@tlhIngan - Thanks for posting up!

ROFL

@Zaid Who says we can't have fun with serious things? :)

@tlhIngan it's nice to have fun from time to time

Ooh, I missed an interesting discussion on the English language!

I think English is a very interesting language, because of it's history and structure

Unlike most Indo-European languages, it has a very low barrier to entry (i.e. it's pretty easy for a non-English-speaker to learn enough to communicate at a very basic level), but it is incredibly difficult to master

Most others are the other way round - difficult to learn to start with, but once you have learnt all the rules, you're most of the way there

@Zaid If you can't have fun from time to time, don't stand for moderator. ;-)

My business card.

lol

I miss mod business cards - we used to get them. I still have some of my Security.SE ones

Seriously, they gave them away?

yep - very cheap way to do marketing if you think about it

True enough.

get people who are enthusiastic or fanatical about the subject. Give them cards. They'll give them out at appropriate events etc

@Markus Sorry I haven't answered this yet. I drive primarily a Cruze, though for my work I also drive an assortment of GMC and Chevy trucks, an FJ Cruiser, a Ram 1500 & an 2500, a couple Deutz Fahrs, an F-450, a Landini, an International, an Express, a Camry, and I can't think what else.

@anonymous2 - You get around, lol.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 My boss has no issue with employees taking out his vehicles to work with, and he's got well over a dozen.

That's cool.

@Markus my preference actually lies in the F-250 Powerstroke series.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Yes, it is.

It's minimum wage work, but I keep at it partly just for the vehicles I can drive.

Nice

And it's only part time, so I can fit it around other stuff.

Occasionally he has a week of work (which is why I was gone a bunch about a week ago).

@Markus: I haven't owned very many cars, because I tend to hold onto them for quite some time. My daily driver has been a B13 Sentra (1994) with the GA16DE engine. I've made some mods to it, nothing silly, just an exhaust header, underdrive pulley and K&N cartridge filter and converted the rear drum brakes to discs.

@Markus My backup is first-gen Intrepid (1996), that thing's a boat. Everything becomes a 36-point turn. My stuff hauler is a 2004 Montana. That thing is huge on the inside. I've fit things in there that have no business fitting inside something called a "mini" van.

@Markus Most people don't know this, but the '96 Intrepid is actually bigger than the '04 Montana. That's right, you read it here, that 5-seater sedan is bigger (about 8 inches longer and 2 inches wider) on the outside than a 7-seater minivan that has a 4'x8' cargo space when the seats are removed.

How'd I find out? I built a detached garage so I'd have somewhere to play mechanic, and I planned it based on the dimensions of the Sentra, left me plenty of room on all sides to be comfortable.

Then I bought the Intrepid, and the first time I parked in there, I had to cancel plans to have a workbench the full width of the garage because that thing barely fits as it is.

Then I bought the Montana. I thought there's no way it fits. It's a 7-seater van, the 5-seater sedan barely fits. I'm going to have to let the back hang out of the garage with the door open. This won't be fun in winter.

I parked it, not only does it fit, and not only can I close the garage door, I was moving around the garage and noticed, "Wait a minute, feels like I have more room than when the Intrepid is in here"

96 Intrepid specs --> auto123.com/en/new-cars/technical-specs/chrysler/intrepid/1996/…

04 Montana specs --> auto123.com/en/new-cars/technical-specs/pontiac/montana/2004/…

I also have a 97 Corolla for a project. It needs an engine. I wanted to swap the 20 valve 4AGE, but I can't get my hands on one around here. Too old the importers say. I might settle for an 03-04 1ZZ, it's 20 more hp than what I've got, the engine itself is about 70 lbs lighter and it's going into a car that is already 200 lbs lighter. It might be a little bit fun. :)

As for my dream ride, I don't know. The MiniCooper S is very fun to drive, but I dislike the engine bay very much too cramped.

The first-gen Matrix with the supercharged engine might be my preference, and I like the body-style too.

@tlhIngan That's a decent age of car to be still running. Have you had to put much into it in the way of repairs?

@anonymous2 I had to replace the steel brake lines and fuel lines because they were completely rusted.

@anonymous2 Front wheel bearings, upper timing tensioner, some seals.

@anonymous2 The rocker panels were almost disappeared by rust, had to rebuild those.

@anonymous2 Rest is just what I would qualify as maintenance. A few alternators, a couple of batteries, fuel pump, O2 sensor.

@tlhIngan I assume you replaced with stainless steal so the car will last another 20 years? :)

@anonymous2 No, some copper alloy. The routing of those lines is difficult, and some sections of the steel ones weren't coming off. The copper alloy is flexible by hand and resists corrosion better than the steel ones. Stainless steel is expensive and heavy and stiff.

@tlhIngan Oh, well, that should last long enough. ;)