TV Kids and In Car Entertainment
 

I can tell you from personal experience that you can easily tax a stock 130amp alternator. I have 5 TV's, 6 high/mid range speakers driven by a 4 channel 50 watt rms @ 4 ohms amp, 2 subs driven by a single channel 600 watts rms at 4 ohms or 1200 watts rms at 2/1 ohms amp (amp is stable to .5 ohm) all in my Suburban (my oldest daughter wouldn't travel for longer than 45 minutes as a baby so in went the TV's). When I was running the sub amp at 1 ohm even at a cruise the lights would dim at heavy bass output even with a capacitor for the sub amp. The amp was requiring more than the alternator could put out. I rewired the subs for a 4 ohm load and now the amp is enough to power it. I'm sure that a 200amp alternator would probably put out enough to supply it but if I was to run two of those sub amps instead of just one I would need to run dual alternators to supply enough amps.

Why would anyone put all that tv and stero stuff in a car anyway, to keep the kids calm? sure, but 5 TVs? I guess I just will never understand why

Agree 100%. And I can't even see installing all that crap to keep the kids calm. We never had all that junk as kids. No offense, but that's just poor/lazy parenting. All we had was a crappy tube AM radio in my Dad's car that had to "warm up" before we heard it, and I guarantee we didn't listen to rock and roll while it was turned on. There are plenty of things to occupy a kid's mind besides DVD movies and all these other toys installed in DAD'S car. Time to tell the kiddies you either sit down and STFU or you get left home with grandpa. If you need something for them to do, have them count out-of-state license plates or get one of those car travel kits for kids that has little board games. Time for parents to stop kissing the kids butt and actually assume the role of parent.

Nope. You guys probably have some image of psycho kids going nuts on their parents and getting whatever they want. Having spent time off roading with 94cobra69ss396, his brother and their numerous children, I can say the world would be a better place if there were more parents like them. And trust me, I'm usually the first one to go off about lazy parents giving their kids whatever they want and turning them into little self-absorbed hellions. That ain't the case here.

Also, one the things I've never understood about some of my fellow car guys. It's okay to spend countless thousands of dollars and hours doing "manly" things to your car, no matter how little you actually use it, but spend money on comfort or entertainment, and somehow you're a sissy? Whatever, yawn snore. Then again he does have the 500hp, 11 second daily driver Cobra, that he actually drives daily, and a 10 second Chevelle. So that's covered too.

Nor did you have Color TV, Cell phones, The computer you are writing on, the Forum we are posting on, The DVD/VCR you watched last night, or the fuel injection on your truck, nor...............................:laugh:

When you are stuck in So Cal traffic for 2 hours with the kids, TV's in the back is not a crime. If they had them when I had my dually, I would have installed them.:thumbs_up:

However, I DO not understand, nor will I ever, RAP music at 170db's.:suicide: I have been an audiophile for 40 years, and have a 6' tall 18" rack at home with the speakers to go with it. I like most music, and tend to play it louder than Mrs Bird cares for. :rant:

But while driving, I tend to leave it off, except when going thru the wasteland called N.M.:smack:

Before we get WAY further off topic, let's keep our arrows pointed in the same direction for now. Okay?

I see you met my offspring.:D

As long as we are talking "what I don't get", I don't get why anyone would build a hot car to use as a "daily driver". If you are racing it on the street, then you are an idiot. Soorry, but that's the truth. If you are racing it at the track, you are handicapping yourself against the competition because they have no problem ripping out dead weight that would slow them down. If I want comfort and entertainment, I'll sit back in my easy chair at home and enjoy my entertainment system. If I need to drive somewhere, then I am driving and concentrating ON DRIVING. Having DVD players, deafening boom boxes, cell phones, and all the other distracting crapola that people seem to feel is mandatory to driving is just distractions and potential causes of accidents.

And Bird, I lived in Chicago as a kid. 2 hour traffic jams were not a rarity in the 50s, nor are they today. Parents take the easy way on raising kids every chance they get nowadays. The TV, video games and DVD is raising the kids, not the parents.

