Comments on: Frakking Fast Cars

By: peg_c

peg_c — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:21:40 +0000

if you’re a lefty, call it your Bliss. We all have it. My bliss is new computers and big home entertainment. My hubby’s is cars. We have owned so many in the past 10 years (since I got a decent-paying job) it’s hard to keep track, including a highly customized ’86 Porsche Turbo (a killer with repair bills) and a screaming fast AMG E-Class (that was my favorite). There were a few hot SUVs in there, too. We are not rich and there are things we didn’t do (fancy landscaping, etc.) so we could buy cars.

Obama and his green comrades will kill the golden goose, which is Americans working very hard to be able to buy what defines their happiness or bliss. If I can’t have my high tech gadgets and he can’t have his cars, we will drastically scale back our efforts. Another form of Going Galt.

And I still call Obama a Marxist.

By: nyukid

nyukid — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:59:29 +0000

back channel or otherwise…

Communications that will translate into effective results I mean.

Learn the meaning of the word Marblecake.

Jeff Barea

“Baking the world since 1967″

By: Achance

Achance — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:57:02 +0000

‘Course, there’s not a lot of it in the water, so it is really, really trim tender over about 28-30 smph. It has twin Mercruiser GM 305/4Vs and Merc Alpha outdrives. The engines are stock except for K&N flame arrestors and GLM manifolds/risers. When I had non-counter-rotating drives and three blade props, I saw 41.4 on the GPS; that’s fast for a 30′ flybridge sedan. Last year I switched to a C/R drive on the port side and four blade props for better low-speed handling and less torque steer. It is a much more handy boat to dock and drive at cruising speeds, but four blades generally cost you a few mph at the top. I had more than I ever needed or used, so I don’t mind losing to top end to make it easier to dock. I normally cruise it at 33-3400 rpm which is around 23-25 smph, depending on sea and wind conditions. If it isn’t too heavily loaded it will get between 1.5 and 2.0 smpg.

Now if you want to see some wake, either run it about 12 mph, right below planing speed or chop the throttles when at a fast cruise. The kayakers are always complaining about powerboats going fast around them, so I always ever so courteously chop my throttle to slow down as I pass them – and throw a tsunami at them! But, I was going slow.

By: LibRick

LibRick — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:42:10 +0000

By: LibRick

LibRick — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:40:16 +0000

That boat must be a blast. The “old” technology that you need to nurture just make it much more satisfying when you open it up. The old school folks here appreciate that. I bet you make an impressive wake.

By: Michael DeWeese

Michael DeWeese — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:03:11 +0000

He will DOUBLE the renewable energy power generation of the nation! We will be energy independent!
We get 1% from renewable now, when it is DOUBLED, we will have TWO PERCENT from renewable, and it will only cost us 3 times per energy unit for the green energy. It’s a WONDERFUL new world he is bringing us.
The 98% still using old energy will be cap and traded so they have to pay more than renewable energy sourced power to punish them for not being behind Dear Leader ZerO’s leadership.

By: Achance

Achance — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:49:56 +0000

I have never even touched the engines in either my Chrysler 300 or my wife’s Chrysler Sebring. Take them in to change the Mobil 1 every three thousand miles and to the dealer for scheduled service. Tried to save some money by going to an independent guy after the 300 was out of warranty, but Chrysler’s stuff is too proprietary and the car is too complicated for anybody but the dealer to work on. Not that it has ever really needed any work; broke the driver’s door power window actuator, but that is a hazard of an icy climate and burnt out the bushings on the heat/AC blower motor, frying the control in the process, but that too is as much a matter of the demands of the climate. Other than that, neither has ever cost a dime for repairs in about 70K miles each.

Now my boat has mostly that old technology, and you work on carburetors and spark plugs and filters and such constantly. If you own a boat with twin carbureted V-8s, you’ll never be bored. You either have to work on it all the time yourself or you have to work all the time to be able to afford to have someone else work on it.

By: Achance

Achance — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:40:03 +0000

and even that is weak because of the expected downturn in tourism. There’s a fair market in US made aluminum boats for charter fishing and whalewatching. They’re replacing an aging fleet of various brands of fiberglass cruisers and sportsfishers in that market. ‘Course, that has flooded the market for fiberglass cruisers in the “Six-Pack” sizes, say 28 – 40 feet, so they’re either not selling at all or going at giveaway prices. Over half the boats on my dock have a For Sale sign on them, and some of them have had one for a couple of years.

