Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

roadburner

My dad had one of the first 1965 Mustangs- with a 260 V8. He also had a 1967 and a 1970. In 1970 he bought a Torino GT 351C with the shake hood and "Laser Stripes." After that he bought some boring(and mostly crappy) cars- 1972 Caprice, 1973 Bronco, and a 1974 Maverick LDO. He redeemed himself by moving on to the slick downsized Caprice(1978 and 1981) and a wonderful Mark VII LSC.

houdini1

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Old memories. LOL.
What's with all the complaining about windshield wipers slowing down when engine vacuum drops due to an open throttle under load? You just learned to drive in a gear to keep the engine speed high without opening the throttle valve all the way.

Then Technology fixed that by adding a vacuum pump on the fuel pump to maintain a minimum vacuum even under full engine load and that kept the wipers moving. That was high technology in those times. 1957? I think that Ford had the vacuum assist for the wipers.

Then along came electric wipers.

That system must have persisted past 1957 because I can remember driving a small bus based on the Chevy van that had the same problem with the wipers going up hills. Maybe it was just a junky bus.

I had an old jeep (army style) as a teenager, and you worked the windshield wipers by hand. It had a little handle above the windshield that you just moved back and forth. I don't remember if this was just a fall back emergency wiper or if it was the main wiper. I know I used it though.

sda

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=vacuum+windshield+wipers+in+operation&&view=detail&mid=784EB8716081EA1EE918784EB8716081EA1EE918&FORM=VRDGAR

As a boy around age 6, I remember mom driving her '55 Chevy with vacuum wipers. They would virtually come to a stop when mom would pull away from a stop and then regain speed. I found this video that perfectly demonstrates what I remember. Vacuum wipers--you can keep them.

isellhondas

Oh, those vacuum wipers coupled with the lousy blades they used to use were pretty scary especially at night.

They would cut out when you needed them to work the most such as when passing a truck on a dark road.

houdini1

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

Sandman6472

First car was my grandpa's '67 Olds Cutlass Supreme four door, turquoise with a black vinyl roof. Eventually had it painted blue and then a light brown my last summer in New Orleans, 1976. Found some hubcaps from a '63 Olds Starfire and made it look so much better. Really was a great vehicle for a college kid and finally traded it in in '77 for a really horrific '76 Opel, the vehicle from hell!!!

The Sandman

oldfarmer50

Interesting lease deal came in a mailer today. 2016 Kia Forte LX $159/mo. plus about $1000 in fees 0 down. 3 year 10k miles.

Not knowing much about leases I wonder how you find the money factor in this deal.

toomanyfumes

IIRC my 1970 Gremlin had vacuum wipers. They definitely stopped when going up a hill.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Interesting lease deal came in a mailer today. 2016 Kia Forte LX $159/mo. plus about $1000 in fees 0 down. 3 year 10k miles.

Not knowing much about leases I wonder how you find the money factor in this deal.

Someone was looking for a car to lease for under $200 a month!

driver100

sda said:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=vacuum+windshield+wipers+in+operation&&view=detail&mid=784EB8716081EA1EE918784EB8716081EA1EE918&FORM=VRDGAR

As a boy around age 6, I remember mom driving her '55 Chevy with vacuum wipers. They would virtually come to a stop when mom would pull away from a stop and then regain speed. I found this video that perfectly demonstrates what I remember. Vacuum wipers--you can keep them.

That was cool to see. 56 Chev with 3 on the tree......that sounds like a lot of fun.

I like the wiper pattern too, 2 arches, when they move slow it is a miracle if you can see anything, and that varying motion makes you dizzy.

stever

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

houdini1

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I agree that the driver is probably the most important factor. While I did not see anything about the drivers, they both looked competent, but who knows. That is why I tried to post it (unsuccessfully). So a more competent driver could take a look and give their view. The video is on Road and Track online if anyone can post it.

snakeweasel

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

jmonroe

snakeweasel said:

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

I believe everything I see on the internet.

jmonroe

jmonroe

sda said:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=vacuum+windshield+wipers+in+operation&&view=detail&mid=784EB8716081EA1EE918784EB8716081EA1EE918&FORM=VRDGAR

As a boy around age 6, I remember mom driving her '55 Chevy with vacuum wipers. They would virtually come to a stop when mom would pull away from a stop and then regain speed. I found this video that perfectly demonstrates what I remember. Vacuum wipers--you can keep them.

My first car was a '56 Chevy that I bought in 1961 from my uncle when I was in the Navy. It was a straight 6 and it had those infamous vacuum wipers. That thing was a dog. It is the main reason I vowed to never own an under powered car again. I even had to do a valve job on that thing and it didn't even have 25K miles on it when I did it. Of course back in those days, 25K miles was the half life of a lot of engines.

