Slashdot Mirror

Minis have always had their speedo in the centre of the car. It's never harmed their sales.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/p...

You need to go drive the new model, you likely will be surprised...

It doesn't roll in turns, it doesn't lose traction, they made it shorter and wider, gave it much better suspension, and a stiffer frame.

As for plastic, there is little of that left, the panel is real aluminium, wood, and leather. Your impressions of what the higher end of American cars offer might well be out of date.

As for zero to 35 mph times, there is a decent chance that my truck will beat your Jetta to 35, and again to 60. A 2014 Jetta 1.8T with the manual transmission has a 0-60 time of 7.6 seconds. My truck does it in 6.4 seconds (and weighs 3 tons to boot!).

Now, in fairness, you can buy a pair of Jettas for the price of a single one of my truck, so there is that. :)

http://www.seriouswheels.com/p...

That is real leather all over that panel, brushed aluminium around the screen, real wood as well. Almost no plastic whatsoever. Get in one, it really does beat the GL, I drove it and compared, the GMC is nicer.

Lets see you do this in a Prius.

Well, using CGI of course. ;-)

Lets see you do this in a Prius.

...was provided to you in 1979. Although it didn't fly very far and the landings were a bit rough. Still it played a little tune while airborne.

Large cars is a part of American culture. When I came to US in the 90's it was the end of an era these abominations. Since then an average car has gotten smaller, but not by much. It is a culture where everybody tries to conform, because when everybody drives a semi-truck getting accidentally squished between two of them in a small tin can can be painful. The gas price hike in recent years made small cars more appealing, and completely killed the Hummers

...actually it was 31 years ago, in 1979 to be exact.

The flights were a little short, and the landings were kinda rough however.

This car didn't have any problem winning the race last year with MUCH smaller scoops.

Let us take a look, shall we, at what kind of car the Healey was. Here's a nice pic:

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-abc/Austin-Healey-3000-Mk-III-green-fa-lr.jpg

Steel hood, cast iron frame, cast iron block. If you hit a truck tire with that thing, your head is going through the windshield, the car would likely buck straight up, and AH's had a nasty tendency to roll over because they were so rigid.

Driving that car at 45 was inherently more dangerous than driving a modern Caddy at 75 or even 80. ABS, Traction Control, the removal of those bias-ply tires in favor of ones that will shed water easily and grip 100x better.

The problem is - quite simply - speed limits. Re-instate the national 55 limit. There are certainly enough cops out there to enforce it, and enough new cheap portable radar gear to make it enforced. Do not confuse an engineering problem with one that requires a legislative remedy. This is clearly a case where we do not need more technology to let us know we are driving unsafe. We already have cars that can brake automatically when detecting an upcoming collision, can make note of late swerving, and cars that can smell our breath. We don't need cars that tell us when our driving sucks. Just make everyone slow down.

Or this radio made and sold in Japan (its a bit older, but it illustrates the point):

http://japan-auto-sound.com/images/206-0606_IMG.jpg

Checkout some of these radios sold in the west.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/Pioneer/FH-P8000BT
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=IVA-W505
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=IVA-D106

Check out the dash of the Nissan GT-R:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cars/nissans-gt+r-data+dense-dashboard-explained-324672.php

Compare the GT-R dash with the dash of the Corvette ZR-1:

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/chevrolet/0802_2009_chevrolet_corvette_zr1/photo_03.html

Here - check out some western dashboards

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2008/a/2008-Audi-R8-V12-TDI-Dashboard-1280x960.jpg

http://supercarspecs.com/images/porsche/2008porsche911gt2/images/2008-Porsche-911-GT2-Dashboard-1280x960.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/y/5/1/bw_08reventon_dash2.jpg
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2008/klm/2008-Lamborghini-Gallardo-LP560-4-Dashboard-1920x1440.jpg
http://i.pbase.com/g4/68/763068/2/91636989.LEA7wlE4.jpg

Or this radio made and sold in Japan (its a bit older, but it illustrates the point):

http://japan-auto-sound.com/images/206-0606_IMG.jpg

Checkout some of these radios sold in the west.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/Pioneer/FH-P8000BT
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=IVA-W505
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=IVA-D106

Check out the dash of the Nissan GT-R:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cars/nissans-gt+r-data+dense-dashboard-explained-324672.php

Compare the GT-R dash with the dash of the Corvette ZR-1:

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/chevrolet/0802_2009_chevrolet_corvette_zr1/photo_03.html

Here - check out some western dashboards

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2008/a/2008-Audi-R8-V12-TDI-Dashboard-1280x960.jpg

http://supercarspecs.com/images/porsche/2008porsche911gt2/images/2008-Porsche-911-GT2-Dashboard-1280x960.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/y/5/1/bw_08reventon_dash2.jpg
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2008/klm/2008-Lamborghini-Gallardo-LP560-4-Dashboard-1920x1440.jpg
http://i.pbase.com/g4/68/763068/2/91636989.LEA7wlE4.jpg

6. Any Color As Long As It's Black - The myth that the Model T only came in black probably comes from the reality that almost 12 million of the 15 million total Model Ts were black. But, in the early and late years of Model T production, the car was produced in many different colors, including blue, red, green and grey. Oddly, many these hues were so dark they were hardly discernable from black, another reason the myth lives on.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/def/top-Ford-Model-T-Centennial.htm

That's great, but call me when THIS car from gran turismo 4 is actually made (if it's not already)

http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-Nike-ONE-Gran-Turismo.htm

http://ac520.mygallery.biz/albums/gt4/Nike_One_2022_p03.jpg

You probably wouldn't have an easy time navigating something like a Dodge Ram through many European cities, towns and villages (especially the model with the double rear wheels that requires two parking spaces).