I’d really like to get rid of my Bayliner 3058 w/T-5.0s, but I’d have to give it away and I’m not ready to do that. It was a great boat when we both worked fulltime and our boating was in stolen moments; you need a fast boat to get anywhere. Now that we’re both more or less retired, I’d like a nice, slow, single diesel trawler and there’s a zillion of them on the market at very attractive prices right now. However, I’ve owned two boats at one time before and I was making a lot more money then and it nearly killed me to keep up both of them long enough to get one sold.

By: LibRick

LibRick — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:26:10 +0000

Cars produced today right off the assembly line have better 1/4 m times and handle better than ever before. They even produce low emissions and last more than 100k miles without major rebuild…and this is with or despite the regulations and laws, Cars today are faster and better than ever before.

Some of you may remember when you had to put in a .510 lift cam, deck the heads, add Lakewood roller rocker arms, Edelbrock manifold and throw on a Holly and headers on just to get a 13.5, 1/4 m….a lot of work and money.

As far as green, check out the electric Tesla specs. 0 to 60 in less than 4sec. It may not be viable for the masses but it shows that “so called” green cars can be quick.

With that said, I’d take an old tri-power Goat over anything produced today. It won’t beat any modern performance car but you’ll have a lot more fun getting there.

By: Common_Cents

Common_Cents — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:25:39 +0000

Yep, still dead. Bought a new cruiser last year from a bank who foreclosed on a dealer. Before that I looked at nearly 50 cruisers and out of curiosity checked back last fall and only 1 of them sold. People were still clinging to old pricing even w/ high gas and now the economy/jobs are making it worse. I have seen several for sale this spring from last year too.

By: Achance

Achance — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:18:28 +0000

Last year’s high fuel prices and the recession have killed the new market and the credit crunch has killed the used market.

As to fuel milage, on a good day I can get up to a single whole digit.

By: leppard

leppard — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:08:22 +0000

Ive got a srt8 charger – 425 hp

sucking gas and kicking a$$

add to that some old mopars

and you’ve got a hardworking redstater..

By: $peciallist

$peciallist — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:30:11 +0000

great find

By: 6eorge Jetson

6eorge Jetson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:02:09 +0000

albeit with minimal job creation over the last 30 years.

When/if the economy does come back, remember that typically people overestimate short term impacts, but underestimate long term impacts.

By: 6eorge Jetson

6eorge Jetson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:44:20 +0000

~~Vast~~ ~~Astroturf~~, ~~no, Resurgent, Radical~~ Very Very Insignificant Right Wing Conspiracy

By: 6eorge Jetson

6eorge Jetson — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:40:09 +0000

The ~~Vast~~ ~~Astroturf~~ ~~No, Resurgent Radical Very, Very Insignificant Right Wing Conspiracy~~

By: Michael DeWeese

Michael DeWeese — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:19:22 +0000

How the ‘Progressive’ definition is so similar.
“American progressives tend to support interventionist economics: they advocate income redistribution[citation needed], and they oppose the growing influence of corporations.”

By: Michael DeWeese

Michael DeWeese — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:52:07 +0000

“Fascists reject the individualism and self-interest of laissez-faire capitalism.Many fascist leaders have claimed to support a “Third Way” in economic policy, which they believed superior to both the rampant individualism of unrestrained capitalism and the severe control of state communism.This was to be achieved by a form of government control over business and labor.”
Pretty much sounds like Dear Leader ZerO’s SOP so far.

By: IJB

IJB — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:34:42 +0000
Red Barchetta

By: JoeG

JoeG — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:29:31 +0000

But I will never, ever buy a GM or Chrysler again for what they have done.

I really do respect the current leadership of FMC. They have taken Ford from a laughing stock on quality to the top of the heap in quality. They’ve beat Toyota and Honda on initial quality.

This is now a huge opportunity for Ford. With Obamaco running GM and Chrysler, they will be forced to make what the government wants them to make. That leaves only Ford making massive SUVs and pickups. That leaves only Ford making muscle cars.