RE: Question of context: Speed Matters

[LewisR]

Every offroad 4x4 on a school run or in a city centre.

[SpudLink]

Until recently a RumbleBee (bright yellow Dodge Ram) could be seen around this part of Northampton. Sitting in morning traffic, in the supermarket carpark, etc. It was clearly being used as the daily driver. It’s not my cup of tea, but there is something cool about seeing something so clearly out of place.

[MrGeoff]

WCZ said:

Master Bean said:

Any supercar driving around London. You're doing it wrong.

not really, a massive part of owning a supercar is showing off / being involved in a social network of people who are similar

I couldn't think of anything worse in London. Driving a normal car is bad enough in London, driving a supercar is a total and utter waste.

[jaykay42]

Badly out of place:
I reckon any pick-up truck in anything other than dry countries.
Don't get me wrong, I kind of like the whole idea of having a truck, throwing your gear for the weekend on the (open) back, dogs on top, their paws between the search lights mounted on a bar above the cab, snouts in the wind and then driving off into the wilderness...
But somehow the at best shall we say unpredictable weather in the UK makes open load spaces look rather silly to me.
And don't get me started on "utes", though they probably look silly in any weather... ;-)

[WCZ]

mybrainhurts said:

If you're that way inclined, it would cost a lot less to run around waving your willy about and join up with Flashers Anonymous.

Strewth....

not really as you'd be arrested and everyone would think you're a weirdo.

[Plate spinner]

WCZ said:

Master Bean said:

Any supercar driving around London. You're doing it wrong.

not really, a massive part of owning a supercar is showing off / being involved in a social network of people who are similar

I don't own a supercar, so thank you ever so much for that very enlightening insight.

[boyse7en]

jaykay42 said:

Badly out of place:
I reckon any pick-up truck in anything other than dry countries.
Don't get me wrong, I kind of like the whole idea of having a truck, throwing your gear for the weekend on the (open) back, dogs on top, their paws between the search lights mounted on a bar above the cab, snouts in the wind and then driving off into the wilderness...
But somehow the at best shall we say unpredictable weather in the UK makes open load spaces look rather silly to me.
And don't get me started on "utes", though they probably look silly in any weather... ;-)

Pick-ups are one of the most popular forms of transport around here - pretty much every farmer and every builder/scaffolder/roofer/tree surgeon has got a Ranger, Hilux or Navara.

[Fury1630]

bluesierra said:

I saw an Ariel Atom parked at Sainsburys in Nine Elms, London, a couple of times. I had a chuckle at that - the idea of using an Atom as your only car, and wondering where you'd put the eggs and milk.

I've got the week's family shopping in the Fury before now. I'll grant you it wasn't easy, but I made it fit - some of my sandwiches were an odd shape the following week.

https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-carpool/fi...

[WCZ]

Plate spinner said:

I don't own a supercar, so thank you ever so much for that very enlightening insight.

It's just a reality, look at how much they stick out from a normal car in terms of appearance and sound - this is part of what people enjoy about them (the attention)

if they looked dull then less people would buy them, it's a fact

[TheJimi]

WCZ said:

Plate spinner said:

I don't own a supercar, so thank you ever so much for that very enlightening insight.

It's just a reality, look at how much they stick out from a normal car in terms of appearance and sound - this is part of what people enjoy about them (the attention)

if they looked dull then less people would buy them, it's a fact

I'm not a shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination, but if I was in a position to buy a supercar, it's ability to attract attention would definitely be a negative factor for me.

Buying a supercar because you really want it, and because you love the way it looks, sounds and drives is one thing, but to buy one to use as a tool to show off is just crass as f*ck, imo.

[jaykay42]

boyse7en said:

Pick-ups are one of the most popular forms of transport around here - pretty much every farmer and every builder/scaffolder/roofer/tree surgeon has got a Ranger, Hilux or Navara.

- Where is "around here" to you?
- Also, don't those farmers/builders etc. then have a roof/box/cover over the load bay? I know that is still a pickup truck, but I was thinking of the plain and open variety...

[WCZ]

TheJimi said:

I'm not a shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination, but if I was in a position to buy a supercar, it's ability to attract attention would definitely be a negative factor for me.

Buying a supercar because you really want it, and because you love the way it looks, sounds and drives is one thing, but to buy one to use as a tool to show off is just crass as f*ck, imo.

I agree, but for most it's a massive part of it - Lambo has really nailed this element with the recent models

[Chapppers]

This was fun...

[maxypriest]

Years ago I saw a lovely early series Landrover SWB, screen down and no roof being driven around central London - somehow it looked achingly cool and perfectly placed.

[LanceRS]

WCZ said:

TheJimi said:

I'm not a shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination, but if I was in a position to buy a supercar, it's ability to attract attention would definitely be a negative factor for me.

Buying a supercar because you really want it, and because you love the way it looks, sounds and drives is one thing, but to buy one to use as a tool to show off is just crass as f*ck, imo.

I agree, but for most it's a massive part of it - Lambo has really nailed this element with the recent models

+1
The current crop of Ferraris look good, sound great and I'm sure are amazing to drive. My inner 12 year old would love one, the fat balding middle aged me would love to be able to drive one. However I am painfully aware that I could never actually be seen arriving anywhere in it.
This because of the above. In the sixties being seen in such a thing would have received a far better reaction from people whose opinions you value.
Such things should be bought on their PH merits, not to impress 12 year olds with Iphones.

[kett]

Great to see a V6 Clio being used as a daily runaround. Highly impractical and with serviceable parts becoming scarce - that takes some doing. Nice take on its forebearer's remit!

[g3org3y]

Chapppers said:

This was fun...

Perfectly camouflaged.

[Robert-nszl1]

Any classic used as a daily drive is a delight, and you do see a few around London. I've seen an Alfa Giulia saloon (the original one!) near me in Battersea a few times recently which is a real treat (yes, I am biased).

Slightly off topic, but why are Meharis cool and Mokes not? Cue everyone telling me I'm wrong!

[SpudLink]

The ‘ Life with an XJ220 ’ thread has some pictures that show the former ‘fastest car in the world’ in some incongruous situations.

[Wolands Advocate]

This article reminds me that some years ago we rented a villa in Cala di Volpe in Sardinia, which came with the use of an ancient Mk1 VW Golf GTI cabriolet on German plates. It was some sort of early '80s special edition where everything was white - paint, wheels, seats, roof. Or rather had once been white and were now varying shades of off-white.

Not a car that appeals to me very much in any other setting, but which was absolutely perfect and hilarious mixing it up with all the rather fancier cars that you get of an evening out in and around Porto Cervo. Like the Meharis in the original article, you could rock up anywhere, bump it up on a kerb, leave it roof down and unlocked and be certain it was still there when you got back. Turns out girls love sitting up on the roll-bar too.