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The Car thread

Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,988
22,025
Sleazattle
maxyedor said:
Are we supposed to notice the girth of the new 7 serries, or how absolutely fuck-ugly it is?

One of the dads at my kids school has one and in person they're so much worse. BMW has lost their damn minds
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At least they mounted the led headlights high enough that any oncoming traffic will be blinded and spared its visage.

What was the inspiration?

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dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,469
5,105
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,071
15,162
Portland, OR
dump said:
That side view is not a great look. 3/4 is very good though… but doesn’t that extended area just house the engine?
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Correct. But I guess you could do some storage or something above it?

I got to spend 2 weeks working on a stereo for a custom convertible Testarossa back in '89. That car was so stunning in person and to cut the roof off was a bold move.
 
stevew

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
41,159
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eric strt6 said:
the new Lancruiser reminds me of the original FJ 55 station wagon so it interests me somewhat
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the base model is called the 1958....for the first year of the landcruiser.....ot intro to the us...do not remember....

50k for the base model....

nah...
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,469
5,105

Berlin-based Youtuber Marton breaks down the true cost of owning and running a car, and it managed to surprise even me. The whole video is worth a watch but below are some of the key numbers, which I think are by and large representative of most Western countries. (He also shares his calculations in a detailed spreadsheet that includes sources.)

In Germany, a Volkswagen Golf typically costs the owner €7,657 per year to own and run. This includes depreciation, petrol, taxes, maintenance and so on. Based on a conservative study from a few years ago, if you own and use a car of that size over 50 years, it comes to a total cost of €403,179. If we stretch that to 60 years and apply a more realistic inflation rate of 2.5%, that small Golf will incur a lifetime cost of €1,579,583! On a medium income, that’s 30-40% of every euro earned, ever.

Using his home town of Berlin, Marton then shows how alternative ways of transport compare. You could buy an unlimited, yearly ticket for both the local public transport network in Berlin and for all regional rail services covering the entirety of Germany, and buy a brand new e-bike every year, and it’s still cheaper than owning a Golf-sized car. (It’s not a perfect comparison, of course.)

When you look at how taxpayer money is spent, it gets even more absurd. On top of what the owner pays personally, a car of this size also costs German society €4,600–5,200 per year, because the owner’s taxes and fees don’t cover the cost for building and maintaining roads, parking, offsetting the cost of accidents, pollution, etc. So whether they own a car or not, every tax payer in Germany spends about €5,000 per year propping up a system of car dependency.

Even the smallest vehicle class costs a resident of Berlin around four to five timesas much as it would to make public transport completely free for everyone in the city. In fact, if you look at the subsidies the city of Berlin spends on free curbside parking (€1,005 per car per year), that money alone would cover the cost of completely free public transport in all of Berlin.

Of course, not everyone lives in cities and not every city offers public transport and active transport (walking & cycling) the way Berlin does. But that’s not really the point. The key takeaway here is that most of us vastly underestimate the true cost of car ownership – as individuals and as a society.

The industrial complex behind private car ownership relies on notions of ‘freedom’ and ‘empowerment’ to sell their products. In reality, the average worker is forced to spend 30–40% of their income and a substantial amount of their tax money on owning a car, only to remain trapped in a system of dependency that delivers terrible outcomes for our health, our environment, and our cities.

Breaking that cycle of dependency requires more of us to view the alternatives as desirable – if not for health or environmental reasons then at least for our own economic benefit. That’s why, paradoxically, drivers who heavily rely on their car to get around should also be the most fervent advocates for developing or expanding car-free alternatives.
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jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,071
15,162
Portland, OR
dump said:
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I just realized that post pandemic there is now 2 buses into town. One in the morning, one in the afternoon. If you miss it, you are screwed. An Uber is over $50, I'm sure. It used to run every half hour (it takes 30 minutes to get downtown so it was 2 buses). Now it's twice. I used to ride it daily when I was downtown. The bus doesn't go over the pass, so I have to drive at this gig in the burbs.
 
