balthazar

If your evil twin whiteviper was here, he'd threaten you with a violent ass kicking for deviating from the topic at hand!!!

I'm with razor on this one, 100%. This is also something I made an informal study on for my own interests and I've reached the same conclusions & findings. Another take: 'headlights on' is supposed to draw more attention to another vehicle. I firmly believe the basis of this is that in the past only emergency/ fire/ police vehicles (and motorcycles) primarily had their lights on during the day for this simple reason. Sure it worked: it was different than the norm. Once every single vehicle on the road has lights a-blazing, the effectiveness will undoubtedly decrease tremendously. Know what this makes me think of- The Next Step: a light bar the encircles the vehicle 100% and it lit whenever the key is on. You never know- someone might miss a 16-foot motorcar in the next lane because he couldn't see any lights! :P. Mark my words people....

I owned a '72 Riv for a short while; it gave up it's 455/ THM400 & it's 4-note horns for my '59, but I was really getting smitten by that car. Too bad it was walloped hard in the rear quarter. My perfect Riv would be a '66 with a 455 StgII. '65 GS second, '72 GS 3rd, 79 S-Type 4th.

Tools really aren't all that expensive- and in even competant hands pay for themselves many times over (unless they're made in China!). I needed a 1.5" 3/4-socket & extension bar for the lug nuts on my '40; new they'd cost about $50 from Sears. Swap meet vintagte examples: $8. Even if I have $1500 in tools, they saved me $1000 in that brake job alone (only specialty parts: tubing bender: $4, flare kit: $50). I bought my 30-gal 5-HP compressor about 4 years ago for $269. I don't replicate hand tools with air tools, so I don't have a air ratchet, but my air-powered angle grinder cost me $39 about 10 years ago- still runs fine. I was brought up both to be thrifty and 'hands-on', and the two dovetail perfectly. My hobby is working on vintage iron and my time spent doing so is well earned & richly rewarded, IMO. I absolutely HATE being at the mercy of the stealership with a new car, being told something is broken yet never seeing the proof and forking over many car payments (whoops- haven't had any of those for over 6 years!) to have it repaired. I was this close to putting a new water pump on my I-6 when I realized there was this special wrench that was needed to pull the fan nut. I was NOT happy about that (local garage did it for $200). Perhaps I have been unduely fortunate, only non-maintenance task I did to my Ford below 110K was a steering box at 44K. Everyone is free to spend as much or as little as they wish on their cars (provided legal regulations/requirements are met). And I understand about living in a townhouse and having a family... still I pulled our apartment door knob to run an extension cord out thru the hole to the parking lot where I did all sorts of nighttime & weekend restification work on my old Charger Rallye 440 years back. And I must know 40 guys who also do all sorts of work on their vehicles too; welding, sheetmetal replacement, powertrain swaps, painting, etc, etc.... tho I won't argue your "99%" estimate all the same.

Right.... exc-eeeeept that far too many people confuse "opinion" with "fact" then claim others are ignoring what is in actuality... their opinion.'...were never built to handle' is something I've seen attributed to vintage A-Body GMs numerous times, and it has merit. Yet here in the revisionist New Millenium, we now have those who have seldom or never driven these vehicles claiming '...F-bodies were never built to handle' like it's so blatant & inarguable. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Agree also: B-pillars are much more disturbing than that picture.

Yeah, but he might've snuck a 3.8T between the fenders when you weren't looking. >>"You're no better than the ricers and import humpers that write off everything domestic as crap."<< The popular perception is so horrifically one-sided than indeed I am better for attempting to balance it, because it does not reflect reality.

And so... the nitpicking begins.

Yeah- thanks, I had NO IDEA what security cameras were about. But if you don't believe there's abuse & misuse in the security industry... it is to laugh, long & heartily. But to use your definition- Sixty8 should be in the 'clear': his intent was merely admiring an attractive woman, not planning an abduction or even profiting from the picture. IMO, it's only creepy because it was Sixty8, not what he did. (Jest jestin', 68!!!) Seriously, I believe it's only the camera's proximity to what seems to be an impervious environment (on the road, at speed). The shot is anonymous & non-intrusive. Again- no big deal. Thru a house window or walking behind someone would be much creepier. But we all have differeing defintions of 'creepy', needless to say.

I've never seen a Pontiac later than '68 wearing 8-lugs (last year they were offered), but there's really no "conversion" required. You need the hubs & drums: as long as the car you're putting them on has the same size spindles & compatable bearings, you're gold.nikivee: I like your collection! I currently have a 64-2957 and a 64-2369. I've owned 7 full-size Pontiacs between '64 and '66. Love 'em- the best of the '60s!

