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Geeks, Computers and Cars?
bray asks: "Its come to my attention over the years that my fellow geeks all seem to share the same habits I do. Lots of caffine, little sleep, long nights of tweaking my PC, etc. But what I really want to know is how many of my fellow Slashdot readers are also classic car buffs? I've noticed that quite a few of my friends have brought some old beast back to life and are driving it around. I own a 1962 Thunderbird and recently aquired a 1955 Thunderbird. So how about it? How many Slashdotters out there have bought a classic back to life? "
Actually, my father was always the one who into cars. He used to do the drag racing thing and car hotrodding when he was young.
Then recently, I was reading Popular Science and saw a car I really want. I showed my dad, and he was impressed.
It's a very geek car. It's extremely configurable so should appeal to those, like me, who use Linux for that reason. It's not terribly expensive. It's aesthetically pleasing. It's actually an unlikely hybrid of many cars. A 20's roadster with a future "space" look. It's small and big at the same time. It's smaller than a minivan, shorter than a station wagon, larger than a compact. It's quite funky looking.
Most importantly, I can fit stuff in it, because I happen to be a musician. Great for lugging computers around, too.
Check it out at www.chryslercars.com.
I am a general car enthusiast. Classics are very nice, but I am also into the newer models. Offroad trucks is one of the things that I am into, but performance at the same time a lot. Oh yea, if anyone would have a tip on a manual transmission (that can handle quite a bit of power) to put into a 1991 GMC Sierra without a great deal of modification I would appreciate it. I can appreciate the classic cars a great deal though. I enjoy working on them and restoring them.
I drove a 1958 VW Bus (Type II) for a long time).
I loved that I could get into my bus, with my standard-sized toolbox, a five-foot breaker bar, and drive anywhere I wanted and fix anything that went wrong with it. And I could sleep there too!
Now I drive a Honda Accord. It starts everyday, under every condition. And I don't need that toolbox.
Old stuff... Where to begin :-)*
I too, collect old computers. I have actually put old character cell terminals into use. Tomorrow I should get a brand new 13w3 cable so I can get my new-to-me Sun 3/80 up and running as an X-terminal. Add to that all of the old TRS-80s, C64s, etc. that I don't actually use, but I have. I can't bring myself to throw them out. I seems such a waste.
I also have a collection of old video game consoles. Coleco, Intellivision, 2600, 7800, etc.
Old music gear, too. I have a late 60's Ampeg B-15N which is always what I play bass through. It's funny because the younger kids look at it and say, "what a piece of crap." While the older guys (especially sound guys) make large offers on it (no sale, don't bother trying) and fawn over it. I played one time and went over to the sound guy who had never done sound for us before to tell him, "Ok, no DI (bass goes directly to board, amp is only used for monitor). That amp will either be miked or, if you prefer, run into the board *after* the amp (got a nice output jack on the back, great for recording)." He said, "An amp like that? There's no way I'm letting you go DI."
Yes, Virginia, there are geeks in the music world, and they are just as nostalgic.
Probably not many. We're all working our 7 day/12+ hours per day work weeks to make ends meet. That doesn't leave much time to work on a car. It's a different world now. When I was growing-up during the 70's, my father restored a 62 Thunderbird convertible, a sweet 62 Corvette, and a multitude of unmemorable Mustangs. He, like most educated people then it seemed, got off from work at 5 PM. From about 7:00 PM (just after supper) until about 9:00 PM each night, he'd work on his latest project. Often on Saturdays, we'd drive around local junk yards or swap meets looking for the parts. Even after you restore a classic, it can take a lot of time to keep it up.
no where to work on one: Now, I and most all of my friends, work 80+ hours per week to just pay for a small apartment. Most of our parents had houses with garages. My father had somewhere to work on a car. When you have to live in an apartment (unless you're terribly wealth and can afford a house with a garage), there's simply no where you can work on a classic car, whether to restore it or to just keep it running. I've looked for an apartment near Sunnyvale that will allow me to keep a car without a license plate on it, and I haven't found one yet. So, if you're going to restore a car, then you're probably going to have to pay property tax and insurance on it while you're restoring it (even when it's not drivable). That gets expensive. The best solution I've found so far is to rent garage space at a junk yard. The hassle is that I have to carry your tools back and forth, because I don't trust the location, and it takes me 90 minutes round-trip time to get to the place and start working (unlike my father who could walk across the house to the garage to work). I've got a 63 Falcon convertible that I'm (attempting to, it might be beyond my ability) restoring that's mostly rusting in a junk yard garage now.
time to look for parts: We don't have evenings to work on cars or free Saturdays to go driving around looking for parts. I've found that's a huge challenge to owning a good looking classic car. Even just finding a chrome gas-cap without rust for something as common as a 65 Mustang can be a time consuming job. How are we "youngsters" going to find the time to replace, for example (as my father did today), a broken window crank and water pump on a 72 Rolls?
