Honda Car Forum

<nm5k@wt.net> wrote in message
news:d3318ef9-5921-43df-8657-deb763c64a52@k26g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 30, 11:46 am, Otis <rev_otis_mcn...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
> and the Vega
> is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
> times. I feel I should
> put in a good word for the little car.

A friend of mine had a Vega back in the day, and considering
that he drove the living dog crap out of the thing, I think it held
up ok. I mean he tortured that car, and drove it like it was a
four banger race car. He tortured everything he drove.
His gas pedal had two positions. Idle, and full throttle. :/

I think I knew this guy. Did he have red hair?

On Oct 3, 12:31*pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
wrote:
> Otis wrote:

> > Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
> > That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>
> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year warranties.

And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
laptop
today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
more.

Technology advancement does change things a bit.

On Oct 1, 7:55*pm, cf...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (M.A. Stewart) wrote:
> Otis (rev_otis_mcn...@yahoo.com) writes:
> > On Sep 30, 8:15=A0pm, Tegger <inva...@invalid.inv> wrote:
> >> "hls" <h...@nospam.nix> wrote innews:N_adnfqOvN5yAF7XnZ2dnUVZ_oqdnZ2d@gig=
> > anews.com:
>
> >> > "Otis" <rev_otis_mcn...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> >> >news:1f20ce7d-cd39-4208-920c-08032814acbb@37g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
> >> > .
> >> >> Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
> >> >> and the Vega is always at or near the top of the list. =A0I've seen it
> >> >> a hundred times. =A0 I feel I should put in a good word for the little
> >> >> car.
>
> >> > That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
> >> > engine...That thing went out for most people very quickly.
>
> >> Anybody ever read the Wiki page on the Vega? It's a pretty good read.
> >> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega>
>
> >> Maybe I'm weird, but I always thought the Vega was a good-looking car.Bu=
> > t
> >> then I liked the Plymouth Duster as well.
>
> > My Vega was a sporty bright color, but a plain Jane set of wheels.
> > One of my friends had a GT which was very cool; a sturdy-looking
> > and very sporty ride. * Another had one of the "Millionth Vegas."
>
> > I turned a little green with envy when he got that orange babe.
>
> > fromhttp://h-body.org/library/vegabob/vega-history-complete.html
>
> > "In May 1973, the Millionth Vega was produced; a bright orange GT
> > hatchback coupe, with white sport stripes, "Millionth Vega" door
> > handle
> > inserts, and power steering. interior featured neutral custom vinyl,
> > including exclusive vinyl door panels, and orange accent color
> > carpeting.
>
> > "-A limited edition "Millionth Vega" option-ZM5 was offered..one per
> > dealer."
>
> > Another buddy of mine got one of the "Spirit of America" models.
> > It was flashier than mine, but couldn't hold a candle to the GT
> > models.
> > This one ended up sitting in the carport of his parents' house till
> > just
> > recently!
>
> Was it true that those 'Special' Vegas came from the factory with
> a free case of 24 cans of oil in the trunk, and a special engraved
> chrome plated magnetic oil can/spout opener stuck to the
> firewall under the hood?

As I said, I never even *added* any oil to mine. I'm not aware of
this feature you speak of on any model.

Otis wrote:
> On Oct 3, 12:31 pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
> wrote:
>> Otis wrote:
>
>>> Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
>>> That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year warranties.
>
> And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
> laptop
> today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
> more.

You might be a tiny bit off. 20 years ago, a 250MB hard drive cost about
$500 and RAM was going for $50 a MB. At the rate, a 1 TB hard drive and
6 GB of RAM would cost around $2.4 million. Well, that's what my
calculator sez anyway.

>
> Technology advancement does change things a bit.

Just a bit. :-)

>
>
>
>

On 10/4/09 4:28 PM, in article
a0ac8289-a19c-4028-a402-931173920a4b...oglegroups.com, "Otis"
<rev_otis_mcnatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Oct 3, 12:31*pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
> wrote:
>> Otis wrote:
>
>>> Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
>>> That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>>
>> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year warranties.
>
> And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
> laptop
> today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
> more.
>
> Technology advancement does change things a bit.
>
>
In 1973, the computer we had in the University CS department had a 16K byte
memory, a 2 micro-second cycle time and cost $300,000. My cell phone is
orders of magnitude more powerful. I would say you are off by quite a bit.

On Oct 5, 10:55*am, "E. Meyer" <epmeye...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/4/09 4:28 PM, in article
> a0ac8289-a19c-4028-a402-931173920...@31g2000vbf.googlegroups.com, "Otis"
>
>
>
> <rev_otis_mcn...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Oct 3, 12:31*pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
> > wrote:
> >> Otis wrote:
>
> >>> Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
> >>> That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>
> >> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year warranties.
>
> > And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
> > laptop
> > today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
> > more.
>
> > Technology advancement does change things a bit.
>
> In 1973, the computer we had in the University CS department had a 16K byte
> memory, a 2 micro-second cycle time and cost $300,000. *My cell phone is
> orders of magnitude more powerful. *I would say you are off by quite a bit.

