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Forum
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RE: Dodge/Chrysler enthusiasts, here's a link to the 5 year plan
Hmmm...I think I'm going to be seriously tempted to buy a new 2010 Ram, but if it is up for a total redesign in 2012, what kind of improvements are they going to make? Myabe I should wait, I hear the 2010 is real nice truck, so if they improve on it, that means?
Why not wait for the 2016 model?
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wilber1
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11/04/09 08:06pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Will this vehicle save Chrysler
I think that is a fair comment on Fiat as well. North Americans are judging them on their sixties and seventies vehicles, not the ones they are building now. I seem to remember that the Datsun 510's and first generation Honda Civic's although being very innovative and mechanically good cars, were a couple of the worst rust buckets of that era. The Fiats of that time were really no worse.
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wilber1
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11/04/09 02:17pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Will this vehicle save Chrysler
Jeremy Clarkson of BBC's Top Gear on Abarth 500 SS
On second thought, maybe I would buy one.
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wilber1
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11/03/09 06:11pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Will this vehicle save Chrysler
Looks like North America will be getting the Abarth version.
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wilber1
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11/03/09 03:15pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Will this vehicle save Chrysler
It will do well in Europe because people have great memories of the original 500. The Abarth 500's were Fiat's Mini Cooper in those days and a riot. Here it won't have that sentimental advantage and will have to make it on its merits. As a former owner of two sixties vintage Mini Coopers, I like it. Would I buy it? No, but I wouldn't buy a Fit or Yaris either. Not in the market for a vehicle that small these days.
Had a 124 TC sedan once. The body was a tin can but it had a sweet little twin cam engine, nice gear box, good handling and four wheel disc brakes when they were only found on expensive cars.
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wilber1
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11/03/09 02:14pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Hurricane output announced
Imagine if the Ford guys do an "Ecoboost" version of the 6.2 with the twin turbos, I could see the engine easily producing 500hp and 500lbs torque, infringing on diesel territory without the emission headaches. Real nice in a F-350.
I can understand turbocharging in a diesel tow vehicle. I'm scratching my head at turbocharging in a gasoline tow vehicle.
Seems to me that the powerband would be too narrow for towing if you TCd a gasser.
I could see supercharging but I'm unsure about turbocharging.
That's the nicest thing about any turbo gasser. You don't have to rev the snot out of them to get great power and torque. Few have been designed for towing up to now because of the extra stress it puts on them.
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wilber1
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11/03/09 01:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: granite countertops
We really like ours. If there is a drawback it is that they have to be sealed periodically. Silestone, a manufactured stone is probably more practical because it doesn't, but it also doesn't have the character of granite IMO. Every slab is different and the one you get may not be just like the sample you looked at. We picked out the slab used for our counters at the company which made them.
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wilber1
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10/01/09 04:22pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Ancient British Gold Hoard Discovered !!
I've seen the Sutton Hoo display at the British Museum. The quality of workmaship is amazing. I'd love to see this.
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wilber1
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09/28/09 08:47pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Refrigerator in Garage
We bought a new fridge for the garage a few years back. Interestingly enough, there are temperature ranges where the freezer will not work properly during the winter. The freezer only operates if the fridge is demanding cold air, so if the fridge is cold enough because of the cool ambient temperature, the freezer may not keep things frozen. Works fine on hot summer days. The new one is a Kenmore. The 25 year old Inglis it replaced didn't do that. It's still doing yeoman duty on the farm in the son in law's milking parlour. So much for progress.
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wilber1
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09/26/09 06:04pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Whacha readin' now?
Half way through the Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian for the second time and no doubt I will read it at least once more before I croak. The greatest historical novelist of all time according to the Times and the best series of novels I have ever read, with all due respect to John le Carre, my second choice.
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wilber1
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09/21/09 09:01pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: UPS airline
Heard the same line attributed a BOAC (British Airways now) pilot speaking to German ATC, as well as another anonymous quip (with a British accent)over the radio about checking the ovens when a Lufthansa flight was looking for a missing passenger. IFF was the military forerunner of the transponder carried by almost all aircraft these days.
I think the IFF and the transponder are two different things. The IFF stands for "Identification Friend or Foe." It required the pilots to input a long code that changed every day. The code would identify the aircraft as a friendly aircraft to fighters as well as ground based radar system. The transponder puts out a 4 digit code and is used to identify the aircraft to air traffic control.
