underscore Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 people.. NORMAL people.. dont want cars like this. that doesn't mean some wont like it.. but the vast majority will not. You're right, "NORMAL" people want huge trucks/SUVs and driving one of these on the road with them would just be a deathtrap, even in CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouar Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 that's relatively cheap to lease though and people will lease them just to say they drive an Aston Martin. Yes, because that idea worked so well for Maserati in the past (Chrysler TC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 and this is why people used to say that japanese cars were garbage and would never overtake detroit iron in quality or market share. people didnt want this then.. and they dont want it now. The times are different now, people are actually looking for economic cars. Such a small car won't be the first car, but maybe second or third car. The next time the gas prices rise the demand for such small cars will go up again. And if they are fun to drive then they can actually be living on. Maybe a competitor for the Miata. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meier motor sports Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Subaru should do a modern version of the RWD/rear-engine 360, the first Subaru to reach the U.S.: http://www.drive.subaru.com/Sum06/attic/360.jpg id be interested in a subaru r1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 The Toyota iQ was tested in this weeks Top Gear, it looked pretty cool actually. Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 The times are different now, people are actually looking for economic cars. Such a small car won't be the first car, but maybe second or third car. The next time the gas prices rise the demand for such small cars will go up again. And if they are fun to drive then they can actually be living on. Maybe a competitor for the Miata. miatas are chick cars. when gas prices go up they will go up not because of supply and demand but because of artificial and unwarranted govt intervention. people buying this kind of trash because of the price of gas is not indicative of a sign that people WANT these cars.. they are being FORCED into these cars by a bunch of bureaucrats who wouldn't know a gas station if their limo stopped at one on the way to their private jet. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactojesse Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 miatas are chick cars. That's why they dominate at SCCA stock autocross events. DF, I'm sorry that you live in a world where everyone feels the need to show off their masculinity by having a lifted F350 w/ a pissing Calvin sticker and fake dangling testicles and anyone who fails to do so is branded a "hippy" or a "queer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 miatas are chick cars.. period. they're the wine coolers of vehicles. Sure some guys may drink them.. but they're meant for women. you can strap a jet engine to a minivan.. does that make it suddenly cool? well.. yes.. but does that mean that minivans are suddenly not meant for family hauling? not likely. You miss my point entirely.. which is not surprising. these small cars are the result of GOVT.. not market demand. given the choice between such a tiny pos and an F350 that you describe.. gas bought and paid for, more people would choose a utilitarian F350 over a tiny commuter death trap. My LGT is a small car, about as small as I'd like to go as a single driver. I could do a civic probably but I'd rather not. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppettit2005 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'd take a new Mazda MX-5, or an old Toyota MR-2, not so much a Honda S-2000 though... I just don't like the looks of it is all, even though it is a nice car... I'd also take a Saturn Sky or a Pontiac Solstice coupe. Little sporty cars are lots of fun, even if it is hard to move stuff in them. That's kinda why I bought a Legacy GT. I used to live in a world of big trucks and muscle cars, and got tired of the hassles and the older technology... I wanted something with four wheel disc brakes with ABS, I wanted electronic fuel injection and ignition, and overhead cams, and all aluminum motors, and halfway decent gas mileage. I didn't car that the car could't go off road because I spent 90% of my time in 4X4 trucks on pavement anyway... I didn't care about going fast in a straight line in an old muscle car because most of the roads that I had driven had curves in them... I wanted something that could handle the curves and the pavement that wasn't more than what I needed, and wasn't too big to handle. So I went and looked at smaller cars, and test drove a Legacy GT wagon just for kicks. I fell in love with it during the test drive and went looking for a sedan. I found it and bought it, and here I am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppettit2005 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Although, if I have to move stuff again, I will go and get my truck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 You might as well get a smart car and call it a day. Neither are the least bit