How did I know? Why put money into another's pocket's at $75/hr when you can do it yourself for free? I saved myself over $1000 last fall doing a brake job on my truck by myself. Nope: no hoist, either (tho I do have a pole barn). If a person has the money to fund the loan department, the service department and the state tax coffers by buying a new car every time the warranty dries up and eating the 60% depreciation- I guess that's their prerogative. But that's FAR more wasteful than a clear 6" around an engine underhood, wouldn't you agree?

Oh, sorry, your post just came off that way.Personally, I don't maintain a lot of one-way friendships, but I seldom lose touch with friends. Most I have I've had for many many years. I am a pretty good judge of character.

OG- I can relate: Dad had a commuter Dodge Colt years ago that was the same size (156"). I would never drive a deathtrap so tiny unless I was maybe in Wyoming.

Sure, and you worked on it all the time, right? Hell, I had a hell of a time just changing spark plugs on my '73 Charger Rallye 440 Magnum because of the big upswept manifolds- had to do it from below the car... and a '73 is a big car. You must've at least looked underhood of a recent mid-size transverse V-6 car, right? Yikes. Obviously there's a 'middle range' between the engine comparment of a '65 Impala with a 327 and just about any recent car you care to mention. Unfortunately, no one is building that today. I know most car owners today know more about woofers & tweeters than what/ where their spark plugs are/may be, but I don't want to play if all I have to do is pay. Ya get me?

You didn't think about this V6 Firebird: Yeah, that's what I thought. More practical, handles much better, much faster, worth much more, U.S.-legal. Oh... how sad.

Stance is nice, and the twin sunroofs make a lot more sense that the singular 'coin slot' on the maxima. That said; I really don't care for it at all. Lot of seemingly arbitrary details that never get cohesive for me. Yet it still manages to be another supporting example of the homogenization of modern upscale design.

Awful goofy-looking small car. Awkward emblem is luxury-car gigantic. I never thought toyota would be one-upped as far as getting the headlights as close to the A-pillar as possible, but here it is, unfortunately. 4-dr seems to be designed around a mandate to use the 2-dr roof stamping; most in the small car segment tend to try & maximize interior room instead of arbitrarily compromising it. If it wasn't for the stylistic goofiness of it, it would quickly get lost in the roiling sea of compacts. As that is, I don't see 'weirdness' garnering much marketshare from the established models.

So... about once per year you have to disassociate with a friend(s) because they do not fufill your 'friendship bylaws'? Why never any middle ground, Croc?

Plenty of counterpoints went completely unanswered and unsupported too. I suppose that's not "trolling" from that side of the table tho, is it? Because those counterpoints were all iron-clad and above reproach, not emotional & unilateral rejections saturated with personal politics.

random observations counter to popular perception: Wow- the mazda sure looks incredibly segmented & dated in those mug shots above! I thought this was supposed to be some sort of darling to FWD enthusiasts, a real hot commodity? Blorf- I just tossed onto my own shoes. Clean it up already! Looks like honda has some real mediocrity to work out in the brakng & handling departments... and what's with the accord outhandling the tsx?? Aren't these two trampling all over each other's markets & sales? I'd have a lot more comments if these KB-intense pages would all load for me...

Thanks again. Day 2 under the new number and it's settling in OK. I do feel more pressure to get back to work on my motor vehicle projects again, which of course is a good thing. I have commited to reuniting the body & chassis on the '59 2 weeks from now (co-ordinating a few pairs of helping hands). Anyone want to come over and play line worker for an afternoon??

Whaa- of course they were. Right from the beginning the Camaro was marketed as "the Hugger" (and no: that was not a reference to hybrid tech and/or trees). I have an article in my files on a '65 GTO turning 1.03 Gs. A stock s2000 outhandling a modified Camaro "by far"? I completely doubt it- the aftermarket for the A- and F-Bodies is tremendous and continually growing, and the basic handling hardware on the Camaro/Firebird is completely competent as a baseline. Fijan-- sorry buddy; sometimes the winter doldrums prompts us UV-deficiant car nuts to jump snarling at even the hint of a good argument. I completely understood the generality of the jpg above.

Thing of it is: in the "information age" most of us (tho prolly not WMJ up in the hills) are being photographed & filmed all the time: toll booths, drive thrus, banks, supermarkets, stores of all kinds, work, sporting events, etc, etc, etc, etc. I don't care about the 'legitimacy' of those instances; I'd prefer not to be recorded anywhere, but that's the nature of modern times and you cannot escape it. Add to that camera phones & camera iPods and camera sneakers and an internet where -for some inexplicable reason- everone seems driven to POST pics of what is usually the most mundane & utterly boring (myspace seems a handy example)... and everybody is taking everybody else' pic. Taking a clandestine pic of another motorist seems like absolutely no big deal to me whatsoever.

Much easier & cheaper to build a modified Camaro that can destroyed a modified s2000 in every catagory. Too much listed above is completely true (HP/L vs. HP/lb)

Well now... I'm gonna need more specifics on those 2 cars next time you go back. There are a few little things I'm still looking for...