Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

dino001

All fair points. So-called pay drivers are my biggest issue. The team parity is a bit less of a problem, as they can often bring a lot of color and there are periodic swings in power, usually when regulation changes. Red Bull, Brawn, Williams, McLauren, Renault all scored multiple championships, or had been at least serious contenders in the past, just not recently. Ferrari has not scored a championship for over 10 years now, so money doesn’t buy it all.

Lack of passing - that depends on the actual circuit and/or weather. This year had a lot of passing, except COTA. Also, passes in Indy or NASCAR are often meaningless, as drivers go at different pace. Those in F1 may be infrequent, but really mean something. It was worst around 10 years ago - almost no passes, as aerodynamics were the only thing that mattered back then. Today the tire wear and strategy can create quite a few passing situations. Not in all races, to be fair.

Michaell

dino001 said:

All fair points. So-called pay drivers are my biggest issue. The team parity is a bit less of a problem, as they can often bring a lot of color and there are periodic swings in power, usually when regulation changes. Red Bull, Brawn, Williams, McLauren, Renault all scored multiple championships, or had been at least serious contenders in the past, just not recently. Ferrari has not scored a championship for over 10 years now, so money doesn’t buy it all.

Lack of passing - that depends on the actual circuit and/or weather. This year had a lot of passing, except COTA. Also, passes in Indy or NASCAR are often meaningless, as drivers go at different pace. Those in F1 may be infrequent, but really mean something. It was worst around 10 years ago - almost no passes, as aerodynamics were the only thing that mattered back then. Today the tire wear and strategy can create quite a few passing situations. Not in all races, to be fair.

It's my understanding that the other 7 teams source engines from the top three teams (or Honda), and I'm pretty sure MB or Ferrari won't be sharing their latest technology.

I've read articles on how to "fix" F1 - now that they have new owners (Liberty Media, based here in CO, BTW), it's possible they could tweak the rules to achieve that result. One I find intriguing is a spending cap, per season. I don't know the numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised that MB and Ferrari spend 2x or 3x what other teams spend, annually.

And yes, I grew up reading about F1 races in Road & Track in articles written by Rob Walker. Each team was truly independent, then, and represented the pinnacle of motorsport.

dino001

I think the engine situation varies from year to year. I think Mercedes has been supplying same spec engine, while Ferrari not always. Haas last year got previous year’s engine, but this year it’s current one, This was purely matter of price and budget. Renault’s engines were good enough for Red Bull to win four championsips in the past, while the factory team languished. Same was with Mercedes before the last spec switch, when McLauren was doing well, while Mercedes was still “building”. Honda engined sucked for couple of years, but it’s getting finally better. Renault is the strangest of them. They seem unable go make it better and reliable for so many years.

Liberty Media is hoping to open the specs, so others could join (e.g. Cosworth, maybe others), but this us still being negotiated for 2020, or 21 planned spec switch. My understanding is Ferrari is the biggest opponent of the opening, which is funny considering they haven’t won for over 10 years. I do worry a little about LM, as not all their ideas are good. Some would surely dilute the Formula too much.

ab348

Michaell said:

And yes, I grew up reading about F1 races in Road & Track in articles written by Rob Walker. Each team was truly independent, then, and represented the pinnacle of motorsport.

Same here, with occasional items by Innes Ireland IIRC. Those were both such fun to read, written in a very "British" style.

fintail

Very cool. My dad was into F1 when I was a kid, I saw a bit of it on TV during the exciting days of the 80s and early 90s. I've never seen a race live. That, WRC, and MotoGP (and maybe a little DTM) are the only racing I follow to any level, and even that is minor.

And Kimi Raikkonen won yesterday, which is even cooler, my favorite current driver.

dino001 said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

roadburner

dino001 said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

My son and I attended the first F1 race at Indianapolis; the V10 BMW and Mercedes engines were loud and sounded unlike most any engine I had ever heard.

cdnpinhead

I lost interest in F1, after over ten years of following it pretty closely, when NBC stopped carrying it and ESPN took over. I don't care for their commentators, plus which, they don't carry the practices or qualification. I very much enjoyed the insight that David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Will Buxton brought to the broadcasts -- Leigh Diffey I could take or leave. I was concerned that they'd get less competent announcers when NBC took it over from Velocity, but it carried on much as before. Not so much with the ESPN fiasco. I guess we're supposed to pony up for the F1 "official" broadcast that's offered on line, but I'm not interested.

jmonroe1

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well it was only an 11 point spread. Imagine having to watch the 49ers get pummeled by 29 points.

