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VikingSkull posted:Going back to the point about buying muscle cars as a young guy, yeah, they could. You know who the people were that were buying those cars, though? Guys right out of the military, Vietnam era. Most of my moms cousins had SS Chevelles, Cyclone Spoilers etc that they bought after being discharged. My dad bought a 64 Sport Fury with a 383 and a 4 speed. A lot of young kids could buy them new, or a year old, by saving summer money. Well back then the median wage was higher for people too. I'm pretty sure in the US if you adjusted minimal wage to match inflation, back in 1968 you were making $10.50 in today's dollars. People had more buying power back then.
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Feb 21, 2013 14:15
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Cream_Filling posted:Dunno, the problem with city cars like that is that they're only really useful in places like NYC, SF, and other cities You're jumping to a big incorrect assumption. Look at the DOT omnibus stats where they collected data about the populace's commuting habits in the US. A large majority of people that commute by car in the US commute alone, and usually under 20 miles one way. AKA people out in the burbs, where there is no public transport to speak of.
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Apr 14, 2013 06:18
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I'm talking 20 miles there and back. The way that thing is advertising itself is 83 mpg, that's the draw. A normal sized car is not going to do that without hybrid tech. If you want to have a hope of being able to service a car yourself then something really small like that thing is going to be the way to go with ICE.
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Apr 14, 2013 07:16
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Cream_Filling posted:Except the people driving 20 miles on a commute aren't going to save a whole lot of money on fuel because they never spend a lot on fuel anyway. And if they're driving more than that, then they're probably spending most of their time on the highway where something like this is probably miserable or even unsafe. Spread out over 3-5 years, the difference in price isn't that big compared to the significant gain in utility over those years. If you're trying to argue someone would go with a motorcycle over a super cheap and efficient $7,000 car, no. Motorcycles make a TINY TINY porting of the US driving market. Plus there's a pretty big stigma against motorcyles (deathtraps) or even more sensible scooters (gay lol). I mean look at the thread title for the scooter megathread. Yeah I know its written in jest but its satire on a very real stigma against scooters. Plus there's the fact that if someone was looking for a new or used vehicle, here's one that sits at $7k, will have enough space for 90% of their driving, and get's 83 mpg.
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Apr 14, 2013 21:40
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Nuclear Tourist posted:That band performing in the background that looks an awful lot like Scooter. Does this mean I should go check out the band you call "Scooter"?
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May 9, 2013 19:41
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They should start lining the edges of race tracks with bright rear end led light strips. Red for the right hand side of the track, yellow for left hand side. That way on 24 hour races the edges of the track are easier to identify.
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Jun 6, 2013 18:26
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Especially with the Forte Koup. The resemblance gets pretty strong there.
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Jun 7, 2013 17:58
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KozmoNaut posted:It does look like it could be made MR relatively problem-free, though. If anyone can do it, its the French.
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Jun 11, 2013 17:01
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Linedance posted:they'd put the engine behind the seats and then run a driveshaft to the front to drive the front wheels, because they're French. That does sound like something the French would do if left to their own devices but Renault made it work with the Clio, I'm sure Peugot can pull it off too.
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Jun 12, 2013 14:04
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KozmoNaut posted:Not yet, but I have a lot of tricks learned from my parents on how to run a family on a budget. Don't you live in Denmark? Also, the derail was another great example of people not answering the question you ask. Coredump fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 15:22
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Some of the poo poo Dave Coleman writes about on MotoIQ is just insane. Check out his Miatabusa project over there if you get the chance.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:15
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Vigo327 posted:That would be wonderful. The Copperhead is so cross eyed and ugly. How in God's name does anyone find it attractive? Its got jowls and a sunken in face for Christ sakes. Coredump fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 16:12
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Vigo327 posted:Keep in mind my post included the works "back when". Here is what pontiac was doing that year. Dig the chromed 3-spoke wheels yo! I mean nothing against you. I hear it was a promising platform. And lots of automotive publications praised its looks when it was around. But I just don't see it. The Pontiac looks better, at least in the front, which is where I have my problems with the Copperhead.
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Sep 25, 2013 18:33
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PT6A posted:Possibly better than the PT Cruiser, but that thing is still gently caress-ugly. I think it looks rather good.
