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Quit keeping us in suspense: who sells this remarkable bag? Later,
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Believe Bugatti's coming(has) out one. Something like 4 turbos and mucho macho HP. One cool price too, as i heard. At any rate, the point is, i'm pretty sure there is, indeed, one in production... tho rather limited..
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In the Dallas area, I just bought a can (it's for my best friend's bike... a 1986 XLH883, mines got a belt hahahahaha!!!) for $6.79 ($7.35 with tax) at Bates Discount Cycle Parts on the southbound I-35E service road in Farmers Branch just a couple miles north of the I-635/I-35E interchange. They have about a dozen cans left.
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i saw this posted and it brings an interesting event to mind ..... a few weeks ago i was in the DMV with ken. i was standing in a mile long line waiting for some really bored looking person to fleece a bunch of people from some dough. ken was sitting on a chair next to our helmets wondering why everybody there looked to be about the social calibur of people you would find at a laundromat when some young woman walked in who required our conferring attentions. he came over and stood in line with me while we watched her fill out some forms and then we noticed a little kid about 4 years old reach over the bench and touch our helmets, one at a time. i didn't particularly mind, and neither did ken (that the kid was touching our helmets that is). but the helmets weren't on the most stable of platforms, so ken scooted over there to resettle them and as soon as he touched the helmets, mother of said child started shrieking at her kid "YOU STAY AWAY FROM THOSE YOU SHIT!" and whopped the tyke brutally about the head and shoulders.
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Automatic revocation of your license for a year. I'm not sure it's the "toughtest" law around, but NC has absolutely no sense of humor with respect to driving laws, anyway. I think they put you in jail and sell your first child into slavery for passing a school bus... A bill breezed through the NC House to lower the intoxification level from .1 to .08. It faces stiff opposition in the Senate. Recently, the Highway Patrol took a few of the opposition Senators out and gave them some shots, and when they hit .07, put them on a course dodging cones. They failed, and will probably change their votes as a result. For some bizarre reason, NC is the only state where the governer has no veto power over legislation coming out of the state Congress, so his opinion on the matter is moot.
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Just a quick, simple question really... How many wheels are affected by the emergency brake on an '86 Nissan Maxima. I've heard that all four are affected, but this would seem unusual to me. I thought the emergency brake on most cars only affected the rear wheels. Also, how powerful is the emergency brake usually? Enough to lock wheels at 30mph? Hmmmm... I just have to wonder about some of the things I hear...
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Saab Sonnet III too I believe.
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I think the Blue Book is the NADA handbook for used car prices, no? Is the Blue Book value given the retail or wholesale value??? The Blue Book value isn't set in stone, though. Low milage, extra addons and stuff like that there can increase the resale price of the car, you may want to head on over to the local library or borrow your friends Blue Book and read up on that sort of stuff. I paid ~$400 under BB (retail) for my '87 Civic in 1990, and it was in perfect condition and had only ~14.5K miles on it. The guy was desparate to sell, new kid on the way, etc., but it was a good price. Remeber, both you and the buyer, if he has any sort of brains at all, are using the Blue Book, so you should pick a fair price. Chintan Amin llama@uiuc.edu
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For sale: 1981 Oldsmobile Omega four door. Gray, power windows, power steering, power brakes, remote trunk release. Starts reliably and runs well, but needs some work. $400 obo. For details, email or (708)864-0526. -- Michael A. Atkinson | There is no try, there is only Dew. asbestos@nwu.edu |
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My Kawasaki KZ 750 L4 has 2-3 millimetres of play on the gearchange pedal axle, in other words, I can move the axle sideways & up-and-down for few millimetres to each direction. This doesn't bother me when riding, but I guess fixing it wouldn't hurt. Last summer I took the bike to a shop to have the valves adjusted, and the mechanic mentioned that it should be an easy job. All I would have to do is to remove the front sprocket cover and replace a bushing or a seal that I would find there. Well, upon a closer inspection I discovered that the gearchange axle doesn't even run through the sprocket cover. It seems that, in addition to removing the cover, I would have at least to remove the sprocket and then the cover that is behind the sprocket. Question : Would removing this small cover from the left side of the engine enable me to lay my hands on that bushing/seal (Don't know the exact term in english, sorry) ? Question : Has anybody done this disassembly job for this or some other purpose ? Does the oil, for example, stay inside the engine ? Thanks !
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I have both an '84 and an '86 Camry, each with manual 5-speed transmissions. The '84 has about 105,000 miles on it and the '86 about 83,000 miles. ABout a year ago I found that the master cylinder on the clutch in the '84 was leaking fluid around the piston seal, leading to air in the system and fluid back into the passenger compartment of the car. I pulled the plunger and got a rebuild kit (new plunger, seal, etc.) and thought I had the problem licked. Much to my surprise, the same problem developed several months later! This time I looked carefully at the master cylinder to make sure there were no scratches, burrs, or other obvious causes of the problem. I didn't find any. Ever since I have been periodically feeding the clutch hydraulins additional fluid and bleeding air from the system. I knew I would be selling the car and didn't want to go all the way to solving the problem. I should add that the clutch is original, and that I've had to adjust the pedal to allow maximum extension of the piston into the master cylinder in order to actuate the clutch. My hypothesis is that this means that when fully depressing the clutch pedal, the angle of the piston rod (attached to the pedal) is off the axix of the cylinder, thus cocking the piston and seal and perhaps deforming it. What do you think of that as an explanation? Can you suggest a possible fix short of replacing the master cylinder and getting a new clutch put in? Now the '86: same problem, except that the above diagnosis doesn't explain why all of the fluid leaked out (by way of the master cylinder, into the passenger compartment) while I was on vacation for 10 days, during which the clutch pedal was not depressed or otherwise caused to distort. What can you suggest here? Many thanks. Let's hope I don't end up going to Click and Clack on this...
