New cars; ho hum

porman said:

Working on and driving all the latest, greatest Porsches for 40 years spoiled me. Nothing I can afford even comes close. Just boring cars for me.

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I've driven Lambo, Ferrari, Ford GT, Dodge Viper, and Porsche on roads and drag raced on a closed airport runway.

Nothing, NOTHING, felt like the Porsche. Some of the others had beastly power and acceleration - as did the Porsche - but they left me white knuckled. The Viper had awesome power but at 100 it already started getting squirrely. I could drive the Porsche at max limits with just my fingertips on the steering wheel and it required very little input to stay in control.

I have a BMW now but yearn for a new Porsche.

phillippeterson said:

I've driven Lambo, Ferrari, Ford GT, Dodge Viper, and Porsche on roads and drag raced on a closed airport runway.

Nothing, NOTHING, felt like the Porsche. Some of the others had beastly power and acceleration - as did the Porsche - but they left me white knuckled. The Viper had awesome power but at 100 it already started getting squirrely. I could drive the Porsche at max limits with just my fingertips on the steering wheel and it required very little input to stay in control.

I have a BMW now but yearn for a new Porsche.

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Wifey B: Love driving my Porsche although now nearly 10 years old and less than 40,000 miles.

We do a boys weekend away each year (old Uni mates). We tend to stay in country pubs and enjoy a beer or two over the catch up each night. Great fun.

The last line up was an 1988 911 (whale tail), a 1992 911, a 2020 911, all terrific cars. BUT, we also had a 1959 1600 MGA along as well on the last trip. This was my favourite car. The bloke that owns it really knows MG's inside out. It is very fast for its age and type, just about keeps up with the Porches. However stopping was another matter.

We try to stick to the old country roads, and when your are in the MG and hit a bump going into a corner the whole car skips sideways, it can be a little unsettling until you get used to it!

We also keep a close eye out for the roos(as in Kanga) on these roads,especially in the late afternoon. They have absolutely no road sense, unlike Emus.

Our next trip is coming up in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see what cars turn up.

My customers always asked me what Porsche I owned. I told them I owned a boat. Most of them understood.

I'm enjoying my Kia Seltos GT-Line, new as of 2 years ago. Seeing it was after driving a Celica GT4 for 28 of its 30 year life, and was a very hard act to follow, this wee beastie is great. I'm loving all the bells and whistles the GT4 lacked.

Like radar cruise, cross-traffic, door open, blindspot warnings, auto lights and wipers, LEDs all round, AEB, forward and backwards, heated and cooled electric seats...the list goes on. And hey, even after owning it that long I just found I can update the mapping software from the Kia website myself, rather than wait for the regular service, and it can be started remotely...who knew..?
PS. Are these selling well over there in NA..?

Remote start?..........good for bank robbers I suppose.

Andy G said:

Remote start?..........good for bank robbers I suppose.

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This is better

Peter B said:

I'm enjoying my Kia Seltos GT-Line, new as of 2 years ago. Seeing it was after driving a Celica GT4 for 28 of its 30 year life, and was a very hard act to follow, this wee beastie is great. I'm loving all the bells and whistles the GT4 lacked.

Like radar cruise, cross-traffic, door open, blindspot warnings, auto lights and wipers, LEDs all round, AEB, forward and backwards, heated and cooled electric seats...the list goes on. And hey, even after owning it that long I just found I can update the mapping software from the Kia website myself, rather than wait for the regular service, and it can be started remotely...who knew..?
PS. Are these selling well over there in NA..?

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Hyundai and Kia sell extremely well here.

One car I really like is the new style Corvette.

Helmsman said:

One car I really like is the new style Corvette.

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Wifey B: We have a close friend with one and it's amazing. If I didn't feel like I'd be impeding on Jenn's Vette domain, I might very well consider one.

BandB said:

Wifey B: We have a close friend with one and it's amazing. If I didn't feel like I'd be impeding on Jenn's Vette domain, I might very well consider one.

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My wife has an aversion to them from their reputation in the seventies and eighties, otherwise I would be following your lead!

Helmsman said:

My wife has an aversion to them from their reputation in the seventies and eighties, otherwise I would be following your lead!

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Hubby B Jumping in. I had friends who were Corvette fanatics and had to agree with your wife. Even in the late 60's. Performance was just ok, but ride was very poor. If I want a sports car, I still want a decent ride. The new Corvettes hit the mark in all ways with all the luxury of a fine sedan and the performance of an incredible sports car.

