Summer Fun Car

[Dion]

I want one of these bad boys

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Actually I might as well put this out there in this thread, I just purchased an 82 trans am that is a piece of crap right now. I am going to turn it gradually into a Knight Replica because I am a loser like that and I was obssessed with owning KITT as a child. Maybe I will start a thread to update the progress as I go.

Awesome! I had an '82 Trans Am WS6 back in the day. I rebuilt the 305 and cammed it and did the exhaust, it went like hell. The transmission and the rear end promptly grenaded and also had to be rebuilt .

It was wiped out by an old lady who ran a stop sign. Put a small dent in her enormous Lincoln, wrote off the T/A. Sad day.

I also had a Fiero. We could stuff about 5 people in there in a pinch. Fun summer car, brutal winter car. Good traction but did not like to turn or stop. Good times.

[woob]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Haha, that's pretty much exactly it, Pylon...the "Ferrari" look that no kid can get over. That last gen-especially.

Put a Ferrari badge on the hood and I feel like you could fool more than a few girls. Clearly lots of people had the same idea, because that's probably the #1 car people used for their crappy kit-kar conversions.

Awww sheeet.

I remember my cousin bought one just like this one. He and his buddy brought it up to the cabin a couple weekends later and I was in kid car heaven. Thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen up close. They took me for a ride in it, them in the seats and me sitting on the center console, no seatbelt or anything. We drove to Fairmont and back and on the way, doing 130, they convinced me to stick my head out the sunroof. That was a blast, literally.

Regarding Boxsters, I just don't get excited about them. Yeah, they're a cheap ticket into driving a newer Porsche, but to me, they're like the Honda Civic of Porsche. Cheap and cheap looking even though they probably drive nice.

[Young-Sneezy]

Gentlemans Porsche:



Ladies Porsche:



Please dont buy a Boxster...

[Young-Sneezy]

To be constructive...

options? (all found on Kijiji)

06 M3 Convertible 27k (as per the ad)



Another one in standard



2000 911


07 S4

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Dion

I want one of these bad boys

Geez Dion. If you weren't so unreasonable about your politics, I have a feeling we could almost be friends IRL. (j/k)

I'm more of a Chevelle guy. Something like this:



If not that, I'd go for one of the cars my grandfather used to own.

'66 TBird (Matt Helm's car)



'60 Impala



How about a Mustang?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Dion

I like where it's parked.

"Sir, you can either keep the car, or you can have your kids back."

"Okay, if that's what it takes...Enjoy the foster home kids."

[Northendzone]

whatever you buy, you should go buy it from a place that is a play on words, or has a backwards Z in thier name where an S should be.

My recommondation is a AMC Pacer, or a car my dad bought new when I was a kid:



this bad boy is perfectly balanced, as the front is as long as the rear. You'll be able to get about8 of your friends in there.....

[darklord700]

I'm the OP and thanks for the replies. After driving appliance cars all my life (civic, camry, you name it) I think it's time to indulge myself and get something fun. I figure interest on $30K is only like $1K a year and depreciation shouldn't too bad on a 10 year old car.

But it must be a 4 seater hardtop as I have to carry small kids in the back from time to time. I'll do some more research and I hope I can cross one thing on my bucket list this summer.

[AR_Six]

I'll throw my hat into the ring... this is the "summer fun" car I always wanted.



1992 NSX.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Young-Sneezy

Ladies Porsche

Please. The only ladies Porsche is the Cayenne.

Originally Posted by woob

Regarding Boxsters, I just don't get excited about them. Yeah, they're a cheap ticket into driving a newer Porsche, but to me, they're like the Honda Civic of Porsche. Cheap and cheap looking even though they probably drive nice.

I always wonder why people are so concerned about the price of someone else's car. People should be glad that there's a cheap affordable option for those of us who aren't surgeons or oil-tycoons. Sure it's one of the cheaper Porsche's (the base Cayenne is actually the cheapest btw), but who gives a crap? A 2-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive convertible is pretty much the epitome of fun. In many ways, the Boxster/Cayman is much more like the old Porsche's than the 911 is. The new 911 has pretty much grown into a GT, while these are still agile sports cars.

People who knock the Boxster have usually never actually drive one. Same goes for the Miata, who I'm sure half the people here think is a chick car too, yet for some reason almost every racing-school uses them.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Young-Sneezy

Gentlemans Porsche:



Ladies Porsche:



Please dont buy a Boxster...

hahahahaha a mate of mine, a macho man contractor bought himself a Bozster, called it his "Hair Dresser Porsche".

