balthazar
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Everything posted by balthazar
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In a perfect world, I'd like to have, say, a 666 CI dual quad V8.
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I think my brother & I are fairly similar in personalities/approach, but my sister (the middle child) is a bit of a wackadoodle. We all get along very well regardless.
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So the company that charges $3K for a pair of replacement headlights is going to offer self driving for the same price??- 40 replies
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- 2
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- CEO Mary Barra
- General Motors
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Unexpectedly, thru a friend of mine, I talked to the guy selling this via phone today. I maybe go take a look at it just for fun, but already I can tell he thinks he has this parts goldmine.
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^ This is EXACT example of which I speak : dumbing things down to 1 or 2 (or 3) number/letters…. yet, incredibly, people are STILL confused! Does that mean OEMs should spoon-feed consumers with grade-school level advertising to 'splain' each of their 'systems'? I, for one, say NO!!" I say; give them "Eldorado" and let them sink or swim, as they may. But the current prevailing system only makes the (clueless) consumers AND the OEMs look like dolts.
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I have never understood the motivation to distill an automotive brand down to 2 words. Why box oneself in? And besides that; the exact same car can mean a multitude of things to different folk. More oversimplification / dumbing down of autos to the consumer, IE : "1/A/1A" means entry level, etc etc.
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Car From Your 'Soul' Year - What Would You Choose?
balthazar replied to balthazar's topic in The Lounge
^ I of course knew you liked 'em (the '80s Toros), just was wondering if that was your 'ultimate gravitation'. If so, kudos to you for obtaining it! -
I still occasionally use the verbige I saw on a sign on a junkyard gate years ago : "CLOED"
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Trains can and do stall if they're overloaded heading up a grade. The metal shavings make me think it could be wheel spin, but I have also seen similar things happening due to overloaded/overheating/failing traction motors that heat up the rail to the point where is melts. I did an image search and found this caption that went with the picture: The photo shows what happens when a train with multiple engines has the brakes applied, but one engine does not get a signal to shut down. OK, I can understand it if one engine is locked in place by multiple others with their brakes on. Operational malfunction. I don't think it'd be likely if a functional single engine had too much weight for a grade it'd sit there & spin divots into the rail- that scenario has to be largely impossible. Interesting occurrence, that's for sure.
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I'm stupidly drawn to this project... http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/5273002093.html
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Car From Your Birth Year - What Would You Choose?
balthazar replied to Cory Wolfe's topic in The Lounge
Hard to bypass the same concept as ocnblu, so... '66 GP : -
In companion with the 'Birth Year' thread, it might be interesting to see where your 'soul' points, automotively. In my observations, it seems most car people have a fondness for cars they grew up with, or vehicles that were common when they were in their teens. Never took a scientific poll or anything, but I never fell into that category; I've always been drawn to the '57-64 American era primarily, whereas I 'grew up' around late '70s, mid 80s junk (I'm a '66 model year). My topic, my rule; if you post multiples, they have to stay within an 8-yr span of time. In my top 5 of all time :
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Most of what I've owned has been vintage American, or in other words; displacement heavy. Current own 4 V8s: a "tiny" 3.9L, 6.5L, 6.6L and 7.4L. Everything else being equal yes; I'd chose a 'large' displacement engine over a smaller, artificially boosted one (tho my 6.6L is boosted ) I actually have liked all the turbo cars I've driven just fine, but conceptually the idea of a TRQ-heavy big CI motor just loafing at cruising speed is a bigger draw.
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Car From Your Birth Year - What Would You Choose?
balthazar replied to Cory Wolfe's topic in The Lounge
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GM plus?............. who should GM partner with? (Mazda?)
balthazar replied to regfootball's topic in General Motors
Project partnering is fine, but an actual merger/acquisition would primarily reverse 2008's downsizing. Gm still has a full plate, and as much as I would daydream for a return of some shuttered divisions; no. -
Here's my take. Hybrids / electrics, after 15 years on the market, are still under 5% of the market IIRC. SDCs still have numerous, tall hurdles to clear, not the least of which is legalities. 15 years from now, are they going to be doing any better than hybrid/EVs?? It seems SO often people are willing to speak on the concept meanwhile ignoring the numbers. It's like CUVs- they've only gained a whopping 5% in share over the last 6 years, but people sometimes talk about them as if it were a landslide shift.
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I have no doubt that some are already daydreaming about this, but implementation would require a Consitutional Amendment.
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Saves on tires ! : Doesn't ! :
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tee-hee; it's got nipples!
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^ You will always have the choice to drive whatever you want… tho one day that may limit you to vintage iron. Me; I'm perfectly fine with that.
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Iron Man's grandpappy, apparently :
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This is a great tip almost all of us are likely to find useful : iPhone users are going to have to download an app for this fix, tho.
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Dodge News: End of the Line for the Dodge Viper in 2017?
balthazar replied to William Maley's topic in Dodge
Well, Viper has sold 503 units YTD, Lamborghini 567 units. It's a very limited exotic- sales are inconsequential; not a valid reason. By the same token, the sales-weighted contribution of the Viper is like 1% of the corporate number, if that, so MPG isn't a valid reason. Viper legacy is built around the V-10, putting a Hemi in would downgrade it, so that's invalid. Alfas could never be made as a halo in the U.S., no; never. Hellcats are still not sports cars, but muscle cars, so that's invalid. Viper is alone in it's factory IIRC, so if FCA isn't using space there to build something else right now, that's also… invalid. Gee, 0-5 on that post. -
Life is hectic and we're all busy, but you've GOT to keep your ice blocks clean :
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What's a "weekend"?
