emajnthis

The only poor point of the Elise is its Weight distribution which is a design flaw that Lotus was unwilling to fix and decided to just put all of their faith into the chassis and suspension (much like how Porsche relies on AWD so their 911's don't fly off the road, which in fact still happens in races if you watch). Other than that, they're philosophy for the cars they build is simple. Power to weight in the comparable size of a go kart.

The art is still awesomely consistent in soulfire but some of the characters aren't as visually appealing, i like the direction he takes when he draws pre-existing characters as opposed to the ones he has created himself. The storylines and plots associated with his art work are still superb.

I'm unbiased on both sides (mustang owner, and all around car enthusiast) and i think it's kinda cool... impractical for drift, but cool none the less.

Also there's a little trick to getting the best prices online that a good number of dealerships do. If you put in an internet request for a car with specific options and an internet salesman gets in contact with you, just wait awhile or state that you are not interested or are looking for a different make/model. In a lot of cases (like the internet sales i was managing on the east coast) an automatic coupon mailer will send out with a "manager's incentive" for a final price that's $1,000 under invoice. Which IMO is probably the best price you'll get without having to haggle for hours on end at the dealership.

i made it a religious note not to watch the TV show as not to hurt my sentiments towards the comic book series and michael turner's work.

lol, i just thought i'd mention this here since i know pfunk is pretty active in this thread. I was doing a google search for jennifer aniston topless since i've been hearing it on the news for the last 3 or 4 days and pfunks blogger site was one of the top 5

Yeh, Michael Turner was the amazing artist that was in charge of Witchblade. Silvestri found him at a convention and saw his portfolio so he stuck him to a project to test the waters and the rest is history. Turner left witchblade around issue 20 and that's when i stopped collecting. Every once in awhile he'd do a special cover, but mainly just worked on his new series Fathom. His art is some of the best eye candy on the market, i absolutely love his work.

I Love Witchblade... well until Michael Turner left and the writers left, then the whole thing went down hill... I REALLY hope they don't screw this up.

Vinne Jones as Juggernaut, that'll be interesting to see. Though, i don't know how good he would be as Juggernaut, i loved him in all of his other movies.

Actually, lots of S54 engines of the current E46 M3 "blew up" in the early 21st century.  There were many blown engines when the current M3 was initially introduced.  This resulted in the infamous rod bearing recall......not something BMW M was very proud of.

The S54 engine is very highly strung as an engine (it would have to be to produce 333HP from just 3.2L).  There have also been catastrophic VANOS (BMW variable valve timing) failures, as well as a number of SMG transmission related problems for a good number of members from M3 forums.

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I remember hearing about the Variable Valve Timing problems, but that probably has a lot to do with BMW's limited experience with the technology. I am personally against SMG transmissions, so anyone who got one deserves for it to be broken. Though outside of the VVT i haven't heard much from that motor having serious failures, news to me

i wish they would throw psylocke in this movie... she was probably the main reason i picked up X-Men again... and then became a huge Jim Lee fan.

Nah, an M3 is one of the very few cars that doesn't blow up, because there are A) no complicated electronics and B) race inspired engineering; all together that car is very reliable... in fact all of the three series is reliable (except the 328, and that's why they stopped production), just the navigation is shitty and plastic buttons break.

Well, same goes with my parents 540i. I think what i mean is as long as there is no motor or drivetrain work involved... or belt work involved, then German cars are great (especially 80's and early to mid 90's for most German Manufacturers), it's just recently it seems like they have really lowered the bar on reliability, and even there reliability statistics prove it. Mercedes dropped from the top ten to the bottom ten almost overnight. BMW has had steady ups and downs, and VW is completely dependent on what brand and what model you get.

That's what i don't understand about people who say that German cars are the best thing on earth. It's obvious that none of them actually work on their own cars.

The make up for beast looks decent, but shares a common resemblance to the Cowardly Lion

The only reason i'm not a fan of the GTO is the fact that it looks like a Cavalier on steroids, not so much that it doesn't "honor Heritage".  GM just took the Australian Vauxhall Monaro and rebadged it as the GTO, which to me just seems lazy.  If GM had actually designed a car with the GTO in mind as the target, then i would bring a bit more credibility to its rebirth.

As for performance, the car does wonderfully.  The power feels a bit sluggish, but definitely there.  The interior has a certain quality, but still sub-par compared to cars in its comparable market.  I still say go for the RSX and save a few grand at the dealership, the pumps, and the insurance.

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even the RSX-s would get spanked by a GTO, I think for the driving experience and performance, the GTO would be a better buy, point A-B dailly driver, the RSX would be the way to go

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Oh Trust me, there's no doubt that a RWD V8 is going to spank a FWD I4. Just with that formula alone it should be obvious who won.

As for the VW's, I have had to work on 3 of my friends Audi A4's and they are not at all fun to work on... in fact all German cars suck nuts to work on, it's like they purposely put unecessary pieces of metal in the engine compartment to piss mechanics off. Just to change the timing belt requires me to take almost half the engine apart, and don't even get me started on the price for parts. The only easy German cars to work on are the absolute bottom end ones (Golf, 3 series, A3, 230 kompressor) but that still doesn't change the price of parts.

I love German cars, but only up to the warranty period. Like someone above said about Audi, just own it until the warranty expires then get a new car.

