Patience is an odd choice of word.

Your question of the week I obviously answered yes but the word patience is not one I would use with regard to driving an Italian car. I would use "patience" for doing one's own maintenance at home or possibly driving something with a low sub 50mph cruising speed. I just don't see my Italian car driving friends as patient. Think of a Ferrari owner as patient, no, never. The mystique of an Italian car is the European jet set type hopped up on espresso coffee and checking out scene (or being checked out) for the next conquest. The cars seem to mimmic this with high strung engines, good handling and sexy bodies. I tell my friends with the British sports cars that I gave up the wool smoking jacket with elbow patches, black beer, and Brooks cap for cool shades, red wine and stylish clothes of the European playboy with an Italian car. It is all good for a laugh.

Cheers Ron

Having owned more Italian cars than appendages on my hands and feet, and now owning a British car, I don't see what the big deal is.

Lucas vs. Marelli

SU vs. Weber

Bad British steel vs. bad Russian steel

Oil leaks that never cease

The only real difference I've seen is the English have shoddy panel fit whereas the Italians have gorgeous bodywork with hardware that is made of materials that disintegrate.

I like them both, but neither compares to German cars.

Since I own a Japanese car, I have all this unused patience left over dying to come out, and I would love to use up some of it on a Ferrari or OSCA...something hot and tempermental.

There was recently a little heated flare up on the site over this topic, and boom, up pops this stereotype perpetuating poll. What genius came up with this one? Are you trying to drag the forum down to a yelling match surpassing the Jerry Springer show?

Yeah... I don't see how an Italian car would require more patience than any other old car...

I guess that is why I ticked "yes." Any old car requires patience.

When I was a kid I remember that it was a big thing to get ready for a trip 'cross country -from Wisconsin to Montana to visit relatives. My dad would take the car in, have the oil changed, the lube points greased, a new thermostat put in, tires checked, et cetera. And then it was still an adventure. The cars always made it with no troubles (that I remember) but I can recall having to stop on long passes when we would tour the Rockies and let the car cool down. That was in the '60's.

Now even though the same things are checked taking a long trip in a "modern" car is routine, to the point of boring. So Ian is right... old cars of any marque require patience.

A much better question would have been

"I'd drive a FRENCH car if I had the patience."

I've always been fascinated by things like the Citroen DS and such, but boy, even their fans say you've got to be patient when it comes to getting them to move along.

There are a lot of misconceptions about car types, mostly due to un-founded opinions.

For instance, my Father just started working for an European auto shop. For the past 14 years or so he's been a Ford Senior Master tech. Now he's the Porsche guy there, and everyone there seems to think Porsches are so hard to work on. But not many of them have much experience with Domestic cars if any.

"They should try working on a newer Ford some time, this is cake."

I think it depends on what you get used to and your experience level. I hear a lot of old-car-guys say how they rarely even open the hood of their newer cars and would never dream of working on them... but I've spent enough time researching and working on our newer cars that it doesn't phase me at all. I can open the hood of a new car and know pretty quickly what all of the wires and hoses are for.

Computer diagnostics can make working a new car feel like cheating. And I'd much rather do suspension work on a MINI than our Spitfires or Volvos.

I've spent enough time working on so many different cars that nothing really scares me anymore... although I'll admit that when I looked under the hatch of a 308GTS at a car show recently, I got shivers.... V12 XKE's give me a similar feeling...

I think that feeling is the reason I still have not taken the plunge of V12 XJS ownership even after many years of liking the cars. Every time I peek under the hood I invariably think, "wow, that's a lot of rubber hoses".

There's a nice 1982 Fiat 124 for sale in the local newspaper today. Might bring some diversity to my roadster collection which is all Japanese and English at this juncture.