carguy123
carguy123 Dork
8/26/09 5:07 p.m.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/review-2009-caterham-7/

I'm thinking more than a few of you will appreciate this.

Keith
Keith SuperDork
8/26/09 5:35 p.m.

I'm not going to argue with that. Sevens aren't for people who want to forget they're driving. Just the opposite. They're for people who don't want to do anything but drive.

Salanis
Salanis SuperDork
8/26/09 5:36 p.m.

"Once on the move, two thoughts immediately occur: 1) in terms of dynamics, every other road car you’ve driven sucks, and 2) sucks is too delicate a word for the discrepancy between the 7 and non-7s."

Lolz.

oldsaw
oldsaw Reader
8/26/09 5:59 p.m.

"Perhaps the great delight of the Seven is that it’s a rolling polygraph machine. It puts the lie to so much of conventional auto wisdom: a righteous ride requires big power, fat tires, and the latest electronic whiz-bangeroo."

Fat tires make everything better, even Sevens.

Great article,thanks!

carguy123
carguy123 Dork
8/26/09 6:27 p.m.

But people who haven't driven a 7 won't really understand even after reading the article.

They'll think of the roughest/fastest/most austere/whatever car they've driven and compare it to that and they'd be wrong.

The talk about it being a gokart on steroids is the closest to reality.

seeker589
seeker589 New Reader
8/26/09 6:45 p.m.

Everyone that is on the fence on buying a Caterham or building a Locost should read that article.

Blunt -- and oh, so true.

Moparman
Moparman Reader
8/26/09 7:09 p.m.

I wrote a few articles back in 2006 for The Truth About Cars under the pen name Thomas Bernard. Founder Robert Farago is very talented. He has had editorials published in the Wall Street Journal. He runs a tight ship. He is very strict with word count and prefers articles which spark controversey (and will often edit content to make the article sound more controversial), but it is among my favorite sites.

confuZion3
confuZion3 SuperDork
8/26/09 7:32 p.m.

Communication, should a passenger be brave enough to accompany you, is best left for rest stops or emergency miming, even considering a relative physical proximity usually shared only by newlyweds.

That made me laugh too.

I was fortunate enough to get to drive a beautiful orange variant. It had nice chrome wheels, chromed springs, the works. Oh, and a 200+ hp four-banger Ford. I only drove it around the parking lot at an auto-x event once, but I can safely say it was the coolest car I've ever driven.

Great article. Thanks!

slantvaliant
slantvaliant Reader
8/26/09 9:10 p.m.

Good read.

Now, where did I put my copy of Keith's book ...

modernbeat
modernbeat HalfDork
8/26/09 9:43 p.m.

I loved mine. Most fun I've ever had in a car.

EricM
EricM HalfDork
8/26/09 10:56 p.m.

yes, it is on the list. Wait, it is the first entry on the list.

mainlandboy
mainlandboy New Reader
8/27/09 1:51 a.m.

Excellent article!

I've been enjoying driving my Locost on the weekends lately with the great weather we're having.

http://picasaweb.google.com/marktsui1975/MarkSLocost#

Mark

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed Reader
8/27/09 6:25 a.m.

Yup, one of the all time greats. Great article too.

maroon92
maroon92 SuperDork
8/27/09 6:41 a.m.

I love them, but I don't fit in them....I'm a fatty.

81gtv6
81gtv6 Reader
8/27/09 8:24 a.m.

The summer of my senior year in high school one of my dads friends let me use his early sixties 7 for a week, I was in heaven.

This guy was an ex Army helicopter pilot, was in Vietnam was shot down and was the only guy to survive. Anyway, at church one day he asks me what I was doing the next day. I said nothing and he said be up by 7 ready to go for a ride. This was up in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California and we spent the whole day on some of the best roads ever and the best part was he let me drive most of the day.

About a week later he asks if I would be interested in using the 7 while he was on TDY for a week. I think it took a month for the smile on my face to go away. I think I only went home to sleep and eat, the rest of the time was spent in the car.

Ever since then I have tried to be that kind of car guy, thank you Bill.

MitchellC
MitchellC HalfDork
8/27/09 2:30 p.m.

I am reminded of the TG episode where Clarkson reviews the R500, and classified it as the most fun, but geekiest sports car he has ever driven. I love how comical their size and proportions are by modern standards, and they can't be anything but a blast to drive (except maybe in the rain).

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