Last Call: Night Flight Edition

glass cockpit
No matter how many dials or fluorescent displays your car may have, there’s nothing cooler than a glass cockpit of a commercial plane (I think this is an Airbus A330, but correct me if I’m wrong) especially in flight.
Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day.  It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.
Image: Imgur

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  1. JayP Avatar
    JayP

    As a teen in the 80’s, Night Flight was my goto for the absurd. It’s making a comeback.
    http://nightflight.com/
    It’s where I saw Eraserhead for the first time.

    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      Oh, yeah. The movie J-Men Forever was supposedly the only movie Night Flight showed that people requested be played again. It’s the source of many still running gags among a certain group of my friends, including Honey Bunny. It’s the same schtick The L.A. Connection did with Mad Movies, but made by guys from Fire Sign Theater.
      http://madmoviesonline.com/

  2. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    This image is circling through my Norwegian social media (again?). Most people point out that the boat is rather underpowered. ..
    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d5/6f/af/d56faf4b753a91bc89f1c8cfba3ac431.jpg

    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      I’m having a hard time imagining a situation where that wouldn’t be sufficient for my needs.

    2. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      What’s the rustproofing or even just paint quality like, on the Boxster, after having salty sea water constantly dribbled on to it?

  3. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Have you guys seen this?:
    “…according to a study from Interest.com (part of Bankrate.com), the average American can no longer afford to buy an average-priced new car. The average price for a new car in these United States is now $32,086. The study looked at the median household income in the 25 largest metropolitan areas, and used a formula that assumed a 20 percent down payment, a loan of four years or less, and the overall cost, including insurance, coming out to no more than 10 percent of the gross income of the household.”
    http://jalopnik.com/new-cars-are-too-expensive-for-most-americans-1783121058
    Isn’t that depressing? I know this is more about politics and society than cars, but even when taking up a loan the average car seems unaffordable…is that because expensive cars push up the average? A basic 240 with a five speed would have cost the equivalent of 33000 2016-$ in 1990. Today, even the small V60 starts at 37000$…

    1. Wayne Moyer Avatar
      Wayne Moyer

      A) Who puts twenty percent down on a new car?
      B) Who gets a new car loan that’s less that 48 months?
      That’s like the thought that people are still putting twenty percent down on homes. So really let’s leave it up to those wonderful people at Jalopnik for being unrealistic again. Anyway if you stretch it out a normal five year loan then it’s mostly unobtainable but within reason with a trade in.

      1. gerberbaby Avatar

        thats why people take a 72 month loan and are upside down for 2 years. If they crash and total it in the first year, they’re in a world of hurt.

        1. Wayne Moyer Avatar
          Wayne Moyer

          That’s what gap insurance is for. It’s cheap and covers that very thing. It pays the difference between what is owed and what the car is worth.

      2. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        48 months is four years already. Honestly, my current Honda may be the first car to survive that long in my hands, three months to go. So what you’re suggesting as affordable would be a six year loan with no downpayment or some such thing?

      3. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
        Cool_Cadillac_Cat

        Six years ago, we put 40% down on a house….

        1. 0A5599 Avatar
          0A5599

          Not your own, hopefully.
          There was a murder scene house in our neighborhood. My old neighbor’s (not the murderer) mother in law brokered the real estate afterwards. The listing said no one was allowed inside to view, and purchase would be for teardown only. It sold fairly quickly, and was torn down.

          1. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
            Cool_Cadillac_Cat

            Nah, wholly unrelated to us, but they couldn’t sell it, easily.
            We lucked into an entire higher-end bedroom set, four sofas (one of which was surprisingly expensive when I looked it up), a large, quality, dining room set, complete with rolling bar and positively giant china cabinet, and a Yamaha organ from 1985 or ’86, even had what had to be one of the first consumer CD burners you could get. Found the receipt for it.
            Was $25K…in the mid-80s.
            Sold it for a grand. Wish I’d played, we’d have kept it.

      4. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        20% down on a car plus the other 80% financed over 4 years is roughly equivalent to five years to pay for a new car. Malaise cars might have been good until about the end of their loan (or shorter), but today’s cars tend to last 11.4 years according to something on the internet a while back. So according to the Junklopnik/Motley Fool (where the link pointed, even though they claimed it was an interest.com study) formula, if you kept the car until the wheels fell off, you would have six years of no payments after a cycle of a 4 year loan +20% down. Or, like you said, just get a longer loan.

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Is there any data on how long cars stay in the same hands? I’d assume that the average 11,4 years old car has changed hands about twice since new.

          1. CraigSu Avatar
            CraigSu

            With 2 old cars in the fleet, one at 25 years old and the youngster at 17 years old, I’m clearly skewing the data. I buy vehicles with a long-term view in mind as I simply can’t afford to be swapping out vehicles every few years. Referencing your other comment, our only debt right now is our mortgage. Even with a refinance to lower the payment we still aren’t in a position to even save for a replacement vehicle. If one of the fleet goes belly up we’ll have no choice but to take out a loan, something I really don’t want to do.
            Cash for Clunkers took an awful lot of good used cars out of the market and all that did was drive up prices in the used market due to reduced supply. Unfortunately, new car prices didn’t come down to compensate for the sudden gap.

