capriceman

Amen brother. I can't wait for this year to end. I have to thank either god or modern medical procedures for getting me through these past 2 months and hopefully i can go back to work mid January. I wish the best to all of you no matter what race or religion have a good and safe year

3k in a diesel is a little premature. you can go almost 15-20k.

Last 2 summers when the shop orders the machine oil from them we all pitch in and get about 20 cases and its really cheap that way about 2.75 a quart when all said and done

This reminds me i have the caprice rolled another 3k today. ugh. guess i will do the blower motor and oil Saturday. cause no heat in Michigan sucks.

Normally what ever is on sale. Its really all the same to me. Although, I use royal purplein the summer, i will order a couple cases of 5w-30.

um do you guys not remember the number of X bodies and Sprints GM sold? I loved my X body and my sprint. I say the Caviler/sunfire/sunbird and W/G bodies were pretty bad. the U bodies. caddies line up from almost 94-2003. buicks line up from 88-2006. pontiacs line up from 2002-2006. a mistake was the death of the B body should of just refreshed it.

While i agree with you for the most part you are wrong on these two lines. As BMW and Driver have brought up that the Yaris is a much better product than the Echo and tercel ever tried to be. And they ripped the wonder wagon and its sogan "What a Feeling" in a recent van comparo.

lmao yeah i think hitting potholes is a daily thing in Michigan. In Michigan an alignment is routine maintenance.

Thanks guys this is really helping me.

My life goals right now are own a 66 toronado, DeLorean, and (Koiensegg CCX i can dream right?). The other goal is to be happy and keep close ones happy. Maybe i will take a day off this week and go up north sit on some dirt road on the hood of the caprice and think it all through. i have many reasons either way. Another one is Safety. Sounds crazy but there are people out there to get me and its understandable I don't want anyone to pay for my actions. kinda of like Karma i guess. Till then i guess "I'm a fool for the city"

i would go for it. newish wheels and a somewhat proven powertrain. should last you years down the road.

sometimes i am the garbage truck... sigh

actually I have a lot in Alaska and have the complete layout of my dream home but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I kinda of like what i do right now i mean it challenges me when i get real projects instead of working on cars in our bays. I love my night time job working for warren S.W.A.T. but I don't like the fact that i could be killed anyday. it bothers me now. while 10 years ago i thought i was invincible.

money is not a issue by far. I bought this house for about 157 about a year ago. I hate having to much house its rather useless to have a 20 bedroom house for 2 people i like simplicity. I guess im looking for change whether it will be better or worse is it another "ball and chain" life style or will i have freedom. To be hones ti dont know what i want anymore.

I'm asking you guys since i consider you as family. not to be creepy or anything.

I have been really busy lately and decided to stop by toady, I'm shocked by how many new faces and articles are on here, makes me fell like a first timer. Most of you probably could care less about me but, a week ago I'm on a job sight figuring out a quote and such for some electronic switch boxes to control a underground "devices,"then a blackish A8 comes by im thinking damn...., must be the foreman or whatever." then he gets out and says Is there a Craig here? i go yes, I'm here for the quote, Is there anything i can help you with? He turns grabs me by the shoulder (I'm not a big fan of sudden movements like that i almost kicked his ass for that) drags me behind his A8, which i can't take my eyes off, and tells me his is from Lockheed Martin. I already knew this from his Skunk works logo on his jacket. I kind of get pissed in a rage saying why wont you guys leave me the F alone remind you I'm at well, Grayling military base (of all f@#king places in the world) with the Army Corp of Engineers around me. They all thought i was crazy then i had to explain to them that (for those of you that don't know) I was a Special forces sniper for 15 years from 85 to 2000 ever since there has been this "iron curtain" over me keeping me from the public. Which limits everything i do for many years to come because when i was 20 and had no where else to turn my life i joined the army and signed a contract about them owning me for the rest of my life. Once i finally left i got a normal job as a machinist and attend school to get my engineering degrees. last month my boss told me that a week after i was hired some guys approached him making him sign a release on me and allowing us to get military contracts which I'm always in charge of. How convenient right? Anyway this guy gives me like 20 pounds of folders and files and tells me he will be in touch. I get home and read through them Lockheed Martin wants me to move to either Texas or Colorado i think and work at one of there military research labs.(again Convenient isn't it?) I will make about $160k a year and get decent benefits and they will buy my current house for $160k. I make about 100kish now. the guys at the shop want me to go saying better your life but I'm thinking the grass isn't greener over there. Plus Then i ask myself what is true happiness and will i ever find it? Kim does not want to move either. It seems like it never ends. sometimes i wish i don't wake up. What do you guys think i should do. I really need some out side opinions. Stay where life is pretty simple or move to get more pay and hope for a better life.

