Looking for some emotional responses to car choices

[why?]

really simple choice. If you like convertibles get a miata. If you like to be able to stick a weekend bag in the trunk and take someone somewhere get the brz.

The front interior of the brz really is gigantic.

[geezerbrzeezer]

This car does just about everything perfectly.

I really don't give a shit that the tires are the much maligned Prius rubber - some genius worked it out that if you slap those fuckers on a Twin, it'll make ya grin.

Keep the revs up and you'll be happy all day long - and gas mileage doesn't even suffer noticeably.

It's light, affordable, turns heads, but most importantly, feels like a little race car you can pinball through traffic on even the shittiest gridlock and/or weather days.

Emotional? Walk up to it, freshly detailed. Get in and press the button. The adventure begins.

Done.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Guru Woodman

At the risk of going off topic...

It is hard to say what the ultimate trigger was that made be decide to sell it. Yes, maintenance and little problems were there but it was not the deciding factor. There rewards were there too.
But in the end it felt that the car was too serious (too German?) for me. It was as if I had to obey it and and not the other way around. It was quick but it also felt heavy (clutch steering etc..)
There was also the image the brand has. Some people (even friends) assumed that I drove it for the prestige and treated me different. I am a pretty hard core car enthusiast and I could not care less about status but I had to deal with this misconception.

In the end you can say the the 911 was like a grumpy dog and if I tried hard enough it would reward me. The BRZ on the other hand feels like a happy puppy. It is not flawless by any means but it tries really hard to please me. It makes me happy to go for a ride.

That's a great response, I really appreciate it and I do think it's relevant.

One mans perfect car is another owner's living nightmare.

[nextcar]

I suggest renting a convertible for a week before deciding...

I always dreamed of a convertible and was disappointed when I finally got one:

Road noise
Sunburn
Insulation against temperature extremes
Leaks
Visibility with top up
Wind buffeting/wind noise...
expensive to repair if torn or mechanism has problems
body flex

My wife complaining about her hair getting messed up and refusing to ride with the top down.

Other people love them - but I will not own another. Most rental companies have a few convertibles - even if they are not representative of the handling you are after you can see if you like living with the top down.

[winstonscifi]

My wife and I were looking for a road trip car that was fun to drive. I test drove the newest Miata - great, but no trunk room. The Fiata - more room in the trunk, but I could only test drive an auto, and there was considerable turbo lag. I saw this brand new Firestorm Red FR-S languishing on the dealer showroom floor and took it for a test drive. Lots of fun, plenty of room in the trunk, and the wife thought the seats were comfortable and it was "cute". $3000 off the list price sealed the deal. This car is perfect for us!

[MrDinkleman]

Originally Posted by nextcar

I suggest renting a convertible for a week before deciding...

I always dreamed of a convertible and was disappointed when I finally got one:

Road noise
Sunburn
Insulation against temperature extremes
Leaks
Visibility with top up
Wind buffeting/wind noise...
expensive to repair if torn or mechanism has problems
body flex

My wife complaining about her hair getting messed up and refusing to ride with the top down.

Other people love them - but I will not own another.

Yuppa; plus you forgot: impossible to secure from break-ins.


I have an NB Miata on which I was planning to remove the soft top permanently and bolt on the hardtop permanently for exactly all the reasons above (except the body flex-not so much). But my GF wants to keep the option of going topless (heh, heh, hehhhhh) so I guess I am going to have to repair the soft top instead...


And I agree with why? that it's simple. If you want a convertible, then Miata. If not, then FRS/BRZ.

[Overdrive]

For me, it was a lot of brand allegiance to Toyota, and the fact that it was just about as close to my ideal car as I could get. Another emotional part of it was having lost my Toyota of 13 years, I really wanted to get back into one, but also wanted to get myself something that fit my wants without compromise since I'd be buying a new car. I have a Boxster, and while that's a wonderful drive and pretty livable on a daily basis, it's not my daily car for where I live. I'm not of the mindset that living in New England = AWD or GTFO, and I don't drive like an idiot in the snow, so RWD didn't scare me off a bit. I wanted something sporty, rear wheel drive, but livable on a daily basis. Had to be a coupe, 4 seats would be tolerated, and not a hatchback. The FR-S pretty much did it all for me. I'm one who prefers handling prowess over sheer power (see previously mentioned 200hp Boxster ownership), so the power concern brought up by seemingly everyone is a non-issue to me. Its closest competition in my mind and decision making (with a few major compromises) was a Focus ST, but I didn't want a FWD 5-door hatch. If a Focus ST coupe existed, I would've had a lot more emotional wrestling to do.

