sammyd

Here are what I consider to be some interesting cars that I have driven. If anyone wants some impressions let me know.

Tell us what you've driven (again, cars that appeal to enthusiasts only please, no Camry's!), and we can get feedback on cars we're considering.

Mine:

Mitsubishi Evo IX
E55 AMG
Porsche 911 Turbo - 2001
Dodge Viper - 2002
Z4 M Coupe
C5 Corvette -base
Lotus Elise
Ford GT
Ferrari 360
Lambo Gallardo
RX-7 R1 -'93
C5 Z06 Vette
Porsche Boxster - 99 base

I would like to hear feedback on:

CLS 55 AMG
BMW 7 Series (new shape, early model)

jturkel

Mercedes C55 AMG
Mercedes CLK550
BMW 335i sedan
Acura NSX
Acura TL-S
Subaru WRX STI with turboback and cobb access port
2000 BMW 5 series (530i i think)
Audi A4 1.8T, 3.2
Audi A6 (i think 2.6 or 2.8?)
Mini Cooper S

soon.......700+whp supra (e85)

saer1one

1995 Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo
great car to drive, slow take off but as soon as the turbos start spooling, man it puts your *** in the seat..

Newzchspy

Tell us what you've driven (again, cars that appeal to enthusiasts only please, no Camry's!), and we can get feedback on cars we're considering.

My recent drives:

Mitsubishi Evo X with Aero Package
2006 E55 AMG
Porsche 911 Turbo S -Bobby Rahal's Brothers
Dodge Viper GTS -
C5 Corvette -base Hertz Rental Car Ft. Myers FL
Lotus Exige
Lambo Gallardo
Porsche Boxster S 2009

wawy

Nothing too exciting except for the new M3 Sedan. I liked it a lot but it wasn't like "I have to have this right here and now!" I'm trying to stay away from the C63 as I'm afraid if I drive it I'll do something stupid and get one. Oh, you can include the new CTS V in that statement also...

kjb55

C55, E55, F355, 360 Modena, F430, Bentley Coupe, Gallardo, 911 turbo (997), 911S (997), 911 (996), 911 turbo (993), Cayenne, S350, S430, S55, S550, S600, S65, SL65, Z06, Aston Martin Vantage, Supra TT (93), Ducati 999, Z8 Alpina, M3 (various), 740iL, 750iL, M6, S4, S5, S6.

Jen_Kenne

Camry. That's become a standing joke at FOAS.

I've driven a gaggle of Benzes, from 300 Adenauers to various V8 and V12 powered contemporary roadsters and sedans. I've driven a number of exotics - from vintage to more contemporary, including Ferrari 250GT Spyder California, 275GTB/4, 330GT, 330GTS, 365GTC, 365GTB/4, 308GT4-Norwood, 308GTS qv, 328GTS, 348GTS, 355GTB, 430GTB, Testarossa, Lambo 350GTV, Lambo Miura, Maserati Biturbo, 328, Ghibli & Quattroporte. The only cars that I've missed after I sold them were the 560SEL, 308GTS, and the ML500. The car I wish Mercedes had built was the C111/112. As I look forward, I want to see the replacement for the 6.3 V8, which is just around the corner. I am dubious about KERS type technology in passenger cars, and wonder why, since these are all heat engines, we're not seeing any heat-steam approaches. YMMV

hooleyboy

I'm in the process of driving my girlfriend crazy.

Jen_Kenne

+ 10

The best answer!

sammyd

How did the F355 compare to the Modena? Was it as much fun? Balanced as well? The Modena was probably the car I enjoyed driving the most. Not the most powerful, but I could tell exactly what was going on at each wheel.

sammyd

I find beemers kind of devoid of passion, to be honest. Had a Z4 M Coupe for grand total of two months before selling it. Not enough power, didn't feel special. Admittedly I have not driven the new M3.

sammyd

I've had a '93 R1 and a '95. '95 was in the shop more than on the road. R1 I got working pretty fast. No less than 76 separate air hoses under the hood, so a bit of a night mare to get the bugs out of. Pretty amazing cars.

kjb55

I have the 355 and 360 now. Similar handling, the 360 is much more responsive and feels faster. The 355 does not have ASR, so there is an edge of caution to it. Both have Tubi's, but the 355 sounds like an F1 car, the 360 is deeper.

The F355 is manual and the 360 is F1. Both are GTB.