cool and people are going to look at you funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppettit2005 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 ugh, I hate the smart car. It's just a step above a motorcycle with none of the benefits. I'd rather buy a Honda CBR-600 motorcycle than a Smart Car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 miatas are chick cars.. period. they're the wine coolers of vehicles. Sure some guys may drink them.. but they're meant for women. you can strap a jet engine to a minivan.. does that make it suddenly cool? well.. yes.. but does that mean that minivans are suddenly not meant for family hauling? not likely. You miss my point entirely.. which is not surprising. these small cars are the result of GOVT.. not market demand. given the choice between such a tiny pos and an F350 that you describe.. gas bought and paid for, more people would choose a utilitarian F350 over a tiny commuter death trap. My LGT is a small car, about as small as I'd like to go as a single driver. I could do a civic probably but I'd rather not. Are you saying that the Miata is the result of the government and not market demand ? I think Vimy has screwed with your mind Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Are you saying that the Miata is the result of the government and not market demand ? I think Vimy has screwed with your mind no, but since he brought it up I figured I'd go off on them.. I dont particularly care for the miata (as you may have noticed. ) truth be told I could give less of a flip flop what other people drive.. I just dont want this kind of thing being shoved down my throat. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactojesse Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Nobody is shoving anything down anyone's throat. The Aston badged iQ isn't even targeted for the U.S. market. Federal safety and emission standards are why we don't see more fuel efficient cars in the U.S., particularly diesels. The market is here, even in a country that is largely populated by fear mongering, non-metric system using troglodytes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppettit2005 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 The Metric System is soo much more elegant than S.A.E.... and anyone who uses Metric is apparently in league with the devil according to my grandmother... Which is STUPID!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 they tried teaching us the metric system in school.. but it had no practical application beyond the class so it didnt stick. most things these days have both here in the us but people just ignore the metrics.. people just dont seem interested in learning the other system. I have to agree.. I dont want some govt mandate changing my system of management. I can look at things and tell if they're 1/4, 1/2 3/4" etc... I couldn't tell you the MM thickness of a piece of wood to save my life. I know they're not shoving the aston marton angry head down my throat (srsly look at it.. it looks like an angry head..) but they're trying to shove this type of car down our throats as a whole.. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Standard weights and measures, as it pertains to meeting necessary regulations (although most regulations are not necessary...) are perview of the government, since the law has to be specifically defined, as to what it is describing. I don't think the government should prohibit people from using one measure versus another, but merely wording the law to refer to one system or the other has a lot of influence. Metrics are easy, because they are based on Base-10, except computer stuff that is either binary, or base-8, since 8 bits = 1 byte, and extrapolated further as base-8. everything is 10x, 100x, 1000x, 1/10th, 1/100th, 1/1000th, even by their prefix. deca, kilo, mega, giga, tera... milli, centi, deci,... The definition of the metric system is one or two basic derivations. The initial fundamentals were a meter (symbolically m), equal in length to 1/10000000 of a meridional quadrant of Earth, and a gram, symbolically g, equal to the mass of 1/1000000 cubic metre (1 cubic centimeter, 'cc') of water (at normal atmospheric pressure and the temperature of its maximum volumic mass, i.e. close to 4°C). Such definitions were seen as ‘natural’, and certainly untainted by reference to any despised royalty A kilometer is 1000 meters. easy. How may feet in a mile? How many yards in a mile? do most people remember those numbers? They aren't inherent divisions of each other, other than 3 feet per yard. Imperial measurements were independently defined, and apparently at the behest of the intentions of european royalty. A mile was defined differently than an inch, not as a derivation of an inch, or inch being an even fraction of a mile. Why 12 inches in a foot, rather than ten? because that is how it ended up working out. Ten is much quicker to count and calculate on the fly... a meter is 100 centimeters, and a centimeter is 10 millimeters, so a millimeter is 1/1000th of a meter. Need volume, rather than length or area? convert to liters, and liters multiply and divide the same way, because they use one basis, and extrapolate from that. Weight in Grams, the same way. Most astronomical