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I live in a humble and mostly working class neighborhood, but two blocks over there's a guy with a F-Type R Convertible in white. Makes me sigh every time I see (and hear) it drive by. I mean, I don't want the R, and I don't want a Vert... but the car itself makes me stare until I can't see it anymore.
That Vette is amazing beyond words to describe, but you can also use words like garish and tacky, and you'd be more on the money than saying the same about the Jag.
One can not deny the Italians have/had some of the best car designs- interior and exterior- in the world. It is just a shame most of those cars are mechanical nightmares.
Oddly, I'm not a fan of the Alpha interiors. While not completely cheap looking it just looks too much like a mid-level Mazda CX9 interior to me. Needs more oomph!
But seriously, that color combination is gorgeous. I wish there were more brown hues available on cars, it looks great, especially when paired with black carpet/trim. Dark enough to hide wear and tear, but so much more contrast than the customary black on black.
That Alfa interior is not bad, but I would rather have the one in the picture below with the Sparco seats, 6 spd. manual and black alcantara trim with red stitching and lots of carbon fiber trim. This color combo seems to tie together better with the required racing red exterior. But alas, there manual option got pulled from the U.S market at the last minute and the reliability on these things seems awful. If not for those two items, I think this car would be a serious contender for me.
Speaking of interiors, that reminds me that the other day I noticed we got in a used Camaro SS of the current generation. I sat in it and it does feel a bit claustrophobic. The hood is high, the windows are small, and you sit low. I couldn't help but feel like I was tucked inside a compartment inside a really big car. I feel like the interior should feel much more spacious considering how large the car is. I also felt like I would be hard pressed to fit inside with a helmet on. Hopefully, this car drives smaller than it feels because a used SS 1LE has to be the daily driver/track rat bargain of the century. If it was a really good driving car, I think you could get used to it, but the sight lines are definitely a compromise.
The view from the driver's seat was not great and this is with only about 1-2" of headroom for me (seat in lowest position). I don't remember the A-pillar being that large, but wow look at that monster!
The interior trim is a bit nicer in the SS than a base model Camaro, but not by much. The fit & finish is similar to a Mustang, but a Mustang GT (or Shelby GT350) definitely feels like a more special place to be and has better visibility from the driver's seat.
I had a little more time to sit in the Camaro SS today and play with the gauges. The display on the dash is decent- it looks like an ipad with aps. The center instrument display is decent too with some actual performance gauges, a digital speedometer, and a lap timer. Unfortunately, it appears that you can only view one thing at a time, but it did have the heads up display for the speedo so once you find the one item that gets hot on the track you should just be able to leave that display up and find your lap time and other important track data on the available PDR. This is a much nicer display than the ATS-V, but I am pretty sure the ATS-V does allow you to display 2 or 3 performance gauges at once, albeit on a smaller readout.
The other thing I wanted to check was practicality. I really only have about 1-1.5" of headroom in the Camaro so I would have to try it with a helmet to make sure that I fit. The trunk is pretty small/narrow and it did not have a fold down seat. The other buzzkill was the back seat for my daughter. Even with the front seat as far forward as I was comfortable with, it is a tight fit in back. We could probably make it work with the front passenger seat pushed up, but it is definitely not M4 or even M2 spacious in back, especially the headroom. Ironically we also got in an extremely clean '08 Porsche 911 Carrera S. That car has better visibility from the driver's seat, but a much worse back seat than the Camaro with a nearly vertical seat back.
Camaro digital display in the center is definitely bigger and better than the ATS-V, but the analog gauges are equally as boring. You can put quite a few different performance gauges on the digital display like oil temp, oil pressure, trans temp, and lap timer. Oddly, the lap timer is not under the performance gauges tab.
The Porsche 911 Carrera S has better sight lines from the driver's seat and about twice the headroom, but that is about where the advantages end. It has less power, grip, storage, and virtually no back seat. Not to mention it costs considerably more and is a lot older.
@RMB5190 referenced a channel called Savagegeese that I'd never heard of. Found an incredibly in-depth review that felt relate-able throughout.
Last time I test-drove a Mustang GT, I walked away strongly liking the things I liked, and strongly disliking the things I didn't. There was little middle ground. And yet since that time, which was maybe 3 or 4 years ago, I've still thought the Bullitt could be next car. But not anymore.
Glad you found it informative! I didn't really care for them initially; mainly because the pace annoyed me. Apparently, a large part of their audience's doesn't speak English as their primary language so the pacing is on purpose. I gave it another chance, keeping that in mind, and got used to it. It's now my go to channel for reviews.
