ucscsades

So apparently pictures and specs of the new C class were released yesterday..see link- http://www.carenthusiast.com/news.html?mod...cle&id=1704 Following the style of the current S Class a lot, but I think it looks pretty horrible...well the avant gardes look pretty nice, but the classic styling package looks really boring I think. Especially the back lights! But should be interesting to see it in the flesh within a few months, the current C has been around for way too long!

I'm guessing this is the same one that people were talking about on here a few weeks ago, right??

GDP per capita or Total GDP?? If it's total GDP, damn..that's a great stat and its sad that we've slipped so far down the ladder (our per capita GDP is obviously much higher than that of India). Speaking of development, a few weeks ago while I was in SL I saw a news article saying that Sri Lanka is now classified by the World Bank (and hence many other governments/organizations who rely on their rankings) as a Lower Middle Income Country (up from being a Low Income Country). This is absolutely horrible for the country I think! Just because AVERAGE income per capita in Sri Lanka was bumped over the World Bank's threshold for classifying a country as an LIC it now means that we'll be a far less likely candidate to recieve foreign aid, and whatever aid we do recieve will be on harsher terms. Is there any real solution to the problem in Sri Lanka?? The war needs to end (I think it's doable, but there are too many people benefiting from it who don't want it to end..either that, or they just don't care), the political system needs to be dealt with (I totally agree that we do have higher levels of freedom though than Singapore, etc.), and this whole corrupt culture where there are so many people trying to rip others off needs to be taken care of. But to be honest it sounds like a horribly difficult thing to do! Many economists say that corruption is usually a result of poverty, and it may be true in most cases...but while there are lower level workers in Sri Lanka accepting (or rather demanding) bribes etc (the police, anyone??), it seems like the people at the top (who obviously aren't being corrupt because they're poor) are the main cause of the problem...and stopping them will be a LOT harder. Hypocritical politicians obviously won't do anything about putting an end to corruption, does anybody else have the power? Will anything short of a coup or a mass overthrowing of all people in power really do anything??

nice pics..thanks! the front of the car has potential to look a lot better i think, it doesn't look too bad..i think its the shape of the top of the bumper that kills it. and...i don't really know how practical the dashboard layout is! for one thing, they've moved the gear level from right next to the steering column in the old model (which i really like), to right in front of the AC controls...from the angle of the picture of the dash, it doesn't really look like the AC display, or half the control buttons are accessible when the car is in "P"! but i agree, it is a very spacious car. even the last generation is a lot bigger than its competition i think (which is mainly why we bought one as opposed to a RAV4, santa fe, or anything else in that market segment in SL..) and this seems to be even bigger.

Yeah, the tesla does seem like a pretty cool car. I mentioned something about electric cars on another thread a few days ago. You guys should watch the documentary "Who killed the electric car?". I highly recommend it (for what my word is worth!)...it talks about the history of electric cars, how they became popular in the 90's (with the saturn ev1, toyota rav4, etc..), and how they were suddenly killed off. With gasoline becoming more expensive, and hydrogen still being barely anything more than a pipedream, its quite sad that electric cars were taken off the market (mainly due to corruption). Being a car fan I don't know how enjoyable a car with a constant level of torque at all "rev" levels, an even power band, and not having a traditional transmission would be...but they were still doing some great work with electric cars and I think they should've continued them, and let the consumers choose whether they want to buy gasoline powered or electric cars instead of taking away the choice from them. IMO, the competition would only have made both types of cars better if they had to compete with each other for market share.

ditto! is that a one-off modification that somebody did, or an actual production version of the 156??

Actually GM (or any other american brand) can have economical vehicles..in the traditional sense. There's this thing called CAFE standards (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) that car companies need to follow, which says that car companies need to have cars that do an average of something like 25mpg on their model lineups. So in order for a company to be able to offer an elephant that does 5mpg they would have to offer a few economical vehicles that do more than 25mpg too on average to balance it out. This is probably the main reason companies like Chevy offer cars like the Aveo in the US. People may hate them (Actually the new aveo isn't supposed to be too bad), and nobody still buys them, but they still help the companies stay legal. Don't get me wrong, I HATE most american cars with a passion, but they are atleast trying to become more fuel efficient..probably not through free will, but only because of some stupid law..but atleast they're doing it! There are quite a few hybrids coming out in the US these days too from companies other than Honda and Toyota. On a different note, you guys should watch the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car". Probably less aggravating if you don't live in the US, but still a great movie documenting how corrupt politicians, oil companies, and even car manufactures (like Toyota) can be.

