GTP Cool Wall: 1971-1984 Alpine A310

[Tornado]

The A310 is an odd one to place because they replaced the unnecessary and fussy detailing that the early cars had with aftermarket looking scoops and flairs and wings that look almost as silly; but at least more appropriate considering what the car was.

 

[Conza]

Not quite Sub-Zero because the A110 is better in my opinion.

It's still seriously cool though.

Yeah this. I think the A110 has nice headlights, and the smaller car is appealing as well, I haven't checked but I suspect it has more success in historic racing too. To me the A110 is borderline sub-zero, but the A310 is on the other side, still a seriously cool car.

Unrepairable rust bucket with plastic bits that will catch fire when you try to weld the car back together!

Also. Unreliable. Could have been build in England.

Uncool.

Sir, I do believe you're missing the point. I think its unreliability adds character, and makes the car an EVEN cooler choice to drive, because, 'hey, it's unreliable, but its sexy as'. I also like that it's a rear engined car that has nothing to do with the VW Beetle or the 911, can't think of too many others apart from this that can say that.

Also I think the V6 is cooler than the I4, I didn't even know it came in an I4, wonder if it'd handle better?

 

[Roger the Horse]

I also like that it's a rear engined car that has nothing to do with the VW Beetle or the 911, can't think of too many others apart from this that can say that.

Spoiler

Just a few examples.

 

[Conza]

That is an awesome list, I could've honestly listed only half a dozen from the top of my head, the rest I'll be looking up for hours, much obliged .

It'll be interesting to see how many were made after the Renault Alpine A310, but still a brilliant list (no Chevrolet Corvair?).

 

[Roger the Horse]

Third down.

 

[Liquid]

Sir, I do believe you're missing the point. I think its unreliability adds character, and makes the car an EVEN cooler choice to drive, because, 'hey, it's unreliable, but its sexy as'.

Absolute rubbish.

As @Dennisch has similarly pointed out in other threads, what's cool about being in the middle of nowhere with a broken engine?

And as @homeforsummer has pointed out in a recent Alfa/Lancia thread, unreliability is not a desirable trait.

Okay, I want to make clear that I'm not having a pop at you specifically here, but a few people have said something like this now [unreliability is a 'magic' quality], ditto with Alfa Romeos, and it's bollocks. It's where I definitely draw the line with the character/magic/passion/whatever argument for certain types of car.

A car that breaks down all the time or has constant things that need fixing isn't "part of the magic" of the car, it's a massive pain in the ass.

What makes Lancias and Alfas special, to name but two marques, is that they have other qualities that make you overlook the fact they occasionally go wrong. They have something that gets under your skin that means you're more prepared to put up with occasionally crappy electrics or an engine going pop.

Unreliability isn't magical, and sitting at the side of the road next to a broken car definitely isn't cool. What is cool is that the car looks so fantastic or drives so well that even if it breaks down or annoys you every day with something not working, you still want to hop behind the wheel and drive the hell out of it.

Nobody has ever said, "you know what's cool about my car? It hardly ever works". What they might say is "you know what's cool about my car? When I get it working, it's the best car I've ever driven".

 

[Tornado]

V12 Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaags must be the coolest cars ever.

 

[Conza]

Absolute rubbish.

As @Dennisch has similarly pointed out in other threads, what's cool about being in the middle of nowhere with a broken engine?

And as @homeforsummer has pointed out in a recent Alfa/Lancia thread, unreliability is not a desirable trait.

I disagree, but I think you're missing my point, I'm not praising unreliability.

Cars are packages, you need to like the car, as a package, and unreliability comes as part of the package in many old cars, just like you may need to warm them up or perform special maintenance on some.

Older cars, and modern cars for that matter, have things that go wrong.

Owning a car for the qualities it gives you, despite, its unreliability, is the sign you are valuing its coolness over its reliability - that makes it cooler.

Otherwise a Toyota Corolla would be the coolest car in the world, god forbid.

 

[Liquid]

Otherwise a Toyota Corolla would be the coolest car in the world, god forbid.

Nope.

This is a poor argument based on the false premise that reliability is the only factor in assessing coolness. It isn't. But it should be considered; and it is not a wanted, positive or desirable trait. Like you said yourself, cars are packages and you need to like the whole car as a package.

It's all well and good having it look good in the garage but not if you're going to spend more time getting your fingernails dirty and calling roadside recovery more than actually driving it.

Again, as HFS said, unreliability has never made a car cool. A car must be cool despite unreliability, not because of it.

 

[Dennisch]

'He baby, look at my penis, it works only half of the time but it does look good, doesn't it?'

That's not cool.

 

[Conza]

Nope.

This is a poor argument based on the false premise that reliability is the only factor in assessing coolness. It isn't. But it should be considered; and it is not a wanted, positive or desirable trait. Like you said yourself, cars are packages and you need to like the whole car as a package.

It's all well and good having it look good in the garage but not if you're going to spend more time getting your fingernails dirty and calling roadside recovery more than actually driving it.

Again, as HFS said, unreliability has never made a car cool. A car must be cool despite unreliability, not because of it.

Reliability does not at all, in any way, influence coolness, one iota, in my opinion.

Hence, for people that believe it does add value, a reliable car would have an inherent coolness, such as a Toyota Corolla.

So it's not a weak argument, because I set up a scenario in which, reliability did equal coolness, which is why the Toyota Corolla won in that hypothetical scenario.

I've actually seen one of these in the flesh, they're magnificent machines, the one I saw had a lot of work done on it - more than the market would recoup when it was to be sold on as well, but I like that people do that for cars that warrant it.

And I think the guy that bought that car, spent lots of money on it, has a cooler car than most people in their modern reliable machines.

'He baby, look at my penis, it works only half of the time but it does look good, doesn't it?'

That's not cool.

...*face palm* I don't think there's anything more I can say. I think you mean 'Hey'. Also without looking into that analogy too far, I wouldn't want mine propped up even 50% of the time, imagine only sleeping on your back.

 

[Liquid]

Reliability does not at all, in any way, influence coolness, one iota, in my opinion.

This seems at odds with your choice of words here:

I think its unreliability adds character, and makes the car an EVEN cooler choice to drive, because, 'hey, it's unreliable, but its sexy as'.

 

[Legro]

I wouldn't want mine propped up even 50% of the time, imagine only sleeping on your back.

I don't think you understood what he meant.

 

[Dagger311]

Solid meh.