time of day we drive: Now, we can't we afford to have unreliable cars like our fathers did. My mother towed my father's Corvette home with a chain connected to our "reliable/new" car many evenings. It wasn't too bad being stuck on the side of the road at 5:30 PM. Now, most of us wouldn't feel comfortable being stuck on the side of the road with our classic car between 10 PM and 2 AM, when we now drive home from work. The hours we work are much longer, therefore we generally need more reliable cars to keep us from getting stuck in the middle of the night. Aside, I can remember my father paying $5 for a tow in 1975. The last tow I had cost me $150. It could get really expensive really fast if, for example, the aftermarket FI in your high perforance 390 in your fastback keeps acting-up.
parking: Most of our parents had somewhere to park atleast 2, but probably 3 cars. If I used three spaces at my apartment complex (2 reliable cars for me and my wife plus the "classic"), then I think I'd get shot. It's a different world now, and where in the hell are you supposed to keep the car after you finish working on it?
With all that said, there are great challanges to owning (and to keep running) a classic car. I just hope more people will get involved before even more of our history ends-up a useless pile of rust.
Case in point: last week I was talking to a fellow sysadmin about ideal vehicles and it was interesting how close our interests were. He wanted something like a VW Eurovan with a tdi engine and a 40 gallon fuel tank and 4wd. He has a Suburban with 4wd (not full time) and two fuel tanks (just under 70 gallons) and a 6.5 idi turbodeisel. I got an Econoline with a 7.4l tdi V8 and a 38 gallon fuel tank, and I want 4wd. His fiance has a Jeep Gladiator with a Cummins 5.9 in it (no, it didn't come that way). My fiance has an old Jetta deisel that she will not let go of for love or money. Observations (probably only relevant to sysadmins -- programmers always want weenie cars, like RX-7s): 1. deisels are well like, largely because they cannot be killed by conventional weapons if properly cared for and have lives measured in decades 2. everyone needs 4wd, ABS *that*can*be*disconnected*, and locking diffs sometimes -- and when you need them, you REALLY need them 3. same with a 200:1 low range (in case you need to climb a telephone pole) 4. sturdy bodies are nice, as are roll cages 5. all BOFHs have a serious emergency kit, including a fire extinguisher (when was the last time that an engine fire was cheaper than a fire extinguisher?) 6. BOFHs keep the beast for a long time (they take care of their tools) I, for one, want a UNIMog (sp?) with a modern deisel (I could have gotten one with a 2.5l I6, but that didn't seem torquey enough, and it blew up for the new owner, too), and human skulls on spikes on the front of it, just to give the right impression when I drive into work.
My poison currently is a `73 Chevy C10 Stepside. Just got it back from the paintshop two days ago. We're putting in a 400hp V8, four barrel carb, electronic ignition, power steering, oak & stainless steel decking kit, reupholstered seats, aluminum header, got - everything. It's really facinating to see how computers have become the cars of yesterday. Think about it - everyone in the 60s and 70s grew up working on cars. Everyone I know today has grown up working on computers. 30 years ago, if your car broke down, you fixed it. By yourself. Today, when my computer crashes, I fix it. By myself. What's more interesting, it's next to impossible to fix a car today. There's way too many electronic parts involved. Short of a simple mechanical problem, you have to take your car to the shop to fix *anything* wrong with it. I think the same thing will happen with computers - in 30 years no one will have a damn clue what is going on with them, they'll be so complicated. And pervasive. If your toaster or wall crashed tomorrow, would you know how to fix it? No.
--
"Some people say that I proved if you get a C average, you can end up being successful in life."
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
I'm a big Mopar and Ford guy. You just can't beat a 440 6bbl in a Challenger R/T. Especially if its Plum Crazy Purple. Except if its its a '70 Boss 429. Oh baby. I have wood. Ford and Mopar was where its at. Chevr-who??? :)
383HP, 4 barrel Halley carb...
Man, did that thing have power! Well, compared to my current car, a 1988 Ford Escort. Unfortunately I had to sell the beast. I had bought the thing when I was 19, and had dreams of restoring it. Then reality set in, I had to pay for university...
I do take pride in the fact the I did rescue it from certain death. Rumours tell me that it's almost fully restored...
Ack! In Columbus OH (USA) there's a dealership with only classic mustangs. Talk about a room full of 30 year old chrome!
... don't ask
Here's my dream car.
And here's a car I had the good fortune to own for about three weeks. And then sold it.
http://www.karmustang.com/
http://www.chryslercars.com/pt_cr uiser/index.html
What a kick ass car. I would LOVE to own/drive a Supra Turbo. DAMN.
I had an encounter w/ one back when I had a 96 Mustang GT (1st year for new engine, 'nuff said). I got passed doing 100 mph on an onramp. I was doing 100, he just came from behind and KICKED MY ASS. (We were playing around before; I do not drive 100mph for my own benefit). In my heart of hearts, I have to believe it had major mods internally, because of the small and tasteful (!!!) TRD sticker, 18" chrome wheels, shiny exhaust, etc.
I just sighed and remembered when a Miata tried to cut me off earlier that day. Ha ha ha!