I've been seeing a few around the US over the last few weeks, and it seems like a great vehicle..glad its available in SL too. Must cost three arms and a leg brand new though?? Shares a lot with the new Acura RDX too I believe.

yeah, sort of. I believe Honda owns Isuzu, or atleast used to....the main difference was that all the Isuzus are diesel and the Hondas are petrol. Atleast thats the main difference I've noticed, and I've never seen a diesel honda...or a petrol isuzu for that matter.

yup..just what i was about to say. I haven't seen any of those cars in the US except for the Aveo...I guess even that is made somewhere in Asia with the rest of those rebadged things since its a small car. I guess it would be nicer news if they actually started selling vettes and stuff here..but then again, it would probably end up being really expensie too given that they have HUMONGOUS engine capacities..thereby taking away the one of the only advantages they have in other markets ($$ to power ratio).

yeah fuzzo, that's what i'm guessing too. the thing should be able to run in english as well..so perhaps after a whole maze of menus it probably can be changed, BUT given that I don't have a clue what any of these things say, its not something i've been able to figure out yet. Your plan of finding someone who speaks japanese probably is the best bet...so that's my mission now! And Nexgen, I don't think a manual from a US market CR-V will work. I'm pretty sure the navigation system on the one sold over there is pretty different. Actually, I don't think I've even seen a CR-V with a navigation system there. I'm sure its available, just that I've never paid attention....but still, I'm almost certain the unit would be different!

Hi guys, There are all these japanese cars around Sri Lanka with navigation/stereo units that have controls mainly listed in Japanese. Anybody by any chance know of any sites, or any sources, that would help me decipher what these buttons and menus mean, and how to navigate through/use any of the other options on a navigation unit apart from the basic radio and CD player controls?? Specifically I'm talking about a 2001 onwards Honda CR-V (so not the absolute newest CR-V, but the second generation) navigation unit here...hopefully someone can shed some light on this topic, even if they have any advice for other car brands as I'm assuming this is a topic that may be of use to other members on this forum with different cars! Cheers, S

Are you just curious, or shopping for yourself, Dillon? If you're still in Canada you should probably check ebay or something like that...I recently bought a 1gig Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo for something like $10 ($18 with shipping)..there are deals on there sometimes that even Sri Lanka can't match!

uhm..I don't think that's a meet, its 2 of GTAm's 4 alfas I'm guessing!

Wow, really nice car! Looks amazing. Good to have an Alfa enthusiast here! as for alfas in sri lanka, there aren't that many...well quite a few of the newer, more common models, but nothing rare that I've seen. I think there are a few other members in here who live in sri lanka and are much more into their alfas, so i'll let them comment on your question!

yup, damn looks like that car took quite a hit, and amazing how effective that armouring was! the passenger compartment looks completely intact. what the hell is that hose thats hanging out running from the grille to under the front bumper?? some kind of beading?

already seen the shelby 500 too..just replied about it on your other thread with a link to a video. again, raw power wise, pretty damn good..and yes, it looks amazing too i'd have to agree. buttt...i still don't think they've done enough to stiffen the ride, and make it a better handling car.

yup, pretty decent. again, fifth gear did a bit on it a few weeks ago..check it out- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYultfMHT3Y

uhm..the GTO may be "raw power" as you put it, but it's far from "classic american"..its just a holden monaro with a pontiac badge stuck on it...(it's also sold in the UK as the vauxhaul monaro..its being discontinued i hear, but the VXR is pretty decent, 5th gear recently did a bit on the newest and last version of it). i'm not a fan of these american car manufacturers trying to revive their old name by finding some random car and sticking a legendary name on it and hoping that nobody would notice..so i don't have much respect for the current GTO! it definitely is powerful, but i don't know how good it is around the corners, given that its a very heavy car, and american manufacturers are not really well known for their attention to suspension tuning! i'm guessing the M6 wouldn't have much trouble beating a stock GTO...especially if its on the 500hp mode!

by "newer ones" are you implying the one that was just released, or models from a few years ago? i think Jey races in a E46 M3 coupe?i don't know of any other e46 coupes on the roads.. and i think there were a couple of E36 coupes as well (i'm not sure about that)..but I've never seen an E30 coupe in sri lanka though..

speaking of STis, have you guys seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGTo__qLHpE looks pretty crazy!

lol, that would suck! that's an interesting under-carraige..totally all about aerodynamics i guess with the fins and everything.

uhm..this was on fifth gear recently. the video is on youtube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SRN_t8QFk oops..sorry, didn't realize that picture was an actual link to the youtube video:)

lol..that's amazing. looks like a gaudy bedframe! i saw something totally hilarious yesterday, but didn't have a camera on me....it was a beautiful day on this road by the beach...lots of cars stuck in traffic..and there was this guy crossing the street, with cars backed up to let him cross..and he was walking a pig...a huge pig, on a leasch like a dog or something. it just felt very odd in california!

Hey, nice car first of all. Not a manual, true..but they're harder and harder to find these days, so this is definitely not a bad option at all I'd say. But I have a question about CVT gearboxes...I thought they used a pulley system and didn't have "gears" per se...so are the 6 gears in your car just synthetically assigned numbers for speed & rev levels, or is there an actual gear of some sort for each number? ...I'm assuming CVT in these primeras does stand for the traditional Continuously Variable Transmission?..or does it stand for something else, and this is a 6 speed gear box?