Search found 217 matches

by j_ortiz
Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:56 pm
Forum: New Member Introductions
Topic: Hello a Newbie Here.
Replies: 25
Views: 4923

Re: Hello a Newbie Here.

White is an excellent color for a hot climate - I just haven't had luck with my 2 Toyotas - had to settle for blue & champagne. And the white color (in theory it is not a color) looks spiffy in a 911. The Island of Uphill Starts has plenty of opportunities for driving a car like that in the moun...
by j_ortiz
Thu May 21, 2009 9:57 pm
Forum: Manuals in the News
Topic: the cars that killed chrysler...
Replies: 35
Views: 6879

Re: the cars that killed chrysler...

And Chrysler, not the best in reliability, teams with the most UNreliable automaker-ever... FIAT! The sole reason why Italy's Fiats left the USA, in the early 80s, was their horrible reliability record... these cars, though elegant and well designed stylewise were, mechanically, veritable pieces of ...
by j_ortiz
Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:16 pm
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: How many miles have you logged overall?
Replies: 59
Views: 4298

Re: How many miles have you logged overall?

I have been driving cars for nearly 37 years. Of these, 985,000 miles (1,575,000 km) in six different manuals (including occasional loaners and even one rented car). Another 230,000 miles (370,000 km) in automatics, one my property, another later converted to stick, and several autoboxes owned by my...
by j_ortiz
Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:02 pm
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: Logos quiz
Replies: 28
Views: 2867

Re: Logos quiz

46/50 and could have been 47 if I didn't move my hand abruptly during the Lexus question, I marked there something else. Only some confusion with the "T" logos, though I did get TATA right - I've been researching on their Nano minicar. :) Not bad when you've owned seven cars in your lifeti...
by j_ortiz
Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:59 am
Forum: New Member Introductions
Topic: Trinidadian Here
Replies: 30
Views: 6583

Re: Trinidadian Here

Welcome from a fellow Caribbean driver! :mrgreen:

I do know that T&T is quite mountainous... should be a great place to shift, just like in Puerto Rico's countryside! (Only that we move on the right side of the road, unlike you folks...)
by j_ortiz
Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:23 am
Forum: Reviews
Topic: Toyota ECHO Coupé 2005 - base version, a/c, MANUAL
Replies: 1
Views: 1009

Toyota ECHO Coupé 2005 - base version, a/c, MANUAL

TOYOTA ECHO COUPE 2005 BASE VERSION A/C MANUAL 1.5 litre 4-cylinder VVTI fuel-injected engine, 5 speed synchronized manual transmission, 2 doors. Options: 1-cd player/radio, air conditioning Mechanical components: Drivetrain: 5/5 (see details below) Brakes, steering and suspension: 4/5 - some fade ...
by j_ortiz
Sat Apr 04, 2009 6:04 pm
Forum: Manuals in the News
Topic: Driving Skills Quiz
Replies: 88
Views: 17358

Re: Driving Skills Quiz

I took it today with 95% (1 of 20 questions wrong). I don't understand why should I keep my wheels straight when stopped and waiting for a left turn, at least if I am first in line to do so... ;( The other thing is yellow lights... I do know that the expected behavior and what is generally written i...
by j_ortiz
Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:12 pm
Forum: Manual Driving Tips
Topic: Stalling on very steep hills in Greece
Replies: 9
Views: 1639

Re: Stalling on very steep hills in Greece

(...) On a drive across Crete, there were a lot of hills closer to the end of our journey, and on one of those hills, I felt the car chugging and being used to an automatic I did what any other automatic driver would do, I just added more gas. Unfortunately, this was the wrong thing to do and the c...
by j_ortiz
Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:45 am
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: Mother races a train - with four children in the car.
Replies: 27
Views: 3988

The "official" story as told by the Chicago Tribune Mother dies after 2 kids killed in mini-van, train collision Video caught woman trying to race a freight train at a Hammond (IN) railroad crossing Her two daughters died almost instantly, but the mother who tried to race a freight train i...
by j_ortiz
Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:10 am
Forum: New Member Introductions
Topic: A new manual driver from the other side of the world.
Replies: 5
Views: 1611

Dear Egyptian lady - I second jomo's suggestion, but I add that eventually there will be a time when you will be sufficiently confident to start uphill on moderate upgrades without using the handbrake. In really hilly places like where I live (Puerto Rico), one finally gets the point where you can b...
by j_ortiz
Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:31 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Future of the Manual transmission
Replies: 23
Views: 3365

I predict a shift (pun intended) to ways of living - such as telecommuting in a larger scale and denser settlements efficiently servable by public transport - that will make self-driving less common, or at least more of a recreational activity. This should take off pressure on demand for oil to the ...
by j_ortiz
Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:17 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: So, what air freshener do ya rock?!
Replies: 28
Views: 2638

My best lady friend uses a "Forest" freshener on her Explorer... she has about a dozen pine-tree fresheners hanging from her rear-view mirror!!! :D (I have none...)

Jorge
by j_ortiz
Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:10 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Longest lasting clutch?
Replies: 14
Views: 2419

My Tercel's first factory clutch lasted 246 thousand miles, and when removed it only slipped slightly, it still could hold speed quite well. In fact, it outlasted the car's 5th gear synchros - I could only drive it for the lower 4 gears since 185 K miles.

Jorge
by j_ortiz
Sat Sep 15, 2007 11:22 pm
Forum: International
Topic: Quality of roads
Replies: 23
Views: 10825

Tropical heat and rain take their toll on asphalt. We have the same bad road problem in Puerto Rico which is at a latitude - though in the northern hemisphere - comparable to the Townsville-Cairns area of North-Central Queensland.
by j_ortiz
Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:29 pm
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Blasted for having a stick?
Replies: 58
Views: 6545

Blasted for having/driving a stick? No! Rather blasted (financially) for NOT having a stick ... in 1993 my slushbox Colt Vista MPV at 63K miles just past warranty busted its - of all things - transmission ... $1450 repair... and to boot, badly made, I had to go to another mechanic and fix it again!!...