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Oct 1, 2013 13:36
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Laserface posted:So apparently Nissan is going to be showing a spiritual successor to the Silvia at the Tokyo auto show? Perhaps featuring the 1.6 turbo motor from the juke. Well that's stupid. It will suffer from the same thing the BRZ suffers from, a lack of power. Why are all these small driving oriented cars given such puny engines. If Kia can get 274 hp to a 4 door sedan I don't see why the Miata, BRZ, 240sx and this potential car have to be so weak sauce. Coredump fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 23, 2013 13:16
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PeterWeller posted:Nissan already has a different car they will sell you if you want more power. What the $30,000 and quickly goes up from there 370z? Still doesn't excuse these manufacturers from putting weak engines in their "sports cars". These days its so easy to make power a Miata/BRZ clone has no excuse for having less than 250hp and good torque to match. I know "moar powar" isn't the end of be of all the driving experience, but it is part of it.
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Oct 23, 2013 18:15
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Except in the S2000 they forgot to install the torque.  PeterWeller posted:Have you driven one of these cars you are calling underpowered? My DD is a 1998 Nissan 240sx. BOOM.
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Oct 24, 2013 13:13
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Cream_Filling posted:Also, all the people demanding more power don't seem to understand that power costs money. And unique platforms cost money. Put them together and you'll start stepping on the toes of 30k+ cars like the 370Z. You can afford to put a big engine at a fairly low price in an economy car platform because the cost of developing the platform's already been paid off by the hundreds of thousands of people buying FWD commuter cars. Not so if you're talking a unique compact RWD platform that will probably sell very few cars overall and isn't easily adapted to other uses. You make some really good points here. But I feel like the manufacturers could have pulled it off. During the time each of these cars were on sale there existed engines in similar class of cars that had nice power output. During the Miata's years there was the Mazdaspeed 3. Or going back earlier, the Honda Prelude with the H22 was stomping around with 200 hp while the 240sx and Miata had 150hp and 130 hp respectively. Same thing is happening during the FRS/BRZ era. We all know it can be done.
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Oct 24, 2013 15:21
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PeterWeller posted:I'm not sure the BOOM is warranted. You don't drive one of the cars you are calling underpowered. You drive a car with 50 less horses than one of the cars you call underpowered. Maybe you should see what that 50 horsepower will do before you ask for 50 more on top of that. You asked if I drove one of the cars I mentioned. One of the cars I mentioned was in fact, a 240sx. The rest is you moving goalpost. BOOM. Edit: Oh poo poo, I just went back and reread my post and I DIDN'T mention the 240, so I take my boom back. But I did mention the Miata which makes less power than the 240sx. So great drivers cars of the 90's and 00's, miata, 240sx, s2000, etc. were all down on power (or torque if we're talking about the S2000 lolz) for no discernible reason. The reason I say no discernible reason is that at the same time all these cars were on the road you had cheapy fwd econoboxes that had more power with engines that I'm pretty sure could have been adapted to the rwd platforms with little effort. I mean Christ, the 240 has the KA24, Nissan didn't even try when they got it over here. Either way, hells yes I want 50 more hp. Coredump fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 24, 2013 21:18
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mobby_6kl posted:Can this resurgence of small RWD sportscars force Mazda to get their asses moving on a new RX car? One can only hope. Can one of these small rwd sportscars ever have more than 200 whp? One can only hope. S2000 don't count cuz lol we forgot the torque. And the rx8 got the gas mileage of a v8 mustang for the power of a v6 before anyone brings those two up.
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Oct 29, 2013 11:39
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Cream_Filling posted:You're looking for the 370Z, which is almost identical in dimensions to the BRZ. It's also much fatter and more expensive because, well, that's how it works. But it doesn't have to work like that. That's what I've been trying to say. Why does the car have to get fatter just because? sean10mm posted:Well the VQ37 has like 330 so even if Nissan de-tunes it A LOT it should be well over 200. Coredump fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Oct 29, 2013 |
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Oct 29, 2013 14:29
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KozmoNaut posted:When you can get 240+hp from a 1.6-1.8 with DI, VVT and turbocharging (Alfa Romeo 4C and Giulietta QV, Peugeot RCZR and 308R etc.), there's no reason to go as big as 2.5 unless you're shooting for 300+hp. I just said 2.5 liters because in my head a manufacturer could still have a relatively understressed engine with that much displacement. I know MotoIQ has been having a hell of a time getting any power gains from the FRS because its 12.5 compression and 91 octane gas in California. They finally got some meaningful gains by going forced induction.
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Oct 29, 2013 16:54
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ROFLBOT posted:In the two, three or four years it takes Nissan to get their car to market, let's see what Toyota and Subaru do, because you can guarantee the bar will no longer be at 200hp. This is how I feel about it. I understand Toyota/Subura risked A LOT to bring the BRZ/FRS to market. I also feel like they settled on the power level they did because they wanted to benchmark the elephant in the room, the Miata. And that may be one of the only times a Miata is ever compared to an elephant.
