reddsun1

Man, s--t like that is enough to make you wanna go into a shop and talk to a guy with your tire iron--especially after you've parted with your hard earned $$. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. I guess it'll either be situations like that, or having to deal with jack-legs who nickel and dime you with one-piece-at-a-time repairs. I guess it's a by-product of our litigious society, and the thoughts of "liability" in the back of folks' minds that make it so damned hard to get anybody--in just about any profession--to go beyond doing the bare minimum when it comes to satisfying what they say they'll do or performing what you ask for. They'll just give you what you ask for--just barely a lot of the time--but nothing beyond that.

It's been quite a while since I collected any MSiA fig's. I see the HCM Pro fig's are officially 1/200 scale. How do they compare in size to the MSiA's? They seem to offer a great deal more detail than the former for about the same price; but are they much larger or smaller than the MSiA's? I wish they'd release some of the MS from F91, in either series. But I must be the only one who actually likes those MS designs; pretty much the black sheep of the UC franchise...

To give an idea of comparison: at the recently run Grand-Am race at Laguna Seca, the GT class cars--fully race prepped cars on slicks, mind you--turned lap times ranging from 1:33.2 to 1:40.5 sec. Now the mods in this class are not too major, as it's a prod based class--but they're still race cars on slicks; and a video game "street" car turning a time w/in 1 sec of the tail end of a race car field? Bulls--t.

The GT4 programmers probably also modelled the game physics based on the assumption of a 16 year old driver called Takumi who weighs 125 pounds instead of that 260 pound fatso Clarkson. 400837[/snapback] Still, I don't know if even a "pro" driver could make up over 18 seconds difference in the same car. We'll just chalk that up to making the compromise between acheiving absolute "realism" and making the gameplay exciting and providing sensation of speed [w/in the limitations of TV]. There's some stuff that you can do with a car in the games [aside from the rediculous stuff like, ping-ponging off the armco, etc] that just wouldn't fly in the real world; like taking given corners at speeds that just wouldn't be possible in the same car in the real world--street tires, slicks or otherwise. Is it safe to assume this latest game also doesn't have vehicle damage modeling?

Gran Turismo games: "The Real Driving Simulator" Indeed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tTQijdc3SI&search=GT4 Funny Top Gear clip that asks: just how does the newest PS2 game compare to real life? Jeremy Clarkson sets a 1:41 at Laguna Seca in the GT4 game, then tries it for real in the same car. How close did he get? Well, see for yourself.

Interesting. So what usually becomes of the cars for films like this after production wraps up? Are some of them leased/rented from individual owners I wonder?

wasn't there some sort of legal bru-ha-ha over the destroyed Charger in the 1st movie? IIRC, I read somewhere [may have been the old thread even] that the owner wasn't informed about the planned fate of the car in the film, and was [understandably] righteously pissed when his car was wrecked, and sued? What did happen to the car actually? I still refuse to watch that movie based on prinicple; after watching the 2F2F and thoroughly disliking it, I figured why bother?

Not too long ago I found some info on a fan project for a game inspired by the original Wing Commander; breathes new life into those pixelated old sprite designs like the Hornet fighter and Ralari cruiser--even makes that raggedy old bucket of a Scimtar look pretty cool. Apparently, the project is still in the works though...

Cool airshow pics. Love 'em, keep 'em coming. You know, this is a silly thing to admit to--but every time I see a pic of a Hornet, I think: if somebody built an actual VF-1, it'd be about that size [ok, it's actually about 5' or 6' shorter].

Hey, wrong movie dude! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWfQ04-VCVo&search=X%20Men my apologies if this has been posted already...

I'd never watched this one before. LOL, funny how the dialogue from Top Gun actually works quite well w/the animation... "Watch the birdy!"