Where the 360 wins and would be my choice as well, is the structural improvements with the Alcoa aluminum chassis. Stiff and solid like a Mercedes or German chassis.

There is something visceral about the 355 that keeps you choosing or second guessing the 360, however.

Jen_Kenne

The Ferrari V8s have a special sound - the 308 qv and the 430 seem especially so. Part is due to the single-plane crankshaft, part to the low reciprocating and rotating weight, and part to the genes.

JG26_Irish

I liked the quote about driving the GF crazy Hooley, lol. To 2nd that, I am driving my wife crazy. As for cars...

Fiat 124 spyder 1970 (old school roadster) nimble and as quick as an old 70's era 6.6L TransAm. Handles like a sportscar should with bias towards oversteer. 88ci (1438cc) DOHC engine with twin weber downdraft carbs made about 100hp and in this light weight that was plenty.
Porsche 944S (DOHC model) - most under rated car ever. Best overall balanced handling of any sportscar I have ever driven bar none.
Porsche 944 turbo just like the S only more of it.... and less. faster but lacked the wail of the twin cam 4v engine. Turbo lag was there but the power was still impressive. Able to hang with most modern cars even today.
Porsche 911 Carerra (old school model mid 80ish), nice torquey, to die for styling, but ultimately I was disappointed in the lack of refinement, lack of pure performance and the fact that it felt like a big torquey VW beetle.
Porsche 911e 1969 model. Fully restored. Sounded awesome, loved it but it was after all a 60's era car and this was painfully obvious.
Note: before the P-car owners slam me for "hating on" their icon, be sure, I LOVE all porsches and get weak in the knees every time I see one.

Toyota MR2 turbo - highly modded. This is one of the most capbale little cars from nippon ever. Able to run with Corvettes, Cobras, Z4's M3's and others on a race course and win. Unforgiving as hell to the timid driver lacking the confidence to commit to the corner. Hand built by Yamaha for Toyota.
C36 AMG - a slower but better all round car than some of the newer AMG's. Handling was superb as was the inline six DOHC engine.
C32 AMG - faster than the C36 but less refined in the handling dept. Beautiful car. Deceptively quick and easy to mod for more power.
350Z - sorta quick, pretty but boring. Slower than the MR2
G35 - Infinity, nice japanese car. Lots of bells and whistles. 2008 model had many of the things that MB was putting in their cars in 2002.
Lotus Elise - 195hp go kart. Fun, stiff, very focused for a street car. I want one.
Corvette - 1997 Stingray - restored and updated with big disc brakes, 502 big block crate motor making about 500 hp, Richmond 6 speed with overdrive, etc. Loud, fast, gorgeous, but 1960's suspension limited all round performance and made it a little scary to drive hard. Fun, but not one I would want to own.
Chevelle 1966 big block 396ci with updated holley carb, headers, 4 spd muncy trans, updated cam pumping out honest 400+ to the wheels. Fun, loud, hard to drive outside straight line runs.
Corvette early 70's era LT1 - fast, handled, felt great, loved it.
Bentley 1952 type R-R race car, right hand drive, pretty and very aerodynamic for such an old car. Slow but fun, fun, fun to drive.
1956 Dodge Royal something or other with Red Ram Hemi - torqey for heavy old car. I remember the pushbutton trans
1966 or 67 Plymouth 4door 426 street hemi - heavy, handled like crap, no traction, no brakes, and tons of power, lol.
Mustang Mach I (2004) DOHC motor - Awesome engine! I hate Mustangs but I loved that engine. Strightline performance was on par with my C36 and may even have been faster on topend. I was impressed by this one.
Mustang GT (2000) - sounds great, lots of wheel spinning torque, fun but way slower than the exhaust note advertises, lol. Why is it that so few manufacturers of V8's cannot make a car sound like the Stang or a flat crank Ferrari? I mean get real, the Corvette sounds like my moms old grocery grabber and even the C63 sounds docile compared to a Mustang GT...
Triumph Spitfire - I flew a Spitfire once... Not the fighter plane either, lol. Cool little old school roadster.
Honda S2000 - (AP1) what can a say 9k rpm redline, sweet little modern roadster with refinement and handling that rivaled the best. Not the fastest car but not slow either. In capable hands it is very fast on a road course. A car I would like to own.
Honda Prelude SH VTEC - Honda's early attempt to make a fwd car handle like a rwd car. It mostly works. High reving (8 grand) decent power. Tough as nails.
Honda Civic Si VTEC 5 spd - (my daughter's car), light quick for what it is, revs to the moon. No power below 6k but above that will run with a Mustang GT.
Ford LTD 4dr 429 superjet (early 70's) - not really exciting. Memorable yes, as each time you floored it, you would hear this giant sucking sound from under the hood and then the gas gauge reading would start to fall about as fast as the speedometer reading climbed

I am sure I left out a few of the interesting or less interesting cars.

