Ben’s Car Blog

February 1, 2006

Woohoo!

Filed under: Motorsport, Classics, Opinionated, Je ne sais quoi, Just so wrong

Just thinking about a few things:

  • Tarmac rallying, as currently implemented in Australia is a Bad Thing.
  • What makes a car a “classic”?
  • What gives a car “character”?

Oh, yeah. The thesis is with my proofreader and my supervisors for final checking.

November 16, 2005

The “Next Car”

Filed under: Caveat Emptor, Just so wrong

Swade’s enthusiasm for Saabs has had me thinking about the “next car” for when it’s time to let the Mi16 go.

I’m thinking Saab 9000 Aero, or whatever a high-pressure turbo 9000 was called in any particular year.

Pros:

  • Big-ish but not stupidly massive
  • Roomy
  • Safe
  • Enough fasts to be interesting
  • Small enough engine to be fuel efficient
  • “Different”
  • Annoys people who look down their noses at Saabs
  • Cheaper than similar age Volvo 850 wagons

Cons:

  • “Different”
  • Expensive to fix? (Possibly spurious — my Pug hasn’t been expensive to fix)
  • Turbo = expensive insurance (but I’m mostly past the age where that’s a real issue)
  • alleged 1980s style turbo lag (eg: nothing, nothing, nothing… holy cow!)
  • not a Mazda6, which is my wife’s current stated preference

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