Well five mile an hour bumpers were legislated back in the 1970s but at speeds above 5 mph what you say could be possible - I don't know. I know that the Smart has very high safety ratings, but that doesn't mean that the car itself survives.

It was just something i heard on a radio station news report ... I have heard the cars were safe , but the repair costs were astronomical ..No pun intended ..LOL

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

That's not a car, that's a roller-skate.

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"What you think you thought you saw you did not see." Agent J, MiB - Manhatten Bureau

My car:

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...g?t=1247072576

Not sure how to post it inline so people don't have a chance to shield their eyes.

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"Probably the last sound heard before the universe folded up like a paper hat would be someone saying 'What happens if I do this?'"

"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you."

An Aztec? You actually bought one of those things?

It has to be a car. Roller skates are inline now

Yep.

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"Probably the last sound heard before the universe folded up like a paper hat would be someone saying 'What happens if I do this?'"

"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you."

My ride is a Skoda Octavia 1 Combi Tradition. Apart from a very impressive name, that is one dull, silver hatchback. It's the oldest Octavia model (2001?) in its 2007 variant with the nice three-stepped hood. But it remains dull. And not very colourful.

But I'll make up for it! I'm looking into buying an old, simple car, and modify its looks (not the technical aspect) to a rally version. Not all the skirts and spoilers (maybe a bit), but colours, striping, numbers, commercial stickers, Hella headlights...And some interior work. Remove the rear seat maybe, maybe some old Recaro seats and stuff, if I find a victim to weld it for me a roll cage... Not that I'm going to race with it, just fun tours and maybe at the limit a hillclimb contest at an oldtimer meeting.

At the moment, I'm hunting down a 1984 Skoda Rapid Coupé. That's the 1200CC, 54bhp, 85Nm car weighing less than 900kg and still managing to consume between 6.5 and 10 liter/100km... Those figures are ridiculous for a rally version of course, but as said that's just optical. The whole car is maybe a bit ridiculous for a rally version. Or ridiculous an sich. But then again, I've got few complexes to compensate for. And hey, with its rear mounted engine and rear wheel drive, it's called the "Porsche for 1/50th its price".

At the moment, I'm photoshopping the rally version. I shouldn't be doing this, as I'm getting too excited about buying that car now, and there's a good chance its condition or price do not allow me to buy it. Limited budget and technical skills...

But if I've got myself my hobby rally car, that will be quite some extra colour on the road, so don't blame me!

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To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

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We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04 K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
Tuckers! Automotive Oddities! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither. MachineCast Save the planet, by leaving it! "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ.

It's a comfortable, roomy, good looking car.

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"Probably the last sound heard before the universe folded up like a paper hat would be someone saying 'What happens if I do this?'"

"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you."

You, sir, have all the taste in automobiles, that a termite has in fine art.

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We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04 K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
Tuckers! Automotive Oddities! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither. MachineCast Save the planet, by leaving it! "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ.

So you're saying I prefer, say, old masters on wood panels, vice modern works on canvas? :P

I'm not sure what the auto equivalent would be.

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"Probably the last sound heard before the universe folded up like a paper hat would be someone saying 'What happens if I do this?'"

"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you."

No, I'm saying that any interest you might have on the subject is purely destructive!

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We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04 K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
Tuckers! Automotive Oddities! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither. MachineCast Save the planet, by leaving it! "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ.

Heres something to think about ...Think about the uglyest car you have ever seen ...Now , think about this ...Someone somewhere is saying " Man i gotta have one of those" ...

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

Well, in my youth I owned one of the ugliest--the AMC Gremlin. And I don't think anyone wants one, even today. (Although AMC did much worse with the Pacer and Matador.)

Hi tim , I have seeen some pretty cool Grem"s at the drag strip ...The way they are laid out with the back wheels right under the back bumper , they are wheel standers if you put enough power to them ...But your right ..The pacer is one ugly car , but the boys from "waynes world" liked it ...

