Text 4629, 153 rader
Skriven 2012-10-25 15:58:06 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
   Kommentar till text 4627 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: We told you so, didn't we?
==================================
 On 01 Jan 70 00:00, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB> [160-170 km/h]

BTW. take a look at the new Opel Enigma, aka Camaro in sheeps clothing. If
they offered the Enigma in the US, I'd seriously think about making a
trade.

http://tinyurl.com/97h5e5s

 RB>>> You get used to such speeds here, but when you're not used to them
 RB>>> they seem terribly dangerous.

 RW>> They may seem dangerous, if you don't like speed. I like speed, but
 RW>> it has to be a car that I feel safe to be in, in the first place. A
 RW>> subcompact Mazda isn't one of those cars.

 RB> SUBcompact? ;-))) Maybe if you compare it to one of those monster
 RB> SUVs

Ok, I'll give you 'compact', as the Mx-3 is classed as a sub-compact. The
626/MX-6 is a midsize car and the Mazda B2200 a mini-pickup and the
biggest that Mazda has to offer is an MPV, which isn't exactly what I'd
call much of anything worthwhile.

 RB> I see on TV (and sometimes - unfortunately - on the streets). I
 RB> do note. however, that although the Mazda offers as much room (and
 RB> more) than many modern cars, it has a lower profile. Seems like
 RB> people like to _step_ into a modern car upright, rather than sit down
 RB> in the seats.

I prefer it, my dad prefered stepping into his SUV-type Dodge caravan and
as I recall, Andrew's 93yo grandfather prefered stepping into rather than
sitting down in a car with low seats (Camaro). My 56 Chevy suited him
fine, while he had a problem getting his butt high enough to step into my
pickup. He had to bring a stool along to step his butt up to seat level in
order to ride in the pickup. Yes, it does have step rails, but he couldn't
lift his foot that high and use it to leverage himself up because he had
both knees replaced and never excercised them back to shape after.

 RB> But your idea of _sub_compact and that prevailing here are vastly
 RB> different things.

You're probably right, since we don't have to drive down narrow Euro style
streets that would serve as delivery alleys here, even up north. When I
see car chases on Euro streets, it reminds me of driving on Lombard street
in San Francisco...narrow, winding and at certains places, one lane only.

 RB> The Mazda was originally classed as a mid-range car.

Somebody was pulling the wool over your eyes?! 8^)

 RB> We'd consider things like a Mercedes "Smart" (which I personally
 RB> refer to as a "Dumb") or the Opel Agila my wife used to have (and I
 RB> hated) subcompacts, or in the words of Fletcher Fielding (author of
 RB> various European travel books in the 50s and 60s), a "motorized
 RB> roller skate".

That's what we would call those Japanese and Korean cars, including the
626...

 RW>>>> Now, if you would have said that it gets 30mpG, then I'd believe
 RW>>>> you.

 RB>>> It uses around 12-13 L/100 km, depending on the speed and wind
 RB>>> conditions, be around 18 mpg.

 RW>> And you have to buy premium?

 RB> No, it'll run just fine on regular (if I remember correctly down to
 RB> around 85 octane), but unfortunately they stopped selling regular
 RB> here several years ago.

Ahhh. The Camaro will run just fine on 89 (mid-grade) on highway trips,
but needs that 93 octane stuff otherwise.

 RB> Now you only have a choice between premium with 5% alcohol, premium
 RB> with 10% alcohol (which most Germans avoid because of possible motor
 RB> damage),

Only if you're driving cars that are mid-90s and older. Todays cars are
designed to run on 10% and then there are the cars that run on 85%
alcohol, 15% gasoline. That's the cheapest grade of fuel around, but
its not for everyone.

 RB> or diesel (as there are quite a lot of diesel cars here.

i.e. you pay more for it than you do for a more refined fuel than diesel
... that's why we no longer have a diesel car.

 RB> Oh, yes, and if you happen to have a Maserati, you may need "premium
 RB> plus" (the "plus" referring to boththe price and the octane number).

All of those high cost, high powered Euro cars run just fine on 91 octane,
they  have to in California because there's no higher grade. You can get
93 octane here in Texas.

 RB> So I have no choice but to tank premium. I wish it were otherwise,
 RB> but I can't buy anything else.

87, 89 and 93 here, same in Smogsville Californea, except the premium is
93 Octane.

 RW>> You'd like my Camaro then, it uses premium fuel, gets 26mpg and will
 RW>> do the speeds allowed on your Autobahn, safely.

 RB> ;-) Our new Hyundai i20 will, too. And unfortunately requires
 RB> premium, but is at least fairly fuel efficient.

Will it produce 305hp at the drive wheels and still get 26mpg? The Camaro
can.

 RB>>> It's an old car, but still reliable and cheaper to run than buying
 RB>>> a new one.

 RW>> My Camaro is 14 years old, paid for at least ten years ago and is as
 RW>> reliable as anything else on the road. It's first major repair will
 RW>> be coming up soon, as the AC has a freon leak that I can't find.

 RB>  ;-( My problem at the moment is that the heat exchanger of the
 RB> heater in the passenger compartment appears to have a small leak and
 RB> on cold mornings tends to put condensate on the _inside_ of the
 RB> windshield.

I had that problem with my 95 Camaro...it was a 1.5 hour R&R, done in
my driveway...the heater core cost less than $50, shipped to my door, as I
recall.

 RB> The guy at my repair shop put some sealant into the cooling system
 RB> and I hope that will hold for at least a while, as a new heat
 RB> exchanger is _very_ expensive and it's a bitch of a job to
 RB> replace an old one.

When all else fails, there's a liquid that you can use to seal most any
leak like that. We call it 'water glass' but it has another name that I
don't recall at the moment. Basically, it is used to seal chicken eggs at
the egg farm, which then sent to market for sale. This coating makes the
eggs stay fresher, longer. My daughter has such a farm in Conroe, TX...

 RB> Otherwise no significant problems.

If you take care of them, they'll last a long time.

                R\%/itt


... Mark Owen: "Hey, did you ever hear anything about that beer?
... Fellow SEAL: "You believed that shit, I bet you voted for change too,
... SUCKER."


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 * Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian  (1:387/22)