Modern cars just to competent to have fun legally?

Since all of San Diego is on fire and half the people at the office are MIA but safe I am kind of sitting on my hands.

So I have been looking at some really fast cars lately as a DD, and I am coming to the conclusion that they are just so competent that I am not connecting with them or having any sort of fun driving them. 911 turbo does everything that I need but you can break every speed limit in the land in 2nd gear and honestly you can do some violent stuff to the wheel in a turn and it just corrects completely. The R8 feels like a big Audi TT. They both have no soul, I have more fun going 65 in a hot rod any day of the week then 100+ in them. But I cannot DD a hot rod.

Heck my wife's JCW mini is almost over powered, it has some soul though. It seems like the type of car that would fart in church. Still it cannot be driven even 6/10th's on the street without issue. Short of a BRZ and skinny tires, or a older car with the safety issues that come with it are there any modern soulful cars left. The only thing that I can think of in recent memory is the Elise and you cannot DD a Elise in SoCal.

This is part of why i don't like newer cars. Don't get me wrong, pretty much all of my cars are capable of breaking every law in the book in short order, but they require you to actually DRIVE them and have some sort of awareness, or they'll bite you quick.

I like to wrestle my cars. If i NEED (not want, NEED) a stereo to stay awake on a 2 hour drive in a car, i'm not interested. The MX6 and Miata make enough noise and require enough work that it's more like they're their own beings, not an appliance.

And that was way more poetic than i intended it to be. I sound like a huge hipster.

Wait why can't you DD an Elise in SoCal? Interior-wise it's just like an economy car with weird seats and odd proportions. They come stock with a healthy amount of ground clearance. I'm pretty sure all S2s and later are available with AC.

Does a Morgan three wheeler count as a modern car?

Yeah... why can't you DD an Elise?

The real answer to this question has only two wheels.

How about the Evora? F-type? Both are supposed to be slightly more simple and "soulful" cars.

Or you could look at something like the Ford ST or a GTI.

How about a 500 Abarth?

It really sounds like you need a slow car to drive fast, so maybe the cheapest econobox you can find and drive it like you stole it.

MadScientistMatt wrote: Does a Morgan three wheeler count as a modern car?

Not by any stretch

I drove a BMW 2002 for the first time yesterday. It was fun - definitely not super-confident in the manner of 1g cornering or massive brakes, and a suspension that was allowed to move with the road. Not fast either, which means you have to work it to run with traffic. My Mini is the same way - velocity is a precious thing, so you drive to maintain it. Makes for a very involving drive, albeit a tiring one.

ep3 si/rsx handle great but not overly powerful, plus honda

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The real answer to this question has only two wheels.

Ding, ding ding! Tell him what he's won, johnny!

Even my little 11.6 ci TwinStar will kill you if you let it.

I think this is why I have fallen so deeply head over heals for the SeX. It's refined, but not TOO refined. 12 hour drive isn't punishing, and the radio/hvac make it comfortable. HAndling is really good, power is fine (could always use more) but you can break every speed limit in this country before you wind out 3rd gear. Brakes are stellar.

I think that's why I really lost interest in the bigger/badder/faster cars as much as I used to. a C5/6 vette is an awesome toy. But you can't use it every day to it's potential. The only place you can really wring it out is at a track day. So you get to "experience" the car 3-4 times a year? Meh.... I'll just stick to the slower car that I can wring out every day..... and stay out of prison.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Yeah... why can't you DD an Elise? The real answer to this question has only two wheels.

Cell phones and drunk drivers.

I have been hit three times. One 100+ T-Bone by a drunk running from the cops, once in the rear at 55 when they did not see that the entire freeway was stopped because she was staring at the phone, and once on my Harley when someone thought that I should have taken off at the light immediately, so he just kind of shoved me out of the way, at the green instead of waiting for the guys in the crosswalk and darn near ran over me as he drove around.

Also you cannot put groceries in a Elise, you can in a Evora but man the dealers are snotty.

The S3 Elise has some meat on it...but it's also a more capable car.

Too competent, yes. Most modern cars are much faster than their drivers. They have let average drivers drive much faster, somewhat safer as long as the nannies are turned on, than ever before. However, on a track, the best drivers are faster yet in new cars because the cars are so good. The drivers can extract that much more out of them.

My RX-8 still lets you drive it when you turn off the ESC. And it isn't easy at the limit with no torque to pull you out of the corners. I haven't even tried to push my new to me '11 Golf TDI yet. But it is way too soft and squishy to be very sporty. It isn't begging me to drive fast like the RX-8 is. However, I do find myself driving faster than I expected in it because it is so competent.

turboswede wrote: Or you could look at something like the Ford ST or a GTI. How about a 500 Abarth? It really sounds like you need a slow car to drive fast, so maybe the cheapest econobox you can find and drive it like you stole it.

This

When I worked at a Ford dealership in the 90's, my favorite car to run errands in was an Aspire. Slow as molasses, so I could drive the wheels off it and nobody would notice.

why can't you DD a hot rod?

N Sperlo wrote:

turboswede wrote: Or you could look at something like the Ford ST or a GTI. How about a 500 Abarth? It really sounds like you need a slow car to drive fast, so maybe the cheapest econobox you can find and drive it like you stole it.

This

are you stalking me? 'cause that would be kinda cool....

I think the new fit (2015) has potential to be that car. It's a small, slow, lightweight car with "enough" power. At a new 130 hp it's probably closer to 140 hp of yesteryear (pre 2005) which would give it comparable power to a base integra, or b13 se-r.

What about a new miata (MX5)?

Its still the answer afterall.

Perhaps waiting for the upcoming ND Miata? (MY 2016?)

You are right that the FRS/BRZ wundertwins are in that segment as well.

I ended up feeling the same about my Mustang, the Miata is a bunch more fun because I can push it. (I think I need to put a quieter exhaust back on it, it was more fun when it was stealthier when I was actually pushing)

novaderrik wrote: why can't you DD a hot rod?

Because its hot and nobody out here knows to drive around one. My Model A I used to use three days out of the week but man I would get cutoff all the time by people and then they would slam on the brakes. I have bloody drum brakes and poly tires in like a 165 cross section. I would die in that car by the end of the year no question.

turboswede wrote: How about a 500 Abarth?

I love the Abarth but its straight up elitism that keeps me from getting one, and that's a personal hangup I know. But its a huge step down from what I want in terms of interior construction on a DD

turboswede wrote:

N Sperlo wrote:

turboswede wrote: Or you could look at something like the Ford ST or a GTI. How about a 500 Abarth? It really sounds like you need a slow car to drive fast, so maybe the cheapest econobox you can find and drive it like you stole it.

This

are you stalking me? 'cause that would be kinda cool....

Ya see those boxy headlights behind you?

N Sperlo wrote:

turboswede wrote:

N Sperlo wrote:

turboswede wrote: Or you could look at something like the Ford ST or a GTI. How about a 500 Abarth? It really sounds like you need a slow car to drive fast, so maybe the cheapest econobox you can find and drive it like you stole it.

This

are you stalking me? 'cause that would be kinda cool....

Ya see those boxy headlights behind you?

Sorry about your mirror, BTW....

wearymicrobe wrote:

turboswede wrote: How about a 500 Abarth?

I love the Abarth but its straight up elitism that keeps me from getting one, and that's a personal hangup I know. But its a huge step down from what I want in terms of interior construction on a DD

You can lead the up-turned noses to the water, but they'll still only drink Voss water or die.

I have a Miata you could buy that would definitely fulfill the "fun" requirement.

I don't know how happy California would be about it, though.