ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Paul W: I'm disgusted with Range Rovers and 4x4s as to me it shows zero consideration for pedestrians, cyclists and my gosh, the environment with the gas gushing engines.
Hmmm, I drive a 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8 and, yes, it's quite heavy on fuel but, hey, at least it's not diesel! I drive it for two reasons - firstly I live out in the countryside up a single track lane and it's very handy in bad weather or the winter. Secondly, and far more importantly, I love Range Rovers and have done since I first rode in one at the age of 8.
Whilst you are perfectly entitled to your opinion that I am an evil, planet-killing brute, I would like to know more reasons as to why I show zero consideration for pedestrians, cyclists (and horse riders I assume - there are loads around the area where we live). The last time I checked I had injured, upset, inconvenienced or killed a grand total of zero of the above groups of people and I fully intend to keep it that way.
There is also the point that you state you did 40,000 miles in a year in your Mini Cooper, whereas I generally do around 8000 miles per year in my Range Rover. It manages 18mpg so even if your Mini achieved 40mpg, that means you used twice as much fuel that year as I did!
Still, don't let my facts sway your cliche'd views... ;)
we tend to forget there is more to design than designing.
Mark:don't forget in a 102 year history Aston Martin sold approx 70,000 cars (Porsche sold approx 160,000 vehicles in just 2013) they never had the opportunity of say Ferrari (FIAT) or Lamborghini (VAG) to use other sub brands as an emissions defence shield... long live the small guys ...... I don't mean Lamborghini drivers [:\'(]
long live the small guys ...... I don't mean Lamborghini drivers [:\'(]
Aston bought Toyota IQs and re-trimmed them to make Cygnets as an offset car. And Ulrich Bez who was their boss was ex-Porsche had the intention of getting back at his old company with a Ford backed range with bigger sales. He did not control a product cycle which kept the Aston customers wanting to replace their cars however.
Beo Century ,Beoplay V1, Beocenter 6, Ex-Beolit 12, Beotime , A8. Beolit 15 , Form 2i , Beolab 2000, Beoplay A3.Beosound 1
Mark:I personally know Dr Bez and have a lot of time for him..... Z1 is still one of my all time favourite cars
The Z prefix , meaning "future" in German, meant something with the Z1. The Z cars that followed were not so advanced!
Difficult to believe the Z stands for Zukunft any more with the current Z model. The Z1 was a Zukunft wagen !
Simonbeo:Difficult to believe the Z stands for Zukunft any more with the current Z model. The Z1 was a Zukunft wagen ! Beo Century ,Beoplay V1, Beocenter 6, Ex-Beolit 12, Beotime , A8 , MX 5500 . Beolit 15 , Form 2i , Beolab 2000
Having recently taken sole ownership of the Sheffield store and having a silly distance daily commute, I decided to let my Jag XF Sportbrake 3.0V6 portfolio go, and now have a new BMW 520 Touring, but had to spec the B&O music system which I have to say, is superb with the pop up acoustic lens!
Have had all sorts of vehicles over the years, but have fondest memories of Minty my 1962 VW split screen camper...
SHEFFIELD:Have had all sorts of vehicles over the years, but have fondest memories of Minty my 1962 VW split screen camper...
You might want to pick up this little Lego Set then
The interior is also very detailed:
Also, here's my mini MINI:
What a car!
the name is being taken in vain a bit now but the DS5 interior is full of nice details.
Mark: SAAB is dead... Turkey have bough the intellectual rights but cannot use the name.
SAAB is dead... Turkey have bough the intellectual rights but cannot use the name.
Which is very sad. Saab was always a truely unique company that went their own way with style. I still remember being really impressed with a Saab fiberglass sports car, can't recall the name, 2 stroke, back in college. What a wonderfully odd and eccentric sports car. Their last offerings were modified GM Opels but they still managed to add a few Saab touches.
Always was fonder of Saab than Volvo.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Sonett! That's it, was such a cool car. One thing, Ford's ownership of Aston, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo may not have helped Ford much, being a huge cash sink and they didn't think out their marketing strategy well, but it was good for the UK marques. When Ford took over Jag they asked for Jag to build them the best car they could for analysis, and were shocked that the cars body was half an inch longer on one side than the other. Ford really improved the quality of Jag. Ford tool the S Type platform and made the Lincoln LS, of which I had two. it was a restyled, cheaper interior materials, version, that had slightly less horsepower but actually a significantly stiffer suspension and handled a bit better. But, for the Lincoln oldsters who were their prime market, it sank like a rock, it was altogether too sporting and stiffly sprung, which is why I loved it. Plus they sold it to themselves based on a marketing plan of selling lots of them worldwide that was delusional enough the person who thought it up should probably have been institutionalized.
