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I can't read the manual for mine, it's a neat mix of Chinese, horrible English, and bad Russian. 
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Nov 29, 2013 10:31
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Sitting at an intersection waiting to turn left today. Heavy traffic. Light turns yellow, oncoming traffic slows, I go ahead and gun it. Then find out the guy in the F-350 behind me gunned it over the median to go around me. Gotta be the first time I've nearly been t-boned by someone behind me. No contact, though the pizza I was trying to deliver wound up all over my dash/carpet/windshield from me nailing the brakes once I realized "ohshittruck". 
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Nov 30, 2013 08:46
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I don't bitch unless I'm either in the far right lane or the lane next to it (assuming it's not 2 lanes each way) and can't pass. I try to stick to the right lane in general on highways, I don't have big enough balls to do 95 in a 60 (anymore). Surface streets though, I usually use the middle lane. In any event, just go with traffic goddamnit. Don't be speed racer, don't be Granny Blue Hair doing 20 in a 60.
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Nov 30, 2013 10:00
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MrYenko posted:Baiting people into doing stupid poo poo in front of traffic enforcement is an age-old tradition. My favorite is initiating street races in places you know there are cops, and then just rolling softly up to the speed limit while the other guy launches, and gets tagged almost immediately. Back in my ricer Civic days  I'd have people rev at me at lights constantly.Had a Celica rev at me at a light. Looked over, revved back, we rev a few more times. Light turned green, he peeled out leaving the light post-haste while I took off pretty much at idle. I guess he didn't see the cop sitting behind him at the light, but the cop definitely saw him. Cop was laughing his rear end off when he passed me
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Dec 1, 2013 22:08
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Just had a pickup pulling a landscaping trailer turn into the gas station to my right... from the middle lane. Also crossed a double white line to do so. I'd just turned from a turn lane, but the turn opened into a new lane - no yield sign and he crossed the double white, so I'm pretty drat sure I had the right of way on that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXb2DduNH8 randomidiot fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Dec 3, 2013 |
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Dec 3, 2013 03:59
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I have one of them fancy auto dimming mirrors, plus my rear windows are tinted fairly dark (no idea just how dark, the previous owner did that). I can barely see poo poo in the mirror at night before it dims itself. It's completely useless when it goes into "oh someone behind you has their headlights on!" mode. 
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Dec 3, 2013 04:17
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NoWake posted:My mother drives a '00 VW New Beetle, I basically do all the maintenance for her and I don't mind. A few nights ago she called and asked me to come check out her tail lights, apparently they're both burnt out and she got pulled over. I'm not one to ask condescending questions like "Well is your computer plugged in?" but I asked anyway, and she told me that yes she had her lights on. I braced myself for what I thought sounded like a melted harness since two bulbs popping at the same time is pretty rare. Suzuki did this on their later models too.. except they also lit up the cluster anytime the car was on. Normal low beam headlights at full brightness, dash lit up, but no tail lights or corner lights until you flip the switch. I see so drat many of them running around at night with nothing but the headlights on. BLARGHLE posted:When I first got my truck I accidentally forgot to turn on the proper headlights a few nights, and just left the DRLs on, and felt retarded. But then I noticed that at night the dash and taillights are on whether I turn the headlights all the way on or not, and the headlights don't actually get any brighter in the full on position...kinda makes me wonder why the headlight switch is even there? Tap it to the left and all of the lights go out, turn it one position right and everything but the parking lights go out, turn it all the way to the right and it's exactly the same as the default(at night, that is- during the day it turns everything on). On my car, the headlight switch only really does anything if it's not dark enough for the headlights to come on automatically. There's a position to turn off the DRLs (and automatic lights), but it's a momentary contact position - it springs back to "auto" when you let go, and the next time you start the car, the DRLs and lights function normally. Thankfully my DRLs are the bright filament in the front turn signal bulbs, instead of the headlights. If it ran the headlights for the DRLs (and didn't have automatic headlights) I'm sure I'd tard out at some point. I still turn the lights on if it's raining, snowing, etc - silver car on grey concrete roads in anything but sunlight? 
