Cars We Drive!

[pasadena man]

There is a long tradition of vintage cars cruising the Colorado Boulevard Rose (Bowl) Parade route the day before. I just got back from my tour in my decidedly non-vintage BMW 435i.

What stunned me was noticing that 80% of the cruising vintage cars were from the very short period from the mid 50’s to just after 1970, maybe 17 years. There were almost no cruising cars from the last 50 years, save exotics.

The most popular car, by far, was the VW Bug, followed a ways back by 60’s Mustangs. Models were splintered thereafter.

 

[jbarwick]

This site sometimes has Kei Cars and other imports. I used to stalk it looking for Hilux pickups...

Inventory – Japanese Classics

www.japaneseclassics.com

 

[am55]

Just up for auction today. You can have one here in the US now too. 0.6 liters of bone crushing horsepower.

No Reserve: 1997 Suzuki Carry Pickup 4-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1997 Suzuki Carry Pickup 4-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #132,685.

bringatrailer.com

You'd be amazed how fast they can drive on rural mountain roads.

(although Honda seems to have cornered the market where I was recently)

 

[am55]

This site sometimes has Kei Cars and other imports. I used to stalk it looking for Hilux pickups...

Inventory – Japanese Classics

www.japaneseclassics.com

Meanwhile downunder where they swim in Hiluxes, they import(ed) Tundras...

https://www.performaxint.com.au/showroom/toyota/toyota-tundra-trd-pro

 

[am55]

If you want to go down a rabbithole and you already know about the Jimny, look up kei "vans" (or cars, really) done up as camper conversion, esp with 4wd.

Defender Meets Tiny Van Life With the DAMD Hazel - Overland Expo®

The DAMD Hazel is a pop-top camper conversion that riffs on the Land Rover Defender - thus the “Little D” in the name and on the front of the crazy creation.

www.overlandexpo.com

 

[Omega Male]

 

[SharpMan]

I disagree with the statement 'the uglier a man's legs are, the better he plays golf' - mine are terrible and my golf is equally poor

 

[SharpMan]

You read me like a book! Yes, I do have the same viewpoints about a lot of modern ICE cars as well. There's been a slow death of exciting cars, leaving very few left. The whole auto industry to me has been sad to watch as creativity, emotion, and passion has been swept away by the homogenized soulless, boring, appliance like cars/SUV's/trucks.

I was driving a short time ago and came to a stop light next to a Lamborghini SUV. A Lambo SUV! I rolled down my window as I always do next to a nice Italian car and listened to the engine. It had a nice, sweet hum to it, but it was attached to a huge monstrosity of an SUV body. It did nothing to me. It was so weird, looking at this brand new Lambo and feeling nothing. Were I to win this SUV for free, I'd just take it and sell it. Wouldn't even drive it. I rent an SUV when I take my son to and from his college dorm on move in/out days. I can't stand the experience. I'm visibly uncomfortable driving such a big vehicle. The gas consumption is amazingly poor.

I don't even like my 330i that much. I only got that for the wife. I'd have a 2 series BMW if it were up to me, or a Z4. Or maybe go back to driving a GTI. I've always been a hot hatch driver up until recently. This 330i is my first ever sedan. Again, the wife wants me to have a more "adult" car. I drive just shy of 40,000 miles a year so my view should have prevailed! Maybe next time.

Maybe I missed this but what car do you have that would be comfortable for 40K miles a year on and not be an appliance? The 2 buddies I have who drive a lot have an Audi A4 or big diesel truck as they haul for their business.

Jbarwick - likely to be a controversial comment, but I find Audi's to be very much an appliance (also, never owned by had use of several VAG group vehicles and my experience has been quite the opposite of the 'German quality' the motoring press seems to feel they showcase). BMW and Mercedes on the other hand, pretty good cars. Generally, if you want something more 'driver' oriented, BMW is the go to car (this obviously excludes Mercedes AMG cars). You want 'staesman' buy a Mercedes.

Now this other fellow mentioned a 2 series BMW. There is an M version (M2). I assume it will be the same in the US (where I am guessing you are located) - but this is what the M3 was. The current M3, as great as it is, feels 'bloated' to me. The M2 however, smaller, nimble, 3 litre inline 6 engine. I agree with regards to driving a manual, but the gear change in that car is pretty good for a paddle shift.

