New Car!
 

okay........

I am considering getting a new car!... but there is nothing out there that has blown me away... yet!

has anyone got any suggestions? (I currently have an Audi A3)

I am after something thats gonna do some miles, look good, be as efficient as possible on fuel, and its gotta be sensible and have room for stuff in the boot... and its gotta be something Mrs Photek won't get scared driving! (O' and no American or English makes!)

Best I can come up with is the new style A3 or A4, Golf GTI... possibly a second hand Lotus Elise (yes I know that goes against everything I wrote above!)

help..... I am stumped!

This thread might inspire you:

http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=41585

theres alot of VW, Mazda or Citron drivers frequenting this forum!

We're shopping and just drove a Golf TDI, Beetle TDI, and Toyota Prius hybrid. All were very nice. I like the Beetle a lot, very economical but shockingly roomy and sporty. The TDI (diesel) is low maintenance and very thrifty (40-45 MPG).

The Toyota Prius is space age, very electronic, very cool. 45-55 MPG is normal, but it's got power. The electric motor gives you about 300 ft-lbs of torque, on par with a V8. Very roomy and comfortable.

I have a 2005 Golf GLS TDI, about 1 1/2 years old now. Me and my wife love it. Great milage. I have tracked it since it was new and here's some of my numbers. Sorry they are metric.

Average over total of 34,000km 5.882 L/100km
Best milage 5.198 L/100km
Worst milage 6.8 L/100km
I usually get about 700-750km per tank (55L), and fill up at mmost once per week or currently once per month. :)

This was one leg on a road trip from Toroto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia and back via Quebec. On the way back I filled up as we left, again in Edmonston, NB before entering Quebec and one last time jsut after entering Ontartio from Quebec. A 19 hour drive with only two fill-ups on the way.

The company I work for uses Red VW Beetles as company cars...guess who. Everyone wants the TDI.

I love the VW TDI, whichever one, Golf or Beetle.

a black saab 900 turbo
http://www.saabturbo.nl/sander/SAAB_NG_900_TURBO.jpg

if i ever find myself lying face down in the snow covered road in zurich, having just felt a bullet pop through my back, that, is the car i would like to see speeding away from the scene of the crime.
hopefully driven by a man with one metal eye covered in an eyepatch.

its scandinavian brilliance, an evil machine. luxurious inside.
a man's car. pure sex on wheels.

high end sports cars are limp wristed when faced with the style of this beast.

i think if i were to drive it, i'd wear tight black, and even wear a black visor moterbike helmet inside of it. grrrrrrr!

asides from that, i'd say that saabs are the macs of the car world, a knowing wink of the fellow saab driver always ensues the kick of the turbo.
(but dont wink if you have one metal eye, or are in a blacked out helmet)

Two words: Audi A6!

I've got no experience with them, but I've sure got a soft spot for the looks of the Peugots 206, 307, 407 etc. Mmmm...like that French stylin'

I've also got a friend who's very happy with his Honda Civic Hybrid

okay....... we are on the right track!

VW's are cool.... and a Golf GTI or TDI would be slick! not sure about the Beetle though... bit camp for me ;)

missbeehive.... I wasn't gonna mention it... my GF has given me stick for it but... I really like the Saab 95 and Aero.... but is it a bit of an old mans car? I am only 28!

And nmeadow... yeh a A6 would be cool.... but an A8! its like a luxury cruise liner on wheels!... I would ideally like the S6

anyone else got any thoughts?

old man!? no way!

just 'man'!

but then, if girlfriend's wearing the trousers...

i'm 27 and wanted in 18 countries and have a liscence to kill, i drive a saab.

the rest are boy car penis extensions, the saab driver know's he is well equiped.

(man i'd love to work in a saab showroom and just hit them with total assassin patter)

last thing i'll say though, sit inside one, try driving one, think about alpine roads and machine gunners on skis.