when you drive a caprice people tend to let you go or back down and avoid you, but i try to nice to all drivers but prius's get abuse as well as asshole drivers. Also im a prick to some BMW drivers. mainly because a deep hatred or they are over zealous assholes.

yeah i flashed my 02 sierra but really haven't pushed it past 100. your right abouts its handling though.

Dragonforce anyone?

Because They have bills to pay and family's to feed. We are all not born with silver spoon in hand. And most factory's are in urban Environments where jobs are at a premium and incomes low. You have to realize unions where put into place when people where killed on the lines regularly and pay was dismal at best. Most Factory workers have sub par education because of there up bringing. Most of these people grew up with only eating dinner 3 times a week. College loans were rarely approved so its not like they could help it. Get out of your narcissistic world for a couple of minutes and think of the people the union was designed for.

How Many people here have actually worked on a assembly line? I take it few have. Its one of the worst jobs I have ever had. Sitting there for 10 hours a day doing the same exact thing 3 times a minute. it is suicidal. I only could stand it for 2 years before quiting. I stared off Welding rear axles on Caddy's then stamping hoods, then mounting doors before i finally couldn't take it. Its not as easy as you think its not like oh well i forgot a srew on that door they wont notice. everything has to be perfect. While things have changed over there years one thing hasn't that there still crappy 40-70 k a year jobs. Its not enough in this economy to live great. Its enough to buy a house in suburbia and have a newer car and that about it. No 100 ft yachts and Bentley's that all of you fantasize UAW workers have. The union started because workers wanted to feel safe and know there job will be there tomorrow. While I admit the UAW has stepped the line with several issues they are still entitled to Demand better working conditions and Benefits. Then after you slaved 8-10 hour day's 5-6 days a week for 30+ years then you can quit and are still payed a little and have health coverage for your 70,000 hours of work put into that company to help them turn a profit. Another thing is to remember happy workers means higher quality. If you have a bunch of average workers that dont care for there job quality becomes lost. It just makes me angry that all of voice your opinion because your pissed off that you cant have what a union member has. Yes I am part of a Union.Yes I made 148,000 last year but i have 2 degrees and a journeymen' card, a $h! load of certifications and over 10 years experience. Also working on a Electrical engineer degree but we will see how that goes. What I do in one week would probably take most off you over a month to do. I work with machines that cost more than your house. I am a master machinist, master welder and am SAE Certified. Last week I clocked more than 70 labor intensive hours. What did you Clock 40 sitting in a office at a water cooler talking about why unions suck? All you guys care about is the company on this site. In case you forgot a Company is run by workers. Its not like you can take workers out of the picture. Just try to get that through your thick skulls. And if you cant handle the union topic ignore it and continue your apathetic life.

So i should shut down my coal burning nuclear incinerator in my back yard?

