Re: Bwahahahahahaha! Virginia isn't for "lovers" anymore

You got me beat.

I did dodge a ticket for 100MPH in a 55MPH zone once... only because I decelerated so fast the radar couldn't read my speed properly ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Hey, screw you!

In 1988, I had just bought a Mustang off the showroom floor. I was chatting up my GF on the freeway one day, and she said, "Did you see that tire?" I said, "What ti-" I ran over the tire. When I got home, I looked at the side of the car, where the tire had hit, and there was this huge gouge. So, time for the touch-up paint, I think, but first I should probably wash it so the TUP will stick. So, I got the wash bucket and rag, and what I thought was a big gouge was a huge streak of tire rubber. It washed right off, and the paint on my FORD was good as new. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

I knew that Ford comment was going to raise some eyebrows... :)

I have just had really, really, really, horrible luck with Fords. Some new, & some used. I was washing my Gernade (er, I mean "Gernada") one day and this huge chunk of paint from the driver's door came right off. Probably a square foot or more, easy. (Factory paint.) And I mean all in one piece! And the week after that, the gas cap door (hidden) trim fell off. I just pitched it. (That car eventually caught on fire, but not while I still owned it..)

But granted, that was the late 70's. My last Ford product was a 4-day old Mercury 1986 Mercury Cougar. Or, should I say 1-day old because the other 3 it was in the shop. Would not start. Turned out to be an air conditioning relay, or so I was told. (I know: What the hell would one of those have to do with the starter??) I left it at the dealer, and spent the next 2 months threatening litigation to get out of the contract. This was before the lemon law.

And another Ford, a Pinto, which a friend of mine and I finally converted to a dune buggy. But the engine was too powerful, so it really didn't even make a good dune buggy either...

A few months back, driving my SUV import (A Nissan Extera - WHICH I LOVE!!), a big truck dropped some 2x4's on the road and I hit one of them smack-on doing about 70mph!. The splinters were like confetti! Wood pieces flying everywhere and there was this really loud "whack" when it hit. I was sure the radiator was toast, --at a minimum!.

So I get to where I was going, (pretty much the next exit), and pull over. Do you know there was no evidence whatsoever that a 2x4 had hit the car!?? Just this little tiny scuff mark on the bumper, easily erased with your thumb.

Absolutely amazing!!!!!

-mpm Glad to hear the Mustang made it.

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck with Fords - I've always had exceptionally good luck with them, as long as I keep the oil topped up. ;-)

I had a Pinto, which I loved, that I sold to my brother when I went overseas in the USAF - he forgot to fill up the oil when he checked the gas, so it siezed. So he and another guy swapped out the motor pretty much with their bare hands. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

I had a Granada (ESS model), as well. ...best car I ever owned. I had it 14 years and 150K miles. The only major maintenance it needed was a clutch at 80K (the wife was tough on clutches). The valve cover was never off it. The Carter 1V carb was a POS though. Good thing they were cheap.

'78 here.

Pinto? Too powerful?

I had a '74 Rustang II. "Rustang" described it well. I only had it

I now have a '00 Sable (bought used) and '01 Ranger. Both have been great vehicles, except the paint on the Ranger is crap. I think it was in an undisclosed accident (even though I bought it new).

My brother used to have a Gremlin with a Chevy 350 V8 stuffed under the hood. It would do two foot wheel stands. He could even do them while accelerating. Mean little car. I think it did like low 11s. Not bad for stock engine(stock-chevy).

I had the 232 straight-six (continental, IIRC). Even it was over- powered for halfa car. The only thing that worked in the whole damned car was the engine. An Auburn clutch, in '71??? What a POS!

Sounds like the choice hurt... Like "the good engineer should make better choices..." kind of thing... The beating up of one's self... :-]

Heheheh... hey... at least you didn't buy a Pacer.

It was all my FIL could afford and it got us through college. ;-)

Nope, learned my lesson with AMC, though I did have an Eagle Vision TSi. What a fun car, but also unreliable.

While it is true that handling degrades with inappropriate tire pressure (being far more sensitive to under-inflation than over-inflation), the more frequent reason for lower pressure (softer) tires is better "ride". Though with the foreseeable, as well as demonstrated, issues with rollover and other handling issues with SUV's; why would anybody consider even further reducing the handling of such a vehicle (which is already so heavy that ride should not be that much of an issue).

I doubt most underinflated tires are underinflated due to deliberate owner action. It appears to me that most such tires are underinflated because they are not perfectly airtight, and after that from owners checking their pressure when they are not "cold".

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)