Random Thoughts Thread

[ocnblu]

8 hours ago, dfelt said:

Mahindra 1 Cylinder truck hauls more than an F150!

https://jalopnik.com/this-mahindra-one-cylinder-truck-has-a-higher-payload-c-1822977934

You've been saying that a mini truck would sell here in the USA... this is PERFECT.  So bad-ass!

[balthazar]

13 hours ago, dfelt said:

Mahindra 1 Cylinder truck hauls more than an F150!

Only reason it's possibly capable of 1500 lbs is because it's so absurdly light @ 1500 lbs itself.
But you know the F-150 would easily haul another 1000 lbs with zero issues, meanwhile be an imminently safer vehicle on all counts. It must totally blow chunks to drive a Jeeto loaded. It's got almost 30 lbs/hp MORE than my '40 loaded to haul around (188 vs. 160), and the '40 has 4 MORE forward speeds to move out.

Edited February 15, 2018 by balthazar

[balthazar]

Lincoln sketch proposal done in '68 (for '70?) ~
[Yikes those blades look sharp!]

Edited February 15, 2018 by balthazar

[daves87rs]

10 hours ago, ccap41 said:

DCT would be fine if they do it right. 

And expecting people to know how to use it....most people just bang the heck out of the pedal....

[David]

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Lincoln sketch proposal done in '68 (for '70?) ~
[Yikes those blades look sharp!]

Better to slice down those people who think walking is better than driving!  

Very cool Hover car for the 24th century!

[Robert Hall]

I love how outrageous and exaggerated those vintage illustrations were...got some Pontiac and Cadillac styling cues in there..

[ccap41]

10 hours ago, daves87rs said:

And expecting people to know how to use it....most people just bang the heck out of the pedal....

I put that more on the engineering/programming side than the consumer. They already know 99% of people just get in and mash pedals around to get from A to B. It should be designed to work in those conditions. 

[daves87rs]

24 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I put that more on the engineering/programming side than the consumer. They already know 99% of people just get in and mash pedals around to get from A to B. It should be designed to work in those conditions. 

Sadly knowing some Ford Engineers, I would say no. In case we would have issues. Wife tends to get up and go, while I am easier on the gas. We took a hatchback for a decent test drive, and I noticed some issues when I drove it after my wife. The DCTs were more built for freeway driving, not so much city stop and go. It's why the trans is such a fail there....

Which sucks because it is very fun to drive and toss around....

[ccap41]

35 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Sadly knowing some Ford Engineers, I would say no. In case we would have issues. Wife tends to get up and go, while I am easier on the gas. We took a hatchback for a decent test drive, and I noticed some issues when I drove it after my wife. The DCTs were more built for freeway driving, not so much city stop and go. It's why the trans is such a fail there....

Which sucks because it is very fun to drive and toss around....

Wouldn't that be their fault for not knowing that people aren't the easiest on the throttle? Shouldn't they know their clientele? 

The Ford DCT was built for sh!t. lol Mine is okay but it definitely has it's faults. The thing I find the most odd is that when cold it acts just fine. No shuddering or slipping or anything. Its when you'd been driving for a little bit and everything is up to temp that it gets wonky. 

[trinacriabob]

It is very effed up to walk up to any sort of local, state, and federal building and see the flag at half mast and then ask yourself if an important person who has done something positive died (1) at a traditional/older age and/or (2) due to natural causes.  Then, you scratch your head and remember that it's yet another one of those heinous events.  On this side of the pond, these seem to be too common now, as are those sorts of analogous events we read about in the Middle East carried out by fanatical civilian zealots.

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

[balthazar]

[David]

Poor Cadillac, RIP!

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

Poor Cadillac, RIP!

It's a '57 Chevy 4dr, looks like.

[balthazar]

[David]

48 minutes ago, balthazar said:

 Where is the Auto Love from the owner. I just do not get this use and throw away attitude. So much lovely metal going to waste!   

[ocnblu]

 

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

 

Very interesting.....

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

The valet would be looking for DAYS for that one!

[balthazar]

[Drew Dowdell]

Thinking about a mild performance upgrade for the Toronado..

[balthazar]

The Toro would explode if it were in the same zip code as that blower.

[ocnblu]

Requires planning.  But I think it would fit under the stock hood.

[ocnblu]

 

[daves87rs]

12 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Thinking about a mild performance upgrade for the Toronado..

 

Might need some wings too....

[daves87rs]

6 hours ago, ocnblu said:

 

Never get tired of that vid....

[David]

14 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Thinking about a mild performance upgrade for the Toronado..

Sweet SuperCharger!  

[Robert Hall]

For a supercharger that large, you would need a big block...a really big block. 

[balthazar]

'60 Cadillac station wagon (long wheelbase) ~

 

Short wheelbase version ~

Edited February 18, 2018 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

So, I lament the departure of the Buick Verano.  Well, the situation is "summery" elsewhere.  In Europe, it continues as the Opel Astra (not to be confused with the miserable Pontiac Astre, the Vega's counterpart).  Over there, the side profile is unmistakably that of the Verano.  The front end looks like that of a Hyundai Accent.  Can't tell what the rear looks like.  The dash is unmistakably that of the Buick, but without the faux wood.  That effect seems to be waning in popularity.

