Modern cars just to competent to have fun legally?

what about one of those Jeep SRT thingies? Impending rollover should be sufficient sphincter exercise

An expensive new car with the soul of a cheap old car...Might as well be hunting for Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster

Some fly weight car , powered by a Hayabusa. Flog the living daylights out of it. (see the April edition of Performance VW for some inspiration)

what about lower end p-car?

bluej wrote: what about lower end p-car?

That is more then likely the answer. a 09-11 911 Non s in a coupe with a manual would hit all the buttons. Still a fast little bugger.

When is the new Alfa 4C coming to the US? Seriously, seems like an Elise with MOAR awesome sauce.

Morgan Aeromax.

I'm right there with you... I've been wanting a C6 vette for a few years now and with some side line money saved up and selling my DD I probably have enough to buy one. BUT!!! My current DD (the GS430) at "just" 300hp has to be treated so gently on the street to keep from being an insane speeder that it's sort of took the jam from the donut of a 430hp+ daily driver. It would be a constant exercise in restraint..

Something with good handling and less power would be more fun.

dculberson wrote: I'm right there with you... I've been wanting a C6 vette for a few years now and with some side line money saved up and selling my DD I probably have enough to buy one. BUT!!! My current DD (the GS430) at "just" 300hp has to be treated so gently on the street to keep from being an insane speeder that it's sort of took the jam from the donut of a 430hp+ daily driver. It would be a constant exercise in restraint.. Something with good handling and less power would be more fun.

I am past even good handling, I just want a sense of occasion. Some small amount of fun, 90% of the time I am stuck in gridlock anyway, the 10% does not have to be all out speed but enjoyable.

I am thinking back to when I was younger and had my old AC Beetle. You put the top down manually, you shifted gears and you drove down the coast or just out for a drive to get out of the house. you could have fun at say 7/10th, or dialed back and cruise.

I imagine there is not a lot of call for very simple, luxury cars with lower then normal power. I guess I just described a Boxster though.

New/old 911 targa? Or what was that, the boxster spyder?

The answer is smart car with turboed hayabusa engine

letting that thing go would make me pucker more than any motorcycle ever

Old but very nice 912

wearymicrobe wrote:

dculberson wrote: I'm right there with you... I've been wanting a C6 vette for a few years now and with some side line money saved up and selling my DD I probably have enough to buy one. BUT!!! My current DD (the GS430) at "just" 300hp has to be treated so gently on the street to keep from being an insane speeder that it's sort of took the jam from the donut of a 430hp+ daily driver. It would be a constant exercise in restraint.. Something with good handling and less power would be more fun.

I am past even good handling, I just want a sense of occasion. Some small amount of fun, 90% of the time I am stuck in gridlock anyway, the 10% does not have to be all out speed but enjoyable. I am thinking back to when I was younger and had my old AC Beetle. You put the top down manually, you shifted gears and you drove down the coast or just out for a drive to get out of the house. you could have fun at say 7/10th, or dialed back and cruise. I imagine there is not a lot of call for very simple, luxury cars with lower then normal power. I guess I just described a Boxster though.

This is why I miss Europe. They had a pretty decent selection of cheap, basic, cars. I really think that there would be a market here for a vehicle like the second generation Suzuki Swift or the Fiat Panda.

I would actually do things that would make me ashamed to look in the mirror in the mornings for a 100hp second gen Panda (that fat, 4-door, abomination of the 500 I see in the showrooms is not something I'm interested in)

I was hoping Fiat's purchase of Chrysler would bring more of these types of vehicles to our shores (Not to mention a presence by Alfa Romeo)...

A month ago I would have told you that I didn't want something fast. A year and a half ago I would have told you that I wanted something slow to beat on. Today I want all the horsepower!
The thing is, there are slow cars that are soul sucking appliances, but there are fast cars that are the same way and saying that any particular car is good or bad based purely on the numbers doesn't do it justice. Figure out what sort of car you want, then buy the best car in the group that moves your soul.

The new Fit looks like its going to be a fun car to drive being it got more power and finally a six speed manual transmission (it sorely needed one on the highway). The FRS/BRZ twins look really good to me as well.

