Does anyone have stories of "getting away with with murder" when they were
stopped by a law enforcement officer?  

Thanks

My 1992 Ford Explorer has 37,000 miles on it at present. At 35,000 miles the
A/C system failed as the compressor blew its seals. It was replaced with a new
one under warranty. However, the problem seems to have surfaced again…. The
A/C system can bearly cool the cabin. I am taking it in this week.

Is the A/C system a problem area on Ford trucks/Sport Utilities? Any comments
will be appreciated.

N. Kulkarni

        Sorry I might not have spell the name right. Was stung by
the car didn’t copy the name.

        It is very unusual, look like a Mark VIII but much stronger
in its taste. As the J-30 or Bonaville are to Jajuar.

        It is a major expense but the family in there seem to
enjoy that. Looks like it’s like SAAB. Love it or hate it.

        How my fellow fan on net think?

I am getting a new clutch put in my ’85 honda civic (48,000 miles).

I said, "wouldn’t you expect a clutch to last longer than 48K?"

my mechanic said, "maybe this clutch was not adjusted correctly, or
                   maybe the last driver was riding the clutch."

OK, so I’ve been hearing this term for 19 years now, and I thought it
meant depressing the clutch pedal as you deccelerate to a stop, OR, in
stop-and-go traffic, it means governing the forward motion of the car
using the clutch pedal (with just a little bit of pressure on the
accelerator).

Then I was test-driving my last car, a ’76 corolla with 105K miles on
it.  Whenever my left foot even strayed over towards the clutch pedal
in anticipation of shifting, or tarried a tad too long after shifting
the owner (who was sitting in the passenger seat) would chide me for
"riding the clutch."

I suppose there is a FAQ somewhere that answers such mundane
questions, but if not, what does this term "riding the clutch" mean,
and does it follow that riding one’s clutch will decrease the life of
the clutch (effectively wearing it down)?

thanks,
mdp

–
–     –     –     –     –     –     –     –     –     –     –     –
Marc Perry                          
Dept. of Medical Genetics
University of Toronto

Request for Discussion

Unmoderated groups:

   rec.autos.makers.bmw
   rec.autos.makers.italian

Proposed Charters:

rec.autos.makers.italian is for discussion of cars from Italy, and
of cars with Italian heritage or containing Italian componentry
(e.g., the Citroen SM.)  This spans the range from Fiat Stradas
to Ferrari F40s, and (unfortunately) may be interpreted as including
the Yugo & Lada (such is life.)  non-Italian cars styled by
Italian designers and/or design houses are also legitimate topics
of discussion.

rec.autos.makers.bmw is for discussion of cars made by BMW AG.
Discussion of other relevant marques such as Bristol, Borgward
and EMW, and autos using BMW engines such as certain Brabhams
would also be considered reasonable.

Rationale behind Names:

The original intent was to create rec.autos.bmw and rec.autos.italian;
it was recommended to me by the members of the "group advice" list
that the sub-hierarchy rec.autos.makers be used instead.  while this
is perhaps a bit clumsy (and since discussions of styling houses, etc.,
will also be permissible in the italian-cars group the usage
may not be perfectly appropriate), it seems fairly reasonable, and
has been adapted.

Why bmw (a german manufacturer) and italian (a nationality)?

1) the lists are already there; the groups should match the lists
   if we are to going to gateway (this is discussed further later
   in this proposal.)

2) rec.autos.vw already exists, rendering the creation of
   rec.autos.makers.german potentially somewhat confusing

3) if we create rec.autos.makers.fiat and rec.autos.makers.alfa
   (these being the dominant manufacturers discussed on the present
   italian-cars list) we effectively eliminate other areas of discussion
   that presently exist.

Background:

The italian-cars and bmw mailing lists are now more than 5 years old;
membership in the italian cars list is over 300 and membership in the
bmw list is over 600.  Both lists have heavy traffic, and have more
than proven adequate demand.  The orientation of both groups is
presently towards owners who take a serious interest in maintaining
their own vehicles.

The plan is to provide newsgroups which will be bidirectionally
gatewayed to digested versions of the mailing lists.  This will
reduce the load on the mailing lists while at the same time providing
access for those who do not receive news.

This RFD is being sent to news.announce.newgroups, news.groups,
rec.autos.misc, rec.autos.driving, rec.autos.sport, rec.autos.tech,
and rec.autos.vw  This (and any subsequent) RFD and the Call for Votes
will also be sent to the bmw and italian-cars mailing lists, as this
proposal would have a significant impact on the future of those two lists.

Followups are directed to news.groups, and any subsequent discussion
should take place there.

Thank You,
  Richard Welty (we…@balltown.cma.com)
     administrator, italian-cars and bmw mailing lists
—
richard welty        518-393-7228       we…@cabot.balltown.cma.com
“Nothing good has ever been reported about the full rotation of
  a race car about either its pitch or roll axis”  – Carroll Smith

Is there a good aftermarket source for an outside air temperature sensor?  I
had an ’86 Olds Delta with the electronic dash and it included an inside/
outside thermometer readout next to the speedometer.

This, in my opinion, would be of great help to anyone driving anywhere
north of Georgia in the winter months.  Here in Eastern Canada there is a
considerable problem with "black ice" which looks just like rain-darkened
pavement but is actually a sheet of thin ice.

More than once I was saved by the knowledge that it was 30 degrees outside
at night even though it looked like 45 from inside the car!

Now I have a ’92 Camry LE and really miss the thermometer.  Is there one on
the aftermarket which is: 1) digital; 2) farenheit; and 3) lighted for night-
time use?

Thanks…

BT

Hi there guys, I think this is the appropriate newsgroup

I am compiling research concerning the effect of Radar detectors and police
radar units (including ‘speed cameras’ used to photograph speeding vehicles)
on the behaviour of drivers. I am having a lot of difficulty finding relevant
research on the topic and would be most grateful if anyone could
point me towards a source of info. Even journal names or author names would
be a big help. If anyone has any research or articles available electronically
then I’d _REALLY_ appreciate if you could send me a copy.

Specifically, Public attitudes towards radar detectors, studies comparing
accident rates between radar detector users and non-users, attitudes
towards speed cameras, and attitudes towards authority moves to ban radar
detectors.

In New Zealand, we have just had speed cameras introduced and the authorities
have been accused of revenue gathering. Figures just out after about 10 months
of operation indicate a national drop in the average speed, but NO drop in
the road toll. Heads may roll – the speed camera’s catch-cry was ‘reduce the
road toll!!’

I’d be VERY appreciative of any hints or articles.

BUT, PLEASE MAIL them to me, I don’t get to check this very often.

Please Mail to
neil.gard…@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

Thanks in advance for your help

(I don’t know why powering through the turn works.  Seems to me that
it shouldn’t.  But it does.)

It works primarily because the force introduced by accelerating overcomes the
"understeer" force which is the tendency for the car to keep going in the
same direction that it was going (i.e. resisting your attempt to turn, hence
under steering). At higher speeds, or as the car runs out of power (either at
higher speeds or at lower speeds in too high a gear), there won’t be enough
accelerative force to overcome the understeering forces, which will cause the
car to slide or plow towards the outside of a curve/turn.

It is possible to induce trailing throttle oversteer in a front wheel drive
car. In most instances the rear wheels will always follow the front wheels,
but since they are lightly loaded (engine weight is at the front, and even
with accelerative weight transfer the rear wheels tend to be lightly loaded),
it is possible on poor traction surfaces, or at the tire limit to bring the
rear end around by lifting off the throttle. It is usually possible to
control this oversteer by accelerating again, assuming that the front wheels
have adequate traction and power available.

A most extreme example of this trailing throttle oversteet relates to snow
tires. You must always have snow tires on ALL 4 wheels on a front wheel drive
car. Many years ago when I first started driving front wheel drive cars I
read that in the owner’s manual and thought that it was just a ploy to sell
more snow tires. Many winters I just stayed on (good) summer tires with no
problems, but one winter was particularly bad (and of course my tires getting
towards the end of their useful life), so I put front snow tires on. Good
idea? NOT. I spun the car six times that winter (all under very slow speed
conditions fortunately). In each instance I was approaching a curve or turn
at very slow speed and lifted on the throttle ever so slightly. In each case
the car would start to spin, and all that I could do was ride it out. No
evasive manoeuvres would work once the spin started.

Does any body out there in America race old volvo’s
I used to have a Volvo 142 which used to reach 130mph (1970 model)
and heard of a company in the usa called IPD (portland i think)
are they still going, They used to race/sell racing parts for volvo’s
as they have terrific scope for beefing up the engines with little effort.

well if you know of anything let me know , cheers

john the pom.

I have an ’86 Fiero, 6-cyl that I really love.  I like to drive
spiritedly, but safely, around town.  I noticed the other day that someone
was looking for a used car that had not been "driven hard and put away
wet."

So, my question is, what do y’all do to preserve your car and still have
fun?
Obviously popping the clutch at every green will put a lot of wear and tear
on; but do you cool down the engine when you get home?  Do you downshift
through
all the gears when you come to a light, or do you go straight from 4th
(yes,
its a four-speed) to 1st?  Or does it not really matter, as long as you
aren’t
hard core racing?