About Longroofjunkie

Longroofjunkie

And I’m a retired Automotive Engineer, for what it’s worth. Love cars. Always have. My Dad worked at Ford when I was a kid. One weekend, he brought home a Boss 302. Oh baby! I was born in Detroit, so it was all cars, all the time. I own two very-high-performance ICE cars. My wife drives a turbo Subaru. I think owning at least one Subaru is a State Law, in Colorado, especially for women. 🙂 I also own a Tesla, since 2018. Has Autopilot. Haven’t used it, so far. Probably will, eventually.

Longroofjunkie

Nope. We certainly wouldn’t. And car Autopilot is exactly the same way. Can’t control idiots, though, and I’ve never seen an idiot pilot. Which is a good thing. Also, there aren’t two drivers in a car, so not exactly equivalent situations.

Longroofjunkie

A Tesla with Autopilot engaged is eleven times less likely to be in a crash. (They aren’t “accidents,” by the way, people. An accident implies that no one was at fault. Someone is ALWAYS at fault. Maybe more than one, occasionally).

Longroofjunkie

I’ve never, ever heard of the first incident occurring. Not sure I even believe it. I’d wager that the driver inadvertently initiated the lane change. The Black Box would show the actual events leading up to that lane change. And he would still be able to use the steering wheel, by the way. How old is he? The second one? Yep. One hit a ‘plane recently. Not ready for prime time, I’d say. I never use it. No, you can’t sue Elon Musk. You can certainly try, we have an insane numbers of ridiculous lawsuits in our overly-litigious society, but you won’t succeed.

Longroofjunkie

It would react better than that! What were the speeds involved?

Longroofjunkie

Saw that. Definitely worth watching. And I liked that it presented several viewpoints, while not implying that any one of them was “right” or “wrong.” A really good summary of the situation, albeit a couple years ago. Things are moving very quickly. In particular, I didn’t know that Waymo had defeated the Emergency Braking feature on that Volvo that killed a woman that walked right in front of their car. It might have saved her life had it still been functional. Negligent Homicide, in my opinion.

Longroofjunkie

Those tiny things are cool! His radios are nice too.

Longroofjunkie

Try finding anything for an Apollo rocket. About the same DD.

Longroofjunkie

Check places like Safelite. They have an enormous network they can search. They found an NOS one for my 1980 Fiesta. Made in USA!

Longroofjunkie

Those just trap water and discolor the paint. I would not recommend one.

Longroofjunkie

Junkyard parts. Zillions of them out there, I’d bet. What’s wrong with your current ones? Mine (2001) are still perfect. These aren’t very old cars.

Longroofjunkie

You don’t make friends and influence people real well, do ya, sonny? Also, get off my lawn! 😉

Longroofjunkie

I don’t think it’s possible to even do that with 3D printing. You’re talking very large, thin stamped steel parts.

Longroofjunkie

And you need which NLA part for for it, again?

Longroofjunkie

Junkyard part.

Longroofjunkie

There are two people in the World that want one. And you’re half of them….

Longroofjunkie

Well yeah. No surprise. You’ll find a purple unicorn first.

Longroofjunkie

Sure, rub it in. 😉 That’s because those cars break repeatedly, so you need 17 of every part. Not to mention Lucas electrics. The Prince of Darkness. You know why the Brits drink warm beer, right? They have Lucas refrigerators….

Longroofjunkie

Good thought!

Longroofjunkie

Great story! Keep ‘em coming!

Longroofjunkie

Gotta love the folks that run Texas! Literally killing their own citizens by having their own (wholly inadequate) power grid. And that’s just one example. You couldn’t pay me enough money to ever live there. “Oh, the taxes are cheap.” Nope. Look at the Property Taxes there. Obscene. There’s (still) no such thing as a fee lunch. Services have to be paid for primarily through taxation. In these days of outstanding new-car reliability and quality, dealers provide very, very little of value. I just deal directly with the Manufacturer for any warranty issues.

Longroofjunkie

Yep.

