OT - For Car Lovers: Some Recent Exotic Spottings

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap said:

When was the last time you changed a car battery??     No way for me in that time window.  But I get the plug and play concept.  Now to juice the sound although I know a couple of sound engineers who have been hired to get the high pitched/rev of a finely tuned turbo charged NA engine into the electrics.  

https://www.wired.com/story/the-faster-cheaper-better-way-to-charge-electric-vehicles/

lousubcap

@JohnInCarolina nice read.  There is no question about the end game.  It's how is it finessed for well better than a decade in front of most of you.  We will all adapt, some more begrudgingly than others. 
Edit: F the power train, let's get back to the current rides.  This thread always delivers.  

Ozzie_Isaac

Saw an HSE doing squats. He was driving down the shoulder when I snapped this image. Funny thing, about 7hours later I saw him struggling to change the tire (his job site was nearby).  I got my floor jacks and impact wrenches and changed it for him.  Then I aired up his spare.

Ozzie_Isaac

Here are a few gems I have seen over the last month or so.  My favorite is the GT3RS and my favorite affordable one is the Miata. Bonus points to who can tell me why I took the photo.

TEXASBGE2018

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Here are a few gems I have seen over the last month or so.  My favorite is the GT3RS and my favorite affordable one is the Miata. Bonus points to who can tell me why I took the photo.

Is that a bud light beer tap handle on the shifter?

Ozzie_Isaac

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Here are a few gems I have seen over the last month or so.  My favorite is the GT3RS and my favorite affordable one is the Miata. Bonus points to who can tell me why I took the photo.

Is that a bud light beer tap handle on the shifter?

Good eye, and you are correct, but not what caught my eye first.  You are definitely in the ball park.

danhoo

Right hand drive miata ?

Ozzie_Isaac

danhoo said:

Right hand drive miata ?

Bingo.  Probably a Eunos Roadster (Japanese version of Miata) from Japan.

nolaegghead

You were waiting to take a picture of the orange vanagon waiting at the intersection.

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

You were waiting to take a picture of the orange vanagon waiting at the intersection.

More of a Westfalia person, but the vanagone is sweet too.  I really like the newer sprinter conversions.

Eoin

JohnInCarolina said:

lousubcap said:

The electrics are insanely fast for a time.  Great for drag strip racers.  Motor racing will become all about speed to jam the juice into the battery as the duration (today) of power does not currently have the staying power.  Technology will likely get us there but who knows when.  

It’s there now, you just have to adjust the mode of operation from recharging a battery to swapping it out.  The latter is actually faster than refilling a gas tank.

Tesla tried it and dumped the idea. Charging isn't the problem, availability of chargers is (here in the UK).

nolaegghead

The battery swap is a great idea but the swap infrastructure will lag far behind the gross number of electric vehicles on the road.  The immediate demand is chargers/stations, like @Eoin said, in many countries including the USA.

I do understand the challenges for the electric utilities.  If we could hit the low hanging fruit of a combination of location (distributed strategically) and proximity to 115 and 161kV transmission lines, the cost of very large current loads on the grid is much lower.

Anyway, this will probably grow poorly through capitalism or could be somewhat managed through grants or tax breaks to serve the public better.  Keep in mind much of flyover country has internet and phone because of a series of government programs last of which is the FCC Universal Service Fund.  All this started back in the 20s.  (Yes, including the "Obama Phone")

"Universal Service Fund - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund

nolaegghead

Inevitably, in the near future there will be nostalgia for internal combustion engines.  In a couple generations most drivers will view them like vacuum tube radios and amps having never lived in a time where there weren't electric cars.  They will be collector and enthusiast owned. In their minds, the "soul" will not be missed.  We ICE owners will **** about the "good old days" like the folks losing jobs to the cotton gin.  In the long run, the ICE will be a flash in the pan of history, if there is a history where we don't succumb to self-destruction through things like war, famine and ignorance. 

JohnInCarolina

Eoin said:

JohnInCarolina said:

lousubcap said:

The electrics are insanely fast for a time.  Great for drag strip racers.  Motor racing will become all about speed to jam the juice into the battery as the duration (today) of power does not currently have the staying power.  Technology will likely get us there but who knows when.  

It’s there now, you just have to adjust the mode of operation from recharging a battery to swapping it out.  The latter is actually faster than refilling a gas tank.