          2. Sjalabais Avatar
            Sjalabais

            Can you still feel the impact of CfC? The effect on the used car market was fully intended, but I’d have expected a more temporary result.

          3. CraigSu Avatar
            CraigSu

            The impact of CfC was indeed temporary. It didn’t have the long-term impact that was desired because while car sales rose 50% during the period they quickly returned to normal sales rates afterward. That fact along with the $3 billion dollars allocated for the program made it a boondoggle for the United States. I guess I got on a 7-year old rant there.

    2. Rudy™ Avatar
      Rudy™

      I really feel out of it–I haven’t had a car payment in 13 years, since the last “new” car I bought is now 19 years old. Thing is, that was probably an “average” priced car back in 1997 ($20k-ish), whereas the same amount today is now $12k below average. (To put it fairly, though, a current version of my car now lists for just over $25k, and $20k in 1997 dollars is equivalent to over $28k today.) But I also believe that trucks and SUVs growing in popularity (and in features, and price–it’s known that they are large profit makers for the auto industry) have probably pushed that average up abnormally higher. That is why I’ve been looking at used cars, maybe three years old, as the models I want get much more affordable that way, and I don’t get into a leasing situation.

      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Right, I agree that this is the smart way to stay mobile, moneywise. I’ve never bought a new car myself, but we’ve also had getting debt free as our #1 priority. If I buy a new car, I’d probably prefer that to be bought with my own money; given that interest returns to “normal” levels.

        1. Alff Avatar
          Alff

          I’ve only ever bought one new car. I’ve made up for it by keeping it for 14 years, will probably have it forever. About the time I could afford to buy new, I realized I only want old.

    3. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I think it pretty much has to be expensive cars pushing up the average (and also full-size pickups – it’s very easy to spend $35k on one). If you look at just the best-selling cars in the US, it’s all mid-sized sedans and compact cars, which tend to be spec’ed in under $30k. I also wonder if leasing skews those numbers because it shifts peoples’ budgets around (perhaps not sensibly though).
      So, ultimately, you can easily get plenty of car for $25k and under, you can be pretty much guaranteed 10 years of reliable service (which is why I was comfortable taking a 7 year loan, because it was more attractive than what I could afford to pay cash for). Further more, even on the cheapest cars, you still get A/C, central locking, a wide variety of safety features – you’re not suffering by buying a cheap car (except for arbitrary stigma). Out of the total of dire economic issues, this one’s pretty low.

    4. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      The study seems to have been designed to lie using statistics.
      -Their 10% gross income limit requires an annual household income of $320,860 to afford the average $32,086 car. A household with that income is in the top 3% (per http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/income-rank/ ); if that’s the requirement, then of course practically no one can ‘afford’ a new car. (By that metric *I* can’t afford new cars. I’m such a spendthrift…)
      -They’re considering a median income, but the mean car price. Median income vs. median car price or mean income vs. mean car price would be the better comparisons.
      -I’d think a majority of new-car purchases include an old car being traded in or the buyer selling the old car separately; either way, the overall transaction cost can easily be much less than the nominal price of the car.

      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        I agree it’s a very specific setup, probably because it is close to what appears to be a reasonable investment? Anyway, a simple graphic showing how both median and average income and car prices have developed would probably be more enlightening.

      2. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        Their 10% gross income limit is supposed to be applied against annual principal, interest, and insurance, not the full purchase price. Median US household income last year was a bit over $53K, so 10% is $5300/year or about $441 per month. Insurance varies due to a lot of different factors, but let’s ballpark it at $100/month. At 48 months and 3%, it’s a $15,400 loan, after down payment, so a $19,250 car at the showroom. That won’t pay for a new Challenger, but there should be plenty of new economy cars in that range of affordability.

        1. ptschett Avatar
          ptschett

          Ah, that makes more sense; both Jalopnik’s article & their source should have thrown in a “per year” / “overall annual cost” /etc. to make the description more clear. I still couldn’t quite pull off a Hellcat but I could have afforded an SRT 392 per that.

  4. stigshift Avatar
    stigshift

    Jets. Born from Saabs.

  5. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    So I went to see this (thanks, Ryan):
    http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5631454977.html
    Well done swap, all mechanicals are fresh, chassis is rust free. A test drive later I imagine we would have been negotiating until he mentioned that he had to delete AC to fit the supercharger. Bummer. I’m too old to forego AC in a Kansas City summer.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Ah, bummer. No way to fit an aftermarket AC?

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Not really. Supercharger and plumbing take up a lot of space. Too bad, in most of the ways that matter this is a new car.

        1. cap'n fast Avatar
          cap’n fast

          seriously, some small twin aircraft are using an electric motor compressor on the a/c. you haven’t lived until you’ve opened the door on a plane that has been sitting out on the ramp for a few hours on a summer day here in denver. surely, if one can find a way to aircondition a aircraft with a 14Vdc electrical system an automobiie should present far less issues

          1. Alff Avatar
            Alff

            Maybe, but I’ve got too many projects in line ahead of it. My wife would shit a brick if car #7 is another project right off the bat.

    2. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      400 HP and it’s not even tubbed? Is in fact relying on the stock Volvo rims? Sad.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        No tubs. Stock sheet metal all around.

  6. CruisinTime Avatar
    CruisinTime

    All Aboard……