As far as the guy with no room for working on a car and no time to find parts - If you really love cars you'll find time to work on them, and you'll find a way to work on them. I know I'd never give up my current home for an aartment with no place to park an extra car. With regards to reliability, well, snce I've got room to work no my car, I've got room to make it reliable. All cars can potentially break down, but the cars I've built can also be fixed on the side of the road. Just like any car built by somene with a love of the "sport".
Of course, a large part of my time's spent hotrodding my computer too... :)
Back in high school, I owned a '76 Trans Am. Fun, fun car to drive: 455 cubic inches, bored to 462, 4 speed manual tranny, 3.53 positraction rear end, quarter-ton racing clutch... Not too great in rush hour, but fun none-the-less.
(When the clutch on the Trans Am went out, I ended up getting a '76 Chevy Monza. Picture a car a little bigger than an Escort with a 5.0 liter V-8. No positraction, but a fun car nonetheless. Made it easy to find the mid-late 70's Camaros with the same 305 engines, and just slaughter 'em off the line, since they're toting another 500lbs of weight)
I ended up having to get rid of it since I couldn't afford to keep fixing it, and driving 30 miles to and from work getting 10 mpg just wasn't feasible, and I had a second car (Mazda 323) anyways. I missed that Trans Am for a long, long time, until I got my current car:
1991 Eagle Talon TSi AWD. It absolutely rocks. The amount of support available on the internet is unmatched by any other car, period. And the potential for upgrading the 1990-1999 Talon/Eclipse/Laser (They're all basically the same car, referred to as "DSM's" for Diamond Star Motors,a collaberation between Mopar and Mitsubishi) is just amazing. All-wheel drive absolutely rocks in the winter (especially after driving that Trans Am..) I've spent about 500 bucks upgrading the Talon, and it's _easily_ faster than my Trans Am ever was, all out of 2.0 liters and 4 cylinders. If there's a car for hackers, it's a turbo DSM. (The old Trans Am did a standing quarter-mile in about 14.2 seconds, my Talon's best is 13.70. Half a second doesn't sound like much, but in drag racing, it's an eternity). 500 bucks (new exhaust, and a boost controller to raise the turbo from 9psi to 15, or 19-20ish on race gas) and I've taken a 190 horsepower 4-cylinder up to about 275.
I recently picked up an '85 Audi 5000S turbo for an amazingly good price for the purpose of restoring/rebuilding most of it. Turbo cars are just too much fun.
Maybe if I didn't live in Wisconsin I'd be more inclined to pick up a 'classic' muscle car to work on again, but after 2 winters in the Trans Am, I'm a little hesitant to do it. Still, if one popped up for the right price, I don't think I could turn down a '72 Trans Am Super-Duty. Drop $800 on a GOOD set of tires, another $1500 for a supercharger.. Mmm.
Tricked out Firechickens, ill-handling Mopars, and "yet another" Mustang do not geek vehicles make.
Check out the Death Wing. A 1981 Honda Interstate. Four different colors, body parts from at least two different bikes. And let's not forget the sidecar.
For 'reliable' transport (something some of you seem to need) there is the 1999 BMW R1100R with ABS. Fuel Injection. Yeah, not a big deal with autos, but serious high tech stuff for bikes. And let's not forget that bone stock, this rather slow and lowly bike is still capable of pulling ~12.25 in the 1/4.
But I must admit that I have a 1996 Mercury Mystique (5 spd, V-6) for most transport, and a 1981 Olds Diesel Wagon (Why??? Because I can swap in a 455 without pissing off the emissions inspectors in MD:)
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
My first car was a '77 Olds Cutlass, no rear bumper when I bought it, a rust bucket that you'd have had to see to beleive. Wound up bolting a 2x6 on as a bumper after the cops threatened to impound it. The rear axle was held in place with bailing wire; the little bracket on the spring that was supposed to have a hole that the axle fit into had a slot, so the wire kept the slop down.
It was so rusted out that I lost a spare tire out the side of the trunk one day, taking a curve a bit hard. We bungeed the trunk lid down, punched holes in the top, and called it a "speed sensitive spoiler".
It had a Rocket 350 engine in it, we only ever lost one stoplight drag race, to a Porsche, IIRC. The car became unstable over 90MPH or so but it never took long to get there. It was a bit loud as the exhaust system ended just after the Y joint. No need for neon to make the underside of the car glow at night.
It had a little plastic skull for a hood ornament, half inch steel mesh for a front grille, and little stick figure people, dogs, mailboxes, baby carriges, etc painted on the doors. When it pulled out of a parking space it left it's mark: an outline of little rust chips and the occasional small suspension part. Never did leak any oil.
To meet it was to fear it, to pass it was near impossible, non-vital repairs were unthinkable. Who needs the front brakes when the rear still work?
I miss that car.
If you can afford them, i think they are the best balance between price, performance, daily driver. This thanksgiving weekend I was at Atco, first time at a track in my life... My best time in my stock 99 Z28 with a 6 speed was 13.6 Not too shabby.
