Sports car?

[pb4uski]

I have been wanting a modest sports car to tool around in for years but DW is very practical and has been opposed so I have just resigned myself to not having one for now.

But yesterday I had beer with a friend after golf and he gave me a ride home in his sharp two-seater Mercedes convertible with the top down.... nice!... now I have a bug to get one.

 

[RobbieB]

Oh yeah, I signed up all in and now "commit to buy" on an Elio. All I get is stupid emails about the next exciting development.

I don't even read these BS lies anymore, they keep moving production back. Great way to run a company eh, take the dough and play smoke and mirrors.

Stop sending me more lies and tell me when I can pick up the car.

 

[Hermit]

Oh no .... another fat, bald, old guy cruising around in a sports car !!!!

Hey! I resemble that remark!

 

[Car-Guy]

haha the spirit of a sports car would not transfer to a station wagon for me!

Well maybe not a station wagon but there are a few very high performance SUV's (the station wagons of today) that can fill the bill.

As I've told people many times, try out one of them and it will put a smile on your face. My current "stock" SUV will do 0 to 60 in 4 sec, 1/4 mile in 12.5 sec, has a top speed well over 160 mph, seats 5, can carry a ton of stuff, with AWD it handles great, very comfortable and easy to get in and out of, and has just about every creature comfort option you might want. Ok, maybe not as cool looking as Corvettes but it works for me.

 

[CardsFan]

I have been wanting a modest sports car to tool around in for years but DW is very practical and has been opposed so I have just resigned myself to not having one for now.

But yesterday I had beer with a friend after golf and he gave me a ride home in his sharp two-seater Mercedes convertible with the top down.... nice!... now I have a bug to get one.

When I hit the big 40 (22 years ago now) I bought a 1985 Mercedes 350SL (for $15k, they were $75k new). DW was all for it, and we enjoyed it for 10 years. Expensive to maintain, but worth it for the fun.

We think about getting another sports car, but then we think about the pain getting in and out. Younger was better

 

[Car-Guy]

We think about getting another sports car, but then we think about the pain getting in and out. Younger was better

And that's exactly why I switched. (See post 204) I still wanted the performance but wanted luxury and comfort too as I got older. You can have both, for a price!

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Hey! I resemble that remark!

+1 (in my 2002 Z3).

 

[W2R]

[...]My current "stock" SUV will do 0 to 60 in 4 sec, 1/4 mile in 12.5, has a top speed well over 160[...]

I don't doubt that one bit. My Toyota Venza has the larger engine, which was probably a huge mistake for a "little old lady style driver" like me.

Getting on the interstate is how I go about testing acceleration. When I am getting on the interstate, just pushing the accelerator down 1/3 of the way is scary, SCARY fast and even freaks out Frank. If I pushed it down the whole way, which I have never done, I am certain that I would go into earth orbit or beyond. Honestly I don't think it would be safe to ever try that and I never will.

Gas mileage would have been better with the smaller engine, too. Hopefully my next SUV will have a 4 cylinder engine, but we'll see.

 

[pb4uski]

.... We think about getting another sports car, but then we think about the pain getting in and out. Younger was better

I hear you. My last car, a Subaru GT, was low and sporty and DW hated getting in and out of it. When I went to get out of my friend's sports car yesterday I noticed the difference from getting out of our Outback.

 

[Breedlove]

We both have ( Sports bikes ) lots of fun fairly fast but again so I can do 140 in a quarter mile , what can I do on country roads without flying off in a turn . It has just got too scarey and dangerous the bikes weigh around 400lbs and over 100HP . Anyone can go fast in a straight line , try the curves . This is why we are looking at something similar to a Go Cart . A Fiat Abarth , not as fast as the bikes but air conditioned and heated . Still handles the turns like a sport

 

[Scrapr]

I don't doubt that one bit. My Toyota Venza has the larger engine, which was probably a huge mistake for a "little old lady style driver" like me.

Getting on the interstate is how I go about testing acceleration. When I am getting on the interstate, just pushing the accelerator down 1/3 of the way is scary, SCARY fast and even freaks out Frank. If I pushed it down the whole way, which I have never done, I am certain that I would go into earth orbit or beyond. Honestly I don't think it would be safe to ever try that and I never will.

Gas mileage would have been better with the smaller engine, too. Hopefully my next SUV will have a 4 cylinder engine, but we'll see.

Just for fun...get up really early on a Sunday morning...

