Past vehicles:
I’m actually looking for something cheap without all the bells and whistles (less to break/more reliable). It must be auto as the wife may drive it in the spring/summer (She finds no value in cars hence the Caravan) and We’d prefer it be better on gas (so speed isn’t a priority). We are looking between compact sedans to crossover/SUV’s.
I can’t believe I just wrote that!
Thanks for the link. AWD isn’t a deal breaker for me but definitely a nice to have. One of the best vehicles I’ve ever driven in the winter was my Mazda 3 with snows on, no joke!
I’d love an Acura/Lexus but most probably out of the budget and I’d worry about the maintenance bill on the older models.
This is a general questions to everyone, what would be your priority when shopping for a used vehicle you intended to keep for several years (i.e. low mileage, vehicle age, make, etc.)?
She’s a teacher lol
ZING!
Datadatum mentioned above that he has a Subaru. Wonder which one he is…
based on the name, engineer
lol
The first gen Lexus LS400 is an awesome car. I’ve been looking at a few lately.
I sold my Imola S4 last week, this week I bought an 87 VW Quantum Syncro Wagon, essentially a VW branded audi 80.
My allroad is going up for sale next week so that we can make room for either an ml350 bluetec or 2012 Touareg TDI.
That will leave me with just my project car A6 and my black 00 S4
I am hoping that the Syncro is as good in the snow as the S4 was, I will be using it as my Snowboarding vehicle.
Oh yeah, also bought a 03 ZX12r, just finished removing the stock motor and putting in a 3mm punched out unit
That will be a great winterbeater. Get some gopro footage for us!
My definition of a winter beater 20 years ago
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2159/2538257747_e50dab68b2.jpg
My winter beater with snow tires from last winter
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9264456/p4pb9264456.jpg
What winter means to me as an Audi owner (not my car)…
Double zing! ;D
I have bachelors in Chemical Engineering, a masters in Biochemical Engineering.
But now you’ve done it… I’ll preach about Suby’s all day long. 
I took delivery of the first '05 STi in the MidWest right off the truck. Drove it to TireRack headquarters to get the hubs/brakes measured for winter tire fitment, and rocked it through 3 Chicago winters. (Side note, TireRack also did a photoshoot and used the car on their website for a long time). Brought the car to Florida with me when I changed jobs.
The reason engineers love them is that the car is all about functionality, has a great price:performance ratio, and is the automotive equivalent of a LEGO. Example: There is no traction control button. Traction control in the GD body STi consists of transferring power to the wheel with the most traction. Period. Other than ABS, there is NOTHING in the car that will artificially slow you down. Everything is about performance. (Unlike my RS4, with its intrusive ESP.)
I’ve owned my STi almost 10 years. I built it to be competitive in BSP-class autocross, which actually makes it extraordinarily formidable between the stoplights. Now it is primarily used to terrorize the natives. I daily drove the car until I got the RS4. In fact, I left the Audi at home today, and drove the Suby to work.
My analogy:
RS4: Usain Bolt in a tuxedo. Extraordinary track capability in tuxedo… and who wants to get a tuxedo dirty?
STi: Hooligan being chased by dogs. Whatever it takes.
LOL - nailed it.
Although I sometimes tell people it is the first 4 notes of Beethoven’s Fifth. 
Nice.
I can often pick engineers out of a crowd of posts. Mostly because they love to announce they’re engineers lol. But after a while engineers become very easy to identify.
Beemercer has a nose for sniffing them out too.
LOL - Engineers are typically proud of their profession.
And as with any profession… there is a continuum of people between narcissistic asshat and valued contributor.
What are the other ways that you ID an engineer in a crowd? Hopefully not just negatives!
no no, not negatives at all. Here aer a few things. These are generalizations
aesthetics don’t bug them much. A good example is BritishTurbo in the b5 section. I noticed his car had some funny looking wheels, bad A4 headlights, and I think it was an off colour. Just didn’t look right. Meant aesthetics didn’t matter to him. I’m not sure what he does, but I think he’s an engineer. He’s always fabbing stuff up so that’s a tipoff, but that’s not what tipped me off. Function over form all the way (almost all the way). A subaru is a good example of this.
they build strong arguments and are opinionated (like me so this isn’t exclusively the domain of the engineer, but again these are generalizations)
they dealthe into detail on stuff that most people just flat ignore…this can be a negative. i.e. they get stuck on irrelevant stuff.
the math/physics - often comes out like a light saber
if in person, facial hair and spectacles
[quote]1. aesthetics don’t bug them much. A good example is BritishTurbo in the b5 section. I noticed his car had some funny looking wheels, bad A4 headlights, and I think it was an off colour. Just didn’t look right. Meant aesthetics didn’t matter to him. I’m not sure what he does, but I think he’s an engineer. He’s always fabbing stuff up so that’s a tipoff, but that’s not what tipped me off. Function over form all the way (almost all the way). A subaru is a good example of this.
they build strong arguments and are opinionated (like me Smiley so this isn’t exclusively the domain of the engineer, but again these are generalizations)
they dealthe into detail on stuff that most people just flat ignore…this can be a negative. i.e. they get stuck on irrelevant stuff.
the math/physics - often comes out like a light saber
if in person, facial hair and spectacles
[/quote]
LOL - Awesome! I have about 20 mechanical, chemical and polymer engineers that work for me… so allow me to add to the list:
Often interested in truth and justice, at the expense of any practical means of accomplishing the task at hand.
Willing to argue minutiae when they know it doesn’t matter fuck-all. They just have to be right. This is especially true for young engineers who haven’t learned humility yet, and old engineers who are proven incapable of humility. 100% true for engineering STUDENTS.
People skills are for shit. Introverted enough to send an e-mail to someone across the room, and then run away to avoid conflict.
Often very binary in their decision making. Either RIGHT or WRONG… no shades of grey.
Dedicated to the cause. Willing to climb the trench, charge the hill, and take bullets. 80 to 120 hours in a work week just get them started. You want these engineers on your team. Period.
The good ones understand that engineering is “applied science” and understand the fundamentals (or seek to if they are unknown) to mitigate risk and manage uncertainty. The corollary is that the bad ones use empirical data as though it is science. (Unacceptable - these people make dangerous decisions)
The really good ones listen more than they talk, leverage true subject matter experts to help them accomplish tasks with utmost efficiency, and don’t argue bullshit on car forums. I think it was an engineer that once said, “An amateur can carbon clean an RS4 once. A professional does it every day.” Or something like that.
BTW - not one engineer in my department has facial hair! (especially the female engineers)
Funny shit
#8. Is right on point
#13 - they can make stuff work that no one else can figure out… like a PES supercharger