Um If you need Ideas heres a paper i did on Electric cars about a 6 months ago. for some gay class to get a certification. Its only 5 pages, but you can link the EPA CARB and CAFE standards and crap to it, seriously you guys should watch Who killed the Electric car? its a very well done documentry while you will want to strangle some of the people in the film its very open minded. Excuse my 3rd grade writing but i got a decent score on it i think since my presentation was a hell of a lot better. Also having to explain every detail a million times. I hate stupid people. The Other Alternative, Electricity As the future approaches the mindset of the automotive industry is changing. Gas prices are ever increasing as emission standards are becoming stricter. Governments press for more stricter gas mileage regulations, but there is a way to avoid all this, its called electricity. It is a simple concept that has been around since the 1830's. It usually involves a power source like a battery, electronic controller, and a electric motor. Over the years there has been public interest, but very limited product availability. Though the real question: is it practical? Finally do electric cars have a future? Throughout the years automobile company's alike have been searching for alternative fuels and power sources, but have we found our permanent solution from electricity? In recent years country' have been slowly raising their required CAFE standards. “CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon, of a manufacturer’s fleet of passenger cars or light trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 lbs. or less, manufactured for sale in the United States, for any given model year.” 1 For example, to sell cars in 2012 in Europe your company will have to have a CAFE standard of 50 mpg. This is problematic to some companies because a lot of companies offer trucks and SUV's which are essential vehicles to a vast majority of consumers. Trucks and SUV's were never classified as fuel efficient vehicles. However the average truck gets a gas millage of 17 miles per gallon (mpg) city and 21 mpg highway. while economy cars get between 28 mpg city to 38 mpg highway. Also, diesels are getting improved mileage, but what about cars that don't use gas? Those car company's are rewarded credits that can be used to increase their CAFE standards. This would allow automotive manufacturers to not have to improve their other important vehicles. So what are these options that would allow for these “credits?” Well hybrids do get these as well as hydrogen and electric vehicles. Where hybrids only seem to be a temporary fix to appease the public until the company's alternative cars come out, this however won't be for several years as mentioned by numerous manufacturers because of cost and other issues. Although one alternative has been proven to be successful and cost effective to some degree, It is called the electric car. “In 1834 Thomas Davenport from America unveiled the first American electric carriage on a short track.”2 While this was a big thing at the time, no one really gave him much credit because the primitive technology gave the car dismal performance. “While who invented the first gas powered carriage is still a heated debate, it didn't show up on the picture till the 1880's.”2 “In fact 100 years ago there were more electric cars on the road than gasoline powered cars.”3 What happened? With the advent of mass production by Henry Ford, gasoline internal combustion engines (ICE) were chosen. The reason was because they were cheaper and easier to produce. Additionally gasoline was in abundance. Once mass production was around, the price of a gasoline car dropped to cost between $500-$1000. “A comparable electric roadster in 1912 cost $1750, while a gasoline roadster cost $650.”2 Also with limited technology the average range was about 20 miles. This is primarily the reason why the electric car never took off. Electric vehicles are very simple in nature, only requiring a minimum of 3 parts to make them work. The first and most obvious is the electrical source which is normally a battery. Then current is fed to the second part an electronic speed controller (ESC). The purpose of a ESC is to have some control of the throttle so it's not like theres is a “on off” switch which would only allow full throttle and off positions. This would allow a percentage of power to go to the motor, which is the the third part. The motor is the physical part which converts the electrical energy from the battery to raw kinetic power. However consumers demand other things than just the basics to get from point A to B, such as power brakes, power steering, cruise control, and air conditioning. Another element to consider is entertainment like the radio. These are the things that people have become so accustomed to that they would not be used to a car without them. Also a common stereotype with these vehicles is they are small and unsafe. In reality they normally are on the same platform as a economy car which now get high ratings in crash tests. For example, “a four door Ford Focus in frontal crash test received 5out of 5 stars from NHTSA. While a Toyota Tundra only receives 4 stars out of 5 from the newly release NHTSA results. Imagine that, being safer in a economy car than a pickup truck.”4 Being that there is electric power on the car already this enables all the features mentioned above to work. Without a ICE to pull a vacuum how will the brakes work? There are many ways for the brakes to work. One example is an ordinary hydraulic brake booster with an electric motor attached to it. Secondly there is something called regenerative braking (Regen). The idea