What's your gigmobile?

[BrianJohnston]

97 Civic DX - 5SPD Manual. I love the thing

[Cotboneman]

My current gigmobile (gigs, ha!) is my 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4X4, covered bed. I can throw all four of my trombones and stands, plus my euphonium and stand into the truck bed, and still have room for suitcases, bedding and a minifridge - in case there is a zombie apocalypse!

[MTbassbone]

I drive a 2013 Nissan Cube. I only have two horns and rarely need both at the same time. They both fit. It gets decent mileage and is comfortable. I think I would like the Honda N-box and wish they were sold here.

[Mikebmiller]

I just traded my 7 year old RAV 4 with 175K miles for a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica van with 30K miles. I am loving the van. I can fit all my crap in there. I have folded the 3rd row and one of the 2nd row seats into the floor, which leaves room to keep my mountain bike in the back all the time without worrying about it getting rained on or stolen. And it is great for taking my dog places.

[Peacemate]

The ever changing 2 wheel mobile. It's a fixed gear, so when the wheel moves the pedals also move. No rear brake, so all leg muscles to stop, except for when a 2 ton metal box pulls out in front of me.

It's an old steel road bike frame converted to single speed/fixed gear by a local bike shop. The pedal straps are so I don't accidentally coast and get thrown off, because this bike doesn't coast. The handlebars change every couple of days/weeks/random time period, because that keeps it fun. Narrow bars (in the picture) originally, drop bars last week, wide mountain bike bars this week. Everything is so different for each handlebar, so it always feels like I've spent hundreds of money units on a new bike, when in reality it was 10 minutes in the garage with a multitool.

I also have a geared bike with a rear rack so I can bring a bag and my trombone. The best bike is the one you want to ride, but I always want to ride this one. My other ones are just too bland.

I took this picture on a ride out to the harbor, after blasting around looking for a place to take a picture with the sunset in the background. Rode past some cool graffiti, and on my way back I stopped and snapped some pictures so I wouldn't return home empty handed.

I also put on a rainbow chain today, so this picture is becoming outdated very quickly.

240881867_438011660806353_4252879489409554416_n.jpg

[harrisonreed]

LoL the cleanest looking graffiti on the cleanest brick, with a brand new bike sitting unattended on well maintained sidewalk. Where is that, outside an upscale hipster coffeehouse in downtown Stockholm or Harajuku?

[IdoMeshulam]

This!

20141229_163439.jpg

'06 Lincoln Town Car Executive L with about 340,000+ miles on the clock as of today.

Bought it from a limo service when I moved to LA 7 years ago, still going strong!
Aidan's Miata can almost fit in the trunk.

[octavposaune]

I recently got a 2021 TRD Avalon in pearlescent white. Fastest car I have ever owned. It gets the same fuel economy as the 2001 4 cylinder Camry I used to own (I gave it to DJ this summer).

The trunk when empty can fit so many trombones, its great, plus the backseat!

Sadly TRD avalons are discontinued and Avalons are going away too..

[Reedman1]

Gotta say the new all electric ID.4 looks wonderful too.

My plan is to drive fun manual cars right up until we transition to entirely electric. A Mach E looks like a pretty good option.

I drive a Hyundai Kona EV. Average 258 miles per charge. No pollution, no gas, no oil, no maintenance costs. Rebates and incentives up front were very helpful. Very quiet, fun and peppy to drive, and it can sit in a traffic jam for a long time and not waste charge. Holds plenty of stuff.

[Burgerbob]

My plan is to drive fun manual cars right up until we transition to entirely electric. A Mach E looks like a pretty good option.

I drive a Hyundai Kona EV. Average 258 miles per charge. No pollution, no gas, no oil, no maintenance costs. Rebates and incentives up front were very helpful. Very quiet, fun and peppy to drive, and it can sit in a traffic jam for a long time and not waste charge. Holds plenty of stuff.

Once I can afford one and afford a charger at home... Count me in!

