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macs and vehicles....

As abit of a european car lover (don't know that much about US cars as very few are on sale in the UK), this thread has been making interesting reading.......

I've only driven 2 cars in the states, the 1st been an Oldsmobile Intrigue 3.0 V6, and a VW Jetta V6........ Both nice mid range cars..... However, what do Americans do with the handling and power.....?? I can't make a comparison to a european version of the Intrigue but the VW Jetta I can as they sell them over here as the VW Bora....... both had ulra soft suspension so the cars just didn't handle when pushed hard, and the performance wasn't mindblowing for V6 engines..... like the Intigue took 8 seconds to hit 60 (its was a auto so I know that'll slow it down...) but for a 3.0 V6...... it's tragic.....

Is it something to do with pollution laws? I know California and maybe other states are alittle on the restrictive side with regards to emissions, is this why alot of US cars have huge power outputs (I'm not talking your sports cars here, just ordinary saloon/sedan cars) to get respectable performance? As opposed to using 1.6 to 2.0 that are the norms in the UK??

just curious.....
 
iGAV, I haven't timed my truck for accelerating up to 60, but the next time I have the chance, I will. I need to check into performing a few mod's to it :D. Like K&N air filter, and maybe a dual exhaust system. Those are performance boosting items that shouldn't bust the bank. Living in MA, I have to make sure it will pass the emmisions test before I do the exhaust system. With less restriction on the exhaust, it should deliver more power to the wheels. Still, I do have 207hp currently in a 4 Litre V6 with enough torque to pull almost 3 tons :D.
 
So it is pretty much the exhaust emissions thats the problem then?

Those Pickup things you have in the states are outrageous...... there's a Ford one, and it's like huge..... very very long, and very very wide...... and probably very very powerful.....

You just simply don't get those things on the road over here!!! our roads ain't wide enough for a start!!! :p
 
Are you referring to the F350 SuperDuty??? :D... Long truck, can haul more then is sane, and far enough off the ground that some people need a step ladder to get into it (if you are under 5'6" I'd say).

I love the open spaces here in the US, which is probably one of the reasons that I really don't like going into the big cities (such as Boston or NY). They are more fun either in the truck (or your car of choice) or on the motorcycle. I am searching for some nice and twisting/winding roads to take the bike on this year.
 
Are you referring to the F350 SuperDuty???
Click to expand...

That sounds like the mama.... it's f**king huge.........

I do love the roads in the US.... I had the pleasure of driving from San-Francisco upto Seattle over 2.5 weeks (in the Intigue funnily enough) must say i didn't mind driving in the cities, particularly in SF because of the hills.... they're wild, and you get to give it some serious ooomph up those hills!!:p however the whole Red light but you can sometimes still turn right even when there is a red light on caught me out a few times!! :D as did the side the streering wheel is on!!

For twisty roads on the way up to Seattle, when highway one turns inland on Hardy Creek slide in Northern California, the road twists and turns up into mountains, and the roads are just amazing.... very quiet but it's just a mind blowing drive.... that's however when I found out the Intrigue doesn't handle, goes ok in a straight line, but give it a corner and I really thought it was going to wallow off the mountain roads, so I backed off after that.....

I loved the drive though, I covered almost 2000 miles in 2 weeks from zig zaging every where and doubling back on myself, because I forgot to take pictures......

and petrol (Gas) is so cheap compared to here where we pay almost £4 a gallon!! say $6 dollars a gallon in US I think if you converted it!!

Outrageous!!
 
re: buy american

oh that's right;

of american products i like besides fender guitars and apple computers are harley davidson motorcyles

since i am not in the market for one, any motorcycle looks cool to me...not owning one makes anything on two wheels look very sexy

it's funny to see a person with a perfectly good harley and you compliment them and they say, "yeah, it's pretty good but i would rather have such and such a model from such and such a year in such and such a color"...spoiled!!!!:p
 
jef, I absolutely LOVE my Harley (2002 Softail Standard). I had pretty much no choice in the color, but it is a very nice one (HD calls it Luxury Blue). With what I have done to it, it is one sweeeeeet ride. I can't imagine wanting a different one, at least until something even better (to me) comes out. I am looking forward to riding this one for the next 15-20+ years. I might be ready for something new by then, if I haven't completely re-built my current one by then. That is one of the wonderful things about HD's, I can get after-market parts and truely customize it over the span of years to get a totally different ride.

iGAV, I guess Ford did something right with the Ranger. The suspension and handling are very nice. You don't feel every nook can cranny in the road, but you can also turn very sharp and maneuver quite well no matter what speed you are traveling at.

