What kind of car do you drive?

[bugo]

I've driven some nice cars with V6 engines ('91 SHO for example.)  But I generally prefer 4 bangers.  I like the sound better and I like high RPMs.  I like turbo 4s because turbo lag is fun.

[yakra]

Turbo lag is fun.

But I am partial to a well-tuned six!

[bugo]

I drive a bright orange Bugatti Veyron.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I drive a bright orange Bugatti Veyron.

Yeah, and I just won the Illinois Powerball and bought a mansion and an LS9 to swap into the wagon.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Turbo lag is fun.

But I am partial to a well-tuned six!

Oh jeez, the D24T...  Straight pipe it and drive around laughing hysterically at the fact that your car sounds like it could rip the pavement off the roadbed but really can't even get out of its own way.

In all seriousness, however, a guy I knew awhile back had a D24T-powered 240 sedan that was hopped up and could do 13.9 in the quarter, no lie.

[formulanone]

You know, I didn't think much of Volvos until I saw this:

(language warning)

[Brandon]

^^ That's just a wee bit aggressive.  Using two to box him in would've been better.

[agentsteel53]

It looks to me like the police vehicle was already barreling towards the civilian vehicle without being able to stop. 

[vtk]

Looks to me like the ditch helped overturn the civilian.

[D-Dey65]

You know, I didn't think much of Volvos until I saw this:

(language warning)

 
Show me the link to that. I'm begging you!

[yakra]

I did a reverse image search; didn't immediately find anything other than just the image; no further info or back story.

[formulanone]

Yeah, it was doing the car-forum circuit a few months ago, but nobody had any source. Just looks like a PIT-maneuver which suddenly went World Wrestling Federation.

Kind of forgotten about it until a buddy of mine bought a Volvo and an Audi last week...

[yakra]

Turbo lag is fun.

But I am partial to a well-tuned six!

Oh jeez, the D24T...  Straight pipe it and drive around laughing hysterically at the fact that your car sounds like it could rip the pavement off the roadbed but really can't even get out of its own way.

In all seriousness, however, a guy I knew awhile back had a D24T-powered 240 sedan that was hopped up and could do 13.9 in the quarter, no lie.

The wagon pictured has said well-tuned six!
Maximum overbore, D24 cam, thinner head gasket and maybe some other tricks (early D24 cyl. head?) for better compression, and some extra boost on the turbo. Oh, that baby moved... I kinda dig it a little more than my dad's B230FTIC. (He had another D24T wagon back in `05 that could outrun it.)
So, I believe the story of your friend's D24T-powered 240, easily. (Do you visit the TurboBricks forums; is he "TDi244"? I'd be interested in knowing the mods involved in his specimen.)

I got that car in Spring `04, last rebuild was in Q1`06 @~262k mi. Sadly, as of the end of last July the body was too rusty to keep on the road, and I parked it with 335173 mi on the clock. Replaced it with a similar-looking `86. Stock engine though; @181k never rebuilt AFAIK, and yes: won't get out of its own way.

Both are automatics, but that didn't seem to hold back the `85 much, performancewise. Just sink the pedal down and spin up that turbo, y'got all the torque you need! The standards are really nice -- I like being able to bury the diesel pedal and not go into kickdown. They get a little bit better mileage in my experience. That red 745 you can see reflected in my tailgate? Rebuilt at 300k mi, and even with head gasket trouble, it's never gotten under 30 MPG since. 4 months & 2k mi before that, it did 483 mi from Rochester to Portland on one tank. 32.5 MPG, w0ot!

[Sanctimoniously]

I said in my OP that I wanted to get a Ford Flex, but I guess I caved a little bit to the allure of having a hatchback.





2012 Ford Focus SEL. MyFordTouch, Sync, alloy wheels, etc. Great little car, I love it.

[Duke87]

Huh. Either they've really jazzed up the interior, or it's that you have a higher end model, but my '09 Focus doesn't have any LCD screens in it!

[Takumi]

The Focus was redesigned for the 2011 model year. The new ones look pretty snazzy.

[PHLBOS]

The Focus was redesigned for the 2011 model year. The new ones look pretty snazzy.

Although it was introduced early; the redesigned Focus (like the one shown) is of the 2012 model year.  The 2011 models were the last of the previous generation. 