 What about a Mazda 2 or an Accent Hatchback? They look the closest to a modern mk1 Rabbit GTI (both 130 or so hp, sub 2500 lbs and decent suspension).

mazdeuce wrote: The thing is, there are slow cars that are soul sucking appliances, but there are fast cars that are the same way and saying that any particular car is good or bad based purely on the numbers doesn't do it justice. Figure out what sort of car you want, then buy the best car in the group that moves your soul.

I rented a Mustang when I got back to the states for about a month... You want to talk about BORING!

I thought for sure that with over 300hp on tap that I'd get some sort of tinglies from the old pony, but alas. The few times I DID stand on it, it seemed like something was "holding it back"... My 150hp NA RX-7 "felt" faster when it came to a 45+ mph pull.

Swank Force One wrote: This is part of why i don't like newer cars. Don't get me wrong, pretty much all of my cars are capable of breaking every law in the book in short order, but they require you to actually DRIVE them and have some sort of awareness, or they'll bite you quick. I like to wrestle my cars. If i NEED (not want, NEED) a stereo to stay awake on a 2 hour drive in a car, i'm not interested. The MX6 and Miata make enough noise and require enough work that it's more like they're their own beings, not an appliance. And that was way more poetic than i intended it to be. I sound like a huge hipster.

Coyote Mustang on the stock tires and suspension.

Turn off the traction control completely.

Grow immense amounts of chest hair because that thing was a beast with the nannies off.

lnlds wrote: I think the new fit (2015) has potential to be that car. It's a small, slow, lightweight car with "enough" power. At a new 130 hp it's probably closer to 140 hp of yesteryear (pre 2005) which would give it comparable power to a base integra, or b13 se-r.

I actually really enjoy my 2013 fit. Honda knows how to properly gear their cars (except for highway/interstate travel). I fling this thing around most everywhere and it's like a happy puppy. Mostly. I still hate TBW. If this car had better TBW I would be even more happy with it.

Soul, semi fast, and equipped to avoid SoCal drivers? You need something like this.

http://m.autoblog.com/2013/04/19/bmw-m2-created-by-marrying-2002-with-m3-drivetrain/

I bet that it's a hoot. Otherwise I'm no help.

The most fun vehicle available to me right now is my mom's 2010 Odyssey. It's a big minivan with way more power than needed, and it handles reasonably well. The cops don't see you in it. Even my 138HP Astra and 122HP(when new) Accord can easily break pretty much any traffic law, but being unique or "drug dealer" cars, they attract too much attention. My experiences with her van are why I'm looking into a Mk1 Caravan as a daily driver.

Slow car driven fast. It's the best way to go.

All of the faster cars I've driven, P cars, Vettes, modded pony cars, all of them are just boring to drive on the street and not get caught up in some hoonage now and again.

Hungary Bill wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: The thing is, there are slow cars that are soul sucking appliances, but there are fast cars that are the same way and saying that any particular car is good or bad based purely on the numbers doesn't do it justice. Figure out what sort of car you want, then buy the best car in the group that moves your soul.

I rented a Mustang when I got back to the states for about a month... You want to talk about BORING! I thought for sure that with over 300hp on tap that I'd get some sort of tinglies from the old pony, but alas. The few times I DID stand on it, it seemed like something was "holding it back"... My 150hp NA RX-7 "felt" faster when it came to a 45+ mph pull.

But my 911 with about the same power/weight is Awesome with a capital A. My Mazda2 was really good for a slow car, my old 240 wagon was even better, my RX7 is fantastic. It's not just slow cars though, because the V wagon is eye poppingly fast and I love it. Yes I can break every speed limit in second, but I can do that in third in the Porsche or the Mazda2 (though I could do it while sipping coffee in the 2 because it took so long)
You know what else is fun? My wife's FJ cruiser with the 6mt. Yes it's like driving a tractor, but it's like driving a tractor!
The point is that there are some fun cars out there, and there are some real dogs, and power/speed is only part of it.

I've been thinking the same recently after driving some newer cars. In the position to get a nicer daily finally, but I'm gonna try an S2000 rather than something faster and softer and see how it goes. Maybe a lightly modified Boxster is the answer here?

never liked soul-less cars...

give me a bit of road noise, a healthy sounding intake, as well as exhaust, mix in a tiny amount of gear whine, then remove all power/driver aids.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: When is the new Alfa 4C coming to the US? Seriously, seems like an Elise with MOAR awesome sauce.

^This.