Change of car

Sharp car.

I just picked up a PT Cruiser on the cheap w/69k miles. Dealer had it on the lot since October, and it was $1500 below book. All the little things wrong with it were simple to fix like the air filter, sparkplugs, belts and cleaning the IAC solenoid so it didn't stall when coming to a stop. The hard part will be the ball joints in the front end.

It's a standard, love the retro look, great gas mileage, and it's quite peppy as well...

:cool

 

Good deal on the new car, David. Pretty economical and looks spiffy, i.m.o.:cool Fiats are becoming popular 'down-under', too.
I bought a new car this year, too. A Mitsubishi Magna Executive. 274 B.H.P., 3.5l V-6. LoL! I'm not very 'Green', but that's me, I paid for my pollution, LoL!



I think that the colour is call Burgundy, or some such.

I have six cars, last count.:-o

 

Its a slippery slope. I keep saying <insert car> has enough HP for me until the next one. I don't think I could buy a car with under 300+ horses anymore. Especially since these larger engines are becoming as economical as some 4 cylinders.

 

You sure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mov4R2ua1yA

 

Its a conspiracy


Highlights: The caddilac smoked the ferrari.

I think it is less about UK vs US cars and efficiency and more about race cars vs. muscle cars. Then there are the drivers.


Currently the US has the fastest production car in the world.

 

You both have valid pints, actually. One reason I like the later model Magnas is that they have a whole heap of safety and road handling features. Seems to hug the road real well and it's mid-winter here.
One reason is that Mitubishi (Aust.) had a big fubar and Recall back in the '90's and learned their lesson the hard way. Still stopped making them in Aust. after a few years, though.
Fuel usage is not too bad, and this is the third V-6 I own, (the BMW is a straight six and hauls Butt, LoL).
It was a bargain price so all was cool, anyway.:cool

 

@ Dave:- I desire this car!!...:yum

 

Phantom linked it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWAavCjVQvM


Faster than the Bugatti by ~ 3mph.

 

Gee Dave, it looks like a dinky toy LOL
Oh well if it suits your needs and is reliable then it will be a good car for you :cool Over here Fiats and Alfa Romeos have a really bad name for reliability and have many service issues probably exacerbated by our high ambient temperatures and the large distances between cities

With the family and a big dog we have a Volvo 940 turbo wagon and although not the fastest car around by a long shot, it still is OK and very safe.
My son is the other end of the spectrum with a restored Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign Series 3 as well as a Magna wagon. He is doing his best to use all the remaining petrol reserves LOL

 

There is an Abarth 500 around here. I always chuckle because I don't understand how a car that small can make that much noise

Looks like it might be fun in the twisties. I am only sad that it is FWD.

 

I wouldn't mind one of those if they bumped it 200hp.

Looks like a nice car though

You can't get the HID option here

 

I've noticed around here, the smallest cars make the most noise,
and the motorcycles are the loudest of all.

 

Yes but a motorcycle is fast .

The abarth is louder than even a neon srt4.

I'm of the opinion that cars can be loud like that but if the performance isn't there, its childish.

My car is not even as loud as the abarth.

 

It's like kids attaching playing cards to their bicycles with clothes line clips.
I did that. It was fun.

 

Love it.. for the savings + more than enough power to weight ratio. Perfect for the UK.
Cheers..

 

An Abarth 500 is a pretty quick car though. Does 0-100km/h in 6 or so seconds. Besides, you can put the exhaust in a 'city' mode for less noise.

 

6.9 but anyway not fast enough for the noise it makes IMO.

Its actually surprising it is that slow. It needs more weight reduction, my 95 cavalier z24 was the same curb weight and a bigger car.

 

Be sure to keep us posted on the Fiat, Wifey is looking at one.
Too many wheels for me, my much modified BMW K1200s gets zero to sixty mph in 2.9 seconds. Son has gotten it under 10 seconds in the quarter mile but I have only come very very close. And it gets 40 - 43 mpg commuting to work.

 

You forget that the "muscle" cars are designed for 1/8 or 1/4 mile drag races.
Straight line rockets they are.
If you have seen any of the American restoration / rehab shows the first thing they do is chuck the suspension and put in beefed up aftermarket.

Myself I've become fond of Buicks of late.

 

Yeah, it weighs as much as it does because it's very, very safe. It's much safer than the '95 Cavalier Z24 you had prior to the 500. And, for its class, I find it to be quite a nippy car. But perhaps that's also a European viewpoint.

 

Okay, so all the money into it and no electric motor to back him up?

 

It's a cool concept. Pretty ideal if you're commuting max 20km for a single trip I guess. Especially with electric support.

 

There was an article about this in the local Sunday paper
84 mpg at $6800 US
http://www.eliomotors.com/

 

The price is right is more likely the reason. The car has not yet been released to the public.

 

I'm aware of the technology but you can't call it a good product without anyone ever seeing or have driven a production model. The actual product might end up being a steaming pile of :crap Everything looks good on paper. That said, the price is right so many will take a risk.

I suspect the first run will be pretty meh with the second run being much better.

I agree on internal combustion engines. Of course, this still has one so...

 

Once electric becomes more reliable and the cost to produce drops, I think we will see a huge influx of electric vehicles. There is a reason Tesla puts 8 year warranties on their drives and batteries. They are too expensive and too prone to failure due to current tech.

 

My 2012 Honda Accord goes back soon (she's a Lease). Not sure what I want to get. Those Fiats are nice, good luck with 'er!

 

There is an Abarth 500 around here.Looks like it might be fun in the twisties.

 

Hydrogen research hasn't stopped. There is no completely satisfactory way yet to produce the electricity needed to split hydrogen from water (electrolysis). In fact, that's what fuel cells do, produce energy from the splitting. The hydrogen itself is not the fuel.

So the process is still "dirty". The actual process of splitting hydrogen from water is a simple process, and something any first year chemistry student does as a lab experiment.

http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch20/faraday.php

So I wouldn't say hydrogen research has stopped, it has just morphed into other techs, such as water powered vehicles.

 

I live 12 miles from the Tesla plant and that will be my car in the not too distant future. Hoping for a discount from a neighbor that works there. I have a large south facing roof that is getting 30 of 275 watt solar panels.
http://www.solarworld-usa.com/~/med...le-plus/sunmodule-solar-panel-275-mono-ds.pdf
Enough to power the home and commute during the summer and the commute during the winter. The US has a 30% tax incentive so I am looking at under $100,000 USD for a new car and never buying gas again. Payback is under 7 years when I include the reduced summer electric bills. After that I am making money.
We will keep Wifey's Camry for long trips.
Scenarios like mine will slow down hydrogen and other technologies because you can do solar / electric now reducing the attraction of future technologies.
As for 3 wheel cars, drive one before you buy, with three tracks you cannot miss a pothole. Around here this is a major concern and one reason I ride a motorcycle as much as possible, one track vehicle.