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an AE86 sweet.

It's not just the Tiburon and Pontiacs, it's just about all high end cars. For some reason car manufacturers think that a sunroof is a high-end option but the people who really love cars or are tall (or just hate the slight loss of rigidity and added weight) can't seem to get rid of the damn option. I remember that exact same thing when i was looking at the GT Tiburon's and how you couldn't get one w/o a sunroof, same thing with the RSX-S and pretty much any Honda (even the new NSX). 90% of the 2nd gen MR2's only came with T-top or moonroof, and finding an MR2 hardtop was near impossible (especially a turbo model), and with a hard top that was one of the best cars on the market. Sunroof in a luxury car is fine by me, but if you're trying to sell any type of "sports" feel to a car, get rid of the sunroof all together.

it's really hard to get the media and the public back on your side when for the past 30+ years your cars have sucked. It really had a lot to do with emissions (doesn't it always, damn tree huggers) and American's lackadaisical attitude to work around them with their sports cars. You can't really blame them for not trying to make fast cars after the 70's though because there was a huge econo box hype; of which put AMC out of business since they forget how to build an econo box (which was the original foundation of the company) after being so damn good at building sports cars. I guess we all have to sit back and see what the big 3 do about companies like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan in the next 5-10 years to see if there will even be a home for the American car (or even the American Truck ). Also i don't have any quarrels with the GTO (I never said it was a bad car) but let's be honest, it's motor is raided from the GM parts bin and the rest of the car was jacked from Vauxhall. GM's "Performance Branch" is underperforming IMO.

And it really has a lot to do with who's leading the company. Ford got such a bad reputation in the past decade because of their head CEO Nasser who was turning the company to crap. Now Bill Ford has taken his place (took head CEO in 2001, and was the one who decided to restyle the Mustang and start investing into hybrid technologies) and has received tons of criticism from the board, but at the same time he's taking the company out of the stone age (the board is bitching because Ford's stock is doing terrible, but everyone knows once the company is profitable again, eventually the stocks will follow. It's called return on investment retards). GM is where Ford was about 10 years ago where they have a bunch of douche bags who care more about their shares in the company than whether or not the company will exist in another month. I couldn't agree more with Disco about how GM should reorganize, it's exactly what my brother and i said they should do (but i was just too lazy to go into it). Pontiac is suppose to be performance minded but they don't have a single REAL sports car to market, it's more left overs from the GM parts bin. Right now i think Chrysler (with the exception of their Mercedes counterpart) is the only American company with a head on their shoulders but still need to update their Chrysler line and actually price their vehicles what they're worth (their Viper is junk and they still charge a fortune for it).

what a retard.

i honestly found it to be a decent show, even the movie was pretty damn good, but everything after that was crap

I think that's the biggest problem with American companies right now is that they have so many divisions that are useless. Chrysler i think is just right about how many divisions they have since they axed plymouth years ago, they just need to focus on making more memorable models for the Chrysler brand. The only Chrysler model that is memorable at all is the 300C all the other ones don't even ring a bell or come to mind, and the Crossfire is hardly a sports car, they need something with a little more presence. Ford really needs to axe Mercury. Mercury is the wanna be Lincoln, and really ruins it for all of the new models that Ford creates like the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr. If you put a Fusion and a Zephyr next to each other you don't really notice the similarities, but when you stick the Milan in between them, the relation is clear and really ruins the point of buying any of the three. Ford also needs to pump up Jaguar, because Jaguar is the only other company of Ford that is losing money (Volvo, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Mazda are making them bank). GM just needs to dump about half of their companies and then start making models that are worth a crap. They are the ONLY company to use OHV motors, and there's nothing wrong with that, except when you're 3.9liter V6 that puts out more hp and torque gets beat out by the 3.0liter SOHC Honda V6 with less hp and torque (and the 3.9liter gets worse gas mileage), you know something's wrong. Plus they closed down Oldsmobile and did nothing with their motors or R&D and kept BUICK!? If you're going to close the doors on one just dump them both, anyone who is loyal to either one of those companies is either in a retirement home or dead. I'm just going to end there because GM has their work cut out for them, but hopefully the divisions that don't close down will get a complete makeover the same way Cadillac did.

Whoever garaged the GT is probably going to see a ROI in the next ten or so years because those are actually limited production and exotic, but i know for a fact that Mustangs unless they have a number limit are not going to go for much. Personally, if you don't like the GT500 or think the markup is outrageous just get a Roush Mustang, the Saleen's are slow. Korean cars are getting better every year (ignore the fact that i'm half korean) but it has a lot to do with them stealing former head engineers and designers. Namely the motor engineer from BMW who now had made them a brand new V8 and V6 (the 3.5 V6 has already outperformed Honda's and Toyota's, and the V8 hasn't been put into a car yet). I say give them 5 to 10 more years and they'll be at the selling level of the other Japanese Giants in the market. The concept looks a lot like a Peugot, I like the front end but the proprotions seem funny.

