Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 22]

[Lord E38]

tobinen said:

Toerag

Thank you. V10 TDI I hope?

[biggbn]

GeniusOfLove said:

biggbn said:

Rayny said:

bolidemichael said:

biggbn said:

PenultimateSpiderman said:

Who fancies a tidy looking V8 convertible for under £5k? I know I do.

I'd have that in a heartbeat

Going by the demographic it'll probably be weak and one of your last!

Ouch! - I think that they are a great choice of car, providing that it suits your lifestyle.

We have traditionally loved a convertible but have not owned one for several years. I've never been a huge fan of the SC styling but ambivelance sums up how I feel about it rather than hostile. Creamy smooth V8, wonderful autobox, special feeling interior and the reliability of a house brick make these a compelling choice as an unusual daily wafter for me.

If the Japanese manufacturers could more consistently turn out good looking cars there would be little reason to buy anything else. That SC should be the absolutely obvious choice and yet... I've no interest whatsoever in owning one because it has the visual appeal of a wart.

As I said, I'd never champion its styling but I dont find it offensive

[Dan Singh]

biggbn said:

GeniusOfLove said:

biggbn said:

Rayny said:

bolidemichael said:

biggbn said:

PenultimateSpiderman said:

Who fancies a tidy looking V8 convertible for under £5k? I know I do.

I'd have that in a heartbeat

Going by the demographic it'll probably be weak and one of your last!

Ouch! - I think that they are a great choice of car, providing that it suits your lifestyle.

We have traditionally loved a convertible but have not owned one for several years. I've never been a huge fan of the SC styling but ambivelance sums up how I feel about it rather than hostile. Creamy smooth V8, wonderful autobox, special feeling interior and the reliability of a house brick make these a compelling choice as an unusual daily wafter for me.

If the Japanese manufacturers could more consistently turn out good looking cars there would be little reason to buy anything else. That SC should be the absolutely obvious choice and yet... I've no interest whatsoever in owning one because it has the visual appeal of a wart.

As I said, I'd never champion its styling but I dont find it offensive

I'd trade the styling over the financial misery of an old Merc any day.

[The Don of Croy]

Dan Singh said:

biggbn said:

GeniusOfLove said:

biggbn said:

Rayny said:

bolidemichael said:

biggbn said:

PenultimateSpiderman said:

Who fancies a tidy looking V8 convertible for under £5k? I know I do.

I'd have that in a heartbeat

Going by the demographic it'll probably be weak and one of your last!

Ouch! - I think that they are a great choice of car, providing that it suits your lifestyle.

We have traditionally loved a convertible but have not owned one for several years. I've never been a huge fan of the SC styling but ambivelance sums up how I feel about it rather than hostile. Creamy smooth V8, wonderful autobox, special feeling interior and the reliability of a house brick make these a compelling choice as an unusual daily wafter for me.

If the Japanese manufacturers could more consistently turn out good looking cars there would be little reason to buy anything else. That SC should be the absolutely obvious choice and yet... I've no interest whatsoever in owning one because it has the visual appeal of a wart.

As I said, I'd never champion its styling but I dont find it offensive

I'd trade the styling over the financial misery of an old Merc any day.

Curious dent in the near side C pillar, no?

[Wulf Sternhammer]

Dan Singh said:

biggbn said:

GeniusOfLove said:

biggbn said:

Rayny said:

bolidemichael said:

biggbn said:

PenultimateSpiderman said:

Who fancies a tidy looking V8 convertible for under £5k? I know I do.

I'd have that in a heartbeat

Going by the demographic it'll probably be weak and one of your last!

Ouch! - I think that they are a great choice of car, providing that it suits your lifestyle.

We have traditionally loved a convertible but have not owned one for several years. I've never been a huge fan of the SC styling but ambivelance sums up how I feel about it rather than hostile. Creamy smooth V8, wonderful autobox, special feeling interior and the reliability of a house brick make these a compelling choice as an unusual daily wafter for me.

