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Thread: The Car Thread

  1. #91
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    Well, regardless of the reason, I almost feel like America has lost part of it's soul with so many lesser designs. It almost seems to me that we once dared to try different things, and now we just want sameness and convenience. I would think that regardless of safety concerns, you could engineer something that looks like that '57 T-Bird but with today's safety crumple zones and the like.

    Speaking of the T-Bird, I suppose that since I posted the classic, I should post the update of the late 90s/early 2000s. This one is a 2005...I don't know offhand when they stopped making them.



    Nice, but it didn't have that over the top styling of the original. I like it when they go bold. Either it works, or it fails spectacularly, but in any case you know they bothered.

  2. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    One of the reason there is a sameness to the average car today is because it is driven much more by safety and fuel economy than style. The shape and look of the cars are related to these priorities. Also, SUVs by their very nature, can only be so different.

    If there is a line of cars that look different, it's Cadillac, but you hate how they look
    .
    Well, except the one above. That's fine IMO.

  3. #93
    Invincible Member Kirby101's Avatar
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    I love beautiful cars, but in buying one I judge it more on what is inside. How the seats feel and the interior room are more important to me than how it looks.
    It's like fashion models, they are beautiful but I wouldn't date a vacuous, shallow woman I could not afford.
    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  4. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    I love beautiful cars, but in buying one I judge it more on what is inside. How the seats feel and the interior room are more important to me than how it looks.
    It's like fashion models, they are beautiful but I wouldn't date a vacuous, shallow woman I could not afford.
    Oh don't get me wrong, I like many other things in cars aside from appearance on the outside. Comfort, ride quality, reliability, (nothing worse than a late night breakdown in some lonely area), safety, speed and critically---cup holders! Okay, I actually do like those. But I also like interior quality....which is another area I feel let down by modern cars. I went to a car show a couple years ago, and the Toyotas all had their interior knobs removed for some reason, but it...and the American cars all had cheap, plastic interiors....well, the Dodge Ram Laramie trim was exquisite, and there was a nice Challenger, but most of it was so flimsy, I thought it would break if I touched it. That said, some cars still do it right.

  5. #95
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    I noticed that at car shows as well. Much more plastic in the interior and they felt cheap. Also, I am relatively tall, 6 feet, so I need leg room. It is surprising how much more leg room the Japanese and European cars have compared to Ford, Chrysler and GM. But I have also sat in a few cars from the 60s and 70s, todays cars are much more comfortable. I have a Honda, the seat is great with five way adjustment, a lumbar support and heat in the winter.
    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  6. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    I noticed that at car shows as well. Much more plastic in the interior and they felt cheap. Also, I am relatively tall, 6 feet, so I need leg room. It is surprising how much more leg room the Japanese and European cars have compared to Ford, Chrysler and GM. But I have also sat in a few cars from the 60s and 70s, todays cars are much more comfortable. I have a Honda, the seat is great with five way adjustment, a lumbar support and heat in the winter.
    I love Hondas, but these days you need to watch out for the ones with the CVTs, those supposedly blow up quite a bit as opposed to other, more robust transmissions. BTW the leg room thing was interesting to me; when I sat tested the Japanese cars I was blown away by the room they had. Cheap plastic maybe, but also at about 6 feet and with a bit of a trick knee....I really appreciate that. I'm used to having to fold, spindle, and mutilate myself just to get in any back seat...those I just got in, easy. I don't know where they found the space...

  7. #97
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    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  8. #98
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    That is a blisteringly gorgeous machine!

  9. #99
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    RIP to the guy who gave the world the dune buggy, Bruce Meyers, and 94, of a blood disease; the designer and builder of the Meyer's Manx.

    https://www.foxnews.com/auto/dune-bu...ce-meyers-dead


  10. #100
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    One of the biggest car stories in recent memory isn't really about the car, and it IS about the car in a way. It is of course the horrible accident Tiger Woods suffered yesterday. The car aspect is the Hyundai Genesis SUV he was riding in, that probably saved his life. Looking at the photos, it's clear that while the front end and exterior in general suffered damage, the interior was mostly okay, and all the airbags deployed as intended.

    Can you imagine the sort of publicity Hyundai can get out of that? They won't make a commercial out of it for taste and decency reasons, but it gets you thinking, doesn't it?

    For me, and I suspect for most people, safety is a top thing to look for in a car or SUV, and while Woods certainly was unfortunately quite badly injured, he is going to live, (and hopefully walk again), and given the crash, that's quite an accomplishment, and Hyundai can be proud at how that SUV performed.

    I would also recommend to Mr. Woods that he either get a chauffeur, or take a bunch of driving courses. BMW for example have a series of racing and other driving courses, (aimed no doubt at new M series owners), even up to courses to prepare for a racing license. Obviously, you don't need to race to benefit from that sort of instruction. Nor in fact do you even need to own a BMW; they supply them. Price wise, a bit steep for ordinary folks, he can afford it with sofa cushion money. IIRC, they are in the mid 2000s....maybe? Other similar courses are available from other makers and tracks.

  11. #101
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    The Genesis to become the most famous SUV since the Bronco.
    There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!

  12. #102
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    The Genesis to become the most famous SUV since the Bronco.
    And, like the Bronco, all for the wrong reasons.
    Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!

  13. #103
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    Quote Originally Posted by WestPhillyPunisher View Post
    And, like the Bronco, all for the wrong reasons.
    Well, it's sad he had the crash, but great it saved his life.

  14. #104
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    I live in a weird area. Not rich myself, nor in a rich area, but five minute's walk from one, and about 20 minutes from a very rich area. Which means a lot for carspotting. Today, I took a drive to the coast, and on the way, I saw.....a McLaren 720, one of these:



    Same color too, and hilariously....it was in the middle of the road, stopped, broken down, with doors up and no one there, but hazard lights on.

    Then an Aston Martin DB11. Two nu Vettes. A Rolls Royce Phantom. A BMW I8. A 2019 M5. ANOTHER, this time mobile McLaren 720 again white for some reason. Several classic cars. All in about 8 miles. A Maserati Levante, (the SUV), and three Ghiblis as well.

    Of course at the end of that 8 miles or so is that very rich area, which has a Bentley/Porsche dealership, a McLaren one, a Ferrari one, a Maserati one, and several that sell all of the above.
    Last edited by achilles; 03-07-2021 at 05:45 PM.

  15. #105
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    I cross posted this to the In Memoriam thread.

    RIP to Sabine Schmitz, former race car driver, Top Gear presenter, a lady who famously schooled both Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond on the Nurburgring. She went round that ring more often than any other person in history. She was 51, and died of cancer. Hope she's tearing it up on the Nurburgring in Heaven. She was the only woman to win the Nurburgring 24 hours race.

    Last edited by achilles; 03-17-2021 at 06:24 AM.

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