General Car Discussion

I see where you're coming from.

I don't know what it was like back then, but were SUVs seen as not all that economic? Of course nowadays fuel economy is a big deal for any vehicle class, SUVs included, which is one thing I think contributed to GM dropping Hummer, since a lot of Hummers were seen as gas guzzlers and not very practical.

That's one of the places where I'm thinking minivans could've had a spot to swing at with station wagons. I'd assume that the first generation Honda Odyssey was probably better on fuel than let's say a Ford Country Squire.

 

Actually, the actual vehicle that killed the Country Squire was the obvious Chrysler minivans and Ford's own first-time minivan, the Aerostar.

Then crossovers came as the dominator of the industry (pushing MPVs to the side) and were the vehicles that killed off a lot of estates (and made American estates obsolete until the market finally died out).

 

Gotcha. I only used the Odyssey as a comparison, and wasn't trying to imply that it put the Country Squire out of production. In my mind I saw them as a good example to see the stark contrast between their classes when it came to fuel economy.

So, would I be right if I said this? Station wagons were killed by minivans, and then minivans were killed by crossovers. I feel like crossovers shouldn't be counted as the reason station wagons became unpopular, because I can't think of any crossovers older than 2000. They seem to me like they're more of a modern thing.

 

Technically, minivans still exist (they just got their "first place" slot taken by crossovers in terms of numbers).

Also, the oldest crossovers I can think of is the Ford Escape and maybe the Honda CR-V.

 

You got what I meant right?

 

They do.

The majority of cars have folding rear seats, even some sedans do.

 

I know the second generation Dodge Stratus sedan has rear folding seats, at least since the 2005 model. Don't know about the coupe and the first generation though.

 

Checking in here, 1996 Ford Escort wagon and 1993 Pontiac Sunbird (i.e. Chevy Cavalier) coupe both have folding rear seats.

 

Then it would be a Fiat Ducato Rebel then in Europe.


I'd be more interested in a US-spec Ram Adventure, to be honest with you.
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Yeah, but the CR-V might've been one of the first crossovers made (and considering when the model first started, it might be one of the only crossovers to begin production in the 20th century).

 

After 13 years it crossed the 600k checkpoint...



Guess it might be too tired to do any modifications to it now.

 

It's Japanese, it can run for another 600k if maintained properly. These things are eternal in climates like that. One question: how did you manage to drive that much?

 

Finally, after 5 years of driving manuals on the street, I think I'm actually starting to get the hang of rev matching... on the street, anyway. Now comes the hard part, dropping down through the gears from top speed without ever locking the brakes or buzzing the motor. And if I can figure that out, then I'll officially be better at something that Tsuchiya himself because, well, he single-clutches. And so do the rest of his crew, apparently.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to adjust the clutch pedal on that car so there's less travel between full engagement and full disengagement, because that Escort has a stupidly long clutch pedal and my leg can only move so fast.

 

You could rig up a gear mechanism on the pedal lever to reduce the ratio. You would need an idler gear in there too so the clutch still goes the same direction.

EDIT: This is probably a terrible idea and would be super sketchy, use idea at own risk.

 

Its possible without anything that crazy

 

Currently on holiday, wondering how many people (if anyone) has reached the 60mph speed limit on this road...

Regardless of the rainy weather, Scotland is a beautiful place, and has so many fantastic roads. Must be a great place to drive, think I would much rather winding A roads to boring dual carriage ways when travelling longer distances. Keep things fun and involving.

I kinda feel like moving to Glasgow or Edinburgh (job situation allowing) would be a pretty solid move for me. Since the country has quite a lot going for it, especially for a MTBer.

 

Thank my 3 brothers who drove the crap out of it before I got the keys.

 

Some of the first are the AMC Eagle and the XJ Cherokee

 

After watching "The Meg", I have a theoretical-based question:

Would a semi truck (plus a dry van trailer) be easily eaten by a Megalodon?

 

I don't think they taste any good, even for Megalodons.

 

Yeah, but what I meant in the question is can a Megalodon easily eat a entire semi and dry van (together)?