Since this is the Italian site, there is no icon of the Union Jack that you can hit for an English translation.  As the bottom left is the icon for "configuratore," which is where you build your own.  If you're like me, you click on the option that says "automatico" or "automatica."

http://www.opel.it/veicoli/gamma-astra/astra-sedan/caratteristiche.html

[balthazar]

 rode past my local Buick / GMC dealer and spotted 2 Veranos- going to check them out.

- - - - -
Another beautiful Cadillac 4-door coupe (tho I prefer the 'Western' low bed style immensely) ~

[David]

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

 rode past my local Buick / GMC dealer and spotted 2 Veranos- going to check them out.

- - - - -
Another beautiful Cadillac 4-door coupe (tho I prefer the 'Western' low bed style immensely) ~

Cool looking pickup? what was this designed for by Cadillac? Curiosity has got me.  

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Cool looking pickup? what was this designed for by Cadillac? Curiosity has got me.  

Funeral home flower car.   Built by specialists on a Cadillac commercial chassis. 

Edited February 19, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[daves87rs]

Here comes the rain again....looks like a nice flood coming the next few days....

 

Though maybe we will get an early spring here!

[Robert Hall]

26 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Here comes the rain again....looks like a nice flood coming the next few days....

 

Though maybe we will get an early spring here!

Heavy rain last night here..supposed to hit 60 today, maybe close to 70 tomorrow... the light snow from a couple days melted, my back yard is muddy w/ standing water in places.   

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Built by specialists on a Cadillac D-body (Fleetwood 75 chassis).  

Not exactly.
Series 75 was 150" WB (in '58). Series 86 commercial chassis' had no bodies, were 156" WB. In other words, they were not converted from Series 75 limousines.

Here's some '41 CC's for example- note the crates of other body parts/trim on the frame.

[Robert Hall]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Not exactly.
Series 75 was 150" WB (in '58). Series 86 commercial chassis' had no bodies, were 156" WB. In other words, they were not converted from Series 75 limousines.
 

 

Whatever...wasn't the commercial chassis and the Fleetwood 75 chassis the same some years?  Maybe later...

[David]

https://www.volkswagen-media-services.com/en/detailpage/-/detail/World-premiere-of-the-ID-VIZZION-in-Geneva-Volkswagen-shows-the-potential-of-its-new-range-of-IDmodels/view/6263949/7a5bbec13158edd433c6630f5ac445da?p_p_auth=kYDRWB9n

ID Vission to be shown at the Geneva show looks like an S-class EV competitor in terms of size at least. Excited to see real pictures.

Have to say that I am excited by VW ID EV auto line.

[trinacriabob]

If a person checks out the Wiki site for the Olds Intrigue, the head of design was Brigid O'Kane.  She was with Olds for quite a while, including a stint at a design center in California.  She has three degrees in design and is (currently) the interim director (if I read it correctly) of the School of Design at the University of Cincinnati.

She had to move the Intrigue from the more space-like Antares concept into a final design that would work on a W-body and also sell.  I once again saw that the car is not a GM of Oshawa product, but of the Fairfax plant around Kansas City, MO.

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Whatever...wasn't the commercial chassis and the Fleetwood 75 chassis the same some years?  Maybe later...

Maybe '77-84. It wasn't prior to the '77 downsizing tho.

Edited February 19, 2018 by balthazar

[balthazar]

For Ocnblu; a duck, Bill ~

[ocnblu]

Slept wrong, horrible neck cramp.  One leg.  And still taking life like water off a duck's back.  Inspirational! 

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

Ok, so for years, I see a certain type of VW go by and I assumed it was a Passat of sorts, but sleeker.  Turns out it's a CC.  Even thought it's got 4 doors, the acronym CC stands for Comfort Coupe.'  These cost quite a bit more than the Passat.

I see these more than I see Phaetons.  Phaetons look enormous for being VWs.  What's the general on-the-street sentiment on CCs and Phaetons as far as popularity and dependability go?  I'm guessing that the CC rides on a Passat chassis and that the Phaeton rides on an elongated Passat chassis?  Not sure.

[Robert Hall]

IIRC, the CC is on the Euro Passat platform (not the current US one) and the Phaeton was on the Bentley Continental platform (maybe also shared w/ the Audi A8 from 10 years ago?)

A former boss of mine had a black on black CC, nice car...used to ride to lunch it..was tight w/ 4 people inside, though. 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[ykX]

Watched last night an episode of Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars getting Coffee" on Netflix.  He had 1965 Buick Riviera.  I am usually not into that kind of cars, but boy this car is simply gorgeous.  Pictures simply don't do it justice.

Edited February 21, 2018 by ykX

[David]

LOL, NJ trucker uses fishing line to pull up license plate to evade paying as he rolls through turnpike payment booth. Police did catch him and demoed the license plate pull up.

 

[Robert Hall]

Back in 2000, I remember a buddy of mine accidentally let the plates expire on his Suburban...he took the back plate off his Porsche 930 and put it on....leaving the airport parking garage at Denver, the guy in the booth commented that his front and back plates didn't match...my buddy, was like 'Really?  I didn't notice..'.... I think he eventually re-registered the Suburban, but he drove around like that for at least 6 months.  I was with him when this happened, we had flown back from a tech conference in San Francisco..