Cars We Drive!

[Mr G from SD]

Love this car. Was my dream car as a kid.

Thank you for the compliment. It is never too late to look at purchasing one so long as you can live with the 14mpg,

The values are at about rock-bottom now and predicted to rise as the car becomes more collectible. I don't know if you've ever driven one, but in my opinion new cars just don't match up. I just like old cars more, and the build quality on this era of MB is very good.

 

[yywwyy]

Hey guys,

I'll be on vacation at LA & Vegas (Through LAX). Early March, with my wife, no kids, 8 days. I'd like to rent a nice car during my stay (preferably sports car, sports coupe & convertibles O.K.). I'm thinking a 981 Porsche boxster/cayman/ 991-911, BMW Z4, M3 (maybe even 335), or similar. Any recommendations on where to rent ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[size 38R]

The STI is seen as a kid's car in the US. Same baggage as the Evo.

How much money do your kids have???? kids are more likely to drive a Honda civic. it really depends on who's looking at your car, and the crowd you hang with. in the tuning world, a new car is something slightly older, wealthier guys can afford. in any color.

only in blue

awwww come on, it's a nice blue. but they look sweet in grey.

Wait until he gets his first 5 figure repair bill...

He is a skilled crash repairer and painter, with some very able race car building friends. - he knows what he's doing.
work is only expensive if you are paying some clown more than you need to. or a dealer which is the same.

Help me understand the logic behind getting an used S600 for 10k. Theres likely to be high maintenance/repair bills, its a 10 year old model therefore impressing nobody, 0 resale value, and its 10k + maintenance in the hole. Ill bet my bonus he bought it for the badge.

because of laws regarding emissions, and taxes. his car would have less than 60,000 miles on it. virtually cutting it's "age" in half.
so it's still a very fresh car. i'm guessing he bought it for the V12. and the like new condition. if buying for the badge, he would have bought something like a E300 or a 3-series BMW. whomever you are trying to impress, i'm still not a fan of German cars.

My boss had an '04 S600. He was an expat for a few years so I think the thing only had 60k miles on it. And still it was an absolute nightmare on maintenance. Complex systems, broke down a lot, really expensive to fix. I'd never buy a DC era Mercedes bdfaise of the stories people tell me.

Also, if something depreciates tremendously it's usually a red flag

100% agree with you that they are more complex than a car should be, and not worth the "Premium" price tags they command new. or the Prestige that people seem to give them. the depreciation is nuts. but scoring them cheap is what they are worth. so sad your boss had that experience. with the right care, it should have been ok. (well,better than he experienced).
anyway, they are not aimed at "Car people" they are aimed at guys who buy a Rolex, when a g-shock can do the same thing. -priorities.
in the right hands they are a good ride for your wife to drive for safety. and they are less likely to be driven hard.

so glad i bought my car. had zero problems. just done maintenance. (myself=free) and expect it to only get better. not worse. and the value to go up. not down. hooray for japanese supercars!!!!!

 

[GBear]



How much money do your kids have????     kids are more likely to drive a Honda civic.  it really depends on who's looking at your car, and the crowd you hang with.  in the tuning world, a new car is something slightly older, wealthier guys can afford. in any color.

Haha, not the kids in California. Every person I see in a STi is under 30. I see people in their 20s pulling up in custom Gallardos and 458s everyday on my way to school.

 

[Gianni Cerutti]

yup, sticking with Subaru Impreza STI as my tip. 5-Door hatch, AWD, high safety rating, nice interiors. great engineering, and fast as F#*k.

the difference is you will not be seen as a kid, or a poser , but as someone who just enjoys their car. and made a practical, fun choice.

take it or leave it. but standing firm with the choice. for what you asked. any chance you could test drive one? and tell us what you think?

Really aggressive.

 

[size 38R]

Haha, not the kids in California. Every person I see in a STi is under 30. I see people in their 20s pulling up in custom Gallardos and 458s everyday on my way to school.

well, they are lucky. i am around 30 and would totally drive one. would leave the gallardo's etc. -not my thing.

Really aggressive.

you test drove one???? full review please.

 

[Find Finn]



Uh, I am not checking in for a few days and you guys go all nuts over the Touring Alfa. 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Not debating the design of the new Touring Alfa 8C (I don't like it) but you got a few things wrong:

• Foose and others are not considered coachbuilders - or a carozzeria - as they were known in the heydays in Italy. Foose is a true (And in my opinion, extremely good) fabricator with a deep hot rod tradition. That includes more than the design and body and often, as you pointed out, chassis and engine work
• A traditional coachbuilder - Think Pininfarina, Zagato, Touring, or, outside Italy, Mulliner (UK), Park Ward (UK), Brewster (US), LeBaron (US), Karmann (Germany), etc. - only builds bodies/ interiors, usually on a rolling factory chassis with all mechanical components. 

The coach built tradition was the biggest in Italy until it died a slow death in the 70s. Often, Italian car makers like Alfa, Lancia, Fiat, etc. commissioned their sportier models or the convertibles to a coachbuilder. Smaller car makers like Ferrari, Maserati, etc. and of course all the eceterini stuff like Cisitalia, Abarth or Siata constantly collaborated with coachbuilders. That's probably the main reason why vintage Italian cars look so ******* sexy. Some survived, notably Pininfarina, which still designs and builds bodies for Ferrari for example. Others, like Zagato, became more of an industrial design shop.

Now, Touring is one of the most famous one from the golden era. They are tightly linked to Alfas and made some of the most beautiful ones, including some of the original 30's Alfa 8C and the stunning Disco Volante pictured above (Yes, it likely floats ...). As with others, they went belly up in the 60s (Causing some trouble for Lamborghini who had the Islero designed there and all of a sudden, found themselves without a contractor). The rights got purchased by a rich Belgian guy, who resurrected Touring in 2006.