You have to get a TV that has a working OFF switch.

jmonroe

ronsteve

I've followed F1 fairly closely since Juan Pablo Montoya and the coincident implosion of the ChampCar series, but I will admit I have drifted back to the unified IndyCar especially since the F1 turbo-hybrid era began in 2014. Went to the USGP a couple times when it was at the Speedway, including the Michelin tire debacle in 2005.

I was thrilled to see Kimi finally get another win yesterday, but not sure how much fun it will be to watch next year with both of my favorite drivers moving to much lesser rides (Kimi to Sauber and DannyRic to Renault).

I will say for most of the time I have watched F1, rarely have there been more than 3 teams with a legitimate shot to win. Maybe 2009 with McLaren, Ferrari, Brawn (now Mercedes), and Red Bull, or the 2003 overlap of McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, and Renault (plus a lucky Jordan at Brazil!). Even back in the late '80s and early '90s, it never stayed too wide open for very long. If more than 3 teams had a shot, someone was up-and-coming and someone else was fading, and it would soon be back to 3.

dino001

cdnpinhead said:

I lost interest in F1, after over ten years of following it pretty closely, when NBC stopped carrying it and ESPN took over. I don't care for their commentators, plus which, they don't carry the practices or qualification. I very much enjoyed the insight that David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Will Buxton brought to the broadcasts -- Leigh Diffey I could take or leave. I was concerned that they'd get less competent announcers when NBC took it over from Velocity, but it carried on much as before. Not so much with the ESPN fiasco. I guess we're supposed to pony up for the F1 "official" broadcast that's offered on line, but I'm not interested.

I agree, the coverage has a lot to be desired. They do cover practice and qualifier sessions, but ESPN sometimes doesn’t send correct schedule to TV providers, so it nay not show up on the TV Guide schedule. It happened couple of times early on, but now it seems it’s been fixed. Another issue it’s a straight Sky British raw footage with their commentary, no adjustment for American market. I think Brundle and Frost’s commentary is fine, I like Frost’s excitement at starts, even if it is slighltly manufactured. He is making it sound closer to announcing of soccer games on the radio. It not better, or worse, it’s just completely different and perhaps a bit acquired taste for some used to more measured commentary.

What ticks me off, is post-race gets sometimes cut off erratically, because of time slot limitations, very annoying. They’d never do that with any domestic sport coverage, going a bit overtime. Also commercial breaks come totally unannounced and in wrong times, also because of the footage being broadcast raw. I think ESPN took it completely unprepared, no staff, no work, it landed on their lap and they have no clue how to deal with it. Reminds me very much first years of ABC/ESPN coverage of FIFA World Cup. It was total disaster. They even cut off coverage if 2002 final match just after the final whistle, skipping the trophy presentation. Never seen anything like it. They learned later, now it’s Fox learning, but they are doing better job from the start. They will learn with F1, unless Liberty Media buys the rights back and turns them over to better people.

bwia

snakeweasel said:

Just picked up a new tablet, was easy peasy signing on. I know some here have had issues signing on but was pretty easy to get to the sign in page.

Well anyway I have a new Samsung tablet. 

Good choice and Congrats. I also have a Galaxy Tab S4 10.5” (S Pen included) with 256GB of internal memory that I received as a retirement gift. I like it a lot but alas I have not learned how to use S Pen feature. One of these days I will try it to awake my latent graphic art skills.

bwia

dino001 said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

Pardon the ignorance, but is there a difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 racing? IRCC, I believe Motorweek was trying to explain that either one or the other was permissible in the US but not both. Any clarity on this subject? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Mr_Shiftright

jmonroe1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well it was only an 11 point spread. Imagine having to watch the 49ers get pummeled by 29 points.