How bout that Corvette business model? :nuts:

The reason for the equipment is because at the time I was driving back and forth from CA to AZ to visit my grandmother a lot. My daughter would not ride in the car for more than 45 minutes (she was 9 months old) so I installed a TV in the rear of our Explorer so that we could go an hour and a half or so before having to pull over and let her get out.

We then bought our Suburban and I installed 2 headrest monitors so both my daughters could have a screen in front of them, 1 flip down for when I had my nieces and nephew with us, 1 in the front passenger visor so my wife could watch and then the head unit has it's own 7 inch screen which is always closed. I also have monitors and subs in my Cobra and the ones still in my Explorer.

My kids are not brats and are very well behaved and very loved. I work from home and spend all my time with my family. You do not know me so do not judge me on what kind of father I am! :mad:

Sorry for being upset but I pride myself on being a good father. Anyone who has met me and my children know that to be true.

So why do you have a Vette? Why don't you sell it and buy Corolla? My guess is because you like the car. I like fast cars. My Cobra is my daily driver and yes some would consider it fast. Me, I just think it's a fun car to drive. But it runs 11's and will pull 28mpg. Also, why would I gut the car when I can beat a lot of car with all the creature comforts. Can they drive their gutted out car from CA to AZ with the wife and kids in the car running the air and watching movies. Guess what, I can! Besides, this is my slow car.

Also, I don't street race. I do jump on the car occasionally but not in traffic and not racing someone. I do take it to the track every once in a while but I usually take the Chevelle. Oh and I also cruise that on the street as well. And guess what my daughters like to ride in it.

From what you've written you're either jealous that I have what I have or you're just being a dick.

Or he was just expressing his opinion and doesn't agree with you, that does happen you know. I don't understand all the tv & stereo stuff either.

One of the great things about this site is that most of us have met each other in person at least once. With that i don't think you need to take the time to defend yourself. We all know your a good guy. Just ignore them.

Actually, I DON'T "drive a Vette". If you are asking why I CHOSE a Vette as my performace car choice, to be honest, it wasn't my first choice. First choice would have been a 1st gen Z-28 Camaro. But I didn't and don't have $70,000+ to spend on a car. Most of the decent performance cars of the 60s have climbed into the "collector item" catagory, and thanks to Barret-Jackson and other nutball TV shows, everyone who owns one thinks he has a huge bar of gold in the garage. The Vette was chosen mainly because it was immune to rust...a problem for old cars where I used to live (Illinois). It was also quite reasonably priced at $22,000. Body is in perfect condition and it was equipped with a 454 and automatic. That meant a pretty heavy duty suspension. But I NEVER had any intention of doing any street driving with it. The engine and trans have been yanked out and sold, and current plans (which are on hold till I get a garage built) are a 302 Z-28 engine and 4-speed trans with the rear axle converted to a solid 9 inch Ford. My daily driver is a Chevy pickup truck. It gets around 18 MPG, and I'm retired, so I don't worry one bit about mileage :D I bought the truck for practicality. It has a heavy duty tow package and it also works great to haul all kinds of stuff around in.

Think about this....if the opposition has the exact same car and mods, except his is set up for strip-only use and has gone through a weight reduction plan, do you really think you can beat him? I don't. It's a fact that the easiest, cheapest way to make ANY car go faster is to remove/reduce weight.

I'm glad to hear you don't street race. Best thing I've heard all day ;)

I understand the concept that "it's all about the children". That seems to be the accepted/popular thinking of the day. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. I'm certainly not making any personal comments about how you raise your children. That's YOUR business. But you DID put it out there for everyone to see that you have a rolling entertainment center in your vehicle and it's there to keep your children quiet and occupied. I simply said I disagreed with that concept. It's a no-brainer concept that the auto industry and aftermarket merchandise industry came up with to keep kids quiet for long trips. What in the world did parents do on long trips BEFORE DVD players and monitor screens???? Simple. They figured out other ways to keep kids occupied. Games like license plate spotting and game travel packs.
But since the idiot box became portable, we now have kids glued in front of it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It's a handy babysitter and the kid's brain lays dormant while he stares at a screen that does all the thinking for him. Wonderful. Parents cave in to a screaming/crying kid and give them ANYTHING to keep them quiet. Again, not saying this is you, just making a comment about the present situation in the world. I see it every day everywhere I go where there are kids.

