I’d say that many people actually DID grow up dreaming of Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi etc but regardless... I certainly wouldn’t let me in my “youth” decorate my house or pick out my clothes or structure my life based on their dreams. Young me could be smart- but was pretty dumb relatively- and had terrible taste. So I don’t know the fact that Porsche’s were a car I rather fancied in my youth is a good endorsement to buy one. And well- you don’t sell the same Porsche’s I dreamed about. The last Porsche I drove was a GT3 cup car and it was about as fun as a VW Passat with big tires and more power. So I will pass Porsche- maybe bring back air cooling and sub 2 ton cars and we can talk.
yeah............. for the longest time i dreamed of owning a Nissan 350z thought they were just the coolest cars ever now i'm just okay with a used honda civic
The good news is- depending on where you live... a 350z is now often cheaper than a Honda Civic. The bad news is... it’s still a 350z. I think you’re doing alright.
I don't know. I didn't know the model of each, as after the 7th is when I noticed the trend. It's up to somewhere in the mid-teens, so... 13 +/- 2 lol Granted, I also only know the cars of around 70% of my friends, as there is a large percent that live in NYC and may have bought a car since I last interacted with them in person. On the bright side, in all those crashes, only one died.... and he was on a back road in Tennessee, drunk, and flipped it into a ditch where it then kinda bounced into a tree... and it would have killed anyone where his seat was in damn near any car.
Oh snap, one dude fucked up two of them, and I hesitate to call him a friend now. At the time of both crashes he was, but he's also the one responsible for scaring my cat away during a surprise encounter (lost cat, found her outside my gated community, stopped to go grab her, told him to stay in the car, he got out, spooked her.... last time I saw her). I'll give him this, the first wasn't his fault, we were in the car and got t-boned by some drunk bitch, she tried to flee... dunno if she ever got caught, but her lack of insurance put way to much undue burden on him. The second one flipped when he was called into work and was driving on an icy overpass. It hit the barrier and didn't fall off and he lived, but after that he decided he'd lose his job rather than his life if put in the same position ever again. It's just a matter of time though, as he's a shitty and irresponsible driver who may now feel emboldened in a few ways from his own self-delusion. For a guy who apparently loves
cars so much, you'd think when a third, fourth and fifth mutual friend (at the time, again) tried to teach him how to drive manual he wouldn't break the transmission, but he managed that. I mean... shit dude, you have four people telling you to fucking stop that know more than you do, but no0o0o0o0o0o0o
I'd like a hybrid, but for now, as my car is paid off and I rarely drive (and now when I do I rarely drive farther than 5 minutes away), it's not worth changing. Next car? Sure... but that's a long way off.
Hybrids arent worth it imo, unless you live in a city with lots of stop/go traffic.
The way they work, their advantage really comes at low speed when you're stopping and starting a bunch. At highway speeds, they're only marginally better than a traditional engine.
My 2017 mazda 6 has a standard 2.5l 4 cylinder, and i regularly get 39+ mpg on my drive to work, thars about 50/50 highway driving.
My high score has been 44.4.
Im tempted by electrics, since the 2-300mile range most are getting is way more than enough for me, but they're either crazy expensive, or too smug for their own good (tesla model 3).
It actually depends a lot on traffic. If its low traffic and i go 70mph, i get in the high 30's. But if traffic is slower (55mph) but steady enough i dont have to brake...
Its a lot of driving style too. I generally get about 2.5mpg better per trip than my wife does when i have to drive her minivan
The newer Mazda’s basically all have “Sky active” no batteries or hybrid stuff- really efficient design of drive train and power train components, special low friction coatings on engine internals etc- and with that the cars can reach high 40’s or better by and large, and the smaller SUVS could theoretically see into the 40’s but are more likely to get mid 30’s. Mazda is also working on an EV“hybrid” where a single rotor small rotary engine acts as a generator for the electric motor- and the electric motor turns the drive wheels. The rotary is kept at near constant RPM in a specific range- conditions under which a rotary engine is most reliable and efficient. Talk is Toyota May license it- they alread sell the Mazda 2 as the Yaris (Vitz.)
