Automotive Confessions

[Noxide]

Here's a thread where you can get things off your chest - things you love, things you like, those guilty and strange views free of too much judgement. No idea whether this will work, but here's a go.

Obviously car related.

And I don't mean confessions of what you've done in a car for example before anyone gets all smart.

Please don't leave me the only one confessing!


My confessions;

- I really don't care for classic Jaguars. Or a large number of classic cars in fairness. Like. My garage would have maybe 1. At a push. When people say how much they'd love an old E-type or a Dino or something I just zone out.
- I (not so) secretly love my car and totally don't talk to it as if it's a person with feelings and apologize to it if I rag it or drive it too frivolously.
- Oh, and I loathe those stick figure families. Sorry if anyone on here has one. But I do.

 

[puntofan01]

Hmmm, mine have been mentioned on previous threads, and I have received a huge amount of abuse for them, but here are all the main things in 1 place, lol:
*I absolutely hate 4x4/SUVs. They tend to be bought as status symbols by people who really don't need them, and who drive them rather badly.
*On the whole, I don't care for german or Japanese cars. With the odd exception, when I see them, they just leave me feeling cold, as for me personally, they lack true flair and character.
*I don't like the sheer amount of kit that cars are being stuffed with. I like a few toys, but these days, it's just getting too much. Which leads me rather neatly to...
*Like James May, I find myself strangely drawn to the Dacia Sandero. In a world full of increasingly fussy, overstyled designs and pointless gimmicks, etc, there's something refreshingly honest about the Sandero I find rather appealing.

I now await all the sheer hatred from other forum members, lol! :/

 

[StevenRB45]

Hmm...having driven all the engine choices in a mk3 panda including the 100hp I decided the most fun one was the 1.3 diesel.

I cannot stand any average 80s/90s car being described as a "future classic". It's not it never will be, that FWD escort 1.3 popular was a boring, mediocre mass produced sack of crap the day it wheezed out of the factory and still is. Surviving 20 years by dumb luck makes it rare not a "classic" same applies to boggo novas Astra's, Golfs. Sporty ones OK cool, the average ones..just no. For the same reasons a Morris Marina is not a classic unless you happen to be mad enough to own one in which case your judgement is blatantly flawed..

That's not to say they aren't a curiosity..

 

[puntofan01]

I cannot stand any average 80s/90s car being described as a "future classic". It's not it never will be, that FWD escort 1.3 popular was a boring, mediocre mass produced sack of crap the day it wheezed out of the factory and still is. Surviving 20 years by dumb luck makes it rare not a "classic" same applies to boggo novas Astra's, Golfs. Sporty ones OK cool, the average ones..just no. For the same reasons a Morris Marina is not a classic unless you happen to be mad enough to own one in which case your judgement is blatantly flawed..

That's not to say they aren't a curiosity..

To people who have fond memories of them from when they were new, they are a classic!

 

[StevenRB45]

To people who have fond memories of them from when they were new, they are a classic!

This is "Confessions" so it may not be a popular view

Strangely enough I have memories of them as my dad owned a succession of them in the 80s and 90s. Delights such as a Vauxhall Nova saloon, Astra 1.3 GL Ford Escort popular, a cavalcade of mediocrity and permanently half in primer as various parts bubbled with rust..these were 2 years old at the time purchased.

You don't show a cheap plastic off a black and white CRT because it's a "classic" t.v. now it's 25 years old. It was cheap disposable tat..and it still is.

 

[puntofan01]

This is "Confessions" so it may not be a popular view

Strangely enough I have memories of them as my dad owned a succession of them in the 80s and 90s. Delights such as a Vauxhall Nova saloon, Astra 1.3 GL Ford Escort popular, a cavalcade of mediocrity and permanently half in primer as various parts bubbled with rust..these were 2 years old at the time purchased.

Fair enough, lol! Will your Mazda be a classic 1 day? Purely out of interest.

