zeitgeist57

The new GT-86/FR-S convertible looks great... http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTrZjcmVtVVrJcFdP6mPAj4b67pJyMPzOP89LWlJpruCblaS1-L

BIDEN LOL FACEPALM or OBAMA LOL FACEPALM ...is pretty much my response from anything .gov-related from here until 2016.

Tough guy, checking in! If I could do a graph, I'd show the trending importance of maintaining strength and flexibility, while minimizing chances for injury, as you get older. Muscle training to stay strong and keep fit FTW. I'm bigger than Joe, but he's got my respect: you can't earn that getting BIG in the gym and off of bulk suppliments.

Saw this on the morning market report distributed internally at work: >Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA) BNSF Railway, one of the biggest U.S. consumers of diesel fuel, plans to switch to natural gas this year. If successful, this could weaken oil's dominance as a transportation fuel. >ConocoPhillips (COP) CEO Ryan Lance said that shale development is growing fast enough that the U.S. will be an energy exporter within a decade and the federal government should not stand in the way. I for one love the idea of using natural gas to fuel a car. Looking forward to more improvements as the next few years come along. I would totally rock a CNG car, or convert Cleetus

The concept of a ghost track is fascinating. Understanding it's someone elses' land...if I had permission, the track surface would have to be pretty dilapidated for me not to hoon on it at every opportunity.

:gtfo: w/ your year-round car climate!

I'm assuming that school districts have a few snow days to burn through? They were closed because of sleet a week or so ago and now this... Side roads were a bit of a pain, but main roads are perfectly fine.

http://hehpic.com/eD.jpg

LOL @ $1MM+ price tags for a car. For that price I'd invest in a Mooney or Beechcraft Bonanza, since I'm a pilot. Better performance as transportation than LaFerrari anyday. Enjoy playing bumper cars - on the track as well as on the road - with every clueless or uninsured potatoe manning the wheel of another car.

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=693&pictureid=6994 http://art.ngfiles.com/images/102/koldblood_forever-alone-title-screen-art.jpg

Time Clay spent on his spreadsheet, and posting on CR = 30min (on conf call) Time Wags spent on his response = 10 seconds. Game, set, match. ADVANTAGE = WAGS

With the Passat quickly ticking over 160k miles since we bought it brand new, I am not looking forward to financing another DD, but it might come to that sooner than later. I would keep the Passat as a winter beater, so over the last couple of years since selling my Corvette I've been looking at more sporting RWD options for DD use. With a small family, I still need to have seating for 4, with LATCH for a baby seat. I will only drive a manual, and the price of purchase needs to be as low as I can go because I'm cheap. Given the parameters I need to meet, and after EXTENSIVE searching/test-drives I've narrowed down the final two cars to the Mazda RX-8 and Cadillac CTS-V. I submit to you below some snippets from an Excel spreadsheet I used, plus numbers from a 2013 Passat TDI 6-speed manual as a very efficient DD comparison... I sampled numbers from cars listed on AutoTrader: RX8 - $12,500...232hp...18MPG average CTS-V - $18,500...400hp...20MPG average Passat - $25,000...150hp...35MPG average The RX8 and CTS-V have approx 40k-75k miles on them. The Passat would be newer, less than 30k miles. Assuming $4.00/gal for premium gas (RX8 and CTS-V) as well as $4.30/gal for diesel (Passat), this is what the fuel cost would be over 100k miles: RX8 - $22,222 CTS-V - $20,000 Passat - $12,285 Without counting other maintenance items, just the fuel + purchase price for all vehicles stacks up: RX8 - $34,722 CTS-V - $38,500 Passat - $37,285 Given the much lower used car purchase price for a 2005-2007 RX-8...it narrowly comes away with a lower cost-per-mile to drive relative to the CTS-V or Passat. Unfortuantely for the RX-8, there are other costs I'm not taking into account that come into play: higher oil burn rate than both piston-driven cars, possible reliability problems. The Passat is calculated over a 100k mile useful life, but we all know that a diesel Passat SHOULD go a good 200k+ miles before another car is needed. Lastly, the CTS-V is just plain pimpity. It's the unquantifiable observations that may win out in the end. This was a fun and simple (through Excel) exercise I did to try and quantify real options for the future. I hope some of you practice a similar exercise before making a car purchase!

Love the 7. You gotta see it on the inside as well...incredibly well done for being a $75k 5-door hatchback. Love the way the rear looks on that thing as well. Would totally take an A7/S7 over an A8/S8.

Came in here to refer Tom for the job, but you can't have him move to Cincy...

M-I-C-K-E-Yyyyyyyyyyyyyy M-O-U-S-E ROLL CALL MAAHFUCKAHS!!!!

Hey, Phil....softball is on for this spring. Philm at 11.

Arnold Classic thread on CR = OH, THE BROMANITY... http://www.mypivots.com/site/uf/11384/hindenburg-omen.jpg

Was dick's cussing this with a friend over lunch... Keeping the Honda Ruckus and Suzuki Savage 650 (S40) in mind as relatively cheap methods to get on the highway...is there an even cheaper, possibly foldable scooter that could get itself and a 200lb person up to 55mph? I UNDERSTAND THE SAFETY ISSUES...just curious if there is a sub $1500 (new/used) way to get a scooter into the trunk of a car. THINGS I ALREADY REALIZE: 1) Anything with two wheels is inherently a deathtrap. 2) In communist USA, $1000 tee-ruk drives YOU! 3) What is the point of spending $1500 on something even more minimalist than a good used 650cc motorcycle? 4) If a viable method of transportation exists aside from the bus, I still won't buy it because I'm Clay.

Just gauging interest in starting Cars and Coffee back up... Last few years, I waited until mid-April. However, there is a good base of car guys that have shown up regardless of weather...hmmm...

I love his look with that cheezball sweater and the most unlikely human head coming out of the neckline. Man's got talent FO' SHO...

That was a funny pic of your daughter against the 10-yr old... Glad they are having a great time with it!

Left for Boca Raton on Thursday...bulk comin' off the planes. Just got back this afternoon from a conference...bulk getting back on planes. Love what the Arnold Classic does for Columbus! Need DAT ECONOMIC BUMP :thumbup:

Reminds me of an AMX. Herp derp wonder why...

Turn off sigs: the BEST setting for viewing CR :thumbup:

:whistle: Tough to do again these days; lotsa new regulations and the banks are :fa: about lending for investment properties...property ownership tax bennies are still a cornerstone of the U.S. economy :thumbup: I disagree with acklac7...I think you'll have a greater success rate going online to start a business, rather than focusing on what a finite market like Columbus, OH needs...plus, the "high-end rental car" business model is older than the internet and as likely to succeed as Obama is to cut .gov spending programs. Another option is to talk with other business owners (family/friends)...there may be a way to buy into a reasonably healthy business as a shareholder, or partner up by paying down some of their debt in return for ownership. Sometimes, existing business owners want to target different markets: that's something YOU can do with your money, and a synergy could form using existing business infrastructure and contacts to make it happen......we're seeing a LOT of mergers and acquisitions, especially with established companies and their baby-boomer founders wanting an "exit strategy"....your $100k could look very attractive to someone wanting to do some aquiring/integrating of their suppliers/vendors...plus there are tax benefits to that money being used/money being made/money lost as a business expense.