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The Automotive Discussion Thread

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Just saw a brand new 2014 Corvette pass by me.

It looks rather stunning in person.

It's hilarious, I recognized it from a distance by its LED DRLs, which Grand Theft Auto 5 nailed to a tee on the game's Coquette. Hahaha.
 
Auto Zone guy sold me wiper blades that don't fit my car... :< Get to deal with returning them tomorrow. Need to start taking better care of my shit if I expect it to have any decent value in a few years time.

twinturbo2 said:
I think it's either going to be a 500 Abarth or the Fiesta ST. I just want some performance tests on the US-spec Fiesta ST with the 5 doors.
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Either choice would be nice I think, expecting the Dealership to try to upsell me to an ST next time I'm in for service so they can turn my used '11 Fiesta and get me on another loan. Still kinda bummed the 500 took so damn long in coming out here.
 
rhfb said:
Auto Zone guy sold me wiper blades that don't fit my car... :< Get to deal with returning them tomorrow.
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The Auto Zone guy gave me the wrong serpentine belt a few weeks ago when I was replacing my alternator. It was the right shape and overall size but it had one too many ribs. I'm sad to admitt it took me and my dad, who was helping me, a full day to realize why we could not get the damn belt on.

At first we thought we weren't getting the tensioner loose enough so we went out and bought a serpentine belt install tool which of course was too thick to actually reach down to the tensioner.

That was a great weekend.
 
turbos for first manual? hmmmm...

Wait fiesta st's are sold in US too? crazy!

Don't like their 'face' though.

got eu friends that love it though.


Wonder why Ford is bringing their hothatches here now.
 
chickdigger802 said:
turbos for first manual? hmmmm...

Wait fiesta st's are sold in US too? crazy!

Don't like their 'face' though.

got eu friends that love it though.


Wonder why Ford is bringing their hothatches here now.
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Because just having the Mustang isn't enough, and the One Ford strategy means that most of what Ford sells over there they sell over here.
 
NoLoveForFailWheelDrive said:
Yeah I figure a bone stock slate is best to start with.

Now for the biggest choice... JetStream Blue or Cyber Gray?

3066138640_eb4d73cfed_b.jpg


43-1.jpg
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ascii42 said:
I like blue cars, but the only blue I've really liked on the C6 is LeMans Blue (and it's easily my favorite color for the C6)


I guess Supersonic Blue is an interesting mix of blue and gray
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You cant go wrong with any of those colors.

twinturbo2 said:
Speaking of Ford, their CEO, Alan Mulally, is rumored to be in the running for the soon-to-be-vacant CEO spot at Microsoft.
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He was never a car guy. He was the head of Boeing of all things before ford. Interesting to see who replaces him. I hope they have someone suitable.
 
twinturbo2 said:
I think it's either going to be a 500 Abarth or the Fiesta ST. I just want some performance tests on the US-spec Fiesta ST with the 5 doors.
Click to expand...

make sure to factor in your daily commute. Manuals can be the funnest things in the world, but it still sucks to be stuck in traffic ass traffic in urban areas.
 
Wondering if those technically minded could spare some advice...

So I bought myself (1st car) a VW Polo about 6/7 months. Beautiful car, the 2005 model, 1.2L, so not the quickest or very powerful but I (my insurance) couldn't afford any better (though maybe in a couple years). Last month one of the coils went, and I had to trudge it along to a garage and get it sorted. Easy enough, but apparently I could have done it myself for a very minimal cost.

Now I LOVE fixing/building/repairing things, and thought I'd go into the world of cars. Not looking to make any serious alterations, but do want to know what i'm looking at when I pop my hood and how it all works (I have some basic knowledge though).

Long story short - anything that I can read/watch/examine to make myself more knowledgeable?
 
I figured this is a good thread to ask, what's happening with Chrysler now? Are they going to be completely bought out by Fiat and become a wholly owned subsidiary? Or is Fiat selling their shares? I have heard both options are possibilities.
 
AranhaHunter said:
I figured this is a good thread to ask, what's happening with Chrysler now? Are they going to be completely bought out by Fiat and become a wholly owned subsidiary? Or is Fiat selling their shares? I have heard both options are possibilities.
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It sounds to me like a deal for Fiat to buy the rest of Chrysler outright fell through, so they are doing the IPO to introduce the possibility of Fiat being able to acquire them that way.
 
AranhaHunter said:
I figured this is a good thread to ask, what's happening with Chrysler now? Are they going to be completely bought out by Fiat and become a wholly owned subsidiary? Or is Fiat selling their shares? I have heard both options are possibilities.
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haha was thinking about them when i encountered a crossfire knockoff in GTA5. Whatever happen to that car? I recall a friend owning one and being fond of it.