 

[StevenRB45]

Fair enough, lol! Will your Mazda be a classic 1 day? Purely out of interest.

Hell no, it's a tool and does a job I'm not daft enough to think it'll ever be anything else.

If I see one in 40 years it'd be interesting as a trip down memory lane that's all.

Is it a nice car to have around? In my opinion yes. is it special like a classic should be? No.

 

[puntofan01]

Hell no, it's a tool and does a job I'm not daft enough to think it'll ever be anything else.

If I see one in 40 years it'd be interesting as a trip down memory lane that's all.

Is it a nice car to have around? In my opinion yes. is it special like a classic should be? No.

Fair enough, lol!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I cannot stand any average 80s/90s car being described as a "future classic". It's not it never will be, that FWD escort 1.3 popular was a boring, mediocre mass produced sack of crap the day it wheezed out of the factory and still is. Surviving 20 years by dumb luck makes it rare not a "classic" same applies to boggo novas Astra's, Golfs. Sporty ones OK cool, the average ones..just no. For the same reasons a Morris Marina is not a classic unless you happen to be mad enough to own one in which case your judgement is blatantly flawed..

Combine those who believe their car is a classic with a teenager who believes the rust makes it "rat look", it boils my blood.

No it's not "rat look" it's a bag-o-****e than should be in a scrap yard. "But it's a classic" again, No... It's a 1995 VW polo there were millions of them and they are about as special as venereal disease.

I saw a mk3 escort being sold on eBay a month or two ago and they wanted about £3k for it because it was a "classic" with low mileage...... It was worth less when bough brand new from the ford dealer!

 

[puntofan01]

I saw a mk3 escort being sold on eBay a month or two ago and they wanted about £3k for it because it was a "classic" with low mileage...... It was worth less when bough brand new from the ford dealer!

I must admit, I would actually consider that to be a classic!

 

[StevenRB45]

I saw a mk3 escort being sold on eBay a month or two ago and they wanted about £3k for it because it was a "classic" with low mileage...... It was worth less when bough brand new from the ford dealer!

Saw a Fiesta mk2 1.1 being advertised for 4k..it was advertised with "magenta coachwork" the only fiesta ever to be hand-built by craftsmen rather than knocked together by robots. Wonder if he finds a car with go-faster stripes on it he advertises it as handpainted pin striping..

I must admit, I would actually consider that to be a classic!

Can you name the stand out features that make it a classic? Other than age. I get why XRs and RSs would be desirable now, people who couldn't get them at the time now have the money for a weekend toy.

Think of it this way..there were hundreds of films made in 1942 only one of them was Casablanca. Age doesn't necessarily make something a classic.

 

[Eklipze3k]

- Modern headlights do my head in, they're too bright. I'm all for increased vision but not at the expense of the retinas of oncoming traffic.
- On the subject of headlights - how do so many people not know that they have a light out, and why do so many people think it's OK to not have their headlights on when everyone else on the road has deemed it a good idea. You're not special, you're an idiot.
- I don't check my mirrors nearly as often as I should, and brake way too late sometimes.

There's probably more but it's too early in the morning.

 

[puntofan01]

Saw a Fiesta mk2 1.1 being advertised for 4k..it was advertised with "magenta coachwork" the only fiesta ever to be hand-built by craftsmen rather than knocked together by robots. Wonder if he finds a car with go-faster stripes on it he advertises it as handpainted pin striping..



Can you name the stand out features that make it a classic? Other than age. I get why XRs and RSs would be desirable now, people who couldn't get them at the time now have the money for a weekend toy.

Think of it this way..there were hundreds of films made in 1942 only one of them was Casablanca. Age doesn't necessarily make something a classic.

For me, it's age and rarity. If a car has been out of production for around 20-25 years, and it's become rare, then it's worth saving, and I would call it a classic. Don't get me wrong, I like most of the usual suspects which are considered classics, (Jags, MGs, Triumphs, etc,) but it's the things that were everyday cars in their various decades that I find by far the most interesting.

