I've been looking at cars to replace my MG Midget after I get it running and sold. I've read articles, here and other sites, about good starter auto cross vehicles and, well, a lot of them are American made.
Not that there's anything wrong with that- but if I'm looking at say a zx2 escort compared to an e30, I gravitate to the e30. Or a Saturn sc2 versus an Alfa GTV6 it's the Alfa hands down.
So I'm not afraid to admit it, I'm a spud on a tight budget and I'd like to spend more time driving than wrenching. So why do I have such a hard time accepting the fact that one of these American vehicles is probably the best for me? Parts available down the street, cheaper, prolly more reliable...
I wonder if there are therapists that specialize in automotive disorders...
Take a test drive? To me there is something quite satisfying about a cheap and/or unloved car that stands up strongly against its more popular or costly rivals.
If you want to spend more time driving then wrenching, buy Japanese.
In reply to HappyAndy:
Test driving is a good idea. It might come down to that.
And yes, japanese is an option. I have a lot more learning to do on those. I just don't want another situation like I have now with my MG- two years of wrenching on it and it still isn't on the road 
paranoid_android74 wrote:
In reply to HappyAndy:
Test driving is a good idea. It might come down to that.
And yes, japanese is an option. I have a lot more learning to do on those. I just don't want another situation like I have now with my MG- two years of wrenching on it and it still isn't on the road
As someone who is 40 some years ahead of you with the Brit car hobby, I can tell you that it does not get better regardless of how hard you work or how much you spend. Brit cars are like boats when it comes to time and money; you either accept it or buy a car.
That sums it up perfectly! And I didn't know that until I bought this car.
I'll get it there, I'm just utterly frustrated with it right now...
NOHOME wrote:
paranoid_android74 wrote:
In reply to HappyAndy:
Test driving is a good idea. It might come down to that.
And yes, japanese is an option. I have a lot more learning to do on those. I just don't want another situation like I have now with my MG- two years of wrenching on it and it still isn't on the road
As someone who is 40 some years ahead of you with the Brit car hobby, I can tell you that it does not get better regardless of how hard you work or how much you spend. Brit cars are like boats when it comes to time and money; you either accept it or buy a car.
I've got a similar neurosis. In my case, it's that while I realize that a four cylinder, manual transmission Accord or Civic would be a good, practical replacement for my E36 BMW as a long distance commuter when I'm ready to get something else - I've got something of a hang-up about actually buying such a thing. I'm not sure if it's because supposedly-practical cars have bitten me before (wife's Camry needed a new engine after finding out the PO had used some sort of "head gasket fix in a can" to hide a massive blown head gasket long enough to sell the car, and I had a clean, low mileage Civic that was twice the maintenance headache of a high mileage C4 Corvette it replaced) or just a horror of driving the same sort of car everyone else does.
I can't give any fixes for this sort of thing, but I think you've got plenty of company in wanting to give practicality the finger. I've been trying to figure out just how loony it would be to pick something like a Fiero or an AE86 Corolla as my next commuter car.
I'm glad I'm not alone. And I think you are right about the horror of driving a lemming worthy car. I DD a Chrysler Pacifica and that is about all I can handle of practical vehicles- ACK!
Maybe I'm not so abnormal after all 
MadScientistMatt wrote:
I've got a similar neurosis. In my case, it's that while I realize that a four cylinder, manual transmission Accord or Civic would be a good, practical replacement for my E36 BMW as a long distance commuter when I'm ready to get something else - I've got something of a hang-up about actually buying such a thing. I'm not sure if it's because supposedly-practical cars have bitten me before (wife's Camry needed a new engine after finding out the PO had used some sort of "head gasket fix in a can" to hide a massive blown head gasket long enough to sell the car, and I had a clean, low mileage Civic that was twice the maintenance headache of a high mileage C4 Corvette it replaced) or just a horror of driving the same sort of car everyone else does.
I can't give any fixes for this sort of thing, but I think you've got plenty of company in wanting to give practicality the finger. I've been trying to figure out just how loony it would be to pick something like a Fiero or an AE86 Corolla as my next commuter car.
