Geeto67

At least down south they just put it all right out on front street and are not apologetic for it in the slightest. None of that sneaky Ohio racism where they call something "n****er Rigged" in casual conversation and then try to to convince you they aren't racist at all when they see you wince.

what hood? the whole front end looks like one piece with no lid. It's basically a monocoque body/chassis (like an old porsche 356) with no frunk. Come to think of it I don't see a single body panel line except for the doors, so the only storage may be those +2 seats in back. If this thing really is a monocoque body/chassis that would be really cool. I can't remember the last new car where the whole body including the front fenders was structural. Mono-wiper is awesome. I am only disappointed that it isn't a straight arm so it can be set straight up against the windshield.

Has anybody talked to you about GM A-body twist yet? Once you cross 400 rwhp the frame and body twist start to get bad enough to put small dents along the body seams. When you cross 500rwhp there is actually a danger of body and frame seems cracking. my GTO put down 350 rwhp on the dyno and I have a few quarter sized dimple dents along the 1/4 panel seam where it meets the roof on both sides from a day of trying to launch on borrowed slicks at my old strip (12 second passes). Go look at the right side frame horn on the car by the upper control arm - there is a vertical weld that if you have ever launched the car hard will crack. you can only really see it with the car off the lift and the suspension unloaded as that will pull the frame open. I had to reweld and reinforce that crack and about 5 others on my GTO's frame when I got it, It was one of the reasons I pulled the body off the frame. GM from the factory put boxed convertible frames in all the early 442s up to 1967, all the '65 Z16 chevelles, and was an option on GTOs and Buicks for their entire run. Even then it still isn't great, which is why guys used to prefer post coupes for these cars and then put in cages. Point is - if you are gonna build an old GM A-body, spend the money and make the frame as stiff as possible. If you are gonna put 700hp into one, put a cage in it. Otherwise this is what you are signing up for: http://www.hrpartsandstuff.com/images/swaybar/DSC04399w.jpg

I drove the old tesla roadster for an article I wrote years ago and while it isn't an 8 second car it was still pretty darn quick (0-60 in 3.7 seconds). Just because the engine isn't making noise don't think the car is "quiet". Wind noise, tire noise, and motor noise are all present. At 100mph the wind noise was loud considering the car had no insulation, if it had an engine I don't think it would have added any noise to it. In terms of power delivery it felt just like every single high HP american v8 I have ever ridden in but really came closest to my GTO and my neighbor's old '70 LS6 454 chevelle - tons of torque all from idle pushing you forward and then tapering off as you get into higher speeds. The car I drove was a preproduction unit and didn't have the TC sorted at the time so it was possible to spin the tires on for a little bit it as well which was fun. Compared to some of the newer teslas the old roadster is kind of crude because it doesn't have different modes and was really just an all or noting proposition based off a lotus. I barely fit in the thing or the lotus it was based off of and was happy that there wasn't a clutch pedal since that had been a pain in the elise as well (my left knee hit the back of the steering wheel before fully out). This new roadster is a good move for tesla. It shows a commitment to performance with new technology.

"Built not bought" as a mentality to appreciate work someone put into a car in a positive way is a good thing (although it's a terrible cliche). "built not bought" as a mentality to just shit on other people because they bought a fast car is lame. Let's face facts, very few people are out there forging their own pistons, smelting their own block, welding the chassis, etc to "build their own car". They almost all start from somewhere and once you introduce a hierarchy to it, let's face it - the engineers and designers who made the car in the first place are always gonna win because they literally created something from nothing. You made something? Hooray!!! that's cool. You bought a viper and drive it? Hooray!!! that's cool. see...not that hard.

...With some exceptions for certain cities like New Orleans or Atlanta.

I have been there, but with motorcycles. For a while I thought the problem was just I had the wrong kind of motorcycles and so I set out to get more of them. At one point I had a collection of roughly 35 motorcycles, which is kind of unmanageable for just one person. It didn't solve the problem so I tired to do some different things with them. I took up dirt riding again, I built a turbo honda cb450 to take land speed racing that blew up magnificently before I ever touched the salt or runway, A sidercar racer friend gave me some lessons on being the monkey, but while it all was fun for a short time it didn't make things better. At the time I was also working in the industry with Hell for Leather and working at Team Obsolete on their race bikes for a couple of nights a week. But I was still dissatisfied. The reality was, I was burnt out, I spent too much time around it that nothing impressed me anymore. So I paired down some of the bikes. I'm down to about 9 now, most of them either historically significant or sentimental, and few of them projects. I found the solution wasn't to burn it to the ground but to go and find a new hobby, meet new people, and do other things. If the urge strikes I can go back to it any time and go ride, but I don't feel like my life revolves around it anymore. Instead, I got really interested in building my own guitars, I resurrected my old RC hobby, I have been thinking about flying lessons again, and I do more crafts projects with my kid. this caused me to get out and meet different people, have different experiences, and feel better about the things I spend my free time doing. And once in a while I go back to my bikes, or working on my jeep and feel great about that. So here is my advice: before you sell of anything take a look around and see if there is something else out there not automotive that you have an interest in, and go do some of those things. If you like it, great! sell the vette (keep the camaro) and finance the new hobby. If not, look for something else, knowing that your cars are still there if you need them.

