The cars and bikes thread!

[Raza]

If you drove one with the stick, you would never buy one with the stick. It was so horribly done that there’s nothing fun about the way it shifts or the way the clutch works.

Nearly all the reviews of the new lotus Elise with the manual say similar things about the transmission set up and clutch. Since it would be nearly impossible to find one I doubt whether I can actually confirm that is true. I guess we can hear from our owners here.


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“This is a nice shifter. Not Honda or Mazda flickable, but with fairly short throws and a precise motion, somewhere between BMW and Porsche. The light clutch action demands a sensitive foot to feel it engage. The electronics can match revs on upshifts but, curiously, not on downshifts; at least the pedals are nicely situated for heel-and-toe work, making a do-it-yourself throttle blip easy. Even if your execution is less perfect than robots can manage, it’s worth the effort for the sound effects. Mostly, the manual makes the entire driving experience more sensory and involving, even when all you’re doing is accelerating from a light in traffic.”

”Yes, there are more powerful F-Types, but no, I don’t care—those other trims don’t offer a manual. The manual is pure joy.”

“There will be no suspense here: it's a very good manual. It's not magnificent but those who enjoy changing gear - and they should be here, right? - will find much to like. Even before driving the signs are encouraging. The gearknob is just that, with no gratuitous adornment or ungainly shaping. It's small but actually lead weighted to aid the shift feel.”

Opinions seem to vary on the manual in the Jag, but they’re mostly positive, it appears. Might just not be to your taste.

[mlcor]

1975 Dodge Dart for me. It was a real sleeper, had a small block V-8 in it, and my father had put wider tires on it. Ours was deep blue, but this is the model:



I still remember my road test. At the time, parallel parking was still mandatory. My driving test guy was truly over the top, and made me do parallel parking...on the left side of a one way street. Brutal. I got half way into the spot and he said "That's good enough." Whew.

[geoffbot]

Hopefully they changed the throughout and pilot bearing? I don’t see them in the picture.


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Throw out bearing is in the pic - long thin thing

The clutch is at the back?

Er nope!

[Raza]

I took my driver’s test in a light blue Toyota Echo owned by the driving school I hired. It made parallel parking a snap because it was so damn tiny. I had to relearn how to parallel park in my actual car, which was car sized, after I got my license.

[shameless]

i think with the exception of a few British fast Fords of the day and one or two others ,American vintage cars still look supercool whereas British vintage cars just looked 'old'

[geoffbot]

i think with the exception of a few British fast Fords of the day and one or two others ,American vintage cars still look supercool whereas British vintage cars just looked 'old'

Agreed. 50s, 60s cars were great in the states.

[wschofield3]

1975 Dodge Dart for me. It was a real sleeper, had a small block V-8 in it, and my father had put wider tires on it. Ours was deep blue, but this is the model:



I still remember my road test. At the time, parallel parking was still mandatory. My driving test guy was truly over the top, and made me do parallel parking...on the left side of a one way street. Brutal. I got half way into the spot and he said "That's good enough." Whew.

How ironic that we both used a Dart for our tests. That 318 V8 was a sleeper!

[mlcor]

How ironic that we both used a Dart for our tests. That 318 V8 was a sleeper!

It sure was. I had my first accident in it. No one was hurt, not even the car.

[gnuyork]

i think with the exception of a few British fast Fords of the day and one or two others ,American vintage cars still look supercool whereas British vintage cars just looked 'old'

I think I prefer vintage British roadsters to anything. I just went to the British Car Fayre recently and I love all the usual old roadsters (Austin Healey, Triumph, Lotus, Jag, etc.) But I particularly liked this Turner (1962 MkII)

[gnuyork]

Of course, I'm a big fan of Lotus: