future classics?

[cheshiremaserati]

I like cars that combine a number of qualities

Look Great
Handle Well
Perform Well

and there are loads that do all three

but the killer is character, they need to have that little bit of magic and IMO this is where the MX5 falls down in spades.

It is designed to look good (ish), handle well (ish) and perform well (ish) but it has no special character. It it a copy of so much that has gone before with nothing really new other, nothing inspirational, nothing that makes me want one - its pastiche, a good one but still a pastiche.

.
But against the Lotus Élan made famous by Diana Rigg aka Emma Peel of The Avengers, no comparator on which its lines appear to have copied.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Come now people. We can all agree to disagree, otherwise we would all be driving something German!!! Heaven forbid.

I am driving German and an Italian....

 

[Contigo]

Variety is the spice of life....

 

[rockits]

Agreed. There is nothing wrong with a difference in opinions & our whole world is based on these.

You two should agree to disagree then kiss & make up. These little bun fights rarely end well, create friction & go a little further then the original comments made intended them to. Dare I say it....a litle childish possibly.

Doesn't sound like you two will ever be drinking buds but a certain civility must be welcomed.

 

[zagatoes30]

One thing I will agree on is that it is the MX5 is a future classic and as low mileage show cars go this one will take some beating.

It did get me looking at convertibles again and this S2000 took my eye



AT Honda S2000

 

[Contigo]

One thing I will agree on is that it is the MX5 is a future classic and as low mileage show cars go this one will take some beating.

It did get me looking at convertibles again and this S2000 took my eye

View attachment 50223

AT Honda S2000

I looked at one and the problem with them is they need to be ragged so hard to get the best out of them. They are never in the sweet spot and lack low down torque. Again drive one before you buy as you could very well be disappointed especially as an ex-spyder owner.

 

[Contigo]

Agreed. There is nothing wrong with a difference in opinions & our whole world is based on these.

You two should agree to disagree then kiss & make up. These little bun fights rarely end well, create friction & go a little further then the original comments made intended them to. Dare I say it....a litle childish possibly.

Doesn't sound like you two will ever be drinking buds but a certain civility must be welcomed.

Nope he's on the filter list. It's the way I roll.

 

[zagatoes30]

I looked at one and the problem with them is they need to be ragged so hard to get the best out of them. They are never in the sweet spot and lack low down torque. Again drive one before you buy as you could very well be disappointed especially as an ex-spyder owner.

Partially agree, to get the most out of any VTEC engine requires hard driving but that is exactly what they were designed for. Don't agree with lacking low down torque, no worse than many other powerful 16v 2.0 NA engines but once you get them above 2500 they are perfectly suited to everyday driving with the advantage of turning into a banshee when you want them too. The main issue I have with them is that they are a bit twitchy on the very edge of their performance window, just watch how many spin on track days.

But I am not looking for a trackday toy, more a smart comfortable fast convertible for summer fun and every S2000 I have driven ticks all these boxes. This one, IMO, is a nice colour combo, low mileage and on the face of it looks well looked after. Like the MX5 I believe a future classic in waiting.

 

[GeoffCapes]

The MX5 is another car I don't get. I can see the appeal. But the Mk2 is fugly.

Just because they sold millions of them doesn't make them great. Look how many VW Beetles were sold!

I did have a ride once in Mk1 with a BBR turbo on it. Thought I was going to die on every corner!
Seemed very fragile to me. I wouldn't like to be in an accident in one.

Each to their own and all that.

 

[Vampyrebat]

Partially agree, to get the most out of any VTEC engine requires hard driving but that is exactly what they were designed for. Don't agree with lacking low down torque, no worse than many other powerful 16v 2.0 NA engines but once you get them above 2500 they are perfectly suited to everyday driving with the advantage of turning into a banshee when you want them too. The main issue I have with them is that they are a bit twitchy on the very edge of their performance window, just watch how many spin on track days.

But I am not looking for a trackday toy, more a smart comfortable fast convertible for summer fun and every S2000 I have driven ticks all these boxes. This one, IMO, is a nice colour combo, low mileage and on the face of it looks well looked after. Like the MX5 I believe a future classic in waiting.

One of the best cars I owned was a Honda CRX VTI targa (Mk 2) the engine was fantastic and never gave me any trouble. I sold it with 100k on the clock and it still felt just as strong then. I even thought about getting another as a weekend toy but they all seem to have fell into the wrong hands!!