trolls. People don't like the hassle. I mean, what's the number one complaint about this place? trolls. Granted, I also think that people seem to forget their manners online. I really don't want to hear most members rush limbaugh spoon fed awful conservatism but since most people here can't help themselves, I take some slightly perverse delight in giving the opposite viewpoint back with the same tone and dismissive nature. None of you would do this in polite conversation but here? <fart noise> I will add an extra dimension to it generally in the sense that since you are talking about an illegal activity like street racing, and illegal activities that are "organized" (like racketeering or conspiracy to commit X) usually carry a harsher penalty than if it just happened impromptu, it generally isn't wise to broadcast them on the internet since you generally don't have an expectation of privacy on social media (except as to your PI data). That usually keeps stuff like that off of social media, generally speaking.

Just build a car that's fun to drive. There is always going to be some numbnutz whose gonna want to challenge you if you at the very least look and sound the part. We are car people - we can't fight our nature. Just be safe.

Pussy. (lol...just kidding) so you gonna tell us the platform yet? Is it the phlegm colored lemans?

we live in an era where street legal pro-mod cars are a thing. Let that sink in a second....this is now a "street" car: http://www.speednik.com/files/2015/12/2015-12-02_21-11-26.jpg It's not just about HP anymore, it's chassis and being able to put it down. If you want to be serious you are looking at a pro-stock/pro-street level equipment at a minimum. There are some small tire single digit cars but they aren't big fat Pontiacs, they are 2800lb fox mustang notchbacks or Sn95s making 4 digit hp and already bumping against the limits of the platform. With a backhalved or a tube chassis big tire car you could start out in the 600hp-800hp neighborhood and keep bumping up from there. now...if your goal is just to go out and scare mustang GTs with a full size, full bodied, full interior musclecar, depending on weight I would say you need to be in the 500hp neighborhood.

congrats!!!that's an awesome car.

Don't buy a bugeye wrx with a stick to learn to drive stick on. Trans is weak as wet toilet paper.

Bragging about how "superior" your transmission is and then admitting you never use it's superiority is probably the saddest thing I have read this morning. When you lose the desire to drive manual, you lose the Joie de vivre. You should sell it and buy a camry. A champagne colored one with hubcaps.

you should sell it just because it's an auto.

mmmm....beef on weck...I totally forgot that is a western new york thing. So Good!!!!

I'd have to see a window sticker or the car in person. Looks pretty well optioned though.

