cc700

Maker specific car threads always suck, so let's just have one big thread to discuss cars.

What you drive, where you drive, when you drive, if you drive with your bike attached, how you attach your bike, what you hate about cars, what you like about cars...

I'll go first.
I drive this:

it's slow and has an Outback engine. other than that i'm supremely happy with it.

of course now that i live in a city i hardly ever drive it, but when i do i put my bike on it with a saris bones 3. i want a roof or hitch rack (got a hitch), but i always end up spending money on bikes instead.

i hate that even though it's a slowish grocery getter it still pollutes and buying gas is a terrible feeling given how much i hate the oil companies.

i really want a yakima rack and fairing. nothing fancy, maybe the one with huge towers so i can take snowboards with bindings down without flipping them up.

spaceballs

I have an 04 Subaru Forester - also slow, which doesn't bother me. Last week I was rear ended by a pickup pulling a long trailer. I expect it to be totalled out tomorrow by the adjuster.

I had a Yakima roof rack and basket.

Dr. Banzai

I have three:

Currently having an engine rebuild and a respray. 420hp

1988 Sierra RS Cosworth



1985 Merkur "XR500" waiting paint. 410hp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvOTSMRNfWk

My daily driver 2000 Jag S-type V8. 285hp

Sixty Fiver

I was ranting about this the other day and your comment about your car being slow ties into this... the 165 hp you get out of that engine is more than what you used to get out of a basic 70's 5 litre V8 (150-160 hp) which was considered fine for propelling much bigger and heavier cars down the road.

Now you can get an Outback with a 243 hp engine... am waiting for some soccer mom to run me down with one of these when she confuses the gas pedal and brake.

Every year it's more horsepower and now mom's basic minivan is cranking more than 250 hp which is about 70-80 more horsepower than it needs if it is just moving people.

Mind you... people are getting bigger an heavier and might need more hp under the hood to make those runs through the drive through.

Was looking at an older Nissan van and the biggest critique was the fact it had an engine that was rated at 185 hp but rated very highly for mileage against newer vans... unless you are pulling a trailer or carrying really heavy loads I'd consider this adequate.

But consumers have been sold on the idea of more is better and when everyone is playing the game, your compact Subaru with the 165hp engine is probably slow compared to mom's min van.

Owned a few old Chryslers with the 225 slant six... engine was bombproof and the 3.7 litre engine was rated for 145hp with lots of torque and these got very decent mileage considering they were put into heavier cars.

A 1.6 litre engine used to be considered adequate or smaller cars and a decent one cranked out about 110hp... my Sentra had this and am looking at getting another one with the same 1.6 as it was an efficient and bombproof engine.

Figure that by reducing engine displacement and hp we will get more efficient cars and slow the pace a little... mom should not be able to do burnouts with her mini van.

It's nuts.

Big trucks need big horsepower... cars that tend to be single occupant urban vehicles don't need this.

bhop

I don't hate cars. I actually like them. I just like riding my bike more...and hate sitting in traffic when I could be cruising by it, and city parking, and paying for gas..

'95 Eclipse GS-T (turbo), My bikes fit in the back with the seat folded down and the front wheel off.

Dr. Banzai

I agree. My cars make ridiculous power but I'd love to trade the Jag for a small diesel. The Fiesta diesel to be exact. But it is not coming to Canada any time soon. VW - no thanks.

Sixty Fiver

Will say that I really used to love my cars and have owned many and put on a million miles in my life but never owned a V8 and fastest car I owned was a slightly tweaked Thunderbird Turbo Couple that could drop Vettes off the line and get nearly 40mpg on the highway to boot.

FatBaldMen

^^ Hell Effing yea DR. BANZAI......I had a Merkur Xr4Ti w/ an esslinger head / t3/t4 hybrid turbo, Polished & ported manifold & too much else to list..It used to kick the **** out of scamaros & brostangs w/ it all the time.

Now I have this old gal, despite being big boned she can move. (excuse the self portrait of me..its the only pic I have of that car)



& heres her heart, a 347 stroker motor *now w/ a big ass turbo for momentum.



& another of my jalopies. (recentley sold)


I litteraly just toss my bike in both & let it lay where it lands.

WoundedKnee

Don't have a car/license, 19 years old and I'm not really planning on getting one anytime soon. I do know how to drive though, and I believe riding in the saddle has taught me much more about the rules of the road than sitting behind the wheel ever could have.

adriano 

i had a 337.

Dr. Banzai

That motor looks dead easy to work on.

My Merk now has everything including the Holset turbo off a Dodge Cummins diesel truck.

From a while back:

Squirrelli

Hey, we're born in the same year, unless you're turning twenty...anyways.

If I had to choose between a nice expensive car or a nice bike, I'd definitely pick the bike, I don't know if I want a car in the near future though. I definitely could not afford the gas, Vancouver's gas ain't exactly cheap...

Sixty Fiver

Pretty.

FatBaldMen

Dr. Banzai

IT IS dead easy to work on....(Insert your motor pic here) <~~I got tired of screaming outloud "My hands dont effin Fit"

Sweet pic by the way.

hairnet

I have a '08 Toyota Matrix but it kinda just sits in my parents' driveway. The car is ok but I don't care for driving (maybe if I had a fun classic thing), hate driving in the city and detest driving long distances. I've been driving more and more over the last few months because I now have a girl friend and have to take her places plus I'm working for my dad and it involves driving around the city a lot

anyway, being in cars bothers me. I'm 6'5" and most cars are just too small for me fit in comfortably

Sixty Fiver

Really loved my 2.3 turbo... Ford had a lot of trouble selling their turbo models although I thought the 2.3 was an excellent design and had a nice balance of power and economy.

Would also love a small diesel but again... these don't have the popularity here that they do across the pond where fuel costs 5.00 / litre... the Euro only Fiesta diesel is a great little car.

Dr. Banzai

WTH - we have a bunch of 2.3 turbo guys in here? That's crazy.

dsh

Random picture from internets:




2008 S40 T5 AWD. It was a ton of fun in the snow.

Dr. Banzai

Now that is a hot ride DSH. I really like those.

carleton

I have one of these: https://www.r32argent.ca/R32%20inform...017JUL2004.htm

(not mine but it looks the same, color and all):

WoundedKnee

I turned 19 in May. Sup.

Sixty Fiver

Consider that at the time of it's release the SVO Mustang would blow the doors off it's V8 equipped sibling in every respect... it accelerated better, handled better because of better weight balance, and was actually pretty economical.

I know quite a few people who have put 400,000 km plus on their 2.3's and never had a problem with them save for the turbo charger needing overhaul long before the engine has.

If Ford had committed themselves to making the 2.3 turbo stock in ordinary cars they would have done well but this was always offered in higher trim packages and the 2.3 equipped models were always much more expensive.

My T-Bird was a 24,000 car in '85 when a V8 equipped Bird was a sub 20k car that put out close to the same power but was a gas hog... made for a tough sell when fuel prices were much less than what they are now.

Keeping that Jag fueled up must be as fun as driving it.

Dr. Banzai

Nice Volks Carleton. My daily ride takes me past RPI and they always have a couple nice rides out front.

Dr. Banzai

33mpg on the highway (flat no headwind @90kmh). About 17mpg average in the city. It's only a 4.0. I drive it about 3 times a week.

dsh

I turned 19 in 2003, sup guys?

I'm really happy with it. My first grown-up car.

...and it seems like a rocket ship after putting 279,000 on my 1989 Ford Ranger manual. 101 HP when it was new. Never let me down.