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Valve seat wear? Tony
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If everything I've read is correct, Ford is doing nothing but "re- skinning" the existing Mustang, with MINOR suspension modifications. And the pictures I've seen indicate they didn't do a very good job of it. The "new" mustang, is nothing but a re-cycle of a 20 year old car.
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Spray the chain wax onto the rollers and sideplates occassionally, and rust will not be a problem. Later,
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Highway 12 is a great road. Be sure to stop by the Anasazi (sp) village museum near Boulder Creek. Interesting lifestyle :-). The views of Dixie National Forest are stunning.
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And I thought the nutters were the ones throwing the bricks from the bridge....... An institution?
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So of the 120 hp produced by my FJ1100 engine, 12 hp * (745.7 watts)/1 hp = 8.948 kilowatts is being dumped into 220 leetle tiny o-rings? That's 40.67 watts per o-ring! Seems a little *hot*, doncha think?
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No, the Grand canyon is not too far away. Short side trips to Kolob (between Cedar City and Hurricane) and Pipe Springs (on the way from Hurricane to the Grand Canyon) may be interesting--they are right off the highway. Pipe Springs (a small fort) gives you real insight into just how the pioneers lived. You have missed one major must see attraction--Cedar Breaks in the mountains above cedar city. Take lots of film--they have a reason for calling this kodachrome country. Natural Bridges in the four corners area is also very scenic, but may be too far off your route. Monument valley is spectacular, but again may be too far away.
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Anyone catch the TV show Law & Order last night (at least here in NYC)? They "the law enforcement people", needed to catch a member of DoD (Department of Doom) for inflicting a computer virus in a hospital's mainframe which ended up killing two people because wrong amounts of medication were given to them. Anyhow, is "Department of Doom" on the list?
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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They changed the lights and slope of the hood, along with the new grille. Otherwise, it is unchanged. Interestingly, their lack of wood and lack of a grille was a BIG design statement... they tried to defy conventional wisdom and carve their own niche ... unfortunately, sales were only half those of the LEXUS and hence, they now join the pack. I still wonder if much of the problem wasn't the slow start from the initial AD campaign. Personally, I like the Q without the Grille.
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Well, watching several Denizen's dismantle Laurie's Virago in an attempt to change the oil at the ride 'n feed a few years back was a pretty funny site. Surely with the combined wisdom of all these folks they weren't doing things the hard way, were they?
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It also works great to put under your kickstand on those really hot days when the tar gets really soft..... ================================================================================ Jim "rags" Rye Senior Technical Support Analyst 86 Harley Davidson rye@crayamid.cray.com Cray Research Inc, Mpls, MN. "If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late." -Henny Youngman
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I would prefer a picture with you in it. Since most motorcycles don't post, and are rather similar looking (i.e all R100S's are more alike than they are different), it is the people that are ultimately more interesting. From archive_policy.txt: BTW, I have Charlie Smith's pictures available. Interestingly, I've been to Stanley, ID by motorcycle. Nice little town, nice road getting there. -Bruce
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-> 4) Are there any fairly cheap (<$150 or so) ways to increase the -> performance on this car? Unfortunately, a Taurus is not exactly a -> muscle car, so I'm looking for ways to increase the performance. There is a company in Florida that sells computer chips that supposedly get a few HP and Torque out of the 3.0. Don't have the address, but saw the ad in Hot Rod and some other car magazines. Also, you could open up the exhaust (get an exhaust with a larger i.d.) Hope this helps. If you find anything else, let me know. I've got a 1990 Taurus L.
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[sorry, had to take out tx.motorcycles because my news server rejected it. -- hesh] : it would be a shame to split boxer riders between different lists : unless, of course, the existing list failed to meet the readers' : needs. you presumed you needed to "split" out a GS list. by implication of your "split", a plain ol' bmw list wouldn't meet the GS riders' needs. for the sake of not forcing the split issue, how about changing the charter and renaming your list from bmw-gs to just bmw? would that make everybody happy? i think you'd get better participation this way. and joe wouldn't have to burden his 286. :-)
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Is it ok to take the car out of gear without using the clutch (while the car is turned off)? Thanks in advance. Please reply by mail.
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"In Dog We Thrust"
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I have a few questions about the TAX on a used car purchase. I live in New York State, and I am going to buy a used car. I know that I will have to pay tax when I go to register the car. But I would like to know of tax is payed on the book value of the car, or on the purchase price. Also, what tax rate is used ? The owner lives in Albany (8% tax), and I will be living in Saratoga with 7% tax. Do I pay Albany tax or Saratoga tax ? (the difference is a whole $50) One more thing, how much does it cost for the usual 2 year registration ? Did I leave anything out ? What else might I have to know to purchase and register a used car ? (I've never done this before.)
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Typical. Their first attempt at foriegn-policy adventurism, and no one even notices. Canadians. They can even make balkanization boring. --
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Rich, First of all you might want to join the VetteNet (vettes@chiller.compaq .com) during your search/acquisition of the 67. $20k sounds about right for a wrong engine, condition 3 car. This means that the car may not have significant investment value but could be an excellent driver and or hobby car. You will also want to get a copy of the Corvette Black Book immediately. Don't leave home (to look at Vettes) without it. Since you are contemplating spending >$20k, you might want to invest a few hours in reading the "Corvette Buyer's Guide" and purchase Noland Adams' tape "How to Buy a Corvette." The tape shows you how to check for damage, etc.. There are many many factors that will affect the value, road worthiness, and repair expense of your proposed 67. The list is much too long to go into here. Join the VetteNet where there are over 100 current Corvette owners (many with 60s vintage vettes) that are available to help you. The pubs I mentioned above are available from Mid-America Designs (800) 637-5533 and several other Corvette parts sources. Good luck!!!
