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I think "5L car" and "American car" are synonyms (at least in production cars made in any kind of numbers) and that's also what I meant with big blocks
Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
The same engine giving very different power ratings is still a thing today; even my utilitarian little 1.6 CR diesel can be made to make much more than the 105 or so HP it gives me (because I never had the dieselgate recall applied to it
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"That" Guzzi made maybe 86HP at the rear wheel, for about 260kg with all fluids but without the rider. The engine delivered more, but the transmission ate the excess. Not exactly a crotch rocket, the fun was in the torque and its surprising nimbleness thanks to a longitudinal crank. Sometimes I wonder if her new owner still rides her...
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03-12-2022 07:23 PM
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I’m not referring to the same long block in different states of tune. US makers simply lied - they sold truly identical engines as having different power ratings, but they were all the same engines. The “275 hp” engine in our Impala sedan actually made the same power as the “350 hp” version in the Corvette. Originally Posted by RJVB
This is analogous to the way DV Mark has named and sold their little heads. The Jazz 50 hits rated distortion at 50W into 8 Ohms and 60 into 4. The “new” Jazz 60 does the same at 60 watts into 4 Ohms and 50 into 8. So the newer, more powerful model really isn’t any different despite its new name. At least there’s a grain of truth in the DVM marketing.
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This. Originally Posted by rlrhett
When I bought my last new car, a now 21 yr old Camry, I had to have it sent from Fla. because that was the only one available at that time w a manual transmission. I wanted manual because my previous ride was a Mazda 626 that had one and I was used to it. In retrospect probably not a good idea because no one wants manual these days, but then again I'll drive it into the ground so resale value probably isn't important at this point
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There are lots of ways to sell puffed air, and every vendor knows how. As a client you just have to know how to ask the right questions to see right through it. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
- Just how many vehicle vendors give you a power rating at the wheel, or even a proper set of power (dyno) curves?
- amp power (peak? RMS? Something else?) and impedance... I suppose everyone here is familiar with that.
- one of my recent favorites: string tension. The values given by the makers are not only for a specific (and not always stated) scale length but above all theoretical because they don't take elasticity into account. The effect of that will be mostly academic for steel strings, but with composite strings it's significant and means the actual tension when the string is stabilised on your guitar can be a lot lower.
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The wonders of synchromesh! Originally Posted by thelostboss
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A number of my friends had big-block muscle cars, back in the day. Mustangs, 442s, GTOs, etc; some died in them. my Old Man, after we kids had left the nest, wound up with a 386 cubic inch Catalina that would pass anything but a gas station, and finally a Grand Prix with more power and less interior room. this was before getting into rigged out pickups with all the trimmings. As I recall, American iron at that time was designed to go very, very fast and get to that speed at neck-snapping swiftness. Steering and braking seemed to be after-thoughts. Eisenhower's Cold War Interstate Highway System was their proper habitat. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Remember the opposition to seat belts?Last edited by citizenk74; 03-13-2022 at 08:38 PM.
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What’s funny about the reverence with which today’s car nuts hold those cars is that it’s grossly misplaced, to be polite. Look at the 0-60 and 1/4 mile performance of the original GTOs, 442s, etc - they were not as fast as is believed, even in a straight line. Hitting 60 in less than 7 seconds was rare except in the tweaked road tests done by most of the auto rags of the day, and a 15 second quarter was blazing. Today there are many generic sedans that will beat that level of performance. Originally Posted by citizenk74
Car & Driver was always at least a second faster than Road & Track with the same car because they dropped the clutch at redline, removed the loose weight etc. Real world street performance was nowhere near as impressive as a bone stock 5L Mustang or Camaro will deliver today.
It wasn’t that way with guitars. Even the “lowly” ply Gibsons etc were pretty fine guitars for fair prices, and the old ones still are. But we can buy great new guitars today at decent prices, which cannot be said for cars even before the pandemic. 7 and 8 year car loans are now common and necessary for many people to buy even modest cars new.
