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InitialDave posted:Driving inappropriate cars quickly is hilarious. You can make drat near anything go significantly faster than the average UK driver's pace (including the hot-hatch yoofs) with sufficient commitment. Cheap tyres squealing at the slightest hint of a corner, and the brake pads doing their best to remind you that, really, this relationship is something we all need to work on, don't you think? James May tried to convince Clarkson of this once. He said it's more fun to drive a normal car at its limits rather than a supercar because that's what supercars are made for.
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Sep 2, 2014 00:10
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It's more fun to drive a normal car at it's limits than a supercar because it means 10, 15, MAYBE 20 over the limit, a nasty fine but no risk of losing your license or going to jail. Driving a supercar at its limits means risking jail time or going to the track. And track scenery isn't as nice as back roads. Also I can get normal cars for half a paycheck and use the other few hundred thousand to buy a house or something.
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Sep 2, 2014 00:29
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Mister Kingdom posted:James May tries to convince Clarkson of this every episode. Do you even watch Top Gear mate
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Sep 2, 2014 00:30
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Mister Kingdom posted:James May tried to convince Clarkson of this once. He said it's more fun to drive a normal car at its limits rather than a supercar because that's what supercars are made for. I cannot hoon around all day in a supercar without attracting either a ditch or the fuzz but a clapped out two-door Rav4? Pedal meets carpet and it strains badly to keep up with the city-bus but my smile doesn't get much bigger as I throw it into a roundabout like the mafia is chasing me.
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Sep 2, 2014 00:33
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kastein posted:It's more fun to drive a normal car at it's limits than a supercar because it means 10, 15, MAYBE 20 over the limit, a nasty fine but no risk of losing your license or going to jail. This isn't even just a thing with supercars, high performance production cars are pretty much the same way. When I drive my brother's MS3 it's either aggressively sprint up to 10 over the limit and then settle in like any other shitbox or else risk license-suspension levels of speeding if you really want to drive the car the way it's intended to be driven.
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Sep 2, 2014 00:58
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The problem with a modern midrange high-performance car is that they don't feel fast when they're going fast. Get in a modern BMW and floor it on the highway and you'll hit a hundred miles an hour and it'll be quiet and smooth and feel like you're going sixty. Which is great if you want to cruise at 100mph in comfort, but sucky if you want to feel like you're going fast and not go to jail. You want the opposite -- something that feels fast when driven at normal speeds. I've never been more terrified and felt like I was going faster than the time I took an old MG Midget on I-80. Redline in fourth gear and we were just touching 70mph, wind screaming by, the whole car rattling and feeling like it was going to rapidly disassemble itself at any moment. 
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Sep 2, 2014 01:10
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kastein posted:
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Sep 2, 2014 01:14
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Sagebrush posted:I've never been more terrified and felt like I was going faster than the time I took an old MG Midget on I-80. Redline in fourth gear and we were just touching 70mph, wind screaming by, the whole car rattling and feeling like it was going to rapidly disassemble itself at any moment. Let's be fair. It probably was.
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Sep 2, 2014 01:16
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I'm late, but regarding Duckchat, there's a company with a fleet of about half a dozen of the things in Pittsburgh. They're quite popular.
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Sep 2, 2014 01:19
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I think that's why I love driving my Miata so much. It's not fast enough to get me in trouble, but it is a hoot to throw it around and row through the gears. My nearly 400hp Supra sucked in comparison because it was only 5 or 6 seconds to reach the speed limit and then it was cruising around in 5th from there on. Driving aggressively only made me look like a complete dick to the rest of traffic.
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Sep 2, 2014 02:17
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tobu posted:I cannot hoon around all day in a supercar without attracting either a ditch or the fuzz but a clapped out two-door Rav4? Pedal meets carpet and it strains badly to keep up with the city-bus but my smile doesn't get much bigger as I throw it into a roundabout like the mafia is chasing me. I get the same thing in the Crown Vic, I gun it and act like I'm in a 1990 episode of COPS, squeal the tires going around corners, kick up shitloads of gravel in the work parking lot (if nobody is around). I just pretend it isn't sucking down the gas while I do it.
