Five Favourite Cars

[Astérix]

All Jags are inherently supposed to look dated, but the XJS' greenhouse is so 1970's, even the covered light update they put on those later on couldn't help it. The XK8 was such a nice car in the 1990's because it made the XJS look so outdated too.

For some reason I love older looking cars. I'm not too much of a fan of all the rounded newer stuff. Most of them just look too similar. Any recommendations for something that is not necessarily dated but has the same feel to older aesthetics yet has current mechanics? I will forever like the looks of older cars but just trying to find one that runs properly and does not cost an arm and a leg to maintain can be a headache.

[evisu 2000]

For some reason I love older looking cars. I'm not too much of a fan of all the rounded newer stuff. Most of them just look too similar. Any recommendations for something that is not necessarily dated but has the same feel to older aesthetics yet has current mechanics?

me too, and no there aren't!

[Astérix]

I have to drive 45 minutes to work everyday and even though I am well paid I don't think it is smart to buy a car that only gets 10 miles per gallon and only takes premium. I guess it's balla status or go home. I am really close to buying this Jag even though it's over priced and has a lot of shit to be fixed...must keep looking though. Found a good priced Alfa Romeo I'm gonna check out.

[sophiapark]

I have to drive 45 minutes to work everyday and even though I am well paid I don't think it is smart to buy a car that only gets 10 miles per gallon and only takes premium. I guess it's balla status or go home. I am really close to buying this Jag even though it's over priced and has a lot of shit to be fixed...must keep looking though. Found a good priced Alfa Romeo I'm gonna check out.

two-car concept.

1 piece of shit car which gets great gas mileage, reliable, etc.

1 hot ass exotic which you drive whenever you please. keep the miles down.

[Yardbird]

48 chevy fleetline

69 chevelle SS

72 el camino

[RSR]

I love the El Camino

[rxtim]

http://www.youtube.com/user/BrianZuk

this dude shoots expensive-ass cars in LA. my favorite is the Tuned up testarossa

[dismalfuture]

dismal, I think the reason we don't understand your posts is because every time we post up something, you immediately say something negative about it but your reasoning seems to be about how "nobody in their right mind" would drive it.

I mean sure, we may not have driven many cars which is why my favorite cars aren't ferraris or mclarens but they're still nice cars nevertheless. I like NSXs cause they're a joy to drive, I'm sure there is a ferrari out there which might sway my mind but i still have a spot for silly cars or cars that aren't immediately associated with wealth.

It seems like you base your selection of cars not on how it drives but what type of people drive them.

Half of my answers are not serious, I am just giving you shit; the other half, I really just dislike your taste in cars. You are mainly posting Japanese tuner cars, and I am just tired of them, to the point that I feel like I've lost interest in cars completely. I've been into cars just like most of you guys for something like 12 years, have owned 12 to 15 cars I think, tastes change.

Many years ago, I was into Hondas and Japanese cars and the kind of shit you put in this thread, for the ease of build, etc. I went to Japan many times, studied Japanese, I met Mr. Ichishima upstairs at Type ONE when I took a trek out to Ogikubo (FWIW I lost interest in Hondas and Japanese cars for good, exactly 10 minutes afterwards, because I was more interested in the used car dealer between Spoon and Type ONE that dealt in complete tuner cars like Alpinas, Hartges, Breytons, vintage AMGs, etc. Went home and sold my Honda, got a BMW.)

Anyhow, I am getting older, live in places where you only have one car and it has to be both new/recent to pass inspection way too often, be reliable and durable, etc. Also, modifications/tuning are the domain of young guys in domestic cars (the number of terrible mods to Hyundais and Kias in Seoul and the general real tuner crowd oyou see in urban Japan) who are just young guys of lesser means and taste, and if you're gonna buy a car at my age, it doesn't really suit me much to have some loud rice rocket where only half of the shit works on it at a given time. Paper stats don't mean shit either when your car lives 99% of it's time in the city doing 35mph, it's either utility or complete panty-wetting ability.

I lost interest in talking about cars with other people as well, when it ended up being lots of Cambodian guys asking me stupid questions about my car and then me feigning interest in their 20% done Integras. Asian-America started out ok with this car thing but has pretty much raped the shit out of it the past 10 years and needs a new bag.