You have to get a TV that has a working OFF switch.

jmonroe

Well you know, fans always hope for the "miraculous comeback".....oh, wait, Tom Brady isn't the 49er QB!

coldinohio

Saw F1 at COTA in ~2013-- Vettel won and not too exciting race; engine noise at 17000 RPM --wow-- nothing like it-- getting out of austin the next day was a disaster as airport could not handle volume...

i liked gene haas comment re they are in formula 1.5 as they are not competitive with the top tier

at honda dealer over weekend looking for my son, and they had Type R civic locked on floor with 10000 ADM sticker--

graphicguy

coldinohio said:

Saw F1 at COTA in ~2013-- Vettel won and not too exciting race; engine noise at 17000 RPM --wow-- nothing like it-- getting out of austin the next day was a disaster as airport could not handle volume...

i liked gene haas comment re they are in formula 1.5 as they are not competitive with the top tier

at honda dealer over weekend looking for my son, and they had Type R civic locked on floor with 10000 ADM sticker--

Saw the same at the local Honda dealer this past weekend. Saw the Type R sitting in front of the dealership. Just pulled in to take a look. It was the same Type R that was there 2 months ago. The ADM had gone down from $10K to $5K, though.

I asked one of the sales people milling around if that price was firm. He said, “make an offer and let’s see if we can put you in it.”

driver100

Fly to Florida on Wednesday. Called Spectrum (Comcast) to order digital boxes which we now need. We have one on main TV, need ones for other 2 TVs.
Was on hold for 20 minutes while they told me about 15 times how much they knew my time was valuable and they would get to me as soon as possible. I think that is more annoying than just playing music. :@

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Fly to Florida on Wednesday. Called Spectrum (Comcast) to order digital boxes which we now need. We have one on main TV, need ones for other 2 TVs.
Was on hold for 20 minutes while they told me about 15 times how much they new my time was valuable and they would get to me as soon as possible. I think that is more annoying than just playing music. :@

Welcome to my world.

qbrozen

bwia said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time. Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

Pardon the ignorance, but is there a difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 racing? IRCC, I believe Motorweek was trying to explain that either one or the other was permissible in the US but not both. Any clarity on this subject? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Well obviously the difference is 2.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

bwia said:

dino001 said:

I’m just coming back from Formula 1 Grand Prix of US at Austin. For those who don’t know, F1 is the highest class odpf international motor racing, second most-watched sport in the world, after football, aka by small subset as soccer . F1 has been trying to make a headway in American market for years, Circuit if the Americas (COTA), purpose-built F1 race track is the most serious attempt. It’s been five years since the opening aleeady. I always wanted to go and see a live F1 race, so this year I finally went. The track is spectacular, takes inspiration best from several legacy tracks. Awesome turns, elevation change, long straight, fast and slow corners. All of it. It’s got a few flaws and unfinished facilities from the fan’s view, let’s hope they’ll figure them out over time.

Anyway, the cars screaming down the straight sound like bullet trains. It’s amazing such a sound can come from such a small machine with a tiny 1.6 liter engine. BTW, those are turbo hybrids, producing combined 800hp+, capable of doing more, but the regulations restrict the fuel flow. Who says you need V12, or big block V8 to have power? Only matter is for how long.

Pardon the ignorance, but is there a difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 racing? IRCC, I believe Motorweek was trying to explain that either one or the other was permissible in the US but not both. Any clarity on this subject? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Well obviously the difference is 2.

That's not what he meant and you know it. :@

jmonroe

snakeweasel

bwia said:

Just picked up a new tablet, was easy peasy signing on. I know some here have had issues signing on but was pretty easy to get to the sign in page.

Well anyway I have a new Samsung tablet. 

Good choice and Congrats. I also have a Galaxy Tab S4 10.5” (S Pen included) with 256GB of internal memory that I received as a retirement gift. I like it a lot but alas I have not learned how to use S Pen feature. One of these days I will try it to awake my latent graphic art skills.

