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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   3022 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 21, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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My favorite car I ever owned, or probably ever will own, was a 2001 Volvo S40. I just loved the way it looked, and I never had a better-feeling car to drive. The handling was very precise and the turbo was very responsive. It drove like it was on rails. Even more than that, I absolutely loved having a car nobody else had. Here in the Midwestern U.S., I have seen fewer than 10 other 1st-gen S40s, ever. I mean, ever. And I keep a sharp eye out for them. (The first-generation V40 is even rarer.) Obviously there's stuff out there like the BMW M series, various Acuras etc. that would have been hotter performers, perhaps objectively better cars on any axis; but that Volvo S40 was mine. I identified so strongly with it for some reason.

But it got to the point where I couldn't keep the CEL off reliably, and I really got tired of crawling underneath that thing, or putting my arm down in the engine bay to try and wrench out more stuff with my Torx kit... I am grateful for the mechanical competence I got from dealing with that, but I have a good job now and I just don't need to do that shit any more. I was ready to have that feeling that when I go to start the car, it definitely will start and I will get where I'm trying to go.

So I traded it in, and I now drive a white Buick sedan. In general no one will notice it. This Buick is definitely the most reliable car I've ever had. My cost of ownership has been minuscule. Absolutely great, reliable car. But it's not especially fun. Just comfortable. I wonder if I will ever have another car that I think is "fun." By the time I'm ready to, I wonder if driving yourself (instead of having a self-driving car) will be banned.

My favorite car ever was Daewoo Tico. Definitely unsafe, curb weight of 1000 lbs, something like 30-45 hp engine.

Very fast acceleration, you could zoom ahead in cities, only sports cars were faster in getting up to 60 kph.

Very fun and responsive to drive. The shift stick was under my knee as it was built for Koreans.

Still, most fun car I ever drove. Such cars are of course illegal now, because fucking EU and their fucking safety regulations that are totally for our own good. It cost like $4000 new then, but with all the safety baggage cars have you need some 120 kw small turbo in a city car to approximate the performance. And you pay a lot, lot more for it.

curb weight of 1000 lbs

It appears that the Tico's curb weight was 1400 lb, not 1000 lb. But even 1400 lb is a lot lower than the modern Mirage's 2000 lb.

I know what you mean. I had a 1998 V40 I still miss.

I love the way S40s look and have had a soft spot for them visually. Haven't had the pleasure of driving one.

Your feelings around maintenance and how it stacks up against your other responsibilities closely track mine.

It was a hell of a car. I paid $2800 cash for it, and at the time that felt like a ton of money. Then I drove it for eight years.

I wonder what that same money would get you now. Do you ever think about that scenario? "I'm 22 years old, I've got 3k saved up, and I've got to get a car that will get me to my job for at least a year or two." I imagine you'd end up with something like an Oldsmobile Alero. Maybe a Mazda Protege if you live in a lower-rust area. Definitely nothing under 10-12 years old.

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