Coming out of the Closet....

[Ramses]

<Stands up>

Hello everyone, my name is Ramses and I am an Alcoholic Comfortable car lover.

<Sits down>


The last 5 cars I've bought:

James Whiting Blade
Elise
Exige
BMW 330i MSport
BMW GT


I loved my Elise and utterly adored my Exige. The Caterham was just purity and petrolhead nirvana personified. I raced it, I tracked it, I hooned it, I rodded it for sheer st and giggles and it NEVER failed to put a smile on my face.

I am a petrolhead.....until last night.


I had 3 hours outdoor Karting last night. Great fun. Slightly damp track, loads of squirming and oversteer fun..... Once finished at 10pm, I got into my 2-tonne behemoth, set the aircon a little warmer, put the suspension setting on 'Comfort', slipped the autobox into Drive, pressed 'Hot-Key 3' to plot the 26 mile route home, stuck 'Johnny Would Have Loved This' on the 16 speaker stereo, opened the cover to the full car-length sunroof to let the moonlight in, turned the contrast on the 10" TV screen down a little, pressed 'Hot-Key 1' to auto dial Mrs Ramses to tell her I was on my way and set off home down the motorway with a calming elevated view over the roofs of the other cars.....

"God isn't it nice to get into a nice comfortable car" I found myself thinking, the smell oil still emanating from my old race shoes. I dismissed the thought as a moment of over-maturity mixed with the end of a long day.

I got home.
"How was Karting?"
"It was really good, cold though and my arse hurts".
"Bet you wish you still had your Exige?"
"No - I was glad of a comfortable car to get warm and just get me home"

I again dismissed the thought - long day/10.30pm/hungry/etc


This morning I got into the same 2-tonne behemoth, this time in shorts and t-shirt at 6am en route to the office, via the gym. The temperature was cooler so I set the seat-warmers onto 'high', set the aircon a little warmer still (but the rear aircon cool so as not to warm my bottle of water), watched as the Xenon lights burst into life illuminating the drive, turned the radio on, left the car in Comfort setting, turned the Automatic mainbeam on for the first couple of country lane miles, turned the auto-handbrake on for when I got nearer town, slipped the car into 'drive' and set off just as I felt the heat radiate from seat to buttocks.

"God isn't it nice to get into a nice comfortable car....these seat warmers are a godsend" I found my self thinking..... But I had nothing to dismiss the thought with.


Thats when it hit me..... I'm still in my Thirties and am really grateful for a comfortable car.

I'm out of the Closet.


RIP PetrolHead?

[Stu R]

Far from it. I'm still in my 20's, have owned stupid yank pick ups, nissan patrols, discoveries, 7 series, yadda yadda yadda. I love a good wafty car. I still yearn for stupid supercars and impractical road going track cars, but I still look at jags and the like and lust to own them. If you'd told me I'd like these things when I was firmly rooted in silly power jap cars with rock hard suspension I'd have laughed you off the face of the planet.

[Marlin45]

Next you will be buying pastel shirts and checking out 'exquisitely stiched' italian shoes

It's a slippery slope!

[groomi]

My 20's were mostly spent deciding whether to pick the keys up for the Jag or the 205. There is plenty of room for both in your life.

[Davel]

Enjoyed that - and I'm 57 and wondering the same stuff!

[J4CKO]

There is a reason why Old Man cars are agreeable, as old men have generally gone through all the lairy stuff and settled on somethign that does the job well with no compromises.


Dont Bogart the Werthers my friend, pass them over to me.....

[Chris71]

I saw the title and assumed this would be about buying an MX5.

[-Z-]

This is why M5's and E63's are made isn't it?

[Porkie]

You just need more cars to suit your mood and requirements at that particular time!

EVERYONE would have wanted a comfy car to drive home in after 3 hours of karting for example!

Comfy cars dont have to be boring either. Big difference between the 2 IMHO....

[Ramses]

-Z- said:

This is why M5's and E63's are made isn't it?

....but then get criticised for not being sporty enough.

[kambites]

Porkie said:

EVERYONE would have wanted a comfy car to drive home in after 3 hours of karting for example!

Bugger that, there's something compelling about jumping into the Elise after going karting. It's incredibly difficult not to drive like a complete lunatic.

