Put a PowerPC "sticker" on my mom's car... hopefully she won't mind

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

😉 Anyone ever seen a car with a PowerPC sticker on it? Whatever my first car is, I am definitely going to have one made for it!

I encourage any other fans out here who may want to do this (except have a real sticker made and not a print-out, sealed with packaging tape) 😛.

 

[128keaton]

😉 Anyone ever seen a car with a PowerPC sticker on it? Whatever my first car is, I am definitely going to have one made for it!

I encourage any other fans out here who may want to do this (except have a real sticker made and not a print-out, sealed with packaging tape) 😛.

Nice Land Cruiser. Is it a standard or an automatic. I'd try to snag that as a first car if I were you, especially if it has four wheel drive, those Toyota transmissions are almost bullet proof. I have a '93 forerunner that was (deemed) totaled in '95, the frame was even bent in one spot. Needless to say, my father bought it (after the body was fixed) and rebuilt the engine twice. Good car, it came with a standard, which is apparently rare. It still runs fairly well, a bit rough, but good for a 21ish year old car.

 

[Intell]

I need to get one of those for my truck. Its internal computer really is a PowerPC. It's a 601 or 603 I think.

 

[Altemose]

I need to get one of those for my truck. Its internal computer really is a PowerPC. It's a 601 or 603 I think.

What truck?

 

[128keaton]

I need to get one of those for my truck. Its internal computer really is a PowerPC. It's a 601 or 603 I think.

Really?
It appears to be a late eighties/early ninties cruiser:

 

[bunnspecial]

I need to get one of those for my truck. Its internal computer really is a PowerPC. It's a 601 or 603 I think.

At least the last I heard, most internal car computers were still PPC based.

The computing requirements aren't that stringent, but reliability is(of course) a big deal.

The computer went out on my dad's truck last year(Nissan Frontier). I wish I'd had the foresight to at least ask to look at to see what was in it, although there was a pretty steep core charge on it so keeping it was out of the question.

 

[Intell]

What truck?

Ford Ranger

Really?
It appears to be a late eighties/early ninties cruiser:

My truck, not PowerMac G4 MDD's mom's thing.

At least the last I heard, most internal car computers were still PPC based.

The computing requirements aren't that stringent, but reliability is(of course) a big deal.

The computer went out on my dad's truck last year(Nissan Frontier). I wish I'd had the foresight to at least ask to look at to see what was in it, although there was a pretty steep core charge on it so keeping it was out of the question.

PowerPC car computers have been becoming less common. They're being outmoded by MIPS, ARM, and even x86 ones.

 

[bunnspecial]

Ford Ranger

My dad had a '91 Ranger for a while that effectively was mine-I paid the taxes, insurance, and all the repair costs for a while.

It had no modern conveniences save for an automatic transmission, but was a heck of a good truck and a ton of fun to drive. It was just a truck-nothing special, but got the job done. Plus, it was beat up enough that I didn't mind driving it out to a farm and using the sides of the bed as a rifle or handgun rest(that made collecting the brass a lot easier too, as I could just sweep it into a bucket with a broom when I was done). I wish I'd coughed up the money to buy it when he decided to sell it.

 

[Intell]

They are a really fun truck to drive. People who have never driven one just don't know what's so great and fun about them. You should look I to getting a newer used one. They hold up well, are easy to work on, and have many available parts. I suggest a 2001 or newer. If you can, get a 2006+, or the best of them all a 2010/2011.

 

[bunnspecial]

They are a really fun truck to drive. People who have never driven one just don't know what's so great and fun about them. You should look I to getting a newer used one. They hold up well, are easy to work on, and have many available parts. I suggest a 2001 or newer. If you can, get a 2006+, or the best of them all a 2010/2011.

My worst memory of the '91 was the dual spark plugs on the I-4 engine. The ones on one side were a breeze to get to-the others not so much.

His had a bad valve that we ended up fixing by throwing a junkyard head on it($50 for the head+$200 in assorted other parts+$300 in labor) but after that it ran like a dream. With the bad valve, I was often stuck in the right hand lane going 40mph uphill with the semis, but with the engine running right it was plenty peppy. I always felt like it handled exceptionally well for a truck, especially considering the live rear axle with leaf springs.

One of these days(maybe when I get out of school) I probably am going to hunt for another newer one. I'm not planning on giving up my car any time soon(at least not until I can afford a Jaguar XF or late S-type to replace it, since Ford has given up on the mid-size rear wheel drive segment), but there's something appealing about just an honest to goodness compact pickup. My next Ranger will probably be a V6 with a few more luxuries like power locks and an FM radio, but I really don't want much beyond that.

 

[Intell]

Those dual spark plugs are awful to do. The 2001 engines did away with that and now have the standard one per cylinder.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Nice Land Cruiser. Is it a standard or an automatic. I'd try to snag that as a first car if I were you, especially if it has four wheel drive, those Toyota transmissions are almost bullet proof. I have a '93 forerunner that was (deemed) totaled in '95, the frame was even bent in one spot. Needless to say, my father bought it (after the body was fixed) and rebuilt the engine twice. Good car, it came with a standard, which is apparently rare. It still runs fairly well, a bit rough, but good for a 21ish year old car.