I really enjoy the 'In the shop' session for every car and how in depth they go into chassis design, suspension, etc. High quality production considering the low number of subscriptions.
Watching Ford vs. Ferrari the other week got me thinking about the Shelby GT350. Great reviews about this car, especially the sound. But oddly enough it has almost exactly the same performance stats as the BMW M2 Competition, Toyota Supra, and the Camaro SS 1LE. (Is everyone trying to achieve exactly the same performance numbers in their sports cars or is this some freak coincidence?) When looking at those numbers the M2 is definitely the nicest place to be (with the most tuning potential) and the Camaro is definitely the best bargain. That being said the Camaro just looks big and ugly. I was picking up a car at one of our other stores the other day and they had an SS 1LE on the showroom.
The headroom/cocoon feeling is definitely better without the sunroof. With the $7,000 1LE package the Recaro seats are not bad with the alcantara inserts. I hear this car rides amazing with the magnetic dampers. If it is anything like the ATS-V, I would not be surprised. Has anyone driven a 1LE yet?
The dash is not too bad and the Alcantara steering wheel and shift **** are a nice touch. Too bad it is so ugly. Interesting side note: the black hood is just a wrap. I could not tell if it had normal paint underneath if you peeled off the wrap.
The inside of the GT350 still feels a little more special than the SS 1LE and the Recaros look more supportive and lighter. Is the back seat and trunk slightly more useable in the Mustang vs. Camaro? I bet the ride on this is not bad either with the magnetic shocks. Anyone drive one yet?
This is still a nicer place to be than both above and you get a real back seat and a real trunk. But the M3 is even better. How does the M2 ride? Has anyone driven one yet?
Watching Ford vs. Ferrari the other week got me thinking about the Shelby GT350. Great reviews about this car, especially the sound. But oddly enough it has almost exactly the same performance stats as the BMW M2 Competition, Toyota Supra, and the Camaro SS 1LE. (Is everyone trying to achieve exactly the same performance numbers in their sports cars or is this some freak coincidence?) When looking at those numbers the M2 is definitely the nicest place to be (with the most tuning potential) and the Camaro is definitely the best bargain. That being said the Camaro just looks big and ugly. I was picking up a car at one of our other stores the other day and they had an SS 1LE on the showroom.
The headroom/cocoon feeling is definitely better without the sunroof. With the $7,000 1LE package the Recaro seats are not bad with the alcantara inserts. I hear this car rides amazing with the magnetic dampers. If it is anything like the ATS-V, I would not be surprised. Has anyone driven a 1LE yet?
The dash is not too bad and the Alcantara steering wheel and shift **** are a nice touch. Too bad it is so ugly. Interesting side note: the black hood is just a wrap. I could not tell if it had normal paint underneath if you peeled off the wrap.
The inside of the GT350 still feels a little more special than the SS 1LE and the Recaros look more supportive and lighter. Is the back seat and trunk slightly more useable in the Mustang vs. Camaro? I bet the ride on this is not bad either with the magnetic shocks. Anyone drive one yet?
This is still a nicer place to be than both above and you get a real back seat and a real trunk. But the M3 is even better. How does the M2 ride? Has anyone driven one yet?
When did the Supra get a manual?
If you don't mind 4 drs. The 340i can be had used for about 20k It has the same engine as the supra. There is someone who modified one to 1k hp.
If you don't mind 4 drs. The 340i can be had used for about 20k It has the same engine as the supra. There is someone who modified one to 1k hp.
Who said anything about a manual Supra? Although there is a company doing conversions.
I might look at 340i's briefly, but I feel I would need to upgrade way too much stuff like I did with the G37 to make it competitive on track. There is a lot more to being fast than hp.
I got the latest issue of Road & Track last night and read through the whole issue in one sitting, which is rare for me. The entire issue was interesting because it was entirely about the event of the Performance Car of the Year with articles covering every angle of the event.
The continuous thread throughout the issue reminded me of what should be the most important thing for an enthusiast when considering a car- cars with emotion/soul that are actually fun to drive. R&T brought up the point that manufacturers try to improve on the performance numbers every year while sometimes losing sight of what is really important and improving how fun the car is to actually drive.
Case in point- there were only 4 cars out of 11 with manual transmissions, but those 4 cars took 3 of the 4 top spots. Some manufacturers still get it.
I think this is why I struggle with a replacement for my car. The way I have tuned and upgraded the car has made it so rewarding to drive. Even to the extent that I drive a new M3 or ATS-V and the feedback and responses seem a bit muted and the cars a bit dull to me. Maybe I will keep the G37S just a bit longer...
11-15-2019, 05:33 PM
