Wow, 2 years since I first thought that this was a good idea. I have thought about that next post many times, but haven't done it.
Still pining for smaller government (even more so with the multiplicity of abject big government failures that have occurred in the last 2 years) and a Mustang. In thinking about this blog, I think my emphasis, and indeed what I'm interested in about life in general, is the intersection of cars and petrochemicals. My interest in cars is simply a nearly (since the age of 4 or so) lifelong passion, whilst my interest and expertise in petrochemicals is one that I've come to as my vocation.
These are interesting times when it comes to these items. With the drive for higher and higher levels of fuel efficiency, the role of novel chemical processes to make strong plastics and other components for cars has become a huge point of emphasis. In addition, the demand for greener processes has driven us to develop water based paints that have all of the strength and luster of the petrochemicals based ancestors. And finally, with the automakers moving towards fewer cylinders and more air induction (turbo or super charging) lubricants will be asked to work harder than ever on these engines that produce far more heat than the non-blown options in the past.
I'm still quite leery regarding that last point. As the former owner of a 1.8T German engine that experienced a rather nasty sludge issue due to this very issue, for me the jury is still out that BMW, Mercedes, and Ford in particular have done enough to make sure that this will not be the case for them. The reason I pick them out is that they have jumped on board with both feet into the turbo/super charging arena for some of their mainstream cars. I have more confidence in the 2.0T options from the VW/Audi area, as they are the ones who gave us the aforementioned 1.8T issues, perhaps they have it figured out.
Speaking of which, the 2015 Mustang is being launched now, and one of the options is a 4 cylinder turbo. Seems a sacrilege, though back in the Fox body days, this was an option as well. It is surely amazing how much power Ford is getting from these EcoBoost engines, particularly in the F150s. As I have seen with both my Audi and current daily driver (BMW 335d) we'll have to see how these engines are functioning at the 50 and 100K mark to see how this will turn out.
In the meantime, I still pine for the rumble of a 5.0 V8, no relief is sight.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Current Car Obsession
I find my car lust these days focused quite heavily on Mustangs, more specifically, 2006 - 2011 Mustangs, including a tasty array of few year Cobra GT500s.
Why not classics? I feel like I could turn a wrench on mechanicals, but anything to do with bodywork or interiors intimidates me a bit. And those that don't need that work, like a 1970 Fastback, are over $50K.
Instead I envision some late model versions, high mileage is OK (except the possibility that the clutch is fried); there are tons of bolt on parts for these cars and the prices are in the high teens, low twenty thousand USD region.
The GT500s are more price, low to mid $30s, but man, that kick in the pants is tempting.
So, I'm all talk and no action thus far, a bit like a eunuch in a whorehouse. Why? Because I shouldn't be having these thoughts of dumping my 2011 335d (goodbye large down payment) and buying a Ford Focus and a Mustang in turn.
So for now, afraid that a test drive of even the most basically equipped GT would lead me to do something rash, I'm having to content myself with YouTube videos of various models of Mustangs and how great the Borla exhaust (my first projected bolt on) sounds.
Hmm, sell the boat . . . .???
Why not classics? I feel like I could turn a wrench on mechanicals, but anything to do with bodywork or interiors intimidates me a bit. And those that don't need that work, like a 1970 Fastback, are over $50K.
Instead I envision some late model versions, high mileage is OK (except the possibility that the clutch is fried); there are tons of bolt on parts for these cars and the prices are in the high teens, low twenty thousand USD region.
The GT500s are more price, low to mid $30s, but man, that kick in the pants is tempting.
So, I'm all talk and no action thus far, a bit like a eunuch in a whorehouse. Why? Because I shouldn't be having these thoughts of dumping my 2011 335d (goodbye large down payment) and buying a Ford Focus and a Mustang in turn.
So for now, afraid that a test drive of even the most basically equipped GT would lead me to do something rash, I'm having to content myself with YouTube videos of various models of Mustangs and how great the Borla exhaust (my first projected bolt on) sounds.
Hmm, sell the boat . . . .???
