You're right, polar moment is sacrificed for distribution, at least in theory. However, the GT-R's transaxle seems pretty far forward, at least in comparison to, say, the pendulum-like weight of a 911's engine. But yes: it probably won't be a great autox car, being too big, too heavy, and, yes, too well endowed in polar moment. It sure isn't an Elise, for better and worse.
great pics, and the crop works very well. i tend to stay w/ 2:3 as well, but sometimes a different works better.jessica and i headed out to my parents' place in coos bay this weekend. the coast is nice, even if foggy and windy at times. in editing this bunch of pics i decided to violate my "sacred" preserve-the-3:2-aspect-ratio rule, and i think it worked for the sea shots:
gallery link: http://tinyurl.com/2pz6sq
4th year med student, slowly going crazy. full time in a lab in the neuropsychiatry imaging group for a bit. autistic children vs. controls vs. developmentally delayed. volumetric analysis of MRI brain data at 3 yrs, 6 yrs, 9 yrs of age in each group. matlab. matrices used to specify contrasts (ie, if you have two groups and you want a t-test you specify a matrix of [1 -1] to compare the two).
strong work
I win!!strong work
i got a 20
i both love and hate seattle.
)
more info, and a projected release date in 2008 (cali only -- i'd make the trip for one
): http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html?page=1
(Typ-1 e is all electric, 120 mile range, Typ-1 h is plug-in series hybrid, 300 mpg quoted. note that in my original post the figures were transposed. at 300 mpg this would be more efficient than an all-electric car, which shouldn't be possible since Li-ion battery packs are more efficient than internal combustion engines/generators, so i think the math is incorrect.)popmechanics said:
32... am kinda close...
now i want an awd hybrid. been reading all day about the ford escape hybrid and the toyota highlander hybrid. it'd be nice for a manufacturer to come out with a hybrid that's designed from the outset as one, has great mileage, has awd, is practical (no sloping rooflines or rear quarter panel beltlines that swoop up for poor visibility).
and here's my mental wrapup of all this thought, as posted on my blog:now i want an awd hybrid. been reading all day about the ford escape hybrid and the toyota highlander hybrid. it'd be nice for a manufacturer to come out with a hybrid that's designed from the outset as one, has great mileage, has awd, is practical (no sloping rooflines or rear quarter panel beltlines that swoop up for poor visibility).
in all my mulling over of things i also decided that diesel is out. even 2008 models of diesel cars (VW, Mercedes) do HORRIBLY in terms of emissions as rated by the US govt: http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/
yes, i'm fickle.
xanga.com/toshiclark said:life as a series of linear equations
i tend to see life as a series of linear equations.
Gheos, a game i picked up a few months ago, involves optimizing multiple variables simultaneously, of wheat, cups, temples, pyramids, armies, and coins. in photography the product of the aperture, shutter speed, and film sensitivity must equal the exposure that a scene's lighting dictates. even the research that i do involves linear algebra, too, in that scans and conditions are laid out as a matrix, and statistical tests are defined by creating a row vector and doing matrix multiplication.
given this tendency, my longstanding obsession with cars, and the unfortunate reality that i can't shut my brain off even when i'd like it to be at rest, it shouldn't surprise anyone in the slightest that the cogs and gears in my head have been spinning of late on the topic of transportation.
it's particularly hard to find an answer to the question of what-car-is-right-for-toshi because what i want out of it is contradictory:
i want something cheap to own, yet have the self-imposed restriction that it meet strict, modern emissions standards, ruling out old and even older cars.
i want something that can hold its own on the racetrack -- literally, no street racing here! -- yet be at home on snowy mountainsides and remote trailheads.
i want something flashy, yet i want it to be discreet.
i want something that's lean and true to its purpose, yet can do it all.
i want something that no one else has, yet i want it to be easy to repair and maintain.
i want something that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, yet doesn't force me to be a martyr.
currently i'm in a Mazda RX-8. it's not particularly cheap to own or insure, is decidedly not at home in the snow, likes to high-center itself on doubletracks, isn't discreet, can't hold much inside or especially in the miniscule trunk, and isn't particularly frugal on the premium blood-oil. on the other hand, it was designed with a singleminded emphasis on being as light as possible, is beautiful, meets the reasonably strict Bin 5 federal emissions standards, handles wonderfully, is sufficiently rare, has a friendly local dealer, and performed admirably even when packed to the gills on the road trip this summer.
unfortunately, the car makes me feel guilty: for shortchanging my outdoor side, having more or less sacrificed skiing and biking on the altar of on-road performance; for driving a car that gets 23 mpg on the freeway on a good day; for driving something "nice" when i should probably be buckling down and preparing to live an ascetic life as an intern, starting out in a new city with jessica.
i'm over that stage that many are stuck at when i mistakenly thought finding the right car would make life itself better. for that matter, substitute any material good for car and you describe a whole host of lost souls above which i like to imagine myself.
on the other hand, that i acknowledge that a car can't fix all of life's ills doesn't mean that i should stop looking for something that fits my needs better. it's just that nothing seems to quite fit. in my head i've gone over a million different alternatives: the Prius would be perfect if awd; the Ford Escape Hybrid's mileage is somewhat disappointing; the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is expensive and thirstier yet; the diesel VWs and Mercedes have horrible emissions if good fuel economy; full electric cars aren't commercially viable yet and aren't suitable for long distances; no major manufacturer sells plug-in hybrids as of this day, let alone one that would satisfy my conflicting desires; electric motorcycles are almost there in terms of their attributes but have the downside of, well, being a motorcycle -- i like my skin, the warmth of the car's heater, not to mention the ability to carry sporting equipment...
it's kind of an odd and trivial thing to be obsessing about, i know, but i don't necessarily choose what my brain will chew on next. that's the downside of being me. suggestions are welcome, by the way, but expect a terse rebuttal to each unless it's something truly novel.
. however, i did come across this subaru concept car from 2006 that looks PERFECT on paper...