The only reason i'm not a fan of the GTO is the fact that it looks like a Cavalier on steroids, not so much that it doesn't "honor Heritage". GM just took the Australian Vauxhall Monaro and rebadged it as the GTO, which to me just seems lazy. If GM had actually designed a car with the GTO in mind as the target, then i would bring a bit more credibility to its rebirth.

As for performance, the car does wonderfully. The power feels a bit sluggish, but definitely there. The interior has a certain quality, but still sub-par compared to cars in its comparable market. I still say go for the RSX and save a few grand at the dealership, the pumps, and the insurance.

It's good to know the RSX was a good drive for you JKeats, I love the new STI personally (looks fugly in pictures but awesome in person) but it is a bit over the top and pricey.

German cars have a very subtle luxury that really leaves you satisfied, but in the past 5 or so years, their reliability has hit the bottom (about the same time they started implimenting complex electronics). It used to be that a Mercedes/BMW/VW would last literally forever and then one day the whole car just fell apart.

Now the cars just slowly die piece by piece and spend more time at the shop than on the roads. I noticed that they're trying to build up their reliability standards again by going the Historical German route and provide more engineering and less electronics, which is why the new BMW's work wonderfully... well the navigation still sucks, but everything else works great. Mercedes and VW are on a roller coaster of reliability depending on which model you get. One thing is for sure though, as long as you stick to the more sporty or race inspired German cars, then you're alright. (BMW M, Audi S;RS, Merc AMG)

here's ya a good one: I just bought a beat-up '88 Civic (w/a 5-speed, thank god for that) with over 318,000 miles on it, it smokes, sometimes it loses compression and dies at a stoplight, but it ALWAYS fires right back up, and if I keep it long enough to rebuild the engine, it might last another 300,000.  Not a bad car for 300 bucks, eh?

anyhow, on the buying a new car part of the topic, I'd say go for the SRT-4, you will have plenty of headroom (I'm 6'0 and have about another 4-5 inches of headroom), but the bad part is: the Neon's ceased production at the end of September, however, your local Dodge dealer should have one.

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SRT-4's are great, but have horrible torque steer, and have awful looking interiors. I don't think the purpose of him buying the RSX is to race people light to light, it's more of a comfortable two door daily driver. Where as the SRT-4 is for the more performance minded, could give a Sh!t less what you're sitting in, race you to the next light driver.

another car i forgot to mention is the Celica... i personally have a particular distaste towards that car, but effectively it's a fair comparison.  Toyota stopped making it, so you can find them second hand pretty cheap, but i would also take that as a fair warning for the car's reputation.

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The last great Celicas were rear-wheel drive, and that was back in 1984. As a matter of fact, my cousin-in-law still owns her 1983 Celica GT, and it still runs after over 400,000 miles. It could use a major overhaul, though.

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Actually the last great Celica's were in Europe/Japan and used in the WRC. The "baby Supra" body style of the 90's had a special model in Japan and Europe called the GT-four, which was 2.0 liter Turbo AWD. This was also a project car in my head for awhile as it's very easy to get a 90's Celica for cheap, and I can easily get a GT-Four front clip from Japan for 2grand or less. But, alas, money and children don't work hand in hand... unless the money is going from my hand to theirs.

another car i forgot to mention is the Celica... i personally have a particular distaste towards that car, but effectively it's a fair comparison. Toyota stopped making it, so you can find them second hand pretty cheap, but i would also take that as a fair warning for the car's reputation.

y'know, last months "Avatar Babe of the Month" was easier on the eyes

Not a fan yet but I know I will be, waited a while for this to happen. 

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I concur

The shorter legs have a better overall proportion. The model as a whole has really developed quite nicely.

I'm 6'0" even so it might not be that bad.  I'm going to go down to the dealership today or tomorrow to see how the car feels but from what I've heard, seen and read, the car seems tip-top.  I appreciate it, thanks for the comments Emajn.

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Yeh, no problem. I always get asked by my wife's friends if the RSX is good, and for it's intended purpose, it definitely delivers flawlessly. It's cute (but in a manly kinda way), compact, fast enough to zip around in traffic, comparably priced, well equipped, fits two passengers comfortably and three fairly comfortably, and has a college student sized trunk. You'll also be very satisfied with how fluid the manual transmission feels. The throw is decently short, and it's very easy to navigate your way through the gears.

Stupid rich kids...  I'm on the fence about buying an 2006 Acura RSX Type-S.  Other than the notorious 3rd gear, anybody have any comments/thoughts about the car?

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Probably best of the "pocket rocket" car genre. The SI is a repinned rebodied RSX with a detuned ECU. I would say go for the RSX, my friend just sold his, but it's an all around decent car for the price... unless you're tall. If you're tall (i'm 6'2") the offset of the sunroof brings the roof down to clip your hair, and if you hit a bump, you can guarantee you'll feel it. Other than that, it's pretty comfortable, i wasn't banging my knee into the dash or steering wheel changing gears (unlike the SI) so take it for a test drive and see if you like the feel of the car. Other comparables would be the tC (it's a bit sluggish IMO) the cobalt SS (might as well get a saturn), and even the Mini S (not my taste). If you're willing to go the four door route, then look into the SRT-4, Mazda6, and the Ion Redline (just expect to be laughed at).