It was also tradition in the 40s, 50s and 60s, that wealthy owners brought their cars to a coachbuilder, only to have them rip off the bodies and build something that they liked more or, in the case of Zagato, something that was lighter for racing. Surprisingly, there have been a few coachbuilt one-offs lately for some of the super rich. Especially Zagato got commissioned to design a few one-offs/ very low volume Ferraris and Alfas. Prices for those run north of $1.5M ...

With that, lesson over. For homework, check out a few of Touring's great designs from the 30s to the 60s and compare them to the **** boxes (including all of BMW) on the road today.

Mike

I'm already aware of all of this Pinifarina did the P4/5 a couple years ago and Zagato did Alfa Romeo tz3, so they haven't died out both also do styling for a bunch of companies, but that doesn't really change that fact that me the Touring is a custom car nothing more and nothing less and if I'm being harsh it goes in to the same category as the fiberglass bodykittet boxes people built in their sheds or get WCC to build, they haven't even bothered designing their own wheels ffs.

 

[Mr M]

I always told my brothers when they are buying their cars to first size their wallet. If they can't afford to these three things, they need to lower down a little on their expectation.

- Buying price (make sure you can pay for it be it in cash or lease)

- Running cost (this includes gas, maintenance, insurance, tires etc)

- Repair (self explanatory)

One struggled with the first two and the other with the last two. After both got married they have to let go of their sports cars.

As for me, my NSX is fully paid, single, good paying job and currently upgrading my career by going for study again.

My advise would be do what you like in life for your job and always size your pocket when buying something. Tho myself can forget the latter sometimes.

 

[mbaum]

I'm already aware of all of this Pinifarina did the P4/5 a couple years ago and Zagato did Alfa Romeo tz3, so they haven't died out both also do styling for a bunch of companies, but that doesn't really change that fact that me the Touring is a custom car nothing more and nothing less and if I'm being harsh it goes in to the same category as the fiberglass bodykittet boxes people built in their sheds or get WCC to build, they haven't even bothered designing their own wheels ffs.

I think you say that the Touring Alfa is executed badly - I agree. I also agree that the Touring resurrection appears more like badge engineering at this point (Nowhere near the league of PF or Zagato).

I think, unless I see more of the "new" Touring, your statement is not that inaccurate (Don't even know who the head of design is nor do I bother right now to research it).

For now, I stick with the classic Touring designs on Alfas.

 

[AllieS]

A good family car is a Saturn ION. We got one of these almost two years ago and it has been the best car. It had under 60K miles on it and was just under 10K. We have had very few issues with it and it is a 2006. Great car.

 

[size 38R]

I always told my brothers when they are buying their cars to first size their wallet. If they can't afford to these three things, they need to lower down a little on their expectation.

- Buying price (make sure you can pay for it be it in cash or lease)

- Running cost (this includes gas, maintenance, insurance, tires etc)

- Repair (self explanatory)

One struggled with the first two and the other with the last two. After both got married they have to let go of their sports cars.

As for me, my NSX is fully paid, single, good paying job and currently upgrading my career by going for study again.

My advise would be do what you like in life for your job and always size your pocket when buying something. Tho myself can forget the latter sometimes.

you raise some great points. i LOL at guys who pay a big part of their income leasing a depreciating car. only to do it again in 4 years.

my car is on a financed loan. but at $100 a month, it's liveable. it's fair on gas. (tyres are a frequent cost

) but maintenance is cheap. - i replaced a broken tail light for $5 on yahoo Japan.but a tail light on my wife's car= $245!!!!! doing work yourself saves so much more money you could use for parts, along with the pride of having done it yourself.
anything spent is an upgrade. so the benefits are plenty. with another 17 years of driving to go. and performance that equals it's newer rivals.

@Mr M i'm so glad you have owned the NSX for such a long time. you understand what it means to keep a car going. along with the driving experience of a constantly evolving ride.

also,BIG thanks to the nice folks at Nissan, who always go out of their way to find me the small stuff. they love seeing a piece of their best work getting cared for. and even make me a coffee while i'm browsing parts catalogues.

p.s. I sometimes see neglected but awesome cars looking sad and lonely. would you guys like to see some pics of homeless *** cars??? a bit of auto pron??

 

[Gianni Cerutti]

I think you say that the Touring Alfa is executed badly - I agree. I also agree that the Touring resurrection appears more like badge engineering at this point (Nowhere near the league of PF or Zagato).

I think, unless I see more of the "new" Touring, your statement is not that inaccurate (Don't even know who the head of design is nor do I bother right now to research it).

For now, I stick with the classic Touring designs on Alfas.

Beautiful and classy.

 

[death shot]

A good family car is a Saturn ION. We got one of these almost two years ago and it has been the best car. It had under 60K miles on it and was just under 10K. We have had very few issues with it and it is a 2006. Great car.

I've heard good things from others as well.


I've been thinking about starting a project. My buddy brought it up recently and is interested in getting involved so it might actually happen. I have a 99 Turbo in my crosshairs:

 

[yywwyy]

911 Turbo Put to Good Use: Pursues & Blocks Hit & Runner

 

[Gus]

Went and drove the basic BMW X1 yesterday with sport seats and sport wheel. (We own a Cayenne S and an R 32). It was a blast to drive. Nice power, very nimble, , great interior. All the things you want in a small, car with room to carry stuff in the back. I can see it was one of the only cars that both the car reviewers for the NYTimes praised it in their 2013 roundup.

As an aside, have you ever noticed how certain cars look great in a color and other not so good in the same shade? The X1 looks it's best (a bit more sporty and adventuresome) in black or charcoal. In white it looks like a Nissan.