Longroofjunkie

Good stuff. I think you write just fine! Made me think back to lots of the really not-the-smartest-things-I-ever-did stuff. But they were all adventures, and they all turned out fine. Part of the “rich tapestry of life,” as they say. Also, from the “it’s a small World after all” Department, my wife taught your kid(s) in A2, many moons ago. Pre-School. (Also, why do I have to enter my e-mail every single time I log in?).

Longroofjunkie

Silver State, right?

Longroofjunkie

How does that relate to the editorial? I don’t get it. I have a six-speed 911, but the PDK is amazing. State-of-the-art.

Longroofjunkie

I have no problem whatsoever paying a per-mile fee for driving my Tesla. But it better be the same as ICE vehicles pay! (We have three ICE vehicles). Drop the Federal Gas Tax, and charge every passenger car the same amount per mile.

Longroofjunkie

OK, now that’s pretty cool!

Longroofjunkie

Double-negative….

Longroofjunkie

It does kind of seem like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

Longroofjunkie

That’s a bleeping shame.

Longroofjunkie

I’m an Automotive Engineer, Powertrain and Chassis. 20 years of experience (I retired young). All I can do about your comments about EVs is LOL. What type of Engineering degree do you have? If you think there is no math behind EVs, then I have a bridge to sell you! More disinformation.

Longroofjunkie

Cool job! And thanks for posting this.

Longroofjunkie

Hear, hear! Well said.

Longroofjunkie

Uh, sorry? You want servants to do the work?

Longroofjunkie

Yes, but do you have a point, or perhaps a question?

Longroofjunkie

You do realize you are yelling, right? Caps lock off, please.

Longroofjunkie

More disinformation. Every time I see comments like yours, I have to laugh. You’re clueless, but keep on keepin’ on. Maybe EVs will go away if close your eyes and go “lalalalalalala….” Oh, and I drive a 400-hp M5, plus a 300-hp 911. But I don’t have my head in the sand. EVs are here to stay, whether you think so or not, sorry.

Longroofjunkie

Freight trains are the most efficient way to move goods. Elsewhere in the World, they are used more extensively than here. My Grandfather was an Engineer at the Rock Island Lines. 49 years. Started as a conductor at 16. Lied and said he was 17. (On the Rock Island Line, it’s a mighty good road. On the Rock Island Line, there’s a road to ride). (Leadbelly, then others)

Longroofjunkie

Very cool! Thanks for your post.

Longroofjunkie

Bollocks. Look it up.

Longroofjunkie

In Australia they have Road Trains. They’ve had them forever. No special lanes or whatever. Be careful passing one!

Longroofjunkie

Nope (though that would of course help).

Longroofjunkie

Also, car racing is a zillion times safer now than in 1952! Sir Jackie Stewart has been interviewed about F1 racing during his career. The average life span of a driver was four years. When was the last time a driver was killed at Indy? Decades ago?

Longroofjunkie

Actually, the highway is where self-driving has the easiest time to function perfectly. Limited access, very predictable behavior, no intersections. Little speed-limit change. Note that it’s a lot safer to drive on a highway than off of it. It’s off the highway where you encounter far more complex situations.

Longroofjunkie

No. But if they did, who cares? Not me.

Longroofjunkie

No one is forcing you into anything. Please. Get real.

Longroofjunkie · ‎21-05-2022

And the Pantera was very inspired from several of these….

Longroofjunkie · ‎21-05-2022

They typically crush them. For liability reasons. But not always! Especially back then, some would end up with top-level employees.

Longroofjunkie · ‎21-05-2022

The BMW M1 was produced…. The engine went into the insane 2002turbo. Of which only 1372 were produced. Agree about the Mazda, but they were a tiny Company, back then. Not lots of money available, to risk producing that.

Longroofjunkie · ‎21-05-2022

Exactly. The Countach is so close to a lot of this. It was incredibly daring to produce it. But that’s Mr Lamborghini….. And it’s now a very sought-after modern classic.