I apologize if any of my previous comments were taken the wrong way. I'm just unhappy with the way things are going with kids in this country. I spent 22 years on the job seeing kids in trouble every day and in almost every instance it was because of poor parenting or lack of parenting. After a while you start to wonder WTF has changed to explain this. I point the finger at society and it's "spare the rod/spoil the child" mentatlity. Plus the idiot box addiction.

Just curious...but why did you have to bring the 9 month old infant along? And how did a DVD monitor help to keep her quiet. That's kinda early to get her addicted to TV viewing. Couldn't the wife just stay home with her?

Dep

I hear you. Trust me when I say though, Ron's kids aren't part of the problem. I wish more kids were like his :drink:

We went out off-roading all day and they were awesome, I had a blast hanging out with them. They're polite and fun.

As for the TV's and what not, I don't quite get your objection. Technology moves forward and if the kids want to watch a movie on a long trip I don't really see the problem :huh:

Like I said...It wasn't a criticism of his kids. Just what's going on with parenting and society today. What's wrong with a DVD for long trips? It does NOTHING to stiumulate any brain activity with the kid. If they're old enough to actually know what's going on in the movie, then they are old enough to be doing something other than staring at it for hours. They get more than enough TV time at home. When they finally get out in the open air, I would hope there would be enough going on around them to keep them entertained. And it's actually the parent's responsibility to help provide that entertainment. I would hope the parent could come up with something better than just slapping in a DVD and letting someone else educate/entertain their kids. :)

I can totally understand your POV. The rest is just a matter of personal choice. :drink:

It's all about the dumbing down of society. Let the govt. be the nanny. Take all control of raising your children and let the govt. do it. Social promotion, day care, pre-k. It's all there to assist the govt. schools to brain-wash the kiddies into thinking the parents aren't needed to raise them. Look who is teaching our children today. Yesterday's hippies. Guys like Ward Churchill and William Ayres. Don't get me started about 2 income families. Instead of Mom staying home to raise the kiddies, she's out working so they can have a McMansion and 2 new cars.:mad:

:sm_up_there:

Decaf for you my friend.

I went to public schools and never once was I taught that parents aren't necessary. In fact, I remember one of the first social studies lessons being about the nuclear family in 3rd grade.

As far as the quality of teachers, it's of course hit or miss. To simply say that a bunch of hippy teachers are ruining our society though is insane. I work for a credit union for educators and can attest to the fact that most of them are very decent, caring individuals. Also although you may not believe it, many of them have their own families. Shocking, isn't it?

Finally, my wife and I don't have kids yet, but the reality is that when we do we will both have to continue working. We don't live in a giant mansion, but the reality of life in Southern California is that it most times does require two incomes. If both parents are doing their job though, this doesn't have to be a bad thing. Plenty of perfectly normal kids have come out of homes where both parents worked.

Never liked de-caf...lol. I never said all, not implied either. It's pretty obvious that our society today has changed a lot since the '50's. With teen pregnancy glorified, sex between teachers and students rampant, almost the norm. Read your child's history books. Not much mention of WW2. And from what I've read, we were responsible for starting the war. Almost no mention of Pearl Harbor, just that we nuked the Japanese. Almost impossible for inept teachers to be fired. Try finding a conservative professor at a major university. Remember that line from a Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry movie where Tyne Daley is applying for a Detective's position on the force, and Harry Calahan says she is being considered for the promotion because it's "stylish"? Many kids today are not allowed to fail or be left back because it "wouldn't reflect well on the schools". I'm sorry for ranting, but I still believe a Mom and Dad can teach a lot more to our children than some govt. school.

