Cars, cars, cars...

wavefront

oxoman said:

The future Urghh🤢🤮🤮
https://www.citroen.co.uk/models/future-models/ami.html
Maybe not.

One of the best cars to appear in the last few years. It’s ethos is spot on - I believe the doors are symmetrical so they save on tooling costs and hence lowering purchase prices. Aimed at the young drivers in France who are too young to have a full license (this it’s almost the equiv of a moped). Shows that we don’t actually need over priced, over specced, over engineered, over powered, bloated 2 ton steel boxes. There is a lesson in this car. Hats off to Citroen and I really hope it succeeds. Shame it’s not coming to the uk (officially).

Edit : just read it is coming to the uk! YES!!!!!

photonic69

oxoman said:

The future Urghh🤢🤮🤮
https://www.citroen.co.uk/models/future-models/ami.html
Maybe not.

Love it! Perfect for city dwellers that don't ride bikes or those that can't. Most people I know at work drive less than 5 miles there and back. If I needed a city car for that purpose I'd get one. I can see the future with something like this in a giant car-pool where you hire them like the e-scooter schemes. Most peoples cars spend 95% of the time sat there doing nothing and taking up road space.

I'm a confirmed petrol head too. I was discussing this with my mate the other day. He's a Porsche man and loves his cars. We used to both go for silly long drives just for the fun of driving. But both of us cannot be bothered now because the roads are in such bad condition and wherever you go you are going to be stuck in traffic at some point. It's just no fun anymore. I'm much happier on a bike passing stationary traffic on the way to work and back.

MattFalle

pblakeney said:

oxoman said:

The future Urghh🤢🤮🤮
https://www.citroen.co.uk/models/future-models/ami.html
Maybe not.

Think I'll stick with what I have thanks.

cool. coolcoolcool.

french, innit - too cool for brits.

that's cool. i'd have one, deffo.

First.Aspect

Good piece of industrial design. Like a smart car only a halfway decent design.

MattFalle

First.Aspect said:

Good piece of industrial design. Like a smart car only a halfway decent design.

This.

The French always do mega stuff that isn't appreciated by the Brits.

First.Aspect

MattFalle said:

First.Aspect said:

Good piece of industrial design. Like a smart car only a halfway decent design.

This.

The French always do mega stuff that isn't appreciated by the Brits.

To be fair, a lot of Citroen designs have been quite good lately. I just wish they used less of the "sorry I'm a mummy I can't show spatial awareness" plastic bubbles all over them.

MattFalle

You've also got that little Renault town thingie as well which is mega cool but never caught on in GB.

photonic69

MattFalle said:

You've also got that little Renault town thingie as well which is mega cool but never caught on in GB.

The Renault Twizy?

This one is MEGA!!
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/twizy/66284/renault-twizy-f1-review

Stevo_666

photonic69 said:

oxoman said:

The future Urghh🤢🤮🤮
https://www.citroen.co.uk/models/future-models/ami.html
Maybe not.

Love it! Perfect for city dwellers that don't ride bikes or those that can't.

Glad I don't live in the city, which means that is totally unsuitable for me

orraloon

Thought if you lived in the Citee the minimum requirement is a Volvo XC90. Cos of all those pavements, kerbs and such like barriers to free movement.

MattFalle

photonic69 said:

MattFalle said:

You've also got that little Renault town thingie as well which is mega cool but never caught on in GB.

The Renault Twizy?

This one is MEGA!!
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/twizy/66284/renault-twizy-f1-review

thats ya puppy and that there, my man, is groovy as.

MattFalle

orraloon said:

Thought if you lived in the Citee the minimum requirement is a Volvo XC90. Cos of all those pavements, kerbs and such like barriers to free movement.

or a Landy that you're paying top dollar for but will never, ever tow anything or go offroad but ypu're happy to put up with all the crapness of it to pretend that you're a hero.

Stevo_666

orraloon said:

Thought if you lived in the Citee the minimum requirement is a Volvo XC90. Cos of all those pavements, kerbs and such like barriers to free movement.

There is/was a BB forumite who has an XC90 and his OH kerbed one of the wheels so badly it destroyed one of the tyres, so maybe this getting over barriers thing isn't all its cracked up to be?

Stevo_666

oxoman said:

I give up, it's about as cool as a erupting volcano. Yes I see the functionality of it and ease of build etc , but it's range is no good and it's uglier than my ex and she resembles a warthog that's been ran over by a tank. PS sadly I actually like my citroen complete with bubbles to stop numpties denting my doors because they can't park for toffee.