Then again, both of you guys didn't seem to notice the "if not much
much more"
part.

On Oct 1, 7:55*pm, dsi1 <d...@humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:
> Nate Nagel wrote:
> > dsi1 wrote:
> >> hls wrote:
>
> >>> "dsi1" <d...@humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote in message
> >>>>> Fiat is a bit of a joke, even in Europe. *I lived there for many
> >>>>> many years.
>
> >>>> I'm guessing it's partially because they're such a big force in
> >>>> Europe, the same as GM is in the states.
>
> >>> You would be very wrong... In Europe, many people buy for quality, or
> >>> at least perceived quality. *Fiat and Lancia suck in this perception
> >>> outside of Italia. *People outside Italy buy Fiat largely on price.
>
> >> I'm not sure why you would say I was wrong. I made no comment about
> >> the quality of Fiat cars nor did I say anything about what Europeans
> >> are looking for when they buy a car.
>
> >> Obviously, most people would rather have a Mercedes or a Lexus but the
> >> reality is that most people settle for a Chevy over here and a Fiat(or
> >> VW) in Europe.
>
> > IME VW is a LARGE cut above Chevy... *at least the A4 GTI I had felt
> > like a little luxury car inside, and I had no real problems with it save
> > for the #@$%@#$ window issues. *My mom now loves it too :/ *(gotta
> > figure out how to get her to buy a new car so I can have it back...)
>
> > nate
>
> I loved the VWs I've had. They did have some problems with the valve
> stem seals and the fuse boxes on the early FWD cars. Killer rust
> problems. As it goes, any car has it's weak points, well, Chevys and VWs
> and Fiats, anyway. :-)

I've always thought the VW's were overpriced. And there was that
feeling--in
my family anyway--that a VW wasn't a "real car." I know there were
huge
numbers of VW owners in recent years who were more than a little
miffed
about their owners manuals saying their timing belts wouldn't need
changing
till 100k miles, with many actually failing at around 85k, doing
extensive
engine damage, and getting blown off by VW.

Otis wrote:

> Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
> That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.

That's about right. I remember the decision my step-father made was
between a Vega and a Beetle, and both had a street price of around
$1800, so an MSRP of around $2K is about right.

On 10/5/09 11:50 AM, in article
b4b20003-74d6-4a9f-ace8-10ab782ccda1...oglegroups.com, "Otis"
<rev_otis_mcnatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Oct 5, 10:55*am, "E. Meyer" <epmeye...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 10/4/09 4:28 PM, in article
>> a0ac8289-a19c-4028-a402-931173920...@31g2000vbf.googlegroups.com, "Otis"
>>
>>
>>
>> <rev_otis_mcn...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> On Oct 3, 12:31*pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Otis wrote:
>>
>>>>> Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
>>>>> That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>>
>>>> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year
>>>> warranties.
>>
>>> And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
>>> laptop
>>> today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
>>> more.
>>
>>> Technology advancement does change things a bit.
>>
>> In 1973, the computer we had in the University CS department had a 16K byte
>> memory, a 2 micro-second cycle time and cost $300,000. *My cell phone is
>> orders of magnitude more powerful. *I would say you are off by quite a bit.
>
> Then again, both of you guys didn't seem to notice the "if not much
> much more"
> part.
>

All things considered, since the development and pricing of cars doesn't
appear to follow Moore's law, comparing the pricing of cars to computers is
probably not the right way to go about it. Maybe cars & refrigerators would
work better?

Otis <rev_otis_mcnatt@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Oct 3, 12:31=A0pm, Grumpy AuContraire <Grumpy...@GrumpyvilleNOT.com>
>wrote:
>> Otis wrote:
>
>> > Also, IIRC the Vega I had was only about $2K, maybe a little more.
>> > That's less than $10K in 2008 dollars.
>>
>> And for that you can buy a new Kia or Hyundai with 100K/ten year warranti=
>es.
>
>And in '73, a computer with a fraction of the capabilities of a common
>laptop
>today would half fill a room and cost $40,000, if not much much
>more.
>
>Technology advancement does change things a bit.

The advancement in auto technology from 1900 to 1936 was about as great
as the advancement in computer technology from 1973 to 2009. The increase
in power and decrease in cost was about proportional.

Then automotive technology more or less began to even out, and there have
been incremental improvements since then, but nothing quite so dramatic.
Perhaps the same will happen for computers.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."