I freely admit that when I first sat in an FR-S in 2012 I did not like it. Looked great, had pretty much everything I wanted, but when I sat in it I just felt off, which was very disappointing for me. Fast forward 2 years, and my local auto show was doing Toyota and Mazda test drives. One of the choices was an (auto) FR-S. This time around, I took a good moment to make sure I was sitting comfortably, and hit the road. Once I was in motion my initial opinion from a few years back was wiped clean. Had a great local downtown test drive, and I was hooked. Being able to actually drive it made all the difference and showed me that it was what I'd been looking for that hadn't been on the market for my entire driving career (I wasn't gonna buy a Miata). Fast forward yet one more year later, almost to the day, and I test drove a used manual one at my local dealer. Sealed the deal for me, and the shifter in that car really puts Porsche to shame in my opinion.

Alas, when I was able to shop for my FR-S, Scion was 3 months into ceasing to exist, and I ended up with an automatic. Still love it and how usable it is on a daily basis, but I would've really enjoyed having that manual. It reminds me very much of the Boxster, with a very similar balance and handling, but it is much more livable for me and the occasional passenger on a daily basis. Even if I'm just chucking something into the back seat area as temp storage space, having that extra cabin space is welcome, and its limited use for most non-children means I won't be playing taxi on a regular basis. I don't need much in the way of creature comforts, so driving a fairly sparse sports car daily bothers me none. I get the same excitement I got on my test drives every time I go for a drive. Who knows if that'll wear off someday, but for now I'm enjoying it fully, and can't wait to do some autocross and tracking. This was entirely a selfish and emotional purchase for me, and I don't feel the least bit bad about that.

[Re_Invention]

Originally Posted by Guru Woodman

At the risk of going off topic...

It is hard to say what the ultimate trigger was that made be decide to sell it. Yes, maintenance and little problems were there but it was not the deciding factor. There rewards were there too.
But in the end it felt that the car was too serious (too German?) for me. It was as if I had to obey it and and not the other way around. It was quick but it also felt heavy (clutch steering etc..)
There was also the image the brand has. Some people (even friends) assumed that I drove it for the prestige and treated me different. I am a pretty hard core car enthusiast and I could not care less about status but I had to deal with this misconception.

In the end you can say the the 911 was like a grumpy dog and if I tried hard enough it would reward me. The BRZ on the other hand feels like a happy puppy. It is not flawless by any means but it tries really hard to please me. It makes me happy to go for a ride.

That's interesting... I don't have an air cooled but a 997 for almost a year now and I love the damn thing. I can't imagine parting with it, only adding space for more cars. But maybe I'll change my tune some day.

Gramicci - I'm about 6'2 and find most cars tough to fit, try a 996 or 997 for size - one of the reasons I love the 911's so much is I fit comfortably with a helmet!

I've put some time in a track BRZ at the nurburgring and driven FR-S and BRZ's on public roads here in the states. Where you see it as the young puppy I see a predictable and basic albeit modestly entertaining car. I find the S2000 much more characterful than the twins in that regards, as well. That puts the BRZ at the bottom of the emotional decision chart in my opinion. It's a logical ownership decision and driving experience if anything: reliable, cheap to run, cheap to maintain, easy to fix, new with enough nannies to be comfortable, very easy to drive quickly, accessible, etc. What's not to love, right?

With a Miata you get the compromise of a soft top, which adds a lot to the visceral experience.

As for the p wagen, the 911 is definitely a femme fatale - it's the most difficult driving experience I've had but a complete riot to try, it's an engaging, emotional and sometimes frustrating challenge in my book but that makes the pay off worthwhile. Having spent the better part of a decade on motorcycles transitioned well to driving a 911 quickly but it's still a white knuckle event with PASM off. And much like a motorcycle, when you get it right: it's a magical feeling. There are no rewards for half-assing it with 911's in my opinion. Combined with the sounds and smells makes for a complete auto junkie fix. And this is on a plain jane base Carrera, if I could afford it I'd be in a GT3 immediately prodding the limits of bassackwards engine placement and my own mortality.

"But in the end it felt that the car was too serious (too German?) for me."
Haha yeah.. I see truth to that statement but I don't think that's a demerit? Maybe it is..

"It was as if I had to obey it and and not the other way around."
Hmm... I felt this way in the first few months learning what the car likes/doesn't like but once you pick up the quirks you work them into your inputs. Strange that you still felt this way after a year.