And what happened to 300c? Current model looks so bland vs the original bentley knockoff that was all the rage.
 
AranhaHunter said:
I figured this is a good thread to ask, what's happening with Chrysler now? Are they going to be completely bought out by Fiat and become a wholly owned subsidiary? Or is Fiat selling their shares? I have heard both options are possibilities.
Click to expand...

Fiat owns 58% or so of Chrysler. UAW owns the other 42%.

The original contract had two interesting stipulations. Fiat has an option to buy UAW's share at $6 billion. UAW has an option to float their percentage on the open market.

The current situation: Fiat already bought some of the shares. UAW wants the full remaining $5 billion for the rest. Fiat believes the rest of the shares are not worth that and are trying to lower the price.

UAW's threat - Go to IPO and make Fiat pay more than $5 billion for the remaining shares.
Fiat's threat - Walk away from their vision of a merged company and slowly divest from Chrysler.

My personal guess is that the IPO won't happen. They are just negotiating rather publicly and will agree on a price.
 
twinturbo2 said:
I think the 500 Abarth comes with a day of driving school for free, so I can learn manual shifting that way...
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Don't make your decision based on that. Should be about $75 an hour in case no one amongst your family or friends can help. Maybe you can try that first and then decide if you want to go manual on your next car?
 
twinturbo2 said:
Is there anything of the sort in the South Florida area?
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Maybe you can call a couple of driving schools in your area and check with them? When I was giving my driving test (mid 2009, so fairly recently), the test was conducted by a driving school. I remember seeing a sign in their shopfront stating that learning on an automatic was $60 an hour and manual was $75 an hour.
 
Aye' - Any thoughts on the following...

Test drove a 2014 Jetta GLI and a 2014 Mazda 6 today. I gotta' admit the Mazda was nice, but the GLI won me over with the slightly more powerful engine (I think it's essentially what's inside the GTI). The Jetta was also a lot quieter at speed (less road noise form the outside).

I was doing some research and seemed to find a lot of articles about VW having reliability issues. Anyone here have a GLI? I think I've posted previously, but I'm looking for a daily driver/longer road trips - and I'd hate to be putting my money towards a car that's going to have issues left and right.
 
I wonder why Mitsubishi doesn't sell the Pajero in America. Have they ever sold it here?

Edit: I just realised that if they did ever sell it here, it might have been under a different name. Couldn't have used Pajero.

Edit 2: It was called the Montero. Stopped selling it in 2006.
 
ruxtpin said:
Aye' - Any thoughts on the following...

Test drove a 2014 Jetta GLI and a 2014 Mazda 6 today. I gotta' admit the Mazda was nice, but the GLI won me over with the slightly more powerful engine (I think it's essentially what's inside the GTI). The Jetta was also a lot quieter at speed (less road noise form the outside).

I was doing some research and seemed to find a lot of articles about VW having reliability issues. Anyone here have a GLI? I think I've posted previously, but I'm looking for a daily driver/longer road trips - and I'd hate to be putting my money towards a car that's going to have issues left and right.
Click to expand...

Maybe whatsinaname will chime in here.
 
ruxtpin said:
Aye' - Any thoughts on the following...

Test drove a 2014 Jetta GLI and a 2014 Mazda 6 today. I gotta' admit the Mazda was nice, but the GLI won me over with the slightly more powerful engine (I think it's essentially what's inside the GTI). The Jetta was also a lot quieter at speed (less road noise form the outside).

I was doing some research and seemed to find a lot of articles about VW having reliability issues. Anyone here have a GLI? I think I've posted previously, but I'm looking for a daily driver/longer road trips - and I'd hate to be putting my money towards a car that's going to have issues left and right.
Click to expand...
i would go for a mazda if you want reliability. and isn't VW on one of the last places for customer satisfaction in the US?
 
ruxtpin said:
Aye' - Any thoughts on the following...

Test drove a 2014 Jetta GLI and a 2014 Mazda 6 today. I gotta' admit the Mazda was nice, but the GLI won me over with the slightly more powerful engine (I think it's essentially what's inside the GTI). The Jetta was also a lot quieter at speed (less road noise form the outside).

I was doing some research and seemed to find a lot of articles about VW having reliability issues. Anyone here have a GLI? I think I've posted previously, but I'm looking for a daily driver/longer road trips - and I'd hate to be putting my money towards a car that's going to have issues left and right.
Click to expand...

N-Bomb said:
Maybe whatsinaname will chime in here.
Click to expand...

I have only worked with VW's powertrain data and the number of issues per vehicle does not seem much higher or lower than GM or BMW. Cost per issue is higher (than GM) but if you are under warranty/extended warranty, nothing to be concerned about. I have heard they tend to develop niggling electrical problems but that is only second hand information, I am afraid. Mazda data I have never worked with.
 
ascii42 said:
I like blue cars, but the only blue I've really liked on the C6 is LeMans Blue (and it's easily my favorite color for the C6)


I guess Supersonic Blue is an interesting mix of blue and gray
Click to expand...

