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02-23-2010, 07:01 AM | #67 | |
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TPMS was first used by Porsche. |
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02-23-2010, 07:46 AM | #68 | |
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Guys, lets chill out a bit. Agree to disagree. Take comfort in knowing how ridiculous the other person may be. I have zero issues with locking my own thread.
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02-23-2010, 09:16 AM | #70 | |
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GM introduced the airbag on a production car in 1974 (and also had knee restraints), while MB waited until 1980. Hell, MB had cassette players in their cars until a few years ago, do you really think they were first to market on much? You're correct that Alfa was the first with EFI, yet it's arguable whether the Germans beat the Americans and Brits with EFI in aero cylinder engines during the war. You're also right that the 959 was the first car with TPMS, nice call. |
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02-23-2010, 09:21 AM | #71 | |
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No one made the claim that Mercedes has been sitting on their ass for the last 20 years though....now did they? I took issue with the statement that GM has. The two things are not the same. |
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02-23-2010, 09:36 AM | #72 |
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I will. What have they done in the last 20 years? A botched partnership with McLaren, pushing more engineering work to AMG, who did make a cool automatic with out a torque converter, and a few minor things around FLIR and parking sensors. It just seems that if they're such great innovators, something other than cars that look like biscuits and more SUV models than Toyota would be nice. Of course the same can be said for BMW, so no one's really safe.
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02-23-2010, 09:43 AM | #73 |
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Didn't say anyone was sitting on their ass. Just pointing out that some of your GM firsts were incorrect.
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02-23-2010, 09:54 AM | #74 |
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02-23-2010, 09:59 AM | #76 | ||
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I'll be even happier if my HPFP doesn't fail 4 times during my ownership. (One cheap shot deserves another, and you can bet your ass that GM's reliability ratings right now are a HELL of a lot better than BMWs.) |
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02-23-2010, 10:00 AM | #77 | |
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and as an FYI, you can easily tune a Z06 motor to make more power than that v12, but I would rather have the v12, until I have to repair it
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02-23-2010, 10:10 AM | #78 | |||
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Me? No, not Antarctica but close in terms of climate.... Chicago.
I haven't been on in a while and decided to see what was cooking so I can break the bank come springtime. I do my best to try to steer clear of this subforum, but it's like a train wreck... It's horrible and you know it's just an awful thing, but you can't look away.... Many informed people here, and just as many who think they're informed who actually know squat. Quote:
Their issues were never because of their lack of innovation or technology, it was crappy planning and a corporation who made decisions at the speed of a snail, and even then they were poor decisions as far as packaging, marketing and planning, and I could go on forever about how crappy of a corporation it was in certain aspects, but at this point, there's not even anything left of that dead horse, it's been beaten so badly.... Quote:
What, besides being picked to populate the F1's engine bay, did the F1's engine provide as far as engineering break-through and innovation???? I just fail to see it. I mean, its materials were nice for the most part, but it wasn't even the best tech of its day, considering the lack of variable valve geometry and absent titanium use. Don't get me wrong in any way, the F1 is my favorite supercar still to this day, and that engine is ridiculous, but I fail to see what is so special and innovative about it, or its effect on the industry itself. It's like the designers were given free reign for once, one of them went and got a couple kilos of blow, they locked themselves in their secret-squirrel room for a month with no sleep, and - BAM - they came out with a variation of a current design that was absolutely ridiculous and mind-boggling. Ridiculous? Yes. Powerful? Umm yeah, that's an understatement. Intimidating? Of course. Innovative tech? I dunno.... Of course, the CF bodywork and underbody aero/fans were new and innovative at the time, but that has nothing to do with the engine. Other materials used to build the car contributed a lot to its curb weight. The central seating position allowed the designers to not have to worry about wheel well intrusion. There were a lot more things going for the McLaren than just the special BMW V12. The engine just happened to find its way into a vehicle that became absolutely legendary due to many reasons. Please someone set me straight if I'm wrong here. I do tend to be every once in a while. Quote:
Anyway, back to addressing the general theme of this thread, GM has been honing and perfecting variations of their small block OHV V8 for so long that it's better than most of the OHC designs out there. It's cheap, reliable, powerful, and massively efficient. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other carmakers who can say that about their flagship motors.... But because it's OHC, it's automatically disqualified from consideration in peoples' minds? That's just ludicrous. The Vette is an inspiration in itself, showing that it can take what some consider "old school" and beat up on "new school" alllllllll day, and be cheaper, more reliable, and more efficient. Through the course of letting the engine evolve, they have made a lump of metal that honestly can't be touched all things considered. And of course, you've got the leaf spring setup which is a huge no-no to some who are quick to judge based on something they probably don't know jack about anyway.... That's fine, the Corvette isn't for everyone, and doesn't try to be.... But what it does, and does well, is give you a car that just can't be beat for the money. Can't even be touched in fact.... Doesn't even sweat at any competition.... In fact, is there even any valid competition considering performance in that price bracket? Why am I even wasting my time defending a car on an internet forum which speaks for itself and needs no defense from any educated motorist with anything more than a pea for a brain??? Unfortunately, some people on this forum would wilt and die if they ever found out that their car didn't make them as special as they thought they were. That being said, maybe this realization will thin out our fanboy population here. |
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02-23-2010, 10:16 AM | #80 |
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isn't the c6 z06 engine almost identical to the c6.r which won gt1 and leman so man times? love that car and you can have it for a bargain to. 35k for a c6 z06? wow.
does anyone have a c6 z06 past 100k miles? I want to know how reliable it is. seriously consider it as my next car and sell the m3. |
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02-23-2010, 10:40 AM | #81 | |
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Id LOVE a LS7 in my e36. Cam and head and it would be game over.
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02-23-2010, 10:48 AM | #82 |
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Check out this article by grandprix.com
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft00222.html John Barnard, a very famous F1 car designer, towards the end of the interview, gives his thoughts on efficiency. And this article is 14 years old.
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02-23-2010, 11:16 AM | #83 | |
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02-23-2010, 11:32 AM | #84 |
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What Alfa was being sold with fuel injection prior to 1956? http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...+history&hl=en |
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02-23-2010, 11:46 AM | #85 | |
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02-23-2010, 11:58 AM | #86 | |
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Care to back that up with a source? Everything I see on them says they were carburated: Quote:
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02-23-2010, 12:16 PM | #87 | |
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A special car was made for the event using chassis 915.009 and an experimental eletro-magnetic fuel injection. Designed by Ottavio Fuscaldo, this system allowed the engine to peak at 5500 rpm and run on alternative fuels such as vegetable oil. The curious injection survived the entirety of the race to place 24th overall. http://www.supercars.net/cars/1571.html |
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02-23-2010, 01:02 PM | #88 | |
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