[Magick Man]

Yes. Success has different meanings and there's no set metric for measuring it. I suppose though, what bothers me most is, like you mentioned, people don't try. If you give up before you start then you really don't have a right to complain about who is doing what, or what you're missing, because you're far too insulated to ever experience anything on your own. May sound harsh but it's true.

--------------------------

The Morgan 3W... well, it was raining today, off and on, but I took it out anyway. Why? Well, it's British and it's a roadster, so I guess it's designed to take a little water, right? So, we went up the mountains by way of the Chimneys, a beautiful section of highway that snakes through the GSMNP, just my wife and I (not like anyone else can fit), me in my new Snoopy aviator cap and goggles and she in the same (with casts on her feet). It's a nutty, goofy little car. Oh, at first it's stupid amounts of fun and really quick for only 115hp (in a straight line), but it lacks the competence to be anything more than a clever toy. While I'm sure there'd be more grip and control on a completely dry road, you have to slow so much to keep from sliding around every curve that it sucks most of the fun right out of it. Yeah, oversteer can be great, but not all the time. Constantly I was afraid of getting up to much speed at all, for fear we'd end up as some truck's new hood ornament. It's neat and the Mrs really loves the looks so we got it for her micro car collection, but TBT it isn't my cup of tea. Maybe I'll change my mind after driving it in the dry and after a few suspension adjustments, but for now it's in the "cute but pointless" category.



They started digging into the Diablo and it has some other issues, lack of compression in two cylinders and it's running very lean, right now it's down ~75hp. They're going to check the heads and see what's going on, but they suspect damaged valves, to go with the bad O2 sensor, clutch, fuel pump, and brakes. The Jalpa, OTOH is just fine, a regular servicing and it's ready to go. Likely didn't need it, but it's standard policy for anything that comes in.

 

[Achmedisdead]

I knew that Morgan looked familiar to me.....I had to scroll a ways through my YouTube history to find where I had seen it, though. 
 

 

[billybob_jcv]

Hmm - I hope the heads aren't damaged or warped - that would suck. I think the Morgan is one of those cars that's for being seen in, but not really for driving anywhere. I suppose you could take it when you and the Mrs would like to picnic down by the Thames.

 

[HideousPride]

Hi Magick, I'd be curious as to your take on how to wisely manage and invest your money, and what you would recommend someone that's fresh out of college put their money in. I'm in a somewhat fortunate position as compared many people my age, had a full ride scholarship to a good university, so I have nothing in student loans. I own my car (an old, but capable enough '99 Lexus 300), and after a year of work at my position have managed to accumulate a decent amount of savings despite occasionally splurging on items of enjoyment (audio/vacation travels). My struggle right now is just that, deciding what to do with the money I've saved and to make it work for me. I'm matching the 5% contribution to my 401k that my company offers, but am at a loss as to what to do with the idle money I have sitting in the bank. I've looked into real estate, but the Dallas market isn't known for explosive growth and may not be a good investment should I not end up living here long term.

 

[Magick Man]

Okay, first off, join a credit union, research the ones in your area and find which suits you best. They aren't controlled by profits to the extent that banks are, so they're much less expensive. In the past there were services they didn't offer, but that's no longer the case. Next, save up 6 months of living expenses and put it in a credit union share account (better interest than a bank savings account and just as accessible), in case disaster strikes and you lose your job or have a serious illness, that way you aren't eating away at your investments just trying to stay afloat. Do you have a Roth IRA? If not, load one up to the maximum amount every year (it's $5,500 now), it's tax free money when you retire. One year on the front of that is worth 15 years on the back, so the quicker you start, the better. For that, choose broad market mutual funds like the TIAA-CREF S&P and Equity Indexes. Long term, they clobber more focused funds and they're typically more stable.

 

[Magick Man]

Does Huggy Bear know someone stole his ride? Hey Billy, it's for sale in Santa Monica, hop down there and pick it up for me.

 

[gikigill]

The Smurfmobile.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

Does Huggy Bear know someone stole his ride? Hey Billy, it's for sale in Santa Monica, hop down there and pick it up for me.