Ford did get some good platforms out of Volvo when the desperately needed them, but overall it was a case of massive overreach.
People used to ask me why I was in a Lincoln, I always said that instead of embracing my inner child I was embracing my inner geezer.
Jeff: Sonett! That's it, was such a cool car. One thing, Ford's ownership of Aston, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo may not have helped Ford much, being a huge cash sink and they didn't think out their marketing strategy well, but it was good for the UK marques. When Ford took over Jag they asked for Jag to build them the best car they could for analysis, and were shocked that the cars body was half an inch longer on one side than the other. Ford really improved the quality of Jag. Ford tool the S Type platform and made the Lincoln LS, of which I had two. it was a restyled, cheaper interior materials, version, that had slightly less horsepower but actually a significantly stiffer suspension and handled a bit better. But, for the Lincoln oldsters who were their prime market, it sank like a rock, it was altogether too sporting and stiffly sprung, which is why I loved it. Plus they sold it to themselves based on a marketing plan of selling lots of them worldwide that was delusional enough the person who thought it up should probably have been institutionalized. Ford did get some good platforms out of Volvo when the desperately needed them, but overall it was a case of massive overreach. People used to ask me why I was in a Lincoln, I always said that instead of embracing my inner child I was embracing my inner geezer.
J Mays brought you the Thunderbird too. Based on the Lincolnshire?
Mark:SAAB is dead... Turkey have bought the intellectual rights but cannot use the name.
Possibly just the SAAB 9-3 design. NEVS are still struggling on in Sweden, but may really be focussed on getting an electric drive car in China.
I still drive a Saab. My first Saab was a 96V4.... bought from a dealer who also specialised in Lotus. Kept that car 25 years! My 9-5 petrol estate did 250000 miles with only a belt idle wheel failure. My current 9-5 diesel estate is not as reliable as its petrol predecessor. Like so many diesels needing to comply with post 2007 emission requirements, swirl valves, exhaust gas recirculation valves and diesel particulate filters all need expensive maintenance and all take away from any imagined economy of diesel vs petrol.
SAAB aircraft have withdrawn the name from the cars. At this stage it would be better if Saab AB just started car building themslves again but that isn't likely as it could only be done with a very expensive niche low volume model.
Graham
Quite right, the last generation Thunderbird Ford ever built was based on the DEW98 platform, aka the Lincoln LS/Jaguar S Type. Despite being a very attractive car in a retro-styling way, the car sold poorly, due to its very high price, and performance was worse than the Lincoln LS V8 as the T-Bird weighed a fair amount more. I know people who are having serious problems keeping 2006, the last year made, LS's on the road, due to parts being unavailable, let alone the T-Bird which sold even less.
Jeff: Quite right, the last generation Thunderbird Ford ever built was based on the DEW98 platform, aka the Lincoln LS/Jaguar S Type. Despite being a very attractive car in a retro-styling way, the car sold poorly, due to its very high price, and performance was worse than the Lincoln LS V8 as the T-Bird weighed a fair amount more. I know people who are having serious problems keeping 2006, the last year made, LS's on the road, due to parts being unavailable, let alone the T-Bird which sold even less.
Here's my old boss Fritz Mayhew , Ford Design chief , with his Thunderbird. We did some stretchy things back then!
http://www.saabplanet.com/diy-project-electric-saab-sonett/saab-sonett-10/
I prefer my daughters Saab ( on the avatar )
Simonbeo, nice pic! I always loved the look of the car, it went retro-modern in the same way they did with the 2005 Mustang, both are big hits with me. And nothing wrong with it a lower price or maybe another 50 or so horsepower couldn't cure.