The only thing I think Tesla does right is smart tech to car integration. But they own their system where as ford/chevy/toyota/honda license it from others. Everyone will catch up at some point. Considering how politically conservative you are this is uncharacteristic. The amount of information they collect on you and the privacy concerns alone I would have figured would make your hair stand on end. You are NEVER alone in a tesla. never. Quite the contrary, I happen to love Elon and most of the things he does. I don't like it when he has little rich boy fits about making his workers safe or paying them a fair wage. The Tesla model is a struggle for me. The Cars thus far have been innovative in two very significant ways: 1) they made EV tech a luxury product. This is a significant thing considering it has always been approached from the thrift/green end of the spectrum. Prior to tesla - nobody would have ever seen an electric car as a high end luxury good. They are probably the only car successfully sold chiefly on a political position (independence from oil and the countries that control oil) as well which to me is fascinating. 2) Car and Smart technology integration. Tesla does this extremely well and frankly are probably the biggest drivers of improvement in the industry. They have shown the benefits and so far also proven the litigation environment isn't as scary as the larger automakers What they have been spectacular failures at and have yet to do are: 1) prove the EV luxury car model is profitable. Tesla doesn't lose money per car sold - the cars themselves turn a profit, but somehow the company is burning cash at a rate greater than several dumpster fires on top of a tire fire. I can't tell if it is their inexperience with the auto business or some kind of weird finance structuring they have going on, but the fact that they can't seem to make luxury electric cars keep the lights on by themselves is troubling. 2) Changing the auto industry sales and ownership experience model. Elon is a futurist, and in being so sometimes he picks fights he can't win. Sometimes he picks fights he shouldn't. Buying cars def sucks and the whole industry needs an overhaul, but they tired they direct sales model decades ago and it was such a clusterfuck it led to the crazy dealer protection laws almost all the states have today. I like that he tried, I am just not convinced that his current way of doing things is the correct course. Also it hasn't proved all that popular. He's certainly used the internet better than any other mfg and I'll gladly call him an industry innovator in that realm, but at the end of the day it's still a car and people don't cross shop a tesla - they either want one or they don't. So...how did the kool aid taste? Honestly, some of the tesla owners I met are like that. Some just bought them because it was the hot trend, and a few I know bought them as political statements. What you wrote there? that's PR nonsense. supposedly the reliability on them is very high. Their battery mileage is rated at 150,000 miles so that's huge (chevy rates the volt at 100K miles - both cars have shown an actual mileage that exceeds 300K with no charge loss). They still use a lead acid battery for the conventional non powertrain stuff and the gas engine which can be a problem if it sits. Accords are nice too. I guess. I think I fell asleep there for a second writing that sentence.

Then why an EV? Are they that rare though? I pass at least 5 every day of some model or another, mostly model S and X's. You know what's rare and a Tesla? the roadster. I drove it for an article I wrote about it years ago...it's the most fun I've had with an electric car and I'm including all those RC cars I used play with and any gold karts I may have wrecked. Aside from the one I drove, I have never seen another in the flesh - I think they made 3000 of them total. The 3 is only rare because it isn't on sale yet (or hasn't been on sale very long - I forget which). you know what is rare? A CR-Z with a manual transmission. I have only seen one since I moved here and it's the same one over and over again (it's lowered with ground effects). Even rarer than that? the insight. The CR-Z isn't "boring" but it ain't a rich person's car either. The first gen Civic Hybrids are stick also and pretty rare - and I bet all the suspension stuff for the regular civic bolts to it so you could probably build a nice handling car. But it will still be a car of the proletariat. Some things are status because they are a great product (like an old coach briefcase before they became a "fashion brand"), and some things are status just because you spent a lot of money (like an iphone X). The ones I listed are not "status" cars. They are cars that do a job, the same job as the tesla, well. Talking about a "new" car in general as an object with "character" is nonsense. I can understand being an "early adopter" of a tech but again, there are plenty of things here that do that - nearly every car mfg has an EV at this point and they are all rare. The only one that is a "status" symbol is the Tesla and that's only because it costs the most and their CEO is a loon. I am. I've only seen pics of the Model 3, but I have sat in an X, an S, and a roadster. The only draw to a tesla over the other options is that it's nice inside, shows the world you are an Elon Fanboi, and doesn't make you look poor. The model 3 losses the thread on 2 of these 3 items. Keep the Audi. It's fast, it's beautiful, it's comfy, and you already own it. Buy a CR-Z with a stick for your kid and use it to rack up miles till he gets his license (a nice low mile used one will cost $8K). Honestly, I was lucky that gas was cheap when I was learning to drive, and if the price starts to go up, having a fuel efficient hybrid that is a student's car is not going to stress his or your wallet.

Personally the Volt is a much better car then people give it credit for. If your lifestyle supports all electric use you can use the car as an electric car and it will consume maybe a gallon of gas a year turning the engine on and off to keep it operating properly. However, if you find yourself in a situation where your electric juice runs out, you aren't stranded and can just fill up at a gas station. Something not easily said about a bolt, a leaf, or anything tesla makes. Dad had a fully loaded Volt the first year they came out. It's touch screen wasn't tesla impressive, but honestly everything else about it was as nice as tesla including the leather. You don't see a lot of fully loaded volts because most people buying are mindful of the tax credits and want to keep the cost cheap. His second Volt, which was ordered by the son of a friend who then bought a Mercedes instead, wasn't nearly as nice because it had the kind of cost cutting decisions a college kid would make. I understand the "status" symbol of the Tesla, but honestly - the idea of an electric car as a status symbol at all is laughable. Every time I see a tesla the only message it sends to me is "look at me, I'm so rich I can afford a completely useless car that costs as much as a house". The price alone negates any savings you have going on from not using gasoline, and the mfg of the car isn't exactly green so having one doesn't make you an environmental hero. Personally, as a car person, if I was hell bent on having an "electric" car I would look at a Volt, a bolt, a Leaf, and a used CR-Z (because stick shift hybrid is the best hybrid). Although the prius is a great option as well it's too beige for me. If I was looking for a low ET electric drag car that I trailer to the track I'd look at a used tesla P85D or P100D with the ludicrous speed mode. But I would also look at used drag rollers and converting to electric power (it's surprisingly cheaper than you think). Once you take away the "speed mode" and the tesla name plate status - the rest of the car is just cheapest new 5 series bmw nice and not nearly as useful.