Well all things considered, the GT500 is $44,000, where the ZO6 is $63,000 and the ZO6 is definitely not leaving the lot at 63, so i'd highly doubt the GT500 would leave (unless you work at the dealership) for that same price. But considering that the 500 is supercharged, there's so much more horsepower you could grab out of that motor without causing it any extra stress or reinforcement. Where as to get the extra horsepower out of the Vette you have to twin turbo it, which is a tall and expensive order on all accounts. People give the 03-04 Cobra's a hard time, but they really weren't as fickle as people claim they are. My friend from high school got one as a college graduation gift, and has had no problems since delivery. I think anyone who experiences problems with their sports car obviously isn't treating it the way it's suppose to. It really brings back the amount of people who have absolutely NO idea how to care for a turbo or supercharged car.

Three of the greatest games ever made... 362625[/snapback] I've got trouble getting into Metroid 1 now. The fact that the first thing I have to do is farm life pellets to run my energy up drives me mad. There's also a very high damage rate, but if I resurrected with full life, or there was even a fast way to refill it(everyone knows the path to the fairy north of the first screen in Zelda 1), I wouldn't mind. As it is... I'll take Super Metroid any day. 362691[/snapback] Yeh, out of ALL the Metroids old and new Super Metroid is definitely at the top of my list. It definitely had everything you'd expect and more from any Metroid game, it actually sucked to beat it because you only get to enjoy having every weapon and the suits for so long before the game is over.

What's up with the pentagram wheels? I'm just waiting for two more cars to be officially made now that the ZO6 has been beefed up. The 500hp/torque GT500 and the Nissan/Infiniti Skyline GT-R... and also on a side note, the GT-R is NOT built on the 350Z/G35 chassis. It has a completely new chassis design specifically built for this car and this car alone which is why the price is what it is (since it doesn't fit within typical production). As soon as these two are made, then at some point Dodge will either have to bring out the challenger, or do something amazing to the Viper (within affordable means... the Venom is hardly what i would consider "affordable").

GM is using a retro name with a modern approach; they plan on releasing the "Stingray" based on the solstice platform, but with a more sporty look and the Cadillac 3.6liter V6 (of course no relation to the Vette, it's used to stir up interest).

I hardly consider Nascar racing, it's really just one big circle of advertising. Even in a special on Speed about Nascar, the association admitted the track is a circle so that the advertisements on the cars are visible at all times as opposed to the European/Japanese thinking that cars are meant to do more than tilt to the left at 200 mph. I love watching european races like WRC, JGTC, Super GT, all of those races are on some of the most infamous tracks on the world and the skill of the drivers is beyond admirable. Also i've been reading the Washington Post recently and the "Big Three" are all reorganizing their companies. First GM has it's 5 year plan for laying off thousands of employees and closing factories so it can start to focus on making cars that are worth a crap as opposed to satisfying their stakeholders on wall street. Ford recently has written it's 5 year plan for the opposite reasons: their company has great cars but their stock is worth crap, so they're downsizing and getting rid of excess cost to help focus attention on bringing their market shares up. Chrysler (in today's post) just announced their plan to cut production costs similar to Ford but focus on fixing Mercedes which is losing them tons of money and make sure that the people in their white collar jobs deserve to actually have them. The only thing i could think of (growing up in Michigan) is with all of the factories closing down how devastating this is going to be to the economy in Michigan (especially because that's pretty much the cornerstone of their economy) and other industrial states where these automotive factories are going to be closing down. Tons of blue AND white collar jobs are going to be shot down and those areas are going to be pretty depressed. Though that means great things for the automotive companies, i'm afraid that companies like GM who have very demanding labor unions may have a mixed blessing in their budget cuts.

My brother and I were talking today about classic muscle cars that really made an impact on how domestic muscle got to where it is. And of course the usual suspects come up like the Mustang and the Vette but then i remembered an old car that not many people remember... the AMX. If anyone is familiar with its history, then you know it was a mean machine, and even beat the vette's of its Era, but more importantly set the bar for the vette and mustang and other cars in the 60's 70's to push for better technology and more power. The coincidental thing is when i came home today during dinner i was on Speed channel and they were doing a special on the AMX. I wish they weren't so rare, that'd be an awesome car to have. Also i've been too lazy to grab the R&T out of the magazine bin and then flip through the pages to the shoot out so i'll do it some other time, it's just not on my priority list.

Equilibrium was Way underrated and more so unnoticed. If Ultraviolet is from the same director then i'll definitely go see it.