Concerning your Audi purchase, a good source of information is the quattro mailing list at http://www.audifans.com. Repairing and maintaining Audis can be expensive and time consuming (pray that you never have to replace a heater core on a type 44), but the drivability of the cars is unmatched. Get a Bentley manual for your restoration and you should be well on your way to Audi bliss.
I've owned quite a few 'classic' cars: 68 Mercedes 280SE/8, 1976 Ford LTD, 1979 Camaro Berlinetta, etc. I think it comes down to the 'tweak' issue. Geeks like to tweak. 1970 Nova == tweakable. 1990 Mercury Sable == tweak_it_and_it_dies. If I wanted to, I could walk out to my Camaro and adjust a few hundred run-time parameters easily, from raw timing to how far the reverse position on my Hurst is from the tuning knob on the radio. About the only thing I can adjust on my 1992 Topaz is the radio station presets.
On a related subject. I've noticed that geeks often go for the '400hp rustbucket' over the less involved 'visually stunning stock'. In my case I can attribute it to my horrible lack of skill in body work. (I can rebuild a FMX, yet Bondo eludes me). I'm sure that isn't the case for all of us. What's the deal?
.sig: Now legally binding!
Sorry, but I fully anticipate having my own, nice car(s) in a couple of years and not having to worry about making the month's rent.
- A.P.
--
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
I was very suprised that some many /.'ers drove big, innefficient beasts! I had (have) a VW fetish, and drover around in a beautiful but floorless 78 SuperBeetle Convertible. Practicality got to me, and now I drive a 3 cylinder 97 Geo Metro. I drive it from Winnipeg, Canada to New York City at least twice a year (just under 2k miles each way) and the odometer is just about at 30k miles. Very effecient, extreemly reliable, fun to drive. Mechanically simple like all cars should be...
I still drive the same vechial I had in high school, and my goal is to show up at my 50th reunion in my daily driver, the same S10 I drove in high school.
I can afford a new car, I seriously considered one, but have you been to a new car lot lately? JUNK us all I can find, and if I'm gonna drive old junk it may as well be what I got. I need clearence. I need 4wd, with lockers, and the 200:1 gear ratio because I do get into situations that I need those. (Its always fun to pass a stuck 4wd in my 2wd, but the lack of traction means I have to both plan a head, and be lucky. Helps that few people know how ot drive 4wds though) And you should see the look salemen get when I tell them flat out I refuse to even look at an automatic transmission. If I didn't have better things to do I'd spend more time going dealer to dealer.
Although I've been considereing buying my friend's 74 corvette. I figgure that it would only cost twice my income to drive it to work every day. (although 1000 horsepower is nice to have on call all the time) 1-2 mpg, $7.50-8 a gallon (anything less then the highest grade 109 octane gas will knock the engine to pieces quickly(, 25 miles to work. Or, better add in someplace to stop half way to work cause some days traffic is bad enough that I'd not make it on a tank, it is a given that I store fuel at work)
I'm going to fall in the minority here, but I for one tend not to like cars, for many reasons, including environmental reasons. I'm into cycling, but I'm not a freak about it. That is, I don't have to have all the high-tech, high-buck$ equipment; I just have a good bike and like to ride. Last year I put more than 2000 km on my Trek.
However, I do agree that we (geeks in general) tend to be nonconformists with society at large. Often, in defiance of society, we end up choosing the same things as other geeks. Whether or not we choose the same things out of conformity with each other, or just by chance, is not clear to me. In my case, I just try to be myself. I don't try to fit what society expects of me as a "normal" person, nor what it expects of me as a "geek."
I'd have to agree that I've noticed the same thing pretty much. Although classic cars aren't my hobby (I very much appreciate their beauty and all, I just don't find them effective rock crawling or getting through a bog), I do spend more time tinkering with my Jeep than could be considered healthy. There is also a very large Jeep community on the net, and I've noticed the same for other makes of vehicles. It's nice to see that I'm not the only geek that spends a lot of time outside in the sunshine. :)
My Jeep (and other trucks): http://red.muddy.tj/
The 4x4 club I belong to: http://www.mudnuts.org/
Up here in rainy Seattle, the geeks ride motorcycles. Easy parking, you can use the diamond-lane, and gals think you're something other than a pasty-skinned misfit.
Anything old and Japanese turns my crank, but I'm starting to think Moto-Guzzi. Ducatis and their clones are what I dream of, but I like my license, my savings and shaft-drive.
Most biker geeks I know ride Harleys or other V-twin cruisers.
As a side note, the bike of zealots seems to be BMW. When the weather gets cold and wet, the BMWs keep riding while the cruiser cream-puffs and sportbike dilletantes get back in their cages. For rice-queens like me, it depends on whether the bike with good brakes is running.
Some might not call them classics, (I beg to differ) but the Mazda RX-7 is the car I have a passion for. I got my first one 4 years ago, and purchased another one last fall, and fixed it up, gave it a new life.