[Matt K]

No pollution

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

[BGuttman]

No pollution

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

I guess he means "from his operation". The power used to charge his system came from a plant somewhere and is more likely made using fossil fuels (unless he has his own wind turbine at home for charging).

[harrisonreed]

No pollution

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

Hmmm... Depends on what powered the battery charge. The day we get everyone in enteric cars powered by nuclear (fusion or fission) is the day we're "close" to no pollution. But even building those uses up resources and pollutes.

Building electric cars also eats up precious materials and the chips I can no longer get to upgrade my PC.

[Matt K]

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

Hmmm... Depends on what powered the battery charge. The day we get everyone in enteric cars powered by nuclear (fusion or fission) is the day we're "close" to no pollution. But even building those uses up resources and pollutes.

Building electric cars also eats up precious materials and the chips I can no longer get to upgrade my PC.

Exactly. And driving itself causes congestion, which is also not without ramifications unless everyone is also doing that. And the roads themselves are made of petroleum. So on and so forth. Maybe you could say that's splitting hairs or overly pedantic since it's a vast improvement over what you could be doing 10 years ago and I wouldn't disagree with that criticism necessarily. But still worth mentioning

[harrisonreed]

It's a tangent, but the recent news about quantum computing and fusion are giving me some hope. If we aren't quite smart enough to get over this final hump to net positive fusion, quantum computers might be.

The day where we can ask the box to design a machine we can build but can't understand how it works... Hooo boy. But we might end up there. I feel like we are on a path where unlimited energy from fusion, incomprehensible quantum AI literally operating in multiple dimensions (even if they are stimulated), and the internet of (all) things are all converging to one crazy point around 2035. My sliver of hope is shining out of a really scary place.

Tangent complete

[Matt K]

The day where we can ask the box to design a machine we can build but can't understand how it works...

Oh man, we are so already there. I'm in a codebase for a client now that would take a team of researchers 5 full time years to decipher everything this "Engineer" was thinking when he coded it.

[Reedman1]

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

I guess he means "from his operation". The power used to charge his system came from a plant somewhere and is more likely made using fossil fuels (unless he has his own wind turbine at home for charging).

In my area, the majority of electricity comes from solar and hydro. Mid Hudson Valley, in case you’re curious. The Indian Point nuclear power plant has been retired. We’re currently trying to fight off a useless fracked gas power plant installation near Newburgh. So it really is solar, etc.

I guess I can’t really say “no pollution”, because the power to build and deliver the car was most likely petroleum based, and because in ten years or so the battery will need to be repurposed or recycled. But there are no tailpipe emissions, there is no waste oil, no oil cans, no truck exhaust fumes from delivery of gas and oil, and since the engine is electric and not internal combustion, there is virtually no maintenance - no oil filters, no dirty rags.

[Reedman1]

Hmmm... Depends on what powered the battery charge. The day we get everyone in enteric cars powered by nuclear (fusion or fission) is the day we're "close" to no pollution. But even building those uses up resources and pollutes.

Building electric cars also eats up precious materials and the chips I can no longer get to upgrade my PC.

Exactly. And driving itself causes congestion, which is also not without ramifications unless everyone is also doing that. And the roads themselves are made of petroleum. So on and so forth. Maybe you could say that's splitting hairs or overly pedantic since it's a vast improvement over what you could be doing 10 years ago and I wouldn't disagree with that criticism necessarily. But still worth mentioning

You do raise some good points. As they say, the biggest problem with an electric car is that it’s a car. It uses petroleum roads and shares roads with gas powered cars. It sits idle a lot. It uses up lithium and rare-earth elements for the battery. Yes to all. But gas powered cars do all that AND pollute heavily. And unfortunately our public transit is very underfunded and underdeveloped. So for someone who lives in the suburbs, an electric car is a much more benign choice. Probably doubly so for urban residents in cities that don’t have good public transit.

