What did you do today non-detailing related?

DFB said:
The was a Autoliine After Hours that had Bob Lutz as a guest. Much was spoken about the Aztek and the path it took to the production line. To shorten a long story, the Aztek was what is called a "committee car", one that was ruled by too many competing committees within the company. The result was a product as confused as the people who created it.
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I saw that show with Bob Lutz, and I don't remember any discussion of the Aztec. Unless he was on more than once.
 
DFB said:
I once authored a series on the ugliest cars in the world, that hideous Murano was front and center along with several others.





I could at this point post a number of images showing various US designed vehicles (sorry US residents), but I would rather present a vehicle from a car company who should never have done this vehicle in the first place..........................







The 5-Series GT, along with the X6, are where BMW went wrong in my opinion. Neither vehicle had a reason for being, and the 5 GT was the most contentious due to that horrible rear end styling. But then you need to consider the utter pointlessness of the 5 GT, it was no more practical than a 5 Series Wagon, let alone an X5. So, what you got was an ugly, misshapen mashup of a 5 Series Sedan and Wagon. It served no purpose. Of course, many such pointless models have been spored by BMW, some ugly (2 Series GT, X4) some contradictory (4-Series GC).
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BMW is still style challenged. I don't know why they would have signed off on this. Maybe it's popular in China.
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Setec Astronomy said:
I saw that show with Bob Lutz, and I don't remember any discussion of the Aztec. Unless he was on more than once.
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He has been on it many times, the episode I'm referring to was aired more than a decade ago.
 
Big Dave said:
BMW is still style challenged. I don't know why they would have signed off on this. Maybe it's popular in China.
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Apparently the 5 GT was a hit in China, I think it got a second generation there.
 
Deyon, that BMW GT is truely a disaster

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DFB said:
He has been on it many times, the episode I'm referring to was aired more than a decade ago.
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I haven't watched anything on Autoline for at least a couple of years, I didn't realize he was on so many times. I really liked the show where they had the guy who reverse-engineered cars by taking them apart and figuring out how much they cost, etc., to generate a report that could be used by competitors. He was talking about a Tesla, possibly the Model 3, and talking about the split personality of the car, how parts of it were fighter-plane sophisticated, and some parts were so bad he couldn't figure out why they couldn't/wouldn't do a better job. Maybe that matches the personality of the CEO.

Anyway, that Autoline after-hours is a great show for car people, if people haven't seen it they should look it up.
 
While we're on the ugly/bad styling topic, how about Acura/Honda with the beaks, I'm not sure they've even recovered from that now. Also back in that time Audi did some really ugly-looking giant grille noses.
 
I installed the lower grill area mesh to match the upper. Being fully open didn't look nearly as good, and it left the cooling system more exposed to fin damage from road debris.

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TTQ B4U said:
I installed the lower grill area mesh to match the upper. Being fully open didn't look nearly as good, and it left the cooling system more exposed to fin damage from road debris.
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So is that an aftermarket piece you installed?
 
I made a similar grille for my Accord way back when I got it for a similar reason. It's still hanging in there today.
 
I only did it once in my life. I don't want to have to make it a habit on other cars I will own
 
TTQ B4U said:
Yes and no. The sides are but I had to buy extra and fabricate the center portion.
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Huh? What? How many pieces are in there? It looks like just 1.

TTQ B4U said:
I did my accord a while back. Not as nice but keeps the intercooler safe.
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Accord? Intercooler? I must be out of the loop. I don't recall even the (old?) NSX having a turbo, now you seem to be telling me Accords do.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Huh? What? How many pieces are in there? It looks like just 1.

It's actually 4. Does look like a single piece. It's not "perfect" but close. I did all the cuts with a dremel tool and thin cutting wheel then sanded and polished the edges.



Accord? Intercooler? I must be out of the loop. I don't recall even the (old?) NSX having a turbo, now you seem to be telling me Accords do.
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Yep. Mine's the 2.0T Touring. They also have a 1.5l turbo.
 
TTQ B4U said:
It's actually 4. Does look like a single piece. It's not "perfect" but close. I did all the cuts with a dremel tool and thin cutting wheel then sanded and polished the edges.
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Really excellent work.

TTQ B4U said:
Yep. Mine's the 2.0T Touring. They also have a 1.5l turbo.
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I know Hyundai went the turbo four route back in 2011 with the Sonata to keep from having to size the engine bay for a six, but as I said...I've been out of the loop. So been about 40 years since Ford tried to do it in the Mustang and Chrysler stopped making larger engines after they went bankrupt, so I guess it's about time they finally got this smaller-engine-with-a-turbo thing right and mainstreamed.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I haven't watched anything on Autoline for at least a couple of years, I didn't realize he was on so many times. I really liked the show where they had the guy who reverse-engineered cars by taking them apart and figuring out how much they cost, etc., to generate a report that could be used by competitors. He was talking about a Tesla, possibly the Model 3, and talking about the split personality of the car, how parts of it were fighter-plane sophisticated, and some parts were so bad he couldn't figure out why they couldn't/wouldn't do a better job. Maybe that matches the personality of the CEO.

Anyway, that Autoline after-hours is a great show for car people, if people haven't seen it they should look it up.
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I used to listen to it as a podcast while I worked. The earlier episodes with Peter DeLorenzo were the best, he could cut through the bull with ease.

Autoline Network - YouTube

As you say, if you are into cars, this program provides such great insight into how car companies work behind the scenes. In many cases, the show helped me understand why certain decisions were made, and how that translates to the production line, and then the customer.
 
I used to watch it back when it was called Autoline Detroit, then they dropped the Detroit part and when it went full EV talk I was out.

I like John McElroy alot, he drives a Fiesta ST

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Klasse Act said:
I used to watch it back when it was called Autoline Detroit, then they dropped the Detroit part and when it went full EV talk I was out.

I like John McElroy alot, he drives a Fiesta ST

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Yeah, there was a point where every episode was talking about autonomies vehicles and electric propulsion, both I have no interest in, so I sort of drifted away from the program.
 
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