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SchizophrenicMC

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  1. SchizophrenicMC
    "Hey, look, it's tactics! In Gundam! Alright, this is gonna be awes-NOPE" Though I didn't expect any different, it's still somewhat disappointing as a ground-pounder fan to watch flamboyance trounce sound tactics and bulky designs with lots of armor and guns. Such is marketing, I suppose.
  2. SchizophrenicMC
    And almost certainly a ton of rust repair. The S30 is the only car I've seen that's liable to experience floorpan rot in Texas. But, rebuilding the L-series engine is super easy, on the plus side.
  3. SchizophrenicMC
    That only looks good because it's an S30Z. The S130 is not nearly that pretty:
  4. SchizophrenicMC
    People who disparage rotary engines have never owned a rotary engine. I need to do it again.
  5. SchizophrenicMC
    The late-model Z31 was fine, but I just can't get over how the S130 is a fattened-up S30 with MASSIVE CARTER BUMPERS for the late 1970s. It's no wonder its run only lasted 5 years. The last year model USDM Z32 was 1996, though Japanese production continued through 1999, until Nissan's bankruptcy went through, and the Renault buyout occurred, at which point the company shut down production. Despite being the best-selling sports car of all time, the Z32 was just costing Nissan too much money, as Japan was in the midst of economic crisis that persists to this day. The Yen in the 1990s was too strong in relation to the dollar, making the car far too expensive to export. And yet, because of how strong the American economy was at the time, sales were actually pretty strong. In America. Not so in other markets, and sales would have dropped off after 1996 anyway, due to the OBD2 system and its emissions requirements adding cost to an already expensive car. Actually, you're in the right place for that model of car, Derex. Fort Worth seems to have all the dark green Z32 TTs.
  6. SchizophrenicMC
    I understand completely why the Miata never got a rotary. They're just not cheap enough to put into the Miata, and they don't have the 4-cylinder feel of a classic old roadster. And, with emissions and fuel economy laws being the way they are now, we're not likely to see another Mazda rotary unless they're able to make some stride in those fields. Actually, the biggest ally we have in that field is the various programs that are funding hydrogen fuel infrastructure, because Mazda have already proven the rotary is a good platform for alt-fuel setups. And if they can make the 16X a production reality, that could settle it. Until then, we have to accept the fact that a 20mpg 1.3l engine won't fly with CAFE, so we won't see any.
  7. SchizophrenicMC
    Neither Saabkyle's camera skills, nor his presentation skills have improved with time. You'd think practice would make perfect. He's done this a lot. I suppose anybody can be a car reviewer.
  8. SchizophrenicMC
    Parts availability is why I've stuck to Nissans so much. There was a lot of parts-sharing among period Nissans, so I've been able to assemble a collection of spares, as well as always had access to parts as demanded. I recommend against the 280ZX and suggest instead its predecessor the 280Z, or its successor the 300ZX. The S130 Z is an ugly waste of steel- a strange follow-up to one of the most beautiful cars Japan has ever made. And at least the 300ZX models were both technically impressive.
  9. SchizophrenicMC
    I mostly own cars built prior to 1992, with the exception of Grand Cherokees, which were not in existence until 1993. Currently, I've got a '91 240SX (build date is 8/90, though, which makes my registration and inspection woes all the more painful) but in the past I've owned a 1990 Pathfinder, a 1988 200SX, and a 1986 RX7 as well. Each was its own labor of love and each was its own set of expenditures. If there's one thing I can suggest to people, it would be to give the rotary engine a try. They're actually a lot more reliable than people think, as long as you stick to the rotary maintenance requirements. My RX7 had 150,000 miles on its original engine, and was 26 years old when I sold it. And it still fired up every time in 3 pulses of the starter and ran perfectly. These engines are only unreliable when they're mistreated or maintained according to a piston engine schedule. There's no getting around it: a rotary engine is going to burn some oil. You're going to have to check it when you fill up the tank. You'll burn about a quart in 2500-3500 miles. And they're also not so good on gas. But the cars they're in are so much fun, and you really can rely on them as daily drivers. The Delorean was supposed to have a rotary engine, but like the AMC Pacer, those plans had to be dropped when GM failed to work out the bugs in the rotary they were supposed to build. Which is why we ended up with the PRV V6 instead. If you want to own a Delorean, there's no getting around it: You'll need a lot of money and a lot of patience. The parts availability for these cars sucks.
  10. SchizophrenicMC
    I want 2 Deloreans: One to enjoy as a piece of automotive history, and one to swap a 928 engine into and turn into a time machine. (Most of the Delorean's engine sounds in Back to the Future were taken from recordings of a 928, though specifics for some of the other sounds are unknown. Few, if any, of the Delorean's original sounds were used in the film) Because, in my dreams, money is no object.
