balthazar

>>"I know some people think the aspect ratio is the actual height of the tire- I point to radically different size tires with the same aspect ratio, some still don't see it..?? "<< I've encountered the opposite. Years back, many 'hot rodders' used to say "I'm putting 60s on my Nova", meaning really wide tires. Add to this that some tires in the musclecar era were marketed with their then-new aspect ratios of "60", and the misinterpretation lingered long.

Thanks for the pics, R! Random: Late-model steering wheel is extremely disappointing to see- original acrylic job must've fallen on hard times (cracking). A/C but crank windows. Front bumper is waffled, parking lenses are available repro, rear grille is going to be $$ to have restored. Ponchoman49 will hate it for it's lack of bodyside moldings. How was the paint overall ?? The above makes me slightly nervous as to what other shortcuts were taken in the resto. F'ing gorgeous design, but the price is going to have to be great for me to stick my toe in the water.

Thunderbird V-8 in Fords for '56 was the 200/292, as opposed to the standard Ford V-8, the 173/272. Thunderbird Special V-8 was a T-bird option, the 215/312.

Yes;

Is that mercedes A-whathaveyou hatchback still offered, or did it flop? This thing is yet another slapping of the now-tired mercedes face onto a really 3rd-world looking econobox. I don't get what mercedes is doing... minivans, econoboxes... have they adopted the pre-war GM slogan of ' A Car for Every Purse and Purpose'??

Right! And when the drive-by media drops the harping on GM, circa 1980, we'll drop the harping on hyundai, circa 1990... but no earlier than the same number of years GM was kicked around. In other words, if the media stopped making references to the Vega, Citation & Cimarron TODAY, we would stop smacking around hyundai sometime around 2017.After all- the GM of 1980 is not the same car that we can go buy today. They have improved 10,000%.

Tire sizing is pretty easy once you see the definition. 225 is the tread width in millileters. 55 is the sidewall height : 55% of 225 (124mm) 16 is the rim diameter they fit. Tire height: 16" + 124mm + 124mm With interchangability, rim diameter obviously cannot change, but both width (225) and aspect ratio (55) can quite a bit and still be safe for a given width rim. With older tire aspect ratios (ie: 60s or 70s), the sidewall is taller, which allow more flexability in fitting a given rim. For example: a 6" wide rim should be able to wear a --say-- 195wide tire up to a 235 wide one. But with shorter tires (50s, 40s, etc)- there is less sidewall flex, and I would have to imagine the range of tire widths for a given rim width is smaller. Still, I would think a 225/55 and a 205/55 could go on the same rim.

... storm-mee wea-ther.....

Not familiar with the general area outside of Rt 539. If you get pics, please share. I am looking for a flip candidate...

Far TMI...

>>"I think it is very easy to tell the difference in 0-60 times. ..."<< There's a lot more to it that overall numbers: gearing, # of gears, torque curve... it's EASY to have feelings & make assumptions, but I'm telling you if you drove 2 different cars on the same day/road, you could not guess their 0-60 time within .3 sec reliably... and if the 2 were .3 sec apart- you could not tell which- it's all those other factors that are giving the impression. This is all academic- why would you buy a car you didn't like as well just because it could hit 60 .3 sec quicker? Are you a professional street racer? Does ANYONE drag these types of cars, or is it all merely about bragging rights?

It took bmw 2 years to add 3 half doors to an existing car ???

Sure don't look like nuthin' special.... then there's that's lazy 'H' on the hood. Make room, phaeton!

The SE-101 is a fascinating engineering story. PMD pulled in the engineer for the Doble as a consultant - really the best source left at the time. They did a very thorough job on the SE-101. BTW- the Doble is another fascinating vehicle history. Roger- is that that '63 you went to check out?? Did you ever get any pics of it?? I could definately be interested, of course it depends on 2 tiny little things... the car and the deal.

The quarter window/C-pillar/roofline says Bora, no?

It is physically impossible to dicern a 0.3 to even a full 1.0 second difference to 60 by the seat of the pants. So unless you are lined up on the dragstrip with your CTS 3.6 DI vs. a e550 and have similar reaction times, you will NEVER know how quick one is compared to the other. Or you memorize magazine test results. >>"i'm sure balthazar could give us the exact date..."<< Nah; it's Olds... I have never studied Olds much. I equate it with the early '80s and I have no recollection with any '70s 'FE'-suspensioned Olds'. EDIT... Got a print ad in my collection for a '77 Olds Omega SX with the 'new Omega V-6 Sports Pack', where part of the package was the "FE-2 suspension". That very well may be the first... I know the '74 442 had what was called 'Rallye suspension'. Close enough for you, 97GS?

