Next car?

Honda Element: Just bought one and wouldn't trade it for any other vehicle. You can cram a boxed Naim six-pack inside and still have room for a supermodel in front and her best friend riding on one of the bass bins.

dave,

except that a supermodel will not be caught dead in that dinky thing.

Lotus Special Edition Elise California is more like it.

I have actually just ordered my next sensible car....

...to go with our non-sensible one...

I have actually always lusted after one of these rather than perhaps the more obvious choices. Completely hits the spot of my auto desires!

Oh where to begin? Ferrari 250GTO, 288GTO, Lamborghini Countach, Pagani Zonda, Cobra 427, Aston Martin Lagonda, Ariel Atom 300, Marcos Mantis XP and for everyday use, I have to agree with Frank F - an Audi RS4 V8.

Bruce, interesting choice with probably one of the finest road car engine noises ever!

Lotus Elise is the only road car I've driven that feels like a single seater racing car. So that will be it for sunday drives/track days. The smaller Toyota engine is fine with me.

For every day travel I would like to have a nice rail network (as we are dreaming...)

JohanR

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
I have actually always lusted after one of these rather than perhaps the more obvious choices. Completely hits the spot of my auto desires!

Hi Bruce,

The year before we left for Aus (1995) I took my 33 for a service and to get drilled discs fitted (braking being an obvious afterthought in Milan) at Autodelta who were then in NW London somewhere ... Park Royal I think. Anyway the story goes that they had an SZ there that they had done a right hand drive conversion on for some guy in New Zealand. For whatever reason the guy never arranged for delivery and so lo and behold the only RH drive SZ in existence was there for the taking ... apart from a thick wedge of dosh of course. I wonder what happened to it.

Just had a look at Autodelta's website and they last heard of it in Zimbabwe ... could be a bargain going there then.

Mmmmmmmm. Alfa ....

Cheers
Scott

quote:

Originally posted by ScottC:
...I wonder what happened to it...

If it is anything like the Alfa's I've owned in the past it has completely decayed to small patch of red goo, or burst into flames!

Bruce

Deisal Fiesta. Had it a month. Very comfortable (said top of range Merc owner). 60+ miles to the gallon. £35 a year Road Tax.

How else do you think I can afford to buy all this Naim gear?!!

One of these...



With this on the back...



Temperamental, will kill you if you lose your nerve and take your foot off the gas in a bend, manifold is prone to explode if the engine isn't set up perfectly and looks almost exactly the same as the diesel one your Gran used to drive...


...but the look of horror on the faces of Porsche drivers as you overtake them does it for me every time!!!

For lugging stuff and not taking up much room a Renault Modus takes some beating.

I am waiting for a friend to take me out for a blast in his SZ.

Jono

A TVR Cerbera ?


or an Aston DBS V8 ?


or this one, why not ?

quote:

If it is anything like the Alfa's I've owned in the past it has completely decayed to small patch of red goo, or burst into flames!

Traditional values still?

I am normally really not that bothered about cars, but I really like this one:

quote:

Originally posted by m0omo0:

Never seen an Aston Martin estate before, didn't know they existed!

James

This car with an early SatNav system was quite impressive

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:

quote:

If it is anything like the Alfa's I've owned in the past it has completely decayed to small patch of red goo, or burst into flames!

Traditional values still?

Hopefully changing but certainly so in 2002 when I last owned one. Just add a dealer standing next to the red goo and saying 'I can't tell anything wrong with it sir' followed a month later by 'they all do that sir, it is not really a fault as such' followed a month later by 'we will try to get the parts but might be a delay' and repeat ad infinitum!


Bruce

At the moment,I've got this

But I'd very much like one of these next

Pretty please!
By the way,
from what I've seen recently, the days of Alfas being flimsy/flaky/rust-heaps seems to be a thing of the past. My mates 1 year old Audi A3 has had more niggly electrical snags than my 1 year old Brera!
Matt.

JWM

Aston (and some coachbuilders)have made a few over the years.

Try searching for;
DB5 Shooting brake
DB6 shooting brake
Virage shooting brake
in google images for a few examples.

Ian

Matt,

Lovely colour Brera. What do you think of the Mi:To? Looks a bit ungainly at the front to my eyes (a bit fish-like) but I just know I'll be sending for the brochures when it comes to the UK!

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Jagster:
JWM

Aston (and some coachbuilders)have made a few over the years.

Try searching for;
DB5 Shooting break
DB6 shooting break
Virage shooting break
in google images for a few examples.

Ian

Break? Or Brake?

Tony

Guilty as charged Tony - oops!
Was just about to head off for my coffee "break" when typing

Me, I love TVRs! Call it an aberration if you like, but they're a real hoot to drive. "Scare Porshe drivers rigid" as they say!

I was fortunate enough to own one a few years ago - a Griffith 500. No ABS, power steering, just raw power! A bit of a handful admittedly, but over 25K miles from new in two years it was completely reliable!

But you know how it is with a new car, you get a couple of minor blemishes from the odd shopping trolley, or the odd nudge from a low bollard. Hardly visible but somehow it just takes the sheen off it, so although it was running just fine I decided to get rid of it (you'll hardly notice the odd scratch on this photo):-

Bruce,
Hi there. I've been very happy with the Brera, & it looks better in the flesh than in pics. Petrol consumption not so good though, but luckily, I only do about 10k miles a year, so not too bad.
The Mi:To?
Hmm, well the front looks a bit clumsy, the name is a bit daft. I would have rather they revamped an Alfa name of old. If it is built to the standards of the new Alfas (brera & 159's), then they will have a potentially great little car on their hands that will make the bmw-mini look seriously old hat. Heres hoping.
Nice to hear of someone else who isn't afraid to discuss Alfas in a grown up manner!
Matt.

Tony.
Ouch!! Hope no one was hurt.
Visual proof that TVR's & their drivers DO need ABS, I think. Do TVR still insist that a 'proper' driver can brake quicker without ABS I wonder
Matt.