Endo

They should build up love for teh Solstice in Japan by winning some drift events :-> 

185959[/snapback]

http://www.driftlive.com/?p=124

Check it out

The track time might explain why the Solstice won the SCCA

Won the SCCA? Which event did it win. The SCCA runs a huge number of different racing series.

I'm pretty unsatisfied with both of my computers right now.

My desktop is pretty much a Frankenstein hodge-podge of newer parts (motherboard, processor...) and parts from previous computers (hard drive, RAM...). The thing is pretty slow by today's standards and it been grating on my nerves for a while.

The Compaq laptop is much faster (2.8GHz Pentium 4, 512MB RAM) but is an unreliable POS. The power connector broke, the keyboard and touchpad are dead and the montior has some dead pixels. Not to mention it gets hot and is loud as hell.

So I've recently been looking at alternatives for the future and came across a pretty good-looking deals on Alienware and Mac G5 computers.

Now I have very little Mac experience so I'm more curious about them. The specs look good, though. Here's one for $650...

http://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/sys/157420955.html

If I go Mac, will I go back?

As for Alienware, I guess I just want to know how reliable they are.

I've got an Alienware. Took a few weeks to get it after I ordered but I've had it for almost 3 years with no problems.

Why are you looking for a high-end computer? Since you're considering a Mac I assume it's not for gaming.

By the way, a scary amount of liberals believe September 11, 2001 was good, too.  Just go to any college campus or Hollywood.

I live on a college campus. Where are these people you speak of? I've never met any.

This is absurd. How can one country be "united" when two languages

separate the population.

Perhaps you should ask Canada,...

or Switzerland...

or India...

But seriously, these immigrants (or at least their children) will learn English, just like all the previous immigrants to this country. My Grandfather was born in this country to German immigrants and still he didn't speak anything but German until he began school.

This "Nuestro Himno" isn't a big deal. It's not even a direct translation, just an inspired song set to the same tune and designed to get people on both sides riled up and/or pissed off. Looks like it worked.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestro_Himno

"This is not the first time that the National Anthem has been translated into another language by ethnic and immigrant groups in the United States. In 1861, it was translated into German [3] (and is also on that page in Latin). It has been translated into Yiddish by Jewish immigrants[4]and into French by Cajuns.[5]. The website of the US State Department also has been providing mutliple Spanish versions of the anthem. "

o rly?

How come our unemloyment rate is getting worse. I know alone 12 freinds that lost there jobs in the past year. And they werent fired and not even in the auto indusrty!

Hate to spoil your rant, but unemployment in the US has gone down in the past year. In fact it's lower now than it has been since early 2001.

The car is incredibly light already.  Try flying over bumps in that thing going 60... it just doesn't feel right.

Incredibly light? The thing weighs 2900 lbs. That's the same as the Buick Century in your sig.

AutoExpress is British so that's 113 Imperial gallons which comes to 93 mpg American.

http://tunertuesdays.autoblog.com/2006/04/...t-with-100-mpg/

If they manage to significantly improve fuel economy and performance that will be quite impressive and a huge seller. Still at least two years away, though, so this might all be BS.

I imagine they'll want to lighten the car quite a bit to achieve those new numbers, which is great because modern cars keep getting fatter. Time to buck that trend.

Endo:

I'm pretty sure the price differance between the Corvette Z06 and Evo8MR is less than $45.

The MR is like $34K is it not?

Could be, I was thinking of the RS model which I think starts under 30 whereas you'd be lucky to get a C6 Z06 for under $75K. Either way, they're both amazing but completely different cars.

And as for the 'Ring, I was thinking in particular of the main straight, which is well over a mile long. Looking at that map there are several kilometer long straights.

Thanks for the sales pitch, lol 

AWD is great for stability, but when it comes to long straights and high speed, it really takes its toll in terms of drivetrain loss. Put a skilled enough driver behind the wheel, and stability won't be a problem they can't handle, otherwise the Corvette wouldn't have been able to get its very quick 7:43 time.

This is true. The Nurburgring is twisty but it has some very long straights where a higher-powered car could shave off quite a few seconds due to its high top speed.

One situation that would favor an AWD car over a high-powered RWD car should be on shorty, twisty courses, such as SCCA Autocross but a quick check of SCCA Stock classes shows the C5-C6 in Super Stock and the Evo one class lower in A stock. The C6 Z06 is so fast that it's not even allowed in the Stock Classes!

So the C6 Z06 is definately quicker than an Evo around pretty much any dry, flat, stable course, but then again it had better be quicker for the extra $45K you pay. They're both amazing cars, let's not quibble about seconds around a track.

hmm... kinda reminds me of the older Mustang GT's. They had 4.94 liter engines but big shiny "5.0" badges on the side.

The problem is that the death penality is inneffficent the way it is done today...I think they need an instant death penality---the judge sentences, then five min. later a bullet to the  head...

I'm definitely a bleeding-heart liberal, but I have no problem with a more efficient system of terminating convicted murderers, pedophiles, car thieves, etc..

[post="57759"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

So what about the people that have been proven innocent on new evidence after their original trial ended in a conviction and a death sentence? In the past 30 years over 100 people in the US have been found innocent while awaiting execution on death row. You have no problem with executing innocents along with the guilty just to make sure we get them all?

I hear a lot of talk here about "what if someone you loved was hurt or killed, wouldn't you want to kill the bastard that hurt them". What if someone you loved was executed for a crime they didn't commit? If someone has been put in jail and isolated from society so that they can do no more harm I see no reason, other than a sadistic need for vengeance, to kill them.

