Cars We Drive!

[gomestar]

i expect that kind of behavior from Gallardo owners. But with the Murci, the car is too badass for me to care.

 

[Piobaire]



There was a pretty good interview with the creator / lead designer of the first Viper in Esquire last month. There were some interesting back stories on the car.

Also, yes the RRS is similar to the LR4, but it's also priced about the same and the RRS is significantly better looking. Also, the regular RR is a great car, but it is not double the car of the RRS, but it is basically double the money. The RR is for people that are pretty insensitive to price. I am not one of those people. It is contrary to my personality and my profession.

You said you wanted the supercharged version? I believe you will find that priced about midway between the LR4/regularly aspirated RRS and the full size RR. I agree the RRS is better looking than the LR4, but if price is a big driving factor, you're looking at the HSE, not the SC.

 

[deepitm]



You said you wanted the supercharged version? I believe you will find that priced about midway between the LR4/regularly aspirated RRS and the full size RR. I agree the RRS is better looking than the LR4, but if price is a big driving factor, you're looking at the HSE, not the SC.

Sorry, should have clarified. I would get the supercharged for a dream garage. Back to reality, I would just get the regular RRS and considered it but ultimately ended up getting the 993.

 

[Piobaire]

You said you wanted the supercharged version? I believe you will find that priced about midway between the LR4/regularly aspirated RRS and the full size RR. I agree the RRS is better looking than the LR4, but if price is a big driving factor, you're looking at the HSE, not the SC.

Sorry, should have clarified. I would get the supercharged for a dream garage. Back to reality, I would just get the regular RRS and considered it but ultimately ended up getting the 993.

Congrats but that's like going shopping for pants and buying a computer.

 

[deepitm]

^ sorry, that is a terrible analogy

 

[Ty_Webb]

Dream garage:

Audi RS6 Avant - for bringing friends and golf clubs
Lamborghini Aventador - for fun
Aston Martin DBS - for longer trips with just myself and t'other half
McLaren F1 - just because
Koenigsegg Agera R - fastest road car on the planet I believe
Jaguar XK140, because it's beautiful
Aston Martin V8 Vantage V600 - the one from the early 90s. Love that car and I think it was the last one that was hand built by the guys at Newport Pagnell.

That would probably do for now, but I might chuck in a classic Ferrari as well as time and funds permitted.

 

[A Y]

So the IIHS put out the results of a new front offset crash test yesterday. The older one, called the "moderate overlap" test had half the car crashing into a barrier. The new one, the "small overlap", has 1/4 of the car's front crashing into a barrier, and the results are pretty bad for most cars.

A comparison of the two:

Moderate:

Small:

The Institute today will release the results of its first round of tests using the new frontal standard, and of the 11 midsize cars tested two, the Acura TL and Volvo S60, received the group’s top rating of “good.”

The Infiniti G was rated as “acceptable,” the Acura TSX, BMW 3 series, Lincoln MKZ and Volkswagen CC were “marginal” and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS 250 and 350, Audi A4 and Lexus ES 350 were received “poor” ratings. All vehicles tested were 2012 models.

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/08/14/many-cars-fail-in-new-tougher-iihs-crash-test/

They've also released the crash videos on Youtube. Before we get to them, note the following qualitative differences between the good car (Volvo S60), the mediocre car (BMW 3), and the poor car (Lexus IS):

- the Volvo uses the collision energy to displace the car sideways
- the other two cars absorb most of the energy in the A-pillar column (the part of the car the windshield attaches to and everything below that) and firewall (the wall separating the engine compartment from the passenger compartment)
- for cars that absorb the energy instead of deflecting it, it comes down to the strength of their passenger compartment how safe they are. The BMW seems to have a very strong compartment, while the Lexus crumples like tinfoil.
- note how much the dashboard moves forward as well.
- the wheel in the cars that do well separate from the hub and move to the side. For cars that don't do well, the wheel is shoved right into the firewall, possibly causing leg and foot injuries.

It makes me wonder how this will change suspension design, too.

Volvo:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

BMW:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Lexus:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[deepitm]

Cool. Thanks A Y. Unreal how much better the Volvo is compared to Lexus.

 

[impolyt_one]

I'd add the Aventador to my dream garage too. Feel really bad about wanting cars like the F40 or Miura, Daytona, anything rare, because I'm the kind of person to get tempted to drive them more than they should be driven. I don't mind the car collections where the guys have car collections that are well-used, but I just feel bad about popping vintage cherries. Hell, I even kind of feel bad about popping real cherries. That's a different outcome though....

 

[JunyaYamamoto]

id love a Lexus LFA or a Nissan GT-R. i saw (and heard) a GT-R inside a garage in Hong Kong, and boy did she growl. the closed area only helped boost the acoustics. only downside is im not in love with the interior but i can overlook that easily. i think it's still better than the corvette's interior.

 

[RFX45]

Of all the $100k sports cars, the ZR1 (or any Corvette) has the worst interior design ever.

 

[JunyaYamamoto]

i totally agree. chevy knows the interior sucks and they still havent done anything about it. i guess that's partially why it's an affordable sports car.

so today i noticed someone had stolen my license plate. i am so pissed. it was probably because i had just renewed my registration and they stole it for the sticker. in any event, now i have to get a new plate, re-register my car, and waste time and money on this ****. i am seriously investing in some license plate security screws.

 

[RFX45]

I wouldn't even call a Corvette an affordable sports car, at $50k there are plenty of other options that are just as fun (if not more) despite the lower hp. A ZR1 is $115k now iirc, yes it'll beat the crap out of some cars that cost twice but that terrible interior plus the bone rattling ride is enough for me to pay more and get a V8 R8 or V8 Vantage or a 911 Turbo instead.

 

[JayJay]



Haha, totally agree, although the 2012 full size is still a bit behind in the electronics and entertainment technology. It's a compromise I'm willing to accept (since I only listen to podcasts in the car anyway) but still a bit of an embarrassment for a 6 figure vehicle.

I'm a huge fan of the looks of the full-size RR (I'd take that Supercharged, please), but the RR Sport, not so much.

 

[TieMyShoe]

Selling my 2005 Lotus Elise. PM if interested