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My 1967 Firebird 400's (I owned both a hardtop and a ragtop) had 325 HP Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
My 1968 GTO ragtop had 350HP
My 1976 Trans am had had 200 HP
My 1982 Trans am had 145 HP
My 1984 Corvette had 205 HP
Back in the 80's, our nostalgia for 60's muscle was well founded as Smog requirements had made our muscle cars weaker.
But today, my 2014 Buick Regal/Opel Insignia puts out 290 HP with a turbo charged 4 banger and with it's lighter weight than my 60's muscle cars seems plenty fast to me. And I get 25 MPG instead of about 10 MPG. And the handling/steering and braking are way better than the cars of the past.
Nostalgia is a funny thing. Some of our ex-girlfriends who at the time were psycho bitches from hell now seem like sweet girl next door types.
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Yeah, but that Dodge sedan with, what, 900HP? Or the Chrysler wagon version.. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
BTW...
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
My 1967 Firebird 400's (I owned both a hardtop and a ragtop) had 325 HP
My 1968 GTO ragtop had 350HP
My 1976 Trans am had had 200 HP
My 1982 Trans am had 145 HP
My 1984 Corvette had 205 HP
Back in the 80's, our nostalgia for 60's muscle was well founded as Smog requirements had made our muscle cars weaker.
But today, my 2014 Buick Regal/Opel Insignia puts out 290 HP with a turbo charged 4 banger and with it's lighter weight than my 60's muscle cars seems plenty fast to me. And I get 25 MPG instead of about 10 MPG. And the handling/steering and braking are way better than the cars of the past.
Nostalgia is a funny thing. Some of our ex-girlfriends who at the time were psycho bitches from hell now seem like sweet girl next door types.
My first ride was a '69 Mercury Cougar XR-7 w disappearing headlights in the chrome grill.
That bad boy had a 351 Cleveland and felt like a rocket ship when you punched it.
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Test drive a twin engine Tesla - it'll open your eyes (and a few sphincters). If there's a Ludicrous on the lot, you absolutely won't believe how fast it is. And Road & Track said it was the best car they'd ever driven in snow. I bought my wife of 2 years a new ''74 Buick Apollo with a 4 barrel 350, "off road" exhaust, and a 3:73 limited slip - I had a '59 356 coupe, so we needed a car on which we could rely (although that $1500 Porsche never let us down). Her middle school students thought she was one bad @ss chick - it was fast and noisy, and we did love it. With studded snow tires, it could get down an icy, snow covered street without fishtailing, but winters were no fun. Today, it couldn't be a dinghy for a Tesla. Originally Posted by wintermoon
The times, they are a'changin'!
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Read yesterday that Subaru won’t be developing the STI with the current WRX platform using a gas engine anymore. (The current engine is 17 years old.) They will be moving toward EV.
In related news, lightly used STI’s are going for $49K these days.
I had a WRX. Have thought about getting another, but I’m enjoying my (manual) Miata too much. Maybe in a couple of years.
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That they are. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Crazy thing is that when I was still living in (the polluted air of) Paris, before I had any driver's license but also the 1st few years after getting my A license I was still a fervent advocate of cleaner engines, driving less etc. Enough to spend an unreasonable amount on a Euro-3 bike when those were just new to the market (summer 2007). If I'd known new ICE vehicles were to be banned in 2035 I'd have supported that fully, being (foolishly?) unaware of the price and ridiculous action radius EVs would continue to have.
It's not the 1st thing that convinces me I've been born at least a decade too late...
FWIW, I'm fully ready to believe a Tesla is close to the perfect driving machine, but maybe a bit too close to "crotch rocket perfect" (minus the horrible noise those 4ILs make). But how long is that going to be fun if you can only exploit a fraction of the car's capabilities? The earlier remarks about nostalgia and romanticising old cars notwithstanding, there's much more fun in a less perfect vehicle that you have to work with and that'll talk to you with sounds and all kinds of vibrations.