[Reedman1]

I drive a Hyundai Kona EV. Average 258 miles per charge. No pollution, no gas, no oil, no maintenance costs. Rebates and incentives up front were very helpful. Very quiet, fun and peppy to drive, and it can sit in a traffic jam for a long time and not waste charge. Holds plenty of stuff.

Once I can afford one and afford a charger at home... Count me in!

Rebates and incentives for new electric cars are really surprisingly high and very helpful. If leasing is practical, you can avoid a large investment. And used electric cars are are less expensive than you’d think.

[Reedman1]

I could agree on "less" but "no" is a bit of a stretch.

Hmmm... Depends on what powered the battery charge. The day we get everyone in enteric cars powered by nuclear (fusion or fission) is the day we're "close" to no pollution. But even building those uses up resources and pollutes.

Building electric cars also eats up precious materials and the chips I can no longer get to upgrade my PC.

There are fuel cell cars under development. Also, the idea of nuclear powered cars with encased uranium pellets is being discussed.

[Matt K]

Exactly. And driving itself causes congestion, which is also not without ramifications unless everyone is also doing that. And the roads themselves are made of petroleum. So on and so forth. Maybe you could say that's splitting hairs or overly pedantic since it's a vast improvement over what you could be doing 10 years ago and I wouldn't disagree with that criticism necessarily. But still worth mentioning

You do raise some good points. As they say, the biggest problem with an electric car is that it’s a car. It uses petroleum roads and shares roads with gas powered cars. It sits idle a lot. It uses up lithium and rare-earth elements for the battery. Yes to all. But gas powered cars do all that AND pollute heavily. And unfortunately our public transit is very underfunded and underdeveloped. So for someone who lives in the suburbs, an electric car is a much more benign choice. Probably doubly so for urban residents in cities that don’t have good public transit.

Yeah 100%, I totally agree. When I bought my vehicles, the timing was off such that I wasn't able to afford the EV options of them so I'm stuck with gas vehicles for awhile myself. Fortunately, I drive around 30 miles a month... a monthly visit to the grocery store

[hyperbolica]

This was my gigmobile for a time. Never had a problem getting there on time but I couldn't always fit all my stuff in. The "trunk" had directions how to fit a set of golf clubs in, which came in handy because there was a trick to it, and a trombone is about the size/shape of a set of clubs.

350z.jpg

[Burgerbob]

Once I can afford one and afford a charger at home... Count me in!

Rebates and incentives for new electric cars are really surprisingly high and very helpful. If leasing is practical, you can avoid a large investment. And used electric cars are are less expensive than you’d think.

All true, but the two cars I own outright are much cheaper than anything I could replace them with.

[Reedman1]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

Someday I'll get a manual Fit to replace our Accord.

I drove a Fit for a long time. Very practical car. Just watch out for roof leaks - Honda cuts a few corners. BTW the Fit only gets 32 mpg, which, these days, is not much.

[Reedman1]

Rebates and incentives for new electric cars are really surprisingly high and very helpful. If leasing is practical, you can avoid a large investment. And used electric cars are are less expensive than you’d think.

All true, but the two cars I own outright are much cheaper than anything I could replace them with.

Ah, well. Hope you win a lottery or sell a horn or get a really lucrative gig.

[EOlson9]

Someday I'll get a manual Fit to replace our Accord.

I drove a Fit for a long time. Very practical car. Just watch out for roof leaks - Honda cuts a few corners. BTW the Fit only gets 32 mpg, which, these days, is not much.

Really? I'm getting about 37-38 on mine real usage.

[Matt K]

I drove a Fit for a long time. Very practical car. Just watch out for roof leaks - Honda cuts a few corners. BTW the Fit only gets 32 mpg, which, these days, is not much.

Really? I'm getting about 37-38 on mine real usage.

Yeah, especially highway. Did a cross country drive and averaged like 42mpg. I suppose it depends on what direction you go. Perhaps if it had been the other way it would have been less. You do essentially go downhill for several hundred miles coming east from the rockies!

