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I was in PC in February and I couldn't talk the guys into making a 5 minute detour from the airport. Probably a good thing since I would've had to buy another suitcase.

I'm going to look at some dogs up for adoption: - 2 year old Jack Russell - 1 year old Pug/Boston terrier These are dogs that are being given up by owners. I know the JRT is high energy but I have two young kids who will burn it off, hopefully. I think I know how to test for aggression and resource guarding. Any advice on what to ask and look for? Active dog is fine. Hyper, destructive dog is bad. Aggressive dog is bad. We want a family pet that will lick a burglar's face rather than bite it off.

Car talk. Good use of our time in between snowboard and golf seasons. The M3. Here's a good example of modern luxo-bloat. Take a lean, mean coupe built for touring car racing and load it up with power everything and jam a V-8 into it. Start the marketing machine - 420 HORSEPOWER! Impress your friends at the country club! Sadly, same thing happened at Porsche. My '88 911, I can strip the interior down to bare metal in about 30 minutes. Back then, Porsche understood that trim equals weight so they kept it to a minimum meaning that the 217hp air-cooled flat six was more than adequate to keep the car moving. My cousin owned a '73 911. You open the engine bay and you see one single belt driving the alternator. That's it. It's beautiful in its simplicity. Jack, you'll want to add Porsche to your list of companies that go air-cooling right. More accurately, they are air and oil cooled. My '88 takes 11 litres of oil in a dry-sump lubrication system. I know guys who have broken their fan belt and still drove their cars home. New belt, change the oil and no worse for the wear. The 3.2 Carrera engine is a hell of a piece of engineering. In 1987, RUF built the Yellow Bird which managed 469 hp and 409 ft-lbs of torque out of that basic engine. The reason Porsche went to water cooling was to keep up with emissions and fuel economy standards and refinement. By refinement, we are talking about electrical load and weight. As for the sound of the air-cooled engines, I haven't had a working stereo in 3 years. The only music I need is the sound of that flat six. Buy a well maintained 911 SC ('78-83) or 911 Carrera 3.2 ('84-'88) and you will never regret it. It sounds like a contradiction in terms but it really is a practical sports car. As for the Boxster, I quote Ralph Cifaretto from the Sopranos: "A Boxster is a Porsche with panties."

Not really. Cayman has only 2 seats and is mid-engined. The 911 has always been and always will be a 2+2 and rear-engined. Price wise, it's between the base 911 and the Boxster S. Some people call it 911 Lite, others a hardtop Boxster with balls. The Boxster, despite being a great ride, developed a bit of a reputation as a chick car or more accurately, trophy wife's car. The Cayman was an effort to attract performance-oriented male buyers who didn't want to drop $100,000 on a 911. For a lot of purists, the 911 ended in 1999 when Porsche went to a water-cooled engine. So the perfection of 911 was the 1998 model, the last of the air/oil-cooleds.

About 10 years ago, I had the yearning for Detroit muscle and looked at a number of cars. I test drove a '69 GTO, fully restored. When I got it up to 75mph, I thought I would go off the road. Every little ripple in the pavement would send the car off track and I would have to make a big correction. The best way I can describe it - it's like driving a waterbed. Then I hit the brakes. Holy ****e. I think a fully loaded freight train has a shorter stopping distance. I'm really glad they don't make 'em like they used to. I'll bet if you drove one again, you would feel the same. The American "sports" cars of the '60s and '70s were a joke. They were rough beasts with way too much weight and horsepower for their measly brakes and suspension. As for performance, I remember reading a Road and Track article where they tested a Honda Odyssey against vaunted muscle cars of the past. The minivan beat a lot of them.

No but I'm sure I'd like them. Rear wheel drive, mid-engine (MR2), good hp/weight ratio. What's not to like? I've owned a Camry which pretty much defines "reliable but boring" and a 4Runner which is a great truck but it's just a truck. In my HFF (Henry Fun Factor) rating, there's a certain allowance for quirkiness and charm. One of my Alfas, for instance, had De Dion suspension with weird in-board brakes. It also was superbly smooth at 140 kmh. That sort of stuff can compensate for certain negatives like factory installed rust and non-functional a/c. The Toyota loses in that area since there's nothing charming or quirky about any of them.

I've owned (in rough chronological order): VW Honda Buick Acura Dodge Toyota Porsche Alfa Romeo Volvo BMW Audi Pain in the Ass ranking (least to most) 1) Toyota 2) Honda 3) Acura 4) Porsche 5) BMW 6) Alfa Romeo 7) Volvo 8) VW 9) Audi 10) Buick 11) Dodge Henry Fun Factor ranking (fun to drive, easy to fix, not a big hassle to own) 1) Alfa Romeo 2) Porsche 3) BMW 4) Volvo 5) Honda 6) Acura 7) Toyota 8) VW 9) Buick 10) Dodge 11) Audi The Alfa Spider was pure joy. The Audi was a pure pain in the ass. Toyota, while rock solid, is boring as hell.

I paid $1 for an old iron (no holes, weighs a ton) at a garage sale. Works great.

