Anyone ever swooned over a car for years then finally get one only to be disappointed?
Anyone ever swooned over a car for years then finally get one only to be disappointed?
Not bought one but I was in love with bmw E60 750's and I test drove a dark blue with m parallel wheels 750iL. It was gorgeous but absolutely disappointing and they fell off my radar so fast afterward.
I was disappointed when I first saw a DMC-12 and its doors didn't make that sound from Back to the Future when opening.
solfly said:Anyone ever swooned over a car for years then finally get one only to be disappointed?
Most of them.
I got to drive a Stage III Belvedere. Hard, because I was tuning the carbs and checking for WOT drivability after doing a tuneup including adjusting the valves which required removing the wild looking exhaust manifolds. It was a pile of meh. All nostalgia, no gostalgia.
I got to drive a 4 speed/440ci Road Runner. It drove well but the manual trans was tedious and the engine was meh. Even after I swapped it out for a 514ci unit and a 5 speed.
I got to drive an AC Cobra (clone). It was fun for about two blocks and then I loathed the way you had an exhaust pipe two feet from your left ear and how you could not see out of the windshield because of the reflection of the bodywork on the cabin side of the glass. Shifter felt good at least, which is funny because that is the part most people don't like 
I got to drive a '69 427 Corvette. Okay, that one was pretty sweet.
Honestly, the only car I drooled over for a long time before getting to drive one, and met my expectations of awesome, was the first generation Impreza 2.5RS. I wanted one since before they were new (REALLY wanted a WRX but we didn't get them here...) and it wasn't until about a decade later that I got to drive one.
My 1991 ZR-1. The engine was everything it was supposed to be. It's still one of the best running, sounding and performing engines of all time. The problem is that it is wholly surrounded by C4 Corvette. The engine was so far ahead of the car in refinement and performance..... At 80,000 miles and 25 years old it could still balance a nickel on edge on the intake manifold while running. Somewhere I have video of that experiment.
I went on a tour of a high-end shop that restores Ferraris. They had a totally bare tube frame sitting there on stands, and I was completely shocked to see the absolute crap factory welds. I mean, like Bubba-bird-poop weld quality, I kid you not. I'm sure the new ones are great, but the 1960s ones that people pay millions for hide a lot of warts under that pretty skin.
I was convinced that a Citroën was the car for me. From the adorable 2CV to the stately DS or the go faster SM.
And then I drove one...... of each and hated every single thing about them and every moment spent inside them.
I'd still take an HY van though.
In reply to kb58 :
With Ferraris, the construction of the chassis is of very high quality given the technology of the time (flame welding et al)
The craftsmanship of the coach work by Pininfarina is excellent. Hammer finished welds everywhere.
The bits holding those two pieces together is in fact appalling. I do not understand how so little care was taken in doing so given the level of work on the two parts
E8x & E9x BMW's. I searched long and hard for a nice example with the twin turbo N54 engine and the 6 spd. I had ridden passenger in a couple and got ~5 minutes behind the wheel in one when I started my search. I never expected it to feel like a Miata but I thought it would be a sporty car in a daily-driver package. All the reviews raved about it and unanimously agreed it was the king of the sports sedan hill.
I've owned the car for 6 years now and regret the hell out of buying it. My friend's G35S feels more composed, sportier, more engaging engine, better transmission, better steering, wayyy better reliability, etc. It literally gets outclassed by the G35 in every subjective way as a daily driver with sporting intention. He's had 3 problems in 8 years of ownership, I've replaced essentially every wear item in the suspension, most of the reliability issues in the engine, and altogether have spent more on parts than I did on the original car over my 50k of ownership. I still don't understand how these cars got such rave reviews. At this point I'm just treating it as a summer-only camry until the fuel injectors go out ($3k) or some other big ticket item comes up.
I got to take my friend's 997 GT3 for a few laps around the track. I wouldn't say it was disappointing, but it certainly didn't live up to the expectations I had built for it over years of hearing the hype. Very nice car for sure, but I don't feel like I need to own one. I really didn't like it any better than the 981 Cayman S I used to own.
It was never a dream car, but I've never been more disappointed by any car more than a 98? 4cam Mustang. What a slug. Could have been improved a bunch by a gear ratio change, but what it really needed was a 351W with good compression.
Or even better, a Chevrolet 350.
Pre-2018 Gwagon. Unless you like driving tractors with leather seats, I do not recommend lol.
I always longed a 911 engined 987.1 Cayman. Had my friend's 4.2 987 for a day and it's still the best car I've ever driven.
Not dream cars per se, but cars I greatly admired: most generations of M3, first gen Viper, C5 vette, most 911s. Honestly the worst was a swapped EG hatch. I had driven plenty of stock example, and as a commuter appliance, they're absolutely fine. This one had a B18c5 swap, bigger brakes, etc etc. Almost everything about it was terrible.
I owned a 1972 911. My 1998 Neon R/T was faster and frankly more fun to drive. Didn't look or certainly sound nearly as good as the 911. Unfortunately I sold it before the prices went ballistic.
Recently drove an S2000 for the first time. Probably good on a track but I didn't like it at all on the street. The steering wheel was in my lap. That engine, people complain about the torque curve of the 1st gen 86? I'll take my FR-S all day long over the S2000.
Yes, C5 Z06 and 911 GT3
I wanted a Jeep Gladiator until I had one for a week. That one was a hard truth to accept.
Javelin said:Yes, C5 Z06 and 911 GT3
You were disappointed in a GT3? Interesting.
solfly said:Anyone ever swooned over a car for years then finally get one only to be disappointed?
Not yet. But, I've only had it for a week or so. So far it's all positive.
parker said:Javelin said:Yes, C5 Z06 and 911 GT3
You were disappointed in a GT3? Interesting.
I pulled a faster time in a Cayman S. The 911 doesn't want to turn unless it's snap-oversteering. You drive a Cayman, you wrestle a 911.
Pantera. I have never owned one or driven one. I understand the ergonomics are plenty bad.
At the risk of channeling Frenchy...
E-type.
We had a '67 Convertible (US spec) in inventory at work. What an awful car to drive. No foot room unless I drove in socks, windshield top bar was directly in my line of sight, I had to look over or under it and the power was just -meh-
The Austin Healey 3000 BJ8 we had was a far more impressive car.
Then a customer brought us his euro spec E-type FHC. I tuned it up, took it for a test drive and was blown away by the difference. The US spec cars are incredibly neutered.
'69 Charger - test drove one back in 1990 and even 20 year old me was struck by how poorly it handled.
'88 BMW 325is - I wanted so much to like that car, but there was very little I enjoyed about driving that car. Even less about owning it.
When a teen, I got a ride in an original Mercury Cougar The owner took me on a rather white-knuckle ride on a curvy road, the thing heeling over like the Queen Mary, complete with squealing tires at what would have been an ordinary speed for anything with real actual suspension. Any thoughts about wanting anything American from the 1960s disappeared on that ride.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, E30.
In reply to Toyman! :
Wait! What? Izzat a turbo? Where's the build thread?
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