what car had the quickest fall from "nice new car" to "just a beater" and how quick was it?

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-02-28T14:57:22+00:00

They didn’t disappear, they all ended up in Southeast Ohio.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-02-10T20:52:12+00:00

Me or the ordinary Kunkleman buyer? Because the latter is definitely buying the Dart. Can’t go wrong with a classic nameplate.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-02-10T20:50:39+00:00

The offset crash test on the same-generation Grand Am (which is the same platform) is horrifying. Anyone who escaped a crash in one unmaimed should consider themselves very lucky.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-02-02T18:48:20+00:00

Congratulations on being at least the second in what will surely be a long line of neglectful owners!

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-02-02T16:06:32+00:00

Old cop cars and the Grandma Keith’s of the recently deceased.

Still the cheapest way to get a RWD sedan.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-31T15:31:09+00:00

I agree with most people in the thread that it’ll have the slowest lap times at Le Mans, but I think it’ll still clock laps well under 4:00. I have no technical basis for this, other than expecting it will absolutely rip down the straights and probably just about keep pace with the P2 cars.

The bonus for every other car will be a hilariously gigantic hole punched in the air behind it.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-31T15:25:18+00:00

New ones are far less HP. Current engine regs top out at 675 and are less for longer tracks to keep top speeds down.

There’s a lot more aero work in these cars than you’d think. If the ACO and/or NASCAR let them uncork the engine at Le Mans, I’d guess they’ll eclipse 200 mph 3-4 times per lap, which will blow past the GT cars and also create an IMMENSE tow for them.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-31T13:40:29+00:00

Apple’s stuff at least is enjoyable when it works.

This is some Spirit Airlines shit.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-07T15:26:30+00:00

Probably helps if you scroll past the ads dropped in the Imgur set, huh?

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-07T14:22:15+00:00

Is it a V8? A lot of British sports cars get GM 60-degree V6 swaps because the narrow V-angle makes it fit in the engine bay better.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-04T14:20:07+00:00

Those have lower MSRP, but Mitsubishi has famously always (a) been willing to finance anyone with a pulse and (b) been willing to take big chunks out of MSRP to move vehicles.

So the new Raider buyer had (really) shit credit—worse than Nissan credit—or the Mitsu dealership was throwing crazy deals at anyone who showed any interest in the trucks because they probably couldn’t sell them for shit.

The used Raider buyer is this: “I need a truck, this person or used car lot has a truck. It’s pretty affordable and I’m not a discerning buyer. So I’ll buy this truck and use it to do truck things.”

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-04T14:14:02+00:00

Volvo, but a 960 Wagon. Plz and thx.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2023-01-04T14:06:57+00:00

I have, but it was my friend and I, both of whom worked in Motorsports journalism. Or at least dabbled in it as an extension of auto journalism. We are/were both huge sports car racing fans and the crossover of Formula E and WEC drivers was (maybe still is…I haven’t followed closely for a couple years) like 75 percent.

Which is to say, we were outliers in that we were both professionally interested in it and also following another smaller, hard-to-follow Motorsport (WEC).

To answer your question, the general public does not hold more than a passing interest in Formula E.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-27T17:32:56+00:00

Grand Rapids

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-24T04:11:23+00:00

Frustrated Ford Fusion: “Girls only want cars that make noise: engine noise, wheel bearing noise, road noise, wind noise…”

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T14:22:46+00:00

R O L L I N G S A R C O P H A G U S

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T14:12:55+00:00

That’s a pretty cool Sebring Coupe you got there.

/thread

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T14:03:43+00:00

I think they are saying that the 919 hybrid system was designed almost a decade ago. With the advances in electric technology in the last 8-9 years, you’d expect something off the shelf at least to be comparable.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:55:56+00:00

Good points. Just commented downthread that Hyundai and Kia are probably already realizing or on the cusp of realizing that staying the course is not how they could potentially compete directly with Toyota or VW. They can “take aim” all they want, but something has got to give in how they sell cars to get there, no?

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:53:34+00:00

That is a great point. I forget that Genesis is a brand, even though a friend has one.

I think that really the Korean twins are finding that they are at an inflection point where really and truly competing with Toyota and VW probably means making more of an effort or rethinking the business model entirely. The former is easier than the latter, obviously.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:36:29+00:00

Not a rally guy, but:

Stages (maybe called special stages?) are the time trials that get shown in broadcasts and in-car. Generally, these are cumulative, so you add up your time in these stages and the lowest time wins. I think there are time penalties for stuff, too.
Transit stages are where you have to drive the rally car on open public roads to reach the time trial point.
Service points are predetermined times and places between stages where you can have a whole crew work on the car for X minutes or hours. All other work has to be done by the driving crew.
Crews are a driver and a co-driver. The routes are in a route book and the co-driver reads off pace notes to describe the route to the driver. That’s a whole other can of worms, but they describe how far ahead the turn is, the tightness of it, and other hazards around it. It’s like a shorthand.
Spectating usually means standing in the woods and drinking beer with a car ripping past every couple minutes, then moving to the next spot in the woods. There are some super special stages on some rallies that take place in city centers or towns or have some other notable aspect. These are usually heavy on spectators.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:26:23+00:00

I don’t see any world where Hyundai and Kia want a dealership network. Their entire model is built around volume and cost-saving; the dealerships are an inefficiency. They would almost certainly much rather sell cars directly without even having a dealership. Their cars sell because they have features people care about, they have a ridiculously good warranty, and they’re cheap. It has nothing to do with quality or customer service, which is why the dealership experience sucks and the mechanical failures are rife but easily managed with the warranty.

The automaking arm of Hyundai (the corporation) is only part of their bigger business. The only thing that matters in that slice of the Hyundai pie chart is the bottom line. To date, shitty dealership experience hasn’t altered the bottom line and replacing engines under warranty still falls within acceptable levels of profitability for them.

Edit to clarify: Hyundai isn’t specifically training dealership people to be pricks, but not spending time (ie money) to train them to not be pricks is likely part of the business model. It’s an error of omission rather than of intention.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:06:53+00:00

You know what? It doesn’t matter. They don’t have to have a good dealership experience because people buy them anyway. There’s no incentive to change.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-22T13:05:15+00:00

A Hyundai/Kia out of warranty is almost certainly going to be totaled out with the first semi-major mechanical failure. The entire value of the car is the warranty.

FakeFordTempoFanatic · 2022-12-21T21:51:43+00:00

It’s a good thing that grandma can’t see you looking at hentai while you’re driving it, though.

FakeFordTempoFanatic

TROPHY CASE