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

Yes, but you know, if you go to a drive-in theatre, the AMC Pacer is well suited to viewing the film,...... if you like that sort of thing. And it is
certainly wide enough to enjoy your bucket of pop corn.
There is always a small interest group for mst objects.
Best regards,
Dan

I just noticed that those wheels on the smart cars were 15in. rims ..That is one serious optical illusion ...They sure don't look like 15in. rims ... They dont look any bigger that the original mini's tires and those were only 12in. tires

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

Well, I also had the good fortune to own a 1969 AMC AMX, the two-seater with the 390 ci engine, yellow with black racing stripes. A very pretty car.

An example: http://www.chooseyouritem.com/classi...back.Coupe.jpg

Very fast also ... And very sought after ...

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

I made a typo - it had a 390 ci engine. The 1969 AMX and my 1984 Saab 900 Turbo are the only (relatively) cool cars I've ever owned. It's been utility vehicles ever since--cargo vans and pickup trucks. Boring.

There is nothing wrong with owning utility vehicles ..After all , you need something to haul the scope sometimes .

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Stuff i have ...LX90 8in.sct with antares 80mm raci finder on a wedge std. field tripod ....lxd55 5in.achromat ota. with a etx60 finder on a celestron CG5 goto mount...And a bunch of eyepieces

You could have done it with this version of the Pacer. I'm sure someone is sorry they never put it into production. (Not me, and I like Pacers!)

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We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04 K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
Tuckers! Automotive Oddities! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither. MachineCast Save the planet, by leaving it! "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ.

The El Pacero?

While we're on the subject, PT Cruiser, HHR, or dog vomit?

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"What you think you thought you saw you did not see." Agent J, MiB - Manhatten Bureau

There's a certain kind of wheel decoration that I've only encountered a few times, but I think it really shouldn't be allowed. They're these garish hubcaps that keep spinning (momentum, inertia) after the car (and its wheels) have stopped.

If you're going through an intersection and catch a vehicle with said decoration out of the corner of your eye, you get the impression that the car is moving forward. This could cause someone to jam on the brakes and get hit from the rear.

Bad idea. Has anyone else seen this?

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Later . . .

An old master with wood panels and roof under canvas (vinyl).

Actually; I thought the Aztec was ugly too, mainly because it looked to me like a subcompact in a forced perspective. But; now it just seems a bit ahead of its time, because everyone went chiselled and overgrown.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

I'm hoping to keep it long enough that it becomes collectible.

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"Probably the last sound heard before the universe folded up like a paper hat would be someone saying 'What happens if I do this?'"

"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you."

Somewhere, a Pinto owner is rolling in hysterics at this statement.

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We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04 K.I.L.L. S.M.U.R.F.S.
Tuckers! Automotive Oddities! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither. MachineCast Save the planet, by leaving it! "To be second in space is to be second in everything," LBJ.

I am going to try and come to One Skunk Todd’s defense, but I will probably be laughed off this forum. I worked as a manufacturing engineer at Pontiac (not a product engineer; so don’t blame me).

When I first saw the Aztek I thought it was the ugliest vehicle ever built. But many of the more aggressive designs take awhile to appreciate, but it has been over 10 years since I first saw it and it’s still ugly.

The thinking was to build a vehicle for the sportsman and the projected numbers for sales that I heard were around 20,000/year. They knew, because of its look, the average buyer wouldn’t even consider it.

Note: Wikipedia says the projected numbers were 30,000/year; but my memory might be failing.

On the other hand you have the Buick Rendezvous that came out a year after the Aztek and was a nicer vehicle, nice interior and great ride. Of course it cost a bit more to purchase and it outsold the Aztek about three to one. But like they say beauty is only skin deep; remove the outer skin and you have the same vehicle as the Aztek. IOW, in this case ugly doesn't go clear to the bone.

So they build very few, it was voted the ugliest car ever built and it is a fairly solid vehicle and should last. And if worse comes to worst he can always bolt on some Buick sheet metal. I think I know why he likes it!

BTW: Monday I took delivery of a new Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe, and I think the product designers have redeemed their self; unfortunately just a little bit too late.


Back to the OP on "this country needing more colorful cars", I think I’ve done my part with the Solstice. The car is red and is close to the Ferrari red, but not quite there. See attachment.

I agree with redshifter, but they are getting closer.


Jim

Attached Thumbnails

 

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