 

[Candisa]

- I hate when people say they "need" an SUV.
- I really have to tame myself to stay friendly when people talk about their new Audi or german car in general.
- There are a bunch of Fiat models I don't like at all.
- Although I've driven diesels myself, I've grown to dislike them. I even hate how modern turbo-petrol engines drive slightly diesel-like and I plan to tune my Doblo T-Jet in a way that reduces low rpm torque in favor of more high rpm power.
- People who dislike LPG/Italian cars/... without having personal experience with them or because of some vague reports get the label "narrow-minded" in my head.

 

[puntofan01]

- I hate when people say they "need" an SUV.
- I really have to tame myself to stay friendly when people talk about their new Audi or german car in general.
- There are a bunch of Fiat models I don't like at all.
- Although I've driven diesels myself, I've grown to dislike them. I even hate how modern turbo-petrol engines drive slightly diesel-like and I plan to tune my Doblo T-Jet in a way that reduces low rpm torque in favor of more high rpm power.
- People who dislike LPG/Italian cars/... without having personal experience with them or because of some vague reports get the label "narrow-minded" in my head.

Amen to that lot!!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

For me, it's age and rarity. If a car has been out of production for around 20-25 years, and it's become rare, then it's worth saving, and I would call it a classic.

I believe the general definition is a car with historic interest. A 30 year old 1.3 litre mk2 Vauxhall cavalier is not a car of historic interest and neither is an old escort unless it's to analyse the composition of the metal to find out why it's not turned to dust like all other escorts.

Another pet hate of mine is if something is "rare" then it is worth more or is desirable. It's an eBay favourite to use the word rare, it's only rare because everyone who had one threw it away....

 

[Noxide]

Ahh, good to see people confessing. :devil:


I've one more. I really love these spoilers. I can't explain why.

[/IMG]

 

[StevenRB45]

Ahh, good to see people confessing. :devil:


I've one more. I really love these spoilers. I can't explain why.

[/IMG]

It's because it's attached to a Mazda and therefore awesome by association

 

[StevenRB45]

- Although I've driven diesels myself, I've grown to dislike them. I even hate how modern turbo-petrol engines drive slightly diesel-like and I plan to tune my Doblo T-Jet in a way that reduces low rpm torque in favor of more high rpm power.

So much this. I do 8k a year in a NA petrol about 3k in a 4cyl turbo diesel. If I only drove diesel I'd not notice the idiosyncrasies because Tbf it it does the job and after a few miles your brain tunes into the way it works and you drive to the characteristics. But then you get back into a petrol and all of a sudden you just how much you were making allowances for it, when it shoots forward because you've given it a bootful of throttle to overcome none existent turbo lag. That and there is a circle in hell where nothing is played but the noise of a 4 cylinder diesel pushing on..

One of my gripes with the twin air was the rather diesel character of the response it's all between 2k and 4k..yes it'll rev to 6k but it would rather you didn't and there's no reward for doing so.

 

[Candisa]

One of my gripes with the twin air was the rather diesel character of the response it's all between 2k and 4k..yes it'll rev to 6k but it would rather you didn't and there's no reward for doing so.

I've tested the 500 TA 85 a few years ago.
It doesn't bother me in the twinair, the midrange torque with a very tame top end matches the character of a 2cyl boxer.
This character combined with the sound and how the exhaust system is made to sound like the engine is in the back really fits the 500.

But it absolutely doesn't make any sense with a 4cyl, even if it is a heavier car that needs off the line push more than top-end power.
Anybody who's used to drive petrol engines is used to keep the revs up, and the ones who like a diesel character will still buy a diesel as it is still a lot more economical.

I don't mind a bit of turbo lag, my current heavy weight Volvo needs a bit of revs to get going as well despite the NA 2.4 5cyl, but it also allows me to keep pulling to 6k rpm and even skip a gear when upshifting without bogging and without needing an incredibly narrow spaced ratio 6 speed gearbox.