BMW 3 series...M3 if you can afford it.

second hand 51/2 plate could be done.... nice car!

top of the list at the moment.. in black :D

Check out fifth gears site for some ideas. How about a BMW 1 series they great fun, if a bit expencive. What sort of price range are you looking at?

actually, yeah, can't knock a black beamer
another vehicle of choice for the spy class.

leather driving gloves a must in this one, and a nice bit of barry adamson on the stereo.
nice.

are you kinky? :D

I think I might go look at a few M3's this weekend... I am gonna fly past the Audi garage and also Daemon Hills Garage in Leamington too... see what takes my fancy.

I think if I am honest.. I am a bit of a boy racer at heart and would like something daft like a fully spec'd Evo! On that note... a Lamborgini was parked outside my local shop yesterday... and Jeeees they are amazing looking cars.. bit outa my price bracket though!

My favourite BMW is the M Series Z4 Coupe.

Add to that a brown turtle neck under a tweed jacket with elbow patches and a pipe? ;)

no no no no no!
you aren't getting it!
black polo neck!
black wool coat
cigarette holder!

see??

honestly does no one else live in a ficticious world of spys guns and swiss bank accounts?

i only wear tweed, when i am out shooting pheasant on my nemisis' private grounds, while we share some polight banter and deadly metaphors about how we are going to destroy eachother...

...and i drive a mercedes that on those days.

okay I am there now.

I guess your brand of cigs is Dunhill, the inner lining of your jacket is a marl grey silk and your wearing Chanel No5. You probiably only drink 20 year old real scottish malt whiskey and the gear knob in your car (as well as the seats) are anodine leather!

am I close?

close but no banana!

swap dunhill for either gitane or gauloises (sans filtre)
and a coat lined in microfilm!

but yeah,
game's a bogey now eh?


but you'll never take me alive damnit! (bites into cyanide capsule)

The M3 is almost perfect...the perfect car is the BMW M5. Race car in sedan form :-) bit spendy though...

How about an Infiniti G35 Coupe

http://www.infiniti.com/g_coupe/phot...or_photos.html

Cars worth checkin’ out...
 

.
May I suggest a Morgan? They don’t come much classier than that. The front page of their website says it all. And as a well-cared-for used car, you’re likely to get all your money back and then some should you decide to get rid of it.

If you want a real head-turner, go with that brilliant Norwegian car (if you can get ’em): Think. Then, of course, another guaranteed attention getter is the Trabant. In either case, Photek, you’ll be the only one on your block.

Missbeehive is right – Saabs are the Mac of the automobile world. About 25-30 years ago they made a really cool sports car. Not sure what that model was called.

Even more beautiful, in my opinion, is the Citroen DS. Take a look at an original 1960 brochure. Voldenuit posted lots of good info in the thread he linked to.

Whatever you do, stay away from butt-ugly cars like Cadillacs, Hummers and Corvettes. No sense of elegance, understatement or harmony. (Money is no excuse for bad taste.)

Harmony? A Jaguar. Man, there are some true veteran beautys! Check out the XK, various years. On the other hand, their standard sedan is perhaps one of the most exquisitely proportioned cars ever designed -- an automotive masterpiece!!

Chutem... yeh M3's are nice, a drop top one in black with monster alloys ripped past me on the way home!... its top of my budget... but top of my list too!

LoneShark..... never heard of infiniti... its nice... looks a bit 'lexussy' I guess its outa my league though!

Stones.... what do you do for a living? I know you have some views I share... but not on cars! :D your post has to be one of the best collections of wonderfully designed but quirky cars I have ever seen. I love the Morgan.. but it looks like its been driven into a lamp post, the Trabant is very similar to a lot of British cars of the 60's, and looks a bit like that car that would go on water as well as tarmac! No worries about buying an American car, not a fan of the styling with the exception of the AC Cobra (which was originally British!) and the stearing wheel is on the wrong side ;)

what car you got? just outa interest..

Hopefully no less than a 300 SL I presume, considering your exquisite car taste so far ;) .

It's sad to see that cars with a real personality such as the Citroën DS, the original Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche 911 etc. are replaced by less and less original designs. European car producers also completely lost out on hybrids because they didn't see it coming.

BMW is certainly an interesting option, especially for geeks, as they pushed the onboard electronics really far. If you stop by your BMW garage, more often than not, you'll get a new OS version loaded to fix bugs and add features...

Give me a tailored iPod accessory!
 