This is a 1987 off-white LandCruiser w/manual transmission (I believe automatic was introduced on these things in 1988). It has a large roof-rack and a ram bar, as well as aftermarket off-road tires. This thing is 4WD, and it runs pretty nicely. It's NOT easy to drive. We got this thing a few years ago because my mom needed a old truck to haul stuff in.

We also have a 1996 LandCruiser, which we purchased brand new---full package with gold emblems and everything. We got it back from my grandma after she had had it for about 12 years. It has new shocks, but there were several little things the car still needed. I suppose this car will be my first, until I leave for college!

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My worst memory of the '91 was the dual spark plugs on the I-4 engine. The ones on one side were a breeze to get to-the others not so much.

His had a bad valve that we ended up fixing by throwing a junkyard head on it($50 for the head+$200 in assorted other parts+$300 in labor) but after that it ran like a dream. With the bad valve, I was often stuck in the right hand lane going 40mph uphill with the semis, but with the engine running right it was plenty peppy. I always felt like it handled exceptionally well for a truck, especially considering the live rear axle with leaf springs.

One of these days(maybe when I get out of school) I probably am going to hunt for another newer one. I'm not planning on giving up my car any time soon(at least not until I can afford a Jaguar XF or late S-type to replace it, since Ford has given up on the mid-size rear wheel drive segment), but there's something appealing about just an honest to goodness compact pickup. My next Ranger will probably be a V6 with a few more luxuries like power locks and an FM radio, but I really don't want much beyond that.

I wouldn't settle for a Jaguar if you can... it's a shame how unreliable they are. Back in 2000, my dad bought the brand new Jaguar XKR Supercharge, which is an amazing car... great interior, great handling, tons of horsepower and torque, and a navigation system that was better than anything we had later on. Sadly, the car was incredibly unreliable, which ruined everything. I cannot begin to explain how bad its issues were. In short, we spent upwards of $15k in repairs and finally let it go in 2013... I really miss it.

Of course, Jaguar was under different management back then, but British cars are generally just unreliable.

 

[128keaton]

This is a 1987 off-white LandCruiser w/manual transmission (I believe automatic was introduced on these things in 1988). It has a large roof-rack and a ram bar, as well as aftermarket off-road tires. This thing is 4WD, and it runs pretty nicely. It's NOT easy to drive. We got this thing a few years ago because my mom needed a old truck to haul stuff in.

We also have a 1996 LandCruiser, which we purchased brand new---full package with gold emblems and everything. We got it back from my grandma after she had had it for about 12 years. It has new shocks, but there were several little things the car still needed. I suppose this car will be my first, until I leave for college!

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I wouldn't settle for a Jaguar if you can... it's a shame how unreliable they are. Back in 2000, my dad bought the brand new Jaguar XKR Supercharge, which is an amazing car... great interior, great handling, tons of horsepower and torque, and a navigation system that was better than anything we had later on. Sadly, the car was incredibly unreliable, which ruined everything. I cannot begin to explain how bad its issues were. In short, we spent upwards of $15k in repairs and finally let it go in 2013... I really miss it.

Of course, Jaguar was under different management back then, but British cars are generally just unreliable.

I'm learning to drive my dads forerunner which is also a difficult car to drive.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I'm learning to drive my dads forerunner which is also a difficult car to drive.

Nice, what year is it? I first learned stick when I was 13, on a modern Peugeot station wagon. xD However, the first car I ever drove was a 2007 Chevy Suburban. Currently I have been learning to drive on the road with a 2012(?) Honda Accord & the 1996 LandCruiser, which has been fun; only SoCal traffic gets me stressed out.

During the break, we took our Honda Accord to a vast stretch of dirt terrain and drifted it 😉. Roughly 13 years obsessing over racing games and I finally got to do it! I have a cool clip of it if you want to see.

BTW, this is off-topic (not that cars aren't off topic), but do you have experience with getting Linux running on a PPC Mac? My brother and I installed Debian PPC (7.7.0) on my 1.07Ghz iBook G4, and the fans are blasting constantly. Everything seems to be using full CPU; I am guessing this is due to a lack of hardware support/drivers? I don't understand how people get PPC Linux to work properly with their hardware... (excuse my n00bishness in this sector--this is the first time putting Linux on a PPC Mac, let alone any Mac).

P.S. I have a VERY cheesy LandCruiser joke that I came up with. It's an obvious one, but definitely a groaner. Here it goes: What do you call a truck with ethernet connectivity...? A LAN-cruiser! 😀 😀 Oh--it's killing me!

 

[128keaton]

Nice, what year is it? I first learned stick when I was 13, on a modern Peugeot station wagon. xD The first car I ever drove was a 2007 Chevy Suburban. Currently I have been learning to drive on the road with a 2012(?) Honda Accord & the 1996 LandCruiser. During the break, we took our Honda Accord to a vast stretch of dirt terrain and drifted it 😉. Roughly 13 years obsessing over racing games and I finally got to do it! I cool clip of it if you want to see.