Numbers for the cars vary on which magazine you read. I personally like Road & Track because they have alway stated that they always quick shift but it's still flat not power shifting (meaning they actually take their foot off the gas) which is why when they do shootouts, it's more accurate than when they test separately. I have the shootout (Road & Track) that has the specific numbers that show that the GT beats the F430 in all categories including skidpad and braking. I'll post the numbers when i get home. Personally if i had the money i would buy the GT since it's not going to be made anymore and in another 30 years it will be a collectible like the original GT40. The F430's are made in much higher production numbers for much longer years which don't make them nearly as exclusive even with the higher price tag, since most people that buy them are collectors or footballers. Not to mention the GT has some more going for it since it can still be modified for not even a few thousand more to make it even faster. Just get a smaller pully for the supercharger and it'll push out tons more boost and tons more hp/torque. The 430's would cost another arm and a leg if you wanted to do anything more to it due to the fact that the motor is built to perform naturally aspirated. And anything more done to it would seriously deminish it's already short road life (that's not a hit at Ferrari, it's more that all exotics don't have a lot of high performance motor life without fortunes of maintenance, so shortening it even more is bad idea).

in theory that's true. Same platform, bigger motor, lighter body. The problem is when the 360 was released it was class leading, it's many races proved that. The 430 however is the same idea but not nearly as thought through. The motor has better hp/torque but it doesn't reflect worth crap in it's time numbers. The body looks like a baby Enzo, where the 360 was a work of art. And even after its released, it STILL can't beat the Ford GT, and it was released AFTER the GT... how pitiful is that? If nothing else you can at least beat out your competition, especially if the customer is going to pay tens of thousands more for the Ferrari. I guess in short, the reason i'm so disappointed in the 430 is that it doesn't live up to today's expectations. The 360 went beyond the expectations of its time, where as the 430 is a shallow leap that still falls short to modern competition. Even the ZO6 Vette can put this car to shame, and you save over hundred grand.

i was going to go to that disturbed concert but it conflicted with other plans that i had. How was it? I heard distrubed is friggin sic in concert.

not so concerned about Ferrari. When they're good they're great, but when they're bad, they're horrid... and for me, this is just one of those bad times. The F430 was a big disappointment to follow the heels of the 360, and the rest of Ferrari's lineup is junk (the Scaglietti looks like puke, and the enzo is equally awful in appearance). So hopefully the F430 will stop production and Ferrari can make a real car again. Maybe a twin turbo F430 or a V10 successor. Then at least Ferrari can say their car beats the Ford GT.

Same way extreme home and all of those others do it. Someone sends in a sob story tape and the producers pick which one they think will rake in the most ratings. With Overhaulin' it's a bit different because they mainly work with American Muscle, and normally the sob stories are just people who don't have the time or money to work on the car... so what they're really saving is... well, the car from dying or being sold.

gas prices don't bother me too much, but then considering the car that i currently drive, and the fact that i use the bus and metro to get to work, i guess it doesn't really affect me much. But as it stands, gas prices on the east coast aren't as bad as some of the prices i've seen on the west coast. Average here is about 2.20ish for regular, the highest i've seen in my area is 2.35, so it's definitely a lot better than it was about 4 months ago.

nothing is specifically "wrong" with the V6, it just performs about the same as the I4. If you test drive the V6 and no one told you what was under the hood, you would've thought it was an I4, it suffers from even worse anemic performance than the I4 IMO especially if you get an auto.

emissions has become a real bitch in recent years. That's why you see fewer and fewer turbocharged and supercharged cars in the market, and when motors are turbo/supercharged they usually are running way under potential. When my brother was in Japan he got to drive the 20B RX-7 and says it's the fastest and smoothest RX-7 he's ever driven. It pushed the RX-7 from a jack of all trades but master of nothing, to an all out door ripping street machine. I think if Mazda took the same three rotor philosophy like you said and applied it to the Renesis motor, they would really have something that could be worthy of a new production RX-7.

The cooling problems and breaking seals is very common in the FD's, but the one that causes the motors to catch fire is the way the motor was ported, which is really the only thing fixed on the 13B for the Renesis. They side ported the intake and exhaust ports eliminating any overlap between the opening of the intake and teh exhaust port allowing for greater combustion efficiency (which also allows it to run MUCH cooler). The old 13B's would sometimes have overlap where the combustion would happen too late and the motor would catch fire, or if nothing else get extremely hot. With the greater amount of heat out of the way, it makes the Renesis motor a greater candidate to inherit a turbo setup (which is why you see it so often in Japan, and also why Mazda has been discussing it with the new Speed version). I know Japan did however get a special version of the RX-7's (the name of which slips me at the moment) that used a three rotor turbo setup with the 13B as the framework, and eliminated all of the shortcomings of the original two rotor 13B. Mazda also had some meetings (because of how successful the motor ran) of putting this motor in the new RX-8, or possibly in a reborn RX-7.

yeh, i don't understand how Mazda could've released the third gen's for so long (they were discontinued in Japan only a few years ago) especially with the knowledge that the motor had specific design flaws that were fixed in their Renesis release. I could have misinformation, but my friend in Japan says the RX-8's there come single Turbo, that'd be a great motor to get your hands on, it's still high maintenance but without the fear of it blowing up and catching fire, it sure puts your mind at ease.