Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Nonesence, cleary what you need is one of these:

maud-cat.jpg
 
Tempted to start doing some motor based vlogging, because why not? :unsure:

I've got 12 vehicles of my own at my disposal, plus friends with countless other interesting cars. Must be worth a go!
 
We would all have a dozen vehicles if we could.
 
And again, that's great when you're crawling rock in the summer. Nobody crawls a snowbank because that's not how you make progress in deep snow - it's very similar to mud in that you want to maintain wheelspeed and momentum, unless you're running Iceland-spec flotation tires. I wheel snow and ice on the regular - if you try to idle your way through a snowfield you just....stop.
Just cuz you been doing it wrong all this time... :p
 
I think.

Maybe.

Honestly that was I guess, I can't keep track of the fleet sometimes. I'll roundup now:

1. 1927 Chrysler 60
2. 1929 Austin Seven Special
3. 1965 Ford Anglia
4. 1969 Ford Corsair
5. 1982 Austin Mini (project car)
6. 1986 Ford Fiesta
7. 2003 Ford Mondeo
8. 2004 Ford Mondeo
9. 2004 Ford Fiesta
10. 2006 Ford Mondeo
11. 2007 Mazda MX5 (before it gets sold!)

So not quite a dozen at the moment, but my father's Mustang could round that up. Don't think anyone needs to watch three videos about Mk3 Mondeos though. :p

Edit: I also have a 1999 Suzuki Baleno which I forgot about. That is literally scrap and undriveable though.

...and a 1992 Mini which is also scrap.
 
And now for something different... I don't usually take photos of trucks, but this one was so different that I couldn't resist. It was parked on the outer edge of a Walmart parking lot, just idling. I'm guessing that the driver was taking a snooze.

This thing had to cost a shit-load of money. For you folks who don't regularly drive in North America, this is a Frankenstein truck. The cab and chassis are Volvo, but of a class that's almost always seen pulling a 40' (12 meter) trailer. I don't think I've ever before seen a box truck set up on this heavy a chassis. It's also refrigerated and has its rear axles moved forward, presumably to make it more maneuverable. And, it has what appears to be a one-piece power tailgate that folds down. There's very little signage except for a very small script that reads in part: "FedEx Custom Critical". I googled that phrase and found that FedEx provides the service to companies/people who need to move larger items "right now". Maybe these trucks are seen more often in larger cities, but this was a first for me!

lZLHFlZ.jpg
 
Tempted to start doing some motor based vlogging, because why not? :unsure:

I've got 12 vehicles of my own at my disposal, plus friends with countless other interesting cars. Must be worth a go!

i'll subscribe! (but won't hit the bell button :p)
 
And now for something different... I don't usually take photos of trucks, but this one was so different that I couldn't resist. It was parked on the outer edge of a Walmart parking lot, just idling. I'm guessing that the driver was taking a snooze.

This thing had to cost a shit-load of money. For you folks who don't regularly drive in North America, this is a Frankenstein truck. The cab and chassis are Volvo, but of a class that's almost always seen pulling a 40' (12 meter) trailer. I don't think I've ever before seen a box truck set up on this heavy a chassis. It's also refrigerated and has its rear axles moved forward, presumably to make it more maneuverable. And, it has what appears to be a one-piece power tailgate that folds down. There's very little signage except for a very small script that reads in part: "FedEx Custom Critical". I googled that phrase and found that FedEx provides the service to companies/people who need to move larger items "right now". Maybe these trucks are seen more often in larger cities, but this was a first for me!

lZLHFlZ.jpg
As someone who lives in a large city, never seen that set up before in my life. In fact you very rarely see long nose cabs like that in the city itself, only for like tanker trucks or big ass deliveries like big stores that simply couldn't do with anything smaller.
 
And now for something different... I don't usually take photos of trucks, but this one was so different that I couldn't resist. It was parked on the outer edge of a Walmart parking lot, just idling. I'm guessing that the driver was taking a snooze.

This thing had to cost a shit-load of money. For you folks who don't regularly drive in North America, this is a Frankenstein truck. The cab and chassis are Volvo, but of a class that's almost always seen pulling a 40' (12 meter) trailer. I don't think I've ever before seen a box truck set up on this heavy a chassis. It's also refrigerated and has its rear axles moved forward, presumably to make it more maneuverable. And, it has what appears to be a one-piece power tailgate that folds down. There's very little signage except for a very small script that reads in part: "FedEx Custom Critical". I googled that phrase and found that FedEx provides the service to companies/people who need to move larger items "right now". Maybe these trucks are seen more often in larger cities, but this was a first for me!

That's pretty badass! Probably a hotshot outfit, they basically deliver big, heavy parts and assemblies that need to get to the worksite yesterfuckingday. They'll be paid to drive to the factory/fab shop, sit there until the item is finished being built, and then load up and haul ass. Super common in oilfield work where you're losing millions of dollars per hour of downtime.
 
FedEx Custom Critical trucks are almost always totally wild configurations. They do two kinds of work:
- Cost is no object get it here as soon as physically possible
- We literally cannot get any other company to touch this cargo because it's an impossible combination of hazmat/overweight/temperature sensitive/whatever.

The latter leads to a diverse fleet of trucks that can handle weird shit. Some of them look so slapdash they seem to have literally been assembled from spares in a FedEx fleet yard on no notice.
 
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Ah, see, those names (Sulan, Demec, Engerauto) are coachbuilders.
You buy a F-1000 and send it to fitted with and extended cab or whatever you want, therefore you have such diversity of graphics, colors, windows, etc.

Ah, that explains it. Still crazy. I really want to ship up that red 3 door Sulan up here..... for science....
 
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