Geez!!! The mods scared the poop out of me!!! I thought I was back at CF and a thread had been "sanitized!! :eek:
Sure glad to see parts of it were just relocated. :thumbs_up:

I have to agee with big_G 100%. Schoolbooks have been so distorted that I get scared looking at them. If I had kids (which I don't), I'm pretty sure they would be home-schooled. Or at the very least, I would have to look at what the books in the school had in them and "re-educate" my kids at home to correct all the errors. Way too much is expected from schools nowadays. Besides an education, schools are expected to teach morals, sex education, and discipline. Yet if a teacher whacks a kid, the teacher will be in court the next day. That's why so many kids are being sent to Catholic schools for their education. If a parent isn't going to take an active part in raising their kid, I think they should send him to a military academy. They can instill what public schools can't. Not sure what you would do for a girl, though. A convent? :huh:

That's what my Chevelle is for. I also don't see what your problem is with me having a fast street car. Can you take your truck out to Willow Springs and do 130-140 on the straights? I can in my Cobra. Can you take your truck to the drag strip and beat most of the other cars there? I can in my Cobra. I can also drive it from CA to NY if I wanted to all with the comfort of heat, air, stereo and movies.:thumbs_up:

Also, if I want to move something then I just throw it in the back of my Explorer or my Suburban and if it is too big then I hook up my trailer. Seems like I can do everything you can with your truck. The only difference is I'm an auto enthusiast and enjoy my hobby and driving my vehicles. You just have your truck because it's practical.

My grandmother was not doing well and we went to see her as a family. My grandfather had recently past away and we didn't think my grandmother was going to be around much longer. We actually do most things as a family. Even when I go to the races, which are only about 5 miles from my house, my wife comes later in the morning with my daughters. No need for them to get up at 4am when they can meet me later when the racing begins.

Back to your question. The movie would keep her entertained enough that we could go further before we stopped to let her out of her car seat. She did not like to be strapped down where she couldn't move. We would put in "Letter Learners" and we were able to drive further before she got restless.

The biggest issue with housing in So Cal is that is is so expensive that it usaully takes two incomes to afford a decent home as Sean can tell you. When I bought my first house I bought a very small one that my wife and I could afford on just my income so that when we had kids she could be at home with them. We are now in our second home and my wife still does not have to work. She is a stay at home mom and she is great mother and wife. I couldn't ask for a better one.

As for watching TV, my daughters don't have time to watch TV. When they get home from school my wife sits down with them as they do their homework. My 5 year old only has 1 homework assignment a week so we have letter and number worksheets that we give her on our own so that she has homework everyday. Once they're done with homework they get to play until dinner. After dinner they take a bath and then get ready for bed. My 7 year old reads a book to us for 15 minutes and then they go to bed.

You two just sound like a couple of old farts (I'm 37) who think the world is going to hell. I too didn't have this stuff when I was a kid. Do I think that watching a movie in the car makes kids dumb? No and since my 5 year old is already where she should be by the end of the school year and my 7 year old is on the honor roll I don't think anything you say about it will change my mind.

Sorry gentleman, but I totally disagree with both of you. First of all, teen sex and pregancy is not glorified and in fact statistically has gone down every year since 1991 accept for this year (this year actually was the first year with a slight rise - I blame Sarah Palin's daughter :thumbs_up:). Secondly, both of my brother's work in after school programs, and one of them was a history major, and none of what you are saying about text books is true. I have heard no mention of things like Pearl Harbor being omitted. You would have to provide pretty firm evidence for me to believe something like that is true.

I just don't think things are as bad as you guys think. I went to public schools and I would say the level of education I got was quite good. I think the decay of society has much more to do with bad parenting than it does with poor education.

1. Chevelle
2. Mustang (sorry, but the only car I call a "Cobra" hasn't been made for years, unless you include the replica kit cars).
3. Ford Explorer
4. Chevy Surburban
5. Trailer

I guess you won't be applying for any of the government handouts :sm_laughing:

No idea what or where Willow Springs is. If it's a curvy track, you won't ever find me there.