"It was quick but it also felt heavy (clutch steering etc..)"
I've only spent a couple of hours in an SC and the car felt solid and maybe even a little agricultural (actually closer to tank-like build!) but not heavy. I haven't driven a 911 that doesn't become light on its feet and feel nimble with a bit of speed. Even my 997 which is a porker in dimension and weight compared to any aircooled car feels sports car sized and athletic rolling.

Also the car is seemingly a complete PITA to work on, but just about everything is DIY documented online and when you start digging into it you find the packaging is damned genius and again becomes an interesting challenge. I'd much rather wrench on my 911 than a Cayman

I do agree on the Porsche brand snobery. It's disgusting the entitlement many owners believe they have but that's an easy fix: avoid them. And I can live with random stranger's judgement of me.



OP - the twins are fantastic double duty cars - one of if not the best available. That isn't an emotional decision, it's a rationale one. So go out there and get one already!

[funwheeldrive]

I bought my FRS new 3 years ago. There still isn't a new or used car I would rather own for under 25k

Before I bought my FRS I was considering several cars, but had always fantasized about the Lotus Elise. I decided to rent one for a week. It was an amazing experience, but it made me realize that I couldn't live with the car as a daily driver. I owned a gutted 94 miata in the past and even that seemed mild compared to the Elise. The attention that came with the car was nice most of the time, but I didn't really like the idea of always standing out on the road. It was also close to impossible to reach the car's limit on public roads.

The 86 has its drawbacks, but it's rare to find an engaging sports car that has more than 2 seats, is reliable, and cheap to maintain. I have a baby so other cars like the Cayman, 370z, and Corvette weren't even an option for me.

The only other car I seriously considered was an e46 M3.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Re_Invention

As for the p wagen, the 911 is definitely a femme fatale - it's the most difficult driving experience I've had but a complete riot to try, it's an engaging, emotional and sometimes frustrating challenge in my book but that makes the pay off worthwhile. Having spent the better part of a decade on motorcycles transitioned well to driving a 911 quickly but it's still a white knuckle event with PASM off. And much like a motorcycle, when you get it right: it's a magical feeling. There are no rewards for half-assing it with 911's in my opinion. Combined with the sounds and smells makes for a complete auto junkie fix. And this is on a plain jane base Carrera, if I could afford it I'd be in a GT3 immediately prodding the limits of bassackwards engine placement and my own mortality.

I feel just fine hanging it out in a porsche and I think I can add to your motorcycle connection. Part of being comfortable in it is letting go of the steering wheel a little just like crossing a freshly plowed field on a bike. It's best to not fight the momentum, and correct loosely instead. Less is more.

I also grew up beating the shit out of an old vw beetle in the dirt. That might've helped a little.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Re_Invention

Gramicci - I'm about 6'2 and find most cars tough to fit, try a 996 or 997 for size - one of the reasons I love the 911's so much is I fit comfortably with a helmet!

I have; I moderated a Porsche forum for a few years and I got to drive friends' GT3s and TTs. My goal car is a current version (whatever is current at the time of purchase) 911TTS. And then straight to Sharkwerks for some aftermarket love. I was trying to talk my wife into a Panamera for a family car instead of a BMW, but she said she wasn't a Porsche fan. It's like "I'M a Porsche fan, let me do this!" Nope, BMW.

[Twinz]

When people ask me about my FRS, my short answer is that it's a "manly Miata".

It's the same basic recipe as a miata, but without the "chick car" look.

(If I could fit a set of track tires in a 2300lb ND and the transmission didn't have issues, I might have went that way..."chick car" stigma or not)

[wbradley]

Originally Posted by Twinz

When people ask me about my FRS, my short answer is that it's a "manly Miata".

It's the same basic recipe as a miata, but without the "chick car" look.

(If I could fit a set of track tires in a 2300lb ND and the transmission didn't have issues, I might have went that way..."chick car" stigma or not)

Well at least you didn't make reference to your "manly manicotti". LOL

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

I have; I moderated a Porsche forum for a few years and I got to drive friends' GT3s and TTs. My goal car is a current version (whatever is current at the time of purchase) 911TTS. And then straight to Sharkwerks for some aftermarket love. I was trying to talk my wife into a Panamera for a family car instead of a BMW, but she said she wasn't a Porsche fan. It's like "I'M a Porsche fan, let me do this!" Nope, BMW.

I am very close to convincing the wife that her next car should be a Macan. She was leaning toward the Lexus RX450 but they didn't have a colour she liked where the Macan does (I am not making that up her whole choice of cars is based on colour).