Morning guys.
Went swimming with the family yesterday after work. Typically they go swimming during the day and my son, he's two, changes with mom, so he starts to follow her in. I called him back, and explained to him that since I was along, and he was a guy, we were going to change in the guys change room. In we go. There was one other fellow in there, who was promptly pointed out to me, "Look papa, a guy". Shortly thereafter, a guy came in with long hair, "Papa, look, a, a, a, a girl"!
Went and had the hoopdie saturn worked on today, discovered a hole in the exhaust pipe right by the front o2 sensor, so a new piece of specialized pipe that would allow for reinstallation of the sensor was welded in also a hole in the muffler but got by with muffler paste & was sealed, but the most interesting part was it needed to be fed, in the last week here in PA gas has climbed 15 cents to 2.10 a gallon, shot over to NJ and there it was 1.65 a gallon, and they pump it for you. I know PA is the land of taxes but for pete sake, we have that much of a spread just over the bridge......jeez !!
Afternoon Jim.
Doesn't really make sense, but I thought this ad was pretty funny:
Good ad.....with the Miata Drivers though they should say, warranty is okay until you take the sofa to the track.
Had me wondering if they would consider this for the US, searched and noted had responded to that question in 2014:
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/14/mazda-canada-unlimited-mileage-warranty/
Doug DeMuro from Jalopnik got a used Vantage in January and paid 3 or 4k for an limited warranty. Sounds a lot, but older Aston and has already cost more in fixes than what the warranty cost (though he did take it out in the snow without snow tires):
http://jalopnik.com/my-aston-martins-warranty-has-already-paid-for-itself-1758258987
Interesting..... But the only way that would apply to a car would be a museum piece, that you buy, but yet do not drive it , often.....
Saturday - Likely a do-nothing day here, though that's subject to change, local interruptions, et cetera. We'll see what we got.
Just discovered that the 74th Goodwood Members Meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. Enjoy!
Good to see some things from my youth, too bad in UK
12 hour of Sebring is running, but I cannot can the race broadcast app to work :(
The race is under red flag at the moment as heavy lightning required pulling corner workers in. First time it's rained at Sebring during the race since 1998. Fox Sports 2 is carrying it right now. Replaying early racing as they tired of wet pit lane interviews. Is Fox Sports Go the app you're struggling with or the IMSA web site?
Thanks, yep, seems like Fox Sports and IMSA are sharing the broadcast. I do not have a TV subscription though - not sure I can access Fox Sports Go without some kind of subscription password. Looks like IMSA coverage starts at @4pm my time, so should be good for when I get back from the gym.
The in car footage showed some serious rain - tricky stuff.
Anyone been watching the NCAA Tournament?
Watching Duke giving Yale a beat down.
Actually not a beat down now.
That was almost an epic comeback. If one or two three pointers by Yale had fallen we might be looking at a different outcome. How about Middle Tennessee though???
Syracuse beating Dayton helps Middle Tennessee. Let's see if they can get to the sweet 16.
Man the comments on the "Why do racers vote Repbulican?" article is starting to look like a bad Yahoo news thread. I've flagged probably 7 or 8 comments from people on both sides of the political spectrum. I know my political views get involved in some of the articles on here, but I try to tone it down as unless it's about government involving it's self in the Auto industry I don't think it has any relevence on these forums. I stated in my post that I think most readers at C&D don't care about why racers might vote republican, but I guess I was wrong. It seems some people care way too much, and both sides are trotting out the same tired old memes.
I've decided not to participate even though I do consider myself well informed.
Not sure what the mods were expecting with that thread. May as well wear meat shorts to the dog pound.
That's the truth. You see how contentious folks get just with just cars.
Think I will skip that article and coments.
A moderators nightmare...
It's not worth it that's for sure.
Do you have to moderate?
I decided to stay out of that. I thought it was a bad idea on C/D's behalf to post an article like that, especially during election season.
There are multiple moderators. Haven't had time for more than a quick scan. Wish they'd passed on it. Suspect they do too.
