Introducing Hermann - no really...

[redpoint5]

Very entertaining post Arragonis. You have a gift for writing in an interesting and humorous way.

Originally Posted by Daekar

One of the many reasons I love my Jetta wagon. 50mpg+ on the highway, and plenty of room for passengers and gear. I can't imagine a more practical vehicle...

What year is your Jetta wagon, and have you had to fix anything on it yet? I'm considering an '03, but very hesitant due to reliability concerns.

...the diesel pickup we're looking at for farm chores has a 5.9L V6 in it, and has an 8 foot long bed.

What pickup is this? I got the smallest diesel truck I could find in the US; a Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L turbo inline 6. If only they offered the Hilux here... one can dream, one can dream.

Originally Posted by UltArc

A friend of mine has a wife. She wants a Dodge Ram 1500. She wants a chrysler, so one can already tell she does not know much about cars, but regardless of branding, she wants it because she "likes the way it looks." I could never fathom spending money, and so much at that, for something based solely on it's looks, without any other consideration.

Surely you can fathom desiring something solely based on looks. A good 75% of the reason I choose my wife is based on her lines. If she possessed the character and personality most compatible with my ideal, but was not aesthetically pleasing to me, I would never have been inspired to pursue her and make her my wife.

Women typically make "irrational" choices based on appearance and prestige because a large portion of their security and self worth are wrapped up in those seemingly vain attributes. Ask a woman if she would rather be a successful and domineering CEO, or a beautiful princess; most will say the latter.

So in general, it is more important for a woman to be found in something cute and prestigious; with economy and performance being secondary considerations.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Daekar

Is there no remaining tradition of small-scale agriculture or rural land ownership that would necessitate the private possession of true utility vehicles similar in function to our pickups in this country?

I could be very off base by this comment, but I get the impression that the English tend to rely more on specialization than Americans. My imagination has this idea that if you are English and need bread, you go to the bakery to get a loaf. If you are English and need furniture moved, you hire movers to do it.

In the US, we tend to value autonomy more than other countries. If we need bread, we go to a general store such as Costco and get it along with batteries and a TV, or any other thing we might need. We might purchase a truck for moving the occasional large item instead of hiring someone else to do it. Come to think of it, I don't have a single friend that has hired a professional mover. They always ask for help from people that have a truck (me).

I think it's a different mindset about the importance of autonomy coupled with the fact that fuel and taxes for large vehicles are bloody expensive abroad.

I'm not sure who gave so many women the idea that a vehicle is a thing to be chosen with emotion as the primary criterion, but it does seem to be true in many cases. Drives me nuts, because if it weren't so, we logical shoppers would have a better selection.

I like the following article by Mr. Stoner on his explanation of the general difference between men and women.

[UltArc]

redpoint;

I completely understand your point with women, but ignorance and apathy is a terrible turnoff to me. I'm not above walking away from a stupid person in mid conversation. If you've seen the SNL skit with the girl you regret talking to at a party,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pRCeof-NKM

I have talked with and spent time with drop dead gorgeous women- whose looks clearly have paved their way. No thank you.

And I've met some women who were attractive, until I got to know them, and now I can't help but remember them as super models lol It may be strange or unordinary, but personality and mind do matter. But of course, some physically attractive qualities are important.

Do looks matter? Yes- but if looks are perfect, its not enough to qualify [alone].

[UltArc]

"Pick a number between one and ten.
7.
Wrong. Genocide. "

Listening to that even makes my head ache.

[Daekar]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

What year is your Jetta wagon, and have you had to fix anything on it yet? I'm considering an '03, but very hesitant due to reliability concerns.

Actually, my car is a 2003 exactly as you are considering. I keep up with scheduled maintenence myself, except for the timing belt, which I don't feel comfortable doing. I have had three unscheduled issues: clogged intake manifold, a CEL thrown for glow plug issues, and a failed alternator pulley bearing.

The clogged intake was probably partially from the LSD used early in its life and partially from incorrect driving habits of myself and the previous owner. We were ignorant of the fact that it is best to rev the diesel to 3000rpm for most shifts when warmed up, and had taken no steps to deal with the oily crankcase vapors which combined with EGR carbon. Both of those are addressed at the moment, we'll see if I ever have to do it again.

The the glow plug code indicated that the resistence of the plugs was imbalanced, and the easiest and cheapest first course is to replace them, which I did. It turned out that the harness was to blame, which is expensive to replace if you replace the whole thing, but cheap if you keep a small relay or switch or some such device. I replaced only the cheap part, and have had no trouble.

The failed alternator pulley seemed to be a completely random failure, although in hindsight I can see (or rather feel) that it had been failing when I got the car, and I simply didn't know. It wasn't cheap to repair, but I got it fixed at the same time as a timing belt service, and so saved a considerable chunk of change.

