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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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EDIT: Pack of top bumps to be updated in first post   My first thread in RC's, be nice! So, I see my car history as pretty typical for Pistonheads members - sub £10k performance cars of all kinds; roadsters, jap 4x4, lightweight, FWD hatch etc. Thing is, over the last few years I've gone through quite a few cars, and SWMBO said I could make a pack of Top Bumps with my cars by the time I'm 40. Good idea! Out came a few old pictures and Paint, and here we go First things first - I haven't included any of my early cars (18-24 years old) as they are boring. The first 'sporty' car I got was a Peugeot 206 GTi:  I've got fond memories of this car, running it through my time at uni as a mature student. Looking back through reviews of the time, the 206 GTi was often criticised for being slow, soft and boring compared to the 205 / 106 GTi. I didn't agree, and found it had enough poke to entertain, and the handling and steering were quite good. Granted, I didn't have any performance cars to compare it with at the time  Gets 0/10 for sex appeal, because no-one was impressed with a 25 year old driving a warm Peugeot hatch. So I finished studying, got a job that involved a 60 mile daily commute and for some reason decided it would be financially sound to trade my Pug in for a diesel that cost four times what the Pug was worth. Silly.  This was a great 'everyday' car. Smooth, economical, grunty, solid, understated and classy looks (in my opinion). The most impressive stat on this car is the torque, pretty good for a warm hatch! Sex appeal gets another 0, see above for reason. I averaged about 50mpg and found it great 90% of the time. But that 10% when I really wanted to drive, well, it sucked. I ended up losing a fair bit of money on this car. A trend that continues to this day! More to follow once I finish cutting up more old pics.... P.S. I've called this 'Top Bumps' because I'm not sure I'm allowed to make my own Top Trumps!
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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As said above, the vRS was a great 'everyday' car but ultimately, I was seriously missing a petrol engine. So I used some savings to buy another car to run alongside the vRS, a MK1 MX5 - PH'ers favourite!  To be honest, this car was a bit of a dog when I first got it and I paid well over what I should have. I did a fair amount of work to it, refreshing suspension, hood, brakes, exhaust, fitted a rollbar, standard wheels, restored paint work etc etc. I loved this car, and for me, the hype was 100% justified. I regret selling this more than any other car. Click for thread.
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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The vRS was sold to fund a house purchase, and I ran the '5 for a short commute. After a while, I kinda got itchy feet (happens a lot!) and wanted something fast. I wasn't earning much at the time, but did some man maths and decided that by cycling to work three times a week I could afford the tasty looking Subaru STi I drove past every day.  This is the fastest car I've owned, both in a straight line and cross country. Ultimately the ownership was marred slightly by the overwhelmingly negative comments I got from non petrol heads. But worse was the lack of involvement at normal speed - you could really drive this car, but only at very silly speeds... The Scoob was brilliant over the winter, bullet proof and very capable. I miss it a lot, but sold it on as I wanted something that was more involving at lower speeds like my beloved MX5 was.
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mohitos
819 posts
69 months
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Very creatively done. Keep em coming.
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furrywoolyhatuk
384 posts
24 months
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I like the presentation style! Looking forward to the next instalment!
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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As mentioned above, the STi was great when driven hard, but this almost made it too fast for the roads I was commuting on. I traded it in for another roadster that I thought would be more involving and enjoyable at low speeds, but had a real turn of pace when needed. Enter the S2000.  Two things utterly outstanding with this car - gearchange and engine. Steering and chassis feedback not so good. Another that I seriously miss. Click for thread.
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Ordinary_Chap
7,165 posts
113 months
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0/10 for the STI and S2000? Seems odd
Interesting thread anyway!
Lee
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TotalControl
6,272 posts
68 months
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Sex appeal for the S2K should be at least a 6, no?
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Pints
14,759 posts
64 months
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TotalControl said: Sex appeal for the S2K should be at least a 6, no? 
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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Perhaps if you look like Brad Pitt  That rating was just for fun really, should have done bhp/ton. BTW, the MX5 got a 2/10 because I got a lot of attention from men. I suspect they were PH'ers, admiring my shiny '5.
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Ordinary_Chap
7,165 posts
113 months
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JFReturns said: BTW, the MX5 got a 2/10 because I got a lot of attention from men. Or men who bat for the other team?
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LordFlathead
8,001 posts
128 months
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This threads brilliant and original. How about putting the blank templates up so others can do theirs too? Wonder if PH could use this to make an online version of the game where we use our own cars and can Play against each other. Would be totally mental
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Pints
14,759 posts
64 months
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LordFlathead said: This threads brilliant and original. How about putting the blank templates up so others can do theirs too? Wonder if PH could use this to make an online version of the game where we use our own cars and can Play against each other. Would be totally mental Good idea, although I'm guessing Flemke would win.
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Dave Hedgehog
5,321 posts
74 months
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Pints said: LordFlathead said: This threads brilliant and original. How about putting the blank templates up so others can do theirs too? Wonder if PH could use this to make an online version of the game where we use our own cars and can Play against each other. Would be totally mental Good idea, although I'm guessing Flemke would win. i think Andy might have something to say about that with 3000 whp OP you done a great job with the cards but you have WAY to much time on your hands 
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n_const
638 posts
71 months
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JFReturns said: Two things utterly outstanding with this car - gearchange and engine. Steering and chassis feedback not so good. Another that I seriously miss. Click for thread. Im very surprised to read about the comment on steering and chassis feedback, i found it to be very good.
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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The S2000 was a great car - a fantastic ownership proposition with good reliability, cheap parts and servicing. Only downside was the high insurance cost. The chassis and steering feedback were okay, but not great. I never really felt comfortable pushing the S2000 as I couldn't tell what the chassis was doing through the seats and front wheels through the steering wheel. Perhaps a little unfairly, I was comparing it my beloved MX5 and not much short of a VX220 / Elise communicated more. Which brings us onto my next car...  This car was utterly intoxicating and uncompromised. Not a huge amount of straight line grunt compared to the Scoob or even S2000 (once it was wound up), but it was immense in terms of cross country pace. You could feel exactly what the front wheels were doing, and it's limits were documented with a scrub of understeer. Amazing, and along with the MX5 my most missed car. In the end, circumstances beyond my control meant I had to sell it on...
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r1ch
2,207 posts
66 months
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Agree, nice original thread op. Template would be good so others can add theirs.
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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The VX220 was bloody brilliant, and I miss it loads. For the money I don't think there is a better handling / looking / performing car, which retains very low running costs (imo, of course!). Unfortunately for me, the love affair with the VX didn't last very long - the uncompromising ride triggered chronic pain in my neck and back, an old injury that I thought was long gone. We also had an ever growing pup, so something practical was required. Enter a mint hawkeye Impreza WRX Wagon.  I brought the most expensive Wagon on the market (other than GB270 special editions) and was planning on keeping it a long time. This wasn't to be, click for thread.
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JFReturns
Original Poster
2,564 posts
41 months
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 Blank! Alternatively if anyone really wants their own Top Bump, PM me your favourite car pic along with some stats and I'll knock one up
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mohitos
819 posts
69 months
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Great post. You've not rated your sex appeal very highly, have you!
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