In case you were curious about what this monstrosity looks like, I think he's referring to this model.

Who could ever forget this flying car from 1979?

And a couple years earlier, in 1977, there was a certain black Trans-Am that flew at least once.

You mean a Mac is the General Lee?

Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

Damn straight! I'm still waiting for hovercars with clear bubbletops. Hell, I'd even settle for one of these, or these, even these

The closest commercial vehicle we've gotten so far is the AMC Pacer. Truly pathetic...

Damn straight! I'm still waiting for hovercars with clear bubbletops. Hell, I'd even settle for one of these, or these, even these

The closest commercial vehicle we've gotten so far is the AMC Pacer. Truly pathetic...

Damn straight! I'm still waiting for hovercars with clear bubbletops. Hell, I'd even settle for one of these, or these, even these

The closest commercial vehicle we've gotten so far is the AMC Pacer. Truly pathetic...

It gets 229 MPG and it has an airbag, ABS and stability control. Google VW 1 Liter diesel or go here: http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-vw-1-liter-c ar.htm

Hang on...you're not the Lee Noble who designs & sells cars for a living?

from somewhere... oh yeah! That's clearly a lifted picture of the Shelby GR-1 concept car at the top of their "press release."

Here's a desktop version from Serious Wheels.com for you car nuts.

Laugh!

Unlike the car in the article, this one doesn't need to be plugged into a battery charger, and it can refill at any diesel pump.

It's not available for purchase, but it could be produced with existing technology, and if demand is sufficient, perhaps it will
be. Back in the 50s, the Isetta, FIAT 500, Kabinenroller, etc. used similar design to achieve fuel economy that made today's vehicles look like the obscene jokes they are.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-vw-1-liter-car.ht m

Throw an Enzo at it.

The Ferrari Enzo can do 217 m.p.h.
( Hmm... The motor trend test drive, had it pulling away from A Proshe at 192 m.p.h. )

http://www.seriouswheels.com/def/Ferrari-Enzo-Fron t-Angle-Speed-1024x768.htm

Ferrai Enzo: 0-60 mph 3.3 seconds
1/4 mile 11.2 seconds

Top Speed 217.5 mph

T-Zero The tzero does 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds

They raced the tzero agains a F335. Not even a fast Ferrai.

Yours,
Killmofasta

The Toyota Prius HSD uses 4.4 litres per 100 kilometres travelled, which translates to 53.46 miles per gallon, and expels 106 grams of CO2 per kilometre travelled.

Toyota Echo models with manual transmission consume about 5.8L/100km, or 40.55MPG, and expel CO2 at a rate of 138g/km. Automatic models consume about 6.5L/100km, or 36.17MPG, and expel CO2 at a rate of 156g/km. (I listed both, since you didn't specify whether your car was a manual or an auto; in general, autos use more fuel than manuals.)

By those figures, your Echo is using up between 31% and 48% more fuel than a Prius, and spitting out 30%-48% more CO2.

However, most Prius owners don't attain the fuel consumption level on the sticker. Courtesy of http://www.greenhybrid.com/, it's more realistic to say that the Prius gets about 4.9L/100km, or 48MPG. Furthermore, the CO2 emissions scale steadily with the amount of fuel used up, so it's probably emitting closer to 120g/km of CO2. This makes the comparison a bit better for the Echo, but it still uses 18%-33% more fuel and emits 15%-30% more CO2 - and it's a much smaller car than the Prius.

Though people don't achieve the standard measurement of fuel consumption on average, a conservative driver can beat the fuel consumption measurement on the sticker in just about any car. I have a Nissan Pulsar that was listed at 7.4L/100km (just under 32MPG), but I consistently get around 6.7L/100km (just over 35MPG) - about 10% better than the sticker.

Petrol-electric hybrids aren't a bust, as such, and the technology is improving. Daihatsu have a hybrid in the works that goes 60-70km on a litre of petrol - up to 1.4L/100km, or 170MPG. For the moment, hybrid cars are still superficial: they make a statement about the environment and about the future, but they're hideously expensive and they don't pay for themselves. You'd be better off buying a small car with decent fuel economy, and joining a tree-planting campaign.

Consider this, though: it is estimated that the construction of a typical car consumes 25-50 barrels of oil and pollutes 120,000 gallons (450,000 litres) of water. If you were really concerned about the environment, you probably wouldn't have a car at all.

This mercedes interior really reminds me of this 1998 land cruiser... It's almost as if the designers wanted the cars to all be similar. What unoriginal S.O.B.s

Seriously, is your point: "The open file dialog is not innovative" ?

-Mark

Or check out this monster: http://www.seriouswheels.com/1930-1939/1930-Bugatt i-Royale-Esders.htm 784 cubic inch 8-cylinder engine, to haul around the 4 tons it weighted.

Or one of the most popular cars of its' time, the 1929 hudson http://www.phelpsclan.com/Hudson/

The Beetle looked nothing like those beasts.

You can actually see the controls.