Okay, ok... The Think and Trabant were thrown in to raise a smile. :cool: But the rest of my suggestions were serious.

A BMW, Voldenuit? I suppose I would have to settle for that as an iPod accessory. ;) But I would far prefer an electronically tailored Jaguar or Porsche 911. The latter is the perfect family car -- fits the wife or your kid.

Photek, I’m a copywriter. All sorts of stuff. Including car adverts and TV commercials for ’em.

Own a car? ’Fraid not. And my bike was stolen about eight years ago. I do have keys to a friend’s Toyota Hiac, which I use to pick up garden supplies, groceries, our kids and other essentials. Otherwise I take the bus or walk.

Best regards,
ArcticStones

Ahhhh a Cunning Linguist!

I had the luxury last year of working near my house... it was a 10 min walk to work through a park... i really miss that, made me feel fit.. and I saved no end of money on petrol, services ect!

.
Cunni’ linguist? Well, I suppose. But I actually did a double major in Mathematics and Art Studio; ended up in this field partly by accident. It’s good fun.

One thing nice about Bergen is that everything is pretty much within walking distance. We’re outside the town centre, but even so it’s only a 20 min walk.

The price of petrol (gasoline) is approaching NOK 12 per litre. That’s about USD 1.85 -- which of course is what it should be in the USA as well. Now that would inspire a bout of serious conservation efforts, to the advantage of our whole planet! :)
(No tomatoes please, organic or otherwise...)

The problem with Jags, amongst most English cars is they get way to many vertical miles (always in the shop on the lift). I do agree they are beautiful though...Aston Martins make me drool. I will say the Japanese makes are really coming on strong, especially the luxuries like Lexus (toyota), Infiniti (nissan) or Acura (honda). Speaking of those I think my next car may be an Acura TSX. Great car for only 25K USD. If I had more money than I knew what to do with though I would have an BMW M5. One thing about Saab...I think the quality has really gone down since being bought by GM.

.
How about this one?

OK, their design department is crappy these days, here's the original inspiration to the concept car you posted:

http://www.seriouswheels.com/abc/BMW-328-Silver-FA.htm

NICE! I think that would suit MissBeehive's spy thing!

looks like a Morgan with a BMW badge!

I am off to look at cars after the Grand Prix qualifying later!

These are what it's all about
 

http://www.saleen.com/ - Check out the S7

http://www.koenigsegg.com/ - The CCX would be a pretty amazing deathtrap

http://www.noblecars.com/home.htm - The M15, or a 12 or a 400 if you don't want to splash the cash

Instead of an M3, how about this? Same running gear and engine but with that classic British style and elegance - http://www.wiesmann.com/

Or in the vein of one of your previous posts, the car that got the 70 mph limit imposed on UK motorways - http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find...lCarID=1697853 - this one doesn't have that beast of an engine that is so hard to track down though - good for 40 grand though.

Or last but not least how about this one - meets all the criteria! - http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/...php?carno=4250

food for thought!

oooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhmmmmmmnnn

totally out of my league.... but I would sell my soul to satan for one of those! :D As it happens my GF is writing a piece on them and I am hoping she gets offered a test drive (which I can steal)! She got offered a test drive in a Maclaren Mercedes a year or so ago and turned it down!!!!! I had words.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. There is a Koenigsegg in town here, purchased by a guy called Idar Vollvik after he sold his mobile phone company Chess. With Norwegian fees and taxes, that delicious Swede him back slightly more than USD 1 million. Probably cheaper where you are -- say, 10–15 years of normal salary?

A hefty car! I like the other ones Marclutch posted, too.

if you want reliability, comfort and some performance, i may recommend you a volvo.
drove a S40 T4 for more than 2 years, sold it at 120000km last year. i saw the man that bought it from me a few days ago and he was still very happy with the car (i think its coming to 200000 and there s still no real problem)

i bought a 01 impreza wrx after s40, and sometimes i miss volvo. of course it wasnt fast and fun like the impreza but it was much more reliable, fast enough and never caused problems although i was always pushing it.

so i say <why not the new S40> : )

did you see Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson taking a Koenigsegg out on the track? AMAZING!