THe Rotary engine is a marvle of simplicity and efficency of design (not fuel, gas guzler..) means out of 1.3 Leters, you can get 280 HP. (Current Design, older designs can get 180HP)
Sadly they don't import the RX-7 anymore to the US, but there is hope, read Rotary News for more info.
1.3L, 3 moving parts, 280 HP, no Turbos, wanna Race? RotaryNe
Judging by the polls about ocupation, and the amount of people looking for dating advice, I'd expect that many /. readers aren't old enough to have a classic car...but I'm sure many of us own one that will become a classic eventually....I fit into this category w/ my '89 Supra Turbo.
My current car is a '84 VW GTI. I'm the second owner, I bought it from a paper-CNE transplant. It was his college car. Its always in need of minor repair, and looks it. I'm have a mild love/hate thing going on with the car. The last time I disliked it, I put a Windows 3.1 sticker in the rear window. Think of a (badly) black painted PC-AT case on wheels and you're almost there. But then again, I don't have to worry about anyone stealing it, and it is a riot to drive. Or maybe a drunken barfight would be a better description. Think of a low geared pickup with four flat tires, and you have the right idea.
I am third generation car nut, and definitly a geek. Unfortunatly being a college student has made me too broke to be able to afford a classic car myself. I'd love a '73 Porsche 914 2.0(perhaps the most underated sports car europe ever made). I currently own an '86 Audi 4000 Quattro, which if I had the money to fix it up could be one hell of a car (the european coupe version w/ a turbo is a potential "car of the century"). My grandfather just sold his late '50s Ferrari (sorry for the spelling) a few years ago. Out in the garage at home is a '47 MG TC. I could go on and on when it comes to me and my family and cars. Our only problem is that they're too cheap to do much and I'm too poor.
...SUCK! No power, no legroom, and looks like a big jelly bean. I couldn't tell the difference between a cavelier and a taraus even if drove one. Bland styling, tortise-like acceleration, and a computer-like whirrr coming from somewhere under all the plastic, wires, and hoses under the hood. Blahh
Mike Farrell, '66 Pontiac LeMans
I personaly drive a '89 Volvo 240 with 156,000 miles on it. Nothing added on except for the nice Aiwa stereo and speakers. I don't really care much for Horse Power it's got 114. Thats enough for me. The thing that matters is that 4 cars back can feel my music. :)
-Tim
Agreed, not all Geeks live in the valley which is a great place to visit...
I wax nostalgic about the BMW 2002's that I owned when I was in college so when someone local put a 1988 BMW M5 for sale in need of some TLC I hmmm, this would look nice next to my Saab 9K Turbo...
My cars are like my computers, cheap, slow, old and fully depreciated.
I have an 88 Escort wagon that was totaled a few years ago, with a RedHat sticker on the back. 100k+ miles on it.
My wife drives an 88 Subaru Wagon that reminds me on NT on a P90, lots of neat dohickeys, but too underpowered to do much (it overheats if you try to run the a/c in temps over 70 F).
Computerwise, I have a few 386's in parts, a 486dx33 FreeBSD server, a 386/486 cyrix box that barely runs Linux, a 486slc50 laptop for email, a P90 that needs to be put together, and my flagship is another P90 with a CD burner.
George
IMHO, cars and computers are very similar in that they both are complex systems running on simple pricipals. Computers, ones and zeros, switches on or off. Cars, it's fire, one of the oldest techs, used to move things. Anyway, my Dad and I work on cars and sell many of them. We do have a bunch that we keep for fun. Our current project: a 1973 BMW 3.0CS (black of course). Beautiful car, a geek's dream with all the power options, leather, and, of course, a stick shift. It kinda looks like the old Batmobile...
Like... when was the last time one of you people could actually REACH the speed limit in your part of the country?
I got into computers because of the potential for telecommuting... in order to avoid driving.
Maybe driving was fun back in the day when "Vanishing Point" hit the theaters, but NOW? HA!
I sold my oxidized pavement stormer and went back to college.
Driving is for computer illiterates!
The only reason I drive a +2 decade old P.O.S. is because of the damn black boxes in all the new rides out there. More ways for 'smart highways' to track your every move.
Why the hell else is the government so interested in crushing all the old hoopdees? It ain't the environment they care about.
(Why drink and drive when you can smoke a fatty and fly?)
I'm a pseudo-classic car buff even more of an efficent car buff. I want to travel from point a to point b as fast as possible (Does this relate to download times?). Currently, I'm in the market for a new car that will make me an accomplish driver like I am in Gran Turismo 2 so I can compete in real-life time trials.
Honda's S2000 and Toyota's MR-Spyder are two hot cars that I love to have. Neither are "classic" cars however the MR-Spyder is an ode to the "classic" sports car of the 60s which is a great trend.
-- ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space!
4000lb car, big block v8, quarter mile 13.5 seconds
2000lb car, 4 cylinder, quarter mile 16.5 seconds.