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Leap
So, I've been meaning to start a blog for 6 months at this point, but having the same questions as many (but not all) who have preceded me had to grapple.
1. Will anyone care about my ramblings?
2. What shall I ramble about?
Conventional wisdom is that you ramble about things for which you have a reasonable amount of passion.
I thus far have chosen not to fully make a choice, and am hoping it becomes more clear. The title of the blog then reflects this indecision.
"of cars" I love cars; reading, writing, riding, many -ings about cars. When I was only a few years old I would ride standing next to my dad (no mandatory car seats then kids) and I would name all of the cars that came our way. It's harder to do these days with so many different models to keep tabs on, but the day my Car and Driver arrives is still a highlight of my month for sure. My secondary idea for a blog was something along the lines of my dream career, that being a job where I could drive a different car to a different golf course/fly fishing spot every day. I haven't stumbled upon that one yet by the way. Let me know if you do.
"of Cals", I'm referring to a long forgotten US President named Calvin Coolidge, famous for amongst other things, operating on the assumption that the government should stay out of our lives for the most part. Unfortunately, in the last 70 years we've eschewed this concept, and in the last 10 years, it seems to have become completely passé, no matter what the major political party who claims to like small government may say. Before I go too much further, do I mean we shouldn't have highways and public museums? No, and I don't know many small government people who'd say so. Do I want only certain people to return to a certain level of freedom? Again, no. I don't want the encroaching arm of the federal Leviathan to reach too far into anyone's life, no matter what the color of your skin, who or what you worship, how much money you earn/have, or who you choose as a life partner. Period. Do I think there should be rules around banks, trading, and financial instruments? Sure, but I'm quite sure it could be done with fewer than a couple of thousand pages, many of which a were written to protect the legislators and companies who perpetrated some of these misdeeds from actually experiencing any pain. Too big to fail shouldn't be cause for an encomium.
While I have other passions, at least a couple of which are more important to society and me than these two, I think I want to keep those to myself for now. I guess my theory on the two seemingly unrelated topics above is that maybe I can combine them, or one may show itself to be what I concentrate on more, or, I end up with two outlets for my ramblings.
We shall see.
1. Will anyone care about my ramblings?
2. What shall I ramble about?
Conventional wisdom is that you ramble about things for which you have a reasonable amount of passion.
I thus far have chosen not to fully make a choice, and am hoping it becomes more clear. The title of the blog then reflects this indecision.
"of cars" I love cars; reading, writing, riding, many -ings about cars. When I was only a few years old I would ride standing next to my dad (no mandatory car seats then kids) and I would name all of the cars that came our way. It's harder to do these days with so many different models to keep tabs on, but the day my Car and Driver arrives is still a highlight of my month for sure. My secondary idea for a blog was something along the lines of my dream career, that being a job where I could drive a different car to a different golf course/fly fishing spot every day. I haven't stumbled upon that one yet by the way. Let me know if you do.
"of Cals", I'm referring to a long forgotten US President named Calvin Coolidge, famous for amongst other things, operating on the assumption that the government should stay out of our lives for the most part. Unfortunately, in the last 70 years we've eschewed this concept, and in the last 10 years, it seems to have become completely passé, no matter what the major political party who claims to like small government may say. Before I go too much further, do I mean we shouldn't have highways and public museums? No, and I don't know many small government people who'd say so. Do I want only certain people to return to a certain level of freedom? Again, no. I don't want the encroaching arm of the federal Leviathan to reach too far into anyone's life, no matter what the color of your skin, who or what you worship, how much money you earn/have, or who you choose as a life partner. Period. Do I think there should be rules around banks, trading, and financial instruments? Sure, but I'm quite sure it could be done with fewer than a couple of thousand pages, many of which a were written to protect the legislators and companies who perpetrated some of these misdeeds from actually experiencing any pain. Too big to fail shouldn't be cause for an encomium.
While I have other passions, at least a couple of which are more important to society and me than these two, I think I want to keep those to myself for now. I guess my theory on the two seemingly unrelated topics above is that maybe I can combine them, or one may show itself to be what I concentrate on more, or, I end up with two outlets for my ramblings.
We shall see.
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