The Stig and Clarkson told Koenigsegg it could get the top lap time on thei rtrack if the car had a rear wing to glue the back tires to the ground... so Koenigsegg said they will make one with a spoiler on especially and send it back over to be tested!

What with the current energy crisis and the rape of the Earth's atmosphere some links on efficiency:

www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworst.shtml
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/26/Auto..._mpg/index.htm

But why not join the Critical Mass folks! Don't drive it...ride it! :)

http://www.critical-mass.org
www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk

Bitzomondo, I agree 100% with you (except for the bike thing!) but WHY o WHY are all energy efficent cars Sooooooo Butt Ugly!

There is a real market out there for a green car that looks good.

Nah sod that. Give me a hemi any day of the week.

WHAT THIS......http://www.diseno-art.com/images/Dodge-Super-8-Hemi.jpg

thats fugly.. infact no.... it pugfugly!


'only in America!' and it can stay there too!

Yup. agreed. For the most part the Americans don't have a clue how to design a good looking car. Or one that handles. Or is as reliable as it should be.

There are notable exceptions.

But ask yourself why Ford lost nearly $900m last year. Cos they make the f series trucks. Put the engine in a GT. boom. chevy and their new Z06. Fantastic. Faster than a ferrari 430, and $160000 cheaper (admittedly the ride comfort is similar to a horse and cart, but you can't have everything....)

Please America wake up before tens of thousands lose their jobs and icon of your great nation is lost forever.

cant help thinking your gonna get told off for 'Americanbashing' :D

but it is an interesting point.... Dont get me wrong... I know the UK Car producing market is no shining beacon of light..... but its interesting to see what is generally considered as 'good taste'....

Its funny... coz you rarely see American cars in Europe... but there are a hell of a lot of European cars in America...

odd though.... as a Brit, I really like German cars.

what a crazy mixed up world we live in!!

Industrial leadership is not forever: Cars got invented in Europe, mass production pioneered by Ford in America and these days both completely missed out on hybrid technology...

There's an economical absurdity in financing road infrastructure on tax money while railroads have to pay for their own infrastructure. This results in transportation choices which may make micro-economical sense for users and truck companies but do a lot of damage on the macro-economical level (more casualties, more pollution).

With the political systems in most industrialised countries having evolved into keepers of the status quo of corporate interest, there is not much hope this is going to change unless some kind of grassroots power-to-the-people thing happens.

And please, do not mis-understand this as some Europe-is-better-than-America ranting as it unfortunately happened to the big SUV-thread some time ago. The level of awareness for certain problems certainly differs from country to country, but the gravity of the crisis calls for global awareness and action rather than my-country-is-better-than-yours kindergarten-level bickering.

--
edit
marchutch, that was not directed at your post, but a general preemptive strike to avoid what happened in this thread:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=45638

Anyone who reads into my last post as America bashing has sorely missed the point. I love America as a country. I am 23, on a student budget, and have still been there 8 times, whenever finances allow.

I just do not wish to see an icon of America fade away. Detroit seems to be just starting to beat again, and now it and all the other car producing centres of the USA are going to go into terminal decline. Not because the big players in the domestic car industry are failing to learn from their mistakes (although this does seem to be a fairly common trait in America: OK so that was America bashing!) but because they are failing to learn from their rivals' success.

The Americans say that we Brits are bad at taking criticism....

Oh and incidentally, I can get high 50's mpg out of my HDi Peugeot 306 if I change gear before 2000rpm. Hybrids aren't anything special.

Ok I will be honest. I like cars. They are my escape vehicles for a quiet drive around the highway in moments of stress...but in trying to keep up my subversive ecological image here, I pray for the day of car-less societies with extensive networks of eco-efficiently run and technologically flawless PTS (public transport systems). You know, the ones with quiet 'whirr' sounds and impeccable female/male computer voices. And plus, no more cheeky oil-crazed presidents! :mad:

Initiatives:
http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference/

Do cars make us happy though?
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/We..._car__59d.html


Still.... I'd love to roar down a country lane on a F430 Ferrari!!

