I bought a shiny new 914 in the Spring of 1972, great times, many stories (and numerous tickets) later, I sold it in 1976 and bought a new GMC 1500 4x4. I have been driving 4x4s ever since, and really miss the "roadability" of sports cars.
Over the years I have driven (but not owned) well over a dozen sports cars ranging from a De Tomso Pantera to various MG(s) and Triumph(s). The scariest being a Sunbeam Tiger with a 300+ hp Cobra crate engine in it (yeehaw).
Loyal
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My son has a Miata, loves it. I can't ride in it, the passenger seat is painful for me; knees under my chin with the seat all the way back. I suppose since he's basically my size and doesn't have trouble driving it I could drive it.?ÿ
But riding in it...??...not going to happen again.
When I was in high school my best friend's father owned a used car lot.?ÿ He always kept a few "hot" cars and a few almost new Cadillacs to get folks to stop in.?ÿ I used to drive some of the cars to the shop for oil changes, tune ups, etc.?ÿ The most fun car I ever drove was an E Type Jaguar.?ÿ There is no way I could get in one today though.
dad had an aamco for about 35 years, this was my job in high school for the most part: ferrying customer cars back and forth, filling them up with gas, parts runs.?ÿ?ÿ
craziest one of those i ever rolled down the road was a dodge conquest ti.?ÿ which i think (and could easily look up) was a rebadged mitsubishi.?ÿ don't remember any of the details on the displacement, turbo, etc- only that it hauled serious tail.?ÿ scary fast- even compared to vettes, 911s, whatever other exotic ones i got to drive here and there.?ÿ that one still stands out.
I smoke people in those dinky cars driving my F150 almost every day because I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. It amazes me seeing people in nimble little cars that can't navigate a curve over 40mph.
I smoke people in those dinky cars driving my F150 almost every day because I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. It amazes me seeing people in nimble little cars that can't navigate a curve over 40mph.
brake going in, accelerate through and out...
I gave up on the idea of owning a little sports car years ago when I sat in a Dodge Viper, which I had been dreaming about since they were introduced.?ÿ I found that I had to splay my knees out on either side of the steering wheel, my left shoulder being in contact with the door caused me to have to constantly lean to the right, crowding the left elbow of whoever sat in the passenger seat, and I had to tip my head to the side because of the lack of headroom and inability to slouch down in the seat because my shins were already up against the lower part of the dash board.
Since then, I've been happy with full size pickups and motorcycles.?ÿ Who needs a ^@*%!#& sports car anyway.
You might want to take a look at the new Fiat 124 Spyder:?ÿ https://www.fiatusa.com/spider.html
I really liked my ??66 MGB as an undergrad in the 70s. It was so low to the ground that it always felt like it was going like hell. One of my brothers periodically does nationwide searches for vintage MGBs, buys, restores, gets tired of it, sells it, then repeats the process.?ÿ
You might want to take a look at the new Fiat 124 Spyder
The new FIATs are just a Mazda in drag.
Every review I've read of them says you are better off with the original
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I have never driven a Miata or any Mazda for that matter. I always preferred handling and driving of the European cars. Personal taste; opinions vary.
I like the styling of the new Fiat 124 Spyder. ?ÿI had a 1975 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe until the early 1980s; it was a wonderful driving, beautiful car. While a friend would kid me that FIAT stood for Fit It Again Tony, it was mostly trouble free except for their dual points.?ÿ
I am glad the Miata is seeing some competition. ?ÿ?ÿ
I got a Tesla Model 3 in April.?ÿ Best, and most fun car I've ever been in. Quicker than most muscle cars and handles like it's on rails.?ÿ
I smoke people in those dinky cars driving my F150 almost every day because I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. It amazes me seeing people in nimble little cars that can't navigate a curve over 40mph.
My sentiments exactly.?ÿ My wife always reminds me of a quote I told her years ago, "They are doing the best they can with the tools they have".?ÿ Then she proceeds to remind me that I'm not on the track or a special rally stage.