ATC assigns the transponder code to the aircraft and the crew enters it. It is different for each flight and may be changed during a flight. The TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) used by all commercial air carriers uses the transponder as well. The aircraft transponders interrogate each other to give the crews commands that will cause them to maneuver away from each other. IE, if approaching head on at the same altitude, one crew will get a command to climb and the other descend. Other than things such as the element of secrecy and the way the code is used, it sounds pretty much like the same thing to me.
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wilber1
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09/21/09 11:42am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Fiat says Chrysler in worse shape than they expected.
As far at the Chrysler/Fiat thing goes, we'll have to wait and see. It depends of Fiat's vision for the company. The Renault/Nissan combination has been very successful so it can work. At least it will be run by someone who actually builds cars.
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wilber1
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09/21/09 11:21am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Fiat says Chrysler in worse shape than they expected.
No Matter what he said it should have been no suprise. Crebus and Magna only exist to cut the profitable arms out of a company and discard the carcass.
You make it sound like this is a bad thing? This is the reality of capitalism and how productivity and use of capital is maximized. You need to move to socialism to protect the carcass :R
I worked for a company that was in creditor protection and taken over by a group of which Cerberus was a major part. Once the share holders, bond holders, creditors and employees were screwed over, they came out with little debt and a lean profitable company. They then formed a separate holding company which became the majority owner. They then sold off the majority of the assets and distributed most of the 2.8 billion they got for them to the holding company shareholders (themselves). The said company was hit hard by the recession but now has little left in the way of assets or cash to get through it, because most disappeared into the pockets of the holding company's shareholders. The holding company is now trying to wind itself up by distributing whatever remains to its shareholders. The company they raped employs around 16,000 people.
This is the worst kind of capitalism. It makes some people very rich but it produces nothing, it builds nothing.
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wilber1
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09/21/09 11:14am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Fiat says Chrysler in worse shape than they expected.
Cerberus is a vulture fund. Yes they were trying to get parts of Chrysler profitable but only so they could flog them. They got blind sided by the economic melt down.
Magna is one of the largest auto parts producers in the world and they also assemble complete vehicles for companies such as Mercedes and BMW. They have around 250 manufacturing plants in 25 countries.
Big difference between the two.
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wilber1
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09/21/09 08:53am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: UPS airline
Heard the same line attributed a BOAC (British Airways now) pilot speaking to German ATC, as well as another anonymous quip (with a British accent)over the radio about checking the ovens when a Lufthansa flight was looking for a missing passenger. IFF was the military forerunner of the transponder carried by almost all aircraft these days.
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wilber1
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09/20/09 11:45pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Tire replacement time. Michelins - which type?
My O1 Dodge CTD is a 2WD and never goes out in the snow. The OE tires were LTX A/S. Liked them enough to replace them with another set.
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wilber1
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09/20/09 11:11am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 240 MPG VW
Clueless people crack me up, they spend a huge amount of money for a car that gets great gas mileage. It would take at least 10 years to get their money back in gas savings over a standard small car that gets 30mpg.
Diesel option on the Jetta isn't that expensive. About $1500 on my 04 TDI. Like diesel trucks, they have a higher resale value than the equivalent gas models as well.
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wilber1
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09/18/09 10:35pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Power loss on hill climb?
Starting a 7% grade at 45 MPH with a 30 ft trailer and not using more than 2200 RPM. I tow 10K in the mountains with a 2001 auto 4:10 and I'm not surprised. Peak power is at 2800. If he has never changed a lift pump, get it checked. I only have 60K on my truck and am on my third lift pump. The last one I mounted on the frame with a Vulcan kit so it should last longer. For some reason the factory decided to install an electric pump on the side of the engine block where it not only had to pull fuel but was subject to all kinds of heat and vibration. Stupid.
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wilber1
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09/08/09 09:27pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: BC Fuel Prices
Sounds about right for southern BC.
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wilber1
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09/08/09 12:14pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Frozen Meats for personal consumption into Canada?
RE: Meats.
We have found bringing chicken in can be a problem in some parts of Canada. Osoyoos, in particular. Other than that, never had a problem. Returning to the US, just tell them you don't have any lamb or goat and they will know you have done your homework.
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wilber1
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09/07/09 09:35pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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