America being such a big place we love our V8's. Americans also seem to like big cars. You don't see those in Europe because they don't fit well on your roads, or into you lifestyles. Generally Americans don't think much about driving long distances, they just do it. I really wish american car companies would build better looking more reliable cars, but they see to like to build the cheapest vehicles to maximize profit margin. Just my $.02.

Same reason that is literally killing GM; stifling payments to former workers and current useless workers due to pressures from the unions. If the unions don't stop making them bleed cash, they're just going to fold...and then what will be left for the unions to take?

For the American situation, see the situation in the UK a couple of decades ago. It's not the trade unions fault. It's down to mismanagement.

I’m sure there is room for different perceptions here. Perhaps we would be wise to remember Dan Quayle’s novel explanation of the US bank crisis:

"Bank failures are caused by depositors who don't deposit enough money to cover losses due to mismanagement."

GM is saddled with a $100 billion (Yes, with a B) pension plan. The import car companies are not. US car companies are forced to keep useless employees because of union regulations and agreements. The import companies are not.

You can't bleed cash from a company and then also expect it to compete with companies that don't have the same expenses.

Kaizen -- the philosophy of improvement and innovation
 

Hold on a minute! Many Japanese companies, including Japanese automobile producers, have for decades virtually had an unwritten "job for life" contract with their employees. That’s a far cry from the Western (or multinational) norm.

The Japanese idea shows compassion and duty, but it is also good business sense!

I find the idea of "useless workers" highly offensive -- it is anathema to me. Essentially, it reveals a consumerist attitude in owners/directors/board members towards what should be their greatest asset: their own employees. Worse: this lack of compassion is evidence of lack of innovation.

However, that consumerist attitude to people is not the only evidence of this. The unions do not explain the core woes of Ford or General Motors.

Two years ago I had the great pleasure of interviewing one of the Norwegian directors of Toyota. As you may know, Toyota consistently earns the highest consumer satisfaction scores. The reason, he explained to me, is their philosophy of Kaizen. Sometimes explained as "many steps leading to improvement". Another definition, which I prefer, is "to take it apart and put it back together in a better way." IT may refer to process, system, product or service. Thus Kaizen is also humility, a fluid approach...

In my opinion, Kaizen is the essence of innovation. Furthermore, it is a collective process in which everyone plays an essential role. But a prerequisite of results is to value and nurture the "human asset" -- which consists of real people.

"Useless workers" shows a lack of imagination in management.

I've seen them. People with a title and no job function. I've done consulting work for one of GM's largest plastics makers, and saw them surfing, playing, anything but working. Yet the job title can't be eliminated from the payroll, and they can't be told to do something "outside their job description." Conversely, under union rules, someone who is bored is NOT ALLOWED to do another person's job or help in any other way.

The anathema should be allowing people to sit around collecting pay for doing nothing.

The human assets need to be part of the process, not part of the problem. What I've seen of the union worker with my dad's company (military aerospace), my own work, and consulting, the American worker only blames management and doesn't want to be part of the solution. Union workers have an entitlement attitude, not one of responsibility.

Moving discussion
 

Carlos, I’m replying by PM -- that way Photek can have his thread focus on its original topic. :cool:

Or alternatively, start a new thread please. Because I find this debate quite useful and interesting. It is certainly relevant in terms of my studies, and would be interested in further debate.

I second that, pretty much everything from post #38 on might make a good thread on its own.

That way, we can keep the boys-will-be-boys part here and still have a more serious discussion on other aspects of automobile society.

no..... just keeping putting the world to rights on this thread...! :D


it makes my post look more popular than they really are! :cool:

You bet:

Arctic and Carlos:
I think it's an interesting debate to have, even if it goes way beyond "what car should I buy" more into the "what society would I like to live in".

There may be "abuse" of union power, whoever looking out for examples might want to look at the french "Syndicat du Livre" and how they hold french newspapers by the balls... However, that is not a valid argument to throw out the idea of trade unions as a necessary instrument to balance the power between workers and corporations.

