Mallard

This is my friends car. It's a manual too. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs221.snc3/20861_405082753110_517193110_4501771_7329224_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs050.ash2/35884_405082208110_517193110_4501759_3427782_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs541.ash1/31670_387627208110_517193110_4067872_1668406_n.jpg

You obviously haven't test driven any of their new models. They might not be race cars, but the SRX, CTS, Equinox, Lacross, and Regal are great cars. The Malibu is pretty good, and getting an update soon.

I wonder if the ZR1's aren't selling well. I've been to 3 Chevy dealers and seen at least 5 ZR1's in just about every color except blue.

It might be worth $6k if they can put your name on the engine with the tech that assisted.

You could always pay to watch your Vette assembled in BG. But this allows you to actually put your hands on the engine. Think of it as an interactive tour. Actually, I guess now you could pay to build your engine in Wixom, then go to BG and watch your whole car go together.

You can watch a video or look through the pics of the hand assembly here -> http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/12/chevrolet-to-let-corvette-owners-build-their-own-engines-for-a/

This has to be one of the worst ever.

Interview with the test driver. http://www.0-60mag.com/news/2010/07/bugatti-veyron-supersports-16-4-speed-record-debrief/

Jimmy, it sounds like your buddy is a super douche bag that wanted to start something. Just accept that your "bro" twisted everything that was said and give it up. So much childish bitching goes on around here. Maybe for the next meet everyone can bring a pint of Häagen-Dazs over to your house, watch The View, and cry about everything.

So on Monday I loaded up the Pontiac Solstice web forum (which is owned by AutoForum's) and immediately I noticed it was loading slow. Then I start getting pop up's about a virus trying to infiltrate my computer, and I needed to download anti-virus software. Obviously, I knew these pop-ups were the virus. Somehow it disabled Norton, loaded itself on my computer, changed files in my registry, and started wreaking havoc. Long and the short of it is AutoForum's uploaded some new banner ad's and one of them was a virus. Don't they scan this crap before upload it?! Now I'm working on getting everything backed up so I can format my HD. Is there any way to protect against this? This virus loads through flash code, so any thing in a flash player, animated banner ad, etc. could have it.

Agreed. Even though the MSP has less power than a lot of cars out there, on twisty roads it will eat them up. I'll add that my friend and I bought MSP's around the same time and were both tracking them. I sold mine, he kept his. He's won his class at the NASA Time Trials National Championships twice in a fairly stock car, and been really competitve since gutting it and stripping a lot of weight out. He's going on his 5th season with the car and the engine is still stock. I think he turn's high 1:3x's (i think around 1:38?) at Mid-Ohio. He did a 1:42.9 in a mildly modified car.

I had a MSP for a few years and a lot of what people are saying is true. It's is a GREAT handling car! One of the best I've ever driven, and several magazines said it was the best handling FWD car ever (and this is including the Integra Type R). Parts are fairly easy to find since everything is basic Protege stuff with a turbo on it. There are some problems to look for, like cracked manifolds, and I wouldn't trust any car wasn't abused or improperly modified. A lot of ricers and teenagers had these cars and just cranked the boost up. If I were buying one used I would make sure I had enough money to build the engine, add supporting bolt-on's, tune it, and replace the LSD. So, yes, it could be a giant money pit, but it's an incredibly fun car to drive. If you want to race open track/time trial events this is a pretty decent car to have. I didn't find the MS3 to be as 'tossable' as the MSP, but it probably has better durability.

That Ford GT didn't pass durability testing and doesn't come with a warranty. I find it funny that people always want to put the SSC UA and tuner cars at the level of the Veyron. The Bugatti has an unfathomable number of engineering hours into it, as well as strict durability testing. It will make 1200 HP consistently, for many, many miles. It will click off sub 3.0 sec 0-60 runs over and over and all you have to do is change the fluids, fill it with gas, and keep tires on it. Sure, those tires cost $20k for a set, but they're specially wound Michelin's developed to survive sustained 250+ mph speeds.

uh-huh

I think some people thought you meant "a police officer talking to The Dispatch."

No problem. No one actually lives in the city, the nice area's are in the burb's. Good luck with your search.

