Cars and Other Driving Machines - Page 103

Atticus Grinch · 08-31-2007, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
okay, say you're in the convertible and at a redlight. the car next to you has an attractive guy, you eed to put a hand outside the car to tap and see if he answers.

Here's my question, it he is to you rleft, does the fact tha the sees you have a wedding ring right away take away from him getting to know you?

Do you have a folder for yourself? File this under "Unintentionally Telling."

LessinSF · 08-31-2007, 04:47 AM

I have no new material - I only cite. But I had thought this for years, honest. http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=civic

NotFromHere · 08-31-2007, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Good coupe, bad convertible.

My nominee: 350Z. Not bad with the top down, but jeezuz it's bad with the top up.

Good convertible, bad coupe.

The biggest problem with this convertible is that the roof line goes too far back and getting into the car is hazardous to your eyes. But I guess appearances over function in this case.

Atticus Grinch · 09-01-2007, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NotFromHere
The biggest problem with this convertible is that the roof line goes too far back and getting into the car is hazardous to your eyes. But I guess appearances over function in this case.

The roofline itself is hazardous to your eyes, but only if you are an aesthete or otherwise suffer from good taste.

Atticus Grinch · 09-01-2007, 07:05 PM

From the geniuses who (temporarily) brought you the Phaeton:

A 650 hp W12 Golf GTI concept.

BTW, I only ever read car mags at the barbershop. If I were to subscribe to one, what should it be? I don't need to read about Veyrons and Murcielagos, but I like to know what's coming next to real people near me. Suggestions?

eta: Just saw this was posted two months ago by NFH. Sorry.

Atticus Grinch · 09-01-2007, 07:18 PM

This is not news, but I saw a photo of this concept and decided that it was the only supercar I would deign to drive. Adjust your X-mas lists accordingly.

Lexus LF-A

Icky Thump · 09-03-2007, 03:42 PM

The Titanic had a band.

Seriously, how do people buy those cars? I have a rental Ford Taurus. 2007 with 19k on the clock. Car stalls when pulling out of a parking space, left tail light and signal don't work, suspension bounces and squeaks. But the radio works. In the front anyway.

dc_chef · 09-03-2007, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
From the geniuses who (temporarily) brought you the Phaeton:

A 650 hp W12 Golf GTI concept.

BTW, I only ever read car mags at the barbershop. If I were to subscribe to one, what should it be? I don't need to read about Veyrons and Murcielagos, but I like to know what's coming next to real people near me. Suggestions?

eta: Just saw this was posted two months ago by NFH. Sorry.

Here's a rundown on the rags, select whichever would work best for you:

1) Automobile. Was started up to be more highbrow than the other buff books. The content and the focus of the stories, the last I read it, seemed to continue that strategy. There are stories of travel, with the cars almost secondary, the writing strikes me as if aspires to be more like literature. When they started up the magazine, they didn't publish 0-60 figures, as the authors thought that the information was irrelevant. I believe that they've changed their tune on that.

2) Car and Driver. I understand that C&D is the most widely read. It's writers often are engineers but that have a decent sense of humor. The stories are amusing, but sometimes have an air of people trying too hard to be funny. On past occasions, they received scoops of car news, but these days, with sites like Autoblog.com out there, it's tough for the printed magazines to still get (or maybe just print) scoops. Their reviews are pretty comprehensive and fair.

3) Road and Track. Like Car and Driver, but without the humor. The reviews are drier, but seem to give more detail, and have more thumbnail sketches of comparison information for comparable cars at the end of the stories.

4) MotorTrend. Used to be terrible, just fluff and awful writing. It has improved immensely, at least as of the last time that I read it. For some reason, I seem to recall that David E. Davis was involved with MT. (DED was with C&D forever, then started up Automobile.)

5) AutoWeek. My personal favorite. It's pretty brief, so it's easy to get through, there is less fluff than the buff books, and you get news in a more timely fashion. Decent columnists, too. But, if you're looking for a comprehensive resource, look elsewhere.

Alex_de_Large · 09-12-2007, 06:33 PM

So there's lots and lots to talk about coming out of Frankfurt this week. My favorite, of course, if the Saab Turbo X.

Also of not, from the Countach-gone-horribly-wrong department, is the Lamborghini Reventon.

NotFromHere · 09-12-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Icky Thump
The Titanic had a band.

Seriously, how do people buy those cars? I have a rental Ford Taurus. 2007 with 19k on the clock. Car stalls when pulling out of a parking space, left tail light and signal don't work, suspension bounces and squeaks. But the radio works. In the front anyway.

I had a Ford Fusion earlier this year as a rental. Hertz sucks. Had 1700 miles on it and never started on the first go. Lurched when you put it into gear and was slow and boaty. However, Hertz gave me a Tercel S last month so I may not cancel that Gold membership just yet. That said, National gave us a Monte Carlo this weekend that was the biggest pile of crap I've ridden in in a very long time. Believe it or not, we were hoping for an Impala. But all that was left in the Executive row was the Impala and 8 Trailblazers and 4 RAVs. Should have taken the RAV.