Other cultures, such as the japanese are probably hard to understand unless you've experienced it or at least read a lot.
It's certainly quite effective and making efforts towards customer satisfaction by better quality and great service sure is a simple way to success open to everyone who cares.
However, I'm not really a huge fan because this kind of "group above self"-ideology carries an unfortunate potential for extremely nefarious dictatorship. All it takes are a few completely out-of-control leaders and armies of people with the Eichmann-excuse. All of it is recent-enough history to be still remembered.
Even if it may look messy, I like the french way of street protests and strikes whenever the government does evil things. Last example: Vivendi-Universal lobbying to take interesting provisions out of a copyright bill. Whatever the outcome, probably one of the largest, most significant debates on the subject I know of.
There is nothing more valuable than an informed citizen ready to stand up for his opinions to confront corporate interests trying to pass laws assuring the status quo in favor of corporations with broken business models.

I couldn't be bothered to read all the posts, but Photek if you are still looking for a new car you have to get a Lotus Exige S. Or the slightly ugly looking europa.

I know you don't want a british car but they are great and I can honestly say that not all people in norfolk are turnip farmers, just most of them. My brother went round there lotus track near norwich last year i an elise and it looked great fun!

If you want a four seater you could always go for a proton, they may not be the best looking cars or the quickest or the best, but they are cheap reliable, own lotus and sponser norwich city (not shirt sponsers any more however).

the only reason I said no English cars was that they are all out of my league (Aston, Lotus, Bently, Roller, TVR) and the only ones that are in my league are Rovers! And I would rether prefer to walk! :D

The Lotus is nice though... very nice

The more I have looked into getting a new car the more I am swinging the diesel way.. The A3's and Golf's get a crazy MPG and the BMW 320's not to bad either.. I have never had a diesel car... but they are getting better all the time... you can even run them on old chip fat or coconut oil (yeh I know its not that simple!)

Gonna go test drive a BMW on Tuesday!

The only trouble with diesel is that it sounds like a van. My dad has a 5 series touring diesel and it's fine in the car but outside it really sounds bad. But I guess if you are driving you can't hear it and shouldn't car. What about the protons then? ;).

You can pick up a second hand VW Bora TDi 150 for £6000, and then get it chipped. Can anyone say 300 lb/ft of torque? Who cares about a bit of rattle when it is churning out the same amount of torque as an early Subaru Impreza and still getting 40+ MPG!

Incidentallyt though, you should watch the way you drive a diesel after getting it chipped. My 306 delivers pretty poor mpg (like high 30's) when I cane it, and if I put my foot down in a high gear with the turbo spun down, it delivers a better smoke screen than a combat ready Challenger 2!

Torque is good. My truck is delivering 610 ft-lbs stock, and I keep thinking about adding the computer mod to bring it up to 775-ish.

And I happen to love the way a big diesel engine sounds...

With biodiesel it's actually quieter and doesn't smoke at all. Plus the exhaust smells like a chippy. Are there any places selling bio in the UK?

Mmmmm chippy!

Just to throw a wild card into the mix...... how about a Mini CooperS? Its loads cheaper than anything else, loads more fuel efficient and 0-60 is blazingly quick... or is it a bit girly?


lol ;)

I have looked into biodiesel, and the supply over here is very patchy, to non existent.
You are right about the sound of a big diesel as well. Can sound very cool. That gutsy roar from low down in the rev range is a beautiful sound in its own right. Combine that with a dump valve attached to the turbo wastegate, and my diesel sounds quite cool, and the fitting of that valve has the added advantage of reducing back pressure through to the inlet manifold, allowing the turbo to stay spooled up, reducing lag. Next: intercooling! (when I have saved up the money of course!)

Incidentally again, do people know about the Audi R10 (http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en1/exp...i_R10_TDI.html) 650Hp and 1100 N/m (yes N/m!) of torque!! An absolutely insane engine, and it is taking on the petrol engined racers in Le Mans races. It's more economical, pulls out of corners better, and has a minimally slower top speed, the way I understand it. Now if they could just fit that engine in this http://www.bowler-offroad.com/NAV1.htm then we would have ourselves the ultimate car!

Yeah, in theory, very good cars, and can be upgraded by compaines such as bbr (their cooper turbo 300 is insane, and virtually undriveable.)