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Dec 4, 2013 07:06
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kastein posted:The best road rage story I've ever heard ended with the ragee grabbing the rager's tie through the window, rolling the window most of the way up, and taking off at a leisurely pace through the intersection, leaving the douchebag running for his life while sideways and unable to detach himself from the car. Hope he didn't like those shoes. I did that when some kid tried to unlock my door while I was pulling out of a parking spot once. Except I rolled it up on his arm. Funny how quick he went from demanding I hand over the money (I had one of those big pizza signs on the car) to bawling his eyes out after being dragged halfway across an apartment parking lot.
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Dec 5, 2013 03:54
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Back to rear end in a top hat driver chat. Had a delivery to the hotel next to my restaurant tonight. We usually walk them over unless there's a bad thunderstorm. Fairly new Jag cuts across the parking lot and nails the concrete thing in front of a parking spot, drives over that, then drives right over the sidewalk, about a foot away from me. Didn't even tap the brakes, just drove right over everything, over the grass, then pulled into a parking space. He'll probably be wondering why his car is knocking so bad tomorrow. Maybe he might notice the trail of oil...
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Dec 6, 2013 09:58
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Coworker came back from a delivery looking really shaken up. Asked her what happened - she hit a very icy bridge (with a curve on it no less) before realizing it was ice. She wound up doing a couple of 360s, but the only damage to her car was a scraped front bumper. ... on my way home, I hit the same bridge without thinking about ice. At about 40. Realized my fuckup when it was too late to slow down, just slowwwwwwly eased on the brakes and tried to keep the tires in the ruts. Made it through just fine, but goddamn that was hairy. BRB, going to Wal-Mart to get some new boxers. And pants. And a seat cover. And turning my loving phone off anytime I'm in the car. 
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Dec 10, 2013 08:23
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I don't know what the hell happened to my dashcam - it was working fine yesterday, then today I noticed the charger's LED was lit up with the car off. Unplugged the charger... charger LED still on and the camera made a weird high pitched beep.  Somehow the camera was backfeeding it. Couldn't get the camera to do anything except blink the power light until I left it disconnected for a bit, now it's working just fine again (though it lost all its settings)... and not backfeeding the charger either. MrOnBicycle posted:Many of them are so obviously distracted as well, swerving at the last second as they (probably) look up from their phones. If only humans had some sort of way to know when some poo poo is going down around them. Almost like.. a sense of sight.
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Dec 11, 2013 07:43
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rscott posted:Driver's education is optional in the United States (at least everywhere I've lived) if you're over the age of 18. Show up, take a written test, you get your permit. Then after a 90 waiting period you take your road test and that's it. You're done forever as long as you don't let your license expire. Texas changed it a few years ago to where you have to complete drivers ed to get a license if you're under 25. I think parents can still teach you (with state-certified materials), but either way, you're not getting your license before 25 without some form of training or a hardship permit. Weinertron posted:I can't find the laws, but there were a couple years in Texas where parents were able to waive the practical drivers test. I got my driver's license at 16 with a written test and some parent-taught hours recorded in a logbook, never a road test. I only had to do a written test in TX, as I'd gone through drivers ed. From what I understand, everyone getting their first license now has to complete a driving test. I got my license at 15  Alphius posted:I bought the same model you did and on the second day I owned it in the middle of a recording the audio got all distorted and cut off... now it doesn't record audio at all. I am about to send it back and get my money back and spend it on booze instead; it'll probably make me happier. Oh, also the camera doesn't turn on by itself when I start my car if the temperature is below freezing. I have to either manually turn it on and start recording or wait until my defroster heats the camera up enough at which point it turns on by itself. I never vouched for the build quality on it.  I'm thinking it's also the cold loving with mine; it started working properly after the interior of the car warmed quite a bit. Seeing it backfeed the power adapter was quite a moment as well.