NotFromHere · 09-12-2007, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
From the geniuses who (temporarily) brought you the Phaeton:

A 650 hp W12 Golf GTI concept.

BTW, I only ever read car mags at the barbershop. If I were to subscribe to one, what should it be? I don't need to read about Veyrons and Murcielagos, but I like to know what's coming next to real people near me. Suggestions?

eta: Just saw this was posted two months ago by NFH. Sorry.

Because I get these magazines for free, in order of helpfulness.
1. Automobile. Good articles. They keep a stable of cars for a year and let you know how they're aging and what kind of repairs their having to do. I love that part of this mag.

2. AutoWeek. Right on top of things. Interesting articles, good writing, good photos.

3. Car and Driver. Better than Motor Trend.

4. MOtor Trend. A pile of garbage and should only be purchased at the airport if all other magazines are sold out. Can't pick a car of the year to save their lives. Boring, pompous and wrong most of the time.

NotFromHere · 09-26-2007, 12:50 AM

Magneto reluctance

A Chrysler training video that's just too funny.
Don't forget the sigmoid rumbling.

bold_n_brazen · 10-09-2007, 09:10 PM

I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with just over 90,000 miles on it. The plan is to drive it another year and then get something new.

On Sunday, I was involved in a parking lot collision that resulted in a dent in the back liftgate (it's a 4 on a scale of 1-10) and a crack to the bumper and a scratch on the taillight. The liftgate still works.

I went to a Dent Doctor place and they told me it's too big to pull out. The body shop estimates $1600 to replace the liftgate and $2500 to fix the whole mess.

So... what do I do? Do I fix it? Do I submit a claim to insurance ($500 deductable)? Do I drive it as it is, knowing the car isn't going to be worth shit in a year anyway?

I actually (God help me) trust your opinions, so lay it on me.

John Phoenix · 10-09-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with just over 90,000 miles on it. The plan is to drive it another year and then get something new.

On Sunday, I was involved in a parking lot collision that resulted in a dent in the back liftgate (it's a 4 on a scale of 1-10) and a crack to the bumper and a scratch on the taillight. The liftgate still works.

I went to a Dent Doctor place and they told me it's too big to pull out. The body shop estimates $1600 to replace the liftgate and $2500 to fix the whole mess.

So... what do I do? Do I fix it? Do I submit a claim to insurance ($500 deductable)? Do I drive it as it is, knowing the car isn't going to be worth shit in a year anyway?

I actually (God help me) trust your opinions, so lay it on me.

Sounds like the dent is not causing any serious damage to the car. Here's my take on it.

If you can live with the dent and the scratch, do so. I did a quick analysis on Kelley Blue Book of the value of your car, and it came up with:

Excellent $6,100

Good $5,545

Fair $4,580

for a 2001 6 cylinder, automatic, two wheel drive Grand Cherokee Limited with 90,000 miles and no special options. Figure that's about $1,000 difference if the body didn't have the dent versus the dent being there. It would cost you more than that to fix it.

If the accident was your fault, you're out the $500 now, and increased insurance premiums later. (Believe me, for small claims, the insurance companies get their money back. You should consider raising your deductible to something like $1,000 or $2,000 or so - otherwise, if you make small claims, they'll get the money back in increased premiums later, and you also could save on your premiums for the higher deductible.) So, an insurance claim probably is not worth it.

At the time of the new car purchase, you could either trade your car in, and take the $1,000 hit, or you could donate it to a charity and take the full value of the car as a tax deduction. Well, I take that back. You could a couple of years ago; I'm not sure that rule remains in place and unchanged. If it is in place, take the tax deduction, and get a better deal on the purchase of the car - no haggling over the value of the car, etc.

bold_n_brazen · 10-09-2007, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John Phoenix
Sounds like the dent is not causing any serious damage to the car. Here's my take on it.

If you can live with the dent and the scratch, do so. I did a quick analysis on Kelley Blue Book of the value of your car, and it came up with:

Excellent $6,100

Good $5,545

Fair $4,580

for a 2001 6 cylinder, automatic, two wheel drive Grand Cherokee Limited with 90,000 miles and no special options. Figure that's about $1,000 difference if the body didn't have the dent versus the dent being there. It would cost you more than that to fix it.

If the accident was your fault, you're out the $500 now, and increased insurance premiums later. (Believe me, for small claims, the insurance companies get their money back. You should consider raising your deductible to something like $1,000 or $2,000 or so - otherwise, if you make small claims, they'll get the money back in increased premiums later, and you also could save on your premiums for the higher deductible.) So, an insurance claim probably is not worth it.

At the time of the new car purchase, you could either trade your car in, and take the $1,000 hit, or you could donate it to a charity and take the full value of the car as a tax deduction. Well, I take that back. You could a couple of years ago; I'm not sure that rule remains in place and unchanged. If it is in place, take the tax deduction, and get a better deal on the purchase of the car - no haggling over the value of the car, etc.

FYI, not that this matters in the analysis, but it's the V8, 4wd, 60th anniversary package (which means totally loaded).

I'm leaning towards just living with it as is, at the moment. But like I said, I value your all opinions.