If you want REAL fun buy a Jeep, there’s nothing like top- & doors-off driving in the summer. TJ (97-06), YJ (87-95), CJ (up to 86), and JK/JL (07-17/18-on) in order of preference. (JK & JL are technological nightmares not worth owning if out of warranty.)
Not my speed. But I could see owning something like this if I wasn't surrounded by flat rural curvy highways.
Those are the 2nd best places to drive them! Gearing down for curves then accelerating & upshifting out of them, they’re some of the best seat-of-the-pants vehicles out there. Plus you can take them places like this, too! Though I did end up blowing the engine in a mud bog not too long after this pic was taken. 😂
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
Ajay newbie Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 19,381
Brisbane OZ
I'm boring, i prefer old school grunt to cornering. My dream car is still a 1970 Holden Hg GTS Monaro.
If i ever had the money that's the car and paintjob i would want. Slam in a more modern driveline and suspension and modernise the interior. New dash, new seats, airbags, and modern lighting system
I've been looking into used Miata 5s now for a about 5 weeks, online, mainly through CarGurus. Missed a couple of beauties, micah red, because I tarried too long. Lots of used Miatas available, less than 10K for earlier models, 2006+, to 15K+ for more recent models, 2012-2015 or so. Many with not too high miles, ca. 25000. Most are about 2 hour's drive away, too long a drive to end up being disappointed and have to return. Not suprisingly, several with at least one or two accidents in their history. Thank god for Carfax. Not having a lot of success since I can't afford new - 15K is pushing it for me, and most good ones get scooped up very quickly. On the plus side, wife told me to "go ahead"! Let me know what, if anything, you come up with.
Will do, Dunolde. But it will be new (I'll show the numbers) and I plan to keep it for at least 20 years (I'm 51 now, should be long enough).
To the others...I can see the appeal of Jeeps, brute muscle and topless sporty luxury. But it's not me, I prefer something small, tossable and low maintenance, good economy but still fun to drive (fun to me anyway, proper stick/clutch and some type of sliding/removable roof mandatory). My '89 CRX was perfect for the time (the Si was a no-brainer if just for the standard stick and sunroof, although I'd rather have went topless). My '99 Civic Si (pics below) was ok for just under $20k, but I believe I've finally outgrown Civics and I haven't really cared for Honda's direction since the 90's.
The sportiest car I've driven recently was a new VW Beetle turbo rental that I drove to NYC in March. Both charming and kinda quirky, a topless one might be fun but it's no Miata. Since then I've wanted to own a another car that I actually enjoy driving, also to have a proper date night car to cruise around in (usually LSU campus or downtown Baton Rouge) and my Honda Element just isn't cutting it.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
Hard to pick up chicks in that unless it is all tricked out and even then....
There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB. The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed. There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.
Ajay newbie Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 19,381
Brisbane OZ
Originally Posted by MarkG
Will do, Dunolde. But it will be new (I'll show the numbers) and I plan to keep it for at least 20 years (I'm 51 now, should be long enough).
To the others...I can see the appeal of Jeeps, brute muscle and topless sporty luxury. But it's not me, I prefer something small, tossable and low maintenance, good economy but still fun to drive (fun to me anyway, proper stick/clutch and some type of sliding/removable roof mandatory). My '89 CRX was perfect for the time (the Si was a no-brainer if just for the standard stick and sunroof, although I'd rather have went topless). My '99 Civic Si (pics below) was ok for just under $20k, but I believe I've finally outgrown Civics and I haven't really cared for Honda's direction since the 90's.
I've a mate who used to be into muscle cars, throws money at them like he is refurbishing a house, so much money. In the last ten or so years he got into a lot import stuff, Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas mainly, all the sporty stuff that wasn't available here off the showroom floor. It would be no stretch to say he has over 25 cars in under 15 years. Beautiful cars though, his cars are always 110% pristine condition and then with upgrades, bigger turbos, intercoolers, manifolds, ecu's etc they also go like cut mustard. He doesn't put those w ank exhausts on them or crappy kmart kits either, all high end aftermarket parts or the best the factory performance side has to offer. The weird part? buys them at a decent price, spends a whack of cash, drives them for a bit and then takes a loss on the sale. We've been at him for years to buy a house and then use that to fund his car obsession but he just keeps renting and throwing that dead money away. He could have paid off at least one nice house with a good chunk of land and be well on his way to another with the money he spends on his metal. Recently he just got back into current gen muscle but kept his Honda Type R (whatever Japanese version unavailable here) import. Cars man, if only they weren't so #%&*$# cool:)
Hard to pick up chicks in that unless it is all tricked out and even then....
Pffft. I once picked up this chick for a date in my mom's Dodge Aries K-car station wagon with wood grain paneling! And my mom was driving!! And the chick married me!!!
The problem with the Miata is going to be fighting over who drives...and I'm not kidding.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB. The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed. There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.
We used to go "cruisin' for chicks" in my parents 1972 Ford Grand Torino Station Wagon. It was olive drab too. I had some great nights in that thing. It had plenty of room.
I buy new but I have to like how a car looks sitting in the showroom because that's exactly how it's going to look when I finally let it go. This even includes the wheels. To me, a new car already cost too much to start throwing more money at it, performance or otherwise. Either the factory gets it right or I pass.
The pics of my Civic (for example) were taken a few years after I purchased it, you can see wear on the black window trim (middle pic in previous post) and gear shift knob. I even kept the factory head unit (a first for me...although I added decent speakers and amp, sounded much better than expected for factory crap CD so I left it at that...pics below). I really should have gotten a tint job though, especially in FL.
At the major 120k mile servicing (IIRC) the Honda tech came into the lobby to tell me that he's never seen a car like mine so clean and well taken care of, including what he could see of the engine. Figures though, Civics were often abused in those days by the younger demographic who usually drove them.
I remember the fart cans.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
We used to go "cruisin' for chicks" in my parents 1972 Ford Grand Torino Station Wagon. It was olive drab too. I had some great nights in that thing. It had plenty of room.
Did it have an 8-track?
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
I made a topic about a while back, but my dream vehicle is actually a expeditionary RV based on some sort of high performance offroad vehicle, something like a Unimog, a Tatra, a KAMAZ, or even a BRDM-2.
I could actually afford one right now but its not a wise buy unless I win the lottery or there was an impending zombie apocalypse.
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run