Isuzu Aska

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu_Aska

Scaglietti bodied 1959 Corvette, the brainchild of Caroll Shelby.
283 Fuelie and 400 lbs. lighter than the standard model.

"Pathetic V6?" 

Have you EVER driven the Honda 3.5L V6 in the Pilot, MDX, or Ridgeline?  I bet you haven't....it's a sweet motor, quiet, refined, with good power and a torque curve that feels like it's been nicely boosted on the low-end (compared to the 3.0L car-version.)  In the C&D comparo (June '05), Ridgeline shot from 0-60mph in 7.9 seconds....that compares (C&D, Feb '04) to Silverado (8.8), Ram Hemi (8.0), F150 (9.3), Tundra (8.8) and the Titan (7.6) was the only one to beat it. 

[post="46087"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

But OC it's a V6... obviously it's inferior to a V8... it's 2 less ^_^

And mounting it sideways... what losers. All the other trucks will laugh at it for its transaxual orientation :lol:

I see they had to choose the "e" model BMW to compare against. These models had a longer stroke and slower engine speeds to increase efficiency while retaining horsepower. Torque suffered however.

[post="45616"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The "e" used a 2.7 liter engine instead of the 325i's 2.5

The e actually had slightly more torque but significantly less horsepower. It was designed for fuel economy, the i was the sporty model. The 325i would probably be faster than the Volvo.

And what the hell is 0 to "legal speed"? 55?

That's only part of it, not the entirety. It has to be overengineered and intended to work. It can also provide comfort & convinence, but it must be able to work beyond it's capacity and last doing so.

Recently I looked in the manual to see how much my F-150 is rated to tow. A measely 2300 lbs. Oops: last summer with 130K on the clock I towed 5400 lbs 45-minutes, bringing my '40 Ford COE back to my house from my brother's. Many other times I have towed double the factory rating with no strain or struggle. That's a 'truck'.

[post="45599"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

My friend and I did something very similar once, towing his stalled 3500 lbs. Taurus 15 miles back into town with his '88 4-cylinder Toyota pickup.

What makes you think the Honda can't do the same? I imagine any truck can tow more than its limit, you just risk breaking things every time you do it.

Oh goody! Camaro shaped sheet metal on top of a tube frame running around in circles for 3 hours. :rolleyes: Or are they actually talking about requiring Busch series cars to bear some passing resemblance to their factory namesakes? I'm sure a new Camaro could compete in the Speed World Challenge and other road racing series, especially if GM threw some factory money behind it. Or maybe a Camaro drift car? Afterall, Camaros are well know for smoking the tires.

Did I single you out?  No.  I wasn't even talking about you.

[post="45198"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Then maybe you should be more specific. You posted right after me and bashed the Ridgeline's defenders. I made a very logical assumption.

What I want to know is why are there so many GM haters here?  If you don't like GM cars and trucks or think they're inferior to the almighty HONDA RIDGELINE : THE KING OF ALL TRUCKS!!!!, why waste your time?  You're just going to keep getting foreign bashers no matter what you post.  Are you really that surprised?

[post="45161"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Yes, I said the Ridgeline isn't the pile of crap that many board members claim it to be. That makes me a GM hater and an import worshipper :rolleyes:

The FACT that Honda recently cut Ridgeline production and the FACT that according to the same article it isn't selling to expectations should be enough to support my opinion.

Unless I read the article wrong.

(P.S. Thanks evok for trying to keep me grounded :))

[post="45016"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

So sales success determines a vehicle's quality? You must really love the Toyota Camry then.

Grassroots Motorsports recently reviewed the Ridgeline. GRM is probably the most unbiased mag I read. They recently had an editorial bashing the Prius and other hybrids that could have been written by you, FOG, and they love the Ridgeline too, so I'm rather unconvinced of your vast media conspiracy. Did it ever occur to you that Ridgeline might actually be a good truck for all those truck buyers that don't regularly go offroading? I know I see plenty of trucks around here that probably never even see a dirt road.

That is frick'n sweet. Everybody remember, though, the Solstice isn't that light. Throw a V8 into the mix and you've got something that doesn't weigh much less than a C5 Z06, only the Corvette would have bigger rubber to handle all that power.

Grassroots Motorsports

If you get an LT1 consider Edelbrock for heads intakes and a big ol' Carb. Also get some nice exhaust.

Or if you want to do some frame work and not have A/C get a zz572ci For one reason, out of the box with either 620 or 720 horsepower on pump gas. Thats not even supercharged!

O Chris I beat a new mustang and a twin turboed civic in my 90 caprice with the stock 305 not even the 350. so...........

Also they have a smooth ride even tho the SS has stiff Suspension its better than a modern Caddy.

[post="37158"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

A TWIN-TURBO Civic? Right :rolleyes:

Besides the fact that twin-turbos on a 4 cylinder are pretty much pointless and almost never done, your 305 Caprice could not best a stock late-model Civic Si in the 1/4 mile, let alone something with a couple turbos attached. Anyone willing to blow that much money and effort on a twin-turbo system surely has an extremely fast car.

I'm guessing you were mistaken when you looked under the hood. Either that or the Civic had some SERIOUS tuning problems.

Speaking of round tailights...

1957 Prince Skyline



GT-R Proto



Vastly different cars of course, but big round brakelight, little round reverse light on both.

Why is it that nothing that officially comes from Toyota, sounds like it's the whole truth?

[post="31116"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Nothing that comes from a large corporation sounds like the whole truth. They all have people on their payroll who's sole job is to make the company look good.