It's a Tab A8, it's a midlevel tablet that has only 32GB but it's expendable. Not only is it WiFi capable it is also 4G capable so mobile data can be had.

snakeweasel

When it comes to auto racing give me stock car racing, primarily street stock and super stock on a short track. Just basic racing using everyday cars sometimes with some minor engine modifications. 

dino001

bwia said:

Pardon the ignorance, but is there a difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 racing? IRCC, I believe Motorweek was trying to explain that either one or the other was permissible in the US but not both. Any clarity on this subject? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Nothing much, only about 600 hp Formula 3 is a FIA (international federation) sanctioned of open wheel racing with set engine, I think it’s a Honda Civic Type R. I don’t know all the rules, but it’s basically a junior class to F1.

Michaell

dino001 said:

bwia said:

Pardon the ignorance, but is there a difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 racing? IRCC, I believe Motorweek was trying to explain that either one or the other was permissible in the US but not both. Any clarity on this subject? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Nothing

much, only about 600 hp Formula 3 is a FIA (international federation) sanctioned of open wheel racing with set engine, I think it’s a Honda Civic Type R. I don’t know all the rules, but it’s basically a junior class to F1.

Some light reading material....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Three

F3 uses naturally aspirated 2.0L engines, using a stock block as a starting point.

bwia

Thanks @dino001 and @Michaell for shedding some light on the differences between F-1 and F-3 racing. From reading the links it would appear that Formula 1 is the equivalent of major leagues and F-3 and other designations the minor leagues. I used to watch Hamilton when he was in his prime and winning consistently but not so much anymore.

dino001

bwia said:

Thanks @dino001 and @Michaell for shedding some light on the differences between F-1 and F-3 racing. From reading the links it would appear that Formula 1 is the equivalent of major leagues and F-3 and other designations the minor leagues. I used to watch Hamilton when he was in his prime and winning consistently but not so much anymore.

Hamilton is still in his prime, about to clinch his fifth championship with three races to go. All he needs is to finish seventh in the next one, I believe, regardless of what the runner up (Vettel) does.

abacomike

I texted my grandson asking him how he was fixed for spending money.  He responded, “...Oh, money it’s not really holding up much longer...”!  Now that he is involved with a coed, I assumed money was going to be a problem.

So I deposited a couple of hundred bucks into his Wells Fargo checking account and texted the receipt to him.  He called me and was so relieved that I had sent him some money - he was down to his last $20,00.

I remember when I was in college at NYU, it was my grandpa who gave me money - my dad never believed in giving his sons money. I had to promise my grandpa I would not tell my dad he was “shtooping” (German for putting money into the pot) me money.

Thank God for grandparents! 

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

I texted my grandson asking him how he was fixed for spending money.  He responded, “...Oh, money it’s not really holding up much longer...”!  Now that he is involved with a coed, I assumed money was going to be a problem.

So I deposited a couple of hundred bucks into his Wells Fargo checking account and texted the receipt to him.  He called me and was so relieved that I had sent him some money - he was down to his last $20,00.

I remember when I was in college at NYU, it was my grandpa who gave me money - my dad never believed in giving his sons money. I had to promise my grandpa I would not tell my dad he was “shtooping” (German for putting money into the pot) me money.

Thank God for grandparents! 

You got that right.You wanna be my Grandpa?

jmonroe

driver100

snakeweasel said:

When it comes to auto racing give me stock car racing, primarily street stock and super stock on a short track. Just basic racing using everyday cars sometimes with some minor engine modifications. 

I get enough thrills on I-75!

suydam

“Coed”?! Referring to a female student that way REALLY makes you a grandpa!

venture

abacomike said:

I texted my grandson asking him how he was fixed for spending money.  He responded, “...Oh, money it’s not really holding up much longer...”!  Now that he is involved with a coed, I assumed money was going to be a problem.

So I deposited a couple of hundred bucks into his Wells Fargo checking account and texted the receipt to him.  He called me and was so relieved that I had sent him some money - he was down to his last $20,00.

I remember when I was in college at NYU, it was my grandpa who gave me money - my dad never believed in giving his sons money. I had to promise my grandpa I would not tell my dad he was “shtooping” (German for putting money into the pot) me money.

