Featured reader rides ??

In reply to VClassics: I have always loved that body style. I never knew they had that much potential....but you shur showed me! I always thought they would be a great choice for a winter driver, here in Ohio.

In reply to VClassics:

Oh dear me! Do I have to explain everything??? Okay, this one time only, for the exclusive benefit of CMS readers, I will attempt to define the concept of "automotive appliance." First off, while Volvos may look like refrigerators (especially a white 145) they are not appliances, because Volvos have character, and no car with character can be an appliance. Automotive appliances are dull (like many Volvos) but they are also devoid of personality, like a toaster or a fridge. As far as I am aware, Volvo does not make, and has never made, an appliance. As to what specifically qualifies as an automotive appliance, here are some prime examples from my point of view: Hyundai Accent, mid-eighties Sentra, Hyundai Excel, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Chevrolet Aveo, any pre-2000 Ford Taurus except those with Yamaha power, non-turbo Dodge Shadow, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Cirrus, Plymouth Stratus, Chevrolet Cavalier, etc., etc. Extra appliance bonus points if the car in question was ever a darling of rental car companies, taxi cab drivers, and state, municipal, or utility company fleets. More points for almost any American or Japanese car with a small four cylinder, automatic trans, and at least four doors. Of the Japanese makes, Toyota clearly has the highest toaster factor, while Honda and Subaru tie for the lowest. There are very few British or German, and absolutely no Italian or French auto appliances. In the end, an automotive appliance is a lot like Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is, but I know it when I see it. -Doug

Who in the hell is this guy??? Cheers, Scott

Subarus are not appliances. Though their job description and, often, appearance may suggest they are, the cars are surprisingly fun to drive and loaded with personality. Even our long-departed '78 wagon had charm. I think Subarus could out-charm most Volvos any day of the week.

Some appliances wind up being better than the sum of their parts. I'll defend 2nd gen Tauruses and their cheaper bretheren, the Contour (Mondeo) anytime. I never was annoyed while driving them in fleet duty and actually found them to be capable at carving up a fun road.

My current Stratus OTOH...may death come to it soon. And judging by it's laundry list of issues at 90k miles, probably will.

Hmm, 11 postings since around 8:00pm yesterday, and the word Fiat wasn't mentioned once. We seem to be malikg some progress here.

Scott wrote: "Who in the hell is this guy???"

One of the "Fiat people." There's that "F" word again. They left me behind with a defibrilator to try to breath some life into this forum.
No Pulse! Paddles! CLEAR!
ZAPPPP!!!! -Doug

David wrote: "Subarus are NOT appliances."

In reply to ddavidv: I agree completely. Please re-read my post. I wrote: "Of the Japanese makes, Toyota clearly has the highest toaster factor, while Honda and Subaru tie for the lowest." Toaster=Appliance. A high "Toaster Factor" means the car is an appliance. Low "Toaster Factor" means the car is not an appliance. Also, just because a car is an appliance doesn't mean it is a bad car. A brand new Toyota Camry is an appliance, but it is also one of the best basic transportation devices known to man. It is smooth, quiet, reliable, durable, comfortable, and boring as a box of low sodium Saltines. My Mom has one because she wants transportation without any unnecessary excitement. MY daily driver in the winter IS a Subaru. -Doug

aeronca65t wrote: Re: Volvos Please go the 6 minute mark on ~This Video~ and tell me if this old Volvo (a PV) is "zingless"? We have three other old Volvos that run with us in VRG (another PV and two 122Ss). All are great fun on the the track and one of the 122S is a absolute rocket. Also: Thanks to all the FIAT guys who voted to get their cars in the sidebar here. I appreciate it. I have almost forgotten what FIATs look like. Here in NJ, we see lots of interesting cars, especially in the Summer. I drive my '69 MGB on a 200 mile round trip once a week: I see Triumphs, other MGs, Healeys, Lotii, Rolls-Royces, Jags and I even saw a perfect, silver DB-6 yesterday (I wonder if it had the oil-slick button and the hidden cannons?) But I *never* see FIATs actually running under their own power on public roads anymore. So, Thanks for the great photos! It really brings back memories of my old 124 sedan and times that it would occasionally start. And sometimes even move. ps-One of the recent FIAT pictures in the sidebar appeared to show a FIAT in motion. Was that one of those Photoshop tricks?

Hahah, that would be mine. As evidenctly shown, it does in fact move under its own power. The track that is pictured here is in Upstate NY. It's a 7 hour drive and a 2 day event. 14 hour round trip and 2 days of autocrossing, not to shabby for an unreliable little car, huh?

Roostah wrote:

aeronca65t wrote: ps-One of the recent FIAT pictures in the sidebar appeared to show a FIAT in motion. Was that one of those Photoshop tricks?

Hahah, that would be mine. As evidenctly shown, it does in fact move under its own power. The track that is pictured here is in Upstate NY. It's a 7 hour drive and a 2 day event. 14 hour round trip and 2 days of autocrossing, not to shabby for an unreliable little car, huh?

Not so fast. If you commenting on the yellow X1/9 autocrossing, that's mine.

Haha.

You guys will really get the last laugh when they start making FIAT Vipers, the FIAT Ram pickup and the FIAT Town & Country.

Anyway. I really do like FIAT X1/9s. They're one of the few cars my wheezing Spridget can beat at the track.

Halfdork wrote: "Anyway. I really do like FIAT X1/9s. They're one of the few cars my wheezing Spridget can beat at the track."