I just need to see how I can put the motorcycle in the back of the truck to take a long trip with it. I am starting to plan on going to visit a friend in FL next year, and want to bring the motorcycle with me. I would feel safer going down those highways between MA and FL on four wheels. Some road conditions are just dangerous on two wheels (the long grooved pavement when the crews are working). With it in the bed, I also don't have to worry about securing a trailer. I would need to get some ramps though, which isn't too bad, and cheaper then getting a trailer.
 
Alpha, I guess the pickups need stiffer suspension for the loads they carry.... that said, they do shift, particularly those F350, I spent alot of time following those as I wasn't to sure about overtaking them as they're that long!!:p I jest. Its seems to be just some of the saloon/sedan cars that suffer ultra soft suspension in the name of comfort!!

A good idea about putting the bike in the bed, I can well imagine that some road conditions are unsuitable for smooth riding!!

The one thing that I was really stunned by in the states and why I now understand why the roads are so huge... is those bloody huge RV things.... you know the ones that are as big as a house and tows no, not small cars or traliors but Jeep Cheerokes and huge 4x4s....... they're wild!!
 
Ahhhhhh, America, where big... nay, huge, just isn't always big enough :D.

My Ranger has a 5-speed automatic in it, that shifts faster then I could. My mother has a 97 Contour with the 2.4 litre V6 (over 200 hp) that hauls a$$ too. She loves it (more becuase it has a manual transmission). I told her to get the V6 and not the 4 cylinder, and she is very glad she did. The suspension in that car is stiff... more like a racing suspension then a 4 door sedan.

Then again, mom also used to race Corvettes when she was younger. She used my father's 67 GTO and blew them away in the straights. They usually could catch up to her if there were enough turns, but then she would pull away again. Dad had 'tweaked' the GTO for performance (he was a mechanic at the time).

Just a family of speed addicts (the kind that needs wheels) :D
 
Can you explain to me how I'm supposed to get my bike into the bed of a pickup truck? There is no way I'm willing to risk running it up a thin ramp, not when I've put as much money as I have into it.

By the way, the truly great thing about HD's is if you don't like your bike, you can always change it. Mine looks completely different than it did just a year or two ago.
 
Originally posted by AlphaTech
jef, I absolutely LOVE my Harley (2002 Softail Standard). I had pretty much no choice in the color, but it is a very nice one (HD calls it Luxury Blue). With what I have done to it, it is one sweeeeeet ride. I can't imagine wanting a different one, at least until something even better (to me) comes out. I am looking forward to riding this one for the next 15-20+ years. I might be ready for something new by then, if I haven't completely re-built my current one by then. That is one of the wonderful things about HD's, I can get after-market parts and truely customize it over the span of years to get a totally different ride.

iGAV, I guess Ford did something right with the Ranger. The suspension and handling are very nice. You don't feel every nook can cranny in the road, but you can also turn very sharp and maneuver quite well no matter what speed you are traveling at.

I just need to see how I can put the motorcycle in the back of the truck to take a long trip with it. I am starting to plan on going to visit a friend in FL next year, and want to bring the motorcycle with me. I would feel safer going down those highways between MA and FL on four wheels. Some road conditions are just dangerous on two wheels (the long grooved pavement when the crews are working). With it in the bed, I also don't have to worry about securing a trailer. I would need to get some ramps though, which isn't too bad, and cheaper then getting a trailer.
Click to expand...

it is good that will appreciate your ride!
 
Originally posted by mcrain
Can you explain to me how I'm supposed to get my bike into the bed of a pickup truck? There is no way I'm willing to risk running it up a thin ramp, not when I've put as much money as I have into it.

By the way, the truly great thing about HD's is if you don't like your bike, you can always change it. Mine looks completely different than it did just a year or two ago.
Click to expand...

There is a company that makes ramps for motorcycles. You can get either one, for just the wheels, where you better have some good (and strong) friends there to help out. Or you can get two or three so that you can ride it up and use your feet to balance. I believe they make the center one wide enough so that you could put your feet down, if you had to. I would get one (or however many I need) that gives me enough width to use my feet as I put it into the bed. I try and find the url for the company that makes them, if not a mailer from them. Check your motorcycle mag's, I am sure they advertise in them. I think these are also the ones with a hump in them to make it easier and they fold either in half, or into thirds for easy storage. I intend to put them into the supercab part of the truck when I take the trip. That way, they are locked up until I need them.
 
I have two vehicles and I love both of them almost as much as my macs!

1995 F-150 SuperCab 4x4 XLT 140,000 miles
2000 Mercury Sable LS 24 Valve 37,000 miles

My truck is for going off road and in the ice and snow and getting dirty. I haul my big boy toys, a 4 wheeler and a Snowmobile in it. It is Black w/Gray at the bottom and aluminum wheels.

My Sable is red with tinted windows, moonroof, Mach sound w/6 disk changer and tan leather interior. It is for crusing the Interstate.

My Macs...well they are for everything else.
 
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