Cars I would like to drive, own, test, or hear about (no particular order) are:

BMW M3 e92 V8 - I might consider buying one of these if it handles as well as it sounds.
BMW 335i turbo
Toyota Supra - turbo last Mk (another car I would like to own)
Ferrari 348, 355, 430
Ferrari Daytona V12
Testarossa
Audi RS4 V8 or S4 V8
C63 (I hated the styling at first but it is starting to grow on me)
SLK55 AMG (Love this car)
SL65 AMG turbo
Porsche 911 Carerra or turbo 1993 and newer versions
Porsche GT3
Porsche Caymen
Lotus Exige (I really like this one too)
Honda NSX
Mustang Cobra (2003-2004) terminator
Mustang Cobra Shelby 500
Saleen
Ford GT
Cobra Roadster superformance (install the 04 supercharged DOHC Cobra engine and you have an all around scare you to death widowmaker car, lol)

Irish

moosejaw

good to know i'm not the only comedian

Jen_Kenne

We should start a group!

Eurosport

sammyd

Great post!!

Comment about the 944 was very interesting. Always wanted a 944 Turbo but the styling is just a bit too funky for me.

I forgot to add 928 S4 to my list - 1987 - surprisingly good car, but I didn't like how first gear on the manual transmission was where second gear normally is.

My '98 boxster was probably the best handling car I've owned. Would love to try a new Cayman.

rockjock

Toomany to post-having worked at a dealership, and being a member of WCD-its been a fun 30 years so far.
Owned and driven? some of the ones that stand out are a Mazda Speed3, Evo X and the C55 (put more then 15k on all of them prior to selling/trading)-
Worst? 97 Cadavalier coupe stick. Best? Daewoo Lasagna SE. beat the **** out of that thing for 6 months and it kept up fine.

jturkel

how was the C65 BS?

griza

I used to own an '02 RUF Rturbo 550 and an '06 Cayenne Turbo S and I have driven a Gallardo, F360, Murcielago, 997 GT3, E55. I think those are the only cars that are really worth mentioning. Starting my climb back up with a C55 in the next month or two.

RedG

09 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (Owned by a Porsche factory race driver no less).
06 Bentley Flying Spur
VW Phaeton
Audi A8 (and A8L)
BMW 7-series
BMW 3-series (including assorted M-coupes from the early 90s to present)
1975 Cadillac Eldorado
1969 Chevy Chevelle 396
1971 Chevy Camaro SS
2006 Dodge RAM SRT-10 (Holy hell, and you thought Mercedes has big brakes).
2004 Chevy Corvette Z06
06 Mercedes E55
08 Mercedes E63
06 Mazda Miata (The lastest body style and size suits me quite well, plus the RWD and zoom zoom helps a good bit).
09 Smart ForTwo Passion Coupe (A LOT bigger on the inside than you'd think, certainly a hoot to drive).
06 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO MR
04 Bentley Arnage T Red Label
1993 GMC Syclone (4.3 Turbo V6 with AWD, 0-60 in about 4secs flat).
06 BMW M5
06 911 Carrera 4
2003 Audi RS6 (just beautiful, a easy tie with the E55)
MGB
Maserati GranSport (Probably my favorite, the noise the engine made was amazing).


Thats cars of worthy note, though that doesn't discount the others over the years.

sammyd

Nice, broad spectrum there!

Current gen M5's are coming down in price. Could you share your thoughts on the driving experience?

Notice how Mercedes depreciates so much faster than BMW's? I'm not complaining - I wouldn't be driving the C55 if it was at used M3 prices when I got it.

sammyd

How did you like the Madaspeed 3? Compared to teh Evo X? The 3 seems practical. However the Evo IX I drove - I could not believe the way it handled. Almost felt like it had oversteer it turned so sharply.