* don’t make me do it- or start another thread or something if you want to know about the rotary engine or say “I heard they are unreliable...” “they break...” “they only last 50,000 Miles...” “don’t they use MORE gas?” “My cousins had a rotary and...” I could tell you more about the Mazda Rotary engine than you likely want to know- and Wankel Rotaries in general. They are fine engines. They do some things much better and some much worse than most piston engines. They are different than piston engines and need different things- they need to be used differently. They are best suited for certain things- and the constant and predictable revolutions of a generator are a place they would excel.
Onwards to civics! I love to hate the little civic. I owned one once- on accident. It was a piece of shit gutless car. I loved it dearly and miss it. I will likely never buy another. They are front wheel drive and well- daddy don’t do front wheel drive. But FWD works great for many- practically most people. They are light, cheap*, and many years actually make or can make decent vehicles for various types of racing or performance. They are fine cars to drive to work and back or to the store everyday.
The corolla- which I love all corollas- but only can really appreciate ones made before 1986 that were still rear wheel drive- is a fine and boring appliance. As made by Toyota it is just bland. But boy can they be a real hoot- and part of that hoot is that they were traditionally so cheap- you could beat the piss out of them, crash them, and have money left over to throw lots of neat parts and tires at them. The civics tend to be a little more “exciting” or “engaging” in their stock manners and appearances- and there are few places in the world getting parts for a Honda Civic is a problem or serious expense. They also tend to rule on gas.
I don’t like the way most cars look- I hate the way newer civics look. I like the way newer Corollas look, and have driven a few as rentals etc and they are endearingly terrible. I like them and would buy one if it made sense for me to.
The new civic type R... I hate almost everything about it. Good on Honda for figuring out that a percent of their customers would spend an extra $20k to add crappy turbo and ugly body effects- and finally just selling the car looking like it had pulled out of a kragen parking lot after getting the ‘ol Honda guy make over. At the track they over heat. They plow pretty bad too. They’re good for occasional stop light drag races or feeling like you’re the king of the freeway when you’re surrounded by Camrys and base model mustangs. They can’t hang with serious metal and they can’t be ran hard very long. They’re a toy- but that is exactly what a good percentage of the demographic is after- feeling like you’re the fastest in the parking lot and beating the guy next to you to the merge.
Civics do get in a lot of accidents. Some of the fastest guys I ever raced against cake from Honda’s. There have been some VERY well built Honda rave cars in many types and classes of racing- many built off civic platforms. Many civic drivers can drive. But- the fact they tend to be cheap as dirt first cars or given to JR as a hand me down means you get a lot of kids- kids who want to race and don’t know how.
And the kid who buys a $1k or $10k used civic probably isn’t going to go drop $3k on safety gear and $4k on classes and $5k on track time and go learn to drive. He’s going to take his cheap ass car with terrible brakes and tires and suspension and try and race it- on the street- because that’s free. He’ll probably buy some mods to make it faster- but prioritize upping the anemic power over handling or stopping or safety. To get more “bang for his buck” he’ll probably buy cheaper parts- often dangerously shoddy ones- to be able to do more mods in less time.
Then he’ll probably install them himself or with his 19-22 year old “car expert” buddy- while both of them are learning as they go and have no skilled supervision- often installing things dangerously wrong or cutting corners... and then he’ll crash. He’ll roll it in the rain, go up on a curb, lose control , fly off a mountain, rear end someone because he can’t stop....
It isn’t anything about the civic. It isn’t anything about the people who like them. It’s about the mind set of the type of person who buys the cheapest most generic car they can find. You don’t have to be a wannabe racer either. If you don’t give a shit about driving- if it is a chore or just something you have to do to live your life- you aren’t likely to put much care of effort into actually driving- that applies to just driving around. You pay less attention, probably don’t bother to understand basic concepts of vehicle dynamics or how things work beyond “I press the brake to stop...” You don’t practice- or your “practice” is just bad habits because a certain type of person doesn’t have discipline or take things seriously.