Are you opposed to the Detroit area? It's a 3-4 hour drive to Columbus, and probably close to the same to Cleveland. There has been a shortage of Electrical Engineer's up here (or so I've heard), especially one's with mechatronic experience. It would be worth it to talk to a few recruiters up here and/or look on company websites (Ford, Chrysler, GM, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Bosch, TRW, Continental, GE, etc.). The job market up here has been improving, so it's not as dismal up here as it was a year ago.

Yeah, I saw that one too (more on his CarDomain). The wife is too worried about it and has pretty much ruled it out. I couldn't find any pics of a rearward facing infant seat, and most seat bases might not fit well in the back seat. The location of the receiver for the buckle also appears pretty far forward, which could be bad for holding a child seat tight. The wife designs airbags and does a lot of testing with child seats, so what she says goes. Looks like I need to start looking for something else, but that pushes my price up high enough where it needs to be my daily driver too :(

fuuuuuuuu...it has a back seat, but the wife thinks they are too deep of buckets for a child seat...so this may get shut down. Have any of you had to put a child seat in the back? If so, can you take a pic? If this doesn't work out I may have to get a fun daily instead of a daily and a fun car. (M3, G35...something sedan based with a better back seat)

Did the 4 bolt main come with the 6 speed, or was it introduced before that? Same thing for the 23 spline output shaft? Did all have forged cranks? I've seen a couple 93's listed for around $6k. One said the 2-3 shift sometimes grinds :/ kickass - Thanks for the stealth link. That looks like a good resource.

I'm throwing around the possibility of getting a "fun" car this fall/winter to replace the Sky (which I traded in almost 2 years ago). I have a place in my heart for '90's turbo sports cars (300ZX, 3S, RX7, etc) so I've been looking into finally picking one up at a reasonable price. The 3S models stand out because I will eventually need to drive with a child seat in the car it those are the only one's with a back seat (unless I go for an Eclipse, 240SX, or similar). I wanted a Stealth, but there are more 3000GT's out there so it looks possible to find a better deal on those. I know some people on the forum have VR4's, so maybe someone can give me their impressions. What should I look out for? Are there any mechanical differences between model years (besides looks)? When maintained, how reliable are they? Are parts more expensive than avg. if something needs fixed? Are parts readily available since they've been out of production for 11 years? The engine bay looks cramped, how easy is it to work on? What would you expect to pay for a rust free, good running car? I have been on the 3si.org site, but I have not registered (a lot of forums are private). I'm just looking for a basic overview to know if I'm wasting my time looking for one and if I should look for something else.

First off, while the passenger compartments held up well, the damage is extensive. The problem with driving in a test vehicle is: #1) most of the time the airbags are disabled. Obviously the BMW's bags were on and deployed, but the pics of the LFA make it difficult to tell. It appears that they draped a white sheet over the interior of the car (the airbags are not that big). #2) if you are testing and riding as a passenger you could be holding a laptop, or even worse, there could be a hard-mounted laptop on a metal stand in front of you. My guess is the LFA driver could have crossed the center line due to a medical condition, but death could have occurred from the accident. He was "spied" on the Nurburgring shortly before this, and for all you know he could have been wearing a harness with his helmet and HANS removed after he exited the track. Or the airbag could have been disabled and hit hit the wheel. Or maybe he cut the corner because he didn't see anyone. Or maybe it got loose coming out of the curve and he was trying to save it. Who knows. The BMW driver is most likely the one that's fine, while the passenger probably sustained serious injury from either the airbag forcing something into him (laptop), or he hit a hard-mounted stand. The speculation (even mine) is worthless though. This is no reason to pass on buying a BMW.

Sad news. Hopefully the other driver pulls through. One of my biggest fears at my (old) job was being involved in an accident on public roads while traveling away from home. I've been on "ride-and-drives" where inexperienced people will grossly over drive the cars and put themselves and others in danger. During winter test season there are frequently test drivers killed in Sweden. This was obviously not what happened here, but I would disagree with the statement that "at least he died doing what he loved."

Post Office. You can pay more and have it expedited. Or you can drive to Chicago (i think) and get it right away (a friend had to do this when he lost his PP the week before his trip it Europe).

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