But from what I have heard, the bulletproof warranty they have been offering with it (5 years free servicing for £100 down at purchase from new) has been hitting BMW badly, as has the fact that they have up to now been built to such high quality standards. So look out in the future for build quality and finish to drop, something that they can probably afford to do to a minor degree, while they bask in the reputation that they have already created for themselves.

I would hang on a while on the Mini front as well, because a new engine range is going to be unveiled soon (if it hasn't been already, I haven't checked) Also the new engines are rumoured to be used in upcoming hot Peugeots, so that might be an avenue worth investigating.

French styling, with German engineering. Now there's a combination....

They are Ok but have you seen the dashboard???!!! It looks ugly

I disagree. Think it looks cool.

Picture
if you are a woman, then maybe so.
How about a Z4 M, just watching richard hammond throw it round the topgear track!

I'm not a woman, and I find the dash and interior to be fantastically styled. I'd love one but the price is a bit excessive IMO for what you're getting.

I'll have 2!

What car do you drive?

ps... I am an interior designer... so I get the final say on weather it looks nice or not! :)

Well i'm only 18, i have a reliable ford fiesta. But some day i'll have an aston martin v8 vantage, thats a stilish car.
That counts for nothing, did you see what that frech chick on top gear wanted to do with Jermy's S class. designing is a hobby not a job.

yeh... Aston would be nice!

lol.. what about Jonathan Ives?

I'm a bloke, and I like it. That's my opinion. I also like my beer cold, my lumberjack shirt pressed neatly before bedtime, and wild flowers..... oops

C'mon dude, please accept other people's points of view. My appreciation of the dashboard in the mini is based on aesthetics, not my sex....

You're 18 and drive a Ford Fiesta? Well of course you are going to have a chip on your shoulder then. How many times you been burned at the lights by a girl in a Mini?

laughing out loud

MARK!

just check your profile... so if your hobby is modding cars... what do you drive...and how is it mod'd? And if you had Audi A3 money what would you buy?

Who?
Never
Inever said that i didn't accept your opinion. That was just my opinion.

Maybe a second hand Radical SR3 if I was feeling irresponsible. Dunno really. An Audi A3 is a fine car, and the 3.2 V6 is a fine engine. If cash flow ever allowed me to consider a car of the A3's caliber (which it won't for a good few years) then I might even be tempted to get a new mini. I would then have the styling package from the Works GP kit put on it (http://www.johncooper.co.uk/JohnCoop...%20GP%20Launch) and the Stage 5 turbo conversion from bbr (http://www.bbrgti.com/mini.php) but this would end up meaning you had a £45000 mini: a bit excessive!

I might consider a second hand Clio V6 (the old one) or a Megane 225.

My car at the moment is a bit dull, but it goes alright. It's a 306 Hdi, which has been chipped, with a dump valve, induction kit and stainless steel exhaust. Not exactly a beast, but its the best I can afford at the moment, and does churn out a decent amount of torque.

My mate raced a couple of seasons in Formula Palmer Audi, and that was the most insane car I ever drove..... like **** off a shovel.... ah those were the days!

Sorry dude, my bad then, I was a little drunk, and still pissed off that the wiring loom on my 306 went south today meaning there is no power getting to window lifters or the clock. Does my head in, but its going in for a service soon so all is not lost.

Got a car!
 

Okay...... so I just got a......


Audi A3 TDI Sport! Goes quick... does over 50mpg.... got climate control and cruise control chucked in... also and iPod compatable stereo!

They even took my old car that was making some very expensive sounding noises.. hahaha! :D

.
Congrats, Photek!
That is one beautiful looking iPod accessory.

:D

lol..... but your right!

also as a fellow environmentalist.... its actually upto 61.4 mpg....(if I drive sensibly) thats bloody amazing! Thats almost 9 times better mpg that a Bugatti Vayron!

Wow! That’s 21.7 km per litre, or only 4.6 litres per 100 km. (Um, you meant British gallons, right?

Quiz question: If you were to visit the USA, and be able to purchase dirt-cheap gasoline over there, how many states would you be able to visit on a single tank of gas (petrol :cool: ) if driving at maximum fuel efficiency (picking your point of departure and route as you please?)

will get back to you on that one!