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I'm not sure how far standardisation went, but on two of my bikes (the GS550B and, I think, the GT380M) I was able to pop a Cibie' insert directly into the original housing (held in by those roughly W-shaped springs). The inserts used 55/60W halogen bulbs, and were great, although Mr Bill later indicates that this may be too much of a drain on your charging system.
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There was an article in one of the U.K. dailies this week about a soccer goalkeeper who had to be carried off the field after a collision with a Ford Sierra cage.
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Does anyone know what the domestic content is of any of these: Geo Prizm, Eagle Talon, Ford Probe ? All are made in the US, but I have been told they contain mostly foreign parts. Please follow up directly to me, I'll post the findings to the net if there is interest. Thanks! Tim Newman
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I need to get some info. on cellular antennas.. who are the biggest companies in this market now? how much do their antenna cost? what are the specs on the antennas (gain, directivity)...? who is the contact person? thank-you
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I have a 90 Eagle Talon and I wanted a pair of GTS Headlight covers. Actually, they are turning signal covers since the Talons that year had pop-up lights. I went to a auto shop and bought the tail-light blackouts for $45, but they did not have the turning signal covers in stock. I asked how much it would be and he told me it would cost me another $40. I thought this was a bit high for two small pieces of plastic. Can anyone find me a cheaper pair or even a used one?
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What's the best lease quote that anyone has seen on a Toyota Previa DX or DX All-trac for a two-year lease? If you know where I can get a better rate than $330/month, please contact me with the name and phone of the dealership.
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[...] [...] [...] "Hey, what the hell do you mean by that? You suck. I have a god-given right to express opinions, carry a gun and to not wear a helmet, goddamn it. Everything you stand for is STUPID." You know, Alan, I really like this one. ----- Tommy McGuire mcguire@cs.utexas.edu mcguire@austin.ibm.com
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An aquaintence has a 87 Accord. The driver's side headrest was accidentally put in backwards and has jammed. According to the dealer, the only way to get it out is to spend several hours disassembling the seat. This is the second time I have heard of this happening, and I wonder whether there's an easier way to get the headrest back out. Has anyone else ever dealt with this problem? Your advice would be appreciated! Please email, and I will summarize if there is interest. -- _ dan@dyndata.com / \_ Dan Everhart uunet!{camco,fluke}!dyndata!dan \_/ \____________________________ 206-743-6982, 742-8604 (fax) / \_/ 7107 179th St SW \_/ Dynamic Data & Electronics Edmonds, WA 98026, USA
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Oh horse puckey. Without their cop partner in attendance, they are less likely to be controllable *without* the use of force which would kill the dog. O.k. so you've disabled the dog's mouth, and given up use of your arm to do so. How `bout them front and read paws, and the fact that to plug up that mouth you've given the dog the advantage of balance... Have you ever tried to snap leg or crush the skull of a dog without use of hardened instruments such as a baseball bat? Without the use of both arms and full cooperation of the beastie involved, it's not *that* easy. Oh, but wait, you've got your arm shoved in the dogs mouth. You lose.... Oh *now* you qualify you earlier statement by saying a *trained* human. Most people here have not been trained to deal with a dog that wants to maul you. get a clue.
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On the subject of the upcoming new Mustang: The car magazines have printed a lot of information about the new Mustang and the consensus about what to believe in my "car circle" is that the suspension pieces and tuning will be almost identical to the current Cobra, but on a stiffer body structure which will improve its behavior. After the MN12 (Thunderbird) cost and weight debacle, Ford decided independent rear suspension with rear wheel drive won't be tried again in a volume car. The current 4.9l V-8 will soldier on for about two years. A version of the 32 valve modular V-8 in the Mark VIII could be offered then. Ford is spending big money tooling up for 2.5l and 3.5l V-6 engines which will power most of their cars in the immediate future, and therefore probably do not consider volume production of 300 hp V-8 engines a priority. Undisguised, the car looks OK, but not nearly as exciting as the new Camaro/Firebird, IMO. I suspect Ford will produce their car with higher quality than GM will achieve with the Camaro/ Firebird. The way GM loses money, the temptation to "just get them out the door" for the sake of positive cash flow will be great once demand really takes off.
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Yeah... and BMW 525e has 2.7 litres 535 3.4 BTW - can someone out there please tell me how to put someone else's file on and then reply to that so the other person's file and my own 'reply' go to the newgroups together? (ps: just mail me personally)
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Having driven both, and having owned an SC300 for 14 months now, all I can say is "it depends". They're both great cars. In fact, my wife and I are saving our pennies so we can get her the 300ZX convertible in a year. The 300ZX handles like a dream, while the SC300 rides like a dream. Fit and finish on both are excellent, but the Lexus gets the nod in customer satisfaction. They're both very attractive, and hideously expensive. The resale value of the SC is better than the ZX. The 300ZX isn't available with traction control, which makes it a handful on slippery surfaces.
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Ford aimed for 75% US content when they designed the new Probe. In actual practice it came out to 77% US content. If my '89 is any example the 23% that is imported may be the engine and brakes, at least the '89 had Missybitchy brakes.
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So you think a 93 Mustang Cobra can match the performance of a new Z28?? Interesting belief! Craig (who neither owns, nor wants to own any GM or Ford product)
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*>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Is this a joke ? *>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> -- ___________________________________________________________________
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Michael, you sent your inquiry to the bmw mailing list, but the sw replaces your return addr with the list addr so I can't reply or manually add you. please see my post re the list or contact me directly.
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I think you can get that at most head shops. I'm not kidding... although it seems more appropriate for them to be selling Simple Green.