And the pic of the Sonett brings back memories. My word, tires were sure narrow back then weren't they? Especially compared with the dragster wide tires of today. Back then I had a spanking new 1978 VW Scirocco, metallic copper/bronze with a tan vinyl interior. Oh how I loved that car, light, agile, and not enough horsepower to kill the young and impetuous me! A rip roaring 72 hp, vroom vroom! Beautiful styling, and one windshield wiper. For some reason every woman who ever road in it, if she noticed (if it were raining say) always just giggled no end "it's only got one wiper!" I have no idea what that was all about, but it looked like a race car to me with the single blade, like the wiper on a Porsche 917 LeMans car. Ah, Walter Mitty dreams...
great taste Jeff.... Giugiaro design was perfection, not sure why they used the single wiper; was it a simple solution for left & right hand drive cars or was it in homage to the Stratos, Citroen SM and BMW M1 etc. (My MKI RHD Golf had LHD wiper system as standard, it was not good as the driver arm and blade were shorter resulting in a smaller, shorter sweep)
being a nerd I also enjoyed the Mercedes monoblade system, I found the rocking action hypnotic .....
if you haven't seen there's a great video from /drive on youtube about a Sonett collector
It's sad to me that you almost never, ever see a first gen Scirocco on the roads here. Such a wonderfully styled little sports coupe. I did see one about 10 years ago, a beat up flat black one at a stoplight here. First thing into my mind was, did I ever own something so small?!?! Compared to today's cars it was so tiny, how did I even fit in it! But Giugiaro did a wonderful design, on both it and the Golf, it was amazing how he could start with such a pedestrian platform as the Golf and get to such a wonderfully stylish car like the Scirocco, a master in design.
Cool vid on the Sonett guy! Thanks!
Jeff: It's sad to me that you almost never, ever see a first gen Scirocco on the roads here. Such a wonderfully styled little sports coupe. I did see one about 10 years ago, a beat up flat black one at a stoplight here. First thing into my mind was, did I ever own something so small?!?! Compared to today's cars it was so tiny, how did I even fit in it! But Giugiaro did a wonderful design, on both it and the Golf, it was amazing how he could start with such a pedestrian platform as the Golf and get to such a wonderfully stylish car like the Scirocco, a master in design. Cool vid on the Sonett guy! Thanks!
Ah Jeff,
the first car my wife had when she started to drive in the US was an original Scirocco. She still talks about it today with much fondness (probably memories of old flames at the drive in but what the heck!). It was riddled with electrical glitches but after many years she sold it for what she paid for it years earlier to a guy making a one way trip across the US.
Dave.
The Scirroco was great. Giugiaro used a very similar design when he did the Lancia Delta which not only brought the Integrale but was badged as a Saab 6000 (?)
Audi needs to make the Ur-Quattro concept a reality.
There's more than a hint of first gen Scirocco in that old Quatro.
Mark, that Miura is stunning. Arguably the best looking Lambo ever.
So, in my neck of the woods, the LA Auto Show is in town... one of the big hits is the Fiat 124 Spider... basically a Miata with new clothes, thoughts?
I'm a huge FIAT 124 and 130 fan... I really like the thinking behind this car as you cannot go wrong with MX5/Miata DNA, I need to see the car in the flesh; often car designs do not come across well on photos, before I judge comment on the design....
But in my eyes this car should have worn the Alfa Romeo badge and been the spearhead of the rebirth....
Does anyone remember the last collaboration where they mixed the worse of both companies and produced the Arna
(In a past life I have owned many a Sud and Delta so I have the virus ...)
Sal:thoughts?
I think it's an excellent use of the Miata's strengths (chassis and suspension) but ditches the primary weakness (engine).
The Multi-Air engine should be a hoot with that torque compared with the Mazda power unit.
Beo4 'til I die!
Mark:I'll let you think of the words ....
Have I stumbled upon another Petrolicious reader?!
Evan: Sal:thoughts? I think it's an excellent use of the Miata's strengths (chassis and suspension) but ditches the primary weakness (engine). The Multi-Air engine should be a hoot with that torque compared with the Mazda power unit.
My Alfa has the Multiair. A great engine but only the 140 for the 124?
A friend who was a designer at Alfa Romeo tells me the Alfa was much better looking but the policy of Alfas only being Italian produced meant this rather hurried Fiat/Dodge has appeared instead.
Evan:Have I stumbled upon another Petrolicious reader?! passion / paSHən / noun It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.
Mark: Evan: Have I stumbled upon another Petrolicious reader?! passion / paSHən / noun It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible. Evan what more is perfect than watching Petrolicious on your B&O tv with a mug of home brewed coffee.....
Evan: Have I stumbled upon another Petrolicious reader?! passion / paSHən / noun It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.
passion / paSHən / noun
It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.
Evan what more is perfect than watching Petrolicious on your B&O tv with a mug of home brewed coffee.....
The Alfa Giulietta Sprint Veloce!
fantastic.