Forums → The Tavern → Favorite Car.
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Dang.. this is like the third favorite car thread I've replied to in the last week
Zonda C12S
Hm, I can't spot the other favorite cars threads, so this one lives!
Ooh, dis, Kingryan, a HSV would school your sorry FPV butt at the lights and on the track :P
(Yeah, only Aussies will get this. Speaking of which, KR, the new generation of V8 supercars have actually been parity tested so that the playing field is level. Exciting stuff!)
REALLY LONG RANT TIME
For every favorite, there's a fatal flaw: since when are you going to drive one and actually enjoy it?
Lamborghini Murcielago: I don't think you can even see out the back window, the first gear is far too tall and need I even mention width and fuel consumption? Furthermore at 575000AUD it screams I'M A FADING ROCKSTAR!!!
Porsche GT3: The insanely low clearance will have you refusing to drive over pot-holes, driveways or even railroad crossings. The clutch is super stiff. If you're simply after the 911 Carrera, that, to quote, screams "I'M A MIDDLE AGED BALDING GUY WITH A MIDLIFE CRISES WHO WANTS HIS KID TO HAVE HIS HEAD FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET EVERY DAY AT SCHOOL!" (quote paraphrased from Jeremy Clarkson- Topgear.)
Enzo (Ferrari): Yes, I do like Ferrari's in a way (mainly because of the logo, to be honest), but their recent obsession with engineering perfection leaves me with mixed feelings given their established history of doing everything 'with great passion. Badly, but with passion'. I liked having a whole line of cars that had history, or, to euphemistically describe the most problematic of Alfas, "character", with the occasional and truly hair-raising standout (Testarossa, F40), but I feel that there's little room for such anymore. The Enzo is one example of this, particularly because as the descendant of the F50, it brings with it a whole range of technical wizardry geared towards the perfect drive. Not the perfect ride, mind you...when I see any kind of Ferrari being driven down the road (most commonly the 430 these days, though I did see an Enzo recently, and even a 599GTB Fiorano), I can't help but think that these people are definitely not having fun so much as showing off.
As much as I can be drawn into the history, maybe even more so than Lambo or Porsche, Ferarri seems to have come to epitomise automotive wank. I'm truly sorry, but I had to say it.
Zonda C12S: Yes, high tech, space-age styling and awesome frame rigidity, but as with all new wave supercars (including things like the Porsche GT1), they're tamed, sterile versions of their predecessors, like the Jaguar XJ220 or the MacLaren F1 or even the Ferarri F40. Speaking of which, those cars handle like crap. I was really looking forward to something like the GT1, especially as it almost made Walter Rorhl crap his pants, meaning that it was definitely too powerful for its own good but by its release it could barely pip 200mph. I was hoping it'd be the one to break the magic 400, but I guess we had to wait for something just far too over the top, speaking of which...
Bugatti Veyron: Just...no. You do not drive the acclaimed pinnacle of automotive engineering. That is heresy.
I could go dumping on other cars forever...here:
Mustang GT: The previous generation, the 'modernized' one was horribly misguided. Tacky, vulgar and unrefined in almost every aspect and missing a gear ratio. The new one was much better but still doesn't escape my broader dislike of the 'heroic revival of American muscle', including rehashes of the Charger, Camaro, Corvette and so forth. Given the global oil crisis which I saw coming a long way off, I felt that a resurgence in this kind of market was very poorly timed indeed.
Strangely though, I do kinda like the remake of the GT40 (as the Ford GT...to call it GT40 would have caused trademark issues), as, well, it's special :P But this time, Clarkson actually ruined it by buying one. Well, technically one. But it was busted, so Ford delivered him another one which also didn't work! Haha, classic.
Audi R8: Audi makes nice cars. Audi makes pretty good cars all around actually. Their main problem (and it's a chronic one) is an over-zealous stability control system which makes them as idiot-proof as they are unspectacularly boring.
Now, Elastergirl's inclusion of Toyota among this list has me intrigued. Exactly *which* Toyota? Apart from the fact that they're generally bullet-proof (or completely indestructible, as in the Hilux), or because they're just so good at almost everything except being a glamorous sport car? Let's just say that the day of the "bloody Camry driver" is fading into the past, especially as the new large models of Toyota (both Camry and Aurion) really hit the mark- proof that the game has, indeed, changed. If I had a family to take care of, this would be my car of choice.
But I don't. Which is why I still have my eyes on more impractical, glitzy choices.
Koenigsegg CCXR- Now this is a truly scary car. It packs way too much power for the engine capacity (807bhp from a 4.7L twin-supercharged V8...and over 1000bhp if you run it on biofuel, wtf!?) This is the kind of car I hoped the GT1 would be- hard, uncomromising and brutal. I also like its layout, and its customisable frames- this is a step in the direction I believe the automotive future lies. But alas, I don't like biofuels so this is more of a showpiece, a demonstration, rather than something I'd want to drive.
Lotus- I've developed quite a fondness for the company's eclectic and memorable pieces of the past few decades, be it the Elan or the legendary Esprit, or more recently the Exige. I admit that I have a crush on the Exige because of the philosophy- who needs power when lightness confers so much more advantage? The thing sticks like glue to the road but that doesn't mean you can't drift in it, and it can outmaneuver just about anything. But sadly, again this means that it's impossibly uncomfortable to actually drive and more importantly, if I ever went around in public I'm sure I would be spat on for being an elitist yuppie.
Which is why ultimately, if I had my way, I'd go with an MX-5 (or, as you Americans call it, a Miata).
I could get away with regular unleaded, it costs a fraction of almost every other car I've listed above and probably the same to run. I've been tempted by the sportier RX-8 (the undoubtedly excellent, rebalanced and toned down version of the legendary RX-7), but at this stage I'm not sure it'd suit me.
Sure people might think I'm being overly showy or a young punk but this way at least I retain some semblance of street cred. And it's even better than the Exige at representing the philosophy I like- less really is more if you go about it right.
