Author Topic: National vehicle traits? (Read 2010 times)

lazs2 · « **Reply #45 on:** April 15, 2005, 09:41:33 AM »

milo... Old hogs were very dependable and I never had one break down bad enough to leave me stranded... the bad rep they got in the old days was because most of em were 30 years old and worn out before they were made into "choppers" the cops used em and ran em into the ground and then someone bought em and "chopped em" they were lucky if the pistons weren't so worn that they were swapping holes. I went through em about every 40 thousand miles with maybe a top end job every 20k... Mine allways started by the third kick... usually sooner. You should see the worn out parts I have seen people run.

New hogs have a 100k lower end... maybe a lot longer. BMW's have 100k engines.

skyprancer... I like the body styles of your cars. It is just frustrating to work on or keep one running here tho. I own a Healey right now. Have had it for 35 years. It just seems that the brits are unable or too arogant to get a clue. Those rover V8 guys you were talking about were driving a car with a 60's buick/olds aluminum V8 it in.

take the wankle engine... a brit desighned it and couldn't make it work... the japs made it very dependable... no british parts on it tho..

the lotus 7... a great car especialy with the Ford motor in it but.... About the last car I would want to own on and island that rained near every day.

lazs

Jackal1 · « **Reply #46 on:** April 15, 2005, 09:49:07 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by MiloMorai
I think some have short memories regarding hogs. Old pans and shovels broke down all the time and you knew where they had been parked by the puddle of oil on the ground.

...... And you probably see more old Pans and Shovels still kicking around than any other bikes.
Both were built with lots of tolerance and tuff for wear.
The Pan was also probably the easiest bike to maintin and work on. If you have a pair of vice grips, a screwdriver and a small crescent wrench you are pretty well set for emergencies. Put external oilers on the Pan and you have one tough, long lasting ride with little maintenance. An old beer tab is a great feeler gauge for the Pan also.

If I were in the market for a motorcycle that resembled a `59 Chevy station wagon on two wheels , I`d pick me up a newer model Trumpet.

lazs2 · « **Reply #47 on:** April 15, 2005, 09:52:10 AM »

sholtzie... exactly the point... they are in trouble. they may be great cars as you say but here in America they are pariahs... too many Americans have been burned by fragil, undependable high maintanence junk to ever want to take a chance again... Even the very good Ford jags are having trouble on the used car market.

The rep is allready there.

lazs

Naso · « **Reply #48 on:** April 15, 2005, 09:52:40 AM »

Hey, leave the Ferrari out of this crappy discussion, will ya?

j/k

lazs2 · « **Reply #49 on:** April 15, 2005, 09:56:28 AM »

I have very little experiance with Italian vehicles except for ducatti and horror of horrors.... fiat. the little scooter vespa/lamberettas seem dependable and pointless... the country seems to produce either really advanced and ultra expensive stuff or total junk on the other end.

I have heard it said that if an American can build something with 20 parts and Italian can build the same thing with 90.

lazs

lazs2 · « **Reply #50 on:** April 15, 2005, 10:08:51 AM »

I don't like the 80's chryslers either but at least you can go back to a time when they were great cars and con yourself into buying another one based on em looking like the older ones if nothing else. With brit stuff.... the rep was bad from day one.... people just gave up.

lazs

Naso · « **Reply #51 on:** April 15, 2005, 10:15:48 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by lazs2
I have very little experiance with Italian vehicles except for ducatti and horror of horrors.... fiat. the little scooter vespa/lamberettas seem dependable and pointless... the country seems to produce either really advanced and ultra expensive stuff or total junk on the other end.

I have heard it said that if an American can build something with 20 parts and Italian can build the same thing with 90.

lazs

Fiat produced nice small cars, very economic and reliable in the 50-70, then believed to be a great producer and started producing more advanced cars.
Result is that a 40 years old 500 is still on the road and need little maintenance, the new "cinquecento" is a can on wheels that it's trash after 4 years.

The Vespa or Lambretta is not pointless, it was the first mass personal transporter, built with the spare tail wheel and starting engines of the former aeronautical industry.
And there are Vespas as old as 50 years still on the road with more Kms than a car.

Seem that there's people that like it in your country too:

http://www.vespaclubofseattle.com/

Anyway, as for Italian vehicles traits, excluding the crappy low end (equal in all the world), i'd say:

Style, style, style.

lazs2 · « **Reply #52 on:** April 15, 2005, 10:23:10 AM »

naso... I rode a vespa once... it was a nightmare.. the little 500 and I believe it was a 600? were popular here for us high school kids but.... they simply couldn't take the strain of our high speed freeways... they might run forever if never driven on fast open roads but Amercians don't drive that way. I remember being in a friends fiat (600?) and we were on the freeway... huge trucks and everyone honking at us to get out of the way... then we hit a slight grade that lasted for a mile or two... down to 40 mph and overheating...

The scooters seemed pretty dependable but they were dangerous to turn in or to get on high speed roads with. I guess the would be a decent around town vehicle but... 2 strokes are pretty much outlawed anyway.

lazs

Naso · « **Reply #53 on:** April 15, 2005, 10:31:52 AM »

a nightmare, yes, a Vespa is an awesome tool to learn the extreme driving.

You are in danger even at 5 mph

As for the 500(old): right use for the right tool.

It was born for a country that had no fast motorway, only small twisty roads and crowded cityes.

If you ever happen to come here, I'll be glad to bring you in a tour of the old town just to let you imagine how the hell you can drive an oldsmobile there

Skydancer · « **Reply #54 on:** April 15, 2005, 11:10:49 AM »

"I'll be glad to bring you in a tour of the old town just to let you imagine how the hell you can drive an oldsmobile there "

True!:lol

As for the Rover thing I'm not going to bite. I live two miles from longbridge and thanks to asset stripping BMW gits and fat cat B******s thousands of hardworking people are going to lose their jobs.

Enuff said.

lazs2 · « **Reply #55 on:** April 15, 2005, 11:15:47 AM »

naso... I am sure you are right but..

skyprancer asked me if there were anything about brits, their politics their island or vehicles that I liked..

It is a sunny day here...In a few minutes I am gonna fire up a 450hp big block in a 69 el Camino with a six speed... I am going to the green box behind me and taking out my M1 Garrand and my mini 14 I am gonna take em shooting... They are my guns at my home and I will be shooting ammo that I loaded for em in my spare bedroom.. it will cost me near nothing. I won't be going to a bar to drink tonight... Everyone I meet today will either speak another language or some form of intelligable english...In light of that...

no.. not much about england or the english way that I like.

lazs

Skydancer · « **Reply #56 on:** April 15, 2005, 12:27:10 PM »

Better stay where yopu are then Lazs. Come to think of it probably be better for us all;)

lazs2 · « **Reply #57 on:** April 15, 2005, 02:34:37 PM »

nothing wrong with visiting or talking... It only get's bad when they have any power over you.... Allways good to get back home after visiting another country.

I can't think of any country I like better or it's people than here. I like Bush better than any pres in the past decade or so.

lazs

Skydancer · « **Reply #58 on:** April 15, 2005, 07:35:14 PM »

Then we are living in very different worlds my freind! Though in a strange way we are the same.
Both proud of our country and our beliefs and happy to be here. I buy a British product because I believe in supporting my own. Plus I kind of like the stuff we make.

You Buy yank tanks and are happy with em.

I think GW a fool and your worst pres for 20 years you probably feel the same about our socialist govt ( though I'm hard pushed to see the socialism in it at the mo )

Oh by the way could you tell your beloved GW to keep his nose out of British affairs and we'll stay out of yours that way our boys don't have to get killed so your GW can extend his influence! Our companies wouldn't be owned by Americans who get the profits and benefits of our hard work, and we wouldn't have fat little kids stuffed out on Mc Donalds. our cities wouldn't be importing your gang gun culture,we wouldn't have to listen to that ganster rap crap, we wouldn't have to sit through the increasingly cruddy output from hollywierd and we could sip our tea play our football and cricket, enjoy the green and pleasent land and learn how to be polite and civil as we once were!;)

Jus Kidding, it'll never happen its America's turn for an empire now and we were never that polite and civil anyhow!

Vulcan · « **Reply #59 on:** April 15, 2005, 07:47:14 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by GScholz
The new Rovers are very good solid cars. Good looking too. Too bad they are in financial trouble.

Oh look, rebadged Honda's!