If the Japanese manufacturers could more consistently turn out good looking cars there would be little reason to buy anything else. That SC should be the absolutely obvious choice and yet... I've no interest whatsoever in owning one because it has the visual appeal of a wart.

As I said, I'd never champion its styling but I dont find it offensive

I'd trade the styling over the financial misery of an old Merc any day.

I know just the thing to go with that SC and as it's Friday, the budget is suitably relaxed.
A 2700hp Volvo powered Lexus: https://www.lexus.eu/discover-lexus/news/2024/the-...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTqGYr2hCk

Edited to add: Very much like the SC, I like the concept, the build quality and interior ambience, but I'm not so sure about the exterior styling.......

Edited by Wulf Sternhammer on Friday 22 May 13:10

[Crook]

That is an ugly boat.

[Wulf Sternhammer]

Crook said:

That is an ugly boat.

Yep. Just like the SC, lovely on the inside, challenging on the outside.

[donkmeister]

Crook said:

That is an ugly boat.

I think I'd be able to get over the looks as I sunned myself on the foredeck, en route to Monaco

[dscam]

There’s a healthy number of Japanese cars I strongly desire:

Datsun 240Z
Honda CRX
Honda NSX (Gen 1)
Lexus LS400
Lexus LFA
Toyota Century

I think the problem for me is that there’s usually a European alternative that generally prevails if push came to shove and I were handing over cash for any of the above.

[_Rodders_]

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Crook said:

That is an ugly boat.

Yep. Just like the SC, lovely on the inside, challenging on the outside.

I thought we were still talking about the SC at first.

[Crook]

_Rodders_ said:

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Crook said:

That is an ugly boat.

Yep. Just like the SC, lovely on the inside, challenging on the outside.

I thought we were still talking about the SC at first.

I like the SC.
I looked at getting one and still may.
Also, I prefer the first gen wheels too.

This is as an owner of an R129 500SL which is (IMO) a very elegant looking car.


ETA. But does this not look elegant too?
Different, absolutely, and not perfect but I think it works as a piece of design.

Edited by Crook on Friday 22 May 15:14

[Crook]

It's no SC however this looks interesting, and not really a true barge as it has three pedals but it is a largish saloon and has 6 cylinders.
It is expensive but it looks pretty cool for skidding about in with the wife and kids on the local touge.

https://jdmimportsirl.com/listing/toyota-mark-ii-1...

[biggbn]

Crook said:

_Rodders_ said:

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Crook said:

That is an ugly boat.

Yep. Just like the SC, lovely on the inside, challenging on the outside.

I thought we were still talking about the SC at first.

I like the SC.
I looked at getting one and still may.
Also, I prefer the first gen wheels too.

This is as an owner of an R129 500SL which is (IMO) a very elegant looking car.


ETA. But does this not look elegant too?
Different, absolutely, and not perfect but I think it works as a piece of design.

Edited by Crook on Friday 22 May 15:14

From some angles in some colours they do look very good

[donkmeister]

dscam said:

There s a healthy number of Japanese cars I strongly desire:

Datsun 240Z
Honda CRX
Honda NSX (Gen 1)
Lexus LS400
Lexus LFA
Toyota Century

I think the problem for me is that there s usually a European alternative that generally prevails if push came to shove and I were handing over cash for any of the above.

From my limited experience of Japanese car ownership (a couple of Mazdas, Hondas and a Lexus), they are very good, very well built, but don't generally stir the soul in the way their (flawed) Euro equivalent would.

However, they don't break your heart in the way their Euro equivalents do!

I'd love to have another Mercedes from the peak 2003ish-2015ish era of quality, but it would probably feel temperamental by comparison.

[QBee]

My plan is to get another LS 400/430/460 when

a) the family dog has died - he's 5 years old now and while alive he needs an estate car.
b) his current transport, the L322 Range Rover, has died. Likely to be sooner than the dog.