Thats the sort of question my dad loves to work out.... I once asked him how far he would be able to see on a clear day if he was stood on the white cliffs of Dover... I only asked as a joke...! 5 mins later he had an answer for me... down to the nearest meter! :eek:

hey! 1 more post and your past the 1000 barrier... that should make you a MVP!

Yer that audi looks nice, I think you made a good choice here is what fifth gear have to say about it, and Top gear.
Will it increase in value with age? If you bought it from Syed Ahmed (off of the apprentice) it would have done, did you see the used cars sales episode?

good links!

Phew... thank god I didn't buy a lemon!

Little known fact. At a full throttle (and about 253mph) a Bugatti Vayron will burn it's whole tank in 12 minutes. At that point you doing gallons per mile, not the other way around :).

Who's gonna do 253mph?
And who's got a vayron?

To put it another way, at 253 mph you are doing about 4.2 miles per minute, giving you a range of just over 50 miles. The Veyron's tank is 22 UK gallons: so about 2.3 miles to the gallon. So the above statement is not quite true, but the fuel economy is still appaling!

Hmm, didn't think of that :). Only 50 miles? That's ugly.

And to answer the question just before. Someone who has 1.3 million dollars to spend on a car, that's who. I'd rather pay for the construction of a small college in a third world country. But I'm told there are people who have different priorities.

And, since only a billionaire can buy one I have my doubts as to whether or not it will ever see it's fully speed. It would require taking it to a dry lake bed, which would totally mess up the paint. And you know how rich people are...um, do you? I have no idea, only met one person that rich and we didn't talk much. I just wonder if they would mind scrathing the paint ;).

that would be:
me
&
not me


tell you what though... and am litterally getting DOUBLE the milage out of my new A3 as I did out of my old one... I got to work and back on half a tank of diesel this week, normally it would of taken just over a full tank of petrol!!!

A little birthday present when you turn 50...
 

I don’t know anybody who’s filthy rich, but a company I worked for rented magnificent office space from the family who owns Fantoft stave church. That’s right -- they own it! And when a black metal musician torched it, they rebuilt it using original techniques, footing the bill with only a bit of help from cultural grants and perhaps some insurance money. Really nice, cultivated people.
Anyways, when one of the brothers turned 50, they had a magnificent party attended by the director of SAS and the like. His siblings chipped in and bought him a Jaguar. Clearly we don’t all live in the same world!

Congrats Photek! That sure is a pretty piece of metal.
I've been pining over a client's silver A4 convertible out the front...sure is classier than my boss's "Ocean Jade" Boxster!

yehhhhhhhhh, the A4 is nice.... especially the S4.

As for the Boxter, Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear car prog presenter) said something like... 'the only reason you would buy a Boxter instead of a real Porche is because your life hadn't turned out quite as you had wanted' :eek:

I still wouldn't say no if someone offered me one for free! :D

hold on ... you swapped your Audi A3, at the beginning of this thread for a.... Audi A3?

Personally, I find 99% of all Audi's to have the most mono-styling ever! Fairly bland looking machines, but then again, i've never driven an audi, and I actually haven't driven anything in about a year... I sold a car and bought a road push bike... beats petrol prices...

But, if i had a choice on my next car it would be the most beautiful girl on the planet...elise

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...otus_elise.jpg

To each his own I guess. There's a place near my house that sells the Elise. To be honest, I thought it was a bit too cartoonish. It wasn't until I saw it on Top Gear that I gained some appreciation for it.

The fact that it has a Toyota engine also kinda confused me. If I were to plunk down that kind of money for an exotic car, I'd like an exotic engine to match.


...253 MPH :D That'd be fun. I've gunned my GTi until the electronic governor kicked it at 140 MPH. I'm sure if I had an SL55 I'd see if I could hit 200.

its nice to be thought of as exotic! I am sure if you saw the factory you might change your mind!

for what its worth, I am stoked with the new A3, it looks nicer, goes faster and does almost double the mpg :D I might get a real sports car next time!

LOL, not to burst your bubble Photek...but I was referring to the Lotus as exotic. They might be more common on your side of the pond, but over here I don't see too many.