Off-topic thread - talk about anything

[rpiereck]

Still, even in the past, I'd never kill someone for destroying my car.

Oh, I would. At least I'd really think about it. Especially if it were a quarter of a million dollar vintage Aston Martin like Bond's.

[rpiereck]

Too bad. If I were in the market for a new small car, I might have chosen a Suzuki. If I were in India, it would be more likely. Maruti Suzuki is big in India, probably more common than Toyota. Indian made 3 series BMWs cost double the US price despite the average white collar wage being roughly 10% of the US

My mom bought a plot of land of 20 acres in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state, about two hour drive from Rio de Janeiro city. The road to the plot of land ends in about 35 km of dirt roads, and when it rains it's soapy dirt and mud. So she traded her Renault Sandero (same as the Dacia Sandero) for a Suzuki Jimny, a modern version of the old Samurai. The Sandero was front wheel drive, and while it was OK 90% of the time on those rainy days she wasn't sure if she'd make it out of there. Also with the land being of a decent size and not a single paved road around she needed a vehicle to get around there.

The Jimny is the cheapest true four wheel drive truck sold in Brazil. She also contemplated a Troller (Brazilian made foru wheel drive truck that looks just like a Jeep Wrangler), or a bare bones Jeep Wrangler. The Wrangler was dropped off the list immediately when she saw how much of a gas guzzler it is by Brazilian standards. Gas there is almost as expensive as Europe. The Troller was nice but had a diesel engine, and in Brazil diesel is more expensive than gas. So she got the Jimny.

She is very satisfied with the little truck. It has been reliable, and she says that in some whays it is more comfortable than the old Sandero. It is also better built. Although I have never owned a Suzuki I got very close to buying a Samurai years ago. I always wanted to, and hoped Suzuki would somehow bring the Jimny to the US. Unfortunately that won't happen now. And like Shazam said, the Kizashi has been getting pretty goiod reviews. There are two of them here in our base and they're good looking cars too. Oh well. I guess Suzuki owners in the US must be feeling a bit like Saab owners now.

[Dave T]

The Wrangler was dropped off the list immediately when she saw how much of a gas guzzler it is by Brazilian standards. Gas there is almost as expensive as Europe. ...and in Brazil diesel is more expensive than gas. So she got the Jimny.

If not gas or diesel, what does the Jimny use? Álcool?

Funny that that Wrangler doesn't have such an engine in Brazil. When in Rio, I thought to myself when seeing the occasional Alcool badge on cars, "that's cool, it uses alcool", which is some sort of ethanol. E85? Or E100?

EDIT: I looked it up. Alcool is hydrous ethanol (E100) and gasoline is E25. Ethanol free gasoline is not permitted though the percentage of ethanol has been allowed to be slightly lower during times of shortages. Petrobras actually prefers E25 to E20 because it has to import oil at a loss for domestic use.

[rpiereck]

Actually Petrobras only imports oil for diesel. Brazil is 100% self sufficient for gasoline. For some reason Southwest Atlantic Crude (the oil they get off shore in Rio) isn't good for refining into diesel. Because of that Brazil imports oil for diesel and kerosene, and to have a diesel engine a vehicle has to be able to carry 1 metric ton (1,000 kilos) of cargo. So generally only commercial vehicles are diesel powered. No diesel cars.

Most cars nowadays are flex fuel, so they can pump either gas or ethanol. Ethanol gives you 3-10% more power, 3-10% worse fuel mileage but it's cheaper. It's also a bitch to start an ethanol car in a cold morning.

When I lived in Brazil we still had to choose the fuel when you bought the car, gas or ethanol. Ethanol cars had a small 2-3 liter gas tank in the engine compartment for cold starts, you actually started the car with gasoline, it ran a bit rough for a while, but then switched to ethanol within 30 seconds.

My mom's Jimny is flex fuel. The Jimny is made in Brazil and cost her $24,000. The Troller is also made in Brazil but costs $43,000. The Wrangler sold there is US made with a flex fuel engine (the six cylinder engine we get in the US), and costs $65,000 for the cheapest model!

The Jimny is pretty small and not much bigger than an old school Samurai. Hard top only:


The Troller is the size of a short wheel base Wrangler, is made of fiber glass, comes with a removable hard top, and a MWM turbo diesel engine. They are one of the few Brazilian car makers that ever became successful. They look so much like a Wrangler you'd think it was one.


Troller really became famous after a helicopter from a TV news crew in São Paulo caught a Troller driver braving deep waters during Brazil's notorious yearly floods. The reporter didn't believe the vehicle was going to make it but it did. The newscast became legendary, and later the company used that footage on their TV ads.

The water crossing starts after 55 seconds into the video. The male reporter keeps saying "he has water in his engine, it's impossible that his vehicle is still moving. Also he can't see anything. The car must be amphibious!".

[Dave T]

I'm posting here because this is more of a behavioral question, not a car question about repairs.

It rains a lot in the winter. That's when I put new wipers on if they need to be changed. If they need changing in the summer, I'm not so in a hurry to change them. One thing that will cause me to change them is noise. That's the most common reason to do so.

My current wipers are quiet. However, they are starting to faintly streak. It's barely notable. Change them, don't change them, or see a psychiatrist? I'm leaning to wait for a little more streaking.

[tunnanxwd]

Regarding the wipers Dave, take a bit of ammonia on a rag and wipe them, that often takes off the surface oxidation and films on the blade.

I really don't like Rain-X on the windscreen, I find at night that it shows a haze and streaks with on-coming headlights.

Also, if you take your car through a commercial car wash, that water often has wax residues that will streak windows.

[Dave T]

I really don't like Rain-X on the windscreen, I find at night that it shows a haze and streaks with on-coming headlights.

Also, if you take your car through a commercial car wash, that water often has wax residues that will streak windows.

Thanks for the advice. Unless ANA Trollhattan or Beko Bil AB used a commercial type car wash, my car has never seen one before. I trust my hand and water more.

I used Rain-X years ago on another car and decided that I would never use it on my current Saab. However, I'm starting to rethink that for the side windows. I am concerned whether Rain-X will cause even more, but smaller, beads of water on the side. I don't want to use it on the front or rear. With the rear, I don't know if there is enough air flow to push off the water beads.

[Dave T]

I rarely see road rage. However, it was directed at me today....by a driver of a 2003-2007 Saab 9-3! The woman or long haired man rolled down his window and screamed at me. Why?


He/she/it was behind me at a stoplight and got impatient when I shifted too slowly from first to second. I think they were following too closely and have an automatic. I took a picture of their car later.

Usually Saab drivers wave, not curse.

[Dave T]

Saw an ad...1986 Saab 900S 2 door. All or parts. Not running. Been sitting 9 years, but ran when parked. New clutch and starter, has not even been driven yet. Straight body, bad interior ( Headliner and moisture). Excellent parts car, clear title. Sending to scrap soon. Call Louis at

There weren't too many c900 2 doors in the US, many more 3 doors. The car is in sad shape cosmetically. The paint is peeling, some turn signal lens broken, there is moss on the car.

1986 saab 900 s

[rpiereck]

These 2 door cars make the best race cars as that body is the stiffest of all C900s, flexes a lot less than the 3 door. I believe all factory C900 rally cars had that body for this same reason.