Past, Present, and Future

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Azuremen
While cars are still using a design that makes spark plugs a huge hassle (cough Subaru cough)
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Try changing a set of plugs on a small block these days. I think GM has forgotten that the main reason why we buy them is because they're easy to work on!

I keep wondering how much weight I could tear out of the Celica with some basic changes. I almost wish I didn't have a moon roof, a power antenna, and all that jazz. Its nice, because its comfortable, but it takes away the point of it being a "sports coupe."

I also get the feeling that my rear seats are heavy. Very, very heavy.
 
YSSMAN
Try changing a set of plugs on a small block these days. I think GM has forgotten that the main reason why we buy them is because they're easy to work on!
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Why do you think there's a 100,000 mile interval on tune-ups.
IF you have to take the motor out of a Chevy Truck to change the plugs, the situation can't be too much better in the cars.
 
YSSMAN
Try changing a set of plugs on a small block these days. I think GM has forgotten that the main reason why we buy them is because they're easy to work on!

I keep wondering how much weight I could tear out of the Celica with some basic changes. I almost wish I didn't have a moon roof, a power antenna, and all that jazz. Its nice, because its comfortable, but it takes away the point of it being a "sports coupe."

I also get the feeling that my rear seats are heavy. Very, very heavy.
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Sunroof and all that is probably 100 pounds. I know my friends T-top AW11 with leather weighed about 300 pounds more than my base model.
 
TVC
Is it only me who thinks cars are going down hill? Not only the companies but the actual cars. Look at the F40 compared to the Enzo. Or the Porsche 993 to the 996. Or even a new Civic compared to a 5th or 6th gen civic.

I don't really know the point I am trying to make but it seems like cars are going down hill and companies are focusing on different things. There are great cars today but they don't seem to be able to match the style of cars 10-20 years ago.

Does anyone agree with me or am I just stuck in the past when it comes to this stuff? To me the 80's and 90's were the height of car design (except for American companies). The basis for modern super cars came out of that period.

I see some new designs and I am like :sick: (BMW 7 series F01/F02).
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Couldn't agree more! New cars have no soul, and they're drop dead ugly.
 
Gil
With the exception of the fact that I can't fit comfortably in a Civic SI Coupe, I think it's safer, faster, and nominally better looking than any of the earlier Civics, and better looking than ALL but the last generation of Preludes.
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How tall are you Gil? As much as the Civic has grown, I have tons of headroom and legroom...I'm 6'.
 
Azuremen
The irony is my stock 99 Corolla would destroy an old AE86 at a track. End of story.
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And, as I mentioned earlier, a 2008 Corolla is even better. still.

It has a horribly soft suspension, tons of body roll, and the steering feel of a golf cart wearing beach balls instead of tires, but the chassis is amazingly stiff.

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I'm sitting here, thinking (for the past two weeks, at least) of what I'd like to buy as a second (third... fourth... whatever) car... do I blow my money on a secondhand 200SX, or do I buy a brand new supermini and turbocharge it?

Believe it or not, it's an annoyingly difficult choice... :lol:
 
niky
I'm sitting here, thinking (for the past two weeks, at least) of what I'd like to buy as a second (third... fourth... whatever) car... do I blow my money on a secondhand 200SX, or do I buy a brand new supermini and turbocharge it?

Believe it or not, it's an annoyingly difficult choice... :lol:
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A second car, that you have will having a somewhat sane car, should always be insanely impractical. Like my MR-S. Get one of those. Or something equally impractical.
 
I personally would be kind of creeped out if I had a car with a soul. Christine scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.
 
kia-soul-usa-1_opt.jpg


???
 
Azuremen
A second car, that you have will having a somewhat sane car, should always be insanely impractical. Like my MR-S. Get one of those. Or something equally impractical.
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Ah... unfortunately, to pass the finance committee (the missus), it'll either have to be incredibly cheap (can you say... Datsun 510 or Ford Escort cheap? :lol: ) or at least have four seats. Sadly. A buddy just bought an NA Miata with just 30,000 (18k miles! Unbelieveable!) kilometers on the clock. All original. The interior looks infintely fresher than my four-year old car. I was prepared to shove him out the passenger door when we took it for a shakedown cruise after the purchase... :lol:
 
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Rotary Junkie
510s are cheap?

*moves*
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Not extremely cheap... a friend bought a four door with a busted engine (well, it died when it finally got to his garage) for just under $2k. It's in pieces now, a slow-moving project of stripped paint and body panels.

Escorts, however... you can get a runner for maybe $500... hmmm.... and the local Escort club hangs out on one of my forums... lots of people to buy Southern Cross rims, flares and various minutiae from...

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But this one is just awesome...
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Of course, a full restored car like this will sell for a good sum... somewhere between $8,000 to $12,000 (all stock parts, mind). One member sold his car to some dude in the UK via E-bay.

Personally, I'd just dump the Kent engine for an SR20, bastardize the suspension and seam-weld and brace the whole chassis. I'd keep the old-skool seats, though.

Wait-a-minute... wasn't I arguing for modern cars just a few posts ago? :lol:
 
Eric.
How tall are you Gil? As much as the Civic has grown, I have tons of headroom and legroom...I'm 6'.
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I'm also only a 6 footer.
however, I was "blessed" with short legs and a rather long torso. Great for ice-skating, not so wonderful for small cars with low roofs.
Even with the seat cranked all the way down, I have to lean back farther than I like to keep my head of the mandatory sunroof.
When I lean back far enough to do that it becomes a long reach to the steering wheel and shifter.

