Quote from opm8:
It's an '02 Z06 and I feed it a steady diet of Cobras like the one in the pictures you posted.Do you have any connection to that one? It looks nice.
--opm8
Startling thing about cars to me is the progress in power and handling. Almost as radically evolved as computers over the past 30 years or so. Despite the setbacks with anti smog measures that made even Corvettes pigs in the mid 70's, somehow todays cars are faster, cleaner and meaner. And I don't know if it's really true, but I read somewhere that a new Cadillac gets better mileage than a 60's era Volkswagen Beetle. I had an old beat up 1960 Beetle in college. Don't remember the mileage, (think about 20 ish), but nobody paid that much attention when gas was under 25 cents a gallon. I do remember that the Corvettes of that time got about 6-8 mile per gallon. Less if driven hard. Lot's of cars were getting under 10 mpg. Lots of smog too. And a 0-60 time of about 7 seconds was pretty damn fast. Unlike the Enzo you should be ordering tomorrow.
I once drove a Shelby Cobra (the AC Bristol body)....not the 427, but the original "little" 289. I could not believe how fast the thing was. I floored it to pass a truck on a 2 lane road, and the torque moved the car into the left lane without me intending it to. Big power, but I wonder how fast it really was by today's standards. I know the cars of that era did not handle all that well. Bias ply tires alone, and drum brakes seem like ancient history now. My dad had an Austin Healy he let me drive when I was in need of impressing a date. I think it was the first car I ever drove with disk brakes....front only.
I wonder how that 289 Cobra would compare to a new Corvette. Probably could not touch it in any respect.
I bought a 97 Acura and while doing the usual endless "wait" at the dealership, I picked up a copy of some comparison article they photocopied from one of the car magazines. They compared the Acura (it was a lowly CL) to whatever was comparable (can't remember, but nothing exciting...maybe a Mazda , and a Camry, or something like those cars). Anyway, at the end of the article, they threw in some stats about an early 80's Porsche 928, which in it's day was the top of the line luxury Porsche (not as fast as the 911 Turbo, but what was?) Anyway, their point was that these rather dull '97 "family cars" could outhandle the old 928s in almost every respect. Cornering, braking, slalom, and close in acceleration.
My brother at the time of the 928s heyday worked at a "grey market" dealership...this was when those 928 S cars had to be federalized to be sold in the US. I went for a ride and was amazed how fast the thing was.
Sort of like how stunningly fast a 486 with 8 megs of ram was in the early 90's.
My buddy who works in the computer industry, who I can't understand a damn thing he talks about when it comes to computers has a motto: "If you can buy it now, it is already obsolete".
Seems to be the same with cars. So Nitro, your only hope to stay ahead of the curve is to get your Enzo quick. Aphie and some of the others were willing to chip in to help fund Gordon Gekko's trading comeback. Maybe we can get a "Nitro's Enzo Fund" going. ET has almost 18k members. All we need to do is get the average donation to be about $35-$40 a piece. People were willing to send Gordon $50 in some cases. Figure MrMarket is good for $38k (a thousand per bicep inch on each of his two arms) and then he brings down everyone's contribution by about $2. If he throws in another $30k (say $15k for each of his two heads), that really makes the whole thing a lot more affordable for the rest of us.
So your only problem seems to be, is it going to be red with a black interior, or red with a grey interior?
Bottom line, is we all KNOW your need for that car far exceeds GG's need for trading money!!!!
Put me down for $50. That too brings down the average a little. Sorry I can't do more. I would if I could. The damn Z4 takes premium unleaded, and I can't get used to that extra 30 cents a gallon
It is creating havoc with my budget! Today, I got my second tank full. What is the downside of using mid grade gas?? The book says 91 octane. Premium was 93....mid was 89. Can I average by going half and half? A perfect 91
Had a good day with INTC and CSCO today...you would have been proud. I was thinking of you as I was scalping. Instead of my usual 3 hour holds with all the associated wishing and hoping, and Voodo chants style, I was doing the "Nitro Zig Zag"....Now I gotta wonder if it was luck or skill. But it worked. I was having an out of body experience. This is how you trade every day? My teeth were rattling by 3 o' clock!!
Left with a big smile and wobbly knees. Don't know how you do it on a daily basis. Must be the age factor!
Hey, is this my most rambling post ever? (Maybe I need to consult Brother Candle and have him poll the issue).
Peace,
RSPS: Wish me a happy birthday! On this very day, July 8, about a hundred and some odd years ago, Momma and Papa S welcomed their little boy R into the world. Now I am on the back nine of life. No complaints. Better to be old than the alternative. Driving the BMW is helping too
It's now 3 am. I should wake the old lady and try to have her help me unwind. On the other hand, the price could be FAR too high. Maybe a top down spin to celebrate. Yeah, that's the ticket! Can't sleep. Got my son's clothes in a Fed Ex package from Navy boot camp today, and have been weirded out about it ever since. Maybe it's a bit obvious from this post that little boy R is wound up. Ok...enough. Getting the keys and putting the top down! Been far too hot during the days for the past week or so.If there are no further posts from me, it will be safe to assume my DSC system failed me at an unreasonable speed on a too tight turn. But I have faith in those Bavarian goose steppers. They know how to engineer stuff that works. (I can call them names...I am at least one quarter Kraut myself...probably closer to half).