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21 Apr 1993 egreen@east.sun.com (Ed Green - Pixel Cruncher) Writes: -->}Sheesh, even a trained attack dog is no match for a human, -->}we have *all* the advantages. --> -->I agree with this 100%. -- --Me, too... for chihuahua's. The police and the military don't train --dobermans and shephards and use them as weapons because they are so --easy for the average Joe to defeat barehanded. You may have opposing --thumbs, but the dog has teeth so effective some of yours are named for --him. He has IR vision, better hearing and better smell than you do, --and most likely faster reflexes. -- --You're on a motorcycle, he's on paws. Roll on and blow him off. He --doesn't even have net access. -- -- --Ed Green C'mon Ed......... a) All things have their weak areas b) What's IR....Idiot Response......Dogs have more Rods or Cones (I'm not sure which?) than humans and this allows their eyes to collect more light in lower light conditions. Consequently their colour vision is almost non-existant. I mean, if dogs had built in infra-red vision, the armed forces would be strapping them to missiles instead of paying a quarter million for IR guidance capabilities. c) My dog has net access ! ! \_/
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I know the roads up there in Minnesota are pretty bad, but I doubt that they are THAT bad. I've never realy tried to watch my back tyre but, my 82 Maxim 750 will pull the front wheel off the ground if I pop the clutch. Admittedly, it is easier with someone on back, maybe that's what keeps the rear tyre down. ;-)
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"traction control" as far as the optional feature that one buys with cars is not the same thing at all as a torque sensing differential. a torque sensing differential is a type of LSD, but not all LSD's are torque sensing. viscous coupled differentials (as opposed to viscous couplings) are rotational sensing, not torque sensing. for that matter, so are "traction control" systems that use ABS sensors and pulse braking. then there are the older posi-tracs and whatever which i am not familiar with the workings.
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Hi fellow auto enthusiasts! Does anyone have any info on the new 4 valve per cylinder diesels Mercedes is working on? Any specs on outputs, engine size, will they be direct or indirect injection?, etc. would be welcome. From what I hear these should be out late this year, next year?? Thank you in advance for your replies!
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The clutch on my '92 Honda Civic EX-V (EX in the U.S.) does this too. It's annoying. Now that I think about, it _is_ worse when the humidity is high. The dealer also claims there's nothing they can do since the clutch is a "self-adjusting hydraulic design". Yeah, right.
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No, it is more because van drivers need a little support for driving such underpowered pathetic and truly utilitarian vehicles. Me and my '71 used to wave and be waved at all across the country between NH and CO. Now that we live in So. Cal., though, I find you'd have to damn near wave your arm off to keep up with all the van drivers! This is truly vee-dub heaven. peace, Taffe
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which flat 4 engines have I4 style cranks? i am 99.99% sure that subaru (and porsche) use the boxer configuration and not the inline 4 crank that you analyzed and compared. would you care to re-evaluate the other case of a flat four? i think that this configuration is perfectly balanced as far as primary, secondary forces and couples are concerned. i have an article in front of me that says so. the flat four is also shorter than an inline 4, so even if it is mounted longitudinally it will not take up lots of length.. and a longitudinal placement is easier for a 4 wheel drive drivetrain. i think that subaru's ads hold water. in practice, their flat fours are noticeably smoother than inline 4s and completely buzz free, though some may not like its peculiar note. but as alfa has shown, a boxer four can produce a spine tingling scream that only the likes of recent hondas can approach.
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Hello everyone, I have an insurance question. Allstate insurance SITUATION: Person wrecks car. Car is drivable to dealer. Person reports accident (no other cars involved). Driver estimates damage cost exceedes cost of car. Insurance people claim car is "totalled" because of exceeding repair costs. Person says "WWHHHAATTTT!!!! But I drove the car here!" and takes it to another place. Other place estimates 2,101.00 in damage. 2,000 less than the dealer. One more hitch... The car is registered in Florida but the accident occurred in Pennsyvania. QUESTION: Should the insurance recognize and pay for the damages of this, now fixable, car even though they prematurly declared totalled? Please respond via E-Mail if you think you know anything about this sort of thing. chris@camp.wpic.pitt.edu
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Now, while I wouldn't recommend doing this while moving, (Maybe Mike Beaverton can complain to you awhile! :/ ) you might not want to countersteer if you're just sitting in the driveway... <sounds of Rick falling off bike, muttering, "Damn, coulda sworn that's how they told me in the MSF course!!?" >
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I can vouch for this method in my 1990 SHO. This is the only sure way of putting in the reverse without any problem _every_ time.
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Don't forget little girls! My not-quite-2 year old daughter now excitedly points and says "motorcycle" every time she sees one go past. I've done my work. (Of course, it helps that one of her books shows Sir Topham Hatt in a chaffeured side car rig...) Can you think of a better way to convince the kid that "someday, I'll ride one of those things"? No, it's a genetic thing with little humans... Just don't let them touch hot pipes.
