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Cars you Love (pg. 82)
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| gehzumteufel |
| quote: | Originally posted by pmoisse
Great article!
I love dodgy like this, though I would never go near it myself. |
lol I would. The thing is, the company is technically doing it legal, even if it is the definition of shady. |
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| pmoisse |
| quote: | Originally posted by gehzumteufel
lol I would. The thing is, the company is technically doing it legal, even if it is the definition of shady. |
hmm, you make a good case! Ahh, who am I kidding? I'm such a sucker for a good project that I would take the plunge on this one. |
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| gehzumteufel |
| quote: | Originally posted by pmoisse
hmm, you make a good case! Ahh, who am I kidding? I'm such a sucker for a good project that I would take the plunge on this one. |
Same. If this manufacturer plate was swapped in the US, I would never bother. But being that it is done overseas before the US has anything to do with it, it is a good way to skirt the R33 and R34 ban on newly imported ones. |
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| Lilith |
| quote: | Originally posted by gehzumteufel
Same. If this manufacturer plate was swapped in the US, I would never bother. But being that it is done overseas before the US has anything to do with it, it is a good way to skirt the R33 and R34 ban on newly imported ones. |
I don't know why you'd bother with a plethora of similarly priced vehicles like the Corvettes, Vipers and so on, already made in-country and much easier to maintain in terms of parts, finding someone to fix them.
Those RB26DETT's are highly strung out of the factory. They also cost about $7-8000 for a new one when you (invariably) blow it up or spin bearings. |
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| Moongoose |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lilith
I don't know why you'd bother with a plethora of similarly priced vehicles like the Corvettes, Vipers and so on, already made in-country |
Oh so many reason, but i would guess one of them would be a desire to drive a good sports car. |
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| Lilith |
Corvettes and Viper's have quite a distinguished track record in quite a few races. Sure, they're a bit agricultural in a lot of ways, but they're also surprisingly robust and easy to fix, tune up and massive amounts of torque.
I like Skylines, I looked at over 18 GTR's when shopping for a new sports car, the R32's are all blown up and thrashed, the R33's are a bit of a dud and the R34's tend to be slightly overpriced for what they are. |
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| Moongoose |
But with all that power, they are still more akin to a sledgehammer where perhaps a more precise tool is needed. Saying that, the second reason why one would bother importing a skyline over buying a sledgehammer is these are two distinct types of sports cars, each with its own set of customers. The type of people that buy vipers probably dont buy skylines (unless they are Jay Leno or some similar petrolhead with more money than god), and vice versa, so if ones looking for a skyline its doubtful that any of the american made stuff is a viable alternative (unless he doesnt really care about cars but just wants to pose in something shiny)
Personally i dont like it if a mechanic from the early 1900s could look under the hood of my car and say "oh no problem, i can fix that", but the other side when a mechanic isn't a mechanic but a team of asians running around with laptops while wearing lab coats doesn't appeal to me as well. That's why i prefer european cars, they are somewhere in the middle and also come in two flavours, full of passion or serious (but not overly) engineered :D |
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| Lilith |
European cars are outrageously overpriced here in Australia.
Most of the American stuff we don't see at all, but we do make some very good local vehicles which have American engines and coming into their own as sports sedans.
Japanese is still fairly much the way to go as our middle ground, plenty of parts, people to fix it and the vehicles aren't that expensive.
I finally sold our Mazda MX5 today. Bought it quite cheaply, had a few bits and pieces fixed on it and I actually made about $1500 profit, nearest and dearest didn't manage to ding it learning to drive a manual and we now finally have a bit of room in the garage. |
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| Moongoose |
One wonders just how many people actually buy japanese or european cars over there, because if your version of Top Gear is anything to go by, a large portion of australia is wiling to go to war to resolve which is better, ford or holden (such a silly reason since its obvious that they both suck :P).
Shame about the mx5 though, its a good lilttle car provided you're not too tall for it and current vesion in nowhere near as good as the 1st and 2nd gen were.
Also if you're a man and driving an mx5...it makes you look a bit gay. |
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| pmoisse |
^ I'm 6'3" and I drove a 1st gen MX5 for 5 years. It was anything but a gay little car, and neither were any of the ones that I raced against (lots were turbo'd or supercharged).
Sure they're a cute little car, popular with old dudes who like a slow Sunday drive, but it's an excellent little sportscar.
I agree with what Lilith is saying though. The new Vettes are great value for money if you want lots of power and adequate performance handling. The Pontiac GTO which was a re-badged Holden is also great. Same big Vette engine but with room for 4 people and groceries. It's also quite a sleeper too, and even better, they didn't sell well so the dealers were virtually giving them away at huge discounts.
Bringing a car from a foreign market is always a big risk. Parts and service are very expensive, nevermind all the legal to deal with. |
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| Lilith |
lol, I'm 5ft nothing and she's 5'8ish... if anything I needed a cushion to raise me up a bit :p
It was an older 1600cc one with the pop up lights I found for about 2500, needed a new passenger door, roof and gearbox but I got my uncle to do that for us along with a little bit of paint to tidy it up. They definitely need more power, you're not going to break any speed records in them, but the handling was astonishing.
| quote: | Originally posted by Moongoose
One wonders just how many people actually buy japanese or european cars over there, because if your version of Top Gear is anything to go by, a large portion of australia is wiling to go to war to resolve which is better, ford or holden (such a silly reason since its obvious that they both suck :P). |
Its television, its rubbish :D
I quite liked my Holden thankyou very much, it was only a 2003 Caprice (4door) but all it needed was an aftermarket exhaust, cams, ECU and headers to drop out 500nm of torque and 250kw at the rear wheels, some big monotube Bilstein shocks, heavier springs to tighten up the feel. Not very expensive at all really, very fast, comfortable and handled as well as any BMW I've ever driven.
A new M3 here is well over $180,000...
I might be rich, but I'm not stupid. |
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| Slylee |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lilith
Corvettes and Viper's have quite a distinguished track record in quite a few races. Sure, they're a bit agricultural in a lot of ways, but they're also surprisingly robust and easy to fix, tune up and massive amounts of torque.
I like Skylines, I looked at over 18 GTR's when shopping for a new sports car, the R32's are all blown up and thrashed, the R33's are a bit of a dud and the R34's tend to be slightly overpriced for what they are. |
my best friend is always trying to convince me that corvettes and vipers are amazing cars. i call them "rich redneck cars" lol
i am starting to appreciate vettes though. you get A LOT of car for the money. |
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