I've recently been going down memory lane, watching the Fist of the North Star movie, and a few eps. of Hokuto no Ken that I could find. I recently peeped a few clips of the new OVA that's recently come out, and it looks decidedly different in a critical way, from what I've seen. Oh sure, the animation quality appears to be much better, and they even got rid of Kenshiro's "super bushy" eyebrows [always wondered just what was that about?]. But the blood and gore factor seems to have been cranked up--WAY up. Looks like lots more bones splintering and gray matter flying in the wake of Kenshiro et. al's deadly punches and kicks; which leads into my question: As I understood it from the original series, the secret of Kenshiro's powerful technique was channeling the his inner energy [chi?] to increase his strength, etc. Am I right in surmising that it also allowed Ken to use his enemy's inner body power against them? hitting select power points was what triggered uncontrolled releases of this energy, hence the exploding body parts, etc? This doesn't seem to be the case in the new anime? From what I've seen, it's like the gore and blood has been increased exponentially for its own sake? It's like they just want to show how much better they can animate spilling entrails and splitting skull caps with today's animation budgets and technology?

Yes, I see what you mean: "look out! the big baaad sentinel is coming!" And it's? two spotlights on a crane in the dark? Yes, very sophisticated. Frankly, as far as superhero movies go, I've enjoyed The Incredibles way more than what I've seen of either of the first X-films--when's the sequel to that one coming out?

Sorry for the bum posts guys--the pics showed up just fine on my 'puter when I posted them. Those look to be alum wheels; the faces of the spokes appear to be polished, but the rest of the wheels look satin-finished to me.

And yet another one-off Ferrari custom. I've not been a fan of the new 612 Scaglietti--I personally find the 550 Maranello to be one of the best looking of the newer Ferrari's--but I dunno, this one seems to work for me aesthetically. The contours of the fender creases & grille seem to come together giving the impression of a kinda funny "grin," but it's still quite attractive. This one makes me think of those Chevron with Techron commercials w/the talking cars. "An exclusive custom-made version of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, commissioned to Pininfarina by the American car collector, Peter Kalikow, will be exhibited at the 2006 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance. Peter Kalikow, Chairman of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), asked Pininfarina to design, engineer and build a special version of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, through a Style development aimed to enhance the car’s own elegance and exclusiveness. The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, whose “Granturismo soul†perfectly matches with class and elegance, is currently the most exclusive car within Ferrari models. For these reasons, the Style activity performed for Peter Kalikow has been accepted by Ferrari as an enhancement of its own myth and tradition and as a strengthening of the relationship with Pininfarina, established at the time when the Turin coachbuilder created exclusive models for car enthusiasts all over the world. The whole Project has been based on some clear and simple wishes expressed by the customer: “The car should be totally re-bodied, but the Style changes should be so slight and fine to allow to no more than 10% of Ferrari experts to catch them at a first glance. The customer has personally followed the Style development and has actively contributed to the selection of the car features and to the choice of colours and materials. Peter Kalikow special Ferrari 612 Scaglietti has been developed as a real custom-built car. The car has been equipped with a series of accessories specifically required by the customer to enjoy the maximum comfort during the daily use. The work has been managed by Pininfarina Special Projects Division and has been totally carried out at the company ateliers in Cambiano; the result for this activity is a unique car, modern and classic at the same time and perfectly fitting with the spirit of Peter Kalikow’s collection. The main special features of the car are the front grille, reminding of the fifties and sixties models; a glass roof with a combination of liquid crystals and photovoltaic cells; a wide air outlet on front fenders, evolving from the side panel volumes; fins enveloping the rear backlight and inspired to the most beautiful drawings made by Pininfarina; rear lights recalling Ferrari Enzo. Interiors have been modified according to the customer’s wish and have been equipped with devices allowing him to comfortably feel and drive in a custom-made compartment, where all details have been conceived and designed exclusively for him."

In deference to those wishing for some less "cluttered" pics, how's this peek at the new Aston which will be driven by James Bond in the upcoming movie? Looks nice. Very classy. Hey, who let that wanker in the suit into the photo?!

