Stupid things non petrolheads say....

Stupid things non petrolheads say....

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Martin350

3,775 posts

194 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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The understeer could be quite frustrating, if that's what he means!

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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Not exactly as stupid as some of the things said here, but ignorant all the same; I was getting my car windscreen replaced today and to afford the fitter the space to put up his canopy to keep out the rain, we'd driven down to the village car park.


I've got a Jaguar XJ8 in British Racing Green with a dark cream leather interior (I think the listed spec is Oatmeal, but it looks more like Almond when I look at the colour charts!). So it's quite a classic look, on a traditionally styled saloon. Despite being relatively common on the roads, as far as old luxury saloons go, it still gets a lot of positive attention - much more so than my anonymous old A8 4.2 did! It's common to have a passerby pay a compliment when I'm washing it or someone saying "nice car mate" when I'm filling it up, and I suppose the classically styled Jaguar is something that connects with the British taste in a particular way.


Anyway, a woman walks by today as I was handing the keys over, walking her dog. She looks at the car, keeps going, then halts and steps back, looking at me. She says "What are these like then? To own, I mean? Are they any good?". I reply "yeah, best car I've had, I think".

She then reveals that her husband wants to buy one, but she has said no. She asks "Are they expensive to buy? What about running?". I reply that no, they're not expensive to buy by any stretch, compared to what they cost to buy new back in the day and considering what you get for your money. Running costs, I suggest, are largely down to luck of the draw and buying well, and can be minimal or expensive depending on your choice of car in the first place.

She then says her husband has been dreaming of getting one, but it has to be an 'old' Jaguar as he doesn't like the look of the new ones, and he wants a bigger engined car for his two mile drive to work. I told her he should get a motorbike; she said he had one but fell off and broke his arm and gave up after that. She then walks off, back towards her car, saying "he's not getting one, we've got my Golf Estate and it's pretty much the same sort of thing", as she approaches an mk4 Golf estate.


I did have to laugh at how she pretty much ignored everything I had said about the positive aspects of owning the car, I suspect had I been talking to her husband he'd have been thinking "that settles it, time for me to get an XJ!".

VladD

7,853 posts

264 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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Baryonyx said:
Stuff
That's a post that requires an accompanying photo (of the Jag, not of the woman or the Golf).

varsas

4,004 posts

201 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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VladD said:
That's a post that requires an accompanying photo (of the Jag, not of the woman or the Golf).
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1441620&i=999999&nmt=Jaguar%20XJ8%204.0

(not that I'm stalking, or anything)

People were very confused about the age of my old S1 XJ6. I had someone argue with me that it was 1991 since it was on a 'J' plate...of course it was suffix J not prefix but he wouldn't have it.

TA14

12,722 posts

257 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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Flibble said:
Robb F said:
Aren't they like 6.5s to 60?

I'm sure it's a real handful...
6.7s to 62 according to wiki; 240 PS in a car just shy of 1.5 tons. I'm sure that ~165 bhp/ton is terrifyingly hard to tame... hehe
I wonder whether you'd say the same about cars with similar power and bhp/tonne such as an Audi S3? OK the guy who made the original post got carried away but reading the comments on here you do begin to wonder about what has become of what used to be an enthusiasts' car site.

Flibble

6,470 posts

180 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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TA14 said:
I wonder whether you'd say the same about cars with similar power and bhp/tonne such as an Audi S3? OK the guy who made the original post got carried away but reading the comments on here you do begin to wonder about what has become of what used to be an enthusiasts' car site.
I own an Audi S3, and while it is a quick car, it's not "very very very fast", nor are you likely to:
a) crash it like Ronaldo did with his Ferrari.
b) Lose your licence as the temptation to use the power is sometimes too great.

It's quite easy to drive it normally in fact; too easy some might say.

So yes I would say the same about other cars. I'm not saying the Alfa is slow (it isn't) but the idea that it's so fast you will definitely crash it or lose your licence is patently bks and deserves mockery.

ORD

18,086 posts

126 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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Flibble said:
I own an Audi S3, and while it is a quick car, it's not "very very very fast", nor are you likely to:
a) crash it like Ronaldo did with his Ferrari.
b) Lose your licence as the temptation to use the power is sometimes too great.

