If you take inflation into account, then most cars really are about the same price as they were back in the 80's and 90's for a similar trim level. On top of that, you’re getting much more car for your money now. What you don’t see much anymore are the stripper models that cheap as dirt.

There were a variety of reasons for doing this on different cars. Since the picture is of the rear axle and it has a leaf spring across the top acting as a suspension member, I would guess the reason would be to get close to zero camber when under a normal load. Small utility trailers do the same thing where the axles…

The path on the forward side of the sail is longer than the path on the back side of the sail. Conservation of mass says that velocity must increase over the front side. Since there is a velocity differential between the air on the front and the air on the back, there is a pressure differential as well resulting from …

I still drive one of those from time to time. My department has a ‘92 Nissan Hardbody for a mill truck. It was purchased because it was the absolute cheapest new truck that could be found. No radio, no A/C, no power steering, no ABS, no passenger mirror... After 25 years and 42,000 miles of people beating on it, it…

That’s assuming that the entire bridge expands uniformly. My guess is that the bigger issue here was differential expansion of the bridge sections. On a nice warm day like that the side in the shade will be ambient temp, but the side in the sun can easily be 130F or more. A back of the envelope calculation is about 1…

A properly designed weld will be stronger than the base metal that it is attaching because it is designed to be. Structural steel is guaranteed to have a certain minimum strength, but the strength of a weld can vary due to porosity, micro cracking, etc. So you typically size your structural member and then design…

It could also be a dual fuel spark ignition engine instead of a two stroke diesel. These were pretty common for early farm tractors up through the 1920's when gasoline wasn’t as ubiquitous. They would run gasoline just the get the motor running and warm, and then switch to kerosene.

Exactly this. All tariffs tend to do is prop up high cost producers at the expense of consumer. The US is a higher cost producer, so we are always going to have a tough time in commodity markets such as steel and aluminum. If we really want to balance trade out in a way that is best for everyone (China included), we…

Both of the switches operate air shifters which are designed not to produce a lot of force. As long as he is still in the throttle and the transmission is loaded up the air shifter isn’t able to overcome that friction. Once he lets off the throttle and the gears are unloaded, then the range box is moved to the new…

I was thinking of a system that worked like the Pythagorean Cup. You would have a positive displacement pump discharging into a standpipe. The standpipe would have a pressure switch that would turn on an electric light once the level reached a certain point. A tube in the shape of an inverted U would then siphon all…

Fermenting releases CO2 as a byproduct. In a confined area, this can displace oxygen. Low oxygen level can lead to feeling dizzy and passing out.

I’m with you. This car is worth $1200 max. That’s only because you could part out the engine and trans for $800-$1000, and get $200 scrap out of the rest.

That’s where I’m at on it. Slap a set of “Farm Use” tags on it and you have a more useful UTV that you can actually drive on the roads for 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

The country was treasonous for separating from Britain. Those leading the revolution knew that if they lost they would most likely be hanged. As for the south, what specific rights were violated that caused them to secede? IIRC, the first seven states to secede did so simply as a response to Lincoln being elected and…

Okay...I’m not sure I get your point. That there’s a CO2 balance? Yes, you are right about that. But you were saying that water vapor must be going above natural levels as well and that it didn’t make sense why CO2 emissions are being scrutinized but not H2O. I was just pointing out that H2O concentrations can’t…

Yep, Just behind the UK IIRC. And something along the lines of higher than the combined GDP of the bottom 25 US states.

The difference between water vapor and CO2 is that once relative humidity is above 100% any excess water vapor returns to surface water through rain, dew, etc. So there can only be so much water vapor that ever accumulates in the atmosphere. Unlike CO2, which at the temperatures and concentrations present, will…

From working at plants that have had both coal and gas fires boilers, I can tell you for a fact that natural gas is much much cleaner and easier to use. The air emissions are usually easy enough to control, though more expensive and requiring more equipment. It’s the ash that is harder to deal with lately since states…

While that can be the case, I think the pay issue it is more of a generalization. I’m in manufacturing in Virginia and have worked in union and non-union facilities. The non-union facility that I work at now pays hourly workers ~10% more with better benefits than the union plant. Both companies produce similar…

It may be difference in Australia, but co-worker used to have one for his son. It was pretty much a spec series as far as the cars went. Started out at ~10 HP when he was young and finally finished at ~50 HP when he was 15 or so. As he progressed he could get higher license classes and up the power on the car, but…