Are any of them active other than yourself? Some I've never seen a post from and others haven't been around for months.
Bought (thanks Jim) and installed a new backup camera. Easy-peasy.
For your MX-5? Can't you just turn around?
Suspect it was for the Hyundai.
http://ithaca.craigslist.org/cto/5474704556.html
Hmm, awsome or an abomination? I think it's pretty cool, I think a Chevy LT motor would have bean a better swap, lighter, more power, ect. The chrysler 360 is a heave engine. It would make this car very nose heavy. 4.11 gears means it was set up for the strip to me, at least I'd hate to drive something on the street with a 3 speed and 4.11 gears.
Most likely an abomination. As you say heavy motor that likely ruins the handling balance of the car. You need to be mechanically inclined with your own well equipped shop to even think about playing with something like this.
A couple of years ago saw a beautiful 911 that the owner had engineered a chevy small block into. It was well done and looked great but after hanging with him for a while he acknowledged the handling was terrible as the heavier engine had ruined the balance and even with added cooling for the V8 it was always too hot. He wanted to sell it but it was a tough sell for obvious reasons.
Point being, when you buy someone's one off oddball engine swap project unless you're a mechanic and fabricator there isn't anyone who will want to work on it but you and no one with knowledge to troubleshoot it because it's a one off.
Nothing wrong with a challenge if that makes you happy but a low percentage choice at best for fun reliable transportation.
Man I think dropping a small block into a 911 would be an abomination. I guess he figured a turbo wouldn't increase the power enough? I've wanted to swap an LS3 V8 into a lot of things. A 911 isn't one of them.
It was kind of a. "Because I can..." project that got out of control. Lots of power that you couldn't control because the nose would get too light. Remember those wheelie vans that had individual rear wheel handbrakes used to steer them down a drag strip with the nose in the air the whole way. This wasn't quite that bad, but almost.
A beautiful conversion but little practical use. The "Heartbeat of America" panel was under the front bonnet. :-)
Wow that's a lot of engine in the back of that thing, and not a light one either. Heartbeat of America indeed. He must have spent 30 or 40K on that, and there is no way he'd get that much out of it.
Variations on the 914 I saw at my first Cars & Coffee event. It had a small-block Chevy engine where its boxer-4 had been before. At least THAT was a mid-engine layout!
There are kits out there for putting a 5.0 into the E30. I've never driven/rode in one, but I hear the 5.0L isn't heavy enough to ruin the handling and the power addition makes for a pretty sweet ride.
That would make a lot more sense than a chrysler 360. Thats an old heavy lump of a motor.
Sunday - Probably more action at Goodwood today; I'll take a peek in a bit. Other than that, not a lot shaking.
Ford GT's finish Sebring, but Vettes win the class again. Haas getting a 6th place in their first F1 race was very good, but that Alsono crash (when passing another Haas car) looked scary reading the reports and seeing the pictures.
Missed it all, but heard it was raining cats and dogs not long after the start.
Amazing finish for Grosjean. Ok the red flag from the Alonso shunt helped but the cars behind, like the Hülkenberg Force India, weren't gaining.
Sebring was run like two sprint races with a 2 1/2 hour break for lightning and torrential rain in the middle. Because of several yellow flags toward the end of the enduro, all classes were fairly bunched up and closely contested at the end. The Ford GT is better but still has work to do if its going to be fast and reliable enough for LeMans.
F1 tried a new qualifying system that so backfired they immediately rejected it announcing a return to the old system for the rest of the season.
Hamilton was fastest at practice and qualification but blew the start falling back to 7th when Rosberg almost ran him off the track. Vettel had the best start of his life shooting past both Mercedes with Kimi in tow. The Mercedes led the first lap and Vettel pulled out a commanding lead with Rosberg pedalling with both feet to catch him and Hamilton keeping his head down trying to stay with and get around the six cars in front of him.
Kimi retired early pulling into the pits with fire shooting out of the air intake above the drivers head. Thankfully it was easily extinquished but his day was done.