Yeah, that car taught me lots of lessons.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

snakeweasel said:

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

Both drivers seem off the mark to me.

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

snakeweasel said:

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

Both drivers seem off the mark to me.

Both drivers were off the mark, but it looks like the second driver was handling it better.

stever

I saw that clip while looking for @houdini1's video on youtube. Did you notice how many people were racing Miatas against Porsches?

andres3

Competent and Fast are two different things.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Interesting lease deal came in a mailer today. 2016 Kia Forte LX $159/mo. plus about $1000 in fees 0 down. 3 year 10k miles.

Not knowing much about leases I wonder how you find the money factor in this deal.

Someone was looking for a car to lease for under $200 a month!

Yeah, me, for my relative.

ab348

Am I correct in assuming that those old cars with vac wipers did not have a vacuum reserve tank?

The way they just stop when accelerating is more than a bit disconcerting.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

Roadburner was definitely not driving that Porsche. Almost stops in the turns. Maybe the guy just got the car and was afraid of smashing it up on his first track day.

jmonroe

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I'm not going to rag on your driving skills or lack thereof but from what I know about @roadburner, he wouldn't be caught dead driving a minivan. Even if it was to prove a point.

jmonroe

stever

He could walk and still lap me (I'd be spun out in the weeds in the first corner. )

jmonroe

stever said:

He could walk and still lap me (I'd be spun out in the weeds in the first corner. )

Gee...I didn't know you had it that bad.

jmonroe

roadburner

Thanks for all the kind words, but yes- the driver is almost always what determines which car is faster. There is a HUGE disparity between drivers and their abilities. I once had a 5' tall introverted young lady for a student; she was driving a mildly modified 2004 325i in an intermediate run group. She passed 911s, Mitsubishi Evos, and Corvettes in every session.

stever

jmonroe said:

stever said:

He could walk and still lap me (I'd be spun out in the weeds in the first corner. )

Gee...I didn't know you had it that bad.

jmonroe

My adrenalin interests ran more toward whitewater and snowboarding. Different stokes. And thus the interest in minivans - how else are you going to carry 3 canoes and a couple of C-1s to the put-in in comfort?

jmonroe

stever said:

jmonroe said:

stever said:

He could walk and still lap me (I'd be spun out in the weeds in the first corner. )

Gee...I didn't know you had it that bad.

jmonroe

My adrenalin interests ran more toward whitewater and snowboarding. Different stokes. And thus the interest in minivans - how else are you going to carry 3 canoes and a couple of C-1s to the put-in in comfort?

I know what you mean. My interests always involved sports. I'd still like to throw a curve ball like I did when I was 20 or hit a screaming line drive over second base or run down a long fly ball or throw a 20 yard out or...you get the idea.

Where Son #1 got his interests in tracking I don't know because he liked sports also. I guess you can say he grew down.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Thanks for all the kind words, but yes- the driver is almost always what determines which car is faster. There is a HUGE disparity between drivers and their abilities. I once had a 5' tall introverted young lady for a student; she was driving a mildly modified 2004 325i in an intermediate run group. She passed 911s, Mitsubishi Evos, and Corvettes in every session.

That may be one of my first things to do when I retire...take a course in performance driving. I'll tell the wife I'm doing charity work.

driver100

jmonroe said:

stever said:

jmonroe said:

stever said:

He could walk and still lap me (I'd be spun out in the weeds in the first corner. )

Gee...I didn't know you had it that bad.

jmonroe

My adrenalin interests ran more toward whitewater and snowboarding. Different stokes. And thus the interest in minivans - how else are you going to carry 3 canoes and a couple of C-1s to the put-in in comfort?

I know what you mean. My interests always involved sports. I'd still like to throw a curve ball like I did when I was 20 or hit a screaming line drive over second base or run down a long fly ball or throw a 20 yard out or...you get the idea.


jmonroe

There is still hope....may I suggest Pickleball?
https://youtu.be/qmYF67dqNaQ

driver100

Wisdom, from Maxine:
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia."

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

Thanks for all the kind words, but yes- the driver is almost always what determines which car is faster. There is a HUGE disparity between drivers and their abilities. I once had a 5' tall introverted young lady for a student; she was driving a mildly modified 2004 325i in an intermediate run group. She passed 911s, Mitsubishi Evos, and Corvettes in every session.

Near me there are several interchanges between Interstate highways where the ramp is designed for high speeds, such that any vehicle with 4 wheels that isn't overloaded to make it top heavy should be able to take the ramp at at least 60 MPH. I rarely see vehicles, even high end sports cars, take these ramps at over 40-45 MPH.