BTW, this is off-topic (not that cars aren't off topic), but do you have experience with getting Linux running on a PPC Mac? My brother and I installed Debian PPC (7.7.0) on my 1.07Ghz iBook G4, and the fans are blasting constantly. Everything seems to be using full CPU; I am guessing this is due to a lack of hardware drivers? I don't understand how people get PPC Linux to work properly with their hardware... (excuse my n00bishness in this sector--this is the first time putting Linux on a PPC Mac, let alone any Mac).

It's a 94 with a standard. It's not my first car to drive by far. I drove from Colorado Springs to Jackson Hole. Boring drive lol.

 

[Altemose]

Nice, what year is it? I first learned stick when I was 13, on a modern Peugeot station wagon. xD However, the first car I ever drove was a 2007 Chevy Suburban.

A Suburban is a great vehicle to learn on as it is very large and subsequently tests skills in parking, merging, etc.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

A Suburban is a great vehicle to learn on as it is very large and subsequently tests skills in parking, merging, etc.

I was too young to take that thing on the streets, but I definitely got a feel of it. It drove very nicely, and it really makes me wonder why some prefer Ford SUVs. The difference seems to be almost as clear as a Apple/Mac PC vs. a Windows PC.

 

[128keaton]

A Suburban is a great vehicle to learn on as it is very large and subsequently tests skills in parking, merging, etc.

Oh yes. Once you drive one of those, you can just about drive anything. I mainly drive our family's 2003 Suburban. Huge! The other drivable is a Silverado which is roughly the same length. I just sigh and shake my head when my friends whine about how big their Traverse/Escape is.

My car BTW:

1953 Chevrolet 3100 😀

 

[Intell]

Ford Excursions are amazing to drive. It's like driving a starship. 10 cylinders of power, nothing much else like that.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

It's a 94 with a standard. It's not my first car to drive by far. I drove from Colorado Springs to Jackson Hole. Boring drive lol.

Hahah, nice. When did you drive your first car? I had always wanted to do it, but didn't get the change to until I was around 12 (or so), as we live in a crowded city---not many places to drive w/o a license.

A couple or a few years ago, I drove our 1996 LandCruiser to my uncle's house (before we had gotten it back from my grandma in Arizona). People in Arizona love to speed on rural highways, so I had a long line of cars behind me. xD I couldn't speed up because the truck couldn't handle some of the turns, especially because it had needed new shocks or something; the thing was weaving left and right by itself, so I was trying to keep it steady the whole time.

 

[128keaton]

Hahah, nice. When did you drive your first car? I had always wanted to do it, but didn't get the change to until I was around 12 (or so), as we live in a crowded city---not many places to drive w/o a license.

A couple or a few years ago, I drove our 1996 LandCruiser to my uncle's house (before we had gotten it back from my grandma in Arizona). People in Arizona love to speed on rural highways, so I had a long line of cars behind me. xD I couldn't speed up because the truck couldn't handle some of the turns, especially because it had needed new shocks or something; the thing was weaving left and right by itself, so I was trying to keep it steady the whole time.

Hmm. Since I was like 9 I drove golf carts. I drove at 12 too, my first was my truck ('3 on the tree' standard) very fun to drive, I know it by heart and I'm sad that I haven't driven it for a year.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Ford Excursions are amazing to drive. It's like driving a starship.

We used to own a 2000 Limited Edition Excursion. I loved the truck so much; it was incredibly comfortable and spacious, and it had an air-conditioning vent PER seat!

The only thing is that it wasn't that safe. Those things had bad roof structure, and they were so heavy that they would swerve (much like a passenger van) if you were to slam-on the brakes. We had found that out when some moron on the freeway slammed his brakes short of the exit at which he was turning off.

I was crying when my parents finally ditched it for a Suburban in 2007.

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Hmm. Since I was like 9 I drove golf carts. I drove at 12 too, my first was my truck ('3 on the tree' standard) very fun to drive, I know it by heart and I'm sad that I haven't driven it for a year.

I think the first vehicle I drove was my uncles 1961/1962 Ford tractor. I would sit on his lap and drive it when I was about 7, but a short time later, I would drive it by myself.

Nice, I love golf carts too. I had always wanted to drive one, so when my uncle got a couple, I put tons of miles on them. xD It was about 110 degrees out, but I was so pre-occupied with it that I didn't care.

And wow, that's pretty impressive that you drove a '3 on the tree' at 12. Where do you usually drive?

 

[Intell]

The roof was reenforced with the 2001 model year. The swerving doesn't happen when driven by an experienced driver. They're built like tanks, so you gotta drive them like one. Can't stop safely in time? Go over it.

 

[Altemose]

For my first vehicle I am going to work and save up to get a 1980s Chevy K10 hopefully.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

The roof was reenforced with the 2001 model year. The swerving doesn't happen when driven by an experienced driver. They're built like tanks, so you gotta drive them like one. Can't stop safely in time? Go over it.

It was being driven by an experience driver during the time it happened. That's something that cannot always be avoided, and it's common that vans and large SUVs have issues braking hard and unexpectedly. We were able to stop in time, but if we hadn't been able to, that idiot's trunk would have become his dashboard.