 

[BuckRog64]

Have I logged onto PistonHeads by mistake? Aside from the thread getting nasty, there appears to be a preference for old German and Japanese design over Italian flair and soul. A Golf over a Sud? MX5 over a Barchetta? Who's going to mention that the 911 is better than a GS or GTS?

 

[zagatoes30]

Have I logged onto PistonHeads by mistake? Aside from the thread getting nasty, there appears to be a preference for old German and Japanese design over Italian flair and soul. A Golf over a Sud? MX5 over a Barchetta? Who's going to mention that the 911 is better than a GS or GTS?

SM thread creep on par with the norm

 

[rockits]

One of the best cars I owned was a Honda CRX VTI targa (Mk 2) the engine was fantastic and never gave me any trouble. I sold it with 100k on the clock and it still felt just as strong then. I even thought about getting another as a weekend toy but they all seem to have fell into the wrong hands!!

Agreed....that CRX VTEC was a cracking engine. I had a CRX 1.6 VTEC Electric TransTop import thing many years back. Was like a twin turbo kicking in at about 5k & above when it really started to sing. What a lovely little car....not sure of the power output but it wasn't silly high but plenty fast enough.

 

[Vampyrebat]

Have I logged onto PistonHeads by mistake? Aside from the thread getting nasty, there appears to be a preference for old German and Japanese design over Italian flair and soul. A Golf over a Sud? MX5 over a Barchetta? Who's going to mention that the 911 is better than a GS or GTS?

Just to set the record straight Pete..............My new acquisition!


We all love Massers and other Italian marks, but that doesn't mean we can't like other nationality cars as well !!

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Phil, I would have paid hood money to see you get into an Elise my friend....

According to his signature, he claims to have owned an Elise.....

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Just to set the record straight Pete..............My new acquisition!
View attachment 50228

We all love Massers and other Italian marks, but that doesn't mean we can't like other nationality cars as well !!

Well said that man!

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Who's going to mention that the 911 is better than a GS or GTS?

Not me. But I will say the Mezger Turbo is a superbly engineered car - very German. The brute power and torque delivery through all-time 4 wheel drive is stunning - and that's a 16 year old model. Imagine the latest 991 Turbo S. Most would probably kill themselves in it due to inability to handle the power and torque delivery.

 

[midlifecrisis]

I was watching 'Comrade Dectective' on Amazon Prime the other day, and the quotes was 'The Dacia is the best car in the world'. The Dacia in mind was the 1310, which was based on the Renault 12.

I tend to agree as my Dad had one (Renault 12 estate in white, registration WNC997L) and there's nothing it couldn't do. It served him as a work car and a family car. He had it for 14 years! So in terms of character it had it in spades. Performance; It got a family of 6 to Canterbury/new forest for camping trips in the 70's towing a trailer from Manchester in less than a day. Handling, yep, especially on trips back from the cash n carry/ wood yard when the suspension was 'preloaded'. Looks; nothing else can touch that distinctive 'push me pull you' look of the saloon's sloping bonnet/boot.

But can you find one now...there's only 14 in the uk left...it's a classic right there.

 

[Wanderer]

Had an Audi Quattro 200 turbo once, C100BNF, it was extremely unreliable. PS pump went, brake cylinders, water pump, vacuum leaks everywhere causing it to rev up to 5k and cut the turbo in at will - scared the pants off me. I was a wee bit out of my depth with that one, previous cars the usual Escorts and even a Carlton...

Had a Philips proper car phone fitted, proper handset jobby, no fecker ever called me on it, ever. That was around the point I started to believe that I was part of the Raskolnikovian schism, and could kill the pawnbroker if I wanted.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Had an Audi Quattro 200 turbo once, C100BNF, it was extremely unreliable. PS pump went, brake cylinders, water pump, vacuum leaks everywhere causing it to rev up to 5k and cut the turbo in at will - scared the pants off me. I was a wee bit out of my depth with that one, previous cars the usual Escorts and even a Carlton...

Had a Philips proper car phone fitted, proper handset jobby, no fecker ever called me on it, ever. That was around the point I started to believe that I was part of the Raskolnikovian schism, and could kill the pawnbroker if I wanted.

Thank God for evolution - of the forced induction engines that is. Nowadays there is very little lag in turbos giving a closer to linear delivery of power and torque like never before. till gotta hang on though as it accelerates to warp speed in licence-losing three figure speeds in seconds.