measurements and other forms of measurement developed since the 1800s have been based on a defining factor, and then extrapolated by base-10 numerics, like the metric system, and the SI system that is based on it. The only thing harder than extrapolating between different imperial measurements, is remembering the conversion factors for converting imperial measurements to metric, or vice versa. Imperial works, and people are used to it. Metric was designed to work better, by extrapolation of a single standard by factors of 10. If you talk about engines, you usually talk about metric volume measurements often enough... as most, even american engines, are measured in liters of displacement, or cubic centimeters of displacement, rather than cubic inches, anymore. How easy is it to extrapolate that a theoretical 3590cc (a number I just conjured up) engine is probably rounded up, and referred to a 3.6 liter engine? How many cubic inches would that be? (141.33 c.i., but who off the top of their head remembers the 2.54:1 ratio?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underscore Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Metrics are easy, because they are based on Base-10, except computer stuff that is either binary, or base-8, since 8 bits = 1 byte, and extrapolated further as base-8. everything is 10x, 100x, 1000x, 1/10th, 1/100th, 1/1000th, even by their prefix. deca, kilo, mega, giga, tera... milli, centi, deci,... Computers do not use base 8 because 8 bits = 1 byte. They use binary instead (base 2) since a bit only has 2 positions (unlike our regular base 10 where we use 0-9) A byte having 8 bits means it can store a value of 0 to (2^8-1) or 255, much like a 3 digit decimal number can be used for 000-999 (10^3-1) base 8 or 16 are sometimes used as a shorthand to write them but that's for people's convenience, not the computer's. But then this is way off the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 But then this is way off the topic. I think we walked so far from the topic I cant see it anymore. oh well.. the aston martin bubble looks like an angry head with wheels. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Computers do not use base 8 because 8 bits = 1 byte. They use binary instead (base 2) since a bit only has 2 positions (unlike our regular base 10 where we use 0-9) A byte having 8 bits means it can store a value of 0 to (2^8-1) or 255, much like a 3 digit decimal number can be used for 000-999 (10^3-1) base 8 or 16 are sometimes used as a shorthand to write them but that's for people's convenience, not the computer's. But then this is way off the topic. I mentioned binary. You quoted me mentioning binary. But a gigabyte being 1024 Megabytes, is not binary, it is based on the number 8, even hexadecimal is base-16, which is double base-8. It is not base-10, which is why a gigabyte is not 1000 Megabytes. It departs from the metric format by being base-8 or base-16, or other multiples of 8, rather than being multiples of 10. If it were binary, it would be a very lengthy string of ones and zeros, no '2', no '4', no digit other than one or zero. Base-8 can have any number except 9, that is divisible by 8. RAM and VRAM, Hard drives, bus widths, cache sizes, all are based on 8, and commonly doubling multiples of 8, like 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, etc... All because 8 bits = 1 byte, and everything is extrapolated from there, outward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdisco Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 ^ http://www.channel4.com/assets/programmes/images/the-big-bang-theory/sheldon/the-big-bang-theory-sheldon_412x232.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerboa113 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 great facts iwss.. but.. I think its kinda in the wrong thread. "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underscore Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I mentioned binary. You quoted me mentioning binary. But a gigabyte being 1024 Megabytes, is not binary, it is based on the number 8, even hexadecimal is base-16, which is double base-8. You mentioned binary, but you explicity said 8 was the base number used. 8 just happens to be 2^3, so any multiple of 8 will also be a multiple of 2. However, 2 is the base unit. Hexadecimal is 2^4 and is a convenient way to write groupings of 4 bits. You also said "doubling", which is multiplying everything by 2, not by 8. 16 in base 2 = 1000 (binary) = 2^4 32 in base 2 = 10000 = 2^5 64 in base 2 = 100000 = 2^6 etc. A kilobyte is actually 2^10 and a megabyte is 2^20, etc. The number of bits in a byte has nothing to do with the number of bytes we use. That would be like only counting dollars in 100s because there are 100 cents in a dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camber Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I can't wait for a the supercar/luxury model city car showdown that is sure to come. I think this Aston is a sign that it's cheaper to rebrand a city car to bring down your CAFE average, then rengineer your cars or make them so different it strays from you brand image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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