OT: Cars

[CGVT]

LOL, Bim. I don't think of the Mini Cooper one way or the other. It seems kind of silly in an old MG Midget kind of way, which I thought was a bit of a chick car compared to am MGB or a Triumph TR6.

I do think of the Miata as a chick car. I think most guys I know do, too. For shits and grins I'll queery my crew at the party I'm going to tomorrow and see what the consensus is on both. I'll be sure to post the results

[nhwbrooklyn]

Originally Posted by DanO

"I think the volvo c30 is a great looking car but I could also see it being a chick car too."
----------------------------That car has chick written all over it. You better get some testosterone shots dude.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

Hey some guys are secure enough and masculine enough to get away with wearing pink shirts

...

...

And my other car is a 65 impala ss.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Test drove some mini coopers, nissan maxima/altima, and the VW GTI today.......I really think I may be sold.....drum roll....mini cooper. I drove a used sport model and a new base model and the sport was impressive. When I first got in the car, with the short hood, I didn't think I was going to like it at all. It was so different upon first glance I almost didn't even ask for a test drive.....very glad I did


I took liam with me to make sure he fit and had room in the back seat.....check, they're actually much bigger on the inside than you'd think. At one point Liam even yelled out "This car's FAST daddy!!!!".

Handling and acceleration were also very impressive...I had a hard time containing my feelings in front of the salesman. Completely honest.....the handling of the sport model was on par with the porsche. Acceleration on the porsche was obviously better but the mini was still impressive in comparison (and considering the price difference). The base model on the new cooper was actually a little underwhelming after the sport though. Did some research online for the coopers and it's 98% positive.

I think I'm sold......it's going to be hard to sway me from the cooper sport at this point and I think Liam wants it as much as I do.

[chemiclord]

My mother was sold on the Cooper for the same reasons you were. It performs far better than one would think at first glance, and is astonishingly roomy, especially for its size.

The one problem she had with it is that once something did go wrong, the repair costs could start to get pretty high. She hasn't had many problems with it (fortunately).

[Panoptes]

NP,

With a young one in tow (which I forgot about in your case), the most important thing is going to be safety ratings. Primarily side impact as he'll be in the back.

Personally, in case of a rear end accident, the short amount of space protection from the bumper to the back seat with a young one riding along would scare me off.

Since my frightening accident in 2003, the first and foremost thing I review for is safety ratings. Everything else is way secondary.

[DanO]

"Hey some guys are secure enough and masculine enough to get away with wearing pink shirts."
----------------------------Agree. Others drive a Volvo c30.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[Michigan_Saintsfan]

Originally Posted by SeattleLionsFan

Nick, I bought a new GTI and think it's a lot of fun to drive. Plus there's a very active community that will be happy to help you make it sportier.

That said, its pretty frivolous. It's already been to the dealer more in 6 months than my carolla was in 10 years.

Among the other names listed, I'd check out the new ford fiesta. Its the first year in the states, but they appear to be pretty reasonably priced, and the styling (if not the guts) appear to be pretty sporty and fun.

Agree with respect to the VW community. Except that if you're in Michigan, I think that means an online community.

I had 2 VWs, my first 2 cars. Loved both of them and both cost me every cent I had to keep them going. The second one was a GTI. They just seem to have a lot of electrical problems once they get older. So if I really wanted another one (maybe if a new Scirocco comes to market?) I would look at leasing not buying and marrying one.

I also noticed big differences between the VW built at the Karmann plant in Germany vs the VW built in Mexico. Not sure where GTIs and other VWs are made now.

[dsred]

Originally Posted by CGVT

LOL, Bim. I don't think of the Mini Cooper one way or the other. It seems kind of silly in an old MG Midget kind of way, which I thought was a bit of a chick car compared to am MGB or a Triumph TR6.

I do think of the Miata as a chick car. I think most guys I know do, too. For shits and grins I'll queery my crew at the party I'm going to tomorrow and see what the consensus is on both. I'll be sure to post the results

Chick car? "Queery".... Hmmm....