It's quite easy to drive it normally in fact; too easy some might say.

So yes I would say the same about other cars. I'm not saying the Alfa is slow (it isn't) but the idea that it's so fast you will definitely crash it or lose your licence is patently bks and deserves mockery.
Not sure what you're on about. It's plenty fast to get very illegal very quickly. I would imagine that 50-100 would be quite easily done in a sustained burst of acceleration.

greggy50

6,161 posts

190 months

Friday 17th October 2014
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Flibble said:
6.7s to 62 according to wiki; 240 PS in a car just shy of 1.5 tons. I'm sure that ~165 bhp/ton is terrifyingly hard to tame... hehe
Probably more the wild under/torque steer that is the hardest to tame...

havoc

29,929 posts

234 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
TA14 said:
Flibble said:
Robb F said:
Aren't they like 6.5s to 60?

I'm sure it's a real handful...
6.7s to 62 according to wiki; 240 PS in a car just shy of 1.5 tons. I'm sure that ~165 bhp/ton is terrifyingly hard to tame... hehe
I wonder whether you'd say the same about cars with similar power and bhp/tonne such as an Audi S3? OK the guy who made the original post got carried away but reading the comments on here you do begin to wonder about what has become of what used to be an enthusiasts' car site.
Erm, there are plenty of mainstream cars with that power/weight now or better...and none are difficult to drive, least of all the front-drivers like the Alfa! I've not owned a car with a lower power/weight ratio than that for the last 8 years (not since I sold the daily diesel), and my wife has had a car with pretty-much that ratio for the past 6 years, and drives our young son around in it. So what...


Being a little more balanced, as with everything, it depends upon your reference point. For me (talking about modern, i.e. '90s and later, machinery), 200bhp/tonne is where it starts getting interesting and 300bhp/tonne is where you really need to focus. For friends who've owned bikes and/or high-power machinery, I'd suggest they'd move the goalposts higher. For someone coming from a little shopping trolley, the Alfa probably does feel rapid...but that doesn't mean it's a difficult drive...and better-still it's got an old-school engine, meaning linear nat-asp power delivery with a nice peaky top-end...so you only use what you need to, no great-big gobs of torque hitting the front wheels all at once like a modern turbo.

As above, probably the most difficult thing would have been torque-steer.

Sycamore

1,726 posts

117 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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A guy at work often acts like he's interested in cars, I suspect so he can join in on some conversations.

He's 17, so has been driving a few months.

I asked how his new car was (1.4l skoda fabia shed). He replies "it's quite fast actually, I keep wheel spinning out of traffic lights by mistake!"

A conversation later went along the lines of;

Him: Is your car rear engined?
Me: Yeah rear engined, rear wheel drive.
Him: What size engine does it have?
Me: 700cc (smart roadster)
Him: Ah, mines got twice as much power as yours then.
Me: ????

He also once told someone that he hasn't yet figured out whether his car is front or rear wheel drive.

ZNSsupercars

976 posts

113 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
Every sports car is a Ferrari FACT!!!!!!
this is sad that people think thatfrowneekfuriouscry

HorneyMX5

5,308 posts

149 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
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Sycamore said:
A guy at work often acts like he's interested in cars, I suspect so he can join in on some conversations.

He's 17, so has been driving a few months.

I asked how his new car was (1.4l skoda fabia shed). He replies "it's quite fast actually, I keep wheel spinning out of traffic lights by mistake!"

A conversation later went along the lines of;

Him: Is your car rear engined?
Me: Yeah rear engined, rear wheel drive.
Him: What size engine does it have?
Me: 700cc (smart roadster)
Him: Ah, mines got twice as much power as yours then.
Me: ????

He also once told someone that he hasn't yet figured out whether his car is front or rear wheel drive.
He just sounds young and lacking in knowledge. Take him under your wing and nuture his petrolhead ways like an oil covered, spanner weilding yoda.

Blown2CV

28,698 posts

202 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
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HorneyMX5 said:
Sycamore said:
A guy at work often acts like he's interested in cars, I suspect so he can join in on some conversations.

