hooniverse news whats your naws

What’s your news for the week?

Greg Kachadurian

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Well it was a somewhat quiet week with only the massive news regarding Audi’s stunning E-Tron GT being the week’s heavy hitter. Otherwise, it was just a shadowy teaser film for some new hybrid McLaren meant for rich people who think 20 miles of range on battery power is still acceptable in 2021 and the heartbreaking news of the Final Editions for Lotus Exige and Elise. But slow-ish news weeks are good every once in a while.

So with that I’ll turn it over to you. If you saw anything, fixed and then broke and then fixed something, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related, sound off below. And if you’re in the path of some of that wintry weather, be safe.

Have a good weekend.

[Sources: Jalopnik and Jalopnik again]

About

Greg Kachadurian

Greg Kachadurian

I’m the guy that spoiled the site with all the new car stuff. Hooniverse News Editor since 2011, amateur motorsport photographer, sim racer, and mountain road enthusiast.

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23 responses to “What’s your news for the week?”

  1. danleym Avatar
    danleym

    Wish I could easily add pictures here. I’d post some pictures of the floor and firewall in the Spirit, finished all the patches, cleaned all the factory sound deadening gunk off, and got it painted. A little bit of bondo on it now, needs sanded and seamsealed before a final coat of paint, and then I’ll be ready to put the dynamat on!

    Reply
    1. GTXcellent Avatar
      GTXcellent

      I wish you could post pics too – it’s been fun following along with your progress.

      Reply
      1. Zentropy Avatar
        Zentropy

        I agree! I’ve been enjoying this project.

        Reply
  2. GTXcellent Avatar
    GTXcellent

    I have nothing to report other than I’m actually sick of the cold temps around here. We haven’t seen a temp above -10F for a week. This morning was an actual factual -40, and tomorrow and Sunday are forecasted to be colder yet (and I’m not talking windchill here).
    I don’t care how tough you are, -40 sucks. It physically hurts to breathe. Everything breaks. What happened to my global warming?

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Our winters tend to be dipping around the freezing point thanks to the Gulf stream and continuous wet winds coming from the ocean, or England, as some people like to say, because it feels better to blame the English. Not so this year. Until today, we’ve had blue skies and ice cold weather. It is amazing, we’ve been skiing so much, I am tired of skiing before mid-February. I’m *not* behind on firewood production, which has never happened before (wet soil and 30 degree hills do not like fools with chainsaws).

      But…I finally get how people get tired of this weather, too. My home office day is spend shuttling between our fireplaces and we might run out of wood not even a month from now (firing season ends in May). The constant blue sky is a permanent “you should do something amazing”-reminder in stark contrast to the “let’s-lay-new-floors-in-the-basement”-weather we normally have. The cold is so harsh that when hiking with friends and sleeping outside, I need to rotate in front of the bonfire like a rotisserie chicken to maintain a certain non-squeeky base temperature before getting inside my most monstrous, yet barely adequate, sleeping bag. And I also got a new hobby given our hourly electricity billing and record high prices for power.
      https://i.ibb.co/Nmw5z1F/IMG-20210212-091830.jpg

      We have a weather change scheduled for tomorrow.

      tl;dr – instead of a usual positive-ball-wow-winter-response, a virtual clap on the shoulder and good luck.

      Reply
    2. gerberbaby Avatar
      gerberbaby

      I’m with ya man. I guess I’ll stop whining since I’m on the ‘warm’ side of the state. Only -15 here this am.

      Reply
  3. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Regarding the McLaren, I’d pretty much guarantee they’ve put in that battery range as a bare minimum to qualify as an EV for any cities where that’s an issue to bring it in (or to future-proof it against it).

    Reply
  4. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    It’s not as cold as in GTXellent country or Sjalabais-land but it’s 23 degrees at noon here so for Dallas it’s plenty cold. Cold enough that the cat I have the Alfa and my wife’s car on their trickle chargers but I guess that’s not uncommon so I don’t have real automotive news… but I have a (I discovered when I disconnected the hose) dripping outside faucet. So I took my garage trouble-light with the heat shield on it, put a 100 watt incandescent bulb in the light and the protected the whole thing with the cardboard box, bottom opened to allow the drip to fall free. The box was then sheathed in a trash bag. So far, it’s working great: the light is keeping the faucet above freezing, and the plastic covered box keeps my wife from seeing the light.

    Reply
    1. Neight428 Avatar
      Neight428

      Prepping for the same down 45 from y’all. Set up countermeasures for all exposed pipes. We may see single digits for the third time in my life.

      Reply
  5. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    “WTF is a Kia K900 V8?” is the question I found myself asking myself while idling behind one at a red light.

    Well, it’s a big ass RWD V8 sedan, and until this month it’s been available in the US since 2014, with total sales for all years just topping 6,000, with another 100 (one hundred) cars patrolling The Great White North.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_K9
    It’s a future classic is what the Kia K900 is! A low volume halo car from a no-longer-the-butt-of-the-joke manufacturer; one of the last of the sedans, and a RWD V8 ta boot!
    Or it could be a soul crushing money pit like Sjalabais’ Hyundai Centennial. 50/50 shot. Future-post-lottery-winning Batshitbox is definitely interested in one of these oddballs.