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Oct 29, 2013 17:06
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KillHour posted:https://www.hyundaiusa.com/genesis-coupe/ That's a G35 clone with size and weight to match. Not the same size range as an old 240, current Miata or the BRZ/FRS clones.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:20
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Sudo Echo posted:I just long for the days when every single car didn't look like a obese dude wearing his pants too high. I miss low beltlines Oh god where's those photoshops where they cut the middle of out of the new Camaro and it looks like a completely different car. When you see the car normal car after the photoshop you see how hosed up and slab sided it is.
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Nov 15, 2013 17:08
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The vertical height of the windshield in the convertible picture is loving tiny.
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Dec 5, 2013 15:15
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I wonder if they made substantial changes to the back to make that IRS work? What's the possibility the IRS could be made to work in the 2005-2013 Mustangs?
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Dec 5, 2013 19:19
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drgitlin posted:Nope, definitely not a tube framed car in the slightest. Even when they were racing in GT1 there were limits on where you could move the suspension mount points; that's much more restricted in GTE. I mean that covers location, but nothing about reinforcement right?
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Dec 9, 2013 17:20
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dreesemonkey posted:So many old dudes are going to die. 
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Jan 7, 2014 17:25
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Powershift posted:The biggest complaint i've heard is in stop and go traffic constantly shifting between first and second is that it starts to smell like burning clutch. Is it possible to put it in manual mode?
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Jan 13, 2014 17:26
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Bovril Delight posted:A 1100 kg Miata with ~200hp would be pretty entertaining I imagine. Why so low? I would want at least 250hp.
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Jan 16, 2014 04:44
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Nonsense posted:I enjoy being idiotic, and living in fantasy leave me be! CMY?
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Jan 16, 2014 04:53
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pik_d posted:Current model year Ohhhhhh. Edmunds says the current Miata produces 167 hp so we're talking almost 100 more. That's around 67% more power by my back of the napkin figuring. Professional car types with more driving experience than me have said that the Miata's great chassis is held back by a lack of usable power and grunt.
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Jan 16, 2014 05:15
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Bovril Delight posted:As mentioned, you aren't getting into a Miata for big power. You're getting a car that has enough power to be driven hard on the street without putting you into a tree sideways at 130mph. The old "slow car fast” thing, even the Miata isn't THAT slow, definitely holds true. If you want a great chassis with more power get an s2000. More power and a big lazy softop? Z4. Yeah because 250 hp will do all that. The Miata has been underpowered since the NB and Miata apologist fall over themselves making up reasons why its okay.
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Jan 17, 2014 01:26
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Is it wrong to want an aluminum bodied F-150 with a GM Gen IV based v8? Also with all the talk over door dings, etc. maybe its time to revisit Saturn's idea of plastic body panels for work trucks.
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Jan 22, 2014 17:05
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Snowdens Secret posted:
Does the Avalanche or Prius have a higher ratio douchebag drivers? 9 times out of 10 when I have an rear end in a top hat brotruck on my rear end its a loving Chevrolet Avalanche.
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Jan 22, 2014 21:52
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With the truck chat we were having a few pages ago I went window shopping for trucks on a whim. For the people who complain about others who buy pick-ups and never use them for pick-up stuff, and I've been one of them, you get a lot of drat vehicle for the money when it comes to pick-ups. Four doors, rear wheel drive, v6 and a bunch of "trunk" space for $20-24k make trucks hard to compete with. Plus with the long travel suspension you can drive on lovely, pot holed roads and not give a drat. With all that said WTF is up with Tacoma pricing? People want 23k for a 2009! Or $27000 for a 2013. Plus Toyota hasn't updated these things in almost 10 years. The best engine you can get is a 4.0 liter v6 that puts out 236 hp. They still have 4 and 5 speed autos. How are these things still selling and commanding this much money?
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Jan 23, 2014 19:26
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Powershift posted:And the ford f-series has been the best selling vehicle in the US for 32 years. Thirty two. That takes us back to 1982. with 33 million sold since it's inception in 1948, that's averaging 507,692 per year, with last years sales totaling around 800,000, it's not too far north of a normal year. The GM c/k truck has been the best selling all these years. Its just the models get split between the GM and Chevy truck. Combine them and they put a whopping on Ford's F150.
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Jan 29, 2014 19:12
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For everyone who kept saying I was wanting the wrong thing from the BRZ/FRS etc. when whining about not enough power this man more articulately explains what I was getting at. Also GT86 vs Turbo Miata. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytxJvuTy8As
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Jan 29, 2014 19:51
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mobby_6kl posted:It might even have some power to back it up this time, especially if they could tune the SkyActive engines for more top-end power... Careful, you start asking for more power in a Miata baaaddd things happen.
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Feb 7, 2014 14:44
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