My son looked at the Civic sedan, and it has more room in it than my Camry. But it also didn't have a DAMN sunroof.
I would probably be comfy in a regular coupe with no sunroof, but then I'd not have the K20 under the hood.
While the Si is a bit of a kid's car. I'd like the ability to be a bit of a "hooligan" every now and again.:)
 
niky
Personally, I'd just dump the Kent engine for an SR20
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Sacrilege! - you could have at least offered to swap it for a Toyota 4A-GE, which was a copy of the Kent-based Cosworth BDA as used in the Mk1 Escort RS1600.
 
Toronado
Sounds like the Porsche community.
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Indeed.

A good portion of the Porsche community are ex-BMW guys who got fed up with the spiraling weight/complexity of new Bimmers.

...and they went and got a P-car... so they can complain about the spiraling weight/complexity of new Porsches.


I might be joining this crowd myself in the spring. (P-car crowd, not complaining crowd)


M
 
^^^ I'll be interested to see what becomes of this.

After familiarizing myself with this a bit last night, all of a sudden I'm not too bitter about how cars are progressing...
 
PARAGON GT
How so? I've hears this mentioned a couple times before and was wonder what you meant.
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Well, it's just my opinion. I don't really have a good explaination.

Off topic: Beautiful Mustang btw! My dad would drool pretty hard over that one I guess (I think he like the '65 - '66 models more but still). I'm more of a Chevy fan, but starting to like Ford more and more. If I'd chose to have a Ford I'd go for a '66 Fairlane 500XL. Will take long for me to get the money for a muscle car though.
 
I was just curious.

The only soul I can attach to cars (Christine and Kitt excluded) is that of the design team that created the car(s). And the way I see it is they were designing the cars based on what was "in" during that decade/year/??.


OT: Thank you. Its a '67 and needs quite a bit of work in my opinion. When I was looking for a project car, I was initally looking for a first gen Camaro, but the asking price for a shell was more than what I got the Coupe for.
 
Well if they want soul, they should drop a picture of their wives into the car batter (a la Herbie the Love Bug). :p
 
///M-Spec
I might be joining this crowd myself in the spring. (P-car crowd, not complaining crowd
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I guess thats better than being a closet Porsche freak then?

I'd go old school. Pre-993. Carrera 3.2 territory. Yeah!
 
Gil
When I lean back far enough to do that it becomes a long reach to the steering wheel and shifter.
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Well the steering wheel is telescopic, but I definitely see that the shifter would be out of reach in that case. In my opinion, shifting to fifth is a little further than it should be, but would probably all be perfect if it was a RHD one.
My son looked at the Civic sedan, and it has more room in it than my Camry. But it also didn't have a DAMN sunroof.
I would probably be comfy in a regular coupe with no sunroof, but then I'd not have the K20 under the hood.
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So you're saying you could fit in a sedan with a sunroof? Get an Si sedan now!
While the Si is a bit of a kid's car. I'd like the ability to be a bit of a "hooligan" every now and again.:)
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You're stepping on toes with that one. ;) My dad is in his fifties and hates manual transmissions. He makes a point to drive my Si at least once a week. :lol:
 
YSSMAN
I guess thats better than being a closet Porsche freak then?

I'd go old school. Pre-993. Carrera 3.2 territory. Yeah!
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I've promised myself that I'd own a 911 at some point. Just like I'd made up my mind that I'd own a Vette at some point.

Clean 964s are a tough find and I'd actually feel bad submitting one of the few remaining to daily driver duties. Anything older is just not my cup of tea --if I want a vintage Porsche, I'd get a 356. Besides, I am spoiled by modern conveniences like Bluetooth, xenons and heated seats.

It seems 993 owners have developed a brain infection that causes them to believe their cars are made of pure gold, because that's what they want for them.

I'm looking at 996 mk IIs. And possibly early 997s. We'll see what the market looks like later this year. But it's just a casual look right now. The main goal is for me to have access to a 4 seater again since my wife has gone back to work. I might just fall back on the original plan and buy an E36 and keep the M Roady.


M
 
///M-Spec, just get something pure like an Elise or NSX to replace the M-Roady. You don't need all those luxury features at all, take away from the purity of the car. Though an NSX will be vastly more comfortable for longer drives.

An E36 would be a solid choice for a 4 seater... my room mate keeps trying to get me to look at them. I just don't want to see someone that actually thinks and drives become a Porsche guy, because I generally find them to be jerks that have no clue how to drive :p

And Gil just go for the Si Sedan, I think they look better and they just make more sense. Plus less likely to get stolen :p
 
I like the Honda, but I currently have a 2000 Civic on the family lot.
While it's a great car for my wife or my son, It is not "Gil Compatible"
I still hate that you have to basically wring a Honda's neck to get into the power band.
Alas, I grew up, and learned to drive when torque was made in the 2000RPM range, and only got bigger.
I'm biding my time till my wife wants a new car.
She has her eye on a Mazda3 a few years up the road.
That's why I'm trying to take really good care of her Mazda6.
It's no G35 Coupe, but I think I can learn to live with it.
And on topic, The Mazda6 and Mazda3...better than the 626 and 323.
I do wish that somebody at Mazda speed would have gotten a "wild hair" and put the turbo 2.3 from the 3 into a 6...
 

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