>>"Before you go crucifying VW for still selling that thing, keep this in mind - it is their major fleet vehicle, sold largely as a cab. Ford Crown Vic, anyone? How old is that platform now?"<< Is VW really still building that relic somewhere? At least Ford hasn't kept the exact same sheetmetal for 25 years !! The only way anyone knows the CV has the same basic platform is because we read it.

I briefly fondled the bronze one. The green one, solid but unrestored & a peeling white, did not meet reserve at auction @ $230K a bunch of years ago. Once restored to flawless condition, it sold for $3.8M. The bronze one is in excellent original condition.

Sorry, I've been sworn to not divulge particulars as a condition of the settlement. Yes, that's her.

-- -- -- -- -- >>"A new discount plan from GMAC Insurance gives a discount on premiums to drivers of General Motors vehicles with the OnStar service if they let the insurer track the number of miles they drive. Other companies have been experimenting with similar programs, which is causing concern about how much privacy drivers may unwittingly give up in exchange for savings. The only information OnStar would share with GMAC insurance, both companies said, would be the number of miles driven each month. GMAC would use that information to help it calculate risk. Drivers must enroll in the OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics service to get the discount. The biggest discount of 54 percent would go to those who drive fewer than 2,500 miles per year. The smallest discount of 13 percent would go to those who drive between 12,501 and 15,000 miles per year. No discount would go to those who drive more than 15,000 miles per year. The plan will be available in 34 states, but will roll out in more states next year, the company said. OnStar currently claims over 5 million total subscribers. GMAC Insurance has been offering the discount on a test basis since January, 2004. So far, according to the company, 10,000 people have signed on. GMAC Insurance, which is 49 percent owned by General Motors, insures all types of cars, not just GM cars, the company said, but this program would only be available to GM drivers. Progressive Insurance offers a similar program in a few states. It's called TripSense, and it requires participants to plug a computer chip into a port in the the car's dashboard. The chip collects data, including the number of miles driven and time of day when the vehicles is driven. Participants remove the chip on a regular basis and connect it to a computer to upload the data to Progressive's computers. In exchange, they receive discounts of as much as 25 percent on their insurance premiums, according to the company. Progressive (Charts, Fortune 500) also collects data about vehicle speed, acceleration and braking, but that information is used only for research purposes, the company said, and it would not be used to set rates, or as a basis for canceling a policy. The GMAC/OnStar announcement may spur larger insurers to begin experimenting with programs like these soon, said Brian Sullivan, publisher of the insurance industry newsletter Risk Information. Spokesmen for State Farm and Allstate (Charts, Fortune 500) said their companies are looking into it. -- -- -- -- -- Complete article here: http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article...-save-you-money

IMO, it's quite hard to do a really great looking coupe, because most are so damned small. Not easy to design a fluid, athletic coupe when the lines are forced to turn sharply or end abruptly, especially with the current dumb-ass trend of highlighting panel seams as styling elements. I am more forgiving in general regarding a wagon because it's primary reason for existing is (supposed to be) functional, not asthetic. I'm trying to think of a coupe I like... G35 isn't bad once you get past the JC Whitney grille, but that's much larger than the G6, if I'm not mistaken. Nothing else is springing to mind.... I do NOT like the wing on the GXP, but I still see loads of wings on the street, even billet-armed stand-ups on the trunklids of accords. The front of this car is different but it's NOT ugly to my eye. Making the grilles half-height will only result in yawns of indifference from those who think the GTO is indistinguishable from a Cavalier. I will wait to see the G6 GXP in person...

Interesting that everyone seems to know about the '1 year only' aspect of the '67 droptop, but I have not noticed the values skyrocketing accordingly. Personally, I dislike converts, as the folded canvas trashes the lines of the car. I would much rather own a hardtop '67 than a convert... but I would rather a '62-64 (esp '64) over all others.

I ... touched one of them once. It was very sensual for both of us.

Pretty sure Pontiac does too; my '04 HD was built in Flint, but my brother's '07 3500 was built in a different plant- I thought it was Pontiac.

Do.... LGBT shoppers look for features or treatments in their vehicles unavailable elsewhere? Are there special deals involved for the LGBT buyer ('May I see your gay card, please?')? Is there any tangible difference in the vehicles involved whatsoever?? Then how, may I naively ask, could one's sexual orientation play any tangible part in car shopping? Unless this ALSO involves some sort of dating service, I don't get the neccesity of the association.