There is a LeMans Blue '06 Z06 in Virginia (quite the flight for me, I'd have to ship it back to CA) and the guy only wants $35k for it. Looks great, would have a pre-purchase inspection done on it... however...

YuriLowell said:
06. OHV engine so valve guides are easy to do. Save that extra cash.

Get the Dark Blue.
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Thing is, the 09 has some worthy upgrades: variable steering ratio (owners claim the '09s have much more precise steering), extra dry sump oil capacity, better suspension etc...

Is it worth the $10k extra I'd pay over getting something like that '06 in VA? Not sure.

RukusProvider said:
Mine is a 2011 Z06 with Z07 package. However, that year there was an option to get the Z07 packaged without the ZR1 style front lip/spoiler/side skirts so outside of the rims and giant brakes, it looks like a Z06. The interior is just a base 1LT which is what I wanted to avoid electrical gremlins which tend to creep up on higher "tech" packages.

The other reason I went with a newer year is so I can still have a warranty on it. I don't care to mod cars. i rather spend the money on tires and trackdays while still having a car under warranty. The only mod I'd do is a proper seat.

If you do go with an older model, I suggest getting one has GMPP extended warranty.

Mine is a CyberGray with black interior. I posted pics in this thread a while back.
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Hmm I do really like that Z07 package, just not sure if it's worth the extra $$$ over getting aftermarket upgrades.

YuriLowell said:
Failwheel your look for a C6Z has made me want to pickup a C5Z.
Or I could get an s2000 for half the price............
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Get the C5Z fo sho. S2000 is not worth it, way too expensive to mod. C5Z is ready for track right out da gate.
 
NoLoveForFailWheelDrive said:
There is a LeMans Blue '06 Z06 in Virginia (quite the flight for me, I'd have to ship it back to CA) and the guy only wants $35k for it. Looks great, would have a pre-purchase inspection done on it... however...



Thing is, the 09 has some worthy upgrades: variable steering ratio (owners claim the '09s have much more precise steering), extra dry sump oil capacity, better suspension etc...

Is it worth the $10k extra I'd pay over getting something like that '06 in VA? Not sure.
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35K in VA? Oh man thats so damn tempting.

This weekend I washed, waxed, changed the oil, and installed new mudflaps on the evo.

0t3G6ay.jpg


Looks like my stock exhaust is starting to rust.
Time to find a decent aftermarket one.
 
YuriLowell said:
35K in VA? Oh man thats so damn tempting.

This weekend I washed, waxed, changed the oil, and installed new mudflaps on the evo.

0t3G6ay.jpg


Looks like my stock exhaust is starting to rust.
Time to find a decent aftermarket one.
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Haha yeah. It's a steal, just not sure if it's worth all the effort.

Damn, stock exhaust? Get rid of that shit, it sucks ass. Get a nice 3" exhaust. Way lighter, way more power.
 
chickdigger802 said:
Nope. Don't think i needed to for my license.

Teach me professor.

image.php
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If you're descending a long, steep slope, you keep the engine in a low gear so that the wheels (i.e., the weight of the car going down the slope) need more power to keep the engine turning and thus slow the car; this is done to reduce heat in the brakes, because they can overheat and stop working completely. That can't be done with a CVT unless you set the gearing to keep the engine engaged at a high RPM.

This came up a few pages back, and it's what the "B" button in Priuses is for. They have CVT transmissions and you hit that button when you want to employ engine braking. It's also what you do with automatic transmissions when you put it into "L" or "2" instead of "D".
 
Dave Inc. said:
If you're descending a long, steep slope, you keep the engine in a low gear so that the wheels (i.e., the weight of the car going down the slope) need more power to keep the engine turning and thus slow the car; this is done to reduce heat in the brakes, because they can overheat and stop working completely. That can't be done with a CVT unless you set the gearing to keep the engine engaged at a high RPM.

This came up a few pages back, and it's what the "B" button in Priuses is for. They have CVT transmissions and you hit that button when you want to employ engine braking. It's also what you do with automatic transmissions when you put it into "L" or "2" instead of "D".
Click to expand...

makes sense. i knew the when, but not the why. But don't many auto cars not have L/2 anymore? How do those work for the ones without a manumatic thing?
 
chickdigger802 said:
makes sense. i knew the when, but not the why. But don't many auto cars not have L/2 anymore? How do those work for the ones without a manumatic thing?
Click to expand...

I've never driven or been in a car with an automatic that didn't have some way of keeping it in lower gears (Except for the Volt, if it counts, since it only has one gear)
 
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