My favorite example is southbound end of I-355 getting onto eastbound I-80, the ramp is 2 lanes wide and can be taken at highway speeds. One day I am on this route doing a between 5 and 10 over the limit approaching the ramp that takes us to eastbound I-80 when this 911 flys by me and as it starts the curve it hit's the breaks. I enter the curve without slowing down and easily not only navigate the curve by pass the 911. As soon as the curve straightens out for the merge onto I-80 the 911 opens up and flys past me once again, all this time I maintained a consistent speed.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

Wisdom, from Maxine:
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia."

"If money can't buy happiness I guess I'll have to rent it" - Weird Al.

houdini1

Mr_Shiftright said:

snakeweasel said:

stever said:

houdini1 said:

I just saw a pretty amazing track sequence on Road and Track, where a 135 hp Miata, track equipped, stayed with a 580 hp Porsche 911. The Porsche would gain on the straights, but that little Miata would catch up when braking for turns, etc.. Wish I knew how to post it.

I could be driving that Porsche and @roadburner would be lapping me driving my minivan.

It's not about the bike (although sometimes it is...).

I was thinking the same thing, the driver can mean a world of difference.

I did find this, what do all of you think?

https://youtu.be/F91MSFNM8HM

Both drivers seem off the mark to me.

Thanks for posting that video Shifty. You 'da man !

I noticed that there was a green car in front of the Porsche that the Porsche could not gain on, even in the straights. Could anyone tell what type of car that was? Looked like a pretty smooth driver.

nyccarguy

driver100 said:

Wisdom, from Maxine:
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia."

I have a friend who is very attracted to his wife's money. He's got a Tesla Model S P85D (had an ///M5 & 2 different X5 ///Ms before it), An Escalade (hers), an Alpina B7 L X-Drive, 2 Harleys, and a Suburban (at their house in Florida). He works for her family's real estate business, she literally does NOTHING all day (nails, lunch) and goes to Florida for the better part of 3 months during the winter to be with her horses. The nannies are basically raising their 3 young children. There was a time where their son started to call one of the nannies "Mommy." It's disgusting.

I love cars as much as the next guy. I can tell you unequivocally that I'm much happier with my 1,431 square foot ranch (which is being painted next week while we are away), Subaru, & 2 Hondas.

houdini1

You are a wise man grasshopper !

ab348

^^^ I dunno if you can believe that - the anchorman has a rep for "embellishing" the facts...

driver100

The anchorman just says he goes to places where he hasn't been!

driver100

nyccarguy said:

driver100 said:

Wisdom, from Maxine:
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia."

I have a friend who is very attracted to his wife's money. He's got a Tesla Model S P85D (had an ///M5 & 2 different X5 ///Ms before it), An Escalade (hers), an Alpina B7 L X-Drive, 2 Harleys, and a Suburban (at their house in Florida). He works for her family's real estate business, she literally does NOTHING all day (nails, lunch) and goes to Florida for the better part of 3 months during the winter to be with her horses. The nannies are basically raising their 3 young children. There was a time where their son started to call one of the nannies "Mommy." It's disgusting.

I love cars as much as the next guy. I can tell you unequivocally that I'm much happier with my 1,431 square foot ranch (which is being painted next week while we are away), Subaru, & 2 Hondas.

Some people try to buy their happiness. It seldom works...whatever they buy isn't good enough and after awhile, and they need something better. There is an art to being happy and satisfied with what you have.

stever

You don't own stuff, it owns you.

Crying in the Porsche? Probably just paid the bill for a brake job.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

driver100 said:

Wisdom, from Maxine:
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia."

I have a friend who is very attracted to his wife's money. He's got a Tesla Model S P85D (had an ///M5 & 2 different X5 ///Ms before it), An Escalade (hers), an Alpina B7 L X-Drive, 2 Harleys, and a Suburban (at their house in Florida). He works for her family's real estate business, she literally does NOTHING all day (nails, lunch) and goes to Florida for the better part of 3 months during the winter to be with her horses. The nannies are basically raising their 3 young children. There was a time where their son started to call one of the nannies "Mommy." It's disgusting.

I love cars as much as the next guy. I can tell you unequivocally that I'm much happier with my 1,431 square foot ranch (which is being painted next week while we are away), Subaru, & 2 Hondas.

I'm attracted to my wife's money too. Only problem is that she doesn't have much of it. Maybe that's a good thing since she couldn't afford nannies.

As to your bragging about your 1,400 sq. ft. mansion I'll thank you to not rub it in our faces.

