God must be holding His nose

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mar 2, 2004.

  1. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Boll Weevil Guest

    Hey, man, I don't give a rats ass. I'll just tend to my kids, try to be faithful to the wife, smoke my cigars, and keep washing my Volvo on Sundays.
    If you and those damn Jews and Arads do what I do, we'd all be happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    Boll Weevil, Mar 4, 2004
    #21
  2. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Mike Hall Guest

    I will accept that new VW inspired Skodas are better than the old ones.. I
    did have a drive one time in a rear engined air-cooled Skoda.. selecting
    gears was akin to finding the last little pickle in the jar with a one
    pronged pickle fork while blindfolded.. quite the most primitive car I have
    ever sat in for the year of manufacture.. I have yet to drive a Trabant.. I
    stood next to one, looked inside, but it was a non-runner.. I have seen
    running examples on TV.. I like the T34 inspired smoke device that helps the
    driver to lose the KGB car that may be following.. very chic.. :)
     
    Mike Hall, Mar 4, 2004
    #22
  3. Sure there is.

    1) The higher cost of diesel autos vs. gasoline autos in the US.
    2) Certain states that already have emission standards that cannot be met by
    diesel engines using current diesel fuels available in the US.
    3) At the moment...no new diesel automobiles for sale
    3) In the near future a selection of only 3 new diesels automobiles in the
    US
    4) No evident cost efficiency in buying and operating a diesel vs. a petrol
    auto in the US unless you plan on driving it for 125,000 miles
    5) A diesel fuels distribution system that is not 50% of what it is for
    gasoline

    etc...etc...etc...etc

    The US provides lots of reasons for one to prefer a gasoline auto to a
    diesel one.
    In some European countries diesel and gasoline are priced equally or close
    to equal. Most European countries provide some tax relief based upon
    displacement, not fuel type....or better put provide penalties (taxes) for
    greater displacement. I suspect the reason for growing diesel popularity in
    Europe is that people like the cars and engines, they have a good selection,
    and in an environment where all fuels are very expensive......they reap
    greater fuel economy compared to gasoline engines.
    It's bad enough getting caught with your foot in your mouth, but sticking
    your head up your ass in response is idiotic.
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 4, 2004
    #23
  4. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Frank Kemper Guest

    I once met a guy in Berlin (befor the Berlin Wall came down) who drove a
    Skoda 110 Coupé, because it was so cheap. He called the car "the most
    efficient way to convert fuel into noise" ;-)

    Frank
     
    Frank Kemper, Mar 4, 2004
    #24
  5. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    fbloogyudsr Guest

    In every country except for Switzerland and the UK, diesel is less than
    gasoline: http://www.see-search.com/business/fuelandpetrolpriceseurope.htm
    And how does it look to you to not know anything?

    Floyd
     
    fbloogyudsr, Mar 4, 2004
    #25
  6. http://www.see-search.com/business/fuelandpetrolpriceseurope.htm

    Gee, that would be "some European countries" now, wouldn't it (my apologies
    to UK folk who deny European affiliation :^).

    And as I said, "some European countries" are also close in price. In fact
    all of Europe doesn't exhibit a great disparity in price between gasoline
    and diesel (by ratio it is similar to that between 85 and 92 octane in the
    America) about 12-15%. But both fuels are exceedingly expensive by
    comparison to the US. So the effective difference isn't as much about fuel's
    cost per liter as it is about miles driven per liter. And that is not a
    government incentive.

    And my comments about taxation (partially predicated on displacement), which
    is a government incentive/penalty, are accurate. That apparently is the
    reason for their exclusion in your repost, along with the "dis-incentives"
    for buying a diesel auto in the US.

    Well, I'll give you this much: when you screw up, you screw up on all
    counts. Lie a little, hide a little, know a little.....you're almost perfect
    in your failure.
    Well, I think I have already called you an idiot for not knowing anything,
    yet pontificating despite this simple reality.

    As I said before...well...you already know the foot-in-mouth-head-in-ass
    thing. Don't you :^)
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 4, 2004
    #26
  7. It's not "VW inspired", it's VW owned, managed and built. Key components
    come from outside the Czech Republic. In Britain the Skoda division ran a
    great campaign based on the old PoS image but there is consensus that if you
    want a lower-priced VW and don't suffer from badge snobbery, then buy the
    Skoda equivalent.

    Of course, what you say about terrible quality is absolutely right about
    Communist-era cars {Lada, Polski Fiat, Trabant, Wartburg, to name the ones
    sold in western Europe (except Trabant)}. I don't know how crappy the
    current Russian cars are, or the Romanian ones (Dacia). In a ZIL you just
    have to be a government minister and get chauffeured round Moscow, so
    performance is, presumably, not an issue. You just have to worry about the
    heating and keeping the rain out.

    Dacia has been taken over by its former partner Renault, so the cars should
    get quite nifty at some point. Maybe we'll see Dacias sold in western
    Europe as 'cheap alternatives' to Renault-branded vehicles. Wages in
    Romania are certainly abysmal.

    Check this out: a Daewoo is made in RO:
    http://www.romaniancars.ro/

    Former Premier Ceausescu used a BUS, among others (click on Royal Cars in
    left sidebar).

