[Magick Man]

The ultimate cup holder guys have a page where they compare their product to a bunch of others, including the Rubber Queen. Some of the comments are kind of amusing.
http://ultimatecupholders.com/competitors.html

Hrmm, yeah, I like those too.

 

[thrak]

Quote:

On the cupholders thing, that "Rubbberqueen" one seemed like it'd be the same idea as Ultimate Cupholder; thrak - thoughts?

 
I took a look at it when the link was shared and it is one that I considered when I was looking for one.  I have a few friends that have similar (might be the very same one) and they all consider it acceptable.  However, no one is truly happy with them.  My particular problem is that I don't like cupholders on the door (or anywhere where they may 'get in my way' or otherwise consume my immediate personal space).  The Ultimate, on the other hand, sits on the floor, under your knee/thigh.  You do have to reach for your drink but when not drinking it is definitely out of the way.  It is also out of sight which makes the interior look cleaner.

 

[billybob_jcv]

In the past, I have eliminated cars that I wanted to buy because of inadequate cupholders. If there isn't a place to put my 44 oz Super Big Gulp, it won't be my daily driver!

 

[Magick Man]

Word! That's the shortcoming of the E28 M5, but I can just wedge a drink between the seat and the e-brake, that works well enough.

Great pic here.



That's a sexy ride, IMO.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

I can just wedge a drink between the seat and the e-brake, that works well enough.

 
Straight up old school. 

 

[Magick Man]

I'm going to be thinning the headphone herd, too many around and I'd rather not just pack them away in a closet. All proceeds will go to Toys For Tots. I'll soon be putting these up in the FS/FT forum:

Fischer FA-011s
HiFiMan HE-300s
Visang VS-R03 IEMs
ART HeadAmp 4 (it's like a 4 output CMOY)


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

Fuel efficiency numbers gathered, mixed city and highway, unless otherwise noted:

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S, M/T - 22.4 MPG
2011 Ferrari 458, DSG - 17.5 MPG
2010 Cadillac CTS-V sedan, A/T - 17.0 MPG (meh)
2010 Range Rover HSE SC, A/T - 15.2 MPG (err...)
2009 MINI Cooper S, M/T - 31.5 MPG
2006 Aston Martin Vanquish S, M/T - 15.4 MPG (all highway)
2002 Ferrari 360 Modena, M/T - 18.0 MPG (a surprise)
1997 Acura NSX-T, Stage II Twin-Turbo, M/T: ... *mumble*... OKAY, 9.2. :rolleyes: But I was driving it pretty hard.
1988 BMW E28 M5, M/T: 19.3 MPG
1985 Rolls Royce Corniche, A/T: 10.9 MPG
1975 MG MGB, M/T: 27.4 MPG
1970 Plymouth Barracuda Hemi 528, M/T: 8.8 MPG (what did you expect?)

What I've learned: the DDs aren't that bad (Cooper S, M5, 360, CTS-V, and 911). Honestly, the Porsche is a marvel, it didn't even have a gas-guzzler tax (neither does the 12C Spider). The 360 likely did so well because my wife drives it, and she almost never speeds. The "fun" cars are practically environmental disasters. The `cuda, as you can see, is the worst. Big, heavy Detroit muscle car with 740HP, no surprise, except that it could have been lower. The only car that could potentially be worse is the Cobra, but I doubt it, since it's so light.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I have been VERY disappointed in my commuter car's MPG - and I'm not alone - I think there's a class action suit going about the Hyundai Elantra MPG ratings. On my last tank, I only got 26 MPG. That was a combination of freeway at 80+ MPH, stop & go LA traffic and city streets. The Hyundai is rated at 30 city / 40 hwy - no chance in hell I'm ever going to see 40. The best I have ever seen for a full tank is 34 MPG. I suspect the car is completely tuned to go a constant 55 MPH - and since I can't drive 55...

 

[Magick Man]

I was a little disappointed with the Vanquish's 15.4, I thought it would be better than that (all highway, using CC @80ish), but then I saw the high end of the EPA rating for it is 14... So maybe the manual transmission swap did help a little. I know one thing, it's stupidly fun to drive now.

I have to have one of these, for no reason other than gadget lust.

http://www.indy-cator.de/

 

[billybob_jcv]

I'm a little confused - does that knob sense and display the gear you are in or what? I don't know - I never really had any trouble knowing what gear I was in. It is really cool looking!

If it is sensing the gear change, I wonder how it deals with skipping gears? For example, if you go ripping into a tight turn at the end of a straight, hard on the brakes, you might go from 5th down to 2nd and skip 4th & 3rd. How would it know?