He's 17, so has been driving a few months.

I asked how his new car was (1.4l skoda fabia shed). He replies "it's quite fast actually, I keep wheel spinning out of traffic lights by mistake!"

A conversation later went along the lines of;

Him: Is your car rear engined?
Me: Yeah rear engined, rear wheel drive.
Him: What size engine does it have?
Me: 700cc (smart roadster)
Him: Ah, mines got twice as much power as yours then.
Me: ????

He also once told someone that he hasn't yet figured out whether his car is front or rear wheel drive.
He just sounds young and lacking in knowledge. Take him under your wing and nuture his petrolhead ways like an oil covered, spanner weilding yoda.
pistonheads - grooming matters?

BenWRXSEi

2,343 posts

133 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
Blown2CV said:
HorneyMX5 said:
Sycamore said:
A guy at work often acts like he's interested in cars, I suspect so he can join in on some conversations.

He's 17, so has been driving a few months.

I asked how his new car was (1.4l skoda fabia shed). He replies "it's quite fast actually, I keep wheel spinning out of traffic lights by mistake!"

A conversation later went along the lines of;

Him: Is your car rear engined?
Me: Yeah rear engined, rear wheel drive.
Him: What size engine does it have?
Me: 700cc (smart roadster)
Him: Ah, mines got twice as much power as yours then.
Me: ????

He also once told someone that he hasn't yet figured out whether his car is front or rear wheel drive.
He just sounds young and lacking in knowledge. Take him under your wing and nuture his petrolhead ways like an oil covered, spanner weilding yoda.
pistonheads - grooming matters?
rofl

But yes, he seems young and keen if not all that knowledgable. A bit of gentle encouragement should see him in the right direction - before he starts shopping in Halfords!

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
Toyota Yaris only has brakes at the front and thus should only cost half as much for a brake fluid change:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...


CapnSlow

47 posts

119 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
g3org3y said:
Toyota Yaris only has brakes at the front and thus should only cost half as much for a brake fluid change:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...
Hilarious

MagneticMeerkat

1,763 posts

204 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
Sycamore said:
A guy at work often acts like he's interested in cars, I suspect so he can join in on some conversations.

He's 17, so has been driving a few months.

I asked how his new car was (1.4l skoda fabia shed). He replies "it's quite fast actually, I keep wheel spinning out of traffic lights by mistake!"

A conversation later went along the lines of;

Him: Is your car rear engined?
Me: Yeah rear engined, rear wheel drive.
Him: What size engine does it have?
Me: 700cc (smart roadster)
Him: Ah, mines got twice as much power as yours then.
Me: ????

He also once told someone that he hasn't yet figured out whether his car is front or rear wheel drive.
It's strangely easy to spin the wheels in a small hatchback; the combination of light weight, springy clutch and small tyres works well. Add that to inexperience and probably cheapo plasticky low grip tyres and you've got a recipe for lighting up the front wheels. I used to do so all the time in my Fiesta. Weirdly the replacement Mazda, which is twice as powerful, is much harder to provoke. Very little power is actually required to break traction.

However a Smart Car? Not so sure, I tried for ages to spin the wheels on gravel and got mostly nowhere. It is possible (just) by holding it on the handbrake and tricking the auto clutch thingy into engaging. Proper manual works better!

aka_kerrly

12,416 posts

209 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
g3org3y said:
Toyota Yaris only has brakes at the front and thus should only cost half as much for a brake fluid change:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...
That's bonkers, his mind would melt if he saw a VW Beetle with drums all round!

ADM06

1,077 posts

171 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
ZNSsupercars said:
Every sports car is a Ferrari FACT!!!!!!
this is sad that people think thatfrowneekfuriouscry
My wife refers to any faux by four she sees as a jeep.

havoc

29,929 posts

234 months

Tuesday 21st October 2014
quotequote all
ADM06 said:
My wife refers to any faux by four she sees as a jeep.
To be fair, that is the generic euphemism for them amongst non-petrolheads...like 'hoover' for vacuum cleaners.
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