From the link...
"With a range of 43 miles and a top speed of 28mph..."
Well that's sold it to me. It'd be cheaper and faster to get one of these:

MattFalle

Tbh, whats the average speed through a city nowadays?

I'd wager a packet of pork scratchings that its deffo under 20mph.

orraloon

Stevo_666 said:

orraloon said:

Thought if you lived in the Citee the minimum requirement is a Volvo XC90. Cos of all those pavements, kerbs and such like barriers to free movement.

There is/was a BB forumite who has an XC90 and his OH kerbed one of the wheels so badly it destroyed one of the tyres, so maybe this getting over barriers thing isn't all its cracked up to be?

Gonna off road in a posh job expensive SUV gotta do it right. Chelsea tractors eh, gotta luv 'em.

says the one who likes bossing the muppets in their oh so pansy SUVs with my see this old school L200 = you get out of the way, loser

pblakeney

This thread is merely confirming my opinion that city living is sh!t unless you are in your 20s and clubbing.

DeVlaeminck

MattFalle said:

Tbh, whats the average speed through a city nowadays?

I'd wager a packet of pork scratchings that its deffo under 20mph.

Yes but it's hard to avoid dual carriageway these days even on local journeys and 28mph may feel pretty vulnerable.

Do like it though and if our urban areas are going to become more pedestrian and cycle friendly 28mph may become more than fast enough.

wavefront

pblakeney said:

This thread is merely confirming my opinion that city living is sh!t unless you are in your 20s and clubbing.

Happy that people have different opinions on design and aesthetics, but no one can argue with your statement here because it’s not opinion, it’s actually fact!

photonic69

elbowloh said:

This is just getting ridiculous now.

I've been very specific about my own car with actual details. You guys are generalising about all SUVs with no fecking facts whatsoever.

I'm out.

Facts:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/01/suv-conquered-america-climate-change-emissions

pinno

oxoman said:

To many cars for a full list.
First Minivan

Snap.

In chronological order:

Minivan, 1000cc basic but great fun. Rattly timing chain.
Reg.: BAP 484T.

Mini clubman 1100s. In sh1t brown. Sh1t brown interior and even sh1t brown tinted windows. Sold to my Mum for peanuts and she had it another 5 years.

Mitsubishi Colt - went like the clappers. 1.3L. Killed the box. Was broke so didn't have the money to fix it.

Rover Sd1. Test drove it and was heading into a bend (with a really lovely camber) at 55mph and the owner was in the footwell screaming profanities and something about slowing down. Pirouetted 3 times but didn't hit anything. 3.5L V8 in a 2 point something chassis and diff., so great in a straight line but needed a friend with a bucket following to pick up all the bits that fell off. Cost £180 with the stereo or £125 without. Took the without option. Sold it to a Triumph Stag owner for the engine.

Mini pick up modded by me. Those 1300 Metros were great for donor vehicles. Painted in BR green with Cooper stripes and drove it to Le Mans in 1994. Sold to pay for travel due to relationship with stunning Scandinavian woman. Was it worth it? Yep.

Bought a Fiesta MK1 popular plus to replace the above. Never let me down. Went on and on and on but was pretty slow and didn't have the street cred of the above.
Bought for £90, sold for £100.

Fiat (Fix it again Tony) Tipo 1.7. Sh1t off a shovel but rotted to death.

VW camper. Devon conversion. Restored it with rebuilt engine and sold... sniff. You could drive the thing all day and never be tired. Hated it at first but it grew and grew on me but it was partly down to being an unreliable heap until I sorted it.

MK2 XR2. Fun little car but not that quick and sold it to a friend's GF who killed it.

Merc W123 series - restored by muggins including an engine swap and full respray. Stunning car. Probably the best saloon ever built (until the BMW E30). Drove it all around Europe in spring 2003 including a long drive from Bordeaux (Le Cap Feret) to Dieppe in 1 day. So comfortable.
Bought for £600 in Croydon as an ex wedding car.

Merc C200 sport W202. Fantastic car, Great balance. Not an AMG. White dials, leather interior. No idea why they made them. Didn't compete with a M BMW or the AMG so few were sold but a post '98 Chrysler take over meant it was a rot box. Mechanically sound but a rust bucket.
Picked it up as a repossession for just over a grand. P/x'd it for:

SAAB 2.2 se turbo. Great in a straight line. So solidly built but chewed front tyres for fun and sucked fuel for Sweden.
Real handful on twisty country roads.
Heated seats. More buttons and dials than an A390 but they all worked! P/x'd it for:

Merc 220cdi. Super economy, never let me down but also a post 98 Merc and sold for breaking or spares due to rust after 60,000 miles of ownership and 145,000 miles on the clock. Never, ever felt like I was driving a Merc. Hated it.