6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,216
14,679
I dislike Uber, but had to finally relent and install it last week when I'd stood for 15 minutes trying to get a yellow/green cab to the airport while in Brooklyn.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,469
5,105
6thElement said:
I dislike Uber, but had to finally relent and install it last week when I'd stood for 15 minutes trying to get a yellow/green cab to the airport while in Brooklyn.
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I’ve only been in a handful of ubers. When in TO, I had to yell to prevent the driver from mowing over a pedestrian in a crosswalk. At other times the driver has been on the phone the entire trip. Serves a purpose, but the experience isn’t something I’d actively seek out.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,824
7,073
borcester rhymes
uber started great but is going to eventually self-imolate. The last couple cars I was in were complete trash, with drivers who suck, and now they ask you to tip. It used to be great because you just got in the fucking car and went where you needed to. Now it's no different and just as expensive as a cab. Originally it was a godsend in Boston which has archaic taxi medallions and could charge whatever they wanted to get you anywhere, but now uber is charging so goddamned much I'd consider taking a cab again.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,071
15,162
Portland, OR
I have yet to take Uber, but it really isn't an option in my area. When I lived in Beaverton or Hillsboro, or even Forest Grove I had access to Portland TriMet busses and Max trains. But Columbia County is lacking in public transportation options.


We did get approved for a VA medical van for transport for vets, so that's helpful.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,988
22,025
Sleazattle
SkaredShtles said:
I would *love* to see this sort of analysis done here.

Of course, there's no "reasonable" alternative in our country, because we're a bunch of dumb motherfuckers. :disgust:
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I can take the bus to work. It would just take 4 hours out of my day and would be extremely unreliable.

By the time I retire I will be able to take a train to work.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,071
15,162
Portland, OR
Westy said:
I can take the bus to work. It would just take 4 hours out of my day and would be extremely unreliable.

By the time I retire I will be able to take a train to work.
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When I lived in Forest Grove and worked downtown it was an hour on the bus and 45 minutes in the Max each way with up to 15 minutes of waiting depending on timing. I was only in the office for 4 hours. It was supposed to be remote when I started.

Then I switched to Beaverton and it was 2 buses and only 90 minutes. :rofl:

The best was just before I moved out to the sticks (again) I was 8 minutes by bike from the office. That was choice, but living 2 doors down from my ex wasn't such a good idea.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
13,156
4,990
Copenhagen, Denmark
jimmydean said:
When I lived in Forest Grove and worked downtown it was an hour on the bus and 45 minutes in the Max each way with up to 15 minutes of waiting depending on timing. I was only in the office for 4 hours. It was supposed to be remote when I started.

Then I switched to Beaverton and it was 2 buses and only 90 minutes. :rofl:

The best was just before I moved out to the sticks (again) I was 8 minutes by bike from the office. That was choice, but living 2 doors down from my ex wasn't such a good idea.
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No bike options?
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,071
15,162
Portland, OR
CBJ said:
No bike options?
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I used to ride my bike to the Max in Hillsboro and skip the bus sometimes (10 miles), but I'm not looking to bike 40+ miles into work, that's a bit much.

I did bike a few times from Beaverton to downtown. I also used to bring my DH bike on the Max and get off at the zoo. There was an epic illegal trail that ran from the soccer fields down to the BMW dealership and Goose Hollow Max stop in case you want to shuttle back up. Or just pedal in from there, it's like 4 stops from the square.
 
gonefirefightin

gonefirefightin

free wieners
Feb 5, 2007
12,364
6,418
Surrounded by Police in a hail of gunfire
jimmydean said:
@gonefirefightin can confirm there were a few "lift the cab" maintenance tasks on his F350.
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When I was building and tuning ford 6 liters in my shop, all the lift was used for was lifting the cab. Takes me about 45 min to pull a body. 6 body mounts, 4 wiring harnesses, e brake, steering linkage, shift linkage, ac/heater hoses, and lines, and a few various little things.
 
stevew

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
41,159
10,097

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtube.com youtube.com
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,149
13,358
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
gonefirefightin said:
When I was building and tuning ford 6 liters in my shop, all the lift was used for was lifting the cab. Takes me about 45 min to pull a body. 6 body mounts, 4 wiring harnesses, e brake, steering linkage, shift linkage, ac/heater hoses, and lines, and a few various little things.
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*mentally checks "ford" off list of possible next trucks*
 
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