The correct term is Old Geezer...and yes, I am one. Big_G probably is one too. We are proud of that. While our generation may have had it's screwups, we did accomplish a lot of good stuff. BTW...in case you haven't noticed, the world IS going to hell (in a hand basket). :suicide:

I do agree with you that a lot of parents neglect their children and do not raise them or discipline them they way they should. I however am not one of those fathers and took it very personally.

Truce? :drink:

By the way Willow Springs is a race course here in So Cal and has a half mile front straight. I also beat a bunch of Cobra's (Factory Five Spec kit cars)there with my Cobra (Mustang). Here's a picture of it there after I past a Shebly Series One.

No, I am a bit older than some here and have lived thru the late 50's and the 60's. That gives me a frame of reference that some don't have. I come from a generation that spawned the "Space race" that landed a man on the moon. 40 years later, China says they will go to the moon. Our generation was listening to the Beatles, Moody Blues and Carol King. This generation listens to Ludicris, Jay-Z, Three-six mafia etc. Our generation spoke of "Make love, not war". Today it's all about "pimps and ho's, killin'a cop, selling/doing drugs etc. Most of the kids I grew up with all played some kind of sports after school, with pick-up games everywhere. Today, most kids hit the computer/X-box when they get home and are on it for hours. When I was 12, I had a paper route, and sold Christmas cards door to door, mowed lawns and painted houses. How many kids today have you seen doing the same?

I don't listen to any of that crap and would never allow my daughters to. I won't even let them watch a PG movie until I have seen it first to make sure it's appropriate for them. My daughters listen to mostly Disney CD's like the Cheeta Girls, High School Musical, The Jonas Brothers, etc.

Good for you. Wish more parents were as concerned.

BG: I am 59. I suspect your age is close to mine. :D
I lived through the exact same times as you. Geez I miss them.

94cobra69ss396: Truce is cool. Heck, we weren't arguing anyway. Just different points of view is all :thumbs_up:
Here's the Cobra I'd cut off both nuts for. 427 King Cobra.



SeanPlunk: I suggest you browse through some current grade school and high school history books and stop at the Civil War. Look at the REASON they give for why it was fought. Complete BS. Of course, the victors get to write history any way they want ;)

I have to agree with you here. Parents are to blame.:judge:

Bad education is bad parenting. All my kids could do the "3 r's" before kindergarten. No pre-k, no day care. My wife and were always helping/explaining homework to my 2 sons. My daughter, who is now 14, seldom gets any homework. Now it is harder to know if she is having difficulty. Seems the teachers now think homework is out-dated and not necessary. I don't see any kids carrying books/folders to/from school anymore either. :bang:

LOL...look for the backpacks. That's where the books are. Or are supposed to be. And that is causing all kinds of physical development problems for some kids. Some kids look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame walking up and back to school. The answer is to not give homework and carry less books. Save their posture and keep them dumb. I remember looking like Mr. Nerd carrying a big leather briefcase up and back to school. But it sure made my arms and hands strong :D

Let's be honest, you went to public school in a pretty decent part of O.C., not far from such landmarks as the Nixon Library. Need I say more. That's your frame of reference. I have a friend who teaches grade school in Compton. Guess what? It's rather different. Lots of young idealistic teachers who've been trained with child psychology and development models that DO NOT WORK in those environments. I asked him once, "so, did what you learn during your credential program work." His response, "No. What works is almost the exact opposite of what we were taught." This a whole other subject. You're both right depending on context.

It drives me nuts when people say "I have no choice." That's rarely the real story. They choose. They choose to live in nicer parts of OC with insuffecient single incomes to support that life style choice. That's fine, but it's their choice to make that exchange. I have members in my family that followed that pattern, and some who explicity chose to live in less Gucci areas and not buy non-essential items, precisely so mom could stay home. That was the higher value for them, and they made choices to support that priority. You WANT to live where you live. You WANT to have a play car. That's 100% fine. But it's not a reality beyond your control.

