fun fact:
the lotus eletre has a whole suite of deployable radar-lidar sensors that DON’T EVEN WORK and are only there so a future software update can maybe enable autonomous driving
oh my god how hard I’d BUST owning 2027 Toyota™ RAV4™ Plug-In Hybrid™ XSE™ AWD with just me and the wife and an ultra cramped tiny 2nd row that takes up half the trunk but the car FITS IN EVERY FUCKING NEW YORK CITY PARKING SPACE LET’S GOOO
I’ve always bought old Japanese cars and fixed them up and either sold them when I was bored, or I still own them. Some of my old cars include a ‘99 Land Cruiser, a ‘10 Lexus HS, a ‘09 Prius, a ‘95 Kawasaki Ninja 250, an MR2 Spyder, and my current daily which is an ‘07 RAV4. Plus a few more I may have forgotten here and there. Never owned a single car under 200k miles (well, the bike was at 50k but that doesn’t count lol)
Every part I’ve ever needed was available on RockAuto, and my local gas station mechanic is awesome and has been able to put on every single part I’ve never been able to myself.
All in I’ve spent less than $18k owning all of my vehicles combined, including buying the cars and all parts and labor.
Anyways, backstory over.
I’ve been thinking about finally evolving into the next phase of my life: becoming a New Car Buyer™️. Been looking at cars that I’ll buy new off the lot and keep running forever for the next ~15 years or 300k miles at the minimum. Currently considering a RAV4, bZ4X, Corolla Cross, or Mazda CX-50 Hybrid and Subaru Forester Hybrid (which both use the tried and true Toyota hybrid transmission)
Roommate owns a Corvette and a Mustang and has been desperately trying to push me toward a Ford Maverick though. Something something about how the experience “totally changes” owning a domestic car since all the parts are right here in-country. And granted the Maverick isn’t half bad, I like the Toyota-style eCVT and the fact it’s a tiny truck.
How true is this though? Is getting parts and getting shit fixed really any cheaper owning a domestic Ford over an import Toyota?
Had a 6-liter supercharged mid-engine V16 producing 560 horsepower, and did a verified speed of 268 mph.
Rumors have it it was going roughly 275 mph on the slightly downhill backstretch of the Frankfurt-Darmstadt Autobahn test course before Bernd Rosemeyer lost control and crashed. The car unintentionally had a large amount of ground effect downforce; which was little understood, and it’s believed heavy porpoising could have been a factor in the crash.
It was the fastest of the pre-war German “silver arrows”.
I just think they’re neat. If I’m buying a sports car I’m doing my damndest to get one in its national racing color.
They give each nation’s cars a unique flavor. British Racing Green, Rosso Corsa, etc.
Plus some of them have a unique story. It’s said that the racing silver on German cars is a reference to the Mercedes W25, which showed up to scruteneering 1kg overweight in the 1934 Eifelrennen, so they sandpapered all the paint off and turned it bare metal. The truth of that story is suspect but it’s a cool story nonetheless.
Pardon my cruddy drawing skills, this was done in Mac Preview lol. I always thought the C8 needed a wraparound rear glass to connect it more with the C4-C7 Corvettes.
I've always valued lightweight and analog fun cars. Any car can break the speed limit. My goal isn't to go any faster, it's to have the most fun at the speeds I already do. Hard to beat an ultra light roadster. If I were richer I'd throw in a Morgan 4/4 or an Ariel Atom on the list someplace. If I were uber-rich I'd love a speedster like a Ferrari Monza.
As for the daily, its job is to simply get me anywhere I need to go as cheaply as possible in ANY condition, including snow. So it's hard to not go for the best of the smallish hybrid/electric CUVs. RAV4 and CX-50 share the unkillable A25A powertrain so that's nice too.
As for classics, I want an analog, old-school, computer-less car that has LOTS of parts availability. The Falcon is probably what I'd most likely do, considering it shares parts with the Mustang. The Model A is there because I've always loved 1920s car design and it's the most accessible car of that era. And the Corvair is kind of a wild card.
If you can't tell, I'm a bit of a cheapskate lol. I'll probably just keep enjoying my '09 RAV4 and '92 Corvette. Might probably add an MR2 Spyder to the garage to get more of the left panel.
Absolutely loving this car. It tackles snow with no issue and I nabbed it for just $3900! :D
222k miles and counting. Garage-kept and not a single sign of wear and tear anywhere. And it’s ludicrously fast! Plus I got ~27 MPG on the highway taking it home, so that was pretty neat.