balthazar

Food for thought: "Laminated glass, which is two layers of plate glass with plastic laminate in between, is used on automotive windshields. It has been used for decades to keep objects from easily getting through the windshield and entering the vehicle, not the other way around. In fact, I have seen more than one hapless unbelted occupant of a vehicle propelled fully through a laminated windshield. Safety glass, which is designed to shatter into very small pieces, is used on side windows in cars. This type of glass is easy to shatter should you need to make a hasty exit from the vehicle, and that's a key reason it's put there. It also shatters into small pieces with very little "sharding," reducing the opportunity for serious injury from broken glass. Laminated glass requires a special saw to get through. With 12 years of experience, it still takes me five minutes to saw through a car windshield. If your car is on fire you'd prefer safety glass for this reason alone. Laminated glass also causes serious head and facial injuries to those who do full face-plants against the windshield despite seat belt warnings. It will have the same effect in a side window if an occupant is unbelted. Some automakers are putting laminated glass in the side windows of high-end cars, but this trend should be viewed with great caution. This type of glass does prevent people from "popping a window" to escape from a vehicle in an emergency situation. Two examples of emergencies of this type are vehicle crashes with resulting fires and accidents where a vehicle ends up partially submerged in a body of water. In both cases, the electrical system will likely short out and will prevent easy exit since nearly all cars now have power windows. Automotive glass should not be used to keep people in the vehicle. Using automotive glass as a backup safety feature would do more harm than good. Seat belts are to keep you in the vehicle, not windows."

BTW- sixty8; gotta say- LOVE that fat fendered design in your sig- I'd drive that the rest of my life if I could. Something right along those lines is just what I would have built if money was no object- F**k exotics and uber-overpriced tuner cars.

'33 Chevy Albanita. The body styling-wise was completely unique and definately advanced, but the primary purpose was a ride/ handling program, testing 4-wheel independent suspension. Albanita also had a unique monotube chassis (tho the productioin X-frame ultimately turned out to be much stiffer). Story goes that Chrysler actively photographed the Albanita at Milford Proving Grounds, to the point that one engineer took to carrying a shotgun during testing, threatening to shoot industrial spies. The Chrysler Airflow debuted for 1934.

Sorry- not a 'suspected' vintage version, but the very same §571.205. You might not have automatically assumed when you didn't know. Did you find yours at the source like I did?: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations...csr/571.205.htm I know- shocking that someone who has no idea what he's talking about would go to the entity that makes the rule for the definition of the rule, but I'm wily that way. Again, take up your 'silly' allegations with the DOT- it's their standard, not mine. I'm sure they'd be quite appreciative to learn they're lying & misleading.

>>"He said the bolts were on the front which is odd considering they are usually screwed into the differential cover at the rear."<< Yeah, it's commonly referred to as a 'front loader' differential. I'm familiar with them from my '64 Pontiacs.

That's all well & good for that one guy, but what about everyone else? They stand there, slack-jawed & glassy-eyed, waiting for some illegals to skin their cat for them. Remember; that's what happened to the Dodo.

evok- wow. We posted the same FMVSS and you're completely right and I'm lying, misleading and/or misunderstanding. "Again". I suppose you know my reasons for purposely lying to others here about a random safety standard, too. Dammnit; I'll have to be much more careful in the future with sharp sticks like yourself on the case, or my Master Plan will be thwarted.

I love BOF.

Let me refresh your memory of what I said: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard #205: Tempered glass: The reasons I cited are true. This is not me talking, just me repeating the general NHTSA, DOT, ANSI and SAE standards. Take it up with them, since they seem to know what they're talking about.

Not cramming in on the Rutgers bandwagon? I worked at their Homecoming game when they went -IIRC- 6-0 and my wife is a RU alumni, so I have to pull for the SKs. The game last week against Louisville was fantastic.

dammit. 1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. T 9. F 10. F 11. F 12. F 13. F

{ragged sigh}Windshields are laminated, side glass is tempered...FOR THE MOST PART. A niche-volume manufacturer offers laminated side glass and everything I posted is flat wrong, eh? Tho there are pros & cons for each type, but I would not want laminated glass splintering into jagged spikes right next to my face! You can pick up a handful of broken tempered glass & roll it in your hand without injury. Both types have been judged legally liable in accidents, BTW.

1. F 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. T 9. F 10. F 11. F 12. F 13. F

Do ya?

>>"Studfinders, laser levels, compact discs, coffee makers...... its called human evolution, time savers, etc."<< Technology increasingly enables the unskilled and the lazy. There is something to be said for being able to accomplish a challenge using less complex tools and a more complex mind. On topic- I find fobs in general to be an annoyance rather than a convenience.

Can't: windshields are laminated to keep them relatively visually clear upon impact (so the driver can still see where he's going)- side & rear glass is tempered: heat-treated to break into those little cubes- safer than laminated but obviously you would not be able to see thru a crazed tempered windshield if something hit you when still moving. No way to add lamination to tempered glass as far as I know.

I have no specifics on the armored DTS, but Cadillac does build a commercial chassis again- saw it on TV last year: strengthened DTS with HD suspension, brakes and wheels. DTS is a unibody, no? Putting the DTS FWD body on a independant RWD frame would not be an easy or inexpensive undertaking. 'Truck frame' sounds highly improbable (unless the armored DTS has frame rails hanging down below the rockers and giant tire-wheelwell gaps, then nevermind).

Interested to see the consumer reaction, tho I am disappointed at the unoriginality of the ubiquitous "L" designation. Cadillac is better than that.

I know what it feels like, a good friend of mine from HS was murdered 2 weeks ago by a wacko neighbor. Leaves a wife and 2 kids- the son found his father in the driveway when he came home from school. Awful, shocking & so utterly senseless. I hope they can pull it together and move on. Hang tough, dave.

Oh good- it's been a few months now since a good dose of toyota embarassment. Good to see it's 'steady as it goes' WRT recent quality problems.

What location in Pontiac regarding Pontiac is this? This is NOT the longtime PMD headquarters building, correct; that was abandoned some recent years ago IIRC.

What: I should change my opinion of them as idiots because they like a marque I favor's product?? They're still worthless.

I don't care what they like or what they don't like overall- they're still a pair of dim-witted twits. >>"Lienert & Lienert, a Detroit-based automotive information services company."<< a-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

That's the '55 Merc D-528. It was "designed and built to test advance concepts in air conditioning, seating, ingress and egress, lighting, front frame crash absorption and Ford’s first car without A-pillars". "it was assigned the name D-528, which meant the 528th "Design" project started at the Engineering Department." It survives today (if it isn't obvious the pic is current).

No, no, Oldsmoboi; BMW is God's bestest gift today, so it was God's bestest gift always. Look at that 325 interior above: a coal bin of plastic, plaid upholstery and banks of idiot lights. Nevermind that a Chevy Beretta out performed a 3-series in this era- BMWs are simply fantastagasmoric.