Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

One of the nice things about going for service at Porsche Victoria (90 min drive south) is seeing all the lovely metal also in for TLC.

Witness: a 2016 Boxster GTS (mine’s a 15), a 993 Turbo (in a colour not dissimilar to that of my Challenger), and modern GT2 and Panamera Wagon (these 2 likely getting once overs for their new owners).

Today is also the acid test: i.e., can you afford a Porsche. It’s my 5 year major service. Spectre probably knows what I’m on about. I’m not griping, I read the schedule and researched the costs before I bought, but my credit card is in for a little angina this afternoon. At least PCA membership knocks 15% off the price.

Gonna drive around in a loaner 2020 Macan for the day.
 
I’m surprised they didn’t stick you in a new GTS, but then I remember there's probably snow on the ground hah.

Can we bet on service costs?
Going with $3000 CDN
 
I’m surprised they didn’t stick you in a new GTS, but then I remember there's probably snow on the ground hah.

Can we bet on service costs?
Going with $3000 CDN
1) I’m on Vancouver Island. In Nanaimo, where I live, there’s snow maybe 1-2 weeks per year. In Victoria where I am currently getting serviced, it snows maybe 1-2 days per year, and it’s considered a state of emergency.

The only reason I don’t drive the Boxster all year round is because it rains here all winter, so knowing the top will never come down takes a lot of the fun away.

2) You’re over, thankfully.
 
TPIW strategy, I vote 2001$ :p
 
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:p
 
I'm glad they had no manual abarths at the dealer actually because when I actually am using the shifter I'll look down and OOPS too fast. :|
 
I'm glad they had no manual abarths at the dealer actually because when I actually am using the shifter I'll look down and OOPS too fast. :|
You’d be much more attuned to your car with a manual, you’d also always know what gear you are in.
 
Just spent 3 days and 700+ miles driving around a GT500.

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That’s worth scrap metal. Aren’t there other Pontiac coupes of the era that look similar?
 
There are, but that it the rare one. Less than 1400 made and only made that year. It is based on the Lemans, but there was also the GTO, the Grand am, and te Can Am.
 
You’d be much more attuned to your car with a manual, you’d also always know what gear you are in.
I would have another thousand dollar surcharge ?

Seriously though I try, TRY being the key word, to not drive it in a way that will attract more cops then it already attracts. Like I intentionally try to keep it quite in some areas. The above case was a 45mph woods on both sides nothing to hit or place for a speed trap, I was going over 60 when I looked down.

Like I would love a manual but not for my daily driver that spends 50% of it's time stuck in miserable traffic jams and such. The fiat is not a "real" sports car to begin with anyway and if it were a manual it would just depress me how little opportunity to actually use it to it's full potential I'd have.

In other news I managed to replace the foglights on the beetle and they worked briefly and now do not again because of course. I asked the shop teacher if the advanced class is for how to rewire your volkswagen and he said something along the lines of "please no".

Poor guy. He has set the class up to be "tell me what you want to do and I'll try to help" which is absolutely spectacular for a 250$ course that gives you access to fancy expensive tools. The only rule is you need to be able to drive home after 3 hours. I could technically try to fix the convertible top. You don't need a roof to drive the car home after all. And it doesn't matter anyway because the monte carlo has failed to be put together in time twice now.

I have no idea how much they are paying him but it cannot possibly be enough. Especially when you consider he has to teach the children earlier in the day too. Apparently they accidentally an entire new container of transmission fluid in the tool box this week. RIP dude. Class should take him out for a beer at the end or something.
 
Like I would love a manual but not for my daily driver that spends 50% of it's time stuck in miserable traffic jams and such. The fiat is not a "real" sports car to begin with anyway and if it were a manual it would just depress me how little opportunity to actually use it to it's full potential I'd have.
This is of course personal experience so take it as such but I don’t find traffic to be any worse in a manual, aside maybe from mechanical sympathy for my poor clutch. It actually gives you something to concentrate on other than the fact that you are stuck in traffic.
 
This is of course personal experience so take it as such but I don’t find traffic to be any worse in a manual, aside maybe from mechanical sympathy for my poor clutch. It actually gives you something to concentrate on other than the fact that you are stuck in traffic.
It was a lot worse for me in my RX-8 than my current car. I think the part that is "worse" is the effort to repeatedly push the clutch pedal. The clutch goes down as a starting point then comes up a bit, and if you are moving slower than your idle coasting speed in 1st, has to be kept pressed down. Unlike brake and gas pedals which are only ever used lightly in traffic. So that effort can add up. But it only ever really got to me once, on the way into Boston during PAX.

EDIT: Wasn't really clear that the reason my RX-8 was worse is the clutch was quite heavy compared to the MX-5.
 
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Yeah something to keep in mind is I AM still crippled. I am lucky that my stuff is spread out in a way something like shop class doesn't fuck me up TOO much, but repetitively straining my hip having to hover over the brake by being stuck in traffic means a trip to the chiropractor the next day.

It's pretty bad even with automatics. My feet are TINY, like most of my shoes are from the children's section and I often cannot rest my heel on the floor so it has to stay suspended. I left foot brake a lot to try and reduce the strain and will drive like 10 miles out of the way tp avoid full on traffic jams (like 128 keeps being backed up all the way to Beverly so I drive to Topsfield and take rt 1.

But yeah this unfortunately was one of the major reasons I wasn't able to drive much for years. The fiat is also in general kinder to my tiny feet reaching things tho so that helps... I'd like to pull off heel toe one day most of the time my foot just goes through the space between the pedals rip.
 
It was a lot worse for me in my RX-8 than my current car. I think the part that is "worse" is the effort to repeatedly push the clutch pedal. The clutch goes down as a starting point then comes up a bit, and if you are moving slower than your idle coasting speed in 1st, has to be kept pressed down. Unlike brake and gas pedals which are only ever used lightly in traffic. So that effort can add up. But it only ever really got to me once, on the way into Boston during PAX.

EDIT: Wasn't really clear that the reason my RX-8 was worse is the clutch was quite heavy compared to the MX-5.
Yeah if you got a heavy clutch its tough, I actually hurt my foot in traffic in the Z once.
Yeah something to keep in mind is I AM still crippled. I am lucky that my stuff is spread out in a way something like shop class doesn't fuck me up TOO much, but repetitively straining my hip having to hover over the brake by being stuck in traffic means a trip to the chiropractor the next day.
Yeah I was actually thinking that for you it might be tougher after I posted.
 
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