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Dec 11, 2013 |
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Dec 11, 2013 22:11
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InitialDave posted:That's how we do it too, read a plate in the car park. Here, they have a letter card much like what you'd read at an eye doctor's office, except it's inside a machine (kind of like a microscope) so that only you (and the DMV person) can see it. They supposedly change the letter cards around at random, so you can't really memorize them (or have a friend memorize them).
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Dec 11, 2013 23:06
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Terrible Robot posted:Speaking of which, I have to take one this Saturday to wipe that stupid ticket from August off my record. 8 hours in a Holiday Inn conference room, I can't wait. Texas allows you to do online defensive driving - I've taken it a few times.
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Dec 13, 2013 07:23
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Disgruntled Bovine posted:There's nothing inherently wrong with xenons, as long as they're aimed correctly. Sure, they're more annoying than normal headlights, but they're legal. If yours are aimed incorrectly however you have no excuse, that's generally easy to fix, and even if it isn't you're going to cause an accident some day if you don't get it fixed. Technically speaking, a lot of headlamp bulbs have xenon gas in them. I assume you mean HIDZ though. atomicthumbs posted:unless they're installed in reflector housings Lots of cars shipped with factory HIDs in reflector housings.  Acura and Lincoln in particular did this in the early days of HID-equipped models.(okay fine, the reflectors were designed for the HIDs, but my point still stands) rscott posted:Someone wiped out the DSLAM that services my apartment and a bunch of other poo poo around here with their car. Did a good number on it, the car ended up on top of the box and it looked like the cabling was kind of hosed up too. I don't even know how the hell they did it, the roads weren't slick, it was a single car accident at 4:30pm on a cloudy day When I last worked for an telco/ISP (earlier this year), a car managed to take out pedestal. That pedestal apparently contained a large # of circuits for the entire town. Took out several hundred customers, all of whom were calling to yell at me about their phone line and DSL not working (and ignoring the message stating "if you're calling from Bumfuck Idaho, we are aware of the issue, it should be resolved by <x time>". I read through some of the field tech notes after I clocked out, but before going home. It was a whole new level of - notes bitching about how the pedestal was wired to begin with, why are there 2000 pairs in one pedestal, wiring was hosed to begin with, waiting for gloves due to blood from the car's driver being all over the place...Kill-9 posted:I've never had to take it but Terrible's experience is more like what I saw a co-worker go through. He did it at work while doing other stuff on another system. IIRC they did have a way of telling if the web browser window had focus so you couldn't switch apps but that was the grand total of 'security' on it in Texas at the time. The last time I took online defensive driving, they definitely had a way to tell if you switched focus (the timer would stop, and whatever clip you were watching/listening to would stop). And you could only use IE to take the course at the time though part of me hopes that they've adapted to Firefox and Chrome by now.Admittedly, the last time I took it was probably 2004.  I kind of wonder if I could get a discount on my insurance from taking it, but I know if I just call them and ask "hey can I get a discount for taking defensive driving?" they'll ask what kind of ticket I got. I haven't had a ticket since 2005, I just want the discount...
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Dec 14, 2013 11:31
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To set the scene: last night, 50 mph access road next to a highway. 2 lanes, one way. Came around a curve at speed, saw something dark in my laOHHOLYFUCK WHY DID SOMEONE ABANDON A BLACK CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WITH NO LIGHTS OR FLASHERS My next trip down that road found the same car still there, but with 2 police vehicles behind it (one just before the curve, one after the bend, lights on). Third trip down that road had the cops still there, with someone putting gas in it with a gas can and a very pissed off cop ripping the guy a new rear end in a top hat (I assume for leaving a black car in the middle of a busy, poorly lit road, with no flashers, and no attempt to even coast onto the curb).
