Pistonheads vehicles you don't "get"

[irocfan]

KarlMac said:

Porsches.

They're good looking cars and some of them are quick, but I don't understand the cult that follows them.

I'll go with that - one design for the last 50 years with minor tweeks and yet the same people who rave about how good looking the 'latest' 911 is complain that Aston is being lazy because they're starting to follow the same design route

Really don't get all the love for Fezzas either - something you can't really drive too much otherwise they become next to impossible to sell, fragile. Meh keep 'em

[Howroyd]

M135i - felt like a completely detached driving experience. The wheel was so thick is was devoid of all feel, coupled with the no effort required ZF and then mated to a driving position that was just too darn high it left me feeling nothing.

Fast though

[FiF]

The one that I don't get is the Honda S2000. Admittedly the two I've driven were both early examples with that awful snappy roll oversteer but the main attraction seems to be that engine.

Now whilst they're very nice looking in both soft and hard tops, and the gear change is a dream, but it palls very quickly for me when the major appeal of a vehicle is when it must be driven with a huge balloon above it sign written with "Me me me officer, nick ME!"

Now I get the point made above that vehicles which are schizophrenically flawed can be interesting, and the S2000 is that, but in very very short doses, basically the time taken to get from 6-9k in revs, change gear, 6-9k again, fun over.

[Boydie88]

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Here's a bog standard 147hp N/A VX220 leaving a heavily modified skyline for dead https://youtu.be/NjB3w-j5Fns?t=3m

Edited by Boydie88 on Friday 24th July 09:37

[lufbramatt]

Fast versions of family hatchbacks- Focus ST, Astra VXR etc. It's always going to be just a fwd appliance with a few go faster bits glued on. Do not get. A guy I know had a Focus ST which he though was the dogs danglies. The interior was just a sea of grey nasty fabric with some tacky fake carbon, it wasn't that fast and cost him a fortune in fuel. Lost him a fortune in depreciation. For the money it cost him he could have had a "proper" sports car. Pointless car.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

VW's.
Good at what they do, I won't deny that but I don't get the semi fanatical following they get.
Mk4 Golf Gti? I really don't see the appeal. That's without mentioning the flowers hanging from the mirror, stretched tyres, no suspension and daft camber.

Or am I just getting old?

[TommoAE86]

heebeegeetee said:

TommoAE86 said:

heebeegeetee said:

My pal has one, it ferries his life while being fast at the same time, and it's going to cost him £6500 to use it for two years.

See that's the same as it cost me to get my Skyline from Japan, only life thing it can't ferry is long thin things from Ikea.

Indeed he has a host of other interesting machinery, none of which you'd want to use for the daily grind. And each to his own of course, but I definitely would not want to use a 1993 car as a daily.

I get the Golf R. Very good when you find yourself on an m'way, or a holiday, or carrying stuff, or as a B-road weapon. Brand new, all for less than £7k over 2 years, I think ownership of an (also excellent imo) GTi over the same period would not cost less.

I'm struggling to see what's not to 'get'.

As you've said you 'get' it, I really don't 'get' it, think we're stuck in our respective camps. From my point of view the Impreza does much the same as you've described your friends golf does and I like alot more about that car than the R.

Speaking from personal experience I'm much happier pressing a 1993 car into daily service than any of the newer cars I ran.

[jamieduff1981]

Boydie88 said:

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Here's a bog standard 147hp N/A VX220 leaving a heavily modified skyline for dead https://youtu.be/NjB3w-j5Fns?t=3m

Edited by Boydie88 on Friday 24th July 09:37

That Golf is spending a lot of time in the top end of the rev range without really achieving anything.

Hot hatches in general get the thumbs down from me.

[TurboHatchback]

wormus said:

so roll me further bh said:

Audis, people just buy a badge. The cars look awful.

I thought they only made one car.....in white. You just choose it in small, medium or large?

That's more or less accurate, they do also come in slow, medium, fast or ridiculously fast. Pick a fast one and they are a superb way of covering ground very quickly, comfortably and safely. They certainly wouldn't be much good on a track but they can make really superb all-weather road cars. The looks mean nobody pays you any attention, you can take your mother out in it without embarrassing her and drive at warp 9 without anyone really noticing.