[nhwbrooklyn]

Originally Posted by dsred

Chick car? "Queery".... Hmmm....

Yeah Miatas have a reputation for um... that.

Best handling car for the money though.

Still would never get one.

[LionsNC]

Just returned from visiting my Son in Oregon last week and his birthday present for me was to treat me to a weekend of track days with an Audi club in Bremerton, WA. The first day I did a drivers safety course which included hard breaking, Slalom coarse, and accident avoidance drill. Then in the afternoon we did autocross where you drive upto about 45 MPH through a coarse setup with cones trying to get your best time. I drove my Son's 2004 VW R32 VR6 all wheel drive 6 speed. Fun car that seems to be really well built. On Sunday I took to the big track and highers speeds of 100 MPH plus! There were a lot audis being a audi club, plus BMWs, and few other nice cars. I really liked a couple of the audis for family / city commuting, there were two A3's hatchbacks that I really liked. Glass roof with paddle shifters and the same VR6 engine that my Son's car has.

I think my son was really wondering about my driving at first in the autocross, but by the end of the day I posted a pretty good time while hitting just one cone. Then on Sunday with his car I was eating up the back half of the track (Well minus my steady throttle issue) where all the turns were. Some of the faster cars would catch me in the straight away and I let a few past, but in the curves that little R32 really handles nice.

If you have never tried a track day or autocross I highly recommend it. I might even try my Mazda 3 in autocross. In fact my Son and I would love to get the wife and daughter to try the autocross event, it's fairly safe and great for finding out what your car and you can really do.

[-Deborah-]

That sounds like a lot of fun!

[dwt1]

Originally Posted by Nick Pappageorgio

So the AC went out on my car and replacing the AC would cost about 3x what my car's is worth. I generally drive the family shit shaker and pass up the nicest car to my wife to drive because I don't care that much. I'm being somewhat economical and looking at some moderate used cars....I think I want something small but a little sporty (though I did take a porsche cayman for a test drive today.....I was up-front with the salesman that I couldn't afford it but the salesman, a 25 year old kid who's been selling cars for a week, insisted I drive the car because it just came on the lot and he wanted to ride in it as bad as I did). It was actually a great deal at $36k (only 8000 miles).

Anyway I looked at some volkswagen GTIsthat I liked, subaru outback, honda civic, some small suv things (really not into them I'm looking more for something smaller with great gas milege) and a Mini Cooper....all sport models and manual transmission except the outbacks. I'm looking some Audis tommorrow.

Two questions:

1) any ideas?

2) my wife said the Mini-Cooper is a chick car and my brother agrees....I've always liked them but don't want my man-hood being in question every time I get gas. Thoughts on this?

Try a mazda 3, also, I drove a Mini Cooper for 4 years, a very fun car handled as well as my vette but without the torque sna horse power - I plan on getting another one when I have room in my garage.

[LionsNC]

Originally Posted by -Deborah-

That sounds like a lot of fun!

Yea, it really was! To be honest I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but what really made my day was the smile on my Son's face when I would come in from a session. The better I drove the bigger his smile!

[LionsNC]

The Mazda 3 is a nice car for the price,I got the Ford discount when I bought mine. My only complaint is the road noise is a little high at higher speeds. But overall it is a fun car to drive and great for daily commutes.

[nhwbrooklyn]

Yeah the Mazda 3 is a good car. I actually like the previous models looks better than the current one. Would save some money getting the older one too.

[DanO]

Sounds like fun LionsNC.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[CGVT]

Result of my survery. 12 out of thirteen queeried replied that the Miata is a chick car.

It is settled.

[Panoptes]

....says the crew that has spent many of their career nights sleeping in tight quarters with the same sex.

[CGVT]

If it's underway, it's not gay...

[SeattleLionsFan]

Originally Posted by Panoptes

....says the crew that has spent many of their career nights sleeping in tight quarters with the same sex.

Who would be more qualified to talk about Miatas?