[biggbn]

donkmeister said:

dscam said:

There s a healthy number of Japanese cars I strongly desire:

Datsun 240Z
Honda CRX
Honda NSX (Gen 1)
Lexus LS400
Lexus LFA
Toyota Century

I think the problem for me is that there s usually a European alternative that generally prevails if push came to shove and I were handing over cash for any of the above.

From my limited experience of Japanese car ownership (a couple of Mazdas, Hondas and a Lexus), they are very good, very well built, but don't generally stir the soul in the way their (flawed) Euro equivalent would.

However, they don't break your heart in the way their Euro equivalents do!

I'd love to have another Mercedes from the peak 2003ish-2015ish era of quality, but it would probably feel temperamental by comparison.

Oh, interesting. I think some cars have soul, or more pertinentley, we bestow soul on some cars usually because of an aural, visual...or financial connection we have with them. For me, superb engineering is something I am happy to bestow soul upon a car for. I don't mistake soul for 'character', which usually means a car breaks down a lot! Now, some of the cars I have owned that broke down did not have character, and some of the best engineered did not have soul, thus proving there is no reliable metric by which to judge/bestow soul on an inmate object; indeed, some would argue, correctly from a purely logical viewpoint, that inanimate objects can't possess 'soul'. My counterpoint is that 'soul' is always a human construct that we bestow on ourselves and others so I'll apply it to whatever I damn well please!!

For the record, and for me, many but not all of the Hondas I've owned had soul. My Lexus LS400 did. Perhaps strangely the w123 and w124 mercedes I owned and adored had neither soul nor character but connected with me. My Porsche 928 definitely had soul but I don't think any of the BMW I've owned did...cliche, but all of the Italian cars had character and soul, but I didn't love them all in the same way I have loved some more prosaic machines...yet I enjoyed them all....

...but then soul or not, character or not, I have enjoyed driving every mile I've covered in every car I've driven. The anthropomorphic qualities I bestow or don't on my cars perhaps influences how I remember them, but not necessarily how much I enjoy them....


....but sometimes it does...

Hopefully that jumbled and absolutely inconclusive bag of thoughts on soul tells you that soul, like aesthetic choices and sublime feelings like love can never be wrong for those who feel them but can always be debated and questioned.

Peace and love y'all, gbn x

[W00DY]

Crook said:

I like the SC.
I looked at getting one and still may.
Also, I prefer the first gen wheels too.

This is as an owner of an R129 500SL which is (IMO) a very elegant looking car.


ETA. But does this not look elegant too?
Different, absolutely, and not perfect but I think it works as a piece of design.

Edited by Crook on Friday 22 May 15:14

It looks like a melted frog.

[W00DY]

BlueMR2 said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202605112...

Petrol E-Class 3.5 under £3k.

That looks very cheap and rather lovely.


At that money from a trader you have to wonder what's wrong. Panel gaps look a bit ropey on the offside

[Crook]

W00DY said:

Crook said:

I like the SC.
I looked at getting one and still may.
Also, I prefer the first gen wheels too.

This is as an owner of an R129 500SL which is (IMO) a very elegant looking car.


ETA. But does this not look elegant too?
Different, absolutely, and not perfect but I think it works as a piece of design.

Edited by Crook on Friday 22 May 15:14

It looks like a melted frog.

[BlueMR2]

W00DY said:

BlueMR2 said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202605112...

Petrol E-Class 3.5 under £3k.

That looks very cheap and rather lovely.


At that money from a trader you have to wonder what's wrong. Panel gaps look a bit ropey on the offside

MOT history mainly brake pipe and disk related.

Also the web site states there is an outstanding recall as well.

It has been advertised before

23rd of April £3,699.

11th of May £3,150.

It may be a small trader that can't really afford to have it sat around.

The last V5 was 20 May 2026, be interesting to see if it has had an extra owner added, eg if someone bought it and returned it or they couldn't find it so requested another and re advertised it.

To be fair i'd want to see under the passenger seat cover first too.

Edited by BlueMR2 on Friday 22 May 17:53