  11. SchizophrenicMC
    It comes down to the expense of creating toolings for parts they have the schematics for, and of using existing toolings to make new parts. DMC has historically been a restoration shop and warehouse, and so it's never really had the investment necessary to become a manufacturer. Though, I do think they could conceivably make custom parts based on the production schematics, even without dies and toolings, just at a very high one-off cost. Ultimately, while DMC have been very mum on the subject of why they dropped the electric Delorean, and stopped overall new-build production, if I had to guess I'd wager that they were running out of parts, and didn't have the money to start minting new ones. They were making few enough annually that they qualified for the NHTSA/EPA exemptions, as I recall. But that still could have been enough to deplete stores of parts that they felt were better used focusing on their core business.
  12. SchizophrenicMC
    I'll accept that "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" are hopeless names, but "The Empire Strikes Back" is succinct and underlies the action and the drive of the plot, while "Return of the Jedi" and "Revenge of the Sith" both play their respective subjects' qualities (the Jedi triumphantly return, the Sith evilly take revenge) and feed into each other's end-of-trilogy status. Not to mention they sound cool. The Force Awakens sounds too much like another chapter in that lame video game series, and it doesn't really signify anything new in the saga. Hasn't the Force always been awake, the guiding light for the Jedi, and the murky darkness that hides the Sith? I just think they couldn't think of a cool title, so they jumbled some science fantasy words together and called it a day.
  13. SchizophrenicMC
    That's the kind of record I'd look to when selecting a fighter plane, maybe, but you don't ask a rally car to get you to work every day, or to drive exceedingly long distances. Reliability isn't a concern in a race car, like it is in a commercial airliner. Not to mention, Citroen has been winning WRC for the last decade or so.
  14. SchizophrenicMC
    Not really feeling the title.
  15. SchizophrenicMC
    While I know Mitsubishi Heavy Industry has numerous unconnected branches, somehow I still don't think I'd feel completely safe flying on a Mitsubishi Regional Jet, considering how unreliable the cars are, and the fact that they're responsible for the plane that lost WW2. Call it a stigma.
  16. SchizophrenicMC
    [Political joke] On a more serious note, probably related to foresight of repairs to passenger-side panels, and the necessity for parts availability. With that said, what I find more exciting than the NOS in the warehouse in Humble is the few toolings and many production schematics in the warehouse in Humble. The fact is, with a large enough investment, DMC Houston actually has most of what it needs to mint new Delorean parts.
  17. SchizophrenicMC
    Specialization is an effective strategy.
  18. SchizophrenicMC
    It is highly likely.
  19. SchizophrenicMC
    That's the question: Do I want an oh-so-common Mustang with a warranty, or do I want a Deloran for obvious reasons? Woah now. Why would I send it to Smogland when I live in Texas? Delorean Motor Company's still headquartered in Humble, Texas, just north of Houston. That's where most of the remaining parts inventory is. Not to mention I don't believe in the Stage 2 Delorean. The PRV may have sucked, but that's the car the Delorean was. I'm all for ditching the Carter suspension and switching to Euro-spec, but the Stage 2 is too Matt Farah for my taste. Actually, funny story about Deloreans: Jim Cavanaugh is a very wealthy man who owns a vintage aviation museum in Addison, Texas. He has 4 hangars at the executive airport there, which house his sizable collection of aircraft, classic cars, and a Super Sherman tank. (Fun fact: Fram is the only manufacturer of the filter that fits the P-51's engine) In 1983, a wealthy friend of Cavanaugh's bought him a DMC-12 as a gift. This has put Jim into a conflict for the past 31 years. You see, Jim is of the sort who can't part with a gift, out of respect for the donor. However, he hated John Delorean as a man, and despised everything the former GM executive stood for. As a result, Jim Cavanaugh's Delorean was last registered in 1992, has tires dating back to 1988 still sitting on it, has around 9,000 miles, and sits in the corner of one his hangars, hidden away behind some planes, underneath a camouflage net. This is far more visible than its last resting place, behind the Super Sherman. Jim Cavanaugh: The only Delorean owner who doesn't enjoy the fact that he is.
  20. SchizophrenicMC
    If I had 30 grand to blow on an Ecoboost Mustang or a Delorean, I would have to flip a coin. This is coming from someone who's had the Delorean on his bucket list since he could pronounce Delorean.
  21. SchizophrenicMC
    JJ Abrams did the last two Star Trek films, which while visually appealing (beyond the RAMPANT LENS FLARES) kind of completely missed the point of Star Trek beyond "Aliens do things" and "Spock and Kirk become friends". And you can't blame Kershner for a non-Eon Bond film tanking. They kind of just don't work without Eon. Even some of Eon's are misses. (I'm looking at you The World is Not Enough) Looks like the Hasbro re-release of the Kenner playset. QFT
  22. SchizophrenicMC
    So, what's next, the Braniff Revival? That is one ugly livery I never want to see again.
  23. SchizophrenicMC
    Except I've actually heard of TWA and PanAm.
  24. SchizophrenicMC
    You can definitely tell Ral isn't Hirose anymore, and that's kind of sad. I hope he gets better. I don't really dig the Winning Gundam in general, though, and the biggest thing that has me hyped about this episode is that next episode we'll see the EzSR. Oh and
  25. SchizophrenicMC
    It looks like any 737, I don't get it.
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