At this age, I'm beginning to look for failing rubber boots and such, and I imagine I will have to replace a few on the shocks within a few years to prevent damage. However, at that point it may be time to replace the shocks anyway. I've also installed both an Amsoil bypass filter for the engine oil and a 2-micron fuel filter to protect the expensive fuel components. In general I've been pleased with the car and plan to keep it as long as possible.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

What pickup is this? I got the smallest diesel truck I could find in the US; a Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L turbo inline 6. If only they offered the Hilux here... one can dream, one can dream.

I misspoke (mistyped?), it is as you stated, a Dodge 5.9L inline 6 rather than a V6. The one we have our eyes on needs a little work, but it should last forever if we take care of it.

[Xist]

When I bought my Prelude I became familiar with the current offerings, of cars that I might actually own, so the Civic, Accord, and competitors. Comparing the Civic and Cavalier seemed unreal, yet I met one girl after another that had a Cavalier or Sunfire. I tried to casually asked why they made that choice and they almost exclusively responded "Because it's cute!"

I do remember someone telling me it had the highest horsepower in its class. So why was it's 0-60 the slowest?

I chose Bacon because I chose the wrong girlfriend and she was more interested in me purchasing something cute and returning my full attention to her.

The first girl that I took on a date with Dad's F150 seemed to like the truck more than me.

She hardly waited for me to come to a stop before she got out of the truck and ran inside. To add insult to injury, she had asked me to take her home early for girls' night.

Any Cavalier owners care to punch me?

[Daekar]

Originally Posted by UltArc

redpoint; Do looks matter? Yes- but if looks are perfect, its not enough to qualify [alone].

I agree. I have met many beautiful women, but I know from experience that if I can't respect the judgement and intellectual competence of a person then I will not be happy with them, and I won't be able to trust them to do anything important. Since trust is the foundation of any relationship, it then follows that if a person does not meet some basic standard of mental ability, I cannot maintain a close relationship with them.

Even more, I have found that my greatest delight is derived from learning new things from others. If a potential partner is not both intellectually capable and socially inclined to pursue learning for themselves, does not take delight in new ideas and facts, and doesn't possess at least some reasonable degree of faculty and knowledge I do not personally possess, then they are not going to be a viable companion.

Basically, you've got to be smart, you've got to have common sense, you've got to enjoy learning and sharing, and you've got to be able to do and comprehend things that I don't. Once you leap those hurdles, then we'll get into appearances. I may say that the list of women I have met that actually meet these standards is very very short. And those aren't the only requirements. I'm just glad I found my wife!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I like wagons more than soccer-mom vans

Originally Posted by Daekar

I guess it is a good sign that I didn't get his joke, although sad that if he had substituted a luxury SUV that will never see dirt I would have been on board with the humor. It is odd, now that I think of it... I have literally never seen a European post about their work vehicles. Surely a few of them here or there have trucks, but I have seen absolutely zero evidence of this in my limited experience. Educate a man whose travels are limited to this side of the Atlantic: are work vehicles generally owned by companies? Is there no remaining tradition of small-scale agriculture or rural land ownership that would necessitate the private possession of true utility vehicles similar in function to our pickups in this country? Admittedly, the proportion of rural to urban population must be even greater in Europe than the US, but still.

Europeans were already used to smaller vehicles for a long time. Compact pickups are more usual among farmers, and almost every Euro-spec pickup is fitted with a 4-pot turbodiesel under 3-litre (few have a gasser, usually converted to LPG or CNG). It's hard to find a commercial vehicle with anything but a 4-cylinder turbodiesel in the European market, and it's usually either a medium-duty or a heavy-duty truck, altough even medium-duty trucks can be found with a 4-cylinder turbodiesel...

[Awd180]

It's nice, I don't know diesels that well but there are simple things to improve the turbos efficiency therefore the cars. A manuel boost control will help, heat wrap the hot side and downpipe, most likely a front or side mount intercooler keep it as cool as possible shielding around it do not block the fins and wrap the ic hoses. Do plenty of research on other forums (search Audi or tDI) before doing anything too serious.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by UltArc

I completely understand your point with women, but ignorance and apathy is a terrible turnoff to me...

And I've met some women who were attractive, until I got to know them, and now I can't help but remember them as super models lol It may be strange or unordinary, but personality and mind do matter. But of course, some physically attractive qualities are important.

Do looks matter? Yes- but if looks are perfect, its not enough to qualify [alone].

Exactly right, and the reason I qualified my explanation of the importance of looks by saying that physical attraction was only 75% of the reason I choose my wife. Maybe 75% is a bit high, but if a girl had no physical appeal, I would have no motivation to pursue a romantic relationship.

When I met my first girlfriend, I found her appearance to be mildly attractive. After getting to know her and really loving her personality, I was wildly attracted to her.

A woman that is very beautiful and either doesn't know it, or doesn't use her appearance to manipulate others, adds to her attractiveness. I found that trait in my new wife. She is also the most rational girl I have dated and subjects her emotion to reason. While she still has the strong emotions that women have, her actions are dictated by logic (usually).

So my point isn't that appearances are everything, just that they tend to be more important to a woman.