Random Car Thought Thread

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
When I take the Corolla people always try to race me. When I take the Volvo nobody tries to race me. I wish I had a car that looked like the Corolla but had 300 HP and AWD like the Volvo.
is it a Corolla "S"? That might explain it.
 

Roboturner913

Registered User
Jul 3, 2012
25,853
55,526
S special edition. The only thing that makes it "special" over and above the regular S, unfortunately, is the bigger wheels and orange paint. Otherwise it's got the same crappy underpowered engine and sluggish 4-speed auto. But it's fine for milk runs and such.

did you buy an s60r?

I really want one as a project, but after three horrible Audi's I'm super concerned about the cost:fun ratio.

Let's just say I paid $5000 for the car and about $3000 on repairs so far. :laugh:
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,590
605
Martinaise, Revachol
Yeah 155 is what the dealer told me. I guess i assumed they just limited the NA cars and left euro units alone. It IS weird though because even with a grain of salt what I can find on message boards a lot of these cars are stable at higher speeds (post-engine tuning). I also assumed Porsche's were governed over here. Was looking at a few used 997s before I bought the Audi but couldn't find the right combo of service records, price, and mileage i wanted for the price in a 4s. 911 has been my dream car since childhood.

They might limit, I'm just pretty sure they don't because they're not governed in Europe (including the four LHD countries which have no road connection to Germany). I know what Audi/Mercedes/BMW is because it's a bit of a sore spot among some but I've honestly never really thought about it. The governor can be a liability issue, for the most part these cars aren't thoroughly tested at very high speeds (really anything above 200 kph) so if something does go wrong, they don't want to be blamed for it.

To be honest, I don't think you're ever going to find a "perfect" 911 (price, clean, desirable). You'll find one that has low k's and is very clean, but it's maroon and it's got a (non-PDK) automatic. I've tried and it's very slim pickings. Especially the high end ones like GT3's and Turbo's. I'd rather a Cayman, which you occasionally find a goldilocks one. I'm also not a big fan of lower end 911s, for example I drove a 997 Targa 4S and I liked my Cayman a lot better. I'm also super weary about buying used cars that were over $100,000 new. I've done that before and it's easily my worst financial decision I've ever made, and probably will be. If I was going to do it again, it would be something a little more exotic like an R8. Not any better performance than a 911, but it's something you see a lot less. I've seen clean, desirable 2008-2010 R8s for less than $80k CND.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
They might limit, I'm just pretty sure they don't because they're not governed in Europe (including the four LHD countries which have no road connection to Germany). I know what Audi/Mercedes/BMW is because it's a bit of a sore spot among some but I've honestly never really thought about it. The governor can be a liability issue, for the most part these cars aren't thoroughly tested at very high speeds (really anything above 200 kph) so if something does go wrong, they don't want to be blamed for it.

To be honest, I don't think you're ever going to find a "perfect" 911 (price, clean, desirable). You'll find one that has low k's and is very clean, but it's maroon and it's got a (non-PDK) automatic. I've tried and it's very slim pickings. Especially the high end ones like GT3's and Turbo's. I'd rather a Cayman, which you occasionally find a goldilocks one. I'm also not a big fan of lower end 911s, for example I drove a 997 Targa 4S and I liked my Cayman a lot better. I'm also super weary about buying used cars that were over $100,000 new. I've done that before and it's easily my worst financial decision I've ever made, and probably will be. If I was going to do it again, it would be something a little more exotic like an R8. Not any better performance than a 911, but it's something you see a lot less. I've seen clean, desirable 2008-2010 R8s for less than $80k CND.

Cayman's and R8s were right out of my considerations because i need at least the pretense of back seats (room for car seats) for my kids. Found that Turbos and above were well out of what I was willing to pay in my mileage range, and it'd be a daily--i figure what's the point in having a nice car if you're not going to drive it all the time--so an AWD would be necessary. Even then I'd have had to plan my commute around which routes were plowed the best in winter. And my wife would have probably killed me. And i drive aggressively--honestly i'd be driving a ticket magnet. Points there for the relative anonymity provided by driving a sedan. :)

I figured it had to liability issue in some strain or another. I think i read on Jalopnik the Dodge Hellcat has a governed lower speed than whatever the ridiculous powered durango they have only because the tires it ships with (better for 0-60) aren't rated to go any faster than the limiter allows.
 

RichWVU

Registered User
Sep 17, 2014
447
23
The clutch, or something related, is gone in my E60. Haven't found anyone within a 90 minutes drive willing to mess with the SMG so trying to determine if it's something I can DIY or not.