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Sep 2, 2014 02:40
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This road right here is why sideways Suburbans are the best Suburbans. Had a friend along for that today, his face was priceless.
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Sep 2, 2014 02:59
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:I'm late, but regarding Duckchat, there's a company with a fleet of about half a dozen of the things in Pittsburgh. They're quite popular. Also Hot Springs. Like the one guy said, any city with a riverfront has 'em. Pham Nuwen posted:I get the same thing in the Crown Vic, I gun it and act like I'm in a 1990 episode of COPS, squeal the tires going around corners, kick up shitloads of gravel in the work parking lot (if nobody is around). I just pretend it isn't sucking down the gas while I do it. I'm amazed I didn't take out a traffic light that time it snowed and I just driftuud the cop car all over downtown on a Sunday.
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Sep 2, 2014 03:01
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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I'm considering chipping the A3 but I'm honestly torn on it because the turbo apparently comes on later and I enjoy that low to mid range blast of torque so much. Short gears and a turbo in a hatchback make for some awesome times without breaking the law too much.
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Sep 2, 2014 03:10
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HotCanadianChick posted:When I was car shopping a few years ago I was looking at G35 coupes and every single one listed on Autotrader or Craigslist had a salvage title. Every single one. From a page back, but it took me two months to find one without a salvage title. Then another month to find a black 6 speed. Worst game of car hunting ever. I probably would have never got one if I stuck to my guns of finding one with a black interior 
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Sep 2, 2014 03:55
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Delivery McGee posted:I'm amazed I didn't take out a traffic light that time it snowed and I just driftuud the cop car all over downtown on a Sunday. I drove my parents' old 1990 CV back in high school, that thing did some loving excellent donuts on the snow-covered school lawn.
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Sep 2, 2014 04:07
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I saw a bmw i3 today and now that is truly terrible car stuff. One thing you can't really see all that well in the pictures is just how massive and terribly proportioned it is.  Think of the size of an older toyota rav 4 (because that's what it was behind) and you're at around 90% of that size. Except all the lights and fittings and body panels are the same size as a normal car, and none of the colors match. Truly horrendous horrible terrible car poo poo.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:06
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Wild EEPROM posted:I saw a bmw i3 today and now that is truly terrible car stuff. I saw one on the road in Austin a few months ago, and another on a trailer transport in San Francisco last week. They have hilariously narrow tires. For that matter, why do they put such large diameter wheels on them? If they really wanted low rolling resistance, and efficiency, wouldn't it make more sense to put on some 15-16" lightweight wheel ?
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Sep 2, 2014 06:18
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MetaJew posted:For that matter, why do they put such large diameter wheels on them? If they really wanted low rolling resistance, and efficiency, wouldn't it make more sense to put on some 15-16" lightweight wheel ? Fashion, 100%.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:33
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KozmoNaut posted:Fiat basically does one thing right: Affordable small cars that are fun to chuck around like a mad Italian, always bouncing off the rev limiter. I just don't understand why the Italians don't seem to be able to do a decent fwd transmission. All the Japanese manufacturers can do it just fine even in their most basic models so it isn't like it's some kind of black art and given how much you need to row these small cars it's a very important attribute.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:38
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Wild EEPROM posted:I saw a bmw i3 today and now that is truly terrible car stuff. I was really into the car before I saw photos of it in the wild and realized how stupid huge it was. I can't find the blog post that tipped me off, but I guess this gives a little insight into how much of a hatchback it isn't.  So disappointing.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:39
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Sagebrush posted:Fashion, 100%. Clearly the only part of the car where that was an issue.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:39
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I know the "car coming out of another car" look for the rear-end is something that's been around since the Ferrari California, but this is the first time I've thought "That car looks like it's actually in the process of attempting to give birth."
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Sep 2, 2014 08:30
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Skeletard posted:I know the "car coming out of another car" look for the rear-end is something that's been around since the Ferrari California, but this is the first time I've thought "That car looks like it's actually in the process of attempting to give birth." It looks like when I would clone an object inside itself in a 3D project and gave it a different color before moving it.