Exactly. Enjoying nasty hoochies hanging off of a car is probably a good sign you're in the hobby for the wrong reasons. A car is beautiful and impressive enough without some sillicon-soaked bimbo needing to make it "better." As for the solid-read in hte new Mustang, I though it was there because solid rears were better for drag racing? This is a Mustang guys, not a Miata. 397619[/snapback] Ouch! Tough crowd, tough crowd! But, I'll be the first to concede that it's a strictly subjective matter--different folks like different things. I've been around everything from lowly Bugeye Sprites to million-dollar prototype racers and just about everything in between; believe me, I can definitely appreciate the lines of a fine car, regardless of whether a scantily clad "track-ho" is hanging off it or not. I've noticed one thing: as we men get older, we tend to change our priorities. It slowly shifts away from "hey, would you look at the cans on that chick," to more along the lines of "I wish this broad would get the he-- outta the way so's we can see the car," or something [sometimes]. Found this vid a little while ago and thought I'd share. It takes the concept of the old Hurst[?] wheel-stander and cranks it up about 20 notches. Never be late for school again... http://ebaumsworld.com/2006/05/buswheelie.wmv

Now, exactly how much more beneficial is the IRS setup supposed to be? Now tell me, which one looks more complex, and more importantly heavier to you? Now, it's not all that hard to install a coil-over setup on the std 9" rear axle if your biggest gripe w/the handling lies w/the somewhat antiquated leaf spring tech--the original springs can either conceivably be reduced to a one-leaf setup, or replaced by trailing arms to make sure axle location isn't altered, and coil-overs located pretty much in the same location as the old shocks. That Mustang Cobra setup just looks bulky and cumbersome as all get-out to me. It just seems needlessly complex in layout and implementation to me--especially compared to the aftermarket IRS setup pictured above. So much for the K.I.S.S. principle.

There seem to be IRS kits out there that are available [with Ford 9" pumpkins, no less] for under $5K. Although they've been primarily for body-on-frame cars, it seems that fitting one to a uni-body car IS possible. Although this is fitted to a much older Mustang, the premise is pretty much the same? I've wondered if it's possible myself, and it was just a matter of time before someone worked it out [not like I'd have that kind of dough laying around; but still, if I could have a "what if" build up on my old unibody Ford, that'd be part of the package, just for the cool factor].

This ought to be good for some trips down memory lane: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SSOl1JVs7es&search=TRANSFORMERS The entire TRANSFORMERS movie, online. Screw this upcoming live-action crap fest--gimme straight old skool!

I went back and skimmed earlier posts, but didn't notice this: anybody else seen this or other screen test footage of upcoming TF movie?

Could we be witness to The Return of the King? M. Schumacher seems to be returning to winning form; takes 1st place at GP at Nurburg. Pulls himself up to 2nd in points behind F. Alonso.

But I'll meet you halfway, yellowlightman; sometimes, a vehicle just cannot be saved from its own lameness. This one, for example, has no hope for redemption. While THIS one, on the other hand, could very well stand up on its own merit all alone in the photo... Buuut. It'd be just fine if the vote fell that she should stay in the pic...

Fast cars and pretty girls? Man, thats like, baseball and hot dogs; pretzels and beer; peanut butter and chocolate; ice hockey and fist fights....somehow, they just seem to fit together so well. I'd like to think I'm a city wolf; but deep down, I guess I'm just like him--I'm a country wolf at heart.... *gurls gurls, bring on the gurls, love the pretty gurls. ARRROOOOO!!!*

While I think the paint scheme somehow doesn't quite "fit" on the new P. Jones ed. by Saleen, I do like the idea behind the overall package. Kudos to them for going the N.A. route [less weight, less complexity] and still turning out pretty doggone good numers; nearly 400 in both hp and torque are pretty good for a street car, I'd say. If I could get one, I'd definitely be looking to shave a couple hundred pounds off the curb weight, then take it out to some auto-x/track day events.