Merc 220 petrol W202, full leather interior, multi CD player. Still got it. Nearly restored, just a few bits to do. Built in 95 and properly built - solid. It had 1 owner before me who took fantastic care of it and I vowed to take her back to former glory. Will sell soon. Bought for a measly £650.

Porsche 944. So much fun. Handles so well. Work in progress after a full restoration, nearly there.

Porsche 997. They get under your skin in a way no other car will. I'll die when it dies.

Also had much use of 330cdi sprinter. Guess what - rusted to death and a VW LT35. Super solid V dub but a bit gutless.

Fraud Transit van, LWB. Workhorse and general skip bought to do PPP. Just died and have sold it for the engine which is a bullet proof Duratorq 2.4l. Comfortable but like all Fraud vans, the gearing is shyte. Only right when fully loaded.

Having been in the trade, I drove lots of vehicles from Ferrari's to Shove-it's, err, I mean Chevettes and Allagro's but the one car that stands out is my friends C2 2.7 Alpina in Gun metal grey with leather interior. What an engine, what a car.
What a beautiful, stylish, well proportioned vehicle that just had this seamless pick up.
Also a 1.6 205 - another friends. So quick and so much fun.
Had use of a Renault 5 Monaco. That was a surprising little run around. Drove it up to Scotland and back. It cruised.

shirley_basso

997 over a 996?

Can't take my eye of this one:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12249248

photonic69

shirley_basso said:

997 over a 996?

Can't take my eye of this one:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12249248

My mate has the 996 4S Cabriolet. Stunning car. Sticks to the road like a limpet. Just that most roads are now too fcked to drive it properly.

Pross

Clive Sinclair was 35 years too early. Judging by some people's tastes and opinions on here the C5, with a modern battery, would have been flying out of the showrooms. He'd have made enough money to start his own space programme.

pinno

shirley_basso said:

997 over a 996?

Definitely. Don't like those front headlights on the 996.
Would love a 993. Possibly the 911 that ticks all boxes:
Better handling than the 964 turbo (not as over powered)
Air cooled
Styling is still iconic 911 before everything was rounded off a little bit too much
Not over engineered
No LCD displays, all analogue dials
Retains that purely (sparse) functional interior.

But, either way - the 996 or 997: last of the analogue 911's. (I can work on it).
I doubt I would replace the 997 with something more modern.

Personally, I think you should consider a Cayman for your first Porker.
Handling is superb. Older one's are serious VFM. Use it for 10,000 miles and p/x it for a 996/997.

pinno

Pross said:

Clive Sinclair was 35 years too early. Judging by some people's tastes and opinions on here the C5, with a modern battery, would have been flying out of the showrooms. He'd have made enough money to start his own space programme.

They were far too low to the ground.

pinno

photonic69 said:

Just that most roads are now too fcked to drive it properly.

This ^. So you take it to a track and have some real fun legally and safely.

veronese68

pinno said:

Pross said:

Clive Sinclair was 35 years too early. Judging by some people's tastes and opinions on here the C5, with a modern battery, would have been flying out of the showrooms. He'd have made enough money to start his own space programme.

They were far too low to the ground.

Yet desperately unstable 😂

First.Aspect

pinno said:

shirley_basso said:

997 over a 996?

Definitely. Don't like those front headlights on the 996.
Would love a 993. Possibly the 911 that ticks all boxes:
Better handling than the 964 turbo (not as over powered)
Air cooled
Styling is still iconic 911 before everything was rounded off a little bit too much
Not over engineered
No LCD displays, all analogue dials
Retains that purely (sparse) functional interior.

But, either way - the 996 or 997: last of the analogue 911's. (I can work on it).
I doubt I would replace the 997 with something more modern.

Personally, I think you should consider a Cayman for your first Porker.
Handling is superb. Older one's are serious VFM. Use it for 10,000 miles and p/x it for a 996/997.

Controversial, but the main reason I've never considered a Porsche to be desirable - even if I could afford to have a play car that I can't transport a boat on, or a bike in - is that they are pig ugly. But we seriously considered a first gen Cayman. Better balanced design by far.

(Didn't get one on account of living on a single track road at 900ft in Scotland. One car that is useless 2-3 months of the year is quite enough.)

ddraver

Slightly OT - what do the Motorbikers carry to deal with punctures?

I had one yesterday and I'm slightly ashamed to say it genuinely flummoxed me. On a proper bike you carry a tube under the saddle, in a car you have a spare wheel. On a motorbike...???

(It was slow enough that I could get home by pumping it up every 15 mins or so and going very careful, but it's not a problem I'd like to have again if poss...)