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Dec 16, 2013 06:49
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Deeters posted:A friend of mine said his mom won't use signals because she doesn't like the noise. She must own a GM. That synthetic "click" drives me loving nuts, it's so loud and over the top compared to an actual flasher. Thankfully the speaker is easy to get to on my car, gonna put some tape over it next time I'm under the dash to quiet it down. (a lot of GMs run it through the drat stereo, rendering that option useless)
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Dec 28, 2013 09:30
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Tape is a lot easier, and I only have to remove 1 screw to get enough access to slap some tape on top of the little piezo speaker.
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Dec 28, 2013 10:18
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Mercury Ballistic posted:Maybe I am the rear end in a top hat, but on my own street, I go the drat speed limit. On residential roads, I'm that guy doing the speed limit - often quite a bit under if I see kids out and there's cars parked along the street. I tend to back into my driveway at home, along with backing into the parking spaces at work. Between the tint and spoiler, it's difficult to back out of a parking spot during the day - and since I'm doing delivery for my entire shift at work, it's a lot easier (and faster, and frankly, safer) for me to pull forward out of the parking spaces instead of backing out. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Jan 5, 2014 |
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Jan 5, 2014 06:43
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Atticus_1354 posted:He then shamefully walked out to his car and backed out and gave his insurance info to our friend. It ended up costing him $500 out of pocket to fix the lift because their insurance wouldn't pay for it. All that because he didn't want to park another few spots over. I'm seeing red just reading this. Knowing my temper I probably would have gone to jail had I been the one to track that asshat down.
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Jan 6, 2014 04:47
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For a race car driver, you'd be correct. Also correct for someone who knows how to threshold brake... and never, ever panics. For your average driver that sees "OH gently caress ABOUT TO KILL SOMEONE" and jams on the brakes... ABS will stop then quicker in most conditions (if they don't go "oh poo poo" over the pedal turned vibrator). The vast majority of people will just stand on the brakes in a panic situation. For your average driver, I'd say ABS only hurts braking time on ice. I consider myself an above average driver, but if I have to panic brake, my first thought is "shove brake pedal and clutch pedal through firewall".
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Jan 10, 2014 11:40
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Beach Bum posted:Protip, assholes: If I can't see all of both of your headlights in my mirror and the largest distinguishable feature is the manufacturer logo YOU'RE TOO loving CLOSE. If they're far enough for me to see the logo, I'm happy. Well, less annoyed. I often have people so close that I can't see their drat hood. This includes SUVs. I drive a compact car... I'm going to toss the flaky dashcam on the back window now that I have a replacement. The seller is willing to replace it, but round trip shipping will take at least a month, and shipping alone via the cheapest option is still nearly $20 (and lacks tracking), so gently caress it, I'll just deal with it as a secondary camera.
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Jan 11, 2014 10:27
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My car took an odd approach to the cluster (you know, in case sticking the cluster in the middle of the dash, instead of in front of the steering wheel, wasn't odd enough)... The needles on the gauges are lit anytime the car is on. Bright as gently caress. But the backlighting stays off until the parking lights come on - and the needles dim significantly at the same time. I don't quite get why the needles are always lit - the cluster is perfectly readable without them lighting up during the day. Sure can't read the numbers at night without the lights on, at least* (* mine is optioned with automatic headlights, but most aren't)
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Jan 12, 2014 11:16
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FogHelmut posted:My DRLs don't light up the road at all. I'm not sure I've had a car whose DRLs do. They run at a lower voltage and produce little to no useful output. Are there cars that have DRLs that light up the road? I figure people are just stupid and aren't really being fooled into thinking their lights are on. Some Suzukis with DRLs run low beams at full power, with a cluster that's always lit.