Am I the only one that sees that it's not the computer improving the gas mileage?! Come on its half the weight and half the power, of course it is going to get better gas mileage. Just hope you never have to get out of the way of a semi in any kind of a hurry cause whatever you saved on gas mileage you'll be spending on hospital bills
Whats that? your still not convinced. Let's try some more numbers.
My friend's 1997 Dodge Ram 3" Lift Kit 360 cubic inch motor. 13 MPG.
1971 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi Motor, 13.1 second quarter mile. Totally stock. 12 mpg.
There not a big difference there. The truck has a computer, shouldn't it be getting alot better gas mileage? NO!
If one of my cars breaks down on me, it is very simple to fix, no computer it's all mechanical, grab some duck tape and your hooked up. But with a computer controlled car you are SOL if something goes wrong. I swear my father once worked on a car that cut off if you turned right!
Now, lets examine the facts again.
Non-computer cars have mechanical failings to worry about. Easy to fix.
Computer cars have mechanical AND computer failings to worry about. Mechanicals not easy to fix cause all the stupid electronics are in the way of the motor. Computer is impossible to fix without parts.
Do a little research on this engine...rather clever design. Great torque for a small size. I have a 98 Jetta with this engine and I love it. It rattles a bit, and I've had to upgrade the suspension so it could keep up with the motor. I think I will keep this car for a long long time.
Blar.
I do love classic cars... my lady and me are just finishing the restoration of her 1973 MGB GT. My next project might be a BMW 3.0CSL..??
;o)
As it stands I have a 1991 VW Polo, with factory fitted supercharger...
I have a 1969 Z28 Rally Sport Super Sport.
I bought it after the owner had blown up the engine and the car caught fire. I have done a little bit of the fixing (sanding, finding all the parts, praying) but it has been almost two years and I can't even see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I thank my mechanic and his drug dealer because he's been doing all the work virtually for free. It runs. I REALLY miss my 1972 Corvette Stingray with a 454 in it. I got an offer I couldn't refuse.
I have a big bag full of two cents and I'm coming your way.
1969 CUDA 318 cpe. Daily driver. No rust, and she's pretty fast. I can't drag the REAL musclecars (like the HEMI-CUDAS), but she'll toast all those little mustangs and every japanese import.
Small, efficient, fast car. Great for the geek on the run. Pricey for a used car, but definately worth it. Im hoping to get one very soon.
-- There's only one replacement for displacement.....
Maybe it takes a tinkerer's brain or maybe we just won't give up our toys. Could be the same thing...hmmm. I suppose the Rolls is somewhat like UNIX. It was well thought out, in some respects state of the art at the time. Both are very robust. Until Linux came out, both were very expensive to purchase. I've worked on mine for years and I find it to be a lot like UNIX in other ways as well. I usually spend about 6 hours reading for each hour of wrench turning (much like man pages). The Rolls is like UNIX in that the engineering gets more refined and simple as the cars are produced. The simplicity reduces failures. This is unlike other cars and other operating systems that continually add more and more junk that breaks.
In addition to working as a Solaris Administrator, I collect and restify old cars:
1989 Ford Mustang LX 5.0/AOD, Stock daily driver
1978 Ford F100, 350Hp351c/C4
1972 Ford Torino, In Pieces
1968 Chevy Nova Sedan, 400Hp350/Muncie
ok, i can see this connection. as has been said before, you can tell a great deal about a person by both the car and the computer they use. i have a pentium MMX 233 running at 250 mhz, 128megs of ram, ncr 875 scsi, 9 gig baracuda, matrox millinium 1 with 4 megs. etc. no scanner, no cdburner, no 3d card, cause i dont use those things. car is the same way- 1976 pontiac grand prix, came with a 350, now has a 400, 4 barrel, th400 tranny, and some good wide firehawk tires. pioneer head and speakers cost more than the car. it doesn't thump or any of that highschool stuff, but it does play my heavy metal very clearly. it was cheap and very easy to work on. i have replaced the engine twice in my driveway in an afternoon. as to the poster who griped about not having money or space- i just moved to make more room for my newest project, and i got a new job that pays more, AND! most geeks dont live in california! in the real world, houses with driveways and garages can be rented for what a sysad or programmer makes, and we get jobs that dont make us work 80 hour weeks (i just left one of those) oh- the new project? the buick is a 1950 special. that is not a typo. 1950. came with 3speed stick and straight8. i cut the floor out of it, and cut the body off a 1973 riviera (left the floor) and put the 1950 on top of it. it now has a 455, power disk brakes, power steering, and the coolest Harley Earl styled body to come out of postwar gm design studios. have a good one you car geeks! al
All the coders here (UK) have or have had a bike, usually sports mines a GPZ 500s, old but not too old. never found a car that can pass me yet in the way to work !!. N
Get a life get a motorbike !