behind it is that in a moving conventional car, the car has kinetic energy. When the brakes are applied the pads on the caliper close on the disc turning the kinetic energy into heat energy and it slows the car down. However in Regen braking the car uses that kinetic energy and changes it into electric energy to recharge your batteries. “This works because the ESC stops giving current to the motor and turns the motor into a generator. Then the ESC demands a current from the motor turned generator, the current demanded from it depends on how hard the brake pedal was depressed. Since the motor is now trying to supply a current this causes a load on the motor which uses the kinetic energy the car has to fulfill the ESC power demand. The load on the motor requires more energy than the moving car has, thus the cars kinetic energy is used up quickly to create electric energy which creates the drag in the drivetrain to slow the car down.”5 This allows braking to be adequate, for example “GM's EV1 was able to go from 60-0 in less than 160 feet which is acceptable in today's standards.”6 Also in recent years a new technology has come along called Electric power steering. “It uses high torque electric motors and ratio reduction gear boxes to provide more nimble and precise steering.”7 This will be powered off the cars main power source batteries. Another essential is heat and air conditioning, but without an ICE that produces heat how will this work? Or won't a electric heater element use a lot of energy? While those are issues with ordinary heat and air conditioning, they are not issues with a heat pump. A heat pump“is an air conditioner that contains a valve that lets it switch between air conditioner and heater. When the valve is switched one way, the heat pump acts like an air conditioner, and when it is switched the other way it reverses the flow of Freon and acts like a heater. Imagine that you took an air conditioner and flipped it around so that the hot coils were on the inside and the cold coils were on the outside. Then you would have a heater. It turns out that this heater works extremely well. Rather than burning a fuel, what it is doing is moving heat.”8 Having this very efficient and simple system in the car will easily replace ordinary systems and the differences will be subtle to the average consumer. Those are the only systems that really need to be modified to work in a electric vehicle. Other systems like the radio and cruise control are controlled by the on board computer. So if an electric car was parked next to a conventional car there would be very minor differences between the two from the interior and exterior views. Over the years there have been Electric Vehicle (EV) projects by almost every manufacturer, either as a concept or special project, but only one in recent years was a production model. It has been one of the most known EV's to exist. It was made by General Motors from 1996-1999, available for lease only, it was called EV1. While the styling is subjective, the structure and drivetrain were revolutionary. “The car only weighted 2200 pounds and 900 pounds of that were the batteries.”4 The EV1 was sold through Saturn dealerships in California and Arizona only. The lease was $250-$500 a month which is about the price of nice luxury car at the time. The reason why the car was made as well as other EV's from the time was because of the CARB mandate of 1990. CARB or California Air Resources Board proposed a law that stated, to sell a car in the state of California the manufacture had to have a certain percent of the cars sold be cars with zero emissions. Even though this was unlawful, manufacturers still participated in zero emission cars. Ford had the TH!NK program, as well as having EV Rangers. Eventually the CARB Mandate was overturned in a hearing. After that all EV programs seemed to have stopped overnight with no explanation. Although there is no Certain reason as to why this happened many suspect conspiracies. Even the EV owners protested for their vehicles. The most likely reason was that these projects were not profitable and loss of manufacturer interest ensued. As like in the early 20th century one could buy EV's but by the 1920's they were phased out because of cost, another reason they weren't successful. Although several companies claimed that they would make an EV, there were very few successful attempts until the 1990's. However, this year “Tesla Motors is selling the all electric Tesla Roadster at a hefty price of $92,000.”9 Unlike previous programs though you will own this car. Even other marques are seeing the possibility's of electric vehicles because the are starting to produce there own EV concepts. There are many groups that praise EV's that for a fee they can convert almost any car into a electric car, this may not be practical since the car was not designed to be a EV, but they are trying to get there voices heard about the wonderful solution of electric vehicles. So these cars have proven themselves as production ready. The average consumer will visit a gas pump 2 times a week depending on the vehicle the person drives, but what if all there was to do was to plug the car in the garage? Then next day drive the car around return to the garage and plug it in again. Plus with solar panel technology where they can be painted, would allow auto companies to integrate them into the vehicle. For example a 2002 Ford F-150 extended cab with a tonneau cover has 75.17 square feet of surface area facing the sky. Thats a lot of surface to cover with solar panel to charge the car while it is parked. Another thing is there could be specialty markets in the south united states, that would offer solar