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Jan 13, 2014 01:12
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The scene: 2 lane road that runs alongside a Wal-Mart. 30 mph limit. Chevy Cobalt slowwwwwwwwwwwwly pulls out in front of me as I'm doing... 30 or so? Wind up laying on the horn and hitting the brakes, stopping about.. oh, maybe 2 inches at most from her B pillar. My thanks was the driver stopping completely, rolling down the window, screaming gently caress YOU!!!! and flipping me off with both hands.  Part of me really wished I didn't know what "threshold braking" was.About 2 minutes later on the main road through town (3 lanes each way, 45 mph limit) - doing about 50 in the right lane (basically going with traffic). Beat to poo poo Jeep Cherokee blows past me in the middle lane doing at least 80 (that 4.slow was screaming its valves off, and I saw them coming up behind me weaving through traffic), slams on their brakes hard enough to piss off their ABS, to...make a right turn directly in front of me from the middle lane. Barely missed them. gently caress new money cities, gently caress them so hard.
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Jan 17, 2014 10:12
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So I'm taking an online defensive driving class. They state you should signal lane changes and turns "one full city block before your turn". That uh.... that seems excessive. 
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Jan 18, 2014 09:21
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Pretty minor, but pissed me off. Coming up to a red light, in the right lane. Nobody in front of me, and I was turning right, figured I'd do the "you can turn right on red after a complete stop" bit. Put on my right signal as I'm coming up to the light. The car in the next lane swerves hard into my lane, close enough that I had to hit the brakes decently. Then sits at the light. And changes back into the next lane once the light turns green and he's cleared the intersection. I guess Mr Volvo thought nobody should turn right on red on his watch?
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Jan 23, 2014 |
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Jan 23, 2014 10:19
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8ender posted:Best part is if it was a first generation then their gauges wouldn't have been lit up with the lights off. How the gently caress do you drive at night with dark gauges and not get the hint that you've forgotten something. The first gen didn't have DRLs (in the US, anyway). IIRC, Fords used to run parking lights and dash lighting through the same fuse and switch. If something popped the fuse and/or the switch failed, you'd have only headlights. It'd be obvious something was broken, but if you have to get home, you have to get home.
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Jan 26, 2014 13:22
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These are the drunks you share the road with.
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Feb 1, 2014 12:42
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Fucknag posted:Is this what that deleted facebook notification I saw was about?  I think I started to post the unedited video though. Which has a barely visible license plate, clearly visible street signs, and you can hear me babbling sweet nothings to the 911 operator's inner ear. Stuff such as street, direction of travel, my name, and  my phone number.Mercury Ballistic posted:While driving in a residential area at 25mph with the wife and kid last night, I was passed on the right. Except there was no right lane, just parking for the folks who live in the neighborhood. I too passed someone on the right last night.
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Feb 1, 2014 14:32
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I will admit I've run more than my share of stop signs on a bike. But only if I can see that the intersection is completely clear in every direction, and again, only if it's a stop for every direction. If it's completely obvious that everything is completely clear, and every direction into the intersection has a stop sign, and it's outside of peak traffic hours.... then it's "grab brakes enough to make drat loving sure nothing, even on foot, is remotely close to the intersection.. gently caress THIS poo poo, FULL SPEED AHEAD", since it's a lot more work to bring a bicycle back up to speed. The only time I'll run a light is if I get off the bike and walk it through the crosswalk, or if it's late at night and it's completely obvious that no car is around. If a motorcycle can't trip a sensor, I don't expect my bicycle to trip it. I've been yelled at by a few cops for riding through a red light, and lived in a college town for a bit...
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Feb 2, 2014 13:30
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Tha Chodesweller posted:Do you think I can replace my stock horn on my Honda with a train horn? Because going from a slightly loud "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" to a shrill, piercing noise would be great. Adding to the Cadillac horn suggestion... IIRC it was a pair of horns from a late 80s Sedan deVille. Going from people flat out ignoring the "meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep" when they're changing lanes and haven't noticed you... to them swerving across 20 lanes and 2 miles of traffic when you honk. Priceless. I really need to track down something from a 70s Caddy, the horn on the Saturd is almost as pathetic as the Altima's stock horn.