 

[Breedlove]

Something to think about , tonight my DW and I had some documents we had to drop off after watching the football game when BAM ! We were sitting at a light on one of the feeders for the Sam Houston Toll way when a GMC PU truck ran a green light probably doing maybe 50mph and T bones a small sedan . He hit the sedan so hard it rolled over . We called 911 . Lots of people stopped , we kept on going . It did not look pretty .

 

[pb4uski]

...when a GMC PU truck ran a green light ..

In most parts of the country we run through green lights.

 

[Breedlove]

Well sorry my bad , he ran a red light . But it still looked ugly .

 

[Moemg]

This is when I tell my crazy story . I went into Toyota to buy a Rav4 . I had decided on the model and the options . We get into the Toyota dealership and I see the Toyota c-Hr . It is very sporty and probably reminded me of when I owned a sports car so I went home with a silver C-hr .The next morning I had buyer's remorse . I took the car for a drive to bond but it did not work so after several calls I returned the C-Hr and left with the Rav4 .I lived the fantasy for a day but ultimately sensibility won out.

 

[Breedlove]

Sounds like my Triumph Spitfire . Many years ago I wanted a roadster so a friend of mine told me about a barn find an early 1960's Triumph Spitfire . We all traveled to Beaumont Texas to a guy who was about 6'6 270 lbs . When you seen him you wondered how he got in the Triumph . Yes he had the Triumph in his garage , it only had 77 miles on it but had been sitting for years . We talked to him about it he said he was at a rodeo with a lady he met and got drunk . The next day it was in his driveway . He called the dealership and found out he had purchased the car on an AMEX card at the rodeo and the paperwork was being processed . He thought he would keep it (the car ) but just never could get comfortable in it . We bought it for 1200 .00 squirted marvel mystery oil in the cylinders replaced the belts radiator and fuel tank and drove it for years .

 

[W2R]

Just for fun...get up really early on a Sunday morning...

Well, if I'm ever out near the Bonneville Salt Flats...

 

[aja8888]

Every time we talk sports cars, I keep wishing I could go back in time and not have let this go (for a song):

 

[jimbee]

Every time we talk sports cars, I keep wishing I could go back in time and not have let this go (for a song):

View attachment 27422

Beautiful car. Mid-years are my favorite Vette.

I have been wanting a modest sports car to tool around in for years but DW is very practical and has been opposed so I have just resigned myself to not having one for now.

But yesterday I had beer with a friend after golf and he gave me a ride home in his sharp two-seater Mercedes convertible with the top down.... nice!... now I have a bug to get one.

 

[Ronstar]

My mid-life crisis. And the dream car.

 

[stepford]

I've always owned a sports car of one flavor or other. For the last 10 or so years it's been a BMW Z4. The sad part is that since retiring a couple of years ago I never drive it. My interests have gravitated more to outdoor sports and it's almost always more appropriate for me to go places in my big sluggish 4WD SUV (or just on my bike). I can't quite bear to sell the Z yet, but it mostly just sits in the garage these days (and I know it must hate that).

 

[Hermit]

Every time we talk sports cars, I keep wishing I could go back in time and not have let this go (for a song):

View attachment 27422

I had a '67 roadster when I was in my 20's. It was a steel grey. The engine was not stock. I decided it was time to let it go when I kept seeing about 100 mph when I got at the end of an on-ramp.

 

[Hermit]

I've always owned a sports car of one flavor or other. For the last 10 or so years it's been a BMW Z4. The sad part is that since retiring a couple of years ago I never drive it. My interests have gravitated more to outdoor sports and it's almost always more appropriate for me to go places in my big sluggish 4WD SUV (or just on my bike). I can't quite bear to sell the Z yet, but it mostly just sits in the garage these days (and I know it must hate that).

I have the same problem with my Audi TT. The roads out here are too rough a lot of the time. I have to wait until the roads have been recently graded and then for nice weather.

 

[ncbill]

Oh no .... another fat, bald, old guy cruising around in a sports car !!!!

Well, I'm not bald...but...

Dad bought his dream car (MB sports coupe) just before he turned 60, but gave it to me only a few years later, as it became too uncomfortable contorting himself to get in/out.

I never drove it much, but finally gave it to my oldest to drive when they were allowed to have a vehicle at their school.

I have threatened to take it back when I turn 50, just so I can don the open silk shirt, gold chains, and drive down the road, crying "I'm still young!"

 

[ikubak]

bought dw a miata when she retired and she loves it.