Rob Hall

One Japanese car I'd like to own is an NSX...not the most powerful sports car, but they handle so well..and I love the engine sound (I have a buddy w/ one, have driven it a few times on twisties in the mountains...what a fun-to-drive car).

Stopped by my LHS and picked up the Revell '10 Mustang GT and AMT '62 T-bird reissue...was tempted to get the Revell Ferrari 458 Italia, but will get it later...

Actually, IIRC the current Land Rover V8 (after the BMW V8) is the Jaguar V8, which is related to the small V8 from the Lincoln LS and Thunderbird...no relation to the Mustang V8s..(i.e. the modular 4.6/5.4 family or the new 5.0).

I'd argue they are, as the business units are still UK based, though the corporate parents are not. Likewise for the Mini.

I distinguish import from domestic by what country the car company is based in...i.e. Ford, GM, Chrysler--US. Honda, Toyota- Japan. VW, Mercedes, BMW--Germany, Hyundai, Kia- Korea....etc. Where a product is manufactured is kind of secondary..like an iPod or iPad--they may be made in China, but Apple is an American company..

I've never had a Japanese car, but have had a mix of American (Ford, Jeep) and German (BMW, Mercedes) cars over the years...am leaning towards the Mopar side for my next new car (maybe a Charger R/T or 300C).. Lots of different flavors makes life (and car enthusiasm) interesting...

I'd like to find a way to use dog poo as an energy source...my dogs create a lot of it and it all goes in the trash barrel every week.

LoL...heck, most of my non-modeler friends and coworkers would say the same thing...

Rural is relative...I've lived places where 50-75 miles from downtown is still suburban, still within the metro area.. 28 miles is a short distance from a major downtown--you are within the commutable area..quite different than truly being in the 'middle of nowhere' (very rural where the nearest town of any size is 100 miles away, like in rural AZ, CO or Montana or elsewhere in the West). Speaking of horse farms, there are some of those right here in the middle of Phoenix...a city of over 1 million.. I've lived in rural Ohio, where it's 50 miles to the nearest Starbucks and 25 miles from a Wal-Mart..now that is rural..

For $40k, I want closer to 400hp and 18mpg.. My next new car will most likely have Ford's new 5.0 V8 or a Hemi.

Actually, according to the 2000 census, only about 20% of the US population is rural..I would assume the number is smaller now. Census: Urban vs Rural

I can understand the appeal of closed windows, since IRL I rarely see cars with the windows down. But on a model having the side windows open allows for better viewing of the interior, and as a practical reason--a place to put fingers when picking up a built model... The kit has the quarter and vent window glass, but not the door glass.

Cool..I'm working on ideas for a build using a resin '70 Road Runner (repop of the Johan kit), the chassis from the '70 Super Bee, a 440 six pack, a '69 6 pack style hood scoop, and the wide wheels w/ steelies from the '78 Monaco...

That kit should have the quarter windows though (the ones behind the doors). Generally, import brand kits (Aoshima, Fujimi, Tamiya, Italeri, RoG, etc) have included door side windows and domestic kit brands (AMT, Revell, MPC, Johan) haven't....

Reality is complex. Lots of interesting 20th and 21st century developments have been touched upon in this thread...everything from government regulation to the evolution of the auto industry, the growth of suburbia and decline of rural areas, transformation from the agrarian age to the industrial age to the information age, globalization, all fascinating subjects. Cars are better than they have ever been today...lots of choices, efficiency w/ power, etc. We live in truly interesting times.

Jarius needs to keep is religion out of it...it has no place in a discussion of scientific issues like oil and its origin/supply etc.

Lots of paranoia going around in this thread. I do see electric and hybrid cars continuing to grow in popularity over time along w/ more efficient gasoline powered cars.

This kit looks interesting, along w/ the ht. My original AMT '64-65 Falcons are both convertibles, will be interesting to compare. I've seen on one of the other forums that Trumpeter is doing a Ranchero also later this year.

Yeah, that's a setting in the internet options of the browser...you can set it to open all links in a new tab or a new window. Who knows, though, there may still be a few people around using the old browsers (like IE6 and older) that don't have tabbed browsing...

Right click the link and select 'Open Link in New Tab'. Works w/ IE, FF, and Chrome. Interesting that the pic marked 'parts new to the convertible' include the taillight trim panel...different between the coupe and conv?

Interesting... I don't need any slicks, would like to see them do a set of vintage street whitewalls and raised-white letter tires.

Sharp build..love the color scheme and detailing..

Yeah, 1961 is 50 years ago..but then again, it seems a lot of people here are stuck in the past...

Ummm, in 2011, $48k is more a down payment on a house in most places...at least any place nice...

That's what I thought...it really has no place w/ model cars.