RIP Wallet.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
S special edition. The only thing that makes it "special" over and above the regular S, unfortunately, is the bigger wheels and orange paint. Otherwise it's got the same crappy underpowered engine and sluggish 4-speed auto. But it's fine for milk runs and such.

yeah some kids want to race anything that has a performance badge, whether it's legit or not.
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,590
605
Martinaise, Revachol
Cayman's and R8s were right out of my considerations because i need at least the pretense of back seats (room for car seats) for my kids. Found that Turbos and above were well out of what I was willing to pay in my mileage range, and it'd be a daily--i figure what's the point in having a nice car if you're not going to drive it all the time--so an AWD would be necessary. Even then I'd have had to plan my commute around which routes were plowed the best in winter. And my wife would have probably killed me. And i drive aggressively--honestly i'd be driving a ticket magnet. Points there for the relative anonymity provided by driving a sedan. :)

I figured it had to liability issue in some strain or another. I think i read on Jalopnik the Dodge Hellcat has a governed lower speed than whatever the ridiculous powered durango they have only because the tires it ships with (better for 0-60) aren't rated to go any faster than the limiter allows.

Oh I have no pretenses of using my toy as a daily. Maintenance is way too much. Only one of my kids has been in my car and it was a very short drive. Plus, tires on a car like that are straight summers and driving them in the winter, even without snow, would be a massive mistake. And you'd likely need to put 18/19" snows, which is insanely expensive, and I'm not sure they'd fit.

Yeah tires have a lot to do with it, but specifically with the Hellcat I think they require specific types of tires that can't fit on the car due to the design. Obviously cars like the Veyron and Agera have much higher speed limits than the Hellcat.

yeah some kids want to race anything that has a performance badge, whether it's legit or not.

People are so stupid. They want to race anything that looks remotely fast. It's worse on the highway. If you do buy a 911 one day, prepare to be raced at red lights and to be occasionally boxed in on the highway.
 

Roboturner913

Registered User
Jul 3, 2012
25,853
55,526
The funny thing is, I didn't even know what I was getting. I didn't want to deal with it all, so I just told my wife, Find a 10th gen Corolla, I don't care about the color or anything else, as long as it has low mileage and is cheap. I didn't care about frills because it's just something to take the kids to school and such. They're gonna mess it all up and spill stuff, track gum and dog crap and everything else into the backseat, throw up in it, probably pull the door handles off, etc. So the cheaper the better.

So we have to drive about 200 miles to pick it up, and she had told me it was orange, but I figured it would be like a subdued, brownish burnt orange, NO. It was bright-ass burn your retinas out orange, and it had these big 18 inch wheels and the spoiler and body kit and I was like great, I'm gonna look like the cast of 2 Fast 2 Furious driving this thing around. But it's a pretty nice car, and good-looking once I got used to it.

but yeah, I can't go anywhere in it after about 6 p.m. without some halfwit in a 10 year old Civic with a big fart cannon sticking out of the bumper trying to race me. It's amusing and frustrating all the time, because the Volvo is my "fun" car but nobody ever wants to try me when I take it out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rynryn

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
https://jalopnik.com/surprise-theres-a-new-tesla-roadster-and-its-unbelieva-1820532533

The numbers are literally too high to believe.

And I don’t know how Tesla plans to build a high end luxury 4 door, an entry level luxury 4 door, a semi-truck, and a hypercar all in the one factory that is so unproductive that it’s got more manual labour than a 1970s GM factory.

holy god that is...science fictionish. Do you actually get that range if you drive it in supercar mode? I sort of hope this is legit--if they can pull off something that crazy it's only going to spur every other manufacturer out there to pump money into their electric car programs and that tech SHOULD become more prevalent and easier accessed. And it's a 2+2 AWD?! Starting to save my pennys.
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,590
605
Martinaise, Revachol
holy god that is...science fictionish. Do you actually get that range if you drive it in supercar mode? I sort of hope this is legit--if they can pull off something that crazy it's only going to spur every other manufacturer out there to pump money into their electric car programs and that tech SHOULD become more prevalent and easier accessed. And it's a 2+2 AWD?! Starting to save my pennys.

No way you will. With the Model S, if you launch it in Ludicrous to reach 2.4s to 60 you kill a significant part of your range, and will not be able to launch it again until it's fully charged. The 1000km range will definitely be only if you drive it at 55-60mph at most, probably closer to sub-50mph for the entire range.

