mmrmnhrm

There's something so hideously twisted about that, but I can't figure out what. Oh, yeah... the intro monologue got attached to a song on the 'Spawn' soundtrack.

I could have sworn D'Anna got boxed. So does that mean only that particular instance of the D'Anna model got boxed, or is boxing something you do to the entire line?

A bit more on the origins of that chart.

Kandyse McClure. Nice, but I'm still keeping Grace Park (Boomer).

You can have her. I'm keeping Grace Park for myself.

Sure you can! Pick any of the following accounting dead-ends: 1) Enron 2) MCI-Worldcom 3) Arthur Anderson 4) Bear Sterns

Full agreement on rentals, but owner-occupied houses can go either way... I can't argue with them being a liability if you're an upside-down speculator or signed a mortgage agreement you didn't understand, for more than the house should have been worth in a non-bubble economy, but they do tend to appreciate slightly faster than inflation, even after taking maintenance into account, which is why I call them an asset.

+1 The only things you really want to finance are appreciating assets (houses, typically). Anything that depreciates is a "save and pay cash unless you absolutely have to" item, including cars and other sparkly toys.

Prediction: I won't be there. Second prediction: If I were, and had a full battery charge, I *might* break a 20. But I'd still be shoving it up Dick Cheney's Halliburton-lubed arse! :woowoo:

I'm not sure which is better, when the duel takes off and the buttons go nuts, or the fact that there's banjos playing to a hair metal and anarchistic background.

This is why the feds lowered the speed limit during the 70's. You can really see the difference in my car: 80mph, no drafting > 45mpg (yes, it *can* go this fast) 55mph behind a semi > 65mpg

+1

Fail

Rather than get all steamed up yet again about people buying into the anti-hybrid bullshit being piled on by the entrenched gas-only automakers, I suggest you do a google search for "hybrid fud". Practically every single "Hybrids are bad" argument I've seen so far is refuted in an article on the first page. Quit being sheeple, and do your own research. Edit: The delicious irony of this article being posted on Slate today is not lost on me.

I'd really like to see Diesel + Hybrid :burn:

When they first came out, the nutters who were driving insane mileage in a Prius did have to pay something like $5k for a worn out battery, but economies of scale are bringing that down for both Toyota and Honda (last I heard, a Civic's pack new could be had for about $3k), and as these things get into wrecks, I'm sure we'll start seeing rebuilt sets for even less. At roughly $500/yr gas savings (versus a 30mpg Civic, $2.50/gal), that means six years to cover a potential battery replacement, and four years to cover the original MSRP price difference (heh, the ten years minimum I want to keep it), but in all honesty, I expect the thing to start rusting out before I have to worry about the battery As far as regular maintenance goes, the thing is almost as bum standard as any other car on the road. I do oil changes myself, and can take it where-ever for stuff like alignment, gas engine tune-ups, brakes, and so on. The only thing I have to go to the stealership for is if one of the hybrid components (like a power transistor) crapped out. Since nearly everything on the road is still under warranty, there isn't any *good* (that is, not Chevy dealer BS) data out there about how much those modules cost.

If that falls through, PM me, I've got a B you can have.

One of the other tabs on the spreadsheet that generates the graph I linked earlier has the complete "filled on, filled with, odometers, tank mpg" history, from which I am able to estimate how much money I've saved versus any other MPG and $/gal point. Compared to my old Sable (25mpg), ball-parking the average price of gas as $2.50/gal, and driving just shy of 28,500mi in two years, I've saved about $1500 so far. Against the 30mpg I'd probably get with a Civic EX, the savings would be $1000. Use $2.75 gas, and the numbers become 1650/1100. $3.00 means 1800/1200. The more expensive gas becomes, the larger the spread gets. There certainly is a higher initial cost to the vehicle, but if you plan on keeping the thing 10-15 years like I am, you still come out ahead.

It's difficult to do an apples-to-apples for you guys, since the office sells mid-grade at wholesale, so I'll just point to my sig, and the lifetime chart.

That isn't as easy as it sounds, and not because of that union BS other people were on about. There is only one foundry in the entire world (Japan Steel Works) that is able to cast the steel containment vessels necessary for a reactor core. Last I looked, their max capacity was roughly 15-20 per year, and we're not the only ones buying. You want energy independence? Vote people in who understand that the only way out of this mess is a Manhattan project for solar, fusion, or both. Drilling Alaska oil and mining West Virginia coal won't do shit for except prolong the inevitable.

I just want to make a blue laser pointer out of it

Wondering if anybody here's spent significant amounts of time living and working overseas, in the *civilian* world. Military time doesn't count, since you don't have to deal with guest visas and payment/taxes in local currency. Just trying to see if it might be worth pursuing in two or three years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165874/ (possibly NWS just because of the movie content)

.MOD ftw... watching the tracker scroll by brought back some fond memories. I've still got a bunch of those songs lurking around on one of my drives, too.

Shrug... Sure looked like it to me.