Car Chat

[AutobahnSHO]

Nice!

[shp4man]

So I noticed the brake pedal on Ol' Blue getting close to the floor. Damn, just an adjustment? Leak somewhere? Crawled around under the truck, no leaks. Checked the master cylinder. Yep, not the 56 year old brake lines, but the 2 year old Chinese made master cylinder. Of course. should have checked that first.  Also been playing around with carb jets and tuning. Got the old six running pretty well. 

[CaminoRacer]

Do you have speed bleeders? I had one on my motorcycle, need to get some for the El Camino

[AutobahnSHO]

Gorgeous truck!

[r0tor]

Absolute insanity

https://youtu.be/MzH_Y-ytRmI

[shp4man]

Do you have speed bleeders? I had one on my motorcycle, need to get some for the El Camino

I just do gravity bleeds at home. Slow, but time isn't a big issue. At work? Yes.

[shp4man]

Gorgeous truck!

Thanks. Wish I could give you a ride in it. 

[FoMoJo]

A little bit of V12 history...World's finest V12 engines, and the great cars they powered

[AutobahnSHO]

Thanks. Wish I could give you a ride in it. 

Some day!!!

[AutobahnSHO]

Absolute insanity

https://youtu.be/MzH_Y-ytRmI

Wow. And gorgeous color!!

[AutobahnSHO]

180mph btw

[cawimmer430]

Gimme the Malaise Era any day over the soulless EV future. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnMh5rTe-KY

[FoMoJo]

Chevy fans...Chevrolet at 110: its most notable cars

[cawimmer430]

Was involved in a shoot over the last two days with an advertising agency and BMW. We shot the new iX. This is such a disturbing-looking vehicle, inside and out. Here's a behind the scenes. The drone is not mine.

[r0tor]

It looks about 200x better than the m3/m4 monstrosity

[SJ_GTI]

Is it an SUVish type thing?

[MX793]

Is it an SUVish type thing?

Tall body, normal ride height.  Seems like cars are regressing to the body styles of the pre-WW2 era.

[r0tor]

Wagon reinvented

[cawimmer430]

Is it an SUVish type thing?

Yes. And it feels and looks really cheap inside. I get that they're playing the whole sustainability thing, but the plastics felt flimsy and cheap. Doors were incredibly light. The whole thing just felt cheap.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Tall body, normal ride height.  Seems like cars are regressing to the body styles of the pre-WW2 era.

[JWC]

Yes. And it feels and looks really cheap inside. I get that they're playing the whole sustainability thing, but the plastics felt flimsy and cheap. Doors were incredibly light. The whole thing just felt cheap.

Headline:

BMW finally learns planned obsolescence.

[MX793]

Headline:

BMW finally learns planned obsolescence.

It's funny how people associate a lack of weight or heft with cheapness.  I remember reading that at one point, Cadillac used to load their frames with lead weights because customers perceived a heavier car as being more luxurious.  Of course, that was at a time when the only way to make something lighter was to use less/thinner material, which meant less money to make and less robust construction.  They didn't have the advanced materials we have today, ranging from more advanced metallurgy to composites.  It often costs more money to make something light, because the expectation is that the reduction in weight not come at the expense of robustness.  But most of us still have this notion that "light is cheap".  Except cyclists.  When a cyclist picks up a featherweight CF frame or wheels, they recognize that such low weight is indicative of high end, expensive materials.

[Soup DeVille]

It's funny how people associate a lack of weight or heft with cheapness.  I remember reading that at one point, Cadillac used to load their frames with lead weights because customers perceived a heavier car as being more luxurious.  Of course, that was at a time when the only way to make something lighter was to use less/thinner material, which meant less money to make and less robust construction.  They didn't have the advanced materials we have today, ranging from more advanced metallurgy to composites.  It often costs more money to make something light, because the expectation is that the reduction in weight not come at the expense of robustness.  But most of us still have this notion that "light is cheap".  Except cyclists.  When a cyclist picks up a featherweight CF frame or wheels, they recognize that such low weight is indicative of high end, expensive materials.

Weights in doors are still a thing; and there was a 10 pound weight on the bottom of the passenger side frame rail of the Land Cruiser. Nobody really seems to know what it was for.

[veeman]

I always have perceived my Infiniti QX56 (the big ass Infiniti) as having skimped on the robustness of the doors compared with like size competitors because they are so light.  There's no satisfying "thunk" when you close them. 

[CaminoRacer]

ND Miata doors are surprisingly heavy, given the weight of the rest of the car. I think it's due to safety requirements. And the door skin is steel instead of aluminum or plastic like most of the other body panels. (I appreciate that, since it allows me to use my SCCA number magnets on the door)

[cawimmer430]

It's funny how people associate a lack of weight or heft with cheapness.

It's definitely a psychological aspect.

I get that light doors and an overall lighter cars helps reduce weight and thus energy consumption and probably plays a role in sustainability. The cheaper plastics and seat materials are definitely part of the sustainability aspect. I get that.

Still - it feels and looks cheap compared to what we're used to with most conventional luxury cars.

[cawimmer430]

Found this great German channel on Youtube with some awesome short history videos on specific cars. Obviously it's in Kraut but hey, just activate the subtitle feature on Youtube.

NSU Ro-80. Still amazing to this day. Imagine how back in the day NSU really believed that the Wankel engine was the future and would replace piston-engined motors...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMkPWUFuD3s

[MX793]

It's definitely a psychological aspect.

I get that light doors and an overall lighter cars helps reduce weight and thus energy consumption and probably plays a role in sustainability. The cheaper plastics and seat materials are definitely part of the sustainability aspect. I get that.

Still - it feels and looks cheap compared to what we're used to with most conventional luxury cars.

Lighter materials aren't necessarily cheaper materials.

[cawimmer430]

Lighter materials aren't necessarily cheaper materials.

For sure, but when you get up close with the BMW iX next time, just touch the interior plastics. They feel awful. Really cheap.

[JWC]

For sure, but when you get up close with the BMW iX next time, just touch the interior plastics. They feel awful. Really cheap.

I would think items like door panels, well anything "plastic", would be made easier to recycle or made from biodegradable materials. There is a hemp based plastic that only last six months in the right environmental conditions. I know Saab used hemp-based plastics for their door panels, but they still felt as if they were strong.