I had a car - a real nice little clapped out Nissan 200SX. I drove it from Toronto to Vancouver Island, where, in the midst of a drug frenzy, I gave it away to a hitch-hiking hippy chick. You ever tried giving your car to a hitch-hiker? It takes more persuading than you think. Anyway, now I don't have a car :(
I don't know how much your paying but where I am in Huntsville 1 bed aprt goes for $400-600 a month. A small house, still much bigger than an aprt, has payment for about $400-600 a month. One of the lowest income taxes in the nation and the second largest research park in the world. Also I don't know what your talking about with property tax on a car. Thats unheard of hear as is smog and worrying about emmisions control. We don't have because we don't need it. A traffic jam here is having to do the speed limit on the interestate. I have no sympthy for someone who is so well educated but still falls for such a bad deal a Silicon Valley.
I was under the vague impression that geeks generally lusted after sportscars.... Personally, I am in no position to daydream about anything above and beyond my rusty '85 prelude (being 20 and in University). Were I to win a lottery though, I think I would definitely go after a newer car of the 'race' variety. The Ford Mustang SVT kind of makes me drool... Stock they look _ok_. However, I have seen a few of the new mustangs tricked out with aftermarket spoilers/ground effects and have been MOST impressed. To each his own, in any case.
I've noticed that two people I work with, as well
as myself, and my fellow geek roommate all drive
new vws.. I see vws in my area with freekevin stickers, with redhat stickers, I eve saw an old
bus with a copyleft shirt draped over the seat
in a parking lot.. and this is a very non-geek
town..
has anybody else noticed the geek-vw connection?
someday they'll fnd that geek-vw connection, though
I know it's probably maaaaaaaaagic
"And how can this be? For he is the
It amuses me to see the kiddies talk about 454 v8s with 12 and 13 second response times for the quarter...... checkout the RZ500. The best of the lot (IMHO).
Two wheels good, four wheels bad......
one wheel even better
There seems to be too much of a bias toward folks that only sling code on slashdot. At the risk of ticking some folks off, I'm going to claim that you can't really claim to be a master of technology unless you play with all of them you can get your hands on - that includes elctronic/computer hardware, complex mechanical systems like cars, control systems, robotics, etc.
I hacked on cars before I hacked on computers - somewhere, I've got a notebook with dozens of quite completely thought-out dream cars and the modifications that would get me from stock to awesome. Cars are expensive, but they're a heck of a lot more fun than fast CPUs - I'd much rather run with 1-2 year old computer technology and drive a Ferrari than throw all that money (more, really, since the Ferrari has been paid for for 8 years now) at the latest quad K8 and VooJoo 2000 3DFx++ graphics card.
I've had a number of really fun cars, and that does not necessarily correlate to expensive - it's quite possible to come up with a really good hacking platform at a very reasonable cost. Although it's fun just to build a car to build a car, consider some form of amateur racing like brackets at the dragstrip or SCCA Solo II autocross - these are really fun, and relatively affordable events, and you'll be surprised how many guys and girls like you are out there. A short list of the contents of my garage over the years:
1972 Buick GS 455 - First car, bad example of the breed, but got me hooked - my *Mom* left twin stripes in the Safeway parking lot with it! There's an old racing saying that you can win with cubic inches or cubic dollars - this car took the cheap but effective route.
1975 Ford Torino GT - Much more reliable, but the 351 Windsor was uninspiring. Still it beat the crud that Detroit was selling new at the time.
1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme - Itty Bitty 260 V8, but the highway gearing meant I could lock the auto tranny in first gear and leave it there for an entire autocross course. This was the first car that went beyond "keep it alive" spending and actually benefited from significnat improvements, mostly in the handling department, since I was in college: Bilsteins, Delrin bushings, Pontiac Grand Am suspension parts, BF Goodrich T/A's and later Goodyear Eagle GTs. This car is responsible for the shelf full of trophies in my garage - it ruled F-stock autocrossing until well after the new 1982 Z-28's and Trans Ams were common.
1974 Fiat X-1/9 Really, really fun car. Sometimes called a Ferrari trainer, and there's a bit of truth to that (my current 308GT4 even shares a number of parts with the X-1/9!) These can be had cheap, and offer a lot of hacking potential. Mine became severely modified, with 7x14 wheels (enormous on that car!), T/A's, stroker crank, cam, big-valve heads, ANSA exhaust, and a pair of Weber downdraft carbs. Best power/weight ratio of any car I've ever owned, and has a number of really serious design features: mid engine, four wheel disks, relatively light weight, removable top (yeah!), etc. Plus, girls think they're cute, especially with 240 HP.
1985 Chrysler Conquest (Mistubishi Starion) - Really killer car, but mangled by dealer and Chrysler refused to fix it until the warranty finally ran out. Don't expect me to buy another Chrysler - they can give 20 year warranties, because they simply refuse to fix things. nice car, though, but be wary of used ones.