I don't ever recall seeing an NSX in my time in Japan, have only seen R34 GT-R's in used car lots and a lone purple one being driven really rapidly down Aoyama-dori by a fat white guy, one R33 in full tune driven by the Japanese equivalent of a redneck, and exactly 2 JZA80 Supras, one all-white RZ at like 4am in the morning in Ueno, and one red bone stock SZ driven by an old man with a bobbly head doll on the dashboard. Honda R-cars, you see them very very rarely, and only brand-new ones. In Japan they're pretty much disposable after the 3 year shaken runs out.

Conversely, I have lost count of the number of 6-figure European exotics I've seen in Tokyo, I've seen a 20 year old girl driving a 993 GT2, way back in the day. Several F50's, etc, etc.

I haven't driven a car in a few months either, haha. I suppose my Audi in the US is gonna rot waiting for me, but lately I think I have settled on saving a few more pennies and getting a second-hand 997 C2 or C2S here in Seoul. I would probably never consider a Carrera in the US or Europe, but in Asia, it's a nice proposition. Good balance of size for a single man/maneuverability in the city, decent performance, good enough reliability (why I have to cross off second-hand 360's), and it has cachet in this city.

[dismalfuture]

btw my mother is a Ph.D. candidate (0)

[RSR]

Much better answers...now we're getting somewhere!

Why would you not consider a Carrera in the US? Because you could have more than one car?

[dismalfuture]

probably that, but also that cars here in Seoul where I live/looking like I'll have to keep working are super expensive (double or more what it costs to own in the US) and few in quantity and choice, you can often be the only guy in the country with a certain car, even with fairly well-known cars. I think there's only one GT-R in the country, and even certain color M3s, there will only be one of here. Beyond that, there's just a lot more to owning a car here, in cost and hassle.

The US... super lax registration laws/fees, cheapest ownership costs in the free world, most people inevitably have good-sized garages to store/work on cars in, a huge selection of cars comparatively, good service and maintenance costs, etc, etc. America is a car-loving country, most other countries are not so.

In the US, there are so many choices, I really don't know what I'd pick. a 997 base or S just doesn't seem to be enough in that light, though, when I think about all the nice classic cars and supercars that seem imminently more drivable/ownable in a wide open country like the US. The 997 would be a plenty challenging car, has 350hp or so and is one of the best sorted-out sports cars on the market, but in America you can have everything, and I prefer obscure/underrated cars more than stuff that people already gush over, though some cars are just so innately good that it's hard to down them. Men have cars, women have handbags.

I honestly think I would probably get 3 cars, maybe 4, if I had the space and a decent car budget. A recent model sedan/wagon for a DD (maybe an E55 wagon or something), maybe a 360 Spyder for my real fun car, a 'practical' vintage classic like a pagoda 230SL or an old 50's Jag XK maybe, and then I always want some sort of German resto-mod project from like a 70/80's BMW. I really like first-gen E12 5 series, I'd like a Euro-spec one in Malachite Green on two-tone Alpinas, Ansa center-exit muffler, everything stock/period correct inside, and then have something like an M6 motor in there, uprated fuel systems and brakes, etc, etc.

[PQRS7]

imo, nsx doesn't fall into the same category as the other japan 'popular tuner' cars (wrx, evo, gtr, supra, rx7, etc)

(those people (topend?) who apply the same tuning direction to the nsx as they do to the fd or gtr have clearly missed the whole basis of the car)

right when it came out, its outright performance was overshadowed by the gtr32 and could even be out accelerated by the fd. lap times are not what this car is about.

the reason for its legendary status is that it was engineered and designed to a much higher standard than the super cars of its era. go look at ferrari's and porsche's from the late 80's and you will see what I mean. you could even say that the cause for the 360 modena was the nsx. a proverbial slap in the face to the culturally dominant europeans.

nsx is one of the few modern japanese cars that have soul.

