Cars that hold their value

While I agree that my 1985 911 wasn't as quiet and smooth as even a modern Mondeo, it never gave less than 25mpg and came close to 30mpg on motorways - a benefit of putting a big motor into a car weighing just over a ton. (I was not renowned for driving it slowly as I was used to peddling a Rothmans Porsche on hill climbs around the Middle East). It always made me happy but I now attribute that to something a bit more subtle than just going fast: in outright terms its performance isn't viewed nowadays as particularly quick (0 - 60mph ~ 6seconds, top speed ~ 152 mph). Many of the hotter variants of today's cooking saloons can do that without benefit of sodium-cooled valves and hi-lift cams.

I believe a 'petrol-head' can fall in love with almost any car or truck provided it has that 'something'. But what is it? The closest I can come to defining the indefinable is to say that a vehicle which rewards effort and care by the driver is the one I'd choose over bland efficiency even if paired with speed. That's why I have a noisy and uncomfortable Scooby now!

 

911's small inside then? Tried a Morgan once & as standard the seat wouldn't travel enough & no room to play with. One of the better ones I had was a 'G' reg Vitesse convertible 'til 15 yrs ago. 2.0 straight 6 but v juicy. Most recent acquisition is an TT oil burner, comfortable, reliable,, fast but...souless.

 

Not to mention TINY!

 

Oh yes, did I mention the small boot?

 

No you didn't.........was that a threat?

 

Had a Golf Gti MkIII, that was a stroppy little bugger.....also had an RX7, THAT had soul! Swapped it for a speed boat.....

 

It will never be worth what it costs, but one day soon I might be having something like this:

 

Speed boat eh? I've some skis that need use.

 

Go for it....you will find Waterbat near Beachy Head Lighthouse.......but you will need scuba gear . Unless of course it was salvaged.
Got bored with it and swapped it for a Landrover and the new owners had a bit of a mishap.

 

Wasn't there a thread on people who were/are diving/divers? Could be project for them.

 

hehehehehe

 

Which is a...?

 

That, my man is a b18 V-tec mated to a garrett T3/4 turbo, delivering a rather satisfying 250 bhp at the wheels.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of torque limiting automatic transmissions a turbo might not be an option but one can dream.

 

Corr... I would worry about putting all that power/torque through the front wheels: the latest Astra is a case in point. Saab did very well with a pair of smaller turbos which were, I believe, staged, so that the second didn't work until the car was well under way so smoothing their effect. Are you concerned with blowing the tranny? Those across the pond have managed to put large BHP through auto boxes for years. Or is it more complex? If it is, perhaps we should have a mechanical geeks thread (to prove we really are petrol-heads)!

 

My old baby....Wish I still had her.....

 

If they relaunched the capri, I reckon it would sell like hotcakes......just a few modernisations....brakes, suspension etc., *sigh*

 

"The car you always promised yourself..."

I drove a 3 litre once and found it was like controlling a trawler in a storm; the 2.8i by comparison was much more of a precision instrument. Perhaps there was something wrong with the earlier one. I think their monica of 'Dagenham Dustbin' was a bit unfair. OK, so finish and engineering were a bit crude, but they gave a lot of performance at modest cost - true, Dave?

 

Did all that and more, went round bends as if it were on rails....

 

Cant beat a good old Capri but the one that they launched and marketed as taking over from it was Shite and sounded like a sergical manouvre...The Probe!

 

Totally agree .....