Still Learning as I Age...

[RayThom]

... But in the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I lust for a 507. The car looks like timeless classic.

I know what you mean. I lust for the Z8 and, if I could ever afford one, I'd even use the turn signals. A guy who comes into the local Starbucks owns a silver one in "showroom" condition and it always gets attention. He tells me that the Z8 would have been the logical progression of the 507 had BMW not discontinued it. And like the 507 the Z8 only had a limited run of five years, or so.

[Joe Guy]

Breaking News!

I was driving on highway 280 north and a man driving a BMW accidentally used his turn signal to come into my lane ahead of me at a safe distance. Thinking that something was terribly wrong I followed him for a while and discovered that he apparently had recovered from his lapse in lack of judgement.

He made several more lane changes without using a turn signal and then tailgated someone for about a mile. He sped off in the slow lane and I lost track of him. It was quite a rare find.... turn signal blinking on a BMW, that is....

[Econoline]

It was quite a rare find.... turn signal blinking on a BMW, that is....

When you see one of those, it usually means that the car was delivered from the factory that way.

[MajGenl.Meade]

...or the owner is 70+ years old and in the fast lane at 52mph indicating right. Forever

[oldr_n_wsr]

oldr_n_wsr's rules of the road:
1) Anyone going faster than me is a maniac
2) Anyone going slower than me is an asshole

You're welcome

[Daisy]

To be fair to Rubato (I know... I know) Audi might not make the prettiest cars in the world, but they are solid and grounded.

Granted most of them are driven by enormous bellends, except for me, obvs.

[Bicycle Bill]

...or the owner is 70+ years old and in the fast lane at 52mph indicating right.  Forever

I was thinking about something like that too.  We know about the truism of blue-hairs driving with the blinker eternally on; and we know about the privileged who drive things like Beemers and other expensive Euro-built vehicles, who seem to feel that turn signals are beneath them, and I was wondering what would happen if said blue-hair would end up in the driver's seat of one of these performance-based vehicles in much the same way one might wonder what would happen if you strapped a piece of butter toast to the back of a cat and then dropped it from a moderate height.  Since toast always lands buttered-side down and a cat always lands on its feet, the hypothesis is that the cat would end up hovering about a foot above the ground and spinning like a flywheel.

In the case of the dilemma concerning the usage of the turn signals, however, I believe that the human brain would be unable to stand the strain and the driver would be reduced to little better than a thumb-sucking, drooling idiot.

-"BB"-

[rubato]

Rubato you know jack shit about design.

Really? we already have a 335i BMW coupe.



Nice car, but I don't want two of the same thing, that would be boring.

And the current S5 is Ssssexy.



And it drives nice, for a meagre 330 hp.


yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

Was that supposed to be some sort of contradiction to my claim? It's a complete non-sequitur. I've got more coherent responses from Wes on his bad days than that nonsense you posted.

[rubato]

Was that supposed to be some sort of contradiction to my claim? It's a complete non-sequitur. I've got more coherent responses from Wes on his bad days than that nonsense you posted.

Your opinion about design pleases you. That's nice! That's sweet.


My opinions about design actually effect what cars are bought and driven!


Yrs,
Rubato

[Crackpot]

You are a complete fucktard. You seem to be prattling on about styling, but, have some serious delisions or grandeur. The nonsense you posted about how vehicles are designed shows you even more the fool.

[Lord Jim]

Okay, I think I've sorted out what he means by this:

Your opinion about design pleases you. That's nice! That's sweet.


My opinions about design actually effect what cars are bought and driven!

What I believe he's saying is, that you, poor peon that you are, can't actually afford to purchase a BMW, so your opinion doesn't effect what's "bought and driven"...

But because his wife allows him to give his opinion when she is buying a BMW (obviously he couldn't afford one himself on his part time lab assistant salary) that means he is having an effect on what is "bought and driven"...

This of course assumes that she actually gives any weight to his opinions, which of course is a highly questionable assumption...

I believe that is the boorish point he is clumsily attempting to make, rather than the bizarre claim that the design team at BMW is consulting him for advice on their car designs...

[MajGenl.Meade]

... and it's "affect", not "effect".

[Crackpot]

Jim the argument is equally as bogus either way. Styling effcts purchasing not the other way round. Styling is also only a minute component of design dealing purely with aesthetics which can and are altered when other factors like but not limited safety, manufacturability and cost are concerned.

[rubato]

... But in the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I lust for a 507. The car looks like timeless classic.

I know what you mean. I lust for the Z8 and, if I could ever afford one, I'd even use the turn signals. A guy who comes into the local Starbucks owns a silver one in "showroom" condition and it always gets attention. He tells me that the Z8 would have been the logical progression of the 507 had BMW not discontinued it. And like the 507 the Z8 only had a limited run of five years, or so.

Very pretty car.


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

"...
Please understand that I bear you no malice personally when I say "fakku arigato, Mr. Rubato" ("go screw yourself, Mr. Rubato", polite form).  I've said it before, maybe not here so much but definitely at "Le Chat House" and the old Café, that the term is "speed limit", not "speed suggestion", and just because you don't think that I'm breaking the rules by a sufficient margin to satisfy you I fail to see where it is my obligation to get the hell out of your way so you can continue to pretend that you're Burt Reynolds driving in your own personal version of the Cannonball Run.

You've got a steering wheel and it goes in both directions; if you're in that big a hurry, go around me on one side or other.  And if traffic doesn't let you get around me, then take a breath, pull up your big girl panties, and realize that maybe *YOU* are the one driving too fast for conditions.

-"BB"-

Have you calibrated your speedometer lately? And if not (well it is certain that you have not isn't it?), what the fuck do you think entitles you to be the 'speed limit police'?

You do know that many speedos OVER-estimate speed by about 10% as-delivered? So when you, mister righteous speed cop, THINK you're going 65 you're actually slugging along at under 59 mph.


The polite, considerate and safe thing to do is pull to the right when traffic is overtaking, and in many states that is the law (even if in your poorly empirically supported opinion) you're going the speed limit. It is what we do. When on a 2-lane road we pull into a turnout to let overtaking cars pass. Which often happens.


If the road in front of you empty? Is traffic backing up behind you? You are slower traffic, be in the right lane. Is there a car to your right which is barely changing relative position? You are slower traffic and need to decide to (horrors) speed up for a second and pull in front of said car or drop back a little and pull in behind.


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

Rubato you know jack shit about design.

More than you.

If by design you mean aesthetics then it is entirely a personal matter.


If by design you mean succeeds in meeting engineering goals then your comment is groundless since you cannot know what my engineering goals are.


You fail to even grasp the beginning of the concept of "Design". And I have been paid to successfully invent and synthesize new molecules to meet the material design goals of our customers.


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

When he's right.... speedometers are indeed set to show a slower-than-actual speed. All you need to do is compare the speedometer to a GPS (that shows speed limits and current speed).

I can sometimes be quite exasperated by vehicles in front of me driving at 33 in a 35mph zone - or 42 in a 45. I'm sure they are looking at their speedometer and trundling happily along unaware of their slooooooows. It's worse at higher speeds - 65 on my speedometer is only about 60.

My practise is to drive according to the GPS indication - usually at (say) 2 miles per hour above the limit. So, 37 in a 35. Sometimes I'm bothered that this is just as wrong as driving at 40 or 42. Perhaps I should stick to 35 per the GPS.

[dales]

And I have been paid to successfully invent and synthesize new molecules to meet the material design goals of our customers.


yrs,
rubato

Kind of like what Sparky Griswold did with his non-osmotic cereal coatings?

[Jarlaxle]

[