pmk@pyuxll.UUCP (08/30/83)
Do you know what really intrigues me the most? All of you foreign car owners talk about how great your foreign cars are and yet almost every 'car for sale ' article is for a 2 or 3 year old foreign car. Contradictory isn't it? I wonder what the comedian Gallagher would have to say about that? Probably 'now that's stupid!!'. If these cars are so great why are you dying to get rid of them. Let's hear a little more about old Detroit musclecars. They may drink a lot of gasoline but it 's still alot less than those monthly payments. I own a 1972 Mustang Mach I but I won't ignore an article about a 1969 Z/28. It's got to be more interesting than listening about 40 mpg from somebody's Rabbit or Supra. This news newsgroup should be net,HoHum. Enough of my ravings. You get the message. What ever happened to 1HP/CI P Kelliher AT&T Information Systems So. Plainfield, NJ
kruger@ihuxs.UUCP (08/31/83)
I agree. What ever did happen to REAL cars with REAL engines? How about net.big.deal??? Mike Kruger ihuxs!kruger P.S. Proud owner of a '72 Chevy Pickup that does 0-60 in 9 sec. and gets 17 mpg. Nyah Nyah Nyah.
dbg@ihldt.UUCP (08/31/83)
Supras don't get 40 mpg even with a hefty tailwind. They also put out an honest 150 hp for their 170 CI. Is that close enough?
kens@tekecs.UUCP (Ken Serack) (08/31/83)
**************************** Whatever happened to 1HP/CI? **************************** Well, 1HP/CI still lives. I drive a BMW 530i and it has 182CI and close to 200HP. Ken Serack
pjm@pyuxll.UUCP (08/31/83)
I don't know why people sell their foreign cars. I am selling my spitfire because the baby's car seat wont fit in it. It runs good. It DOES get 40 mpg on the highway. I have also owned a '73 340 Plymouth Duster with 4 barrel carb, air shocks, heavy duty everthing, and a zoom clutch that you needed 2 feet to keep down. It was fast but only got about 12-15 mpg and that was only when it was running half way decent. It was a lot of fun, but I can't honestly say that the Spitfire was any less fun. Having owned both I can summarize by saying: In a quarter mile straightaway give me the max muscle car, but on a curvy road I'll take a stock Spitfire, MG etc. over anything detroit makes (sorry vette owners, but that includes you too). Of course if money is no obstacle (and I mean NO obstacle) then you can have the best of both worlds ala Porsche, Ferrari, Lambor ghini (sp), jag, sigh Well you get the idea. Paul Maioriello pyuxll!pjm
pmk@pyuxll.UUCP (P. Kelliher) (08/31/83)
Paul, the whole idea behind the article was to spark interest in cars other than how great the gas mileage is. That is pretty boring stuff. I want to hear about cars that can pass anything on the road but a gas station. A second thing you should note is that money was a deciding factor. I made references to the fact that although the musclecars used a lot of gas it would still cost less than those monthly payments to the bank. But I must realize that some people either don't understand or just plain fear fast cars. I think an Article about your 340 Duster would be far more exciting than reading about how great those little crackerboxes are. Maybe you have a story you can relate about a fun incident you had while owning this car. If you dop tell us about it. Put that gasoline down Paul P Kelliher
pat@ih1ap.UUCP (09/01/83)
In response to the gentleman that were take a stock Spitfire, or MG over anything detroit makes, as a new Vette owner I'm glad. Remember- "Many are called, but few are chosen!" See you in my dust- Patrick A. Fargo BTL -IH
ziegler@lzmi.UUCP (09/01/83)
For those of you who prefer a muscle-mobile to a real sports
car, I would like to relate one of my experiences: I once
saw a 'Vette and an RX7 racing on a highway. Normally, the
'Vette could blow an RX7 away, but this particular highway
had some traffic on it at the time. The RX7 was so superior
to the 'Vette in handling that within five minutes it was
nearly a mile ahead. If you get off on raw speed in the
straightways, buy a muscle car. If you like a car that
responds to you rather than the law of inertia, Detroit has
nothing to offer.
I own a Spitfire. The top speed is claimed to be about 113.