[ronnies]

My 2006 Peugeot 407 died earlier this year and it's been replaced by a 2019 Ford Focus 1.5 EcoBoost. Manual 6 speed which can get up to about 60mpg on a long run. About 40mpg round town.

No gigs or rehearsals done in it yet but they are coming soon.

Ronnie

[Matt K]

Is EcoBoost the thing that can take the blend that's like, half corn?

[hyperbolica]

EcoBoost is Ford's combination of a turbo charger, fuel injection and variable cam timing on a small displacement engine to make the equivalent of a larger displacement engine.

I think the ethanol thing you're talking about is called flex-fuel.

[Fridge]

A 2020 BMW X1 and an Infiniti Q40. No problems with either car.

Fridge

[Reedman1]

I drove a Fit for a long time. Very practical car. Just watch out for roof leaks - Honda cuts a few corners. BTW the Fit only gets 32 mpg, which, these days, is not much.

Really? I'm getting about 37-38 on mine real usage.

Well, that's a significant improvement. Maybe it's the way you drive that enables such high mpg on a Fit. When I started looking for a replacement for my old Fit a few years ago, the window tag in the showroom showed 32mpg.

[octavposaune]

American Window stickers now show combined EPA ratings of the average MPG. I thought my Avalon only got 25mpg, when in reality it gets around 32mpg on freeway trips and 18-22 in town, so it averages out to 25 in 50/50 mixed driving.

Some stating their car gets 60mpg freeway is quite off in American market cars. The last car that approached that in America was the 1999-2003 Honda insight with it's 1.0 liter 3 cylinder hybrid setup and Aluminum body. Some prius's get 50mpg but not 60mpg as of yet.

There may be metric to imperial to American imperial numerical transliteration issue going on. British gallons are a bit larger than American gallons (3.78 liters per American gallon, and 4.54 liters per British gallon). 60 mpg with a British gallon is 49.9 American mpg. I think it would be easier for our European members to state Kilometers per liter like most of the rest of the world.

I should have bought a Hybrid Avalon which got 43mpg on the freeway, but the TRD handles far better and 301hp is amazing for passing people with no effort. The fact that my car gets over 30 on freeway trips astounds me. Gotta love dual direct/port injection, high compression and variable valve timing!

[mbtrombone]

Currently a 2014 Corolla, but I am interested in either an old 80’s Mercedes 300 SDL, or the new Ford F-150 lightning, the Frunk and using the truck to power the house in a power outage is interesting to my Tech/IT part of my brain. For a fun driver a 70’s Porsche 911 would be amazing, but they are super expensive these days, plus air cooled in LA traffic might be asking for trouble…

[ronnies]

There may be metric to imperial to American imperial numerical transliteration issue going on. British gallons are a bit larger than American gallons (3.78 liters per American gallon, and 4.54 liters per British gallon).

Yes my mileage is based on proper gallons not the US equivalent.

As stated above EcoBoost is a turbo based system so my 1.5 litre 3 cylinder engine give equivalent performance to about a 2 litre normally aspirated.

Ronnie

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

[Burgerbob]

Boosted K?

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

Boosted K?

Yes sir! Boosted K20/24. Built K24 block with a K20 head and 35R turbo.

[Burgerbob]

Boosted K?

Yes sir! Boosted K20/24. Built K24 block with a K20 head and 35R turbo.

Serious business! 300 ish to the wheel?

[Posaunus]

Not your grandmother's Honda Civic!

[Trav1s]

My current ride "Max" - a rusty but trusty 2000 Nissan Maxima that turned 170,000 miles this week. Been a great car during 21 years of ownership and hope to wring some more miles out of it. With a set of dedicated snow tires it does pretty good out here in Iowa.

Since I am on the road for work "Sally" is joining the stable - 2005 Subaru Outback XT Limited with the 5 speed automatic transmission. While it was apart for engine replacement (lost the turbo and filled the oil pan with glitter) the replacement EJ255 received a VF52 turbo (used on the WRX from the same period), cylinder 4 cooling mod, head studs, custom e-tune (still working on it), Killer B oil pan/pickup, and a mess of other small things. The mechanic doing the work says Sally will be hoot when she's all dialed in. Some say the 2005-2009 Legacy GT/Outback XT are refined WRXs. It is exceptionally clean for a midwest car so it will only see winter duty if the Maxima leaves me stranded. I pick it up next week.

