Alaskossie

Skip, So is Ben W. no longer associated with Caterham USA at all? Did you wear a helmet for your Brooklands blat?

Jim F. and william robert, For the PayPal payments for the calendars, I erred in initially giving both of you an old e-mail address that has not been used for years -- don't know what I was thinking. The correct PayPal address is tmeacham@gci.net.

Jim F., I have received no notice that I have anything to be claimed in PayPal. My PayPal account shows no activity on 3/2, and nothing waiting to be claimed. I'd recommend canceling that payment, and trying it again, to my e-mail address on PayPal of tmeacham@gci.net You can e-mail me privately at that address, so we can take this off the USA7s line.

Jim F., My PayPal account doesn't show a payment received from you for the calendar yet. William Robert, Do you still want a calendar? KiwiBirkin, The program my wife used for the calendar is found as one of the options in the Apple iPhoto application, where we store all of our digital photos. You have standard options for "slideshow, book, calendar, card" at the bottom of the iPhoto screen.

KiwiBirkin, Glad to hear that it arrived, and that you like it! You folks Down Under ought to consider doing a calendar for 2013 of some of your epic drives from this season. The Apple program to create these calendars is pretty easy to use (so says the wife).

Jim F., I have enough for you and for william robert, assuming he still wants one. $25.00 to my PayPal account will get it.

william robert, Your calendar payment hasn't showed up on my PayPal yet. tmeacham@alaska.net Did you plan to order one?

Klasik-69, The Seven heater works pretty well, even wit the top down. The warm air flows upward, keeping your hands warm on the wheel (your upper body needs some other way to keep warm, however). Here's what we use in Alaska to pull the Hummers out of the ditches:

Apparently the Brit magazine EVO will feature an article on Caterhams for winter driving in Issue 168 (not available on US newsstands for a couple of months, probably). The blurb says, ____ Seven in the snow You can put winter tyres on just about anything now, Caterhams included. Henry Catchpole deliberately heads for some snowy European mountains… )photo from EVO attached....) ____ Should be interesting..... up here, we've got more than three feet of snow on the level right now, and the snowbanks between cleared sidewalks and cleared streets are taller than an SUV. While winter tires might help a Seven, such a car stands to be squashed at every T-intersection, because visibility is so poor for (and from) any car that is not at least 4 1/2 feet tall.

lancylad, Glad to hear that it has arrived...now only one mailed to Canada and one to NZ yet unaccounted for....... As to "all the work that went into it," that was my wife's doing. I can't claim any credit...

lancylad, That's a stone's "throw." Too quick on the draw....

lancylad, Don't know why it should take so long -- you're just a stone's trow away from me!

Maurice, Glad to hear it arrived safely, and that you like it. I wonder when the one sent to NZ will arrive?

jimrankin: You wrote, On the "up" side, if GM or Ford had made it [Miata] here it would have been packing a large V8 by version 3. LOL. __________________ I hadn't heard the story of Miata being pitched first to some of the Big Three, but Flyin' Miata in Colorado provides the answer to the speculation you raised: a modern LS-series GM aluminum V-8 and 6-speed transmission in a Miata (see: http://flyinmiata.com/V8/). My 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata is presently in their garage, and my conversion is on order. Alaskossie

Skip, Where did the article appear?

I don't know if this Chevy car commercial has been posted here yet or not. it is really clever, and does not look faked. it is a Super Bowl-quality commercial (but I don't recall seeing it there).

Reminds me of the quip I saw once on Bring a Trailer, about why the Soviet-Bloc Trabant (or Skoda, or Wartburg?) offered a heated rear window --- to keep your hands warm while you pushed the car!

From the latest EVO (Feb. 2012): In addition to "adaptive cruise control" and "active lane departure warning system," the new Audi S4 has a "feature" that is called the "break recommendation function." (At first I thought the word "brake" had been mis-used). To quote: "The [break recommendation function] monitors steering movements and use of the pedals and gearlever to detect irregular or overly sudden driver inputs. It then alerts him or her to the possible need to take a break by audible and visual cues in the cabin." I'm sure that this dubious "feature" would be triggered each time the driver departs from Starbucks after having a double cappucino ..... What next??

Croc, Mog Racing offered airfoils for the upper A-arms also (but again, without support at the rear of the airfoil). MadHatter -- I would be interested in a set for the upper A-arms. I'll try to modify my existing SevenTweeks airfoils to fit for Caterham aero-arms, as you suggest. I would prefer airfoils for the lower and upper A-arms that were specifically contoured to fit the Caterham aero A-arms, of course, but that may be asking too much, considering the relative demand for that product.

jlumba, All the calendars ordered have been mailed -- even the two to Canada, one to NZ, and one to OZ. Will be interested to hear how long it takes for all of them to arrive. Wish you could have been on the Black Hills trip -- it was a lot of fun, and good Seven camaraderie!

Maurice1, Did you want a calendar? I have them in hand, and am ready to mail. if you do, just send me US $25 to my PayPal account, at tmeacham@gci.net Please let me know.

sdac7, The 2.3 Duratec is slightly taller than a 2.0, but it fits in an S III chassis with no overhead clearance problems. If I did not have a dry sump, my pan might be a bit low, but as it is, everything clears just fine, including ground clearance. I also have a curved bar under the nose-cone (like those now offered on the CSR and SV, I believe), to guide the shape of the nose cone where it supports the front edge of the bonnet. That may help in overhead clearance. BTW, I am also using the stock CC 15X9 rims with Avon CR500 195/45 R15 tires in front, but the wider CSR 15X9 inch wheel and CR500 in 245/40 R15 size in the rear. I was told by RMSC and others that the CSR rear wheel would not fit an SV or a Series III, but have had no problems -- and they fill out the rear wheel wells nicely! Sorry for perpetuating the thread hijack....

jeffs, I'm joining the conversation a little late.... scda7 wrote, "If I were to buy a seven for street use and occasional track use, I wouldn't worry too much about weight, and would get all the creature comforts." I bought a 2007 R500-spec S-III (deDion, narrow body) from RMSC, and assembled it in Colorado over the next four (!) years, then drove it from Colorado to Alaska, via California in August 2010, 6150 miles. I have the Cosworth dry-sump 250/260 hp 2.3 Duratec engine, CC six-speed, 3.38:1 lsd, 15-inch Avon CR500 tires, Tillett seats, and full weather kit. I am 5' 10", 185 lb., and I fit the car and the seats well for the long drive, in relatively perfect comfort. I got the 3.38 rear end to compensate for the fact the 6th gear in the CC transmission is direct, not overdrive. My car is very pleasant at freeway speeds, the engine humming but not zinging, and it has plenty of torque to compensate for the low numerical ratio. I added extra insulation to the engine bay and footwells, and didn't "worry too much about weight," with the result that my car is heavier than the average Superlight. But it still accelerates and corners like a scalded cat...

maurice1, I'll be happy to launch one your way. Just post US $25.00 to my PayPal account at tmeacham@gci.net, and include you mail address.

Kiwibirkin, I'll be pleased to send one to NZ regardless of the exchange rate. Just give me your mail address, and deposit $25 US into my PayPal account.