Any car enthusiasts here?

the outside looks stunning, but the inside resembles...something i can only describe as the automotive equivalent of "a face only a mother could love", something designed to appeal to the tasteless gaudy nouveau-riche...and noone else.

blehjhhhh
i own a 1999 lexus ls400 myself. i changed the oil today and i think i set a new personal record for amount of times spilled oil, there's 3 big oil stains on my driveway now. nice going, tara....
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הייתי צוללת עכשיו למים
הכי, הכי עמוקים
לא לשמוע כלום
לא לדעת כלום
וזה הכל אהובי, זה הכל.

the outside looks stunning, but the inside resembles...something i can only describe as the automotive equivalent of "a face only a mother could love", something designed to appeal to the tasteless gaudy nouveau-riche...and noone else.

blehjhhhh
i own a 1999 lexus ls400 myself. i changed the oil today and i think i set a new personal record for amount of times spilled oil, there's 3 big oil stains on my driveway now. nice going, tara....
yaaah doing your own oil change too cool ... my current daily driver is a kia limited edition van... it just goes and goes ... happy as a clam in me van. Little customizing here and there but only i would notice
_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,

the outside looks stunning, but the inside resembles...something i can only describe as the automotive equivalent of "a face only a mother could love", something designed to appeal to the tasteless gaudy nouveau-riche...and noone else.