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Oh, really. When? The '93 Mustang Cobra can. Check it out. Ehhhh, maybe. The '93 Mustang Cobra does a good job for a lower price, and it's just a taste of what's ahead in the 30th Anniversary of the original Pony Car. Just think! Corvettes are almost up to the performance levels of a '65 Cobra! Wow! In a few years, they might be up to the performance levels of a '66 Ford GT-40. Wow, man, just think about it... ;-) James
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When the bugs are splatting on the side of my helmet instead of the faceshield. When semis are on their side in the downwind ditch. When I can't see the road for all the tumbleweeds rolling past. When the airborne sand/gravel is sandblasting my paint job. When all of the above is happening at once in the middle of Wonderful Wyldoming. Well, it *WAS* gusting to 87 mph. Cheers, VLJ
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I purchased a used 1988 Nissan 300ZX (non-turbo) last year. I had a question on gear/rpm ratios. Right now in 5th @65mph I'm at 2600-2700 rpms. @70mph I'm at about 2900rpms. Is this about the norm? I'm an auto neophyte so I'm just wondering if these are the proper ranges? Somehow the rpm figures seem high. A friend of mine just told me he can hit 60mph in 3rd on his 88 Chevy Beretta (2.8l V6.) Also, anyone know the top speed attainable (@redline???) for this model Z? (Not that I would try it but it would be an interesting factoid. :) Thanx! Derek
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The whire wheels aren't chromed, they were to be painted silver/grey. The accelerating from a stop shouldn't be "doggy" because of the light weight of the car. Don't pull the topto make it reach the snaps, I pulled a couple out of the top doing that. Replacing the spanps usually doesn't work. Let it sit in th e sun, open on the car for a couple hours, the try, GENTLY!!!! I continually blew up the #4 connecting rod bearing, be sure your not buring too much oil. Don't expect too much of a smooth ride. The lever arm shocks hold the road, and your bladder. The are ultra-expensive. Supposedly the can be rebuilt. J. C. Whitney sell a shock replacement kit the uses standard shocks. I had to rebuid boththe brake and clutch master cylinder, in addition to the clutch slave. This work made a world of changes. Be sure the carb is the original type replacement. My 1970 had dual Stomberg oil dampenned side draft carbs. Ask if the clutch has ever been replaced. To replace the engine and tranny have to be pulled as a unit.
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A dealer will make money off you in three ways, if you let him: 1) New car markup over his cost (remember his hold-back), 2) Arranging financing through the dealership, and 3) Screwing you on the trade. Keep the deal with the dealer simple by eliminating 2 & 3. Buying a car at "dealer's cost" is meaningless if he makes $1000 on the trade and/or gets a kickback from the bank. Blue book (you need to know if you're talking average wholesale or average retail) is a good guide to value for a car. If you are selling it yourself, try to get average retail, and chances are you'll have done ok. Be careful selling to acquaintances if you ever want them to become friends.
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...<waving policeman, happy policeman, nice policeman>... Well, not me. However, I wouldn't trade all the times I've^H^H^H^H a close friend has been pulled over, cussed and shouted at, and finally let off with a verbal warning in exchange for a few waves & smiles! :-) if you like but I'm serious. Later,
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Sigh. That's music to my ears, after all the complaining Lois did about the seat on my BMW... I've found that the phrase "sack of potatoes" works pretty well in describing to a passenger how s/he should act. On a long ride with my ex-girlfriend Nancy, I would notice her drifting off every so often (we were droning down highway 101 to LA). I probably wouldn't have been aware of this if she hadn't been in the habit of squeezing my butt with her knees to hold on. Good advice. _MelloN_
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In many of our cities, there are traffic signals every 100 feet (unsynchronised, of course (well here in Ottawa anyway)) and the roads are so congested that shifting manually is a real pain in the left foot. Also, most Canadians are too stupid to learn how to shift manually (gee, I gotta co-ordinate my two feet on the clutch, brake _and_ accelerator, and I gotta steer, shift _and_ operate the signals (optional) and radio with my two hands... duh... it can't be done). Also, most North American made cars come with the automatic as standard equipment, so why bother with a manual when the car can shift for you for no addition money.
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Any one with experience in having a centreforce clutch (or any other) on his/her car? I'm considering to replace my old stock clutch on my 90 CRX Si. What is a fair price?
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Yeah, it's impossible to be a tough biker when a 5 year old starts waving at you.
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It wasn't that the Lawson's V&H OWO1 was faster. If you watch the tape again, Russell had major backmarker problems before getting onto the banking. It doesn't matter what bike you have, if you lose your drive, your hosed.
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They bein' themfolk who tend to compose fair piece of the population; bein the ones that regard bikers as a loud, irresponsible, irreverent, reprobate rabble. Sure you didn't rape and pillage-- It's a relief to know that you were such gentlemen-- but because you were not completely out-of-hand you justify your lesser indescretions? Some pretty distorted thinking, I should say. Oh-- I'm sorry, I just noticed that you left mucho bucks (as in MONEY)... Nevermind my criticism, I was out of line. I forgot that when one leaves mucho bucks (as in MONEY) their behavior is permissable, perhaps even justified. Keep in mind that "themfolks" are the ones that could give a %$#@! when a biker gets killed, when *their* elected officials institute further draconian legislation (helmet laws, gun controls, etc.), the ones that don't respect our rights on the roads because we do not respect theirs all "the rest of the time..." Need I continue? So continue to wear your stigma as a badge, but the next time you are whining about "them" and the effect of their values on yours, remember that it was probably the behavior of self-righteous wusses like myself that kept "them" at bay for this long. Enjoy,
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Don't feed it so much. Seriously. Sort of like that scene in "10", in the minister's study, when the secretary lets one fly, and the startled dog runs from the room. The minister explains, "Every time Mrs. Soandso breaks wind, we beat the dog."
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I'll pick up that PM and have a look -- maybe the picture in there is not the actual car, but a prototype? I saw the Mach III and was not all that impressed -- it looked WAY too Japanese for me... the tear drop headlights reminded me of a Nissan NX... Glad I didn't hold out for the '94 and bought a '93. Maybe they'll work on the design a little bit, listen to consumers and come out with nice-looking '95 or '96. It always takes a while to work out the kinks in a new design, e.g. the F-body Camaro/Firebirds (btw, the new Camaros look like shit too). -- Keath Milligan, Software Engineer, VideoTelecom Corporation, Austin, Texas jkm@vtel.com, reaper@wixer.bga.com
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[Much discussion about economics of safety deleted] This is a very simplistic view of safety. Assuming that you are in a collision (less likely with a more agile smaller car), then the important factor is how well does the car sacrifice itself to save you. This is why a thousand pound F1 car can hit a wall at 200 and the driver walks out and why everybody dies when a Suburban hits a wall at 35 (as I recall for the last generation Suburban HIC numbers). As an aside, just what is the point of an airbag? It seems to me that seatbelts with pretensioners (Audi et al), or a good tight 5 point belt will prevent you every moving far enough to hit the airbag. You might be saved from some flyign glass? Or is an airbag just a lowest common denominator safety device that is of some use in a head on collision when you are wearing no seat belt?