You guys just aren't trying hard enough. ;) You can fold any board. I've done it twice on my stiff-ish RC. First time, I was riding way too aggressively and forward for the soft snow conditions. The second time, I hit a bank of soft snow just as I was initiating a turn. That time, I really stuffed it and damaged the board as I documented in another thread. The fact that it didn't snap but merely bent the metal edge is testament to the quality of Bruce's construction.

That Toko set comes up often as does the iron by itself. Steep and Cheap is the crack of the Internet. Just a sec, I need a fix.

That's nuthin' If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one of these up: Check out the landmine demo: http://www.forceprotection.net/news/video.html?video=landmine

www.steepandcheap.com Ogio makes the best golf bags. They're snowboard bags must be good. I ordered three.

Think about the investment that the boot business requires. Dozens, maybe hundreds of molds for all the different sizes. Then, of course, you have to offer different models to be competitive - race, rec., freecarve. Given the size of the market, there is no way you're going to get any new entries.

The website needs more videos and graphics that show how the system works. I'm intrigued though. I'd love to see the system work in varying conditions (moguls, powder, ice). If it increases the contact edge, I think it would do wonders on ice. I need new skiis next season so if he's doing any demos in Ontario, let me know.

I had to give mine up. Neighbours were complaining about the pond in the backyard. Isn't there still snow in the Okanagan? Cause I only start thinking of beavers and such during the mid-summer doldrums.

Very nice. Running driver's ed in my iX was a hoot, especially when the track was wet. You shouldn't have said you can get parts cause I'm all over that. Right now, I need a driver's side mirror glass (e46) and an M3 or sport steering wheel and airbag (e46 or e39). The 320i in Canada came with a bare bones steering wheel and I'd miss the audio and cruise controls. Let me know if you see any of these parts. "-You will be embarrased on a different level if it hard-starts. When a normal car chugs a few times before lighting up, no one even notices... When your 3 hacks a bit, you'll get "Nice car. What did you pay for THAT lemon?"." My iX had a balky fuel pump. When it had trouble starting, I just reached back and thumped the rear seat hard with my fist (fuel pump was under the seat). That would get the pump moving. I'd get equal amounts of mockery and admiration for that move.

Having owned an '89 325iX, I have to speak up in its defense. The iX is identical to the iS with the exception of the wheels, brakes and drive shaft. The only extra maintenance is topping up the transfer case with AT fluid. The car was a tank as are all e30s if properly maintained. The problem is, because they're cheap, the kids have gotten a hold of them and are running them into the ground. Not many good ones left. I bought the car for $10,500 and sold it 7 years later for $6,500. I had five serious buyers and eventually gave it to a guy who offered me $500 more than I was asking. The vehicle has a cult following for a good reason.

Nope. My boots look nothing like them. But then again, I wouldn't want $400 for them.

Except a 10 year old Subaru is a hunk of junk. A 10 year old BMW is a classic.

BTW, "Beemer" or "Beamer" is accepted slang for BMW motorcycles. "Bimmer" is accepted slang for BMW cars. Wouldn't want you to sound like a newbie when go shopping for cars.

Guys, you ride faggy race boards and you worry about what other people think? If you want a BMW, peruse the BMW car club classifieds and buy from a true enthusiast. When I buy used cars, I evaluate the seller as much as the car itself. Auction cars, dealer cars, you never know what they've been through.

I own a '03 320i (Canadian model, never made available in US). Owned a '89 325iX before that. I personally think the 3 series hit its apex in the e36 model ('92-'98). With the e46, they loaded it up with electronics and unnecessary complexity. Drive-by-wire being the most hated component. The electrical system in the e46 was a notorious problem area with complete wiring harnesses and computers being replaced under warranty. I personally had a transmission control module go bad and replaced under warranty. Suspension components were also weak. The Xi (4-wheel drive model) is even more complicated. Lots of lemons. That being said, the car is a joy to drive. Tight and smooth. I went for the cheapest base model because I figure I'm getting all of the major engineering benefit of models that are twice the price. If you buy used, caveat emptor. Even the extended aftermarket warranties are of limited use because they are notorious for refusing to pay for items, citing numerous exclusion clauses. I personally would never buy another European car again other than classics. I'm a big Alfa Romeo and pre-'90 Porsche fan. Owned several of these as playthings and projects. The Koreans and Japanese have got things figured out and the value just cannot be beaten. Because I'm a car guy, I get asked for advice a lot. I tell everyone to buy Hyundai. P.S. They are terrible in the snow (except the Xi). Even with snowtires, I never drive mine to the ski hills.

Got a pair of Driver shells in size 10 (no liners). Practically new with maybe 2 days on them. How do I tell if it's an "X" or has the Zone system?

Ya, you're right. Eventually the pins would stop gripping the plastic.

I bought a pair of Atomic SX:11s two season ago and I thought the same thing. So heavy. I took them back to the store and I was told that the weight is there for stability and for crud-busting. I can understand that but trying to make quick turns on steep slopes was very tiring. The store took them back for full credit. I still haven't bought a new pair though. I'm told that the Elan Speedwaves are light. I'll have to demo those next season.