I ended up trading that Ranger in on an 06 F350: crew cab, long bed, dually rear. Went from 16mpg on the highway to about 18, though diesel does cost more, and I could just about park the ranger in the back of this big monster. Hauling capacity went way up - I’ve had 2.5 tons of cut red oak in the F350’s bed, and it…

Just fix up the Unimog with a spiffy interior, boost the top speed a bit, and it will sell well. Or get the cost down on the 6 wheel g-wagen.

Really... do you think Putin is compensating for something?

I agree that Obama’s rather weak foreign policy, combined with Putin making him look the fool over Syria, may well have led to the Russian invasion of Crimea. Doubt he would have done that if a strong leader had been in office. Sorry about that, Ukraine.

As I recall, this was an idea brought up by the Carter administration back in the 1970’s. At least as good as any of their other ideas.

It does go to show the somewhat antique thinking going on. There won’t be a WW3, certainly not any time soon. Even the intimidation factor isn’t what it might have been in the 1960’s. Russia was attacked recently by Saudi Arabia, and dealt a severe economic blow from the low oil prices.

Geez, even with an asshat driving it, the Ferrari blows smoke after one drive?

Ah, I had a Ranger, 01 FX4 with the full off road package. I loved it, terrific off road, but it wasn’t particularly good for hauling. 700-800 pounds in the back, and it started to wobble around.

F350 with diesel, and if you want style points plus killer tow capability in any weather, get the dually rear, that takes the jitters out of towing a trailer. It’s not a bone jarring ride, comfortable enough to drive every day, though parking a 23 foot long truck can be interesting. You should be able to find an 08-09…

I tend to think that Putin is going for the ‘power look’. His own country is in weak condition, especially in the economic field, his Ukranian adventure has turned into a mess, and this should provide both an image of strength and a diversion for the people back home. Syria isn’t particularly important in the grand…

That’s impressive. And the Doriner scion who pulled it out of a museum and put it back in the air is definitely a kindred spirit. There is definitely a romantic aspect to the old flying boats. Pity that only a handful remain, and almost none can be flown.

Smart move, though it should be remembered that shock testing is quite probably what led to the loss of the USS Thresher. It is believed that the shock testing damaged some water inlets, that then failed when the Thresher went on a deep dive test.

Sure, the war turns out great for you, when you’re making the video.

And state governments are trying to keep out the Tesla direct sales model, so we can do business with crooks like these instead.

E39 M5’s are already expensive. You’ll play $20k-25k for a clean one, or buy a beater for $10k and spend another $20k getting it fixed. That’s still a pretty decent deal when you consider what you’re getting. The E60 M5’s have longevity issues with the engines so they should be avoided, and they’re just plain ugly.

Actually, if you pass on the V8 model (horrid to work on) and get one of the later 4 cyl Esprits, they’re fairly reliable, quite quick, and definitely a wild driving experience. Fairly inexpensive on the current market, too. Anything between 1990 and 1995 is good - in 1990, they got a GM electrical system that solved…

Not so... ME163, XP59, N1M-N9M... look back to the 1930’s, and you find the Savoia-Marchetti S55 flying boats were flying wings with no distinct fuselage, just a thin tail on supports out the back, and passenger space in the floats. The idea wasn’t new in the 1940’s, making it big was new.

Quite a few flying wings were tried out during the 1940’s, aside from the XB35/49, and the smaller N1M-N9M developed to prove the XB35’s design. Technically speaking, the ME163 was a flying wing. Northrop’s XP56 prototype in WW2 was a flying wing. The Hortons built a number of flying wing gliders before coming up with…