Z4 (another Beemer) is very nice - lovely proportions, great car. My friend drives one (M40) which is the 'M' version (you sense I am a little akward mentioning the M branding, as that used to be reserved for the performance oriented pinnacle of the range - now, M Sport is also a trim level). If you do not need the rear seats, or the full time roof, that would be an absolute hoot (and I think they are more attractively priced)

Out of these, my personal choice would be the M2, but that is because I generally prefer coupe's to soft tops (notable exceptions - the Jaguar E-type and early style Jaguar XK) and I 'think' long term, they will hold the value better. With the push to electric vehicles, if I were buying a new car today, I would be looking to keep it as long as possible so I could steer away from the push to battery power for a little while longer

 

[SharpMan]

I sort of lost the EV thread a little bit, but as I have touched on them in my reply, there are just a couple of thoughts. Now, call me a Boomer, Call me a Dinosaur but I much rather have a preference for traditionally powered ICE vehicles. Coming from experience of driving, and some time working with a car manufacturer.

The first point to note, I do not think that one 'power source' is better than all others. Here in the UK we had a push a few years ago to Diesel power (due to lower CO2). Prior to that, Unleaded petrol was the 'clean saviour' and Diesel was the dirty fuel which stoked the fires of hell. A few years ago, with VW and thier emissions cheating and we are back to 'dirty diesel'.

Now, we have electric cars. Being a dinosaur, let us not forget that electric vehicles 'were' available in the early 20th century (though ther history goes back further than that). So they are not a 'new' concept, just other technologies won out.

With today's electric cars (not so much Tesla, I do not think they have the finess of other brands) I love the performance (0-60 times on a regular family car in line with some sports cars of 20 years ago!), great handling (largely thanks to the heavy battery and its place under the floor) and (for those who are so inclined) provide a very hushed ride.

That is where my positives end. As an answer/replacement to ICE power, they lack soul, I am not totally convinced of thier environmnetal credentials nor thier longevity. Anyone with an iPhone will tell you that the battery, after a few years, will hold less 'electricity' than when it was new - and those will not last as long (pretty sure my fuel tank still holds as much petrol as it did when the car left the factory). You may think 'ah, that is fine as the manufactures provie a 10 year warranty on that'. Yes, they do, but read the small print - they accept something like 5% batery degredation per year (according to a formerly British, now chinese brand's dealership). Even if you did get a replacement battery, that has a huge environmental impact. Through clever marketing, you might think your VW, Porsche, Audi or Bentley has a 'German' battery, so will be manufactured to cleaner standards and not have traveled half way around the world... Think again.

This forum (in general) does a good job of making the point that everything has it's place (I read another thread about Barbours being worn in cities etc). How about applying the same logic to cars. If you are going long, motorway (or in the US - Highway) trips a diesel will suit you well and meet your needs (and use less fuel, thus be more economic and environmental). You do some zipping around villages and such, a small petrol car will work well for you. Cruising across continents, get a big V8 / V12 which will bearly have to work to hold you at cruising speed across long distances.

Electric cars - very at home in a few places. Slot car tracks for example being one, but joking aside, in cities where smog and pollution are a key issue. The only 'slight' contradiction in thier use as 'city' cars is the preference to have a drive to charge them, but that is more an issue with city planners, and when they do fail, they have more complex processes to make them safe again (put out a petrol car fire, it kind of stays out - a battery goes up, it an rupture cells and reignite later. for example) which tend to necessitate space - again more an issue for the city planner than the car manufacturer or driver.

Do I resist change - possibly, however I like to feel I embrace change when it has a clear benefit. My car is old (a whole other topic, but I firmly believe keeping cars running longer, thus saving the environmental impact of building new cars is possibly a great, eco friendly, approach to motoring) but that is not because I resist change, it is because it does what I need it to do and does it reasonably well (and I very much like my car).

 

[Omega Male]

 

[Texasmade]

Ngl, I miss my C63S AMG with the v8 biturbo engine.

 

[sugarbutch]

One of these (same gray and red) passed me on 101 on my way home this evening. It was so incongruous among all of the regular cars. The driver didn’t treat us to any exhaust entertainment, though, so I was disappointed.

 

[HRoi]

The Ultimate Everything-but-Driving Machine

Now BMW Thinks People Want To Play Video Games In Their Car

Automakers keep creating new tech based on an assumption that buyers want to practically live their lives in their car.

jalopnik.com

 

[patrick_b]

My favorite recent Jalopnik story was all the Cyber Trucks needing rescue in normal amounts of snow.

Tesla Cybertrucks Keep Getting Stuck In Snow

Seems like those factory tires aren't good for much when the flakes start piling up

jalopnik.com

 

[jbarwick]

I stopped reading Jalopnik a few years ago. Worth reading is just click-baity these days?