Today's Cars
shailynn
They never tell you what you need to know.
Over my lifetime I have driven and owned a lot of cars. My relatives owned a small used car lot when I was in high school and college and I bought and sold many cars. Over that time I bought and sold well over 200 cars. I've driven $200 pieces of shit, insanely huge pick ups, lamborghinis, rolls royces, and the ever so rare BMW Z8 of which only 314 ever made it to the USA. All of my favorite cars to drive were standards. I have never owned one as a daily driver and not sure that I would, but for now and then, they are awesome.
Today, I travel a lot and my preferred rental car is a Toyota Camry. In a lot of rural rental car lots, it's often the fanciest car you can find, so I usually stick to it even when I'm offered an upgrade. The other day I was in Cleveland and they didn't have any Carmrys and the bitch at the rental counter thought I was stupid and tried to downgrade me to a Volkswagen Jetta, Mitubishi Lancer or a Chevy Cruze. Since I was in a good mood that day I didn't complain and just took the Mitsubishi Lancer since my only other option was a Volvo station wagon.
After getting in that car, that was by far the biggest piece of "new shit" I have ever driven in my life. It didn't even have 1 single USB port or Bluetooth. Who makes a 2015 car without a USB port or Bluetooth these days? Apparently Mitsubishi does. Run away fast if you ever come across one of these cars.
Today, I travel a lot and my preferred rental car is a Toyota Camry. In a lot of rural rental car lots, it's often the fanciest car you can find, so I usually stick to it even when I'm offered an upgrade. The other day I was in Cleveland and they didn't have any Carmrys and the bitch at the rental counter thought I was stupid and tried to downgrade me to a Volkswagen Jetta, Mitubishi Lancer or a Chevy Cruze. Since I was in a good mood that day I didn't complain and just took the Mitsubishi Lancer since my only other option was a Volvo station wagon.
After getting in that car, that was by far the biggest piece of "new shit" I have ever driven in my life. It didn't even have 1 single USB port or Bluetooth. Who makes a 2015 car without a USB port or Bluetooth these days? Apparently Mitsubishi does. Run away fast if you ever come across one of these cars.
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36 comments
My 1972 Lotus Europa TC is everything I love in a toy car. Multi carbs, very light, quick off the line. exotic body, mid engine...they just don't make them like that anymore.
A Graduation present from his folks. Almost the best thing about it was buying it. Here are a couple of teenagers asking the price. Dealer comes up with it. Friend says we'll be back tomorrow with a check. Car guy, "No financing?" Friend, "No." Car guy, "Not sure how we do that!"
My friend died some years ago and had traded the car in on a truck. I did talk to his son about trying to locate it, but nothing ever came out of it. :(
I just bought a Lexus RX over the weekend. Haven't taken delivery yet so I'll let you know.
I jokingly suggested that we should get a Hemi so he could do his errands faster. We all had a good laugh, and the salesman (who happened to be the owner) told us about an indulgent father who had bought his son a Hemi for his 17th birthday a couple months before. One week later, he trashed the engine - racing in reverse!
Definitely a major league idiot, lol
You know that Lancer was one of the Chrysler A body names, for the station wagon version.
Sometimes though rent-a-cars are not kept up. I had an old Plymouth Reliant rent-a-car and it barely ran. Probably the spark plugs were getting burned away, as it was extremely hard to start. Also the lowest automatic transmission gear was way too high. 3 speeds only.
Otherwise most of the new cars I believe are okay. Mostly I have preferred low fuel consumption cars, and stick shift. I've always liked minimalist cars. Most of the new cars, even the smallest of cars, are still way too heavy in my judgment.
In future times, I might go for cars that are more for head turning, cars that are really just for show.
I take notice of rockstar describing his Europa. I've always liked those. No back window as I remember.
I have seen a BMW Z8 a couple of times. Neat, looking rather like the early 60's Corvettes. About $140k as I remember. V-12.
There was supposed to have been an 8 cylinder BMW Z5 also. Read about them in a magazine review, but never actually seen one. Like the Z3 and Z4, but just bigger.
Very few two door 2 + 2 cars made now, except perhaps by Honda / Acura. I would like to see these come back.
SJG
My son has a 2014 Subaru WRX limited addition. He had to wait 6 weeks to get it and paid $37k. I have a 2015 Mustang GT that I got immediate delivery on for about the same price. His is blue mine is ruby red. He has driven my Mustang and says that I'll beat him on a straight away but he'll take me on the curves.
Guess which one is the chick magnet? He doesn't even get noticed and I get it every where including at the Ford dealer.