And while I still hate it when someone leaves a car idling (or plays with the limiter) within earshot I find I also hate those silent cars. As a pedestrian or bicyclist I don't feel safe around them, knowing how many distracted drivers there are, and how much distraction is offered inside those cars.
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Absolutely! That’s why I drive an FT86 and why its predecessors as my daily drivers started with a ratty 356 and included a few Minis, a bugeye Sprite, an MG Midget, a Fiat 850, a 124, etc. It’s also why my last and favorite motorcycle (after a Triumph 650) was a 2 stroke Yamaha RZ350. Originally Posted by RJVB
I once got a great deal on a stick MB 240D. Keeping up with traffic required rowing it with the shift lever - but getting the most out of that 60 hp car took skill, planning, courage, and endurance. Every trip was an adventure, even if only to pick up the kids. It was a new kind of fun for me, with a 4 year old and a 1 year old. I traded a Fiat Spider for it because the Fiat wouldn’t hold both kids (1 and 4 years old) and my guitar & amp.
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I got into C&D and R&T the year Phil Hill won the F1 world championship driving for Ferrari. Graham Hill took it for BRM the following year. Stirling Moss was my hero - the man could drive. Car and Driver, under editor David E. Davis, Jr., had the best writers - John Jerome comes to mind; and Road and Track had the best cutaway drawings. Hot Rod Magazine had the best ads - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was big (Mrs k remains a fan) and glass-packs and Moon Disc hubcabs were just a hefty Postal Money Order away. Fortunately Mad remained at 25 cents (Cheap!). To this day, I can still spell "Axolotl." Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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You should get a new 86/FRS. It sounds phenomenal. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I had scrips to all those mags at one time, including of course Mad Mag (RIP). I had an axolotl back in the 90's--super cool pet, but only lived about 6 months before succumbing to infection. I've since learned they are very susceptible to warm water temps and pathogens from other fish. Originally Posted by citizenk74
I got into C&D and R&T the year Phil Hill won the F1 world championship driving for Ferrari. Graham Hill took it for BRM the following year. Stirling Moss was my hero - the man could drive. Car and Driver, under editor David E. Davis, Jr., had the best writers - John Jerome comes to mind; and Road and Track had the best cutaway drawings. Hot Rod Magazine had the best ads - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was big (Mrs k remains a fan) and glass-packs and Moon Disc hubcabs were just a hefty Postal Money Order away. Fortunately Mad remained at 25 cents (Cheap!). To this day, I can still spell "Axolotl."
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I have a normally aspirated 1981 300D. Similar engine to the 240D but with an extra cylinder. It's slow, but a great car for these rather expensive times, and incredibly reliable. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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I joined SVRA in 1984 and was an active member for about 20 years. In the '80s, we recreated "Bahamas Speed Week" (originally run in the streets of Nassau for F1 drivers from 1954 to 1966, soon after the formula 1 season ended each year). Nassau wouldn't hear of it, but we were able to get the Grand Bahama Island tourism people to run with the idea. So we had a street course around the International Bazaar properties. As I recall, we did it in '84, '86, and '87. Sir Stirling (along with Brian Redman and a few more of our heros) participated in many SVRA events - those guys were wonderful to all of us amateurs. Originally Posted by citizenk74
Sir Stirling spent a lot of time with several of us, along with the lovely Lady Susie. I was one of the race officials and was lucky enough (along with my wife) to have dinner with the Mosses at a Pizza Hut one night during the '86 or '87 event week. I asked him why he thought he was so much faster and better than "normal" people behind the wheel, and he credited better than normal vision, reflexes etc. He told me he could watch the progress of other cars on the track around him, judge relative speeds even halfway around the track, and plan out a pass (including where on the track and in relation to the other car he was going to get around it) several laps ahead.