    For once, I’m not disappointed that we can’t post pictures, it looks for all the world like a beefy Optima; the way when you see a VW Phaeton you think, “Damn that’s a big Jetta.”

    Reply
    1. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      New to me. I had never heard of them. Who cares how it looks, its a RWD V8! Next thing you’re gonna say it was available with a manual, and then the whole car nerd internet is going to scour the US for the 17 that were sold with a manual.

      Reply
    2. Lokki Avatar
      Lokki

      “… it could be a soul crushing money pit like Sjalabais’ Hyundai Centennial.”

      Here is where I wish I could post the “Why not Both?” GIF

      Reply
    3. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I’m not going to bother going to Wikipedia to verify this, but isn’t the K900 roughly their version of the Genesis (now G80)? Should be reliable enough, although I wouldn’t want to try and find body parts for one after an accident.

      Reply
    4. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Oh boy, I’ve turned into a reference that’s also a warning. But, yes, K900 is exactly my cup of tea, and it adds to the confusion as to what the Koreans are doing.

      I never really understood how they could have so many near-luxury sedans mostly made for the domestic market. Samsung SM5 (Nissan Maxima), the recently bankcrupt Ssangyong with the Chairman (S Class), Daewoo Arcadia (Legend)/Imperial/Royale, Hyundai’s various, decades old forays into the class finally ending with really good Genesis vehicles, and then Kia with K7 and K9 recently. Especially after Kia and Hyundai became one company, with a pecking order with the “blue H” on top, I don’t understand why Kia keeps building representative cars. And exporting them to the US.

      But, yes, hooray to those who bought a K900 new, and hooray to the brave souls who will keep them running way longer than intended.

      Reply
      1. Neight428 Avatar
        Neight428

        A guy down the street from me had a black K900, replaced it with a Stinger, but he has a Telluride now. He cycles through a new Hyundai or Kia every year, as does his wife. He must work for them.

        Reply
  6. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Here’s a Studebaker Landcruiser, originally sold in Norway, with a 1997 BMW 740i engine, drivetrain, and interior…not sure if improved, or not:
    https://www.finn.no/car/used/ad.html?finnkode=204753202

    Reply
    1. gerberbaby Avatar
      gerberbaby

      Fun to ‘snoop’ into someone elses garage. with the tire in the air, is that a hoist with a car on it? How about the chevy mirror hung upside down.

      Reply
    2. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      I was okay with it until I got to the interior. I would get nauseous in there while my brain tried to rectify the Bimmer interior with the Studie outside the windows. Just transplanting the interior wholesale seems almost like a copout, like they couldn’t be bothered to customize the cabin; it looks too ready-made.
      Seller loves the Chevvies, though. The big bowtie window, the “Chevy Parking Only” sign, and the bowtie mounted on what looks to be a riding lawnmower?

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Absolutely agreed, especially given that the wood-and-mohair-interior of the Landcruiser is usually a wonderful place to be in. The brand name Chevrolet has an almost mystical meaning to some Scandinavians, representing a form of freedom that is hard to come by in our socialist paradises…driving what you want, like you want it. Even if it has an engine with the displacement of a public swimming pool, and the quality of a Soviet apple cutting machine.

        Reply
  7. gerberbaby Avatar
    gerberbaby

    Took the A5 to the dealer for the alignment. Was bracing for $500 or more if there were bent parts since it was so out of spec. Service writer printed off a coupon for me for $129. Smiled most of the way home.

    Reply
  8. Salguod Avatar
    Salguod

    So I got both of my vehicles going again last weekend.

    Turns out that looking at the brake master cylinder and seeing a lot of fluid isn’t the same as “full”. The fluid level was at the low line. Topping it off turned off the dash light. Of course, where did it go? I’ll be keeping an eye on it to make sure that it’s just brake pad wear and not a leak.

    The battery in the BMW was 7 years old, and no good. A new battery and it is good to go. Well, good to sit as we’ve had a series of small snow events and more in the forecast, so it’s not going anywhere. I should fire it up this weekend just to keep it healthy.

    Reply
  9. Neight428 Avatar
    Neight428

    So, is there a way to get an actual permanent account. I wanted to bring back Ramses.

    Reply
  10. smaglik Avatar
    smaglik

    Spent a week cleaning coolant out of the back of the x3. It turns out I could have done a better job cleaning out up, as some got into the electronics modules just aft of the rear seat. After some random beeping and dash lights, about a half can of contact cleaner and compressed air got me back in the black. All is well a couple hundred miles later, and the lesson learned here is Secondary Containment.

    On the weather stuff, this weekend is why I love AZ. It snowed in Flagstaff yesterday. We played golf in phx. Windy as hell, but 70.

    Reply