Protection and restraining orders are not the worst idea, and not super difficult to get on your own. However you do need to prove some things to meet the necessary proof. There also need to be actual charges filed agains the person. This website details the basics of what you will need for a Criminal Protection Order (CRPO): https://www.columbus.gov/Protection-Orders/ The criminal charges and the proof you have should cover most of that, esp if the charges are related to Aggravated Trespass, Criminal Damaging/Endangering, Criminal Mischief, or Burglary. The only thing I think you will need is to execute an affidavit explaining the circumstances and your belief that they will harm you or your property (usually if they have made a threat of physical harm). This may get you a Criminal Protection Order (CRPO) for as long as the criminal case is ongoing. I don't know what county you live in but your county clerk of courts should have a form you can use to fill out. Remember a CRPO isn't available unless the person is charged with a crime. In Ohio, Civil Protection orders are limited to Domestic Violence and Criminals, so getting a restraining order prior to charges being filed is not really an option. Keep in mind, if the person makes an open threat against you that you can prove you can call the cops and have them arrested for that and get a CRPO related to that charge, then you don't have to wait for the charges to be filed against the person for the break in/theft. Going forward I would basically be recording any interaction you have with this person just in case he makes a threat.

On a civil case like this most attorneys would want a $2500 retainer just to be hired and expect it being like $5K-$10K in legal fees. If you ask me not really worth it. However, for damages that don't exceed $6K, there is always small claims court. You basically file it yourself and it is handled before an administrative law judge (no jury). It's pretty straightforward and all it costs you is time. I assume you don't have insurance to cover your for this loss, right? if insurance is picking up the tab, forget it and move on - the law is there to make you whole again with money, not to be vengeful against someone. That being said If you do win at small claims court - you get a judgement which you can convert into a lien on things he owns (like houses and cars) and can then have the Sheriff auction them off for maximum inconvenience.

If it makes you feel better, the Pharma industry throws burning piles of cash at literally every single pricing measure that is proposed. That's why almost none get passed at the state level and there are very few federal price restrictions on drugs. It doesn't matter the merit of it, they will fight literally every single attempt to reign them in. Nope, nothing bigger. remember they are a not for profit = charity. What's in it for them to lower drug costs is they can get reimbursed for handing out more drugs to people that can't afford them from medicaid if the price is cheaper. That's literally it - they want the state to get more drugs for the money. Think of it not so much as unlimited legal fees but rather unlimited defense of the measure. If it passes - the drug companies will just continue to spend to repeal it. That means lawsuits, that means political contributions, dis-information campaigns, you name it. If the state isn't committed to fighting it in the courts then the first time the pharma industry funds litigation against it the measure will crumble. I'm not super thrilled about the legal fee portion of it either, but I understand it is a necessary commitment to preserve the act.

It gets voted down - it be dead. It won't come back next year. Also...Pharma is a money printing machine - it's impossible to bleed someone dry who's making it faster than they can spend it. Big Pharma is pouring buckets of money into defeating this - something here has them rattled.

just to add, There is a lot of "talk" about the NFP proponents of the bill (Aids Healthcare Foundation) as having an financial interest in the legislation. This is just not true. The Organization provides medicine to those in need, and then bills various insurance companies, including medicaid, for reimbursement. If this measure goes through, the AHF will actually get paid less when they bill medicaid for reimbursement of the drug. The primary goal of AHF is to provide medicine to people in need who can't afford to pay or who may be experiencing a shortage. They are a not for profit which means they fundamentally don't have a financial interest in maximizing profit. On the one side you have Big Pharma, on the other you have a charity that brings medicine to the sick and dying. Just in case you weren't clear on who was supporting what. AHF has spent $16 million campaigning for this bill here. By comparison Big Pharma has spent $50 million here on issue #2 and $109million in California to try and defeat prop 61 - in both cases it is/was the most expensive ballot measure for either state in the state's history.