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Are you serious? The auto that had a lot to do with bringing the term "boxer" to the popular forefront was the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer or the 512BB. Had a 5 liter, opposed 12 cylinder engine.
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Ego Trip...
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No, it is the stock setup. Someone really ought to put an end to the confusion regarding BMW's chain drive boxers. Didn't someone post the FAQ on this some time ago? In essence, it describes the problem BMW is having with their decision to settle down to a shaft drive as a standard. They vacilate and persist in reintroducing the chain drive in various models. (R/C) Gosh. Well, on with the crusade!
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Exactly. You took the words right out of my mouth, Ron :-) --
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franks> This is my first post, so no DoD#. Would you like to know what DOD is? If you do, feel free to ask. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Hmmmm I noticed sometime ago that I could do the same on my Virago, and since I don't read many schematics, I didn't really think aobut it too much. Yes it does provide excellent coverage, but I figured it would probably draw a little too much current. I also figured that it was overlapped just to prevent a blank spot of no headlight. Are you saying that these switches are designed for the hi/lo combination? ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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WARNING WARNING MAY CAUSE UNPLEASANTNESS! It's a "make before break" type of switch. If not required, it ought to be for high-low beams. There might be a wee problem with this. If you use both filaments at the same time, the bulb is tossing out a great deal more heat than normal. Possibly enough to shorten it's life span. My Honda CRX cage [a cage that really wanted to be a bike] had wimpy stock lights. So we used to run around with both beams on. Made a mucho big difference - until both low beam filaments died nearly simultaneously! This was two weeks after finding out how nice it was to use both beams. I replaced the lights with quartz-halogen lights and that ended the problem.
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You Ford vs Chevy people must live in the planet of Detroit or Droid. Like they say in the airforce, with enough horsepower anything will fly. I can put a 32valve V-8 with twin Garret-4s on Yugo and get 7.7sec QM. Thats useless ... Its still a Yugo that will loose any race on a track, or on the street. Have you Detroit beings compared the ultra-long-throw stick shifts of the 5.0 with the 93 MR2 turbo or 93 RX7 (I ll buy it in 6 mos) ? Or the Torsen differential of the RX7 compared to the Differential of the 5.0 that sounds in every hairpin turn ? And bythe way 5.0 and Camaro both have drums on the rear breaks ... Hello , this is the 90 's ? Vlasis Theodore Software Engineer
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Hey! What's this Hudson crap? Actually, the only place my car has ever been broken into was in Hudson at my in-laws (in their driveway). Took my Vuarnets and some change. Damn kids. Regards, Brian bqueiser@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am the engineer, I can choose K.
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The GS300 and SC300 have an inline 6. Inline 4 is correct.
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Thanx Craig.... in addition to Craigs coments - and to clear up any further confusion.... the 200SX (of USA) was reffered to as a Silvia Turbo in the UK.... performance figures of UK 200SX are:
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Review of 1989 Ford Taurus SHO -- By Gene Kim ============================================= Background: Last week, I bought a 1989 Ford Taurus SHO, moving up from driving a 1987 Toyota Celica ST and a 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I have been interested in buying a SHO for about five months and have been combing the classifieds in Denver and Chicago every week. I bought a remarkably clean maroon/red SHO with 92K miles on it for $6800. As far as I can tell, this is about $2000 under Blue Book and I still have another 8000 miles before the Extended Service Plan runs out. As one should with any pre-1991 SHOs, I made sure that the car was already refit with the upgraded clutch and pressure plate, as well as having been recalled for upgraded rotors and seatbelt attachments. However, my SHO does not have the newer rod shifter -- I understand I can get this for $230 from any Ford service center. In addition, the car received the full tune-up at 60K miles, receiving new platinum plugs and valve adjustment. For a car with 92K miles on it, the car was virtually immaculate. The clearcoat paint job was devoid of any large chips or dents, although the front air-dam/molding was covered with lots of small scratches -- not surprising since most of the miles were spent on the highway. Having driven a smaller two-door coupe for so long, I was a bit concerned about whether I could get used to driving a larger car. To my surprise, the size of the car doesn't bother me at all -- it seems just as nimble as my Celica! (No comparisons with my Oldsmobile. :-) Visibility from the driver's seat is excellent, helped mostly by of the small the quarter-windows, aft of the back-seat door windows and in front of the C-pillar and rear window. Parallel parking is a bit more difficult, but other than that, I love the size. In fact, I'm starting to appreciate the large trunk as I pack up for a 14-hour drive to Washington, DC for the summer. More on the ride later in this review. Engine: As with anyone even slightly interested in SHOs, I was very interested in the 24-valve 3.0L Yamaha "Shogun" engine. I was not disappointed. Base performance of the engine under 4000 rpms is good. You can even do reasonable launches from second gear, although I don't make a practice of this. The engine revs smoothly and eagerly -- tooling around town does not require many shifts. This is good since the shifter is definitely one of the weakest points of the car. (More on this later.) While the performance of the engine under 4000 rpms may be unremarkable, it undergoes a Jekyll/Hyde transformation once you hit higher revs. At 4500 rpms, a butterfly valve opens and you can literally hear and feel the geometry of the engine changing as twelve more valves open up. The engine soars to its 7000 rpm redline, and you are treated to, in my opinion, the sweetest sounding V6 around. The engine inexplicably sounds OVERJOYED to be at 6500 rpm! I've noticed that when I drive around town, I constantly watch the tach to see how far below 4000 rpm I am. To go from 2000 rpm to 4000, you may have to punch the accelerator -- while torque is more than