Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Tom's Car Quest

[BRIGANDBAR (BRIGANDBAR]

Hi Tom;
 
There are a lot of neat suggestions, but if I remember correctly you wanted  
something that would be reliable, as well as fun, and to have reasonable  
acquisition and maintenance costs. That eliminates most of them. Even playing  
with Renntech will violate many budgets and at the risk of restating the  
obvious, anytime you modify or alter a vehicle reliability will be subject to  
empirical testing and examination of the specific vehicle. Even the best  
non-factory mods. will have their own specific gremlins to deal with.
 
As for visceral, well once again at the risk of restating the obvious,  
visceral and reliable are antonyms when it comes to automobiles and the same  
circumstance applies to visceral and "reasonable" when applied to acquisition  
and 
maintenance costs. I guess I've never found the right combination and when  
budgetary constraints enter into the picture it is far better to err on the 
side 
 of economic conservatism.
 
I guess I'm just prejudiced in some areas as my preferences fall to larger  
cars, e.g. a 7-Series BMW or S-Class MB with the largest V-8/12 available for  
performance and the "visceral" feeling but neither of those will fall into  
reasonable budgetary constraints though there are some bargains to be had in 
600 
 series S-Class cars if you can tolerate the projectable maintenance costs. 
As  for reliability, well there is the "creature in the woodpile" (as you well 
know  having guided me through a car search or two). If the E-Class/3-Series 
BMW's are  too large, I'm afraid I couldn't be helpful on a smaller car. Laws 
of physics,  mass of one car vs. another. etc. that would color my judgement.
 
Maybe an off-lease Lexus would do, but they are over budget. Now if you  
would wait it out, a retired Dodge hemi police car might be just the right  
thing.
 

Dr. Steve