Tesla tried it and dumped the idea. Charging isn't the problem, availability of chargers is (here in the UK).

I was really just talking about for racing, not everyday use by consumers.  

dbCooper

Road construction/maintenance funding will need to be addressed at some point. The excise taxes (federal and state) imposed on fossil fuels for motor vehicle use are dedicated to the infrastructure of our roadways.  EV's currently get a free pass here.  It will be interesting to see how they end up in having to pay their fair share.

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

The battery swap is a great idea but the swap infrastructure will lag far behind the gross number of electric vehicles on the road.  The immediate demand is chargers/stations, like @Eoin said, in many countries including the USA.

I do understand the challenges for the electric utilities.  If we could hit the low hanging fruit of a combination of location (distributed strategically) and proximity to 115 and 161kV transmission lines, the cost of very large current loads on the grid is much lower.

Anyway, this will probably grow poorly through capitalism or could be somewhat managed through grants or tax breaks to serve the public better.  Keep in mind much of flyover country has internet and phone because of a series of government programs last of which is the FCC Universal Service Fund.  All this started back in the 20s.  (Yes, including the "Obama Phone")

"Universal Service Fund - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund

I am now surrounded by mega neighborhoods and I still can not get wired internet faster than 6Mbps.  Currently have over the air internet (think narrow beam wifi) at 12Mbps for $119/month.  Only hope for decent internet is 5G or Starlink.  Wish we actually had teeth to our FCC instead of a lobbyist run cesspool.

Fred19Flintstone

dbCooper said:

Road construction/maintenance funding will need to be addressed at some point. The excise taxes (federal and state) imposed on fossil fuels for motor vehicle use are dedicated to the infrastructure of our roadways.  EV's currently get a free pass here.  It will be interesting to see how they end up in having to pay their fair share.

#dbCooper
The gas tax in Michigan is about 26.5 cents per gallon.  The roads in Michigan suck big time.  I can promise you all that money is not used for road infrastructure.  What I think will happen is some sort of mileage tax imposed during annual license plate renewal.

nolaegghead

They should increase gas tax in the short term to make electric more economical an alternative.  When the majority of vehicles are electric, they can tax mileage electronically and add the tax to the registration renewal or something.  All new electric cars are networked.

shtgunal3

Does a 4-door Porsche count?

GrateEggspectations

shtgunal3 said:

Does a 4-door Porsche count?

But of course. I think it was Jeremy Clarkson and co. that really panned the Panamera, but personally, I think it’s a nice looking ride. 

GrateEggspectations

Spotted as I was about to have a drink on the patio of a neighbour’s restaurant right on this corner. For my American compatriots, the building in photo #1 is your embassy in Canada’s national capital, Ottawa, Ontario - our equivalent of your Washington, D.C. For interest, photo #2 features our national art gallery. 

lousubcap

@GrateEggspectations - for the record, when I was in Ottawa (fully cognizant of the capital city title) I never saw a ride like that but then again I was several decades younger then and was more interested in the fairer classmates.  
Trained in from Montreal on a couple of occasions.  

Ozzie_Isaac

Saw this gem.  Not sure what original color is.  Other side is equally interesting.

WeberWho

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Saw this gem.  Not sure what original color is.  Other side is equally interesting.

It either hit a crowd of spectators or another car. It happens to every Mustang owner. 

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Saw this gem.  Not sure what original color is.  Other side is equally interesting.

That dent in the back panel will buff out, I’m sure.

shtgunal3

Really nice kit car.

GrateEggspectations

shtgunal3 said:

Really nice kit car.

Never seen a cover like that on an AC. Can’t say it does much for the car’s awesome lines, IMO. 

EGGING_Around

WeberWho said:

Nothing very exciting around here. I've seen a couple of those Bently SUV's around. 

I found a couple random license plates on my phone.

Juke Box Hero


For any of you Saved By The Bell fans


My Dad's best friend races down in North Carolina. Fun to see what he's doing in his shop when stopping over. 

https://youtu.be/tLH8QaZbDVg 

Love the C5 Super Gas Vette

shtgunal3

GrateEggspectations said:

shtgunal3 said:

Really nice kit car.

Never seen a cover like that on an AC. Can’t say it does much for the car’s awesome lines, IMO. 

I agree. I thought it looked odd on a really nice ride.

Hook_emHornsfan_74

Saw this today. Still had its paper plates.