Modern cars: bloated and too heavy

dcGT

DoctorEdgeWild wrote:

The only car company who have consistently produced good looking cars over the last decade have been Alfa Romeo. Just when every other company went for fat, chunky, samey cars - Alfa went for classis Italian designs. If anybody went to the Alfa show last year (?) then you could literally see how the cars developed organically.

Most other car manufacturers lock onto a trend and emulate each others' designs - plastic lanses over headlights or rear clusters (Micra, Corsa, Punto)

(by the way, I dont drive an Alfa, just aspire to. I have a Fiat Cinq!)

Yeah it's true Alfa do have some great looking cars and fabulous lines. But it seems that when they've paid the designer, they've no money left to build quality parts. They seem to still have reliability issues and high depriciation (albeit not as bad as the Alfas of old). A friend of mine has had nothing but problems with his 156; gearbox, then head gasket among other things....... not cheap to fix either.

DC.

DoctorEdgeWild

The build quality is an issue. It used to be that Italian cars (albeit with notable exceptions) were poorly built and beautiful to look at. I think Alfa has crawled away from that description but I take your point that there are some stinkers out there. I tend to find that if you get one with a history of problems, no amount of money will bring it up to spec. However, find a good one and it will last you as long as you look after it. A good Alfa just keeps on giving. Those AA car check things are great if you dont know much about cars - Around 100 bucks or so I think. Definitely worth it with the amount of dodgy dealers out there.

unkel

BrianD3 wrote:

I actually prefer the CX to the DS - love the low styling on the CX - would like to own a CX GTi turbo in black with yellow headlights

I loved the CX 25 GTI Turbo at the time. Imho the DS has aged more gracefully - one of the most beautiful cars ever

BrianD3, if you're serious about the CX, you should consider importing one from France...

And how about the SM, another fantastic Citroen!

mike65

If I were brave I'd make a CX GTI my next car if I could find a good 'un!

Cue a nice pic



mmmmmmm!

Mike.

OfflerCrocGod

mike65 wrote:

mmmmmmm!

Mike.

Mike, Firefox is replacing that car's picture with the picture of an ugly, ancient, french piece of dog turd on four wheels. I wish I could see the lovely car you're admiring...........damn browser

unkel

Blasphemer! And then blaming it on the noblest of browsers, shame on you

Merrion

Part of the cause seems to be that safety was made into a marketing issue and, because bigger cars look safer (ironically in the case of roll-overs [aka soft roaders]) then making your car look big increases sales.

Or alternatively perhaps we have watched so many American films and TV programs that we have developed road-whale envy?

BrianD3

For anyone who's interested in reading road tests of the CX GTI Turbo and various other French cars go to
http://www.aussiefrogs.com/drop.html

The road test comparing the Saab 900 Turbo, CX GTI Turbo and Renault 25 V6 Turbo is a good read.

BrianD3

mike65

Jalopy magazine (whatever happened to?) gave the CX GTI Turbo the finest accolade - "a car for the sophisticated hooligan".

Mike.

BrianD3

Jalopy magazine

I remember that mag and have a couple of editions around here *somewhere*. Very entertaining read it was.

BrianD3

Stark

Yeah my parents got a new Megane a month or two back and it's a **** compared to the old Megane, so heavy and bulky, a bitch to drive in the city centre. Can't see for **** out the rear window either when reversing.

I mean with increasing traffic congestion, cars should be getting smaller

Interceptor

BrianD3 wrote:

It's a loveable beached whale It's an eight seater and even with all seats in place it still has a usable boot. And despite the size of the thing it weighs about the same as Mk5 Golf TDi :eek:

BrianD3

...And if you turn the CX upside down and fill it with water the kids can swim lengths of it in comfort. Have you all gone mad? The SM and DS had innovation and style on their side but the CX, (BX) and XM have to be the most awful rubbish ever made. I have driven all three and would cut my arms off if I thought I had to travel in one again. I can say without reservation that the controls on the CX had nothing to do with what the car did and it had more in common with a wooden-hulled boat than road based transport. The XM had a mind of its own and would open and close windows without being asked, the suspension could rise to its max mid-bend without any warning, resulting in the centre of gravity being at the tip of the radio aerial and it blew its head gasket in spectacular fashion on Stephens Green one xmas eve at 5.30pm - full of shopping and cranky kids I might add.

Yes, cars have become more bloated but technical advances mean they are safer, cleaner and more efficient. If people chose cars to suit their needs rather than their aspirations then we wouldn't need as many big cars or need to protect ourselves from being hit by them.

'c

Interceptor

unkel wrote:

And the 'ceptr has one for sale with full NCT (are you telling us a lie, c? - thought you'd refuse to NCT any car out of principle) that he is willing to let go for just €1100, an absolute bargain

Yes, I have an '88 520i for sale - its in very good condition, the NCT is out but I am confident that it would pass without much effort should anyone require it to complete the sale - I however won't be NCT'ing it while I drive it as I still say it is a WASTE OF BLIMMIN' TIME AND MONEY. Oh and I won't tax it either but thats because I am an antisocial blx who pays enough tax already....

Oh, and if I was going to start telling lies I'd make up good ones, like the time I drove Elvis's DeTomaso Pantera into Keith Moons swimming pool while off my face on crystal meths. We dried it out but it didn't run properly after ward and eventually Elvis shot it.

'c

unkel

Oh yeah the GT5 - the fastest production car at the time iirc

mike65 wrote:

Jalopy magazine (whatever happened to?) gave the CX GTI Turbo the finest accolade - "a car for the sophisticated hooligan"

Reminds me of my one and only skiing holiday (me no like that) in Chamonix - Mont Blanc. Came across a bunch of English lads with their poo brown RR silver spirit full of hang loose and other surfer/snowboarder stickers :eek:

Blitzkrieger

kbannon wrote:

However, they can overheat if the system isn't working properly - like any car!

Aye - I was referring to the tendency of the water pump to break down.

DoctorEdgeWild wrote:

Those AA car check things are great if you dont know much about cars - Around 100 bucks or so I think. Definitely worth it with the amount of dodgy dealers out there.

I was quoted €240 for an AA check. That was with the 10% discount for members. It's definitely worth getting it checked out, but a local mechanic might be better.