Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Non-Ferrari cars

[George P . (ygpz4re]

Ok gang, here's my take on it (FWIW!).  I still have a Spitfire which I bought right out of college, and my Dad's a dyed-in-the-wool Jag guy (currently owns 4 - 2 vintage, 2 modern).  I also know and have spoken extensively with many, MANY other British car owners (and I suspect Matt Boyd will back me up on this) - a British car is only as good as the maintenance it is given.  Hmmmm, kind of like a Ferrari, yes?
 
Lucas electrics get a lot of blame for British car problems, but in 27 years of British car ownership, the Lucas parts have only let me down twice, and neither were catastrophic or caused a "stranding".
 
I once knew a guy who worked at a Jag dealer, and he showed me a Lucas relay box.  On the box was printed, "Manufactured by Lucas to Jaguar specifications".  Infer from that what you will.
 
On the other end of the spectrum, I was on a drive to Watkins Glen with my Dad's Jag club and one of the guys was having problems getting his XJ-6 (mid-80's vintage) to start.  Being the engineer he was, he looked in the manual for the iginition circuit and, well, I'll put it in his words - "There are 4 relays, 3 Bosch and one Lucas, guess which one I went for?"  Needless to say, the relay was "dodgy", so he popped off the cover and operated it manually to get the car started.
 
SU carbs also get a lot of crap.  When my Dad owned his E-Type back in the mid 60's (one of the first 4.2L cars sold in the US), he set the carbs and never touched them again.  Car ran great for the entire 3 years he owned it (and it was pretty much a daily driver back then).  Ditto with the 4.2L E-Type he owns now (though not a daily driver).  Rarely, if ever, has to fiddle with the carbs.
 
Like one of the other listers who responded to this - I've also owned American, British, German, Italian, and Japanese.  Best bang for the buck (for sports cars) has been our '04 Mazdaspeed Miata.  Starts every time - no fuss no muss, quick as can be (probably as quick as the 308, if not quicker), handles like a go-kart.  For general automotive transportation, the best bang for the buck has been my '04 Jetta TDI wagon.  It's like a "true" SUV - German suspension so it can be driven spiritedly (if that's a word!), but still swallows up a ton (not literally, but close) of cargo.  Not a lot of bells and whistles, but the simple "creature comforts" - power windows/locks/mirrors (even heated sideview mirrors), CD player, nice cold A/C (and nary a recharge as yet with 193K miles), cruise control, and 45-50mpg - what more does one really need?  I once drove from my house (just north of Richmond, VA) up to Elmira, NY, back to my house, and then round trip to Manassas and back - one day, one tank of fuel.  I *LOVE* this car!  Oh, and did I mention that the Jetta is still wearing it's factory original front brakes and clutch???
 
Lashdeep, if you're looking at Lotus' (Lotii??), I'd vote for the Elite.  Such a pretty little car, but beware - as I understand it, it's a fiberglass bodied car, and fiberglass fatigue can cause serious problems.  So be sure you get a very good one that is well sorted.  No doubt you'd do that anyway....  (Frankly, I doubt if I could even fit in one...  ditto the Europa.)
 
Final word - P-cars v. Ferrari.  I like 'em both, but for different reasons.  One of my best friends from college bought a Cayman S (aka "Coxster", according to Top Gear's Clarkson!), which really is a GREAT car!  He forwarded me an email thread from the local P club where he lives, regarding a track event.  Someone asked about the event if the threatening weather turned bad.  Response was, "We're running the event rain or shine - we're not driving Ferrari's here!"  Again, infer from what what you will.
 
:-)
 
gp