[El Guapo]

KarlMac said:

Porsches.

They're good looking cars and some of them are quick, but I don't understand the cult that follows them.

I'd love a 996 at some point (the dream is a GT2).

So what you're saying is, erm, what are you saying?

[SuperchargedVR6]

Boydie88 said:

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Hardly 'spit roasted'. And it's VX220 Turbo, which is over 500Kg lighter. That's like lining up Usain Bolt and Geoff Capes on the 100m start line.

[ContiLean]

Any VXR badged Vauxhall.

[Boydie88]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Boydie88 said:

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Hardly 'spit roasted'. And it's VX220 Turbo, which is over 500Kg lighter. That's like lining up Usain Bolt and Geoff Capes on the 100m start line.

I'd say the VX lifts off when past him given the ease he passed him at. The weight is my point to 'zebra', there are a few situations a "warm hatch" would show a clean pair of "heals" [sic] to an elise/exige type car, but as soon as there is a bend, it's not even close.

[Funkycoldribena]

Another for Alfas,just dont get them,they're ugly.

[SuperchargedVR6]

Boydie88 said:

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Boydie88 said:

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Hardly 'spit roasted'. And it's VX220 Turbo, which is over 500Kg lighter. That's like lining up Usain Bolt and Geoff Capes on the 100m start line.

I'd say the VX lifts off when past him given the ease he passed him at. The weight is my point to 'zebra', there are a few situations a "warm hatch" would show a clean pair of "heals" [sic] to an elise/exige type car, but as soon as there is a bend, it's not even close.

A lot of ordinary cars can get past an R32 easily, let alone a VX220T He might have backed off because some light cars can feel a little 'floaty' at 3 figure speeds in my experience!

[Boydie88]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Boydie88 said:

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Boydie88 said:

zebra said:

Lotus Elise/Exige; ugly, underpowered and overrated handling. Seriously overpriced and a warm hatch will show them a clean pair of heals.g

The only time a warm hatch will come close would be rolling start in third gear.

This R32 just got spit roasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=l81nR_eey...

Hardly 'spit roasted'. And it's VX220 Turbo, which is over 500Kg lighter. That's like lining up Usain Bolt and Geoff Capes on the 100m start line.

I'd say the VX lifts off when past him given the ease he passed him at. The weight is my point to 'zebra', there are a few situations a "warm hatch" would show a clean pair of "heals" [sic] to an elise/exige type car, but as soon as there is a bend, it's not even close.

A lot of ordinary cars can get past an R32 easily, let alone a VX220T He might have backed off because some light cars can feel a little 'floaty' at 3 figure speeds in my experience!

Not sure about 'ordinary' cars, but the whole post in reaction to zebra pretty much claiming warm hatches are better than the elise family.

[IroningMan]

MarshPhantom said:

wormus said:

Axionknight said:

IroningMan said:

MR2 - ugly chav death trap
205GTi - noisy cocoa tin
BL Mini - hateful in every respect

You take that back!

+1. One of the most originally engineered and clever cars ever designed.

Good car in the sixties, stayed in production way too long and cost so much to make that they couldn't make money - I'm not sure that is a sign of good design. My only experience was a loan car I had for 3 days that had 3 different problems on each day I had.

Quite. Novelty value in the - early - sixties, but to use the term 'engineered' to describe anything fitted with an A-series motor is a bit of a stretch.

They're shot through with rust traps and go wrong on a daily basis - and when they do so even the simplest job is guaranteed to result in blood loss.

Awful little stboxes.

[otolith]

People, even PH people, get their enjoyment from cars in different ways. The guy who loves a V8 powered sofa probably isn't going to understand why someone else loves a basic little sports car, but the feeling is likely to be mutual. This is why you can buy more than one kind of car.

[Harry H]

otolith said:

People, even PH people, get their enjoyment from cars in different ways. The guy who loves a V8 powered sofa probably isn't going to understand why someone else loves a basic little sports car, but the feeling is likely to be mutual. This is why you can buy more than one kind of car.

Exactly why I have an A8 barge (petrol V8) and a Lotus Elise. Variety is the spice of life.

[giblet]

Am I the only person who is struggling to think of a PH vehicle that I don't get? I can see the appeal of every PH car I can think of.