Part of the problem seems that he signed off and agreed to the judgement, whereas if he had a lawyer and told the lawyer the terms didn’t seem acceptable, they could have appealed, bought time and maybe been able to at least come to a compromise agreement that lowered the number of cars required to be sold every month…

The TT makes enough sense since it has always been offered as both coupe and roadster, regardless of sales numbers. On the surface to many buyers, the A3 and A5 cabrios were likely just too similar (despite very different underpinnings).

Penske didn’t have a 2nd full time driver, Al Jr was supposed to be the only full time driver but broke a leg at the first race and missed a couple after that.

Only a matter of time. Convertibles are not the greatest sellers, so Audi having 3 of them was a bit weird, especially since the A3 and A5 cabriolets could almost compete with eachother as far as size and looks.

Me too. Though I will say the last season of IndyCar has been putting on shows reminiscent of that era, just with cars down about 200 hp from that era.

Also, that 34 Panasonic car run by Dale Coyne was the swan song for Swift engineering’s chassis if I recall. They were the only ones running it that year, and I don’t think it even did the full season. In 99, Swift still had Newman Haas running their cars, I think Robby Gordon used one for a couple races, Patrick…

Oh! My long winded rambly post aside, I think I clearly remember this very car now (at least its number and sponsorship).

I saw it in person at the 2000 Michigan 500. It was the car that Montoya damn near rear ended, drafting Tarso Marques who was driving that 34 Panasonic car, Michael Andretti thinking he had boxed…

Getting all misty-eyed here reminiscing about 1996-2001 era CART now. Swift, Reynard, Lola, and in 1999 and earlier also Penske and Gurney/AAR as chassis constructors.

Cool as a time capsule. But if I had that kind of money to spend and *needed* a truck, I’m going modern.

Most interesting thing I can think of for this ride is to manual swap it.

What’s crazy is the dyno graph on the Ford starts 1000 RPM sooner than the chart you have for the Toyota. It gets difficult, especially with an automatic transmission, to get accurate dyno readings from such a low RPM on a dyno measuring at the wheels. The transmission computer will want to upshift before you even hit…

Price difference between gas and diesel isn’t much on the left coast. It’s always a bit jarring to see the huge difference East of the Rockies whenever I visit. Why the hell is it so much more expensive over there??

Price difference between gas and diesel isn’t much on the left coast. It’s always a bit jarring to see the huge difference East of the Rockies whenever I visit. Why the hell is it so much more expensive over there??

That may also have been more in context of a performance car rather than truck. As any old hot rodder will tell you, when selecting something like a more aggressive camshaft, it’s a compromise. What you can in peak power high in the RPM range means you will take away low end torque and drivability.

Trucks of course have their place, but it is pretty hilarious to see the crazy lifted trucks with big rims that clearly never see actual off road duty (otherwise the mods would be a lot more, er, functional). That’s just trying to get attention just as much as the kid with the big winged, slammed Civic with negative…

Also why diesel is such a popular choice on the big trucks. Huge torque and surprisingly good fuel economy. Can do low 20s easily empty and while hauling, depending on how heavy, can still see fuel economy that can rival the big gas engine option when the gasser is empty.

Not as read up on my GM products these days. I thought the 6.2 was offered in at least the 2500 HD.

I’m going to add to my reply, I like the other rules they’re adding to the package with regards to the simplified wings, and, interesting, a front wing that does NOT droop below the nose. This is a pretty radical shift in looks for F1 as the raised nose has been ubiquitous since the mid 90s—and some teams were trying…

Totally. Especially in trucks. Pushrods make for very compact V-engines. No long timing chains to worry about to drive overhead cams. 2V/cyl can make for excellent swirl properties to aid low end torque.

The last paragraph of the article sums that up nicely. For anyone who has an inkling of what’s going on from looking at the torque curve on the dyno chart, that is exactly what you want to see on an engine in a large truck that’s intending to tow or haul heavy stuff.