Lithium, no, but the issue isn’t the metals of the currently dominant chemistry running out, so much as the environmental (and political) extraction cost. The cathodes also use metals, like cobalt and nickel, but solid state batteries would ditch those as well as making longer lasting, more durable lithium batteries…

I think I know why I couldn’t quite remember if the doors on the EA81 cars had the telltale: I taped off the contacts for the door open plunger switches to shut up the open door chimes and to make sure the dome lights only came on when I manually switched them on.

I don’t know about a legend, but most people loved the animal noises.

ICE can’t substantially change its footprint, electric can and it can create a lot of wealth in doing so. Clean lithium extraction combined with onsite energy production:

https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2020-05/geothermal-lithium-recovery-projects-get-boost-california-energy-commission

Morons don’t understand that maybe people won’t buy an electric until there’s an infrastructure. Cars didn’t take off, either, until fuel was available outside a local apothecary’s meager stock and they weren’t expected to be the practical appliances they are now. But, that’s FB. 

Not having kids at all is the best thing one can do for the environment. And I still care about the environmental future (but for the animals’ sake).

The other issue with too small a battery for practicality isn’t just the range limitations, but the long term life span. This type of battery prefers a less than 100% charge and charging to less than 100% increases the number of charge/discharge cycles the battery can achieve with the sweet spot between usability and…

I had a PA system in my car in HS and sometimes used it to remind the absent-minded. Not in a rude way, though.

My 1990 Legacy said which door and my memory is fuzzy, but I think the ‘83/4 GLs did, too. They definitely had an overhead diagram of the car that lit up parts, so I’m going to guess it did. Of course, I’d rather have any of those with modern headlights and better rust protection than whatever they’ve been building…

Poor thing. I like these cars, but this is a definite “buy the best you can afford” and if you can’t afford a better one, you definitely can’t afford this one. Color’s terrible, too, but I suppose someone stubborn enough to think they could make out on this could change that when they repaint it.

Some performance cars came with spoilers on the wiper arms to better hold them to the windshield at higher speeds. I think it was a Diablo owner that I talked to who said the little CF ones on his worked well. I’m not sure how much this Maserati solution would help the wipers themselves, but maybe they were intended…

They were doing it earlier, even. Wasn’t anything really different than a park position that pulled the wipers below the normal bottom of their range while in operation.

Missed a date on a cell site build out due to shady people trying shady shit, but it ended up fine after said shady person convinced the company we were delayed due to a “territorial” hawk swooping at us while we were trying to work. He used a photo I had taken of a hawk that was watching pigeons while perched on the f…

My ST had the same problem with the wheel. Seemed like the leather was crumbling apart and shedding its outer layer (even though it’s only shitty top grain to begin with), but it turned out to be just whatever they used for a finish. I scrubbed it with rubbing alcohol and that took all the sticky, torn-looking crud…

This is a good point. I wonder if being largely known as the builder of the Miata actually hurts in terms of them not being associated with regular vehicles. Also, it might be an issue of a demographics mismatch for the competitive markets—people buying practical cars in the lower end aren’t as concerned with driving…

As disappointed as I was with my Mazda3 and uninspired by their current pricing and spec choices to buy another, they definitely seem and look higher-end than the default choice competitors and I respect their more individual engineering choices over, say, Toyota whose sometimes overstated reliability reputation…

My father drove an Opel GT off a highway into a tree at probably about 100 mph. It wasn’t the safety of the car, it was damn dumb luck he survived by not wearing his seatbelt so that he ended up in the passenger footwell when the engine and transmission took the driver’s seat and he was found by a bear hunter(!)…

Then the losers who throw their lives away for it are even more weak and useless than I gave them credit for.

It makes sense as it’s the most or at least one of the most common form factors for this battery type—opens up sourcing options, helps logistics, allows for variability in application when they build their own batteries, and I think the smaller individual cell size allows the BMS to work to a much more accurate degree…

Denial is a sign of addiction. Cue said losers with: “Duh, you can’t get addicted to marijuana!” only proving the point.