Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[tifosi77]

Nice ride, tif. 2.0 or 2.5L? Manual or auto?

2014 Mazda3 S GT

2.5 (technically 2488), auto. (I've had it with manuals, knowing - as dodint will note - that I've forfeited my only anti-theft device.) It's got about 45 more bhp than the Celica, but weighs a good 600 pounds more, too. It has taken a bit to get used to the brakes; they're electronic assist, discs on all four corners (Celica had rear drums), and has an energy recovery system. Pedal can feel a little squishy at times. Sight lines are also a little weird, in that you can't actually see the front edge of the hood. The rake is such that you can't hardly see the hood at all, so corners and parking were a bit of an adventure for a couple days. I found I was parking like a foot from the curb.

[Shyster]

Nice ride, tif. 2.0 or 2.5L? Manual or auto?

2014 Mazda3 S GT

2.5 (technically 2488), auto. (I've had it with manuals, knowing - as dodint will note - that I've forfeited my only anti-theft device.)

Booooooo.

[dodint]

I googled 'Mazda3 Coupe' and there were a bunch of image search results. Turns out they were concept art. Oops.

Anyway, what my initial post left out was a simple 'congrats'. Love the color.

[tifosi77]

Danke.

In all honesty, it's nicer than my house.

[dodint]

Finally watched this on Netflix last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPjtIQOU84

I thought it was going to be a Mustang commercial, but it turned out to be really compelling. It's centered around the development of the 2015 Mustang redesign but goes back into the whole culture shift at Ford through the lens of the Mustang redesign teams. Really compelling stuff. They even had some footage of their early 90s prototype that ended up being the Probe when they rightly realized the Mustang shouldn't be released as a fuel efficient platform. They also have an interesting segment about how automotive camouflage affects their testing process, just really interesting tidbits.

@tifosi77 it was developed by the Jiro Dreams of Sushi/Chef's Table folks.

Highly recommend if you have two hours to burn.

[tifosi77]

Okay, I'm in. Will watch this weekend.

Would rather it was a look at the GT40, because of course I would.

[NTP66]

I made good use of the incredible weather and scrubbed/pressure washed the garage, along with swapping on my summer wheels.

Garage Before/After:




Ohhh, shiny:

[dodint]

Nice. Summer wheel day here too.

Tif, they kept saying "Everyone at Ford wants to work on the Mustang." I kept picturing the Ford GT people off camera chuckling.

[tifosi77]

Nice. I just watched a couple things recently about the NSX program, and it stood out that everyone referred to it sans article, e.g. "Everyone wants to work on NSX." It sounded stilted.

[Willie Kool]

Nice. Had my studs taken off yesterday and had a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS06's installed on the factory wheels. I'll be looking for another set of wheels so I can keep the studs mounted, but after dropping close to 3 grand on 2 sets of tires in the last 4 months, that will have to wait.

[NTP66]

Nice. Had my studs taken off yesterday and had a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS06's installed on the factory wheels. I'll be looking for another set of wheels so I can keep the studs mounted, but after dropping close to 3 grand on 2 sets of tires in the last 4 months, that will have to wait.

I'll be interested to hear how you like those tires after about a year. I absolutely hated my last set of ExtremeContact's, and would never buy them again.

[Willie Kool]

I'll be interested to hear how you like those tires after about a year. I absolutely hated my last set of ExtremeContact's, and would never buy them again.

What was the problem with them? Excessive or uneven wear? These are the newer DWS06, which seem to have better reviews than the old DWS.

[NTP66]

I'll be interested to hear how you like those tires after about a year. I absolutely hated my last set of ExtremeContact's, and would never buy them again.

What was the problem with them? Excessive or uneven wear? These are the newer DWS06, which seem to have better reviews than the old DWS.