As was usually the case, some of the wealthier club members brought more than one car to each event. That year's event featured Formula Vees, and one of the guys lent Stirling a decent (but far from world beating) Vee for the main race. SVRA had (and still has) many top level amateur dirivers and even a few retired pros as members, so the competition was tight and fast despite the relaxed nature of a vintage racing week. The three fastest Vee drivers were fighting it out tooth and nail at the head of the pack for most of the race, while Stirling laid back a bit (as he and his pro champion buddies used to do to sandbag the rest of the field). On the next to last lap, the leaders were 3 abreast on a course only wide enough for 3 cars. So Stirling, who got up his momentum a lap or two before, simply drove onto the grass and passed all 3 of them with a wave of his hand on his way to the checkered flag.
Yes, he was black flagged. For you nonracers, that means the corner workers around the course waved a black flag at him. This is the universal racing symbol for "you did something really wrong and you're being removed from the race - get off the course NOW!" He made it look so easy that we all had our mouths open. It was the auto racing equivalent of handing Johnny Smith a ratty old guitar with 1/2" of action and a twisted neck and watching him play Moonight in Vermont exactly as it sounds on the record.
A close friend of mine found, restored, and raced the original Sebring Sprite that was raced by either Stirling or his sister Pat (documentation isn't clear on which of the matching cars was driven by each). He brought it to that year's event, much to Stirling's delight - and he let Stirling drive it around the course a few times for fun. But in the other races in which he drove, Stirling ran one of the Aston Martins he'd raced in the '50s. I shot about 30 rolls of film that week. Here are the ex-Moss Sprite and the two original factory racing Astons. As I recall, Moss drove the open one and Mike Salmon (another world class driver who drove those cars for Aston Martin when they were new) drove the closed one at this event.
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hi Ellen , Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl
Is the Indian FTR1200 a good bike ?
My mate is thinking of getting one ....
does the the battery go flat on you much ?
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Is it a good time to SELL a vehicle? I bought a gently used 2019 midsize pickup about 7 months before covid. I've put maybe 3,000 miles on it for a total mileage of around 21,000 miles. It's way more vehicle than I need, and I'm getting the sense from this thread that I might even be able to make a little profit on it. Thing is....would I be able to replace it with something smaller and cheaper, or would I just be overpaying for something smaller?
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yes, good time to sell Originally Posted by wzpgsr
yes, overpaying for something smaller
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Aha! It’s the good old catch-22! You can probably make some $ on the truck. My son has a 5 year old Chevy 3500 diesel P/U that’s worth more today than it cost him new. But finding another vehicle could be difficult, depending on what you want and how long you plan to keep it. Originally Posted by wzpgsr
New and used vehicles are commanding premium prices, with a few exceptions. The longer you keep it, the less a few extra dollars up front matter. But if you buy it for far more than it’ll be worth in 2 or 3 years, you’ll have taken a hit at both ends if you sell it then. Then there’s the likelihood of further price increases if you wait. Without a crystal ball, nobody knows - but most are predicting continued rises for most.
I just saw a list of the 10 new cars that have the longest average lot time from arrival to sale. The Genesis and a big Jeep SUV model stood out as potential deals. But most dealers’ lots are close to bare where we live.
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So true, nevershouldhavesoldit. And the same is true for many other big ticket items like homes.
A former neighbor sold their house of 10 years for a 200,000 profit. But now, they are finding out that they will have to get a much smaller house in the neighborhood they want to move in. Asking prices are just "starting points" around here, and the subsequent bidding war determines the final cost. They bought their house for around $250,000, sold it for over $400,000, but the house they want that is comparable to their old house is around $700,000 in the neighborhood they want.
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I'm sticking with my 2009 Forester. If I ever got a 2nd car it would be a bullet-proof 1985 Lincoln Continental;
Just for visits to California.
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This is at least a part of the problem. Lengths of payoff time and amounts that people can borrow just continue to increase as the price of cars increase. This both allows people to really dig themselves into an ever deeper hole, and allows suppliers to continue to charge more and more. If people didn't have access to endless amounts of debt, they would be better off and the supply side would have to adjust if they wanted to move any product by bringing prices to more affordable levels. Maybe that would mean that cars wouldn't be as luxurious, but do we really need that? Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Tony
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