hmmm....

Saab_900.jpg

FTFY
 
50 Years of Camaro vs. Mustang sales, via Car and Driver: Click to enbigify.

That graph seems off. How is the 2014 mustang at 134K almost twice as big as the Camaro's 90K number? The bars don't seem to line up with the scale.
 
I saw a Malibu Maxx SS in my work's parking lot today. Can't believe someone bought one of those cynical turds...and I like the idea of the Maxx....if not the execution. :lmao:

Saw 2 of those in the last month. One had an absurdly loud ricer exhaust.
 
That graph seems off. How is the 2014 mustang at 134K almost twice as big as the Camaro's 90K number? The bars don't seem to line up with the scale.

I get 172 pixels long for the Camaro and 241 for the Mustang. Meaning that each pixel represents 567.628 units per pixel (UPP) for the Camaro and 556.356 UPP for the Mustang. The scale is a bit off, meaning the Camaro bar should be 176 pixels long. :p
 
n....narf?
 
I get 172 pixels long for the Camaro and 241 for the Mustang. Meaning that each pixel represents 567.628 units per pixel (UPP) for the Camaro and 556.356 UPP for the Mustang. The scale is a bit off, meaning the Camaro bar should be 176 pixels long. :p

Either the Mustang's bar is too long (which I suspect), or it's sales number should be higher (which seems less likely)
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

I saw a Malibu Maxx SS in my work's parking lot today. Can't believe someone bought one of those cynical turds...and I like the idea of the Maxx....if not the execution. :lmao:



But it looks fantastic, is rare, and rides on (one could argue anyway) somewhat proven GM underpinnings...so pass for being gorgeous?

I don't find the looks attractive, just weird. So, no. Should have built the Aero X instead.


The NG 9-5 was anything but rushed into service. Saab was too strapped for cash to put it into production so they kept it under wraps for a year or three after it essentially was done. It did show its age in certain places when it finally launched. One thing that comes to mind is the lack of Daytime Running Lights. Every new (or facelifted) car in Europe had had that for a few years already when the 9-5 launched without them.

The NG900 is a much better example of a rushed Saab design. The OG900 was a quarter of a century old (based on the mid-1960's 99) and GM forced the new one out the door based on Vectra bits that were going stale already, with the new Vectra already waiting in the wings.


Annnd completely missed the Top Gear Saab Eulogy reference there, guys.
 
Last edited:
Either the Mustang's bar is too long (which I suspect), or it's sales number should be higher (which seems less likely)

I don't know where they got those numbers. Official Mustang sales number from Ford was 82,635. Camaro was at 86,297 for 2014 according to GMauthority so the C&D figures of 134k vs 97k are complete crap.
 
Last edited:
50 Years of Camaro vs. Mustang sales, via Car and Driver: Click to enbigify.
That was a very cool chart. I already knew the "recent" history (i.e., 1990 and newer) but I enjoyed seeing it in that graphical representation. Thanks for putting it up.

EDIT: waitaminute. Those numbers lately are, how do I put this, wrong.

EDIT 2: I think I see what they did there. C/D's chart isn't based on annual sales of a given car, but sales of each car by model year. that would explain why it doesn't show any Camaro sales for 2009, for example. But it sure as hell doesn't explain the spike in Mustang sales for 2014. Aargh!
 
Last edited:
EDIT 2: I think I see what they did there. C/D's chart isn't based on annual sales of a given car, but sales of each car by model year. that would explain why it doesn't show any Camaro sales for 2009, for example. But it sure as hell doesn't explain the spike in Mustang sales for 2014. Aargh!

I wonder if they lumped in 2015 sales?
 
n....narf?

The bars for 2014 are on a different scale, apparently.
Compare the 2014 Mustang bar with the 2011 Mustang bar - 2011 has a bigger number, but a shorter bar. Same story for the Camaro with 2014 vs 2011.
Additionally, the sub-100k 2014 Camaro bar clearly goes beyond the black 100k line, and even beyond the 120k shaded column. The 134k 2014 Mustang bar almost touches the black 200k line :dunno:
 
Last edited:
The bars for 2014 are on a different scale, apparently.
Compare the 2014 Mustang bar with the 2011 Mustang bar - 2011 has a bigger number, but a shorter bar. Same story for the Camaro with 2014 vs 2011.
Additionally, the sub-100k 2014 Camaro bar clearly goes beyond the black 100k line, and even beyond the 120k shaded column. The 134k 2014 Mustang bar almost touches the black 200k line :dunno:

Yeah, it's definitely different scale for each year.
 
Top