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Feb 6, 2014 10:28
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I see someone's never had to dodge a 100+ pound sheet of ice that decided to take flying lessons at highway speeds. 
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Feb 7, 2014 19:13
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Wheels point at 00+ SL2. Painted moldings and door handles also point at SL2. I'd say the paint matched bumpers would also point at that, but I think even the bare bones SL had them by 2001. I don't see many SL or SL1 anymore, though they had the especially lovely engine. I still see plenty of SL2s around though, they're not rare at all. e: how do you miss the extra doors?
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Feb 10, 2014 04:46
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Astonishing Wang posted:STR isn't a mechanic?? My reality is shattered. I wonder why I thought that... Nope, I work for Pizza the Hut. There's a few professional mechanics in here, though right now the only ones I can name off the top of my head are Slavvy and 13 Inch Dick. kastein posted:He's a mechanic the same way I am, because he has to work on his drat ride all the time to keep it going. Most of my cars prior to this, yeah. I haven't had to do anything to this one beyond normal maintenance so far (not counting an evap harness pigtail repaired under warranty); racked up 21k in the past year. Crotch Fruit posted:My mother-in-law swore by Saturns because they were "cheap and reliable", so my wife's family owned a trio of Saturn Ions. She.. she did know the Ion was basically a Cobalt, right? Right? Uthor posted:Passed a guy delivering a pizza last night who had the pizza chain's giant lit up sign on his trunk lid. All I could see after I passed him was a yellow glow filling his entire rear window. Good job, fellow. A lot of pizza places require every car to have a sign. Including convertibles.
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Feb 11, 2014 04:56
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Crotch Fruit posted:Of course my wife, mother-in-law, and I did not know the Ion was a Cobalt. Is that bad? I mean besides the fact the Ion was poverty spec, both my wife and I liked it a lot more than her Civic. I mention it because nearly everything mechanical is shared with the Cobalt - i.e., parts are incredibly cheap, and easy to find. Interior and body parts are a little more difficult to find, but more because production ended in 2007. There's a metric assload of them in junkyards, if you don't mind used parts. I own an Ion myself, it's been a great car. Mine is the opposite end of poverty spec (Ion 3 - sunroof, automatic headlights, OnStar, etc), but it's the same as the poverty spec car in terms of engine/transmission options. I picked mine up last January with 65k, it has 87k now. Only money I've spent on it has been on oil changes and a set of tires; (CarMax) warranty covered a repair to an EVAP sensor plug. As far as I've been able to tell with my own Ion, the only real mechanical differences are the clutch master cylinder (on the manual transmission version) and the battery. The automatic on the 03-04 coupe was a pile of poo poo (early GM CVT); 03-04 sedan had a Toyota-sourced 5 speed auto that was reliable, but people didn't like how it shifted; it got replaced with a GM 4 speed auto for 05+. I've owned two Civics (95 and 96, both M/T EX coupes with the 1.6 VTEC); the Ion would definitely lose in a race against either of them, but IMO it's a much more comfortable car, and a bit quieter (at least in Ion 3 trim). And it handles just as well as the Civics. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 13, 2014 11:46
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This really isn't what I like seeing on my side of the road.
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Feb 16, 2014 00:55
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0rganDonor posted:Another way to game the system is to find the external temperature probe and tape an incandescent light to it and have the light wired to a 12v plug. The truck idles all night if it thinks it's 200deg out. Also a handy trick when you work somewhere with a corporate controlled HVAC system in a hot climate - except you point a desk lamp at the sensor. Preferably halogen.
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Feb 19, 2014 05:32
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Pretty sure the guy in the black Camry had a death wish. And it just goes downhill from there. I've learned never to use the inside lane at this intersection.
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Feb 21, 2014 03:34
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 02:03 |
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I've... done the same thing. More than once. I've never driven outside of the US, and I've driven plenty of automatics. But I've been driving manual forever; the other 2 cars in the house are automatics with foot-operated parking brakes.
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Feb 22, 2014 10:00
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