Cars We Drive!

[double00]

sailboat people are a breed apart , that said i prefer sailing

 

[am55]

Yep, happens all the time. I work with two people who have several boats (probably the only hobby worse than cars cash flow wise). They swear that sailboats are awful due to the lack of noise. Some people are very attached to visceral feelings. Nothing new here.

I mean viscerally speaking the sailboat is really noisy when it's not doing anything. All the ropes etc. clanging about, the creaking with the waves, flapping of the sails at rest (which is less like a bird taking off and more like a drum set in decent wind) and so on. Then once you finally catch the wind the whole thing tightens up, stops shaking you around, you gain control of the motion, and the noise becomes flat and regular (wind whistling + cutting through waves). After a few years of this, you get a Pavlovian response to the sudden slamming of everything together into stability, speed and silence (and the much smaller but immediate reaction that follows any movement of the tiller, even on a 45ft racer - doesn't mean it turns instantly, but you get instant feedback). That's your visceral, addictive response to sailboats. The only motorboat that gives me the same hit is a jetski - anything larger feels sluggish, unstable and a bit slow to respond, even an overpowered RIB.

I struggle with modern cars and EVs because there's no such thing replacing the engine response. It helps a bit to open the windows. But the engine itself is quiet on modern ICE. Your 2023 auto Passat actively tries to be like a Tesla, to insulate you from the road and driving experience.

 

[patrick_b]

Porsche hybrid system to debut on the 2025 992.2 co-developed with Rimac inspired by the KERS F1 system. In dealers 2025. I’m sure it will sound just fine.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46167074/2025-porsche-911-preview/

 

[Tim Apple]

Porsche hybrid system to debut on the 2025 992.2 co-developed with Rimac inspired by the KERS F1 system. In dealers 2025. I’m sure it will sound just fine.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46167074/2025-porsche-911-preview/

Most of the cars today (including ICE cars, almost certainly this Porsche too) have fake, synthesized sounds for inside the cabin. Very uninspiring.

 

[Tim Apple]

See, movement without noise is what I've found fascinating about sailboats since the 80s.

I can easily see the appeal towards sailboats in this respect. I can't feel this way at all about EV's. I've grown up on ICE cars, particularly sports cars and I need the sounds and smells that come with that. If I have to have an EV then I will just treat it like an appliance; devoid of emotion and soul.

 

[otc]

Luddites

 

[sugarbutch]

Sailboats (other people's sailboats, specifically) are pretty awesome. And there's plenty of noise, just of a different variety. But I don't really understand why so many people seem hell bent on putting things in opposition which are not inherently so. Electric cars have desirable, engaging characteristics which don't completely overlap with those of ICE cars. I enjoy them both.

 

[am55]

Sailboats (other people's sailboats, specifically) are pretty awesome. And there's plenty of noise, just of a different variety. But I don't really understand why so many people seem hell bent on putting things in opposition which are not inherently so. Electric cars have desirable, engaging characteristics which don't completely overlap with those of ICE cars. I enjoy them both.

Because EVs and ICE cars are using the same roads and occupy the same (exclusive) purchase mindshare for most normal people, and so people who don't want to buy both need to make a choice, and this always leads to the most emotional discussions. They are de facto in opposition under a certain income or home size.

Whereas motorboats and sailboats don't really overlap beyond both floating, needing real estate in a marina, and being a giant money and time pit. Even the feeling of being at the mercy of but then working with the huge forces of nature, vs the feeling of control from a large engine getting you through said forces, are almost at opposed ends.

I remember when the national hobbie cat team was visiting our sailing club a day with big swell and probably top 5% wind I've ever gone out in, the kind of conditions where we have broken masts, and they put one of us in each of their cats... It's been 20 years and I still remember that day/terror/thrill vividly. But the rescue RIHBs were surfing the swell without a care in the world, it's rare to have waves worth surfing with your engine in the Med! And of course you can rely on a Zodiac for commuting, a sail puts you at the mercy of the weather, and you better not be in a hurry. And I've never admitted my love of jetskis let alone that I've ever ridden one to the sailors in my family

Also, there'll be a day EVs are the default. We'll be the last ones left to know what it was like, to have had a choice, and perhaps the young ones will look at us like today's public looks at tobacco and booze. Old petrol stations will be sold to hipsters serving wheatgrass smoothies and Impossible burgers, and you'll need to order your fuel on eBay. I'm going to squeeze every km out of my V6 until that happens.

 

[Piobaire]

Because EVs and ICE cars are using the same roads and occupy the same (exclusive) purchase mindshare for most normal people, and so people who don't want to buy both need to make a choice, and this always leads to the most emotional discussions. They are de facto in opposition under a certain income or home size.

I did not have getting an EV on my radar and emotion had zero to do with the leasing decision; it was purely economics. Between the 7.5k tax credit off the cap cost, plus the dealership offering about the same discount, the Audi was easily the best economic proposition.

 

[venividivicibj]

You're forgetting to subtract the VAG from your equation.

that's most expensive part!

 

[Fueco]

I saw a Fisker Ocean this morning, which looks pretty cool.

 

[sugarbutch]

Also, there'll be a day EVs are the default. We'll be the last ones left to know what it was like, to have had a choice, and perhaps the young ones will look at us like today's public looks at tobacco and booze. Old petrol stations will be sold to hipsters serving wheatgrass smoothies and Impossible burgers, and you'll need to order your fuel on eBay. I'm going to squeeze every km out of my V6 until that happens.

My prediction is that ICE cars will roughly track the path of riding horses. Eventually, they will be the toys of the rich, confined to tracks and dedicated roads in the middle of nowhere

I did not have getting an EV on my radar and emotion had zero to do with the leasing decision; it was purely economics. Between the 7.5k tax credit off the cap cost, plus the dealership offering about the same discount, the Audi was easily the best economic proposition.

Although I think most people would be much better served to approach their car purchases this way, I am confident that you are an extreme outlier here. I also want to push back a bit—gently—on your assertion that your decision was purely economic. Douchemobiles, whether ICE or EV, far exceed any reasonable definition of utility for a car.

 

[Fueco]

My prediction is that ICE cars will roughly track the path of riding horses. Eventually, they will be the toys of the rich, confined to tracks and dedicated roads in the middle of nowhere

Don’t forget conservative hardliners who will continue to drive gas cars while blaming the government for $25 per gallon gas.

 

[Piobaire]

I also want to push back a bit—gently—on your assertion that your decision was purely economic. Douchemobiles, whether ICE or EV, far exceed any reasonable definition of utility for a car.

Purely economic choice of which Douchemobile to drive.

 

[Tim Apple]

Sailboats (other people's sailboats, specifically) are pretty awesome. And there's plenty of noise, just of a different variety. But I don't really understand why so many people seem hell bent on putting things in opposition which are not inherently so. Electric cars have desirable, engaging characteristics which don't completely overlap with those of ICE cars. I enjoy them both.

You can't understand that different people have differing preferences? How odd.