To be clear: NOT EVERYONE WHO BUYS A CAR LIKE A CIVIC OR LIKES THEM ARE BAD DRIVERS. You’re just very likely to find a high proportion of drivers who are completely uninterested and careless/clueless within certain demographics. Ferrari didn’t like most of his customers. He thought they were idiots who couldn’t appreciate or use his vehicles To their intended potential but just wanted a status symbol. He sold copies of his race cars to rich people who would never actually race them- and race poorly if they did-
He knew most of the demographic for his cars were people who couldn’t drive, but owning a Ferrari could “compensate” for that in their self image or to others. Some cars that are perfectly fine vehicles at one thing or another- or in their niche- just attract a certain type of people in large groups. The “worst” of the Honda crowd gives the whole crowd a bad name- but there are tons of capable and awesome people in the Honda crowd- and plenty who just bought civics for the reason Honda sold them- they’re practical.
In the early 80’s- engineers from Japan came to the US to study American habits and life in order to figure out how to build cars that would sell better here. They weren’t surprised to see Nissan (Datsun) 510’s (blue birds) and 240z’s (Fairladies) at the race track- but they were astounded that Honda Civics were as popular as they were or as capable. At the time- the civic wasn’t really used as a perforce car- in fact Honda somewhat tried to resist that image for decades- in the 90’s and 2000’s they even opposed their own enthusiast communities internally.
Honda engineering is very purpose based. Somewhat like Apple- they build a machine to do a certain thing, be used a certain way. They assume that is what you will do with it. Because they do this- they can make machines that are very good when they are used for what they were made for. But it even confused them a bit when people were doing all sorts of things with their cars they didn’t intend. They wanted some “sportiness” but “sporty” and sports car or race car are not the same thing.
They are overall good cars though and like any car- what you want to do with it, what it was made to do, and the quality and expertise you bring to its upkeep or implementation for your use plays a big role. A fine car to drive to the grocery store and back every week- as fine as most any other if the two things on your list are: “drives to store and back,” “can fit groceries.” Most people who aren’t aggressive drivers or enthusiasts- and pay attention on the road- will never need more than a civic or corolla can offer.
The gtr is fast, sure. But its expensive, and everything ive read says its too "fly by wire" for my tastes.
I respect the performance, and love the looks, but its not for me.
It doesn’t have to be a current year GTR. The older GTR- especially the R32, are still “technology flagships” for their day- but by modern comparison are still reasonable analog and visceral- and while in their age they were pretty heavy relatively- in 2020 they are practically lotus’s. The older GTR’s are good cars and plenty fast- but I still don’t favor them. They are fast but not what I would call a load of fun to drive. But of course that depends on where you are driving them and personal tastes too.
My dream car when I first started smoking weed was a Chrysler Town and Country... the one with that table in it and the chairs that would turn around. The idea was we'd find a place to park, blaze, then play tunes and cards or something. Now I can just do that in my house, so w/e. A Bentley and a personal driver would be awesome. I'd rather be comfortable 99.9% of the time rather than have the thrill of going 200+ on a track.
I love thought process. When I told my mate I was gonna get a GT-86 he was like "why, they're not that fast and there is better drift cars". I don't wanna car to Blitz a track or run circles around a roundabout, I want a car I love the look of, is comfy to drive at all times and is affordable to repair!
The 86 is a great platform, because its slow.
If you want a track car, sure its underpowered, but as a daily or even weekend car, its slow enough that you can drive it aggressively and not get in trouble.
As Top Gear said, its more fun to drive a slow car fast, than to drive a fast car slow.
Performance aside, the 86 is one of the best looking "normal" cars out there imo
I always get something along the lines of "old man" directed as an insult if when I describe the thought process behind it... but I take it as a compliment. Wisdom is only earned through age, but age won't bestow wisdom.
The way they work, their advantage really comes at low speed when you're stopping and starting a bunch. At highway speeds, they're only marginally better than a traditional engine.
My 2017 mazda 6 has a standard 2.5l 4 cylinder, and i regularly get 39+ mpg on my drive to work, thars about 50/50 highway driving.
My high score has been 44.4.
Im tempted by electrics, since the 2-300mile range most are getting is way more than enough for me, but they're either crazy expensive, or too smug for their own good (tesla model 3).
Its a lot of driving style too. I generally get about 2.5mpg better per trip than my wife does when i have to drive her minivan
I respect the performance, and love the looks, but its not for me.
If you want a track car, sure its underpowered, but as a daily or even weekend car, its slow enough that you can drive it aggressively and not get in trouble.
As Top Gear said, its more fun to drive a slow car fast, than to drive a fast car slow.
Performance aside, the 86 is one of the best looking "normal" cars out there imo