fun cars

[Joe Elliott <jee@domain.elided>]

At 1:59 PM -0400 10/27/01, alfa-digest wrote:
>Alfa Romeo -  '72-'74 Bertone GTV, Alfetta GTV, GTV6
>Acura - Integra (GSR is particularly fast)
>AMC - Javelin (some people enjoy the muscle cars)
>Audi - Quattro Coupe (AWD can be great fun!)
>BMW - 2002, any 3 series (two-door)
>Chevrolet - Camaro (the earlier, the better)
>Datsun - 240Z (these are great GT cars!)
>Dodge - Challenger (great engines and OK handling in the 340 T/A model)
>Ferrari - (yes, they have some nice 2+2s available used for reasonable - for
>a Ferrari - $$$)
>Fiat - 124 coupe (inexpensive, but fun)
>Ford - Mustang (go for the early versions)
>Honda - Civic Si (kids love these cars!)
>Jaguar - XJS (troublesome, but very classy)
>Lancia - Beta Coupe (rare and cheap)
>Maserati - BiTurbo (troublesome, cheap and lotsa fun)
>Mercedes - SLC (heavy, but very well-made)
>Merkur - XR4Ti (inexpensive to buy)
>Nissan - 240SX, 300ZX
>Plymouth - Barracuda (see Challenger)
>Pontiac - Firebird (the early Trans Ams especially)
>Porsche - 911, 944, 928 (they all have their own merits)
>Saab - 900 Turbo, 9-3 (women seem to really love the way a Saab feels)
>Subaru - SVX (a truly weird, but fun AWD car)
>Toyota - Supra (powerful V6 engines, Toyota reliability)
>Volkswagen - GTI, Scirocco, Corrado (my favorite front-drivers)

As if I haven't spent enough of my day (I got up at 3:00) posting to 
the AD, I feel like I should defend the Jaguar XJS from being 
referred to as troublesome. (I also feel like I should share why I 
think American muscle cars are even worse than 911s in terms of 
spending money on/letting loved ones drive, but I'll refrain.) 
Admittedly, I'm not too familiar with the Jag V12 and the more modern 
I-6 that the XJS came with in the USA, but XJ's in general, at least 
'80s ones are exponentially less troublesome than everyone who's 
never owned one seems to think. Jaguars in general, as a matter of 
fact.  My dad has intentionally avoided the cars built when Jaguar 
was owned by British Leyland (which probably to suck and are probably 
the reason that Jaguar, and the Brits in general, have such a bad 
reputation in the USA these days), but he's had 6 Jaguars, almost 
always as daily drivers over the past 30 years--a '52, a '66, a '67, 
a '63, a '59, and now an '87 (that's a Series III for you European 
types that got the XJ40 in '87).  The only "breakdown" he's ever 
experienced was when, the week after he bought the '87 XJ6 (in '94, 
with ~75k mi) with known non-functioning AC, the AC compressor seized 
and threw all the belts, forcing him to have the car towed to a gas 
station for new belts.  Not the car's fault, if you ask me.  If you 
question the day-to-day usability of the XJS, I suggest you read the 
(Jan. '98 ??) issue of European Car (that also features Charlie's 
GTV6).  It explains that yes, early V12s can overheat, but in general 
they're perfectly good cars, and the later ones with the post-XK I-6 
are particularly not troublesome.  I feel, however, that although 
they can be fun, Jag XJs don't belong on the above list (neither do 
American cars, but I promised I wouldn't go into that).  They're too 
heavy, and even if you tolerate slushboxes in general, their 3-speed 
transmissions are easily the worst I've ever experienced in a 
European car.  They do have what is easily the world's best 
suspension, in terms of both ride and handling, and yes, the handling 
is great, but it's not chuckable enough to be a car that you'd buy 
for it's fun quotient--certainly not a sports car and perhaps barely 
a GT.  (Maybe the marginally lighter, marginally more powerful, 5-spd 
European versions are different, but with them I have no experience.)

Joe Elliott
'82 GTV6

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