In reply to aeronca65t: Hmmm. Did you take that 289 out of the Volvo before you sold it and stuff it in your Sprite? That's about the only way I can see a Sprite beating a well driven X. Either that, or all the Xs spun out while lapping your Sprite in the river of oil it was leaving in its wake. Anyway, a guy who flies a paper airplane shouldn't be making fun of the X, because the technology in our toy is about four decades ahead of the design of either your Aeronca or your Sprite, both of which I enjoy for reasons of nostalgia.-Doug

Doug, thanks for the clarification... For a minute there I thought you were just another know-it-all troll here to piss people off... My bad. Cheers, Scott

Scott Wrote: "Doug, thanks for the clarification... For a minute there I thought you were just another know-it-all troll here to piss people off... My bad. Cheers, Scott"

No problem Scott, it was an easy mistake. You see, many know- it-all trolls such as myself actually are here to piss people off. I on the other hand, am just a garden variety happy-go-lucky know-it-all troll here to talk about sportscars with other like-minded readers. So no harm done. By the way, I love the Honda s600 and s800. They're two of my favorite sportscars. Sure wish Honda still made something like them. -Doug

....That's about the only way I can see a Sprite beating a well driven X.....

Maybe in video games.

I'll be happy to show you how it works in the ~real~ world.

....Either that, or all the Xs spun out while laping your Sprite in the river of oil it was leaving in its wake....

Ummm. This is 2009. We don't use oakem and leather seals anymore.

Even in British cars.

Mine has run several 4-Hour enduros and never used any measurable amount of oil in any of them. I don't even bother checking the oil on a normal 3-day race weekend.

Also: It's "lapping".

In reply to aeronca65t: I wondered about the spelling, but I'm used to having a spell checker handy. Thanks! Also, I was just kidding about the oil leak. With British cars, the oil leak thing is always good for an easy laugh. I would LOVE to race you in a well prepared X and see what happened, but even more, I'd love to try your Aeronca. I've flown a J3 before, and my guess is they'd be alot alike in the air, though the Aeronca probably has a better over the cowl view on the ground. You're not by any chance in New England, are you? I could dogfight you with a C150.-Doug

My Mini (same engine) doesn't use any oil, but it sure does leak like a bitch. New axle seals, check. New double shifter rod seal, check. New valve cover gasket, check. It is true what they say: you only know you're out of oil with a British car when it stops leaking.

On the other hand, I don't think I've ever owned a Fiat that completely contained it's fluids, either. Water, oil or brake fluid, something was going to start weeping eventually. I swear Fiat brake hoses were made of a rubber that is actually weakend by GTLMA.

Lucas vs Marelli is a toss-up too.

In reply to ddavidv:

My Jaguar V12 seems to leak something from every orafice. Kinda like me!

Still hoping someone will trade me for a nice X1/9.

By the way, today I saw my CRX as a featured reader ride, so we all know it's not fixed.

Not a single post on this string today. Paddles! Clear! ZAP!!!!!
Nothing. Okay, let's call it. TOD is 13:19, on 6/27/09.

If only they had some Fiats, I think they would have had the will to continue posting. -Doug

In reply to Dpvog:

(say it with thick Eastern European accent)

Good afternoon. I am Dr. Frankenstein. Got any good corpses sitting about?

In reply to Coupefan: Yes, Doctor, you can have this old "Reader's Rides" string, but many of the posts appear necrotic, so I'm not sure it has many useful parts. -Doug

Hmmm... I think I see the problem, Doug. Your defibrilator was made by Marelli. Consider upgrading to the 12 volt Lucas model. Cheers, Scott

In reply to GSCReno:

Ha....... He said "LUCAS"!

I have a bunch of X1/9's I could add, but since I don't own the cars anymore, it probably would be inappropriate. I refuse the ridicule involved with posting my Jaguar. It's really not as bad as I make it out to be...but it ain't no X1/9!

GSCReno wrote: Hmmm... I think I see the problem, Doug. Your defibrilator was made by Marelli. Consider upgrading to the 12 volt Lucas model. Cheers, Scott

In reply to GSCReno: Actually Scott, my defibrilator is made from an ordinary household extension cord with the female end cut off and then wired through a capacitor to a couple of garden trowels. You see, as Fiat owners, we have to develop an almost Macgyver-like resourcefulness. But sadly, Scott, other than my homemade defibrilator, all the energy that I see in this string comes from the Fiat folks, and when we shut up, this forum is deader'n a pair of MG headlights. In fact, without us, the most interesting discussions you folks are having lately revolve around the chemistry of cat urine. So you may wanna consider opening the doors a bit wider, making the tent a just a little bigger, and harnessing some our our energy and friendly exuberance. You will probably discover that we Fiat trolls have a lot to offer, and you may also find that your forum is just a bit less interesting without us around. In truth, we only stop in to the forum because we love the GRMS publications, but I have to tell you, the editorial staff seem one hell of a lot friendlier to most of us than the BL crowd. I dunno, maybe you guys are just getting grumpy from always trying to drive in the dark. -Doug

Just clowning ya a little bit there Doug. I love 'em all, so I really don't have a dog in this fight. I just sold my '80 Fiat Spider and my '72 B, leaving my '80 TR7 Spider as the only sports car in the fleet. I've never driven an X, but I do think that they're very cool. I'm one of those crazy people who thinks it'd be cool to drop a 1500 X motor into a Yugo GVX and go huntin' Civics. Cheers, Scott