Thank God for grandparents! 

Good for you Mike. You're a good guy.

driver100

"abacomike"> it was my grandpa who gave me money - my dad never believed in giving his sons money. I had to promise my grandpa I would not tell my dad he was “shtooping” (German for putting money into the pot) me money. 

So, that is how the phrase originated!

Suydam....what is the replacement word for "coed" (I haven't heard coed used for a long time now that you mention it). Are you supposed to say "different gendered person"?

Mike, I am sure your grandson will appreciate the extra $$$s. Next year a Mustang GT maybe...since you aren't allowed to buy yourself a car.

graphicguy

My late Father was the same way....”you want money? Go earn it!” Not saying this because I want to talk about how hard the “salad days” were. Loved my Father immensely. He was born here, but left when he was 2 years old to go back to Italy as the family could not support him.

He only knew one way......scrimp every last penny. He wanted his kids to be the same. We paid for our own college education. My Mother would throw us a $10 or $20 every once in a while. My Godfather was the one who would slip me a $50 to tide me over.

OVerall, in college, I bartended. BEcame certified to teach driver’s education (which was a lucrative gig for a college student).

Been on my own ever since.

abacomike

graphicguy said:

My late Father was the same way....”you want money? Go earn it!” Not saying this because I want to talk about how hard the “salad days” were. Loved my Father immensely. He was born here, but left when he was 2 years old to go back to Italy as the family could not support him. He only knew one way......scrimp every last penny. He wanted his kids to be the same. We paid for our own college education. My Mother would throw us a $10 or $20 every once in a while. My Godfather was the one who would slip me a $50 to tide me over. OVerall, in college, I bartended. BEcame certified to teach driver’s education (which was a lucrative gig for a college student). Been on my own ever since.

I, too, had to work when I was in college in order to have pocket money.  My grandfather paid for my tuition for my NYU years and my dad paid for my books - so I was very lucky I had my undergraduate education paid for.  My Masters and higher degrees were paid for with fellowships and grants, but always had to work for my room and board and pocket money.  No complaints here - none at all.

But my oldest grandson has his scholarships to pay for college, but I prefer that he not work his freshman year so he can concentrate on his studies and baseball.  So sending him money every month or so is my pleasure so long as his grades are good.

suydam

Aren’t they all just “students”?

abacomike

I never thought I would look forward to seeing the Gecko, or the AFLAC Duck, or the Shriners Hospital for Children commercials on TV!  But “BRING ‘EM ON!”

These political campaign ads are driving me nuts!  Thank goodness we have only 2 more weeks of this junk.  The negativism is overwhelming and uncalled for.  I have not seen one positive campaign ad in several weeks.

This is all due to extremely close races for Governor and US Senator here in Florida.  I am sure you guys are also sick of this.  So concentrating on cars, Formula racing and “shtooping” grandkids lighten up this time of year.

abacomike

suydam said:

Aren’t they all just “students”?

They are, suydam.  My use of the term “coed” is archaic and passé, but so am I! 

imidazol97

co·ed
/ˈkōˌed/Submit
INFORMAL
nounDATED•NORTH AMERICAN
1.
a female student at a co-educational institution.
adjective
1.
(of an institution or system) co-educational.
*******************

Gimme a break from the political correctness of the last several years.
This is the last place we need the PC police.

A coed is a female student.

Of course, maybe the trendy coed.com needs to change its name to be politically correct?

suydam

Yes, that’s the definition, but no one uses the term anymore because almost all colleges now admit both men and women. It’s not politically correct or incorrect, just dates back to a time when most colleges were single sex, so ones that did admit women were unusual. That’s all. It just struck me as funny. Hence the laugh icon. Chill.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

coldinohio said:

Saw F1 at COTA in ~2013-- Vettel won and not too exciting race; engine noise at 17000 RPM --wow-- nothing like it-- getting out of austin the next day was a disaster as airport could not handle volume...

i liked gene haas comment re they are in formula 1.5 as they are not competitive with the top tier

at honda dealer over weekend looking for my son, and they had Type R civic locked on floor with 10000 ADM sticker--

Saw the same at the local Honda dealer this past weekend. Saw the Type R sitting in front of the dealership. Just pulled in to take a look. It was the same Type R that was there 2 months ago. The ADM had gone down from $10K to $5K, though.

