Nomad Willy
Guru
So far we’ve established that there’s advantages to either.
I have a lot of experience w older cars back to my first. A 1935 Chevrolet w radio and heater. Very deluxe. Paid $4.50 for it and drove it home w/o a license. Had “knee action” front suspension that was like a wasted shock absorber. Rode quite smooth though.
Unfortunately crisp handling is far more popular than a smooth ride now. Priorities misplaced IMO. Not say’in we should go back to 1936 cars but a reasonable compromise would be really nice. I remember a somewhat modern car that had a VERY nice ride. Late 60’s 220 MB 6 cyl. Not usually fond of the brand but that car rode beautifully. Another remarkable riding car was a Renault 5 (late 70’s) known most often as the “LeCar”. It had a magic ride too but at the expense of too much body roll. It would traverse really big potholes bigger than the Renault’s wheels with amazing grace.
So good riding cars can be built but all cars (that I know about) have a “performance” tuned suspension. Including my present Avalon. That’s stupid as probably over 95% of car buyers would much rather have a smooth ride.
The auto testers are car enthusiasts and only say nice things about cars tuned for performance. And the manufacturers seem to follow.
I have a lot of experience w older cars back to my first. A 1935 Chevrolet w radio and heater. Very deluxe. Paid $4.50 for it and drove it home w/o a license. Had “knee action” front suspension that was like a wasted shock absorber. Rode quite smooth though.
Unfortunately crisp handling is far more popular than a smooth ride now. Priorities misplaced IMO. Not say’in we should go back to 1936 cars but a reasonable compromise would be really nice. I remember a somewhat modern car that had a VERY nice ride. Late 60’s 220 MB 6 cyl. Not usually fond of the brand but that car rode beautifully. Another remarkable riding car was a Renault 5 (late 70’s) known most often as the “LeCar”. It had a magic ride too but at the expense of too much body roll. It would traverse really big potholes bigger than the Renault’s wheels with amazing grace.
So good riding cars can be built but all cars (that I know about) have a “performance” tuned suspension. Including my present Avalon. That’s stupid as probably over 95% of car buyers would much rather have a smooth ride.
The auto testers are car enthusiasts and only say nice things about cars tuned for performance. And the manufacturers seem to follow.
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