CougTek
Hairy Aussie
This is wanted by design. Crown Victoria used to be the defacto cop car. It is supposed to be unconfortable on the back seat and thrash you a little during the ride.
I want to buy a new car
- Thread starter CougTek
- Start date
The habitable room in a Crown Vic is used for a) the front seat passengers and b) the boot.
Most taxis were used police cars anyway, and they had the stiffer suspensions for police use.
At least the trunks of the CV held 2 passenger's luggage for a trip to the airport. The crappy compact cars they use now are a joke.
At least the trunks of the CV held 2 passenger's luggage for a trip to the airport. The crappy compact cars they use now are a joke.
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CougTek
Hairy Aussie
I can also tell you that the trunk of a Crown Victoria could hold 2 passengers...period.
I'm pretty sure the trunk of a crown vic is good for 4 bodies or 2 people. A buddy is current CHP and was issues a Ford SUV of some kind.
mubs
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Then why the hell do they use them as cabs?
Because of the trunk, general availability, and being cheap on the used market.
I'm in dozens of taxis per year to/from airports and I'd not say they are all the same. The Mercury version is nicer.
Anyway the Panther cars are history now and the Camry, Impala, and Prius are often used for taxis around here.
mubs
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The current gen Camry is supposed to have one of the best back seats in the business. Haven't sat in one, though.
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75% of taxis here are Camry Hybrids. A further 15% are Prius Hybrids and the balance are god-forsaken mini-buses:
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Me neither. My arms don't quite reach the wheel from the back seat and trying to push the pedals with a stick is insanely hard. I much prefer the driver's seat.
I had one in August. The back was OB, but a bit smaller than my current car. The Avalon/ES350 are a little larger in the rear, though I really don't care due to not having any passengers.
I've been in the passenger seat on a different 2015 than I rented (also 2015), and it is better than the back. At least on the lower models, there is no A/C in the back.
mubs
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Very funny, Coug. I was talking in the context of riding in the back seat of a cab, not driving the car from the back seat.
Well, it looks like the VW. Audi, etc. are a bunch of crooks. 
It's beyond credibility that nobody in senior management knows anything.
They should all be locked up in a room to breathe the VW exhaust fumes. :lol:
There is no way in the world I'd ever buy such products.
It's beyond credibility that nobody in senior management knows anything.
They should all be locked up in a room to breathe the VW exhaust fumes. :lol:
There is no way in the world I'd ever buy such products.
mubs
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Test drove one in 2011 when I got my car. I don't fit in the hardtop (I'm 6'3") and I consider a car without a solid roof incomplete. I'll have to try the new one, but considering it is smaller and lighter I don't have many hopes.
I want one. I own a 1999 miata, which I purchased with hopes of being a hobby car, but never did much to. I drive it when the weather is nice and store it in the winter. I'd love to have a newer one and, if I didn't need a car seat, would probably drive it year round (would need a set of snow tires).
I'm a big fan of lightweight cars with good road feel. I'd also like a Yamaha R1, but the Miata is a good compromise that's easier to justify.
I'm a big fan of lightweight cars with good road feel. I'd also like a Yamaha R1, but the Miata is a good compromise that's easier to justify.
Stereodude
Not really a
That guy sounds like an idiot unless he has a race course to drive on.
mubs
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Yikes! The engine bay is supposed to be pretty crapmed as is, how the heck did this guy manage that ??!!
Why? He's an enthusiast. You don't have to be a nut to enjoy a car that handles well. I own a car that does exactly that, and when I'm on the highway at legal speeds, I enjoy it's grip, cornering ability and the sheer confidence it inspires.
The engine bay in my '99 NB is about half empty - plenty of space. No idea what the newer ones look like, although most new cars cover the bay (over and under) with plastic covers. I see they also moved the battery under the hood (previous versions kept it in the trunk).