I asked one of the sales people milling around if that price was firm. He said, “make an offer and let’s see if we can put you in it.”

Probably wasn't talking about the car when he said "put you in it".

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

coldinohio said:

Saw F1 at COTA in ~2013-- Vettel won and not too exciting race; engine noise at 17000 RPM --wow-- nothing like it-- getting out of austin the next day was a disaster as airport could not handle volume...

i liked gene haas comment re they are in formula 1.5 as they are not competitive with the top tier

at honda dealer over weekend looking for my son, and they had Type R civic locked on floor with 10000 ADM sticker--

Saw the same at the local Honda dealer this past weekend. Saw the Type R sitting in front of the dealership. Just pulled in to take a look. It was the same Type R that was there 2 months ago. The ADM had gone down from $10K to $5K, though.

I asked one of the sales people milling around if that price was firm. He said, “make an offer and let’s see if we can put you in it.”

Probably wasn't talking about the car when he said "put you in it".

What! Some of us older guys might have been talking about a coffin.

driver100

suydam said:

Yes, that’s the definition, but no one uses the term anymore because almost all colleges now admit both men and women. It’s not politically correct or incorrect, just dates back to a time when most colleges were single sex, so ones that did admit women were unusual. That’s all. It just struck me as funny. Hence the laugh icon. Chill.

So, you aren't allowed to differentiate anymore....men and women are just students?

driver100

graphicguy said:

He only knew one way......scrimp every last penny. He wanted his kids to be the same. We paid for our own college education. My Mother would throw us a $10 or $20 every once in a while. My Godfather was the one who would slip me a $50 to tide me over.

OVerall, in college, I bartended. BEcame certified to teach driver’s education (which was a lucrative gig for a college student).

Been on my own ever since.

Sometimes, when I was a teenager, I wish my father ran a big company and I could be in charge of a division. GM or Ford would have been good. Sometimes I wished I could go skiing like some kids did, or have a car like a few did.

But, now I am happy I wasn't given those things....I wouldn't have turned out the same...it is very different when you have to make it on your own. I would never want to give that up.

Teaching driving is a good gig for a student. I drove taxis.....I was their youngest driver ever at 18. I was pretty ambitious - the taxi owner kept asking me to quit teacher's college and start driving a taxi for him.

Mr_Shiftright

suydam said:

Yes, that’s the definition, but no one uses the term anymore because almost all colleges now admit both men and women. It’s not politically correct or incorrect, just dates back to a time when most colleges were single sex, so ones that did admit women were unusual. That’s all. It just struck me as funny. Hence the laugh icon. Chill.

It's like the term "spinster" or "stewardess".

Mrs. Cleaver is now Ms. Cleaver.

graphicguy

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

He only knew one way......scrimp every last penny. He wanted his kids to be the same. We paid for our own college education. My Mother would throw us a $10 or $20 every once in a while. My Godfather was the one who would slip me a $50 to tide me over.

OVerall, in college, I bartended. BEcame certified to teach driver’s education (which was a lucrative gig for a college student).

Been on my own ever since.

Sometimes, when I was a teenager, I wish my father ran a big company and I could be in charge of a division. GM or Ford would have been good. Sometimes I wished I could go skiing like some kids did, or have a car like a few did.

But, now I am happy I wasn't given those things....I wouldn't have turned out the same...it is very different when you have to make it on your own. I would never want to give that up.

Teaching driving is a good gig for a student. I drove taxis.....I was their youngest driver ever at 18. I was pretty ambitious - the taxi owner kept asking me to quit teacher's college and start driving a taxi for him.

Yeah...my freedom from having the pressure of being indebted to my Father (or, at that time, anyone) was worth a lot to me. Same as today.

Weird how you find opportunities if you look. When I was bartending in one of the local watering holes (small university and small university town, without a lot of bars), you got to know the regulars. You had the town folk that went to their bars. You had the students that went to their bars (different from the town folk), and they you had the staff and professors from the university with their own bars. I bartended at the latter.