I wouldn't know, because I never had it above 55. I see no
need for a car that can cruise at 160 in a nation where the
maximum legal speed is 55. (I am serious about that, but
please don't flame at me or the net. I'm not telling you
how to drive or making any claims about the benefits of
driving at 55, I'm just giving my opinion.) I do, however,
enjoy the thrill of chasing a Porsche up a hilly, twisty
road and watching the frustration of the other driver when
his/her $40K car can't seem to shake a car that costs a
measly $6K. Some like speed, some like handling. I fall
into the latter category.
Let's keep this discussion going. I agree that gas mileage
is relly dull to talk about. Let's hear some real talk
from people who like to drive!
Joe Ziegler
...hogpc!pegasus!lzmi!ziegler
P.S. Anyone know where to get the plastic windows on my
Spitfire replaced in central N.J.? Reply by mail
if you do...michaelk@tekmdp.UUCP (Michael Kersenbrock) (09/01/83)
If "everyone" on the net owns foreign cars, it is hard to imagine cars being sold being anything other than a foreign car. I cant (or at least wont) sell something I don't have.
alpert@inmet.UUCP (09/02/83)
#R:pyuxll:-40700:inmet:2700010:000:1277
inmet!alpert Sep 1 15:53:00 1983
I see you wimps have never had any contact with any *REAL* automotive
machinery!!
Mustangs? For overblown, pre-pubescent hot-rodders!
Chevys? Make great boat anchors!
You folks have OBVIOUSLY never had the opportunity to drive
the ultimate creation in exotic hi-tech automotive engineering,
...
The Subaru 360.
This 900 pound macho machine sports a high-revving 360cc
(that's cubic centimeters for you "Super Sport" types)
two-cylinder two-stroke engine that belts out better than
20 hp. The babes really go for it!
The 10 inch diameter ralley wheels coupled with 5.00 X 10
balloon tires deliver the goods to the street. The cast aluminum
finned brake drums scream "ready for action!"
To the overgrown junkpiles laboring behind me, I just say
"eat my smoke" as I tromp the throttle and leave them in
a blue haze.
*AND*, get over 50 mpg while doing it! Take that!
-- Bob Alpert
-- Intermetrics, Inc.
733 Concord Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
...harpo!inmet!alpert
...hplabs!sri-unix!cca!ima!inmet!alpert
...yale-comix!ima!inmet!alpert
Most folks have *at least* two more cylinders than really necessary!
(Some sound as though they have closer to 6 more than they really need!!)pat@ih1ap.UUCP (09/02/83)
How can a Spitfile or RX7 out handle a Vette if the test performance results in every magazine show that it has poorer lateral stability, breaking, wheel base, highest speed in shalom, etc???? Maybe it just a SUPERIOR driver in the Mazda! Let the go-carts eat my dust.... Patrick A. Fargo BTL -IH
tech@auvax (09/02/83)
Ah hmm...gee... I haven't seen a lot of 69 Z28's around lately. Haven't sen many old muscle cars at all ... just old Volvos and Volkswagons it seems. I'll keep my eyes open, there must be one or two around somewhere. Richard Loken
warren@ihnss.UUCP (09/02/83)
The real insanity on the net (and in the rest of the US) is the belief that once a car is more than 2 or 3 years old or has 40K miles, it's dead. Avis and Hertz kill them that fast, but few others do. (No, I don't want to provoke a discussion of how old your car is. that is REALLY BORING!!!). I believe that this insanity comes from the tradition of buying cars on time. People must get conditioned to losing the monthly payments, and get scared about what to do with the money when the loan is paid off. I thought that 2 years ago people finally woke up to this (and that, not the foriegn competition was responsible for most of detroit's troubles), but it seems clear that they will go right back to throwing their cars away. Oh well, I guess I would rather support the auto workers with your monthly payments than with my taxes. -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
broeker@ihuxe.UUCP (09/02/83)
To Patrick Fargo: I'll take a Spitfire or MGB that I can take out for a drive over a 'vette that has to be return to the shop every couple of months anytime. Chuck Broeker Indian Hill South ihuxe!broeker
rsp@nbires.UUCP (09/03/83)
I have trouble believing a Spitfire can chase a (6 cyl.) Porsche UP any hill!