BandB said:

Hubby B Jumping in. I had friends who were Corvette fanatics and had to agree with your wife. Even in the late 60's. Performance was just ok, but ride was very poor. If I want a sports car, I still want a decent ride. The new Corvettes hit the mark in all ways with all the luxury of a fine sedan and the performance of an incredible sports car.

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Pretty good price, too!

For an older car, I like the Austin Healey 3000 Mark III. Those that have had insulation added along the transmission tunnel are pretty comfortable to drive.

I think often it's what you fell in love with early. We have an employee whose mom was in the Navy and taught in Annapolis while her father is Italian and lived in Naples. It is his feeling that only Italian cars express the romance and artistry needed. On Monica's 16th birthday, he flew to the US and arranged a delivery of an Alfa Romeo Spider that afternoon. My understanding is only 35 of that model made it to the US. Can you imagine a 16 year old driving it to school? She still has that car and just got a new Alfa Romeo. She's deeply hooked.

My wife always dreamed of a Porsche 911.

Jenn, who she mentioned, bought a Corvette as her first car and has never owned anything else.

The least practical car any of our friends owns is Carm and her Ferrari. She rarely drives it and regularly has it serviced. She first was entranced by them as they'd appear on the streets of NY. Her family didn't own a car, just rented when needed.

I never dreamed of exotic cars. I have a Maserati, bought in 2012, but it's not special to me like these are to their owners. I guess I'm still waiting for the car to hit that really excites me.

I found a picture of my old Jag (now digitized by my wife). The car behind it was also mine. 1950 Buick Dynaflow Special. 13 mpg on the freeway. Unfortunately, I think this is the only picture I have of it.

I saw a meme joke this morning.

"If you are going to post about your vehicle it better be a food truck!"

Peter B said:

I'm enjoying my Kia Seltos GT-Line, new as of 2 years ago. Seeing it was after driving a Celica GT4 for 28 of its 30 year life, and was a very hard act to follow, this wee beastie is great. I'm loving all the bells and whistles the GT4 lacked.

Like radar cruise, cross-traffic, door open, blindspot warnings, auto lights and wipers, LEDs all round, AEB, forward and backwards, heated and cooled electric seats...the list goes on. And hey, even after owning it that long I just found I can update the mapping software from the Kia website myself, rather than wait for the regular service, and it can be started remotely...who knew..?
PS. Are these selling well over there in NA..?

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I rented a Kia Seltos GT in Toronto last month. Had 6kms on it when I left Pearson. I quite liked the little compact SUV, until I rather easily found its limit on a cloverleaf and was skipping sideways towards the Armco, without any warning.

As the saying goes, more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. This is what one says when you can't afford Ferrari's and Porsches. So, instead I had a long run of cheap British and Italian cars as a younger man.

I found I still have too much hooligan in me to own a fast car or motorcycle. There are no tracks around me to satisfy the need, so I have regressed dramatically.

I must have wrenched on cars too much in my youth, as all I want now is simple and reliable.

I have two LandCruisers (one's a diesel) and my latest motorcycle purchase was a Honda CT110.

Captain Slow here.

Marco Flamingo said:

I found a picture of my old Jag (now digitized by my wife). The car behind it was also mine. 1950 Buick Dynaflow Special. 13 mpg on the freeway. Unfortunately, I think this is the only picture I have of it.

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I toured Scandinavia in a silver and red leather 3.8 mk II as a kid. Love those cars.

Northern Spy said:

Captain Slow here.

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We have fast cars but do not drive fast. Stay in the predominant speed range on highways, 5 mph or so above limit.

Northern Spy said:

As the saying goes, more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. This is what one says when you can't afford Ferrari's and Porsches. So, instead I had a long run of cheap British and Italian cars as a younger man.

Captain Slow here.

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Not me, I have a slow boat so I drive fairly fast, but safely.

And you are right about slow and fast cars. If I had owned a fast car in my youth, I would not have lived long.

I also owned British and Italian cars when in my teens and early 20's.

Had a Fiat 850 Spyder, 843 cc (51 cu inch) 48 hp, 0 to 60 in 16 seconds! Had to constantly shift gears to stay in the powerband and braked hard and late to. A really fun car to drive and autocross.

With modern, more powerful cars, the limit is so much higher than the Fiat 850's or most other vintage sports cars, that they are sort of dangerous at the limit. Good thing most modern performance cars have stability control and ABS.

syjos said:

Not me, I have a slow boat so I drive fairly fast, but safely.