 

[thrak]

Quote:

If it is sensing the gear change, I wonder how it deals with skipping gears? For example, if you go ripping into a tight turn at the end of a straight, hard on the brakes, you might go from 5th down to 2nd and skip 4th & 3rd. How would it know?

 
why would you do that?!  you should be going down through the gears taking advantage of engine braking and keeping those revs high for the exit 

 

[Magick Man]

I'm a little confused - does that knob sense and display the gear you are in or what? I don't know - I never really had any trouble knowing what gear I was in. It is really cool looking!
If it is sensing the gear change, I wonder how it deals with skipping gears? For example, if you go ripping into a tight turn at the end of a straight, hard on the brakes, you might go from 5th down to 2nd and skip 4th & 3rd. How would it know?

It's attached to the ECU via a sensor. We'll see, I ordered one for the NSX, because it's already riced up a little. It would probably look a little tacky in the AM.

why would you do that?!  you should be going down through the gears taking advantage of engine braking and keeping those revs high for the exit 

Depends on the sharpness of the corner, I do a lot of 3rd>1st shifts on switch-backs, since 1st is so tall in the Acura. For the types of roads around here, it's actually more fun to drive than the 458, due to the slope of its powerband (to me it's easier to predict where it will be in the revs without studying the tach).

 

[obobskivich]

I'm curious about what the Isetta does - does it beat the Cooper?

Also, the NSX is about on par with my car - 8-10mpg city driving, but she'll do around 20 if you go *only* highway (I've been doing that recently for the holidays, I've driven more in the last week than I have in probably a month). On the upside, I drive <2000 miles a year. I still don't fully understand the massive disparity in city to highway driving - the EPA projection actually agrees with it though - city is like barely double digits, and highway is low 20s. Really baffling. Guessing there's a good engineering explanation for it, but I've yet to come across it (the manual doesn't even offer a theory as to why, but it does acknowledge it).

 

[Magick Man]

I have no idea on the Isetta, I refill it with a 5gal gas can in the garage. It seems to be pretty decent, ~35-40?

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

I'm curious about what the Isetta does - does it beat the Cooper?
Also, the NSX is about on par with my car - 8-10mpg city driving, but she'll do around 20 if you go *only* highway (I've been doing that recently for the holidays, I've driven more in the last week than I have in probably a month). On the upside, I drive <2000 miles a year. I still don't fully understand the massive disparity in city to highway driving - the EPA projection actually agrees with it though - city is like barely double digits, and highway is low 20s. Really baffling. Guessing there's a good engineering explanation for it, but I've yet to come across it (the manual doesn't even offer a theory as to why, but it does acknowledge it).

Because you're just maintaining speed on the highway, as opposed to stopping then accelerating back up to speed, repeatedly. Highway cruising at *ahem* legal speed will always give better gas mileage numbers unless you're in a hybrid which recovers energy from braking.

 

[obobskivich]

I have no idea on the Isetta, I refill it with a 5gal gas can in the garage. It seems to be pretty decent, ~35-40?

lol. It only takes 5 gallons? I've never understood that with efficient cars, why they get such tiny tanks.

Because you're just maintaining speed on the highway, as opposed to stopping then accelerating back up to speed, repeatedly. Highway cruising at *ahem* legal speed will always give better gas mileage numbers unless you're in a hybrid which recovers energy from braking.

I wish I could "maintain speed" on the highways here (too many other cars and lunatics)...

And there isn't really "speeding" with my car - it does around 90 top end (and that is legitimately terrifying). Most of the lunatics around here will pass me at speeds that I can't even dream about reaching. Which doesn't really bother me - I'm used to driving trucks, so "fast" for me is something that'll do 65 with pedal left. Low and slow is absolutely this car's mantra. Really pisses off the lunatics when we get into hill country too - have to drop OD and it'll redline at around 50 in 3. With a running start it can clear most single large hills without slowing down, but mountainous terrain - we're going through it at 20-30 mph and people can just get in line (she may be slow but I've yet to come across an Audi or Subaru driver with big enough brass to try and muscle her). They call it a "parade maker" for a reason.

But seriously, I understand what you're saying, and that's roughly my thinking too - I'm just kind of puzzled that it's not just "better" but it's 2, 3, or FOUR TIMES better. My last truck (and my friend's similar truck) did/do say, 12-14 in-city, but would only do around 17-18 on the highway with CC. If you were to follow the current car's un-logic, the truck should've been getting more like 40mpg on the highway. *shrug*

I'm not really complaining - the in-city economy could be a lot worse (and probably should be), and I've yet to find another car that I like on the highway as much. It's just kind of a foreign concept that highway driving is *so much* more efficient I guess. Then again, I'm not beyond accepting that there are forces beyond recognition acting upon this vehicle. h34r:

That said, not being annoyed by rush-hour is a foreign concept I can absolutely live with.