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

Thanks for all the kind words, but yes- the driver is almost always what determines which car is faster. There is a HUGE disparity between drivers and their abilities. I once had a 5' tall introverted young lady for a student; she was driving a mildly modified 2004 325i in an intermediate run group. She passed 911s, Mitsubishi Evos, and Corvettes in every session.

Near me there are several interchanges between Interstate highways where the ramp is designed for high speeds, such that any vehicle with 4 wheels that isn't overloaded to make it top heavy should be able to take the ramp at at least 60 MPH. I rarely see vehicles, even high end sports cars, take these ramps at over 40-45 MPH. My favorite example is southbound end of I-355 getting onto eastbound I-80, the ramp is 2 lanes wide and can be taken at highway speeds. One day I am on this route doing a between 5 and 10 over the limit approaching the ramp that takes us to eastbound I-80 when this 911 flys by me and as it starts the curve it hit's the breaks. I enter the curve without slowing down and easily not only navigate the curve by pass the 911. As soon as the curve straightens out for the merge onto I-80 the 911 opens up and flys past me once again, all this time I maintained a consistent speed.

Long ago I had a guy in a late '70s Z28 come up behind my 1973 Bavaria just as I approached a couple of tight corners; the Z fell way back and when we hit the next straight he hammered the Camaro to catch up and attempt a pass. What the guy didn't know was that there were a couple of huge frost heaves located about 600 feet after the last corner. The Bavaria handled them with no drama but the Camaro bottomed out the front crossmember and/or the oil pan on both of them- sending up a huge shower of sparks. When I last saw him he was slowly pulling over to the side of the road...

Mr_Shiftright

If you can't get hurt, I don't want to play it.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

I love cars as much as the next guy. I can tell you unequivocally that I'm much happier with my 1,431 square foot ranch (which is being painted next week while we are away), Subaru, & 2 Hondas.

I agree, I backed away from some of my hobbies when my son was young in order to spend more time with him(my dad was a workaholic, and I wasn't going to repeat that mistake). Now that he's 21 I don't regret my decision one bit; kids are only young once.

roadburner

roadburner said:

I'm scheduled to do what BMW calls an Encore Delivery on a new 7 Series(Encore is a scheduled follow-up visit that allows customers to ask questions about the car and any issues that they are having. I'm literally going to have to cram for a few hours in order to be comfortable dealing with questions on that car. That car has more unique features than any car I've ever seen. Not my cup of tea, but fun to play with...

Today was the day for my 7 Series Encore Delivery. It went really well; I only had to ask the other Genius for help a couple of times. Any guesses as to how long the Encore lasted?

berri

Snake - it's Chicago: they ain't used to hills and curves! Heck, they get freaked out on the north side when they have to traverse one of several diagonal streets that aren't east, west, north or south

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

Thanks for all the kind words, but yes- the driver is almost always what determines which car is faster. There is a HUGE disparity between drivers and their abilities. I once had a 5' tall introverted young lady for a student; she was driving a mildly modified 2004 325i in an intermediate run group. She passed 911s, Mitsubishi Evos, and Corvettes in every session.

That may be one of my first things to do when I retire...take a course in performance driving. I'll tell the wife I'm doing charity work.

Do it! Don't delay. They occur on weekends.

In fact, I'd argue every driver should have to take one prior to getting licensed. Perhaps a refresher every 10 years as well; especially if they've caused an accident (remedial training).

nelsonf

roadburner said:

roadburner said:

I'm scheduled to do what BMW calls an Encore Delivery on a new 7 Series(Encore is a scheduled follow-up visit that allows customers to ask questions about the car and any issues that they are having. I'm literally going to have to cram for a few hours in order to be comfortable dealing with questions on that car. That car has more unique features than any car I've ever seen. Not my cup of tea, but fun to play with...

Today was the day for my 7 Series Encore Delivery. It went really well; I only had to ask the other Genius for help a couple of times. Any guesses as to how long the Encore lasted?

1 hour, 20 minutes?

Mr_Shiftright

Three-year old was run over by an older driver in my neighborhood two days ago. Ugh! Can you imagine having to live with that?

andres3

roadburner said:

roadburner said:

I'm scheduled to do what BMW calls an Encore Delivery on a new 7 Series(Encore is a scheduled follow-up visit that allows customers to ask questions about the car and any issues that they are having. I'm literally going to have to cram for a few hours in order to be comfortable dealing with questions on that car. That car has more unique features than any car I've ever seen. Not my cup of tea, but fun to play with...

Today was the day for my 7 Series Encore Delivery. It went really well; I only had to ask the other Genius for help a couple of times. Any guesses as to how long the Encore lasted?

I'm going to guess 1/2 hour?