One for Jef and RC

Sweet, but man that truck probably scored some dingage!!!!!


That thing looks HUGE! I wonder how efficient it is.... You know that V8's are not known for that, but I was surprised a long time ago when people told me how crappy some of the motors used on these, and other small devices (trimmers, lawnmowers, hell, even Mopeds) really were.

I wonder if this thing actually uses less gas than a store bought Craftsman.....

And it corners better than Phucks Shellby....

That's to say in a non drift manner?

Man. could I ever have a blast in the neighborhood with that thing!!!!!

Posting in the Other with your computer specs in your sig rewards you a visit from a Wingding.

Viva La Revolution!

Wouldn't the GTI be cheaper, with the same chassis (basically) and drive train as the A3?

So you like 'hard pull aways' do you Vok? Think I've got the perfect model for you...

I can't remember. But I won't be amazed if it excluded labour.

We even had a guy here who popped his turbo also on a STI. Down shifted into high RPM too often and we all know pressure is a biatch...

Some people buy these machines and want to drive it like their previous car, a Rabbit for instance. Best was last week where a guy in Pretoria bought a brand new GTi 6 days after "getting" his lisence. He drove the car out of the dealership in a straight line right into the opposite building. I suppose it was a DSG because only an idiot would get a manual to not stop but then again the DSG only has go and stop...

Imagine his insurance company as he most likely insured the car that same day.

Direct Shift Gearbox. Basically two gear boxes that change gears up or down (auto or flappy shift). So one gear box is active and the electronics predict which gear is next (lower or higher) and as such keep the spare gearbox at the prediction. When the time comes it's transferred from active to spare freeing the active one to spare. Both run off one clutch. Makes for pretty fast gear changes.

It's not that hard for the prediction. It's largely based on the engine requiring less or more. In the case of more, when you at high rpm and accelerating it's easy. Even mid RPM range acceleration = gear up. If you maintain that RPM it's stuck between both worlds. Downward from that RPM assumes lower but when throttle is applied it can quickly change seeing that two gearboxes are present as opposed to a pure Automatic gearbox.

No, not yet. And I doubt I will - manual is for men. Auto for old men or gays.

It's not advisable to play with yourself while driving.

Kind of like this little gem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuB_K_y18oY

My only concern with Audi/VW is their long-term reliability has been (very) lacking the last few years. Subi's are dead reliable, until they hit 100k, then turn over your gold card, the repair place will need it. Renault? 'Nuff said. Do you have anything else to choose from?

Pisser about my Honda. 98,585 miles and nearly 6 yrs to the day, it had its first failure. God...er...Mugz damn drivers side headlight burnt out this AM...Honda's are so boring. Always start, don't break, blah, blah, blah...[/1:20am drunken rant]

OK, not the best of cars, but this has lasted nicely.

Mazda MX6 LS, manual, '95 (first year for body style change).

Almost 14 years old, but at about 86K miles (I commute using Mass Transit, NYC).

Bets and plugs replaced, Brake pads once, and one of the front axle rods needed replacement (the seal cracked and was leaking. Metal started grinding, and the joint got loose).

Aside from the trunk hydraulic rods fizzing out ($130 apiece for replacement? Fuggetaboutit), that is it so far.

I hope my next car performs this well!

It's a shame too as VW's and Audi's are really nice cars. I was so close to buying a GTI but got cold feet and got the Honda. Plus the GTI's stick sucked. Cable operated and it never let you forget that...

The workmate that drove me down south for the training I was on recently is a big fan of running old budget cars. 1.9D Golf which now has ~160k miles on it. He picked it up a couple of years back for £800 at ~110K miles and has spent less than £400 on it in the last 2 years including tyres and servicing.

It might not be sporty but it ate the 220 mile motorway run and given the UK love of speed cameras we'd not have been any faster even in an M3. It's a shame that so many new cars will just not be something your average Jef can service themselves.

On similar lines, my ex boss had lots of problems with his electric windows. He had it looked at and the only way to fix it was.... a new ECU! £1100 to fix a fcuking window on a car that cost him £10k. Airbags are another great innovation that whilst saving lives are killing second hand cars. The units have a fixed life span and should then be replaced.

I think it's Hyundai that are doing a 5 year unlimited mileage / finance package where you effectively just rent the car for five years and give it back. The whole market is moving towards a fixed lifespan product.

Edit: Cleaned up post.

Fixed.

It pains me to see where they're headed. They make world class suspensions and drive trains, then mux it up with "clever" gadgets. Why would a driver's car have the need for all that crap? If you want to be distracted, buy a Merc. Otherwise, drop all the crap, and save a few hundred lbs.

Friend of mine just lost his 94 (I think) Ford Escort GT. Someone pulled out in front of him and he Tboned them. Car had 483K miles or so, and the most he had to do to it was something along the lines of a head gasket or a broken lifter. Engine repair but not replacement.

The car looked like hell before the accident, but he puts on a lot of miles through work and the car never quit on him.

So after the accident he got a '93 Escort GT as a replacement vehicle. He also kept the old one as they would have given him $1200 to junk it or $800 for repairs, and he figured he had more than $400 worth of newer parts in it that will mostly swap over to the "new" Escort.

I hate Fords, and I know that that's not the normal life of an Escort, but it's still an impressive story.

...*polishes 7-series proudly*...

Wouldn't it even out though? Still need a computer, sensors and the like.