blehjhhhh
i own a 1999 lexus ls400 myself. i changed the oil today and i think i set a new personal record for amount of times spilled oil, there's 3 big oil stains on my driveway now. nice going, tara....
lol
_________________
HFA/ASP, Synesthaesia, Tic Disorder
Dear_one
Veteran
Joined: 2 Feb 2008
Age: 77
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,721
Location: Where the Great Plains meet the Northern Pines
I grew up with subscriptions to first Hot Rod Magazine, and then Road & Track. I loved the tech articles and spent a lot of time drawing suspension geometries. I enjoyed drifting a lot, but not sheer speed. Then, for economy, I re-discovered bicycles. After some years, I built my dream car from scratch, and with just a few tweaks it won the World Championship for Practical Human Powered Vehicles, although it was mainly built to demonstrate new principles in lightweight, simplified chassis construction. I thought it would lead to a career, but I got sidetracked on marital problems instead.
Then, I went rural for economy, and had to get a car again. I have averaged under $200 PA for parts and depreciation. I currently prefer the 2nd generation Suzuki Swift 3 cylinder variants. I used to scoff at 3 cylinders, until I realised that only one piston stops at a time. I consider them absurdly big and heavy for my needs after my velomobile, but I have fitted a full camper interior. I could wait out a week of rain and emerge ready for a job interview if necessary. Next up is HVAC, using recovered engine heat.
These days, even at 45 MPG every trip feels like a guilty pleasure, even though I combine errands to the point of exhaustion (hence the bed.) I still get the trade magazines, and there is a lot of buzz over autonomous cars, and over making individual parts lighter, but nothing at all about radical ways to make them cheaper, safer, more convenient, etc, since selling identity signals is so much more profitable.
Then, I went rural for economy, and had to get a car again. I have averaged under $200 PA for parts and depreciation. I currently prefer the 2nd generation Suzuki Swift 3 cylinder variants. I used to scoff at 3 cylinders, until I realised that only one piston stops at a time. I consider them absurdly big and heavy for my needs after my velomobile, but I have fitted a full camper interior. I could wait out a week of rain and emerge ready for a job interview if necessary. Next up is HVAC, using recovered engine heat.
These days, even at 45 MPG every trip feels like a guilty pleasure, even though I combine errands to the point of exhaustion (hence the bed.) I still get the trade magazines, and there is a lot of buzz over autonomous cars, and over making individual parts lighter, but nothing at all about radical ways to make them cheaper, safer, more convenient, etc, since selling identity signals is so much more profitable.
brilliant..... you are my unoffical hero of transportation . have often admired the early geo metros and some suzukis .. was very worried about natural balance or inbalance of a 3 cyl motor. but 45 mpg was pretty good for those earlier vehicles. Cannot help but smile.. at the thought , i had bought gasoline at 25 cents a gallon USD .. Wondering if it was significantly less , when you purchased it .. insert smile here .. please. Now have had some interest in
vapor projects , had experimented with it when was 18 yrs old .. believe have a working design now.. but circumstances surround me.. appear to conspire to create repeated set backs/diversions ,, when ever have tried to refocus on that project. Good for you and your efforts .. would wish to endeavour enevitably to perhaps share info on this topic , in the future . please.
Good on You . ty for info here.
_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
I am paying around £1.30 to £1.35 per letre of fuel (I have a little diesel car which is relatively economical and due to nice torque it pulls well as well).
I like cars. My little car has a little Mercades engine in it. Is a 4 cylinder. My brother has the same car but his has a little 3 cylinder petrol engine in it. I think all in all they probably both cost about the same to run as I may have a slight edge on the mpg, but as petrol is taxed slightly less, overall both cars work out about the same. The diesel feels more powerful, but the little 3 cylinder petrol engine has a lovely raspy exhaust note and feels highly tuned even though it is in standard form. It revs and revs and even with four or five adults in it, it zooms along!
They are both nice little cars to drive.
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Dear_one
Veteran
Joined: 2 Feb 2008
Age: 77
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,721
Location: Where the Great Plains meet the Northern Pines
brilliant..... you are my unoffical hero of transportation . have often admired the early geo metros and some suzukis .. was very worried about natural balance or inbalance of a 3 cyl motor. but 45 mpg was pretty good for those earlier vehicles. Cannot help but smile.. at the thought , i had bought gasoline at 25 cents a gallon USD .. Wondering if it was significantly less , when you purchased it .. insert smile here .. please. Now have had some interest in
vapor projects , had experimented with it when was 18 yrs old .. believe have a working design now.. but circumstances surround me.. appear to conspire to create repeated set backs/diversions ,, when ever have tried to refocus on that project. Good for you and your efforts .. would wish to endeavour enevitably to perhaps share info on this topic , in the future . please.
Good on You . ty for info here.
Thanks. GM bought Suzukis to meet their CAFE mandate, and sold them as Geo Metro, Chevy Metro, or Pontiac Firefly. The US got the super-economy XFI (still trying to get a cam from one) and we Canucks got one with a turbo. They are still one of the very few cars weighing less than a ton, and one of the last that are easy to work on.
Canadian gasoline has always been taxed much higher than US. I did see the first gas pump in southern Canada with an extra number pasted on, when it went over $1.00 per litre.
I used to drive a car on propane, and I recall Smokey Yunick being keen on gasoline vapour near the end of his brilliant career. If I were into engines, I'd get an electric supercharger, and run it as a generator most of the time instead of using a throttle plate. The numbers look great.
I like cars. My little car has a little Mercades engine in it. Is a 4 cylinder. My brother has the same car but his has a little 3 cylinder petrol engine in it. I think all in all they probably both cost about the same to run as I may have a slight edge on the mpg, but as petrol is taxed slightly less, overall both cars work out about the same. The diesel feels more powerful, but the little 3 cylinder petrol engine has a lovely raspy exhaust note and feels highly tuned even though it is in standard form. It revs and revs and even with four or five adults in it, it zooms along!
They are both nice little cars to drive.
sounds of distant applause on the mercedes 4 cyl diesel. Admires diesel engines but scared of injectors...loolz.
_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
auntblabby
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Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,281
Location: the island of defective toy santas
Many years ago I owned a 1970 Hemi Cuda.
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A very unique plan. As Dr. Paul Thompson wrote, "This is the very best paper on the virus I have ever seen."
yup can understand that...... am ,, very close to get my old buick on the road , manual steering and transmission on the road as a daily driver .. it floats along the road aswell. just got stumped by this right front brake and now winter has come , and have no inside space to play with its personal parts .
been on its crutches for almost a year now.
_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
auntblabby
Veteran
Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,281
Location: the island of defective toy santas
best car i ever was lucky enough to own in my working days, was a 2004 toyota avalon taxi model [split bench seat in front, column shifter]. it was basically a japanese buick, but it handled somewhat better than any buick of the time. it was the quietest smoothest car i'd ever owned.
auntblabby
Veteran
Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,281
Location: the island of defective toy santas
yup can understand that...... am ,, very close to get my old buick on the road , manual steering and transmission on the road as a daily driver .. it floats along the road aswell. just got stumped by this right front brake and now winter has come , and have no inside space to play with its personal parts .
been on its crutches for almost a year now.
what model year is this buick of yours? for it to have the manual bits, i'm guessing 50s model?
brilliant..... you are my unoffical hero of transportation . have often admired the early geo metros and some suzukis .. was very worried about natural balance or inbalance of a 3 cyl motor. but 45 mpg was pretty good for those earlier vehicles. Cannot help but smile.. at the thought , i had bought gasoline at 25 cents a gallon USD .. Wondering if it was significantly less , when you purchased it .. insert smile here .. please. Now have had some interest in
vapor projects , had experimented with it when was 18 yrs old .. believe have a working design now.. but circumstances surround me.. appear to conspire to create repeated set backs/diversions ,, when ever have tried to refocus on that project. Good for you and your efforts .. would wish to endeavour enevitably to perhaps share info on this topic , in the future . please.
Good on You . ty for info here.
Thanks. GM bought Suzukis to meet their CAFE mandate, and sold them as Geo Metro, Chevy Metro, or Pontiac Firefly. The US got the super-economy XFI (still trying to get a cam from one) and we Canucks got one with a turbo. They are still one of the very few cars weighing less than a ton, and one of the last that are easy to work on.
Canadian gasoline has always been taxed much higher than US. I did see the first gas pump in southern Canada with an extra number pasted on, when it went over $1.00 per litre.
I used to drive a car on propane, and I recall Smokey Yunick being keen on gasoline vapour near the end of his brilliant career. If I were into engines, I'd get an electric supercharger, and run it as a generator most of the time instead of using a throttle plate. The numbers look great.
now you have done it.. new info on electric supercharger as a throttle..
was told that did not work,, but it made sense to me.... too.. and cool on smokey Yunick reference. but if you draw off available vapour in vapour area , then could get lean or backfire ,, so am not really brilliant on this ,, my thoughts on vapour production is probabily pretty rudimentary. .. by pass , backfire plate , if necessary for safety. But if could operate un interrupted could prolly suss this stuff out.. <<< 1951 buick >>>straight 8 motor with basic carter carburetor was , possibly going to be a candidate..
Am officially jeolous of your Avalon....
_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
auntblabby
Veteran
Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,281
Location: the island of defective toy santas