Alonso knocked his right front corner off running over the left rear of Gutierrez and then flew 2/3rds of the way over a gravel trap before pinwheeling backwards and upside down into the barrier completely destroying the car. Thankfully they both climbed out unharmed but video shows how miraculous it was that no one got hurt. It was considered a racing incident as neither driver blamed the other and were just thankful to walk away.
Vettel's tire choice seemed to handicap him as he struggled and ultimately failed to catch Hamilton for P2 on the podium. Rosberg drove a perfect race and won relatively easily.
The big news was the first race for the American Haas team with Grosjeann producing a P6 finish. This was way above what anyone thought possible and was an enormous boost for that team especially after Guttierez's encounter with Alonso.
Though the results looked similar to what we saw last year there was much better racing at every level and the Ferrari's look much closer to Mercedes out of the box.
The qualifying was with the fastest cars starting at the back/middle? Why was it such a letdown?
So it was pretty nice this weekend & this morning we have snow falling and interestingly enough by thursday the temps soar to the 70's , man this has been a weird winter...
Monday - The little guy is here for one of his therapy stops, per usual. Other than that, nichts neues that I know of.
So my kids went to Pittsburgh to see Carly Rae Jepson in concert. Paid an extra $30 to get a meet and greet with her. The two of them created a giant card for her, with my son drawing a portrait of her (his artwork is amazing). This is the result:
Notice that this was posted by Carly Rae on her own Facebook page, before the concert even began. They didn't see it until afterwards. They're more than a little excited.
Gee whiz, couldn't guess why! [grin!]
You know who Carly Rae Jepsen is but hadn't ever heard 'Hello' by Adele? Okaaaay....
All kidding aside, that is pretty cool. Closest I've ever gotten to a celebrity were a couple of Panthers players I've seen randomly around in the Charlotte area.
OMG!!! :-)
A) She's Canadian
B) I wouldn't have a clue if my kids didn't tell me
C) If you want, you can call me maybe.
You have kids - you can imagine the screaming.
Very cool - your kids must be on cloud nine!
I've heard Hello once, cause I purposely listened to it on youtube. It was enough for me.
I gotta say though, I see that picture and see two girls posing with Bieber.
It's hard to look right on Backfires.
very good for your kids Al, they looked really happy meeting her
T-Minus 3 days and counting..... Medical staffs rarely confer with one another, boy that makes me feel so comfortable ....... not
Tuesday - Plates ordered, my guess is a week or so to get 'em here. Trying to think if anything else is on the docket today, and nothing is coming to mind.
Got to drive a 2011 E450 cube van yesterday, about 25 miles both directions. Needless to say, it doesn't like crosswinds. I swear I was holding the wheel at 30 degrees sometimes to keep the thing straight.
Like sailing a yacht rather than driving a vehicle.
Now you know how I fel driving our E-350, it too does not like wind
Finally somewhat reasonable rates for fast unlimited home interweb in Canada.
Who from?
Rogers. $65, 100mbp down, unlimited. It's a promo now on their website.
$65 a month???
RIP Rob Ford.
For those who dont know who he is, he's our infamous mayor who smoked crack/cocaine while in office.
Rob was kind of the John Belushi of mayors eh?
What does anyone know about the Suzuki SX4 hatch? The Vibe is nearing the end, and I don't particularly want to spend $20K on a replacement. I know Suzuki has left the building, but parts can't be that difficult to source I wouldn't think.
Still available in the UK, but not sure if it good or not:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/suzuki-sx4-1-6-vvt-car-review
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/suzuki/suzuki-sx4-s-cross-16-ddis-2013-review/
Sis had a Suzuki Swift for a time in the UK, perfectly fine car for the money. She swapped out for a larger car for kiddie duties.
