7shades

Because, dear Lesley... WE (the enthusiasts) are the minority. THEY (the sheeple) want trendy little appliances with wheels. THEY keep the company profitable, WE want a sports car that costs more to produce, but we don't want to pay that much for it.

Now here comes the fun bit... The interior. To say its dirty would be an understatement of the highest magnitude. Rip it all out. All of it. Seats, trims, carpet, console, everything. Line everything up, give it a quick spray with some hardcore detergent, then get jiggy with the gerni again. It really is the only way to really get things clean again once they've gone this far. Here you can see the difference. Now while you leave your interior to bake for a day or two in the sun, turn your attention back to the exterior. Soak the entire car in Uncle Shady's patented crap dissolver. (mix equal parts cleaners and solvents, with a dash of William Shatner awesomeness) More pics tomorrow, when I move onto the actual hard part.

The subject of this thread could also be: "How to make a reasonably decent amount of money for very little time and effort". Firstly, find yourself a neglected (but not abused) ZZE122. This one came from a guy who lived in the rainforest and considers his car more of an appliance than a precious chariot of freedom or object of worship... Which is fine. It had never been washed, polished, or vacuumed. Ever. Thats 8 years worth of crap, mould, and other contaminants. I purchased as is where is for $3000. Gerni that shit. All of it. Everywhere. Engine bay. NEVER been degreased... But had been semi-regularly serviced. Don't be shy with the degreaser... And gerni that shit too. In this case need a few repeat performances to get all the nasty off. Much better. More coming.

Jokes aside though its more than likely the horn itself is kaput. They do that. Apply a direct connection to the tabs on the horn and see if it makes a pathetic noise or nothing at all. If it works though, the problem may be the horn relay, the fuse (not likely, because everything else on that circuit is working) the clockspring behind the steering wheel, or the buttons on the wheel itself.

Heh... Funny you mention that. I showed it (and the bB) to my mother in law, and she said she quite likes it. (She preferred the bB though) In saying that though, she wasn't so much wowed by the [sic] funky styling, but more so the clever packaging and use of space. She liked the apparent roominess of the interior, comparatively big boot and all the little cubbyholes to put stuff. So in addition to the urban trendsetter types, there's another demographic it appeals to... The 'second car buyer' (read: your mum) who would ordinarily buy a Yaris but likes that fact that you can shove a bit more stuff into the Rukus. God that's a shithouse name though. Rukus. First mod: Debadging. Second mod: Big wheels ;)

http://vimeo.com/11384488

I picked up a zze122 the other week from a guy that lived in the rainforest. It had 'things' living in it. Ordinarily I don't mind so much, but the thing about things that live in rainforests is that 90% of them will probably kill you. As my other half was driving it home, a large arachnid apparently popped its head out of the a/c vents to say hello. Needless to say I let off 3 bug bombs inside the car as soon as we got back. I f*cken hate spiders. To quote the wise and insightful Mjr. Payne:

What do you need a horn for anyway... Just chuck a bullbar on it. ;) No luck with the towbar btw... Must be on its way to becoming a Greatwall ute with all the other scrap steel I sent to metalcorp.

Except that they started the trend over a decade ago with the Toyota/Scion bB (and Nissan cube)... We're just a bit slow to catch on over here. The 'risk' is offering it for sale in a Market like Australia, which is not exactly overflowing with the 'Inner-city dwelling funky hipster' type that cars like these are supposed to appeal to.

Hilarious isn't it. The rough translation is "The car had an unexpected battery problem, it worked fine every other time" Which is all well and good, but you only need to have ONE 'unexpected battery problem' in a situation where you actually WANT the system to work, and well shit you've just dry humped another car's arse. Or maybe, JUST F*CKING MAYBE, you don't rely on the car to think for you, pay attention, and drive the goddamn thing yourself.

Like I said in the other thread... Whilst it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I reckon it will sell like hotcakes. This is a good thing. Toyota are *gasp* TAKING A RISK OMGWTFBBQ If it does well, they'll take more risks... And eventually one of those risks will be a car you'll actually want to buy. Mark X anyone? ;)

Aaaah HKS Mushroom of Death. The foam degrades and causes sweet merry hell with your intake. Avoid. Also, this particular one attracts the ghey aidz

Diesel works well.

Yes it is indeed that particularly unremarkable shade of horrid metallic green. Seafoam green I think its called. I think it would look fantastic in a nice light metallic silver... The bodywork really is flawlessly straight.

If anyone is interested in discovering just how bad lack of proper grammar can be... Nip on over to trademe.co.nz and browse the car parts section. It's truly astounding.

And cars. *cough*Volvo*cough*

Well, now that we have national literacy testing (as of this week actually) there should theoretically be less kids escaping high school with a grade 3 comprehension of the English they speak and write. As for the current generation of post-graduate f@$kups, I will continue to berate, ridicule and correct them until they make an effort to better themselves for THEIR OWN benefit, if for no other reason than to spite the system that failed them and their selfish parents who didn't take an active enough role in their child's education. /old man rant

You've already named it.... I dub thee 'Bucket'.

mmmm yup

I spotted the Tatra... That's one obscure European a very VERY long way from home.

Not to mention the prince of darkness electrics?

HOLY CRAP A CAMIRA

Yes. 3 million people come here every year to be bored out of their minds. Its ever so dreary.