Don't worry OP, you've just turned into a boring old man.

Seriously though, I think these things go in cycles. Next up is the mid-life crisis sports-car; then probably a Jag.

Edited by kambites on Monday 24th October 09:36

[_Batty_]

Funny you should mention that! My CheapJeep has just got me converted into 'wafting'. Its so nice to put the thing in 'D', relax in my armchair, put some Leftfield on, and mooch around.
Makes the hair and tear of my MX5 seem slightly 'juvenile!'

[Heretic]

my childhood
http://gassermadness.com/visitorscars/bfitting/ind...

anything is comfortable after that


I hope I am not breaking rules posting a link...it is only to pics of a race car, and not on another forum

[Chris71]

kambites said:

Seriously though, I think these things go in cycles. Next up is the mid-life crisis sports-car; then probably a Jag.

Yep, definitely cyclic: Raw and visceral one minute, then comfortable and sensible the next. I've been alternating pretty consistently between the two for years.

[ecurie]

Comfort is the very reason I bought an Mercedes E-class estate instead of a 5-series.
It might not be as much fun through the corners, but it's a wonderfull and relaxing cruiser.

[Dog Star]

5 series GT you say?

They do look rather, er, special, it has to be said, although the interior is a very pleasant place to be (however you could also get in a rather nice looking 5 series touring and not have people pointing whilst holding their hands over their mouths as vomit sprays between their fingers).

A friend of mine has got one of these behemoths and keeps suggesting a trip to France in it. I am tactfully avoiding the issue of not wanting to be seen in it. I can insult it on here (sorry!) because this is teh interwebs

However I do agree with all the other points made by the OP.

[Alfanatic]

Nothing wrong for appreciating a car for being very good at what it's supposed to be good at.

If you had not had the barge and instead had to go home in the Exige, would you have been thinking "damn, I wish I had a sunroof and climate control and a 16 speaker stereo and satnav with adjustable brightness, and I wish I was sitting about 2 feet higher." or would you have just enjoyed the Exige for what it was on the drive home and been in a different, but equally good mood?

Or would you have wondered what the point of the Exige was when you could go karting?

[twazzock]

Ramses said:

I got into my 2-tonne behemoth, set the aircon a little warmer, put the suspension setting on 'Comfort', slipped the autobox into Drive, pressed 'Hot-Key 3' to plot the 26 mile route home, stuck 'Johnny Would Have Loved This' on the 16 speaker stereo, opened the cover to the full car-length sunroof to let the moonlight in, turned the contrast on the 10" TV screen down a little, pressed 'Hot-Key 1' to auto dial Mrs Ramses to tell her I was on my way and set off home down the motorway with a calming elevated view over the roofs of the other cars.....

I got into the same 2-tonne behemoth, this time in shorts and t-shirt at 6am en route to the office, via the gym. The temperature was cooler so I set the seat-warmers onto 'high', set the aircon a little warmer still (but the rear aircon cool so as not to warm my bottle of water), watched as the Xenon lights burst into life illuminating the drive, turned the radio on, left the car in Comfort setting, turned the Automatic mainbeam on for the first couple of country lane miles, turned the auto-handbrake on for when I got nearer town, slipped the car into 'drive' and set off just as I felt the heat radiate from seat to buttocks.

Christ, what a faff. Couldn't you just get in, stick the blowers on and drive home?

[marcosgt]

I'll come clean - One of the things I like about the RX8 is its refinement...

It's nice that it also handles so well - If I had to choose though I'd still take something with great handling and a hard ride over a smooth ride at the expense of boat-like handling.

M

[Hasbeen]

You're mad. Got it entirely wrong.

For years I've driven light trucks & utes for the business.

For years I've driven the big luxury mobile, auto of course, & powerful enough to tow the water sky boat, & the 2 horse trailer for the kids horses, as my family car.

10 years ago in rebellion I bought a TR7 FHC, which I restored, & used some, but with kids still around the luxomobile was used mostly, & the 7 was a bit hot in our summers.

Now those kids have finally gone, so for my 71St birthday, I gave myself a couple of presents. An air conditioning unit imported from the US to make the 7 more summer friendly, & a Honda S2000 for a daily driver.

I'm going to be a long time dead, & I'm going to have a bit more fun, before I get there.