I admire the nsx naturally, as it was my favourite car from the era I grew up in. I still like many elements from the 90's. perhaps similar to nostalgia with old americans and muscle cars.

and I agree, that european cars are superior to japanese in terms of design and spiritual elements. Im not a big fan of western tendancies to fetishize everything japanese. and I say those grown children with garages filled with jdmtune cars are stuck in some kind of fanboy vaccuum.

I understand why wealthy japan would prefer foreign cars - and the more soul and passion in the car- the better (agree?). mooneyes and rauh-welt are groups to come to mind. but if they enjoy what is different to their societal norms, then aren't others entitled to the same?

anyways, I like the nsx for my own reasons. not because might give a shit about what some idol worshipping japs think.

[Astérix]

For those interested there is a company which takes classic Jags and fixes all the mechanical problems with them...basically makes them how they should have been made. Here is the link: http://www.kwecars.com/index.php

I just found a black 1993 911 Carrera that looks really nice...gonna go test drive it tomorrow.

[Guest Eternal811]

My favorite car is the Nissan 350z.

[RSR]

Aw no, seriously?

[Osmosis Jones]

Even I don't like mine... even if it's the only one worth owning.

that and 350z owners are generally retarded. on par with evo owners.

[murdered out]

350z owners all look like douche bags in San Gabriel.

i want this

or this..

[murdered out]

and this

[evisu 2000]

buick's are the best

[dismalfuture]

imo, nsx doesn't fall into the same category as the other japan 'popular tuner' cars (wrx, evo, gtr, supra, rx7, etc)

(those people (topend?) who apply the same tuning direction to the nsx as they do to the fd or gtr have clearly missed the whole basis of the car)

right when it came out, its outright performance was overshadowed by the gtr32 and could even be out accelerated by the fd. lap times are not what this car is about.

the reason for its legendary status is that it was engineered and designed to a much higher standard than the super cars of its era. go look at ferrari's and porsche's from the late 80's and you will see what I mean. you could even say that the cause for the 360 modena was the nsx. a proverbial slap in the face to the culturally dominant europeans.

nsx is one of the few modern japanese cars that have soul.

I admire the nsx naturally, as it was my favourite car from the era I grew up in. I still like many elements from the 90's. perhaps similar to nostalgia with old americans and muscle cars.

and I agree, that european cars are superior to japanese in terms of design and spiritual elements. Im not a big fan of western tendancies to fetishize everything japanese. and I say those grown children with garages filled with jdmtune cars are stuck in some kind of fanboy vaccuum.

I understand why wealthy japan would prefer foreign cars - and the more soul and passion in the car- the better (agree?). mooneyes and rauh-welt are groups to come to mind. but if they enjoy what is different to their societal norms, then aren't others entitled to the same?

anyways, I like the nsx for my own reasons. not because might give a shit about what some idol worshipping japs think.

I agree with you somewhat, the NSX is not in the same league as the other Japanese sports cars from its era, but then again, nothing Honda makes is ever really intended to follow. When the other Japanese makers were doing AWD or FR turbo, Honda was out there making CRX SiRs and shit like that. Honda is just a quirky company. It has a good reputation in America and elsewhere, some people think of Hondas as even being sporty because of late '90s memories, whatever, but in Japan, Hondas just have the image of being quirky cars that are apart from the norm.

Anyhow, it is true that the engineering involved in the NSX was next level for a Japanese car, but I'd say the GT-R wasn't that far behind. The price split (and therefore image split) was because the NSX was all aluminum at a time when that technology was expensive, the Audi A8 was like the second car to come out in Aluminum and that was a big deal too.

Pre-facelift NSX's look dated. Pop-up lights are so 1980's, the lines of the car in general and the huge glassy yet simple greenhouse, it looks old. Facelift NSX's a bit more modern looking but I can't say that they match the look of the car.

Japanese Ferrari? I can see the comparisons (but consider that the 512TR and 348 at the time were COMPLETELY different, both in cylinder count and format, though they appeared similar to the unknowing I guess), but I consider the NSX to be more akin to something like a Lotus, it's like an alternative Lotus Esprit, whereby the Lotus sheds its plastic and weird motor choices for aluminum skin and a nice precision but sterile motor. A prerogative of weight-savings, less priority on the motor, that is not Ferrari as much as it is Lotus.