adequate, it doesn't come fully online until those other 12 valves are used. Transmission: When _Car and Driver_ first reviewed the car in 1988, they marvelled at how Ford had put such a wimpy clutch and balky shifter into the car. I remember driving a friend's parent's SHO in 1990, and remember thinking about whether I had the leg strength to drive the car in traffic -- the clutch was that stiff. That was back then. The entire clutch assembly on my SHO has been replaced under a Ford recall in 1991. The clutch on the SHO feels no stiffer than the one on my Toyota Celica. In fact, the friction point seems a bit larger and more forgiving. When playing with the shifter with the car parked, the shifter felt very reasonable. The 1-2 and 3-4 gates were where you'd expect it to be, and the shifting action was smooth. On the road, it's much the same -- but you have to shift SLOWLY! Make no mistake, it's a clumsy shifter. When hurrying shifts, like when I was initially trying to impress friends, I consistently miss the 1-2 shift, often grope clumsily for the 2-3 shift, and sometimes even muff the 3-4 shift. I find this pretty amazing in a car like this. It also took me several days to realize that you get the smoothest shifts when you take your time. Seems obvious, but compared to my Toyota and my friend's Honda, this seems atrocious and clumsy. Someone on rec.autos noted that CRXs should blow SHOs off-the-line because of the incredibly clumsy shifter. I now shift much more sedately, and the shifter seems more reasonable. When you play within these bounds, the shifter works smoothly with no surprises. I don't know whether the rod shifter upgrade would help at all. Along these same lines, I initially had trouble shifting gears smoothly. Again, slowing down the shifts and taking more care to match revs when letting out the clutch helped immensely. This took several days for me to get the hang of. (I think some of my problems were because I've never had a car with enough power to balk at bad shifts in higher gears.) Occasionally, I have trouble shifting into reverse. The shifter refuses to enter the gate, and I often grind the synchros trying to get it into gear. I'll be watching this carefully in the next couple of months. A quirk: When I upshift and the engine drops back to 1000-2500 rpm, I hear a whirring and then a grinding noise coming from the the engine compartment. Not terribly loud, but the passenger can definitely hear it. I asked about it when I was looking at the car, as do all my passengers. Apparently, this is a definitely a "SHO sound" and is the gearbox -- apparently called "gear rollover". Replies to my queries on rec.autos are at the end of this review. Exterior: As I mentioned before, I am astounded by how well the body of this SHO has stood up. Paint chipping on the front bumper and grille are virtually non-existent. Looking at how older Tauri sometimes don't age so gracefully, I wonder what the guys at Ford did differently to the SHO bodies. The body, in my opinion, is extremely attractive with matching color body moldings than the stock Tauri. For some odd reason, the SHO seems different enough from vanilla Tauri to get stares at stoplights -- of course, this could be my overactive imagination. :-) SHOs get fog lights, a more open grille, a completely monochromatic exterior, and a deeper ground skirt in the back with "SHO" stenciled in relief. I've seen a couple SHOs whose owners have colored these in with florescent colors or in black. Yuck. I don't think the car is flashy. I like it that way. I feel almost anonymous with all those Tauri out there, but different and distinctive enough to those of us who care. :-) Interior: The interior is what really makes me feel like I don't deserve the car. The seats are grey leather, the steering wheel and shifter are covered with black leather, and the entire instrument panel is done in a black/grey/metallic scheme. The instrumentation is stock Taurus, except for the 140 mph speedo and 8000 rpm tach. You get a center console with two cupholders, a large compartment under the radio (great for a CD player), an armrest that contains yet another compartment, three appropriately sized coin holders for tollways (I think), and a compartment for holding cassette tapes. There's map-holders in the doors, and an oddly small glove compartment. I spilled a whole can of Coke in the cupholder and was delighted to find that the entire rubber holder can be removed and washed in a sink. Hey, I'm really impressed with the ergonomics and thoughtfulness that went into its design. And it's a 1989, before the interior was upgraded! The backseat is bigger than any car I've had. Why do they need so much space? :-) (No smart-ass comments, please. :-) The driver and passenger seat have lumbar and side bolsters. From what I hear, it's not uncommon for the side bolsters to show wear. Mine is no exception. The left side bolster on the driver's has cracked and I'm not convinced the right bolster is inflating all the way. A big surprise for me: I forgot that SHOs don't have a normal hand parking brake. Instead, they have the regular parking brake that you press with your left foot. Too bad. Again, I'm getting used to it, but it seems a bit anachronistic to me. Ride: The suspension is nice and stiff. Too stiff? It's stiffer than any car I've had. A friend's new 1993 Toyota Celica ST seems tauter and is still able to soak up bumps better. The SHO seems stiffer with less ability to soak up bumps. Driving over railroad tracks is a noisy and jarring affair. On the other hand, taking turns feels wonderful because the body is so rigid and doesn't flex at all -- I listened for that before I bought the car. On the highway, the ride is great. When I drove the car from Chicago back to Purdue, I had trouble keeping under 85 mph, let alone from trying to see what 100 mph really feels like. It's a relatively quiet ride, but the sunroof rattles. I've tried to find out what exactly makes all the noise up there, but it seems to be the window that rests on the rails. No easy way to get rid of it, I think. Over the past three days, I've oscillated between thinking the suspension is wonderful and perfect and thinking that the ride is way too rough. (Not for me, mind you. But I wonder whether I would advise my dad to buy one for himself.) But, I've discovered, as with the shifter, if you take your time with shifts, you'll have no reason to complain. Let me explain... The ride is worst when turning and applying lots of power to the wheels. I feel the wheels scrabbling for traction and torque steer making the car skitter left and right. After I understood this, I avoid the limits of traction -- and I'm a happy camper again. It's not body rigidity, but the composure of the car. As if matching the suspension, the steering feel is quite heavy. My first impression of driving my SHO was how hard you had to turn the wheel at highway speeds. It tracks straight