The real problem is when I get in a car.?ÿ I find myself flogging even the cheapest of economy rentals and cursing others on the road for not obeying John's rule of suggested speeds, Multiply by 3.?ÿ I think this is why I have been self exiled to trucks for the last 20 years.
I got a rental Kia sedan when my truck was in the shop getting a falling tree induced owie fixed...I had a lot of fun in that stupid little car, it cornered great and had a lot of pickup at 5000 rpm LOL.
Jim & GeeOdd,
I'm a big Fiat fan.?ÿ I have '77 124 Spider sitting sans engine in the car port.?ÿ Its been there for 20+ years waiting for me to reunite it with a fresh race engine sitting in the basement.?ÿ At this point I think it is going to need a new paint job.?ÿ My wife keeps threatening to get rid of it.
I also have a '77 Lancia Scorpion (Monte Carlo in the rest of the world) set up as a pro rally car.?ÿ Think X19 with a 2 liter engine.?ÿ They were the basis for the 037.
Jim & GeeOdd,
I'm a big Fiat fan.?ÿ I have '77 124 Spider sitting sans engine in the car port.?ÿ Its been there for 20+ years waiting for me to reunite it with a fresh race engine sitting in the basement.?ÿ At this point I think it is going to need a new paint job.?ÿ My wife keeps threatening to get rid of it.
I also have a '77 Lancia Scorpion (Monte Carlo in the rest of the world) set up as a pro rally car.?ÿ Think X19 with a 2 liter engine.?ÿ They were the basis for the 037.
I have only ever seen a couple of Lancia's and they were well on there way to returning to their natural state as paint was the only thing holding them together.
Years ago as a graduate on a site project, we'd been listening daily to one of the Engineers regaling his classic Lancia sports car. Finally, one day he brought it to site to show and tell. After the melee had subsided and everyone had departed to their respective duties, one of the other graduates decided he'd carry on the celebration by driving the ute up the road, finding some fresh road kill (in this case a possum), returning with the carcass, and stuffing and wiring it into some crevice in the chassis of the Lancia. His theory being that the resulting smell would dampen any near-future show and tell sessions. A few weeks later, we graduates were sitting in our site office gazing at our navels when the Engineer walked in and said "My mechanic found something interesting under my Lancia yesterday". Nobody said anything, and he left.
here's your yabbadabbadoo mobile, j.a.s.:
I have a friend who taught algebra to one of my kids. She tools around in a 70-something MGB in the summertime.
But she is somewhat older than this girl and drives more conservatively:?ÿ
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I am still Jones'ing for a sweet little sports car and right now I am chewing on it like a dog on a bone and usually when I get that way I make a impulse decision and just buy it.
I have decided on Subaru BRZ or a Honda S2000. There might be another in there like a RX8 with a rotary engine but that would be an outlier.?ÿ
But I also want to buy 40 acres of land in Chattooga County on a nice stream and I'm afraid if I can get the price I want the sports car will just fade away.
I am still Jones'ing for a sweet little sports car and right now I am chewing on it like a dog on a bone and usually when I get that way I make a impulse decision and just buy it.
I have decided on Subaru BRZ or a Honda S2000. There might be another in there like a RX8 with a rotary engine but that would be an outlier.?ÿ
But I also want to buy 40 acres of land in Chattooga County on a nice stream and I'm afraid if I can get the price I want the sports car will just fade away.
Same here, though I just threw down 1500 to replace the front end on the old truck instead of buying a new one. Which would theoretically tip it in favor of acreage, cept my version of the sports car itch is even more ridiculous: I find myself scanning barnstormers for airplane deals.?ÿ
I remember (60 yrs ago) the British sports cars in the back of the Bates Field Quonset hut hangar filled with Steerman's and tail draggers.?ÿ I have?ÿ a 'B' (daily fair weather driver)and a morgan (in restoration)?ÿ but not the planes.?ÿ Nothing like top down, wind in your face to defrag.