I'm extremely skeptical that these are actually going to be $250,000. The amount of carbon fiber it's going to take to make sure the mk. 2 Roadster isn't 5000lbs is going to be obscene. I expect the price to go up to closer to $400,000k for a base one.

Other manufacturers, at least the ones with deep pockets, already are. Volkswagen announced they'll spend 82 billion in the next five years on electric vehicles (across VW, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, etc., brands), which is at least four times more than Tesla has spent in the last five years. Porsche has their "Mission E" coming out in the next few years (essentially an electric Panamera Turbo), which spec/performance wise looks to crush the Model S. Tesla has made a quarterly profit once, and that barely happened. I think there's a good chance Tesla's push for electric is going to kill their company, as it's forcing much bigger and much more profitable/efficient companies to go electric. If the Model S and Model 3 have to go up against offerings from the other luxury brands, Tesla is dead in the water; both of those cars have significantly lower quality of materials than any of their competitors.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
Chicken or Egg, without Tesla I think the interest in electric would be behind where it is now--anything that gets us closer to the fossil fuel-less future is a good thing. Too bad the company suffering the birth pangs can't compete with those benefiting from the first step there but hopefully it'll all lead to a more robust environment for developing the tech. I was looking at Tesla's solar shingles too.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
so if a self driving car plows over a guy in a bike lane that drifts over (to avoid a puddle or pothole or whatever) who get's sued?
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,590
605
Martinaise, Revachol
so if a self driving car plows over a guy in a bike lane that drifts over (to avoid a puddle or pothole or whatever) who get's sued?

Probably the manufacturer but liability for accidents caused for an autonomous vehicle is far from decided. And there definitely will be issues given there is a race to be the first to sell a fully-autonomous vehicle and as a result they most certainly won't be perfect. In Vegas, that mini-bus was hit because a computer couldn't understand that it should back up away from a truck (that cannot see it) moving slowly towards it. If that was a human driver, 99/100 there is no accident.

Frankly, we are a very long way off autonomous cars being the norm. The only way to solve the AI issues at current technology/understanding would be V2V communications but that is not happening (and anyone who suggests it will really doesn't know anything about the automotive industry/environment). For the foreseeable future, I suspect the only autonomous driving that will be commonplace is on highways.
 

HansonBro

Registered User
May 3, 2006
4,906
3,468
Ever pay attention to the HMMV suspension, drivetrain and braking systems? Some pretty cool stuff going on there
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
Soooo...anyone else have problems with their comfort access when it's cold and wet out? no problem using the buttons. just thinks i'm trying to lock it all the time when i reach for the handle to open the door.
this is common right?
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,590
605
Martinaise, Revachol
Soooo...anyone else have problems with their comfort access when it's cold and wet out? no problem using the buttons. just thinks i'm trying to lock it all the time when i reach for the handle to open the door.
this is common right?

Never heard this before, but for my car you unlock by touching the inner side of the handle, and lock by touching the outer, so I wouldn't experience that problem on mine (and if I did I definitely would have it looked at). I'd research the issue for your specific model, however.
 

RichWVU

Registered User
Sep 17, 2014
447
23
Soooo...anyone else have problems with their comfort access when it's cold and wet out? no problem using the buttons. just thinks i'm trying to lock it all the time when i reach for the handle to open the door.
this is common right?

Never heard of that, but mine is from 2009 and I'm guessing each manufacturer uses a different system. Troll some Audi/VW boards and see what they think.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
looking around it looks like theres a TSB about it. no recall as some people have it, some don't. condensation on the inside of the handle by the sensor or something makes it feel like they are being activated together. comfort locking it works just fine. opening, it thinks i'm locking it and opening it at the same time. warranty! yay! just irritating as hell though. i don't know why i don't just pull out the fob and hit the button after one failed attempt but i'm so used to it now i just sit there like a jackass reaching for the handle, then pulling away, then reaching, pulling away, as my car beeps at me. evidently the fix is putting felt in there somewhere.
 

RichWVU

Registered User
Sep 17, 2014
447
23
Comfort access is one of those things that I feel like I'd have a hard time doing without now.

Even worse, while my car was down for a clutch recently, the only backup I had available was a 1998 Chevy Lumina that didn't even have keyless entry, had to use the good ol key in the door method to lock and unlock it. I didn't really keep anything in the car, so I just left it unlocked 95% of the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rynryn

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
33,295
3,338
Minny
would the Kia folks let me test drive a Stinger if they didn't think i was serious or do i have to pretend i'm thinking about trading my S3 in for one?
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->