    DAS
     
    Dori A Schmetterling, Mar 4, 2004
    #27
  8. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B. Guest

    Yankee Doodle Dandy's post in no way represents the opinion of the greater
    Volvo owner populous. If you can't spell the words don't type the letters.
    Oh, and my reply is irrespective of the fact that I am Jewish. I could call
    you a stupid American racist bastard with more money than brains but I'm too
    nice to do that and it would make me no better than you. {;-)>

    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!

    --
    ___________________________________________________________
    "That's 10 times I've explained binary to you. I won't tell you a 3rd time!"
     
    Jordan B., Mar 5, 2004
    #28
  9. See below. :)

    DAS
    --
    For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
    ---


    [.....]> Volvo owner populous. If you can't spell the words don't type the
    letters.

    Populace!
    ...................
     
    Dori A Schmetterling, Mar 5, 2004
    #29
  10. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B Guest

    Damn! I knew I would make a spelling mistake in that post! Well, at
    least they sound the same... {:)> I guess I am no better than Mr.
    Dandy. Although I bet he wouldn't have noticed the mistake had you not
    pointed it out!

    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!
     
    Jordan B, Mar 5, 2004
    #30
  11. Then let me add to the misery: Even had you spelled it correctly the use was
    questionable, unless your comment was specific to Volvo owners/drivers from
    a single country. Sorry.

    But hey, on the upside.....you did indeed spell "populous" correctly!

    Of course, I am gest jocing arownd..... :^)
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 5, 2004
    #31
  12. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B. Guest

    Actually, I think it was a perfect usage... had I spelled it correctly! Here
    are Webster's definitions. I think number 3 fits perfectly. Most people in
    this newsgroup are Volvo owners I would think.

    Main Entry: pop·u·la·tion
    Pronunciation: "pä-py&-'lA-sh&n
    Function: noun
    Etymology: Late Latin population-, populatio, from Latin populus
    1 a : the whole number of people or inhabitants in a country or region b :
    the total of individuals occupying an area or making up a whole c : the
    total of particles at a particular energy level -- used especially of atoms
    in a laser
    2 : the act or process of populating
    3 a : a body of persons or individuals having a quality or characteristic in
    common b (1) : the organisms inhabiting a particular locality (2) : a group
    of interbreeding organisms that represents the level of organization at
    which speciation begins
    4 : a group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples are
    taken for statistical measurement
    - pop·u·la·tion·al /-shn&l, -sh&-n&l/ adjective


    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded! And now with a dictionary in the glovebox!
     
    Jordan B., Mar 6, 2004
    #32
  13. Owning a Volvo is a quality or characteristic? I don't think so. It's a
    commonality, but only because Volvos are common cars. Neither of the #3's
    sub-groups match either.

    It's easier just to admit error....isn't it :^)
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 6, 2004
    #33
  14. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B. Guest

    I would like to think that common sense is a quality that includes an
    appreciation for safe automobiles. I freely admit that my car is not the
    most thrilling to drive or the most reliable, but I wouldn't want my wife
    and kids in any other car. Therefore, common sense must have had some play
    in my decision to buy a Volvo. That or it was a very cheap car to buy. Which
    of course we know is not true.

    I think that I admitted my spelling error in my second post but I maintain
    that I used the word in an acceptable context.

    <<Damn! I knew I would make a spelling mistake in that post! Well, at
    least they sound the same... {:)>

    It sounds like we are talking about semantics now... Maybe we should move
    this to the alt.english.usage group? Good thing I'm not an English teacher!
    {;-p>

    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!
     
    Jordan B., Mar 6, 2004
    #34
  15. No problem mate...I was just fooling around.

    Volvo's are great cars.

    You spell like a Scripps Howard Champion.

    "semantics" is, unfortunately, largely irrelevant to communication.

    Dubya would be proud....and he went to Harvard.
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 6, 2004
    #35
  16. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B. Guest

    Now I can have some fun! LOL....
    You made one of the most common english errors. Misuse of the apostrophe
    implying possession or replacement of a character when the plural form of a
    word was intended. FWIW, this is so pervasive that it seems as if few people
    either care or know this is wrong.

    Enough said. This could go on forever...

    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!
     
    Jordan B., Mar 6, 2004
    #36
  17. My God....did you just catch on? I've been mis-spelling, mis-constructing
    and mis-using since my first criticism of you. I thought you realized it was
    tongue-in-cheek. I said it two or three times.

    Did you say you bought your Volvo because of common sense?
     
    Luca Cappelli, Mar 6, 2004
    #37
  18. I doubt it. Crossposted to BMW.

    You're not doing too well, eh? ;-) Spelling errors, mistaken
    assumptions...

    DAS
    --
    For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
    ---

    [.......]
    Most people in
    [.............]
     
    Dori A Schmetterling, Mar 6, 2004
    #38
  19. Yankee Doodle Dandy

    Jordan B. Guest

    Nice try Luca. As you said earlier:

    <<It's easier just to admit error....isn't it :^)

    Jordan 1999 S70 Loaded!
     
    Jordan B., Mar 7, 2004
    #39
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