as an arrow, but when driving around a parking lot, the high-effort steering didn't seem so useful. However, it's reasonable, but it doesn't communicate the road to the driver as well as a 1993 Ford Probe GT. IMHO, it's much better than the steering on my Celica ST. I wonder how bad this car is during winter? Miscellaneous notes: GRIPES: The rattles from the sunroof is intermittent -- some days it rattles loudly, other days I look up wondering where all the noise went. Activating the sunroof is sometimes very noisy -- loud squealing as it retracts on its rails. I wonder if there is a quick fix for this. Again, other days it completely disappears. (Function of humidity?) Once I made the connection between the sometimes awful feeling suspension and torque steer, I've never complained about ride. I wish the seats had more support under the thighs. Also, I wish the side bolsters would close more tightly. I hear that tires for this car can get really expensive. I currently have Goodyear GT+4s that cost the previous owner $500 for four. I used to hate the Ford stereo systems -- whose idea was it to use a volume *paddle*? Now, to my amazement, I don't really mind... and sometimes think it's an okay idea!!! Pretty ridiculous, though. Getting up to 4000 rpm sometimes seems to be a chore. But, this is no big deal. There is more than enough torque down low. I often goof up the shifting when driving with friends. It took me a couple of days before I could really shift smoothly from 2nd to 3rd gear. (Hard to believe, isn't it?) My car has almost 93,000 miles on it. My parents noted that it is almost impossible to find a low-mileage SHO. Astute observation, IMHO. I wonder how long I can make my SHO last -- I just bought a book titled "Drive It Forever" for tips in this department. :-) The goofy parking brake pedal still throws me for a loop. I once parked the car in gear, and then accidentally let out the clutch after I started it. The car jolted forward, and bounced off the car in front of me -- no paint damage at all, but starting the car is a whole new ritual for me with that fangled pedal! Also, I began to wonder how strong that brake really is. (Today, I backed out of parking spot today and started to drive away before I noticed the glowing brake light. Oops.) The driver's power window creaks when closed all the way. The same thing happens in my parents 1989 Mercury Sable. Oddly, all the other windows work smoothly. LIKES: I'm liking the interior amenities more and more each day. The cupholders are great. I didn't expect to use the keyless entry buttons so much, but it really is handy. You can lock all the doors by pressing the 7/8 and 9/10 buttons together! Neat! And you can never lock yourself out of the car. I really feel like I don't deserve this car. I really can't believe that I could afford it. I got this car ten years ahead of schedule. :-) I love this car so much that I've been telling my parents to look into buying one. I love this car so much that I wrote this 13K file -- I meant to write a couple of lines and ended up with this. If there were a J.D. Powers Survey for used car owners, I would have an opportunity to express my incredible satisfaction of owning this car. I don't like thinking about getting another car, but at this point in time, I'm sure I'd buy another SHO. For under $7000, you can't beat it. (Next time with an airbag and ABS, though.) Insurance-wise, this car is also a big win. I pay the same premiums as on my 1987 Toyota Celica -- despite that it has nearly twice the horsepower. Other Odds and Ends: Much to my amazement, there is no SHO mailing list anywhere. Maybe because the _SHO Registry_ publication has filled this void. I haven't joined yet, but I've noticed that queries about SHOs still appear on rec.autos about once a month. Owners of SHOs are always quick to respond, and are very vocal fans of the cars. (Maybe some of the most vocal on rec.autos. :-) I've put together the responses to my questions about the cars, as well as other posts with useful information on these cars. I'll be posting this in the form of a FAQ soon. If anyone is interested in starting a mailing list, please speak up! I don't know if I have the resources here at Purdue to start one, but maybe someone out there does.
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The 850 is a V12 (5L, from the 750iL) Is there a 835? or 840?
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I would gladly spend twice the money for insurance, rather than using Geico. Not only do they supply radar guns to the police they also want to make radar detectors illegal. They also ask if you have a detector (probably to put you in a high risk group or just refuse to insure you). I know a few people who were droped by geico due to an accident that was not their fault.
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Isn't that one of those self-evident things like, "how do you decide that you're out of gas"? I have never experienced wind so severe it physically precluded operation of a motorcycle. It's more a matter of deciding whether the aggravation is more trouble than it's worth. This of course, depends entirely on your own particular circumstances and personal disposition. --
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Good advice. My Ol'lady taps me on the shoulder to let me know she is uncomfortable. I, in turn, am prepared for her to move about on the back of the bike. We had 1 bad crash (nail in rear tire on left hand sweeper at crest of hill on pavement/pea-gravel road) and her actions helped lessen the severity of it. As we were crashing, she stayed upright in the saddle with her feet on the pegs and her hands about my waist. I was able to get the bike slowed down 10-15mph before we were high-sided. She got off with a fair case of road rash and I had to have the doc remove a lot of rocks from my knee. Had she panicked we would have probably crashed at greater speed causing greater injury. BTW, as soon at the tire went flat, we went into VIOLENT tank- slappers. This is what she rode out in a "normal" riding posture! ----===== DoD #8177 = Technician(Dr. Speed) .NOT. Student =====----
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was Yuppies started Yep, that's when I noticed it too. I stopped replacing the hood badge after the second or third one (at $12.00 each). 2002 drivers used to flash their headlight at each other in greeting. Try flashing your headlights at a 318i driver and see what kind of look you get. They usually check their radar detector...they think you're alerting them to a cop.
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That's because they took the old VT 500 engine and stepped on it to make the plant for the Hawk -> "New Twin". Or does that only fly for Microsoft NT (New Technology)? I've been at this too long today ... Cheers, Victor "Dances with Hawks" Johnson
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