Looking like it floated out of Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” video, the turbo brick pictured above is available for download into Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
I admire the custom build, but nothing beats the 240 GLT Estate in Gran Turismo 4.
Apparently TV pitchman Billy Mays brought joy to people’s hearts all across America before passing away last week. I only knew of him from Jaboodydubs. But when I see him at :30 in the clip below, restoring the shine of your boyfriends dull, gray Volvo 240, I know he was a good man.
Mister Jalopy, over at Hoopty Rides and Dinosaurs and Robots wrote a great post a while back making the case that manufacturers should create user serviceable products.
He had the same problem with the fuel gauge on his 2000 Chevy pickup as I have on my Volvo: the fuel gauge doesn’t work and sits at empty but the car runs fine. To replace the faulty fuel gauge sender you need to replace the entire fuel pump, at considerable expense, even though the pump works fine.
But you can’t buy a fuel sender separate from the fuel pump. It is an integrated component. Looking at the fuel sender, it is clearly designed to be removed and replaced. And to prove my point, I did remove it. It took longer to get the pliers from the toolbox than it did to disassemble.
Sometimes components fail and you have no idea way, but in this case, the cause of failure was obvious. There were two little metal tangs that glided over the PCB resistor contacts and one of them had broken off. This is clearly a component designed for a short life…
So, what happened? I bet Chevrolet specified that the fuel sender unit would be removable. Perhaps they were planning to offer it as a separate SKU. And why would they want to sell it separately? And make less money?
He then segues into his manifesto, explaining that when you buy something, you should own it outright and be able to fix it at reasonable cost when it inevitably breaks down. Too many products are tossed aside when a minor component breaks, even though it may still work.
I now have 2 digital cameras that were rendered almost useless because their flimsy battery door hinges wore out and the battery wouldn’t stay in its proper place to easily take a picture. The temptation is to toss it, but I know we’ve still got a functioning digital camera with better optics than ones just 5-10 years ago. So it’s taped up and back in business.
NPR ran a piece on Mister Jalopy and the Makers movement of people who have an understanding that just because a part is broken doesn’t mean the whole thing is junk.
I have no idea how I managed to turn our 1980 Toyota Corolla into an occasional love nest, but I guess a horny 17 year old will figure a way to use just about anything for a hookup.
Too bad I wasn’t riding a 245 at the time, because I would have had plenty of company in the “boot”. According to a survey by Britain’s Yes Insurance, the Volvo 240 Estate has seen more back-seat action than any other vehicle in the UK. And you thought the wagons were just for AFTER the babies arrived.
Not sure where to go with this quote:
According the pollsters, some 68% of people have had sex in a car and one in 10 say they had even got fruity while driving.
“Got fruity”? Hopefully Mike Myers will add that euphemism to his script of his upcoming film, Austin Powers: Thunderballs.
When I installed my brake rotors last month I briefly considered painting the calipers red as an ironic touch, but figured it was more trouble than it was worth, and some people may not get the joke. This guy, however, doesn’t have the same inner voice of reason. As a matter of fact, this guy has no reason at all.
There is now yet another bulletin board for brick owners. FCP Groton just launched Volvolution, although it looks like it’s coming out of the UK, so I’m curious what the connection to FCP is. I seeded it with a few questions about tires and suspension.
It’s nice to see a new bb interface. While the Brockboard has great membership and advice for RWD owners, the UI hasn’t been updated in 5 or 6 years and it’s really cludgy. I’m curious to see which car owners will frequent the Volvolution board.
The British car magazine “What Car?” has crowned the Volvo S40 diesel the Green Car of the Year. It beat Japanese hybrids with its low emissions and 72.4 mpg fuel economy.
But, according to James Howard Kunstler, a fuel efficient Volvo ain’t gonna be much of a help for our future:
…no combination of solar, wind and nuclear power, ethanol, biodiesel,
tar sands and used French-fry oil will allow us to power Wal-Mart,
Disney World and the interstate highway system — or even a fraction of
these things — in the future. We have to make other arrangements.The public, and especially the mainstream media, misunderstands the
“peak oil” story. It’s not about running out of oil. It’s about the
instabilities that will shake the complex systems of daily life as soon
as the global demand for oil exceeds the global supply.
New York’s Daily News site enticed me with a teaser for “The NY Mobs Biggest ‘Hits‘” and, after looking at 9 photos of murdered mobsters, BINGO, I found Volvo’s ubiquitous 240 in the background of a bloody crime scene photo.
WARNING: this link is not for the squeamish.
The late Anthony DiLapi was found in
the garage of his apartment building outside Los Angeles on February 4,
1990. The Lucchese family soldier had moved out to the West Coast to
get away from the mob, but was found and murdered on the orders of
Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso.Mob cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa obtained information of DiLapi’s whereabouts from California police.
I wonder if the brick was his. It’d probably make good cover if he was starting a new life in California. Theoretically.
If I ever launch my brick 20 feet into the air off a flaming pile of cheap import cars, like this Oldsmobuick does, I’ll know who to call if I get a scratch.
Via Videogum
Robert Lutz, vice chair of GM, tosses off this nugget of revisionist history in a quote from Monday’s NY Times article about the bankruptcy of GM:
“…for the first time in our history, the American auto industry has the ear of the administration.”
Is he saying that in the entire history of the American auto industry, this is the first time they’ve had a hearing with the president and congress? That’s preposterous on its face. A little over 50 years ago the auto industry worked hand-in-hand with President Dwight D. Eisenhower to have the Interstate Highway System built with federal funds. Not to mention numerous times the auto industry successfully blocked safety regulations and fuel efficiency requirements.
Even if we limit his statement just to GM and the Obama administration it’s still ridiculous. According to Bloomberg News, General Motors spent $2.8 million lobbying congress in just the first three months of 2009. According in the Center for Media and Democracy GM spent $8.8 million lobbying congress in 2006. Are we supposed to believe they didn’t have the ear of the administration until this week? What they didn’t have until this week was a taxpayer injection of $50 billion.
GM got our money despite taxpayer sentiment in the US:
The disconnect between how the auto industry is perceived in Detroit and in the rest of the country was underscored in an April survey by CNN; it showed 76 percent of Americans favored allowing GM to fall into bankruptcy rather than extending further government aid.
Allison Kilkenny has a great post comparing GM to an abusive spouse:
Only in this country would a corporation’s executives have the nerve to close factories and relocate them to Mexico to exploit cheap labor, systematically work to suppress public mass transit and fuel-efficient vehicles, shelter its revenues from taxation in multiple offshore havens, and still crawl to the government weeping and crying when it needs money.
Not only that, but the government will hand GM another bailout check with taxpayer money without asking for anything in return, effectively socializing the investment’s risk whilst privatizing the profit…again.
Perhaps I just need to start saving $8 million a year so I can get the ear of this administration.
Image from Idiocracy