[dismalfuture]

also, I wouldn't really consider the NSX to have soul. Neither 3.0 or 3.2. Maybe the R, which is where Hondas come alive I guess you'd say, but it was an over-engineered car without a standout engine.

[dismalfuture]

350z owners all look like douche bags in San Gabriel.

i want this

and this thing is sick btw.

[murdered out]

^ ill drive any car that makes me look like a dictator

[PQRS7]

I agree with you somewhat, the NSX is not in the same league as the other Japanese sports cars from its era, but then again, nothing Honda makes is ever really intended to follow. When the other Japanese makers were doing AWD or FR turbo, Honda was out there making CRX SiRs and shit like that. Honda is just a quirky company. It has a good reputation in America and elsewhere, some people think of Hondas as even being sporty because of late '90s memories, whatever, but in Japan, Hondas just have the image of being quirky cars that are apart from the norm.

Anyhow, it is true that the engineering involved in the NSX was next level for a Japanese car, but I'd say the GT-R wasn't that far behind. The price split (and therefore image split) was because the NSX was all aluminum at a time when that technology was expensive, the Audi A8 was like the second car to come out in Aluminum and that was a big deal too.

Pre-facelift NSX's look dated. Pop-up lights are so 1980's, the lines of the car in general and the huge glassy yet simple greenhouse, it looks old. Facelift NSX's a bit more modern looking but I can't say that they match the look of the car.

Japanese Ferrari? I can see the comparisons (but consider that the 512TR and 348 at the time were COMPLETELY different, both in cylinder count and format, though they appeared similar to the unknowing I guess), but I consider the NSX to be more akin to something like a Lotus, it's like an alternative Lotus Esprit, whereby the Lotus sheds its plastic and weird motor choices for aluminum skin and a nice precision but sterile motor. A prerogative of weight-savings, less priority on the motor, that is not Ferrari as much as it is Lotus.

I didn't say that the NSX was like a Ferrari. I said that the NSX was superior to Ferrari's offerings at the time (F348/F355 to be specific). I also said that the NSX was a (also symbolic) cause for Ferrari to 'step up their game' leading to the creation of the 360 Modena.

Please realize that building a fine-handling vehicle is not the same as making any other 'high performance vehicle'. If you wanted superior handling than the NSX during its era, you would have had to go and buy something in F50 territory. There is an art to crafting handling characteristics. The GT-R was successful. But, to hold it next to the NSX is like comparing the R35 to the F430 (quicker, but no candle for driving dynamics).

The engine of the car was nothing extraordinary - but this was a virtue. Using a more exotic engine would have meant higher costs, less reliability, and higher fuel consumption - while doing nothing(~) to enhance the driving experience. 290HP was and still is great for a car weighing under 3000lbs. Simply put, the superiority of the NSX lied in its chassis and suspension. you know, the NSX is so rigid that if you put it on four jack stands, it will wobble because the floor is likely not level enough(!)

as for the cultural or contextual relevancy (or basically why this car is cool), let me put it this way I like the NSX for similar reasons to why I like prime era Sony Walkmans. There is something about these items which are unique to anything else - because they are from times which never existed anywhere else.

[Fabulaz]

fuck look at all those Z8s

[PQRS7]

Alpina's too

[PQRS7]

just some jpeg I had off hand

[dismalfuture]

This is nice, period correct. I'm not sure that all those rare Mugen parts really mean anything to anyone outside of the US anymore, but I think the Mugen NSX is an exception since those parts were exceedingly rare.

Although the platform precludes anything other than a V6, I think the cylinder count of the NSX is just too low to put it in real supercar territory. That, and my beef with the engine is that the NSX's I've encountered didn't give off any aural rewards like an Italian car can, it's not ITB'd is it? BTW the original 5 speed was more like 250-270hp, the 290 hp version was the 3.2 that didnt come out for awhile...

[Osmosis Jones]

5-speed manual is fun but that 6-speed is a dream...

I want a miata again... Looking for Mariner Blue NA...

[Farris]

just copped an '06 325CI. black on black. im in love