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Ok, one qualification - dealers won't take drafts for trade transactions.

The problem is that bankers drafts can be faked and it does happen. Piston Heads - Fraudulent bankers draft update!!!. The problem is that you'll find out the draft is a fake after releasing a car, calling the bank is useless. As far I can see, fake cash is easier to check than a fake draft.

For example, when I was buying my flat, I had to move money from my Irish account to my UK account, by my bank Ulster Bank (part of RBS) were being a bunch of idiots and wouldn't tell me how long the fast transaction would take. My sister, who luckily works for another bank (I'm not going to mention who), told me to have get a draft, pay it into her account and she'd do the international transfer. However, because the draft would take a couple of days to clear, she however had to act as guarantor.

If a couple of days to clear is "cleared funds", then by that logic, so is a cheque. Go get a draft and try cashing it in a different bank and see how quickly it happens.

You're driving a Mitsubishi compact sedan or hatchback. Unless you've tarted it up with bric-a-brac (spoilers, coffee can exhaust, stickers, etc) or you're a leadfoot the police think you're driving a Mitsubishi compact sedan or hatchback.

this is a factory Evo: http://images.pistonheads.com/...

35 years, actually. The jokes were pretty funny at the time:

http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/topic.asp?h=0&t=520307&r=7758708&hm=35012

The ECU is usually on the passenger side of the car near the glove box. There's well known augmentations to the ECU (or replacement ECU) attacks in order to drive a car away. Even BMW had a flaw in their ECU that allowed an unauthenticated person to create a key (from a blank) in the car. That attack (if you look at the CCTV images on the link at pistonheads) had attackers using the passenger door to enter.

That won't save any money. What is needed is a USB to OBDII cable with the converter in it, the ELM327 that everyone mentions is just fine. The fancy software and hardware from Garmin isn't necessary either. Here is the basic setup I am going for but not for a bike, still cheaper than the $90 Garmin device. Besides if all I cared about was the ability to read and clear codes I have an ODBII scan tool that I got years ago for $25 that works just fine for that.

Don't have a smartphone but have a couple Pis that I was looking for additional uses for instead of just an RTK GPS setup and ran across this on how to really make use of OBDII and an RPi. As an added bonus I could also have it log location data as well since I have that equipment already. I haven't made it to that project yet other than initial research as I am working on the RTK GPS setup so this expansion will have to wait a bit.

Here you go. Even records more useful data on what the hell the vehicle is doing.

Ha, I thought you meant one of these :D

India has its own problems with justice, and getting in front of a judge is no help if the judge is corrupt.

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=52&i=9773
The first experimental engine was built in 1893 and used high pressure air to blast the coal dust into the combustion chamber. While the prototype blew its cylinder head off but, four years later, Diesel produced a reasonably reliable engine. His ideas for an engine where the combustion would be carried out within the cylinder were published in 1893, one year after he applied for his first patent.

Further developments using coal dust as fuel failed. A compression ignition engine that used oil as fuel was successful and a number of manufacturers were licensed to build similar engines.

His first designs were designed around coal dust.

My Mistake after so many replies I grabbed the DVD, he compared a Lotus Exige against a Ford Mustang which was given to Rausch (sp?) and supercharged engine(after comparing to the Shelby Mustang GT 500.) The Exige won.

Ford Mustang - http://www.roushperformance.com/mustang_427r.shtml
Lotus Exige - http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus/default.asp?storyId=13118

I confused a small sketch on the same DVD about driving a escape car. The land rover is now owned by Ford after BMW killed rover. However as far as I am aware all the range is designed in the UK, in fact last time I checked the Defender, Disco and Range Rover are very close (if not the same) to their Rover/BMW designs.

You've pointed out one American car which is quick, my original post was about the lack of technology generally in American cars (designed in America.) If you ever get a chance watch Top gear they have a wall which has the lap times of whatever car they have on the show, count the number of European designed/manufactured cars at the top compared to American designed/manufactured. COnsidering the American market is supposed to be aimed at performing muscle cars there are really very few which actually do ok.

Not Top gear read my original post, Jeremy Clarkson does some of his own DVD's, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one he did where he travelled to america to find a "good" american car, he's done about five or six DVD's.

My Mistake after so many replies I grabbed the DVD, he compared a Lotus Exige against a Ford Mustang which was given to Rausch (sp?) and supercharged (after comparing to the Shelby Mustang GT 500.) The Exige won by a good margin although they did import the Stig to drive it ;)

Ford Mustang - http://www.roushperformance.com/mustang_427r.shtml
Lotus Exige - http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus/default.asp?storyId=13118

I confused a small sketch on the same DVD about driving a escape car

"Thankfully you apparently have to be averaging 30 miles over the speed limit (so travelling at over 100 mph) to get caught by them."

And didn't change lanes...

The engine in the S2000 is hardly a typical engine. Most cars hit their torque peak somewhere around 2000-2500rpm, dropping off somewhat around 4500rpm. If you look at their power curve you'll see that the 2000 hits its first peak at around 3000rpm, then gets a bounce from the hyper-dramatic VTEC cam tuning change and lifts somewhat more later in the powerband. This is highly unusual. Look at almost any other car's curve -- specifically cars with engines that don't have wildly divergent cam profiles that only engage around 6000rpm -- and you wouldn't see this. As for being efficient, its more honest to say that due to its "extreme" design the S2000 engine would be horrible to drive at speeds lower than around 5500rpm, so they change the entire cam profile and effectively give you a different engine for slow driving. The torque peak for the 2000 still comes relatively lower in its usalble powerband.

As an aside, while googling for that graph, I came across a surprisingly well-written commentary on torque and powertrain design. No relation, just passing it along.

Porsches quite heavy cars- but there's a certain thrill from driving a car weighing virtually nothing and lots of power through the rear wheels. Nothing wrong with glass-fibre.

I bought a TVR Chimaera a little while ago- 350bhp and it weighs something like 1060kg. 0-60 in 4.1secs - lots of fun!

Reminds me of this story I read about a month or two back - Mercedes took three shiny new S-Class's with this automatic braking system to a facility to demonstrate how well it worked for a german auto magazine. So they filled this facility with fake fog, sent a test driver down into the fog and lo and behold he ploughed into the back of one of the other S classes.

It was a bit of an embarassment and for some reason the test driver ended up losing his job despite it being nothing to do with him. Still shows that sometimes these pieces of technology do have a way to go before they work properly.

Here's a more recent descendant.
Porsche 911 993
http://www.pistonheads.com/porsche/default.asp?sto ryId=7403

Take a look at the Carver

...to BMW 2002 or greater

Are you aware that a 2002 BMW (what you meant to say), and a BMW 2002 are two very different things?

Rover made a few (mostly for racing) 50s or 60s. Chrysler and Opel also participated in the market (Opel in 1928!). From this site, it was the cost of manufacture tha killed the idea, power to weight was much better than even a rotary. 300+ HP out of a 130 lb engine is great $40,000 is not so great, but it would make a sweet exotic.

The DeLorean was a predominately British design, by Lotus and Colin Chapman, though there were other inputs too. The idea was American - DeLorean and Bill Collins, but the details and implementation were British.

More here.

Cheers,
Ian

UK based but with members from various parts of the world...Pistonheads

Dr. Ferdinand Piech, Chairman of the VW Board of Management and test driver for a day, probably forgot to turn them on, since he is used to being driven around by a designated driver in a VW Phaeton. Or, he just couldn't reach the switch after the techs poured him into the car.