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

Yes sir! Boosted K20/24. Built K24 block with a K20 head and 35R turbo.

Serious business! 300 ish to the wheel?

The last time the car was on the dyno I believe it made 425ish whp at 17+- lbs. Conservative tune.

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

The ever changing 2 wheel mobile. It's a fixed gear, so when the wheel moves the pedals also move. No rear brake, so all leg muscles to stop, except for when a 2 ton metal box pulls out in front of me.

It's an old steel road bike frame converted to single speed/fixed gear by a local bike shop. The pedal straps are so I don't accidentally coast and get thrown off, because this bike doesn't coast. The handlebars change every couple of days/weeks/random time period, because that keeps it fun. Narrow bars (in the picture) originally, drop bars last week, wide mountain bike bars this week. Everything is so different for each handlebar, so it always feels like I've spent hundreds of money units on a new bike, when in reality it was 10 minutes in the garage with a multitool.

I also have a geared bike with a rear rack so I can bring a bag and my trombone. The best bike is the one you want to ride, but I always want to ride this one. My other ones are just too bland.

I took this picture on a ride out to the harbor, after blasting around looking for a place to take a picture with the sunset in the background. Rode past some cool graffiti, and on my way back I stopped and snapped some pictures so I wouldn't return home empty handed.

I also put on a rainbow chain today, so this picture is becoming outdated very quickly.

240881867_438011660806353_4252879489409554416_n.jpg

Nice! I don’t have a fixie, but I do enjoy my road bikes. I just had my LBS upgrade my Cannondale CAAD 5 to modern Shimano 105 R7000 and it’s much more quicker now. I like flats, but considering changing.

[Burgerbob]

Serious business! 300 ish to the wheel?

425ish whp at 12 lbs. Conservative tune.

I assume the 6 speed has to be built to deal with that? That's a lot!

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

425ish whp at 12 lbs. Conservative tune.

I assume the 6 speed has to be built to deal with that? That's a lot!

Sorry, had to edit my post. It was give or take 17 lbs, not 12. But surprisingly the trans held up fine. Definitely had to upgrade the clutch. Went with a clutch masters 6 puck.

[Burgerbob]

I assume the 6 speed has to be built to deal with that? That's a lot!

Sorry, had to edit my post. It was give or take 17 lbs, not 12. But surprisingly the trans held up fine. Definitely had to upgrade the clutch. Went with a clutch masters 6 puck.

Dope!

[baileyman]

1962 Super Seven.JPG

1962 Super Seven, just barely carries a horn and gig bag in the passenger seat. 1600cc and crappy mileage due to a twitch in the right foot. Currently suffering from electrical gremlins and cooling.

1965 Elan S2.JPG

1965 Elan, covid project, carries gear in the boot just fine, currently off road for screen repair and dash pad.

2013 Ghost and a Bentley.jpeg

Travel car on the left, a neighbor's car on the right, in McCall ID on xc trip Boston to LA last June, carries more than necessary in the boot, in this case Roy Main's horn and the world's best practice mute. (Of these only this one has more than 425hp. )

[Burgerbob]

1962 Super Seven, just barely carries a horn and gig bag in the passenger seat. 1600cc and crappy mileage due to a twitch in the right foot. Currently suffering from electrical gremlins and cooling.


1965 Elan, covid project, carries gear in the boot just fine, currently off road for screen repair and dash pad.

Love the Panasports on the Seven, those are really cool!

Also love the Elan, that's a really good looking spec.

[BurckhardtS]

Right now, 2017 Subaru Crosstrek 5spd

[officermayo]

2016 PriusV with the back seats removed. I can haul a ton of gear and still get 43 mph.