That's intersting. Must be an area, class choice thing. My sister is a Sophomore in HS. She's fiercely competitive and chose to take as many Honors/AP as possible and is constantly doing homework and projects. I graduated H.S.:leaving:

I didn't know that.:huh:












:laugh:

Vettezuki: You are on the money with location being an important factor to education. Public schools in Chicago are nothing but gang education centers.
Believe it or not so many kids were being shot on the way to school that there was talk of buying bullet-proof vests for them.

Most parents who can afford it (and give a shit) send their kids to parochial schools to actually learn things. However, go out to the (white) suburbs of Chicago and you will find some of the top-rated high schools in the country. And they are public high schools.

I also agree about the choice thing. Well said!! :thumbs_up:

Dep

Not a chance. Sean, myself, and a secret 3rd person are the site owners. You wanna see a real blood bath get me and him going about politics or economics. The funny thing is we agree more than disaggree, but it still usually ends with me calling him a commie-pinko-hippie-tree-hugger. :pot_stir:

I don't kow the current state of K-12 text books. Though some of the superficial things I read scare the crap out of me. There seems to be (particlarly in CA) tremendendous social indoctrination going on.

I can really . . . REALLY go off on the history of public education in the US. But it is not a new thing by any means. Go back to Wilson (one of hte most frightening Presidents in American history) who quite openly said, "it is our intention to make them as unlike their fathers as possible." That was almost a 100 years ago. Heck the modern concept of public education in the US traces back directly to Frederick the Great, whose basic concept was to create nice little automatons to fill the ranks of the Prussian Army. Public education is intended to create machines for the State. There is little concept of expanding true free thinking, adverserial systems, skeptical inquiry, expanding individual talent, etc. ["Full inclusion" under no child left behind is taking this poorness to new lows.] Think of it, rows and rows of children being spoon fed what the State wants them to learn and graded on how well they regurgitate it. Does that sound like education? Sounds like brain washing to me.

I don't have children. But if I did I'd almost certainly home school through a young age, maybe up to middle school or so, then send them to a private school unless I was lucky enough to live in a very good public school district.

On a less "Brave New World" note. I went to a Catholic School, Military Academy, and Public Schools. Without question the principle difference between the public and private, was the nature of the relationship between myself and the teachers. It was far more personal at the private schools and was exemplified by an expectation to succeed. The pubic schools in my anecdotal experience weren't wholly careless, but somewhat more ambivalent for sure.

427 King Cobra
 

I broke out the 427 King Cobra Posts to their own thread.

http://www.motorgen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1015

I just wanna argue with Vettezuki.

Would you rather go to the German model of an educational system? Where your educational future is decided before your even in your teens. In Germany there are a number of what we would call High Schools. However your performance in your formative years decides your placement in said schools. The highest of these is Gymnasium (not what you think of in English) and is for the most part your only way to a University. If I was judged by my grades up till the age of 13 I would be a garbage man and would not be going to college.

This being said, I also went to a private military school. I also graduated high school. And most importantly, I'm in my 11th year of college. Haha I crack me up :sm_laughing:

Actually, I WOULD like the German model here. I think you are one of the few exceptions to the rule. I see absolutely NO reason to try and force scumbum gang bangers and other riff-raff into our schools to "get an education" (they don't) and penalize the honest, hard-working kids who DO want an education. All in the name of "equality" and "giving everyone a fair chance". Horsecrap. The reason our academic levels are some of the lowest in the world can be directly connected to this misguided idea that as long as you expose scumbags to education some of it will "rub off" on them.
If parents and teachers and "educators" would just realize that not every kid is an Albert Einstein or child prodigy, and that some kids actually ARE just plain dumb, we would be far ahead of the game.

I agree with you to a point. There are some kids who are smart but are just lazy and need to be pushed to succeed which I think is up to the parents and not the teachers. I was one of those kids. I was a great basketball player and could have gone on to play in college. However, I was lazy in high school (I never did homework) and my grades were just average so no scholarship for me. I haven't done badly for myself but I believe that is because I wasn't lazy when I went into the job market.