And you are right about slow and fast cars. If I had owned a fast car in my youth, I would not have lived long.

I also owned British and Italian cars when in my teens and early 20's.

Had a Fiat 850 Spyder, 843 cc (51 cu inch) 48 hp, 0 to 60 in 16 seconds! Had to constantly shift gears to stay in the powerband and braked hard and late to. A really fun car to drive and autocross.

With modern, more powerful cars, the limit is so much higher than the Fiat 850's or most other vintage sports cars, that they are sort of dangerous at the limit. Good thing most modern performance cars have stability control and ABS.

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I had a 1969 fiat 124 spider. Always liked the lines of it, but the aluminum head was always a problem. Fun to drive.

Helmsman said:

I had a 1969 fiat 124 spider. Always like the lines of it, but the aluminum head was always a problem. Fun to drive.

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Problem with the beautiful Fiat 124 coupe here was rust. Imported as deck cargo on a submarine?

On the Kia commentary, we bought a Kia Cerato GT, a warm (?hot) hatch for my partner. Never driven a go-kart but that`s how it feels to drives. Lots of fun,selecting "Sport" produces full snarl mode.

BruceK said:

Problem with the beautiful Fiat 124 coupe here was rust. Imported as deck cargo on a submarine?

On the Kia commentary, we bought a Kia Cerato GT, a warm (?hot) hatch for my partner. Never driven a go-kart but that`s how it feels to drives. Lots of fun,selecting "Sport" produces full snarl mode.

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Didn’t have to deal with rust, but constantly working on the motor. Learned a lot, though.

Still own (and restoring, again) my college car I bought in 1962. A 1954 Triumph TR-2 with a serial number of TS396 LO. I raced it while I was in college and was always broke, even with a full- time job on the side. Not stock anymore, with a '59 TR-3 engine, A '63 TR-4 tranny and a '59 Morgan/TR rear end with larger brakes and higher gearing. I'm doing a complete re-wire, replacing 60 years of stop-gap wiring "fixes", and I'll do another paint and upholstery job and I'm debating on finally replacing my generator with a new alternator. I just turned 80 last week and hope I can get it done for my 47 year old son and my 25 year-old mechanic grandson. Ben

Greetings,
I drove a 1962 MGA (MarkII, I think) for two years. Luckily it was not my primary means of transportation. Fun car but...Moved to VW Beetles afterwards. Not as nimble or quick but far superior in the dependability department.

I've done a couple of trips down memory lane with old cars. I love the retro experience of driving them and working one them (I survived as a mechanic through college). But after a while I am always reminded of all the reasons I sold them along the way. Noisy, poor handling, slow, unreliable, overheating, etc. The only one that I really still enjoy driving today is the Mercedes SL 113 "Pagoda". This is a '64 230SL. I also have a '70 280 SL.

Helmsman said:

I had a 1969 fiat 124 spider. Always liked the lines of it, but the aluminum head was always a problem. Fun to drive.

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Lusted after the 124 Spyder. Could not afford one in my younger days.

Did install the twin cam 1600 motor from a 124 in my 850 spyder in the 70's. Reversed rotation, front radiator, Abarth transmission, lowered and upgraded suspension. It was very fast and cornered like a go-cart. Many top time autocross wins in Modified Class in the PNW.

Traded it for a Lotus Elan!

syjos said:

Lusted after the 124 Spyder. Could not afford one in my younger days.

Did install the twin cam 1600 motor from a 124 in my 850 spyder in the 70's. Reversed rotation, front radiator, Abarth transmission, lowered and upgraded suspension. It was very fast and cornered like a go-cart. Many top time autocross wins in Modified Class in the PNW.

Traded it for a Lotus Elan!

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A friend of mine recently bought a '74 124 Fiat. Fun car. His family had a 128 when we were kids and we wailed on that car. Full throttle or full brake, and nothing in between.

twistedtree said:

I've done a couple of trips down memory lane with old cars. I love the retro experience of driving them and working one them (I survived as a mechanic through college). But after a while I am always reminded of all the reasons I sold them along the way. Noisy, poor handling, slow, unreliable, overheating, etc. The only one that I really still enjoy driving today is the Mercedes SL 113 "Pagoda". This is a '64 230SL. I also have a '70 280 SL.

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Pagoda’s are great, with my favorite the 230/250’s. But I also like even earlier Mercedes…