Going down hill may be another story!
Long ago I built a muscle car that not only WENT fast it also TURNED and
STOPPED quickly. I define this to be a complete performance car. Any car that
can accelerate quickly but cannot reliably STOP quickly is very dangerous! My
home-brew car embarrassed several "traditional" sports cars ('Vettes, too).
But it finally wore out...
Since the automotive world gave up on *AFFORDABLE* performance automobiles,
I've turned to performance motorcycles. Few motor thrills equal a fast,
spirited ride up (or down) a twisty canyon road. However, motorcycles aren't
very much fun in the rain...
The last few responses I've read to "re: Insanity..." seem to want handling
*OR* horsepower. Why not both? I sure like having both! I admit that the
combination is far more expensive in four wheel varieties than two wheel. So
I'll move my discussion over to net.cycle now...
HORSEPOWER FOREVER!
Russ Pannetonalpert@inmet.UUCP (09/03/83)
#R:ih1ap:-21000:inmet:2700011:000:759
inmet!alpert Sep 2 08:56:00 1983
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to the gentleman that were take a stock Spitfire, or MG over
anything detroit makes, as a new Vette owner I'm glad. Remember-
"Many are called, but few are chosen!"
See you in my dust-
Patrick A. Fargo
BTL -IH
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hearing strange voices, eh?!
I'll take a 2-cyl. Subaru 360 over a 'vette any day.
See you in my smoke, Patrick...
-- Bob Alpert
-- Intermetrics, Inc.
733 Concord Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
...harpo!inmet!alpert
...hplabs!sri-unix!cca!ima!inmet!alpert
...yale-comix!ima!inmet!alpertalpert@inmet.UUCP (09/14/83)
#R:ih1ap:-21600:inmet:2700013:000:1503
inmet!alpert Sep 12 09:05:00 1983
----------
A BMW 530I would blow your doors off. That subaru cannot even
match the power of the BMW's. They are supper.
----------
BMW 530I's and the like are for wimps who need an automotive extension
to their insecure egos.
The only *REAL* car that BMW ever produced was the little-known
BMW Isetta, produced in the late 1950's.
Sporting a 1-cylinder 300cc engine, this bubble-shaped wonder
is approx. 1/2 the size of a Renault LeCar. It is the only car
BMW ever built that approaches the greatness of the Subaru 360.
For those who equate sportiness with a lack of doors, and would
not be caught dead in a four-door automobile, the Isetta
is a revelation -- it features a single door which is the entire
front of the vehicle (the dash and steering column are mounted
on the inside and pivot with the door).
While I don't presently own an Isetta, I do run across them on occasion
and hope to do so at some point. Then I can be the envy of all those
frustrated 530I drivers as they scratch their heads in bewilderment
at the *very* noticeable BMW emblems on this 800-lb. wonder of
automotive technology.
The Isetta was BMW's crowning achievment. It's been downhill for
them ever since...
On Both Cylinders,
-- Bob Alpert
-- Intermetrics, Inc.
733 Concord Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
...harpo!inmet!alpert
...hplabs!sri-unix!cca!ima!inmet!alpert
...yale-comix!ima!inmet!alpertcrc@clyde.UUCP (C. R. Colbert) (09/14/83)
The only REAL AUTOMOBILE is the Lotus Super 7 - it has no doors.
jsf007@trsvax.UUCP (09/16/83)
#R:ih1ap:-21600:trsvax:55200013:000:155 trsvax!jsf007 Sep 6 08:26:00 1983 Are you sure you don't have that backwards... Every limey car I have ever encountered needed an appointment with the service manager for a sunday drive.
digger@zps.UUCP (Scott A. Miles) (09/16/83)
A BMW 530I would blow your doors off. That subaru cannot even match the power of the BMW's. They are supper.
digger@zps.UUCP (09/29/83)
If we are not discussing ego's here then what are we talking about. You purchase a vette ot Ferrari or BMW or subaru not only because it's comfortable. I don't seem to understand why you think that it is an ego trip to own a BMW. I see your speaking for yourself. flames > /dev/null zehntel!zps!digger Scott Miles