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by darklord700

I'm the OP and thanks for the replies. After driving appliance cars all my life (civic, camry, you name it) I think it's time to indulge myself and get something fun. I figure interest on $30K is only like $1K a year and depreciation shouldn't too bad on a 10 year old car.

But it must be a 4 seater hardtop as I have to carry small kids in the back from time to time. I'll do some more research and I hope I can cross one thing on my bucket list this summer.

I see the type of car you're interested in (higher-class cars, generally). Since you've had a lot of suggestions on those, I'll throw out my suggestion based on personal experience as I'm in a similar boat to you with small kids.

Don't write off convertibles. I have never wanted one in my life, but I ended up buying one in 2011 as I had been looking for a hard-top Mustang GT, but stumbled upon a deal I couldn't refuse on a soft top. Turns out the convertible aspect of the car is the best part about it. If you haven't been in many in your life, the only thing I can compare it to is like driving an open air speedboat around city streets or on country/mountain roads. The smells, the changes in air temperature through valleys or in shady sections of a street, the sounds, etc. It's a really organic feeling and a totally different motoring experience.

My kids lose their junk every time I press the button to take the top down. It has become a great pleasure in our lives and it symbolizes fun for our family - my wife or I will take it to run around or meet friends or whatever and it's enjoyable, but if all four of us pile in on a nice day to go on a picnic, or out for ice cream, or to a party/BBQ, or to walk around Fishcreek Park, we all know it's going to be a fun family day.

I have this memory from last summer of driving out to Kananaskis one day. I had the top up leaving Calgary because it was rush hour and I didn't want to be sitting in traffic with the top down inhaling exhaust fumes. Anyway, I got to the top of the giant hill about halfway to the mountains and pulled over like it was a pit stop, put the top down, hammered on the gas and pulled back into the spot I had been in just 30 seconds prior, but with the top up. It sounds cheesy, but pull that stunt with a 4 and a six-year old screeching with delight in the backseat and you'll be a hero. Then there we were driving in the mountains a few minutes later enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells without a cocoon of a car around us. It's amazing, man.

A hardtop sports car is cramped and uncomfortable for kids and they'll never want to go in it, which means you'll get to drive it less.

[woob]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Please. The only ladies Porsche is the Cayenne.



I always wonder why people are so concerned about the price of someone else's car. People should be glad that there's a cheap affordable option for those of us who aren't surgeons or oil-tycoons. Sure it's one of the cheaper Porsche's (the base Cayenne is actually the cheapest btw), but who gives a crap? A 2-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive convertible is pretty much the epitome of fun. In many ways, the Boxster/Cayman is much more like the old Porsche's than the 911 is. The new 911 has pretty much grown into a GT, while these are still agile sports cars.

People who knock the Boxster have usually never actually drive one. Same goes for the Miata, who I'm sure half the people here think is a chick car too, yet for some reason almost every racing-school uses them.

Not concerned, just my opinion. And the funny thing is, I'm a big Miata fan. I think they look good and are a blast to drive. The Boxster just doesn't do it for me.

[Sliver]

I'd love to drive a Miata, but at 6'3" I can't wedge myself in.

[-TC-]

how about a Honda S2000?

That's where I'm leaning...

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Sliver

A hardtop sports car is cramped and uncomfortable for kids and they'll never want to go in it, which means you'll get to drive it less.

Thanks for the advice. I always though hardtop is safer for kids in the back. I'll look into open top and short trips to the mountains wtih my family in the summer is exactly why I wanted a summer sports car in the first place.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Thanks for the advice. I always though hardtop is safer for kids in the back. I'll look into open top and short trips to the mountains wtih my family in the summer is exactly why I wanted a summer sports car in the first place.

I struggle with that a bit, too, to be honest. A hard top is safer. We tend to be pretty safety-focused people, but as with anything you have to find a balance between safety and enjoying life. I'm extra cautious with the car to the extent I can be because it's a soft top, but at the end of the day it's less safe for the kids, no doubt about it.

They are in the convertible far less than they are in our safer daily drivers and we don't take it out if the weather sucks, so I think that mitigates some of the risk. Also, mountain and country drives aren't going to be a daily occurrence, where the speeds are faster. More often than not we drive it to friends' houses (most of our friends live close by), Fish Creek, etc. so I tell myself that also lowers the probability of some crazy accident where we'd be rolling over or something.

[Hatter]

2003-2004 Cobra. They don't call it the Terminator for nothing.

[Dion]

For those on a very low budget.....