They were the loudest tires I've ever had on a car. So loud that it was difficult to have a discussion with anyone in the passenger seat while driving. I even wrote to Continental about it, but they basically told me to go pound sand. They did have uneven wear, too, which just made me hate them more. I replaced them with more than 3/4 the meat left on them. Hopefully, you have better luck with your DWS06's (mine were the older style).

[tifosi77]

The Yokohama's on the retired Tifmobile were, in fact, the worst tires in the history of rubber.

[NTP66]

I have been extremely pleased with both BFG and Bridgestone.

[tifosi77]

Jerry Seinfeld just auctioned off 17 Porsches and VeeDubs for over $22 million. Interestingly, the only car that wasn't picked up was his Carrera GT prototype. Might that be a 'Paul Walker' effect? I mean, the problems with that car were known to people in that market for many years before his accident. But it just seems odd that a GT prototype was left on the block.

[tifosi77]

And just like that, UPDATE: List of cars and prices

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder — $5,335,000
1957 Porsche 356A Speedster — $682,000
1958 Porsche 356A 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster — $1,540,000
1958 Porsche 597 Jagdwagen — $330,000
1959 Porsche 718RSK — $2,860,000
1963 Porsche 356B 2000 GS Carrera 2 Coupe — $825,000
1966 Porsche 911 — $275,000*
1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder — $3,000,000
1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC RSR — $2,310,000
1989 Porsche 911 Speedster — $363,000*
1990 Porsche 962C — $1,650,00
1994 Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 Turbo S Flachbau — $1,017,500*
1997 Porsche 993 3.8 Cup RSR — $935,000
2011 Porsche 997 Speedster — $440,000
2012 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 4.0 “Brumos Commemorative Edition” — $462,000
1960 Volkswagen Beetle — $121,000*
1964 Volkswagen Camper — $99,000

* Price above the top value in Hagerty Price Guide, altho not all of these models are in the guide.

[dodint]

When Porsche sold that Carrera GT they took the ECU out. It doesn't/can't start. I think it even extends that Porsche can somehow reclaim the car if they find that it has been modified to run. The auction had a lot of riders/stipulations.

He was supposed to get $35M for the cars. Theory is that he accidentally flooded his own market. Should've spaced the sales out some.

[tifosi77]

Well, that clears up why the GT didn't sell.

[NTP66]

It might not have sold because it's a hideous car, unworthy of the name.

[tifosi77]

I found this highly chuckle-worthy. Mercedes-Benz ad congratulating BMW on their 100th birthday.



"Congratulations on 100 years of competition. The previous thirty years without you were actually a bit boring."

price-is-right-horn-fail.wav

[AuthorTony]

When Porsche sold that Carrera GT they took the ECU out. It doesn't/can't start. I think it even extends that Porsche can somehow reclaim the car if they find that it has been modified to run. The auction had a lot of riders/stipulations.

He was supposed to get $35M for the cars. Theory is that he accidentally flooded his own market. Should've spaced the sales out some.

I'd rather have a Jon Voight car.

[dodint]

I'm thinking of selling my 2001 Honda RC-51. It would fund a motor swap in my E36 and lessen my automotive footprint. If I buy another car next summer like I'm saving for, it would mean 5 vehicles in a two person household. For someone considering rejoining the military that's a lot of crap to lug around.

I know if I sell my superbike it'll probably be the last time I ever ride a sportsbike. On paper selling it is a slam dunk but the grin I get when I ride it is a tough thing to let go of. Argh.

Cool shot of it a few moments before I rode from NC to Latrobe on it. I hit a deer with it near Bedford on Rt. 30 at 1am. Scariest moment I have ever had on a bike.



Despite how heavily it's loaded down and how heavy I am (was about 270 at the time) I was pulled over in Viginia for exceeding 100mph joining I-95 from an on-ramp. The bike has pull.

[tifosi77]

For someone considering rejoining the military...

What what what??

The heck happened to "I got out at the right time"?

[dodint]

I'm thinking of the French Foreign Legion.

Peek at the end of the Education thread if you're genuinely curious.