There's a great pic of (i believe) an NA miata with some extra wire and hose cleanup done - http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5089/zzzwiretuck.jpg
There's a great pic of (i believe) an NA miata with some extra wire and hose cleanup done - http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5089/zzzwiretuck.jpg
jtr1962
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I think the issue is advocating driving your car to its physical limits on public roads, as opposed to just appreciating the extra margin of safety having more cornering ability allows in case of an emergency. Or to make a good analogy, what you do is more like carrying a gun for protection. You have it, it makes you feel safer, but you won't feel a need to use it unless your life depends upon it. His version is more like I have this cool gun and want to shoot at targets while standing on a busy NYC sidewalk. Sure, I'm a great shot who will never miss (except of course when you do, and someone accidentally dies as a result). Cars should only be intentionally driven to their limits on a track (maybe I'll make an exception to that if you're on an empty road in a place like Nebraska).
There are very few places without empty roads, you just happen to live in one of them. There are countless options around here if you want to explore the limits a bit. Plus a world-class racetrack if you want to go really nuts.
mubs
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The net is awash with spoofs on VW. Here's one.
I'm not reading it that way. Perhaps the VW people are trying to make it seem that the other companies are not meeting the requirements, but that is not the case.
It's one thing to say the tests don't represent the real world, but that was not the egregious part about VW. If someone is going 100 in a 55 zone, do they complain about others going 60?
It's one thing to say the tests don't represent the real world, but that was not the egregious part about VW. If someone is going 100 in a 55 zone, do they complain about others going 60?
mubs
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Of course VW cheating is a bad deal, but to me it brings up a broader issue. Is diesel too dirty to burn in cars efficiently and cleanly? Are there just too many nasties in the fuel to start with?
Stereodude
Not really a
Maybe the standards are unrealistic.
mubs
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Yes, it seems so. There is much info on the net about how the density of diesel + the high compression in diesel engines result in too much NOx. It can be fixed with urea injection and special cat cons, but is expensive to do so, negating the fuel efficiency of diesel.
At the outset, I'll state that you'll disagree, but I'll still state my position that we've polluted the earth enough already.
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+2
The issue here is that Volkswagen engines simply weren't good enough, so the company decided to screw their competitors who spent time and money actually complying with the law. It was a successful strategy, with Volkswagen now the biggest car company in the world.
time
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No, because every company except VW managed to pass certification for the standard without explicit cheating.
Having said that, I *am* sympathetic to your point: the never-ending conga line of wannabe lawmakers who argue that because car companies have managed to meet arbitrary thresholds, they will always be able to do so. Forget about science and engineering, in other words. In that sense, they are no better than the tens of millions of religious 'fundamentalists' that infest the USA.
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Coincidentally, I just stumbled across this opinion piece, which seems reasonable to me.
I can get on board with most of that. I think the simplest bit would be that if a corporate entity commits a crime that, had an individual committed it, would have led to jail time the major shareholders spend an amount of time in jail proportional to their interest in the company.
That was poorly written, I hope you can parse it.
I have to agree that it seems incongruent that we provide a corporation with the benefits of citizenship (because it's made of up citizens), yet allow it to evade the penalties we would otherwise apply to citizens. An example that comes to mind is a mob lynching. If a mob lynched an accused person for the purpose of vigilantly justice, I would hope that at least the most contributing members of the mob would be tried for murder, manslaughter, etc. Corporations should not have rights if they are not held to the same standards as we hold ourselves. A monetary fine, although easily applied to shareholders, may not always the most appropriate punishment for a given crime.
Howell
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Ditto.
Also, whether you believe the VW US head's ignorance of the fakery or not, in an interview with the local NPR station he pointed out the incongruity of building a LEED certified plant to produce cars that can't pass emissions tests.
Also, whether you believe the VW US head's ignorance of the fakery or not, in an interview with the local NPR station he pointed out the incongruity of building a LEED certified plant to produce cars that can't pass emissions tests.