I must tell you al, the Sx-4 in my opinion was a great car, however the hatchback model does not fair well in a rear end collision, If you want a SX-4 I suggest getting the sedan version ( also known as a Chevy Sonic ( same car as the suzuki but has a bowtie on the nose ), they are all over the place, and reasonably priced but I do not believe they build a extended hatch like your vide, you might consider the small GM cute ute, they seem to be very popular down here, I see them all over the place too
http://www.caranddriver.com/suzuki/sx4
http://www.edmunds.com/suzuki/sx4/
Looks heavy and underpowered for what it is. Have no first hand experience or even a memory of seeing one.
They're fairly common up here. "Heavy and underpowered" must be a theme with me, coming out of an AWD Vibe. Toyota, in its infinite wisdom, decided that after it added a couple hundred pounds of AWD hardware, it should cut the Corolla's 1.8L engine down by 10 hp. *shrug* My kids learned to time their passing manouvers well.
T- minus 2 days & counting, jeeez these doctors here have a god complex ...
Wednesday - Off to listen to the latest tweaks my friend has put into his sound system, and I'll be curious to hear what's happened there. Also, considering that he trusted me with his Mustang, I may let him see what mine does.
Did everyone check out the proto-type targa hardtop Miata thread? It's brilliant!
You should take the Vibe and Miata and trade up. Don't hesitate to consider the insurance and registration savings of going from two vehicles to one when justifying it.
Let me get these out of the way for you while I'm at it, you tend to struggle in this department:
-your kids are old enough to look after their own transportation needs;
-your wife can drive the Hyundai;
-For salt, car washes are $5; and,
-Winter tires.
Hmmm....all good points.....
While we are at it, what are your thoughts on the Mazda RX Concept? Interest you at all?
Read a few articles and watched the video last night - I think they surprised everyone with the Targa like design. I do not recall anyone thinking that the old PRHT approach would not work, but with the reduced length, was going to be difficult and so hat tips for a clever and awesome looking solution.
The thread had some interesting comments, noted lots of "I want"
that is kick a$$, but I would keep the top up all the time, I think it looks better
Nearly universal want. Much better implementation of a hard top from the old PRHT option on the NC. It looks fantastic roof up or down.
They have good sales of the old PRHT, think (hope) they will get the same here.
The old PRHT reportabled did not help much with soundproofing, but worked well enough, not take much space and added a 100lbs or so to the weight. This new one though, looks great which I think the old PRHT was so so looking....this new one has a good looking coupe affect going. Wonder which component manufacturer is helping with this? The old PRHT came from Germany I think.
Have never seen as much unanimous praise in any thread on this site before. Even the haters love it. Suspect this will parallel when the first gen Miata was introduced and you couldn't get one and the ones you could get were marked up. Like the GT350 and 350R's are experiencing now. The difference is I think Ford is limiting production on the 350's but Mazda won't on these so patience will be a virtue.
Makes you wonder how many folks that paid extra $$ for the ND Launch Edition are now wishing they had held back a bit. And like you said, I don't think I've ever seen such a unanimous response to a new car before.
Should I go in there and start complaining about the lack of power?
Not since the Aztek was launched!
Hey Lego, RBT.
Driving to work in rural Cali, I rarely see exotics - today was treat, nope not a sports car or anything like that, but a CTS-V wagon. Still looks great - wish Caddie would do a new one, would be great with the new design.
I thought the latest "attack" ad on Trump was hilarious.
I think the entire republican ticket is hilarious, for that fact the democratic ticket isn't much better !!
What ad?
Maybe not terribly appropriate but....
Could make a Huuuuuuge joke here but will refrain.
I'm SURE it's Trumps dance moves that got her to bed.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/21/serenading-donald-trump-singing-dancing-moos-pkg-erin.cnn
That's an attack ad?
Thats what I thought, I'm sure it swayed some voters...
Looks like Airforce One will be getting an interior redesign.
Swayed me. I might vote for him now.
John? Yer off yer meds, John! REALLY, John!
Maybe the attack ad worked in Utah, but failed or did the opposite everywhere else.
Sad how bad some of this GOP infighting is getting.
Do you want Bill to be first lady? I'm voting for first ladies. The actual candidates aren't nearly as compelling.
Trump could use that and make a pretty funny meme ad himself.