Phatboy

LOL ROFL You sound like you're old enough to remember that

Pulling the handbrake wouldn't do anything if your cruise control wants to go at 80. I'm not sure how the car can keep going while in neutral though. You should still be able to take the keys out as well. Maybe the Explorer has a design flaw that prevents you from removing the key while the car is moving.

Hey, welcome to SAU. Clean R34. Nice collection of toys. Guess it's time to fight over which cars/bikes go into the garage Hope you can join us on our cruises!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/cruise-c...91215-ktxn.html Holy crap! Did anyone see this? Surely a massive Ford Explorer doing 80 km/h down the wrong side of the road while tooting its horn, with a police escort, would have been quite a sight. Apparently a "known" problem on Ford Explorers !!!! Why the hell would anyone spend all that extra money to import a second-rate American SUV is beyond me. I have rellies and friends in the US, and none of them own US made vehicles as they are generally so crap/unreliable, not to mention potentially lethal! Jap for me please.

Thanks for all the replies guys. It is quite frustrating that all the campsites (apart from Blanket Bay) in the National Parks operate on a first-in first-served basis. There is no booking system, and not even a phone line to ring to find out if all the sites at a particular place are taken. This means I'd have to drive to each of the 30 odd sites individually to personally check it out. Would be ok if they were all on GOR, but in many cases it is up to an hour's detour on windy back roads to get to them. Looks like I will try my luck on a few of the main ones, then bite the bullet and stay in a caravan park if those are taken.

Hey, sorry, bit off topic here, but didn't know where else to post this Vic-specific question. Couple of mates and I are planning a Xmas long weekend camping/fishing/hiking trip (eg., with tents) along Great Ocean Rd. Any suggestions about good campsites for tents, preferably next to rivers and with showers? We haven't been camping on GOR before and we suck at fishing. I spent 2 days googling this stuff, but the Parks Victoria websites of course don't give a good idea which ones are good and which ones aren't. I heard Cumberland River is awesome, nestled between amazing beach and rainbow trout-laden river, but that got booked out quicker than expected. Thanks guys.

Pics or it didn't happen That rear light array looks like it was stolen from an Integra.

Hi guys, uploaded some photos: http://s384.photobucket.com/albums/oo281/m...hi%20Meet%2009/ I couldn't be assed blurring the photos with the plates on them, so I just mainly took non-plate photos. Let me know if you want a particular photo in higher res. Photobucket has shit-all quota so I can't load decent photos sorry.

Thanks Charles for bringing us to an awesome place. I'm stuffed, and for once on decent food. The best all you can eat I have had in Melb. Oysters were surprisingly fresh, although obviously not fresh enough for Bob and Steve Loved the chicken skewers-sans-skewers. Gyozas and unagi were pretty good. The snakes at the end were a nice touch. How random was that guy getting the photoshoot done at the meet point, on his airbrushed-to-the-max chromed-to-the-extreme commie with the pro photographer and hired model? Anyone had any probs with the popo getting home? I'll post up photos sometime tomorrow (dun worry - won't have plates on them).

Wow, didn't know you can include symbols like $ in number plates. Opens up a whole new ballgame. Or did that guy just put little dots on either end of the S's?

An F40? Really? Did it look genuine? Never seen one in Melb before. You're very lucky.

Damn, panel beating pays much better than I thought

Awesome - looking forward to it.

Just saw the ad on TV, and it sounds like that device is only when the cop is stationary and can point the sniper-like crosshairs at a single vehicle out of a mass of cars (rather than the usual shotgun approach using the old radar guns, which were unreliable in a mass of cars). You boys ain't from 'round these parts, are ya? Love it

Haha they need to televise people's reaction - like punk'd / candid camera for the oldies Except it would be real.... tough luck

Damn, thought as much. I'll be there at just the restaurant then.

Awesome. I will be there. Dudes what's the quickest non-tolled way from East Melbourne to Brighton during peak hour on a Monday? Punt Rd will be insane. Any shortcuts ppl know of? How long do you reckon it would take? Trying to calculate whether I can make the pre-meet as I finish work at 6 pm.

I agree w/ dezz. The super-expensive super-exclusive 1 and low 2 digit plates seem to be on relatively crap (RELATIVELY) cars. If I had 200k plates I'd sure as hell own something more exclusive than a normal Merc/AMG or 911 Turbo. They're not even limited editions. If I could afford to spend 200k on a plate I'd be looking at Reventon/Zonda/SLS territory. But that's just me. The rich will obviously do whatever they like.

how much does a typical v6/8/12 motor weight? 200-300kgs? Wish they'd applied the same drastic weight-saving to everything else. C'mon if an Elise manages to weigh 200 kg less with a heavier chassis I'm sure they can do better than that. Sure the Toyota engine would be lighter, but not by that much.

Sorry, just read that it weighs approx 950 kg. Don't know how that's possible with a 100 kg chassis Still looks sexy

I was a fan of speed racer as a kid, and loved the movie a few years back. Just saw this in the paper today and felt I had to share http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/14/best-of...on-martin-dbr2/ Wish I could find a proper video of it being driven, but no luck. Don't think they've made the vids yet. I think it looks fantastic, and is the only car I know of that has a lighter chassis (100 kg) than either the engine or possibly the driver . The power:weight on this thing with the same engine as our HSV Clubbies or a V12 like apparently they can specify must be insane. I think this car will appeal to so many people. I admit I didn't even know what an AM DBR2 was before I read the article, but I know I want that car! Will probably be exorbitantly expensive though, as all recreated classic sports cars are ie., cue merc gullwing.

lol wow.. looked kind of fake when he was bouncing on his head but then I realised just how massive and bouncy that suit is. must be like over 3 m tall.

Seems the guys at the garage already put a new one in. Guess it was pretty annoying not knowing what boost pressure I'm running.

See a white R33 decked out with carbon fibre hood and bootlid around Maribyrnong, near the river, quite often. A custom paint-job R33 GTS-T plates [uBH***] cnr Western HWY/McIntyre Rd around 2:15pm today. Was sky-blue with bright green surrounds for the windows and tail-lights. White R34 4-door westbound on Western Hwy F'scray around 2:45 pm.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/good-sam...91023-hcom.html Please be careful on the roads, guys. Freak accidents like this happen. I knew, not well, but knew the guy who died today. The panel beating shop he ran in the west was devastated when they heard the news. Did anyone see the accident?