SJG
Now she wants us to get an older 2 door wrangler so we can really lift it and get some massive tires so it's good for the OHV camp not far from us.
What makes me laugh my ass off every time are the rednecks around here who have an old suzuki and have it lifted with bigger tires or the guys in huntsville who actually lower it and have the low rider tires sticking a foot outside the wheel well. the rims and tires cost double what the vehicle cost.
SJG
Now remember, Focus is the continuation of Ford Escort, and it is not that little or that light.
But they say 2.3 L super charged to 350hp!!! And then with all wheel drive.
Now the same engine is available longitudinal in Mustangs. While Mustang's may be chick magnets, there is not much cabin room in them, on account of the large center tunnel. And then with the gas tank in the overhang, there is not much room in the trunk either.
Focus is huge inside.
But, only 4dr hatch back. No 2dr hatch back.
My own actual purchasing of cars has always been much more fuel efficiency oriented.
SJG
Gnosis - Secrets of the Kabbalah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppT8JK1l…
SJG
Fairlady Z? I though that was something you could only get in Japan, a special version of the 240 Z, but used by Japanese Highway Patrol.
http://www.carscoops.com/2010/06/rare-19…
Were you in Japan? Is this when and where you learned to love Asian women?
:)
SJG
And notice the mirrors mounted on the front fenders. I'd before taken note of this
http://www.carscoops.com/2010/06/rare-19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S30
SJG
We have some Viet Coffee Shops here with outside seating, and in that culture in general guys are showing off their cars. Though there those are usually BMW's and MBZ's.
:)
SJG
First, never in Japan. :(
The first Z I bought in '71. I got it via an Air Force guy that imported it here. It was destroyed in hurricane andrew in '92. It took years to find another. The '73 I went to TX in '01 and bought it. Not sure how it got here.
They were sold in Japan as normal Nissan's and imported here as Datsun's. A war thing I think. Both were right had drive. I got rid of the '73 when I needed room for my Harley stuff.
The mirrors were there because the streets in Japan are so narrow, at least that is what I've heard.
As for the pre Z roadsters, they had dual carbs, but often they would be swapped for Webers that gave the appearance of four carbs.
Well I mean the main thing is they have 4 air horns and they all open together. How many castings there are and how many float tanks there are is not important.
Most 4 cylinder cars fire 1-3-4-2, or they fire just the opposite. So if you hold up the crank shaft with 1 up, then 4 is up, and 2 and 3 are down.
So if you want two progressive carbs to work right, you need to put one on 1 and 4 and the other on 2 and 3. This can be done, but it is not easy.
So for example Trimuph TR4's can have dual carbs. They are screwy and they need some equalizer pipe or something.
Anyway, most 4 cylinder is one carb , one throttle body fuel injection, or 4 carbs.
Now on the inline 6 engines this firing order issue is not usually a problem. ONe guy I knew took the spark plug wires off of a 280zx and did not know how to put them back and so the car would not run. I helped him out.
But the Z cars with dual carbs, they are okay. No scavenging problem.
Some V12 Ferrari's had 2 carbs on each bank, some 3 per bank, and some 6. No problem.
Actually the screwiest cars for intake and exhaust issues are usually V8's.
I was also looking at pics of the Fairlady Z's, and those look to be 6 cylinder, but only 2.0 liters. Some looked to have 6 horizontal carbs.
But if those are like the regular 240Z, they are just a 4 cylinder version of the Datsun 510 and pickup truck engine. The valves and ports are all on the same side, and the cam pushes down on a cross bar to open the valves. The gap adjustment is on the opposite side of that cross bar.
But some look to be 4 valve per cylinder, for the Fairlady Z. So those must be completely different engines.
So I guess there are different versions of these cars. But what I did not know was that people were getting them in the US.
You buy a new car, then you are just a guy with a new car, and that wears off. But you find an old car you really like, a really special old car, then that will get more and more special each year.
You have good taste in cars.
You know that Nissan GTR, the 3.8 liter supercharged version of 350 and 370Z. Some that I have seen are also right hand drive, like they were made for Japan.
That is interesting that Air Force people were importing the cars. Never done anything like that myself. Interesting.
SJG
Mitt Romney's Warning
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/4/as_…
Mine were both 2 liter 6 cylinder. Both had two carbs, each feeding 3 cylinders. The one you saw "Some looked to have 6 horizontal carbs." may have been a Z432. It was a double overhead cam 6 with, as I recall 6 stacks. Quite rare, it seems.
SJG