1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II - Heck, there's hardly anything left to hack on one of these gems. These 2nd generation RX-7s can be had quite reasonably still - the rotor motors are just tough as nails, and if you do trash one, you can rebuild it on your kitchen table. I love RX-7s, and their fundamental toughness makes them a much better risk than other Japanese sports cars, many of which make Ferraris look cheap in comparison over the long haul. I'd still have this car if I hadn't traded it for the dream car:
1975 Ferrari Dino 308gt4 - Only one listed here I still have (would *you* sell your Ferrari?) It's true: there's just nothing else in the same league as a Ferrari. I've driven (seriously, not looky-loo with a salesman) Porsches, Corvettes, Lotii (Loutuses?), etc., but nothing even approaches the fun of a Ferrari. The gt4 is an especially nice driver, and it's a 2+2, so I can even squeeze the kids in the back in a pinch. This was my daily driver from 1988 to 1994, and it's slated to return to duty by Christmas. My wife let me have it because she decided she'd rather not hear me talk about wanting one for the rest of my life (besides, she loves it too!) These are actually fairly easy to work on, since they have minimal electronics, and a lot of good used Ferraris are still less than many new cars. A good 308 can be had for around $20-25K if you shop carefully. The bottom end of the motor is absolutely bulletproof, and if you make REAL sure you never break a cam belt, the top end will serve you well, too. I like the older carbureted cars - avoid the early fuel injected models. Maintenance is not cheap, but a lot less than many of my friends pay for maintenance on their Boxsters, M3s, and Z3s, and I can actually do a lot of the work on mine, which they can't. If you buy a Ferrari, find a good machanic and get the car checked out first to avoid making a very expensive mistake.
1991 Alfa Romeo 164S - Traded this in a couple of years ago. Big mistake. This car is awesome - it's actualy *more fun* to drive than the Ferrari, but is a big four-door luxury car with lots of room. Absolutely the most stable car I've ever driven at speed. Suffers from the usual Italian car foibles (electrics are truly weird, but seem to work much better than most Italian cars), but is worth it. Go for the "S" model, which is not just badge-engineered - it actually shares surprisingly few parts with the garden variety 164s.
I will offer one caveat: you'll notice many of these cars are Italian. Italian cars are a sickness from which many never recover. After driving Italian cars anything Japanese will seem cheap and flimsy (OK, except the NSX, which is really just a Honda Ferrari Dino), anything German will seem heavy, sterile, and without character, and anything American will seem crude and awkward. They can be a pain in the butt, but they have *brio*, and they make really cool mechanical symphony noises that I promise you are more moving than anything your graphics card can do...
Try hacking cars, why don't you?
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
Never being 'into' cars, I never pictured myself driving a car like i do (Here's a pic, and yes that's real smoke *grin* - my first car btw). However, these days i couldn't imagine driving anything else.
Classic cars rock. They're smoother than new cars, they're bigger than new cars and they even smell better than new cars. They're faster than new cars and above all, they're fun to work on. Although they need more work and attention than new years, they deserve it. A geek wouldn't be content with windows, why should one be content with a car that can't be hacked a bit?
I'm afraid i'll have a bit of a delimmia for the rest of my life... After driving a car like mine as my first car, i'll never be content with anything else.
Geek on!
schematic
My
I still have plans for it though (the car), like putting a 6 pack on it, Borla exhaust, Ram Air kit etc... and I also want to get my hands on an old GTO, or maybe a Charger with the 426 Hemi... paint it orange and just be a Duke boy for a while...
This message was posted using recycled electrons.
I was messing around with PC hardware long before I got into cars, but many of the skills involved crossover. Often the same mindset is involved (how can I make this computer/car go faster?), except that working on cars requires more brute force-- since most computer case screws are not torqued to 170 lb-ft. Now I'm getting "the bug" and I'm looking at air compressors, impact wrenches, and a full set of Snap-on tools!
I currently drive a '93 Corvette 6-speed, and this is the second vette I've owned. A unix sysadmin friend of mine has a '94 vette.
My roommate has a '94 as well, and he's a geek. Somebody said there's a VW trend for geeks?
Corvettes are fun to work on, not very expensive if you look around, and the insurance is much lower than a Z28 or T/A of the same year.
If you get one, and you know how to turn a wrench (and you have decent tools), you can do almost all common repairs yourself. Unlike classic cars, they're also very reliable as daily drivers.
Not a whole lot of cargo space though, but I've still got a beater '85 minivan as a family hand-me-down for hauling stuff.
Having a car you like to drive and work on is a great way to enjoy this "real world" thing. Sometimes, whipping around the tight turns at breakneck speed through the mountains can be as much fun as an intense UT CTF game, you know.
I have some pics of my vette and road trips on my page (link in the header, duh.) Whatever kind of car you have, make sure you find a club to join-- you'll get lots of advice and cheap parts!
-CausticPuppy "Of all the people I know, you're certainly one of them." -Somebody I don't know
I am intrigued at the paucity of foreign cars... Go for something exotic! I have a neat little Toyota Sera (www.carimports.com.au), 1994. This is the car for a geek, -straight from a manga film. Next year's project is to whack in a turbo. My aim is to run it in the Targa Tasmania (www.targa.org.au)in 2001. Another little project: I am about to get my hands on a 1977 lotus Elite (www.csinet.net/rio). Cast-aluminium engine, Plastic body... How Can I afford these toys? I ride a bicycle to work...
Dialectician. Archology.