Aren't cars rubbish?

[Profpointy]

For all their foibles, I love Minis

Real minis or the new looky-likey beemer ones?

 

[mjr]

So you don't particularly enjoy car use or ownership and it is just a means to an end for you. That's fine, but for some people they are a source of enjoyment and a hobby, passion, or whatever, in their life. Some of them can't understand the attraction of jumping on a bike and having to pedal to make it move.

The attraction isn't the jumping on a bike and having to pedal - it's in where it can take you, how gracefully and how easy it is to use once you've learned - it's as easy as riding a bike!

Some bikes are works of art IMO, and I can see that's also true of some cars - but I can afford some such bikes and no such cars (although the Mito isn't ugly, it's more of a homage than an artwork itself). That's not the problem.

The problem is that most cars now are fugly, heavy, complicated, finickity, mudslinging, polluting, time-hungry, expensive-to-run things and this car-crazy country makes it pretty difficult to completely avoid them. If it was left to free choice (rather than people with no access to cars being punished with poor access to services), surely only a subset of what you call "wheel tarts" would bother with them? Like how it's mostly enthusiasts who still drive steam tractors?

 

[Profpointy]

please explain this washing thing i thought thats why it rained every so often

When I had company cars, the rules said I had to regularly clean it so I had to wash them after 3 years before handing them back. I did this whether they needed it or not

 

[biggs682]

When I had company cars, the rules said I had to regularly clean it so I had to wash them after 3 years before handing them back. I did this whether they needed it or not

only every 3 years

 

[DaveReading]

only every 3 years

Well "regular" and "frequent" aren't synonyms.

 

[Reynard]

Real minis or the new looky-likey beemer ones?

Real minis. I have one.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

The big problem now is access. I used to happily change starter motors, alternators and drive belts, strip carbs etc without dreaming of going to a dealer. Everything was visible under the bonnet and there was little or nothing in the way of whatever bit needed doing. Now many of the ancillary components have to be attacked from beneath the engine, something in itself made more difficult because cars sit lower to the ground. The last such job I did was an alternator on a Mondeo, an absolute pig of a job whist lying on your back and trying to get a deep socket to bite on a recessed bolt you could not see.

I know what you mean, this was the engine bay on the XKR we had for a few years

 

[Profpointy]

Real minis. I have one.

They are fun and good to drive, though never owned one. Had a drive of a mate's souped up one: twice the horse power and half the weight of a normal one. It was quite something. He could literally spin it on the spot and I've been in it when he spun it (totally under control) on a single track road - inch perfect with stone walls each side. He became British Champion at "autotesting" in it - which is doing spins round cones in a car park.

On a more practical note you could get 4 adults in more or less comfort in a mini -yet would struggle to do that in a rather larger modern car.

 

[mustang1]

Wistful sigh....and they didn't start angrily beeping at you if you didn't put your seatbelt on within a nanosecond of picking up your car keys.
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I drove my friends Toyota hybrid thingie. Whenever you select reverse, it beeps with a dumb annoying shriek. I hate it.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Minis were alright after they changed to wind up windows. Those sliding jobs were a royal pain in the arse, it took ages to get the get them just right so a gale wasn't blowing in and if you altered your direction of travel by more than 3 degrees you had to start all over again.

 

[Profpointy]

Well "regular" and "frequent" aren't synonyms.

Quite - especially in an IT department where us techies do tend to take things very litterally. They need to be precise in use of language, as precision is the most important wossername

 

[mustang1]

Do go on sir, I'm intrigued......mines a turbo diesel.

Edwina Curry (of egg disease game) used to have a corolla GTi.

 

[screenman]

They are fun and good to drive, though never owned one. Had a drive of a mate's souped up one: twice the horse power and half the weight of a normal one. It was quite something. He could literally spin it on the spot and I've been in it when he spun it (totally under control) on a single track road - inch perfect with stone walls each side. He became British Champion at "autotesting" in it - which is doing spins round cones in a car park.

On a more practical note you could get 4 adults in more or less comfort in a mini -yet would struggle to do that in a rather larger modern car.

Having sat 4 in a mini last year I would say for comfort you would need extremely small adults.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Wistful sigh....and they didn't start angrily beeping at you if you didn't put your seatbelt on within a nanosecond of picking up your car keys.
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a concourse Moggy..lovely..i used to rebuild them superb little engines..happy days

 

[Profpointy]

a concourse Moggy..lovely..i used to rebuild them superb little engines..happy days

A moggie is on my list for the classic car collection. My preference would be the van version, both for rarity and practicality. Never driven a moggie though have ridden in a few. A mate had a former police dog van version. That said, maybe an A35 might be even cooler.