I always completely forget about the Montreal, and then when I see it I'm utterly captivated. It's too bad it was designed with the standard 70's rectangle tail, though. Almost looks like a Z-car from the back.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I'm also a big believer in index funds - especially for those of us that don't have the time or knowledge to sift through the financial statements of individual stocks. The cool thing about the good index funds is the fund expenses are super low. That's really important when the market is relatively flat - fund expenses can turn a small gain into a small loss - the fund gets paid either way. Since all index funds should theoretically return the same - you might as well pick the one that has the lowest expenses.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I had some excitement on my morning commute. They are working on a big stretch of the freeway that runs right along the beach (that stretch of road is known as "the Rincon" - I have no idea why!) It is currently 2 lanes in each direction and they are adding a third lane to both the North and Southbound sides. It's big mess - the road is squeezed between a 20 foot cliff on the beach side and the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the other. The have some of the portable concrete barricades right on both sides of the road, so if you are in the left lane, the barricade is immediately next to your left side, and if you are in the right lane, the other barricade is immediately on your right side. Traveling next to an 18-wheeler is pretty exciting! They look like these:



Anyhoo... I was in the left lane and I guess by concentration wandered a little. I drifted to the left, then realized what was happening - and at exactly the same time as I'm yanking the wheel to the right, I felt a smack on the left side of the car, and the car jumped a little to the right. I collected the car back under control (luckily there was no one immediately to my right), changed into the right lane, then exited the freeway at the next off-ramp. I was POSITIVE I had smacked that barricade. I FULLY expected to see a hellish scrape & crease down the left side of the car.

When I got out of the car - there was nothing! Not a dent, scrape or scratch. The mirror wasn't even dinged. The ONLY thing I saw was a small scrape on the hubcap of my front left wheel. There was also some white residue on my left front tire.

Here's what I think happened...

In the picture of the barricade, you can see that it has a relatively wide base. I think I just kissed the foot of the barricade with the side of my left front wheel. The barricade is not very tall (below my left side mirror) and I think my mirror must have been over the barricade while my sheet metal must have missed getting smacked by INCHES. My heart was pounding!! The car drives fine - I don't think I even knocked it out of alignment!

So, to whoever designed the shape of those barricades, I thank you! You are a genius!

I probably used all my karma points for the next 5 years.

 

[Magick Man]

Damn billy, glad you're okay! :eek: Gotta watch those barricades. I was in a Jetta and sideswiped one many years ago, I was a passenger, and it scared the crap out of both of us, then we almost plowed into another car when she overcompensated. I know I completed 5-6 "Our Fathers" before I was able to calm down. It really did a number on her car, knocked off the the mirror and scraped off a lot of the paint on my side.


That guy's really proud of that Montreal, he wants $50k for it. No way it's worth that much in that condition. I floated him 42k as my best offer, we'll see what happens.

My minion is back from her trip and she brought back 2800lbs of Italian insanity with her. Looks to be an interesting situation, and not at all what I expected.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

I had some excitement on my morning commute.

*snip*

I probably used all my karma points for the next 5 years.

Damn, that's scary. Must have gotten the adrenaline flowing there.....glad you made it out ok.

 
 

Originally Posted by Magick Man 
 
My minion is back from her trip and she brought back 2800lbs of Italian insanity with her. 

 Looks to be an interesting situation, and not at all what I expected.

 
So she did a good job on her first big assignment? 

 

[Achmedisdead]

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/1000-hp-vw-golf-hits-155-mph-6-
 
 

The ridiculous video below documents Boba-Motoring's latest Golf, a 1,000 hp, all-wheel drive MK1 featuring a dual clutch transmission. This particular version of their 16Vampir reportedly hit 62 mph in 2 seconds and 124 mph in just 5 seconds, weighing merely 1,980 lb. The engine is a turbocharged 1.8-liter 16V, firing 1,013hp thanks to 60 psi in boost — about triple what's used in IndyCar engines.

 
 

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/1000-hp-vw-golf-hits-155-mph-6-
 
 
 
 
 

What about a 1200hp Cobra ?
 

 

[billybob_jcv]

I'm sorry, but that Cobra was just stupid. That engine was a mishmash of nonsensical parts. A huge high rise intake and dual 4-bbl carbs? Screw that - put a blower on it with FI. And what was with the shiny chrome bling-bling alternator? That thing might be impressive to a bunch of Deutschlanders used to seeing VWs, but not to an American V8 muscle fan.

And the Golf? That didn't impress me either. 1000 HP shouldn't sound like someone has ripped the seat out of their pants.