One area of concern with many of the newer-designed Fords (the 2012 Focus being one of them) is the MyTouch system.  It's been reported that many people have had operating 'issues' with the system while driving.  Supposedly Ford will have an improved system for the 2013 models.

[Sanctimoniously]

 

One area of concern with many of the newer-designed Fords (the 2012 Focus being one of them) is the MyTouch system.  It's been reported that many people have had operating 'issues' with the system while driving.  Supposedly Ford will have an improved system for the 2013 models.

I actually haven't had any problems with it yet, other than that it's occasionally slow to react to inputs and there is a little bit of a learning curve with some features. I also don't particularly like that the buttons on the steering wheel switch between presets rather than scanning, but if I've been working with a knob for this long, still using one isn't that big of a deal.

[1995hoo]

My '95 Prelude, in case anyone was wondering what one looks like

....

I always liked the second- and third-generation Prelude (mid- to late-1980s). Thought it was a nice-looking car. Too bad I wasn't able to afford one in the 1989—91 period, although I wound up being pretty damn happy with the 1982 Accord 5-speed my father sold me in 1991. Loved that car and I was devastated when it succumbed to undercarriage rust in 1995.

Found this picture of the 2G Prelude online. I assume it's not a US-spec car since I don't ever remember seeing the rear wiper on the 2G here.

[Takumi]

Cool! That's actually a 3G, maybe an artist's rendering thereof. The 2G and 3G look very similar, but the way the word "Prelude" is written on the trunk (smaller and light grey) was only used in '88 and '89, the first two years of the 3rd Gen. On the 2G it was much larger and written in black, and in '90 and '91 it was also in black but about the same size. My '91, for comparison:



As for that rear wiper blade, you're probably right about it not being a US-spec car. They were only offered on JDM and European Preludes throughout the car's history. In fact, on a Prelude forum I'm on, there's a thread that's just about accessories on 4th gens that Europe and Japan got, and the rear wiper appears on most cars in it. I'd like to get one for my '95, but doing it right would involve installing a JDM windshield and things to operate it, so it would be more of a headache than it's worth for practical purposes.

[formulanone]

It's weird, I still have dreams that I'm driving my first car, an 1988 Accord...haven't owned it since 1994.



...Honda's well-creased looks form the mid-1980s to about 1993 are lessons in automotive design minimalism.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I have to say I haven't been a fan of the MyFordTouch thing and found bugs in my friend's as we were driving to Gaspésie (of course it was minor and didn't prevent the vehicle from operating normally.) Actually, despite being a computer technician, I'm not too happy with the idea of cars having more and more electronics in them. I miss the time when I could drive my car with a faulty electric system (one of the ground cables had snapped, rendering it unable to start with no booster cables, making the dashboard cluster function abnormally and radio not working, but the rest was okay).

Do they still make the Focus without it?

[Takumi]

I'm not too happy with the idea of cars having more and more electronics in them.

I totally agree. More computers = more things that can go wrong. I'm fine with technology that improves the way the car runs and drives, but it seems like more and more modern amenities in vehicles are just entertainment.

...Honda's well-creased looks form the mid-1980s to about 1993 are lessons in automotive design minimalism.

Also agree, seeing as I have both ends of the spectrum when it comes to Honda design. The 4th gen Prelude is sometimes treated as a pariah because of its styling, which was extremely radical for the time and it looked nothing like the 2nd and 3rd gens. Honda made the 5th gen (1997-2001) look like an updated version of the classic styling, but the damage was done. The 4th and 5th gen Preludes combined were produced in lower numbers in 10 years than the 4 years of the 3rd. (There were more factors than just the body style, but it sure didn't help.) The still-popular H-series engine was used in these Preludes, and a small amount of 5th gens had the predecessor for SH-AWD (the Type SH in North America and the more powerful Type S in Japan).

(Edited to fix Wiki link)

[bugo]

I still dream about my 1980 Mercury Cougar, which I haven't had since 1993 or so.

[bugo]

I don't like those huge screens in car dashboards.  There's no reason to have such a potential distraction just to turn the radio or heater on.  I want a car with a simple radio with knobs, and a HVAC setup with knobs or levers.  No need for a navigation system that will be obsolete in 2 years.  If I want navigation, I'll buy an aftermarket unit.