charging stations that could fold into a storage in the car. With technology where it is today there are batteries that can give EV's a range of 300 miles which is pretty impressive since thats the average range a conventional cars gets out of a tank of gas. While it only takes two minutes to fill a tank up with gas it can take up to 3-4 hours to charge a car full capacity which is a disadvantage. The batteries used now are Lithium Ion which are light weight and do not have memory problem which was notorious in lead-acid batteries. With the increased range of these vehicles there is a reduced need for a charging infrastructure which is a problem with current hydrogen cars. Are electric cars slow? Absolutely not! The Tesla Roadster has a 0-60 time in less than 4 seconds and the EV1 had a 0-60 time in under 8 seconds. This is faster than most economy cars. Plus the EV1 had top speed of 85 mph. So you can stay in the fast lane on the expressway. The cost to charge a electric car is not even comparable to a gasoline car, with gas costing about $2.50 a gallon. Estimates show that it cost about $1 to travel 75 miles in a EV. A gallon of gas will on average allow only 28 miles at a price of $2.50. These cars are no different then what is on the lot already. For a daily commuter car to work or to get groceries these cars are more than practical, they are convenient because in major cities there is a big trend in compact car parking and special vehicle parking right next to the door. The future of electric vehicles looks promising, with the Tesla Roadster hitting the streets and stronger strides towards zero emissions why would the EV not have a future. The fact that support groups approve of electric vehicles and there is an increasing demand for alternative cars and trucks prove that they will be successful if marketed correctly. Also they have been proven before because they were mass produced. Although Hydrogen fuel cell cars are very promising and versatile, the technology is just not here. They still estimate 10-15 years before those cars to be affordable and practical, while tomorrow they could build a EV and sell it. If they built EV's as a temporary solution until the fuel cell cars were perfected, it would take a lot of pressure off the fuel cell projects. Also it would please the environmental lobbyist. As the realization of the problems with fuel cells is recognized, the consumer market will see electric cars reappear as the zero emission solution. The one plausible solution to the next generation of vehicles is here already, it just has been overlooked too many times, Its called the Electric Vehicle. Automobile manufacturers have the technology and the capability to make these cars into a reality. Its very affordable and has list of customers that would line up to buy one. Also the major point is it is a zero emissions vehicle which would give them CAFE points so they would have less costly modifications to the rest of the company's fleet to meet the newer higher standards required by federal governments. The search for alternative cars and trucks may continue, but one strong answer is already here, it is called electricity. 1.Unknown Author and date http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/overview.htm 2.Sheldon R. Shacket The Complete Book Of Electric Vehicles Pages 3-5 3.Who Killed The Electric Car A documentary by Chris Pane 4.From comparisons 2007 Toyota tundra http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/news/tundranhtsa.html 2007 Ford Focus http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.a...amp;model=Focus All studies done by NHTSA Authors unknown. 5.Michael Shnayerson The Car That Could pages 17, 25-27 6.EV1 Clubs Performance FAQ section Unknown author http://ev1-club.power.net/ev1faq/ti1.htm 7.Delphi Electric Power Steering http://www.delphi.com/manufacturers/auto/c...g/electric/eps/ 8.Howstuffworks How does a heat pump work? http://home.howstuffworks.com/question49.htm 9.Tesla Motors Offical Site http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1 Bibliography Michael Shnayerson The Car That Could Sheldon R. Shacket The Complete Book Of Electric Vehicles Tom Denton Automobile Electrical And Electronic Systems 2nd Edition International Energy Agency Electric Vehicles: Technology, Performance And Potential Jim Motavalli Forward Drive Robert J. Traister All about Electric & Hybrid Cars Caroline Kettlewell Electric Dreams Chris Pane “Who Killed The Electric Car?” EV1 Club http://ev1-club.power.net/ev1faq/ev1faq.htm Tesla Motors http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/electric_power.php Article on paintable solar cells http://www.businessweek.com/technology/con..._1084_tc024.htm EV company http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560 Guide to Electric Cars http://www.evworld.com/evguide.cfm If you actually read it please at least tell me what you think of it i know its garbage and boring i wish i had the Power point still.

Mostly the 98-2004 bmw 5 series. I think the one right now is a 02 528i? i think. the driver was hot shotting it around some curves and floated the vales and destroyed the engine basically. basically where boring the block and putting a junkyard head and figuring out the rest later. I thought it was impossible to destroy a inline 6 but yet again i have been proven wrong. I think lack of maintenance is key in some of these tho any car should not have pure black oil especially a bmw with only 80k on it. Any way things have been pretty good in a way. for one I'm still here, Thats always good.

I think the rest of the b body will rust away before the engine dies. I plan out a 350 implant but the 305 keeps chugging along.