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Sep 2, 2014 08:39
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dissss posted:I just don't understand why the Italians don't seem to be able to do a decent fwd transmission. The transmission in my Panda was fine 
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Sep 2, 2014 08:44
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Wasabi the J posted:It looks like when I would clone an object inside itself in a 3D project and gave it a different color before moving it. The designers did it in CAD and accidentally sent that to manufacturing in between splitting the models. Manufacturing just went "eh" and a BMW was born. Giving car birth. Inception.
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Sep 2, 2014 08:56
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Wild EEPROM posted:I saw a bmw i3 today and now that is truly terrible car stuff.  I kind of like the design, even the odd wheels and how it kind of looks like a car that is halfway through goomba-stomping another car, it reminds me of Mass Effect and FTL. Even though it has almost the same dimensions of a civic hatchback, it looks so massive and cumbersome in comparison.  If only it were the size of a fiat, it would be acceptable as a cool, futuristic novelty vehicle, but as is, it's a $50k eyesore
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Sep 2, 2014 09:14
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Wrong thread, but relevant to the "powerful modern cars are boring"-chat: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY (Chris Harris in a Mercedes C36 AMG on space saver wheels.)
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Sep 2, 2014 11:40
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Computer viking posted:Wrong thread, but relevant to the "powerful modern cars are boring"-chat: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY link didn't work right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY
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Sep 2, 2014 12:00
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Whenever I see the i3 I can't help but think they should have done that car through their Mini brand. It's a weird fit for the BMW lineup but would be right at home as the Mini Cooper Countryman something something electric blah blah.
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Sep 2, 2014 13:15
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^^ It's certainly loving ugly enough to be a part of the Mini lineup.
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Sep 2, 2014 13:31
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Skeletard posted:I know the "car coming out of another car" look for the rear-end is something that's been around since the Ferrari California, but this is the first time I've thought "That car looks like it's actually in the process of attempting to give birth." Well, now I can't unsee it. It looks like it is giving birth to an Acura TSX.
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Sep 2, 2014 13:42
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Wasabi the J posted:link didn't work right. Odd. Oh well, thanks. 
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Sep 2, 2014 14:39
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Some Norwegian dude just took delivery of one of the first i8's. I don't know what to think — the basic shape is nice, but the sharp aero details ruin it.
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Sep 2, 2014 16:48
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JazzmasterCurious posted:Some Norwegian dude just took delivery of one of the first i8's. I don't know what to think — the basic shape is nice, but the sharp aero details ruin it. I think it looks kind of cool, but also suspect that anything that looks futuristic now will look horribly dated very quickly. It kind of sucks that it's so hard to make a not-boring design that also ages well. Also, what I like about fast BMWs in particular is that they're not super flashy and attention-drawing. They're just a classy looking car that happens to be fast and fun to drive. James Bond in a suit, not Magnum P.I. in a Hawaiian shirt. Imagined fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Sep 2, 2014 |
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Sep 2, 2014 18:07
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Imagined posted:I think it looks kind of cool, but also suspect that anything that looks futuristic now will look horribly dated very quickly. It kind of sucks that it's so hard to make a not-boring design that also ages well. They did a pretty good job 50 years ago when no one gave a poo poo about aerodynamics.  For the most part. There's always been ugly cars, but people go nuts for the vintage stuff.
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Sep 2, 2014 18:11
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Imagined posted:I think it looks kind of cool, but also suspect that anything that looks futuristic now will look horribly dated very quickly. It kind of sucks that it's so hard to make a not-boring design that also ages well. The Countach still looks awesome and futuristic.
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Sep 2, 2014 18:13
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:The Countach still looks awesome and futuristic. The place where all those old but futuristic cars fall apart is the interior.   I wonder if the i8 will look so retro in 30 years.
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Sep 2, 2014 18:23
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It's nice that they threw 30 years of ergonomics research directly in the toilet and went with a scroll wheel and LCD panel.
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Sep 2, 2014 18:55
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In any Japanese sedan from the 90s to today, you can operate every single function without taking your eyes off the street. Even the fiancee's Prius is usable without looking at the display. Good job, BMW.
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Sep 2, 2014 18:56
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