Got to know one professor pretty well. At the time, he was probably in his early mid-30s. I was around 20. I wasn't supposed to be bartending, but the establishment owner didn't care. I was work any shift, any day, even holidays, that he asked. So, as the owner told me..."if someone asks what you do for me, tell them you clean the bar". No one ever asked and I made good tips.

Anyway, back to the Prof. He was the head of the Technical Education Depts (Computer Ed, Vocational Ed, Driver's Ed) . I was in Computer Science, which was in the School of Business. He was urging me to get a double major by taking a few more courses in his dept to get a teaching degree, also. I really wasn't interested. To lure me into the School of Education, he said if I at least took a course for Driver's Ed certification, he'd allow me to use the Dept's Driver's Ed car (remember it to this day...a 1980 Dodge Aspen with a 225 slant six, with an extra brake pedal on the passenger's side) to teach Driver's Ed and I could keep ½ the fee the University was paid to help others get their driver's license. IIRC, it cost $75 for the required road hours one needed to pass the driver's exam. I kept $37.

I was teaching Prof's kids, their wives (especially those who came here from from another country to do research), etc. Where I really made money was from tips. I would help them study for the written part, which I used flash cards I made for that particular purpose (and worked great....they still used them after I graduated). I drilled them over and over how to pass the driving part of the test. I was using the University's Driver's Ed car and their gas. So, I had no out of pocket to teach them to drive, no matter how long it took. I even went to the test with them.

I was tipped $25, $50, wasn't unusual to get $100 for helping them pass. That's where I made the real money. I had 2-3 students/week passing their test. This was 30 years ago, so that was good money for me.

Between that, bartending, and school, I didn't have much time for anything else. But, I didn't go hungry and had money for beer and books.

Summers I would work at a Pepsi Cola bottling plant to pay tuition. I loaded trucks, and helped drivers deliver (which, if I worked hard enough, they'd give me a piece of their commission on their routes).

Not saying I was somehow the exception to the norm. Lots of my friends did similar things to scrape by. I was just lucky to land some pretty good jobs that paid much more than entry level minimum wage positions. And, I always had more than one job back then. That said, I also hustled to do those jobs.

fintail

Exactly. The term was archaic when I was a student 20 years ago. It has nothing to do with PC, time just moved on. Some move on with it, some, well...

suydam said:

Yes, that’s the definition, but no one uses the term anymore because almost all colleges now admit both men and women. It’s not politically correct or incorrect, just dates back to a time when most colleges were single sex, so ones that did admit women were unusual. That’s all. It just struck me as funny. Hence the laugh icon. Chill.

henryn

So? Some of us are archaic. You got a problem with that? (Imagine heavy Italian accent (think Sopranos) )

berri

This is really a "who cares" matter. Just call everyone Mx and move on

jmonroe1

Thanks guys, you passed on the bugaboo sign-in problem to me. I first noticed this on my smart phone today and just went ahead and signed in when I got the Howdy Stranger page without any problem. Then I wondered if I would get the Howdy Stranger page on my PC so I went to the office and sure enough I did. However, the Howdy Stranger page that popped up on my PC didn't have the correct email so I changed it. Still didn't work. Got the blank page with the spinner. Tried that a couple times with no success. Then decided to go in using the Edmunds home page and going in that way, via research tab and forums, it finally worked. Somewhat odd that it worked right away on my smart phone but had to play around on my PC.

I'm beginning to think that it has something to do with my dues payment. I always wait until I get my Social Security deposited to my checking account on the fourth Wednesday of the month and that's when the auto pay feature sends my monthly dues to Edmunds. Did Edmunds change their payment date or grace period or what? :@

jmonroe

henryn

Hmmm... Where are you sending those dues? Sign in here and verify your address:

http://ripmeoff.com/afoolandhismoney

jmonroe1

henryn said:

Hmmm... Where are you sending those dues? Sign in here and verify your address:

http://ripmeoff.com/afoolandhismoney

I'm paranoid so I'm not even going to click on that link.

jmonroe