Cars I want to want
 

Dodge Demon

That's a weird one for me. I am so glad it exists, but have absolutely zero interest in having one and very little interest in them beyond that. I don't think I'd turn down an opportunity if someone tossed me the keys and said, "have at it for a few minutes," when I had nothing else to do, but not sure I'd get dressed and take a couple hours of my Saturday or Sunday to spend some time in one. :dunno:

Same

The Chrysler musclecars don't interest me even a little bit. Every time I see a review of a Gen6 Camaro I think "I want to want that car." But ultimately I don't really want one.

Chrysler musclecars are [bleah] to me in the same way that the school bus-sized lifted pickups are. I see them as the go-to choices for massively fragile egos. To each their own, though.

I suspect there is some of that, but I think it's more that different people like different things. :dunno:

I don't really like the Demon, but the Hellcat widebody 6M is something that I find pretty interesting. Even the normal 392 SRT is kind of a cool car, in a very 70s way.

I don't think I'd ever buy one, but I get the appeal.

I'd like to drive a 6G Camaro to see if they're better than the Mustangs. I suspect they are.

Yeah, that ego comment is pretty stupid.

For many of who hit puberty in the late 60's and early 70's, and who read every issue of C&D the minute it hit the newstand, these cars remind us of what we grew up aspiring to one day own.

Alex

Eh. I get that there is a big nostalgia play there, but there is also definitely a separate small dicked fragile ego market too. It's the same group of people who like to tow 50,000lbs. loads with their 3/4 ton RAMs, and that is a very, very Dodge segment of the market.

I like to tow 5,000lbs with my 3/4 ton Ram. :D

Underachiever!

I find that underachieving is bliss when it comes to towing.

If you ever want to really get to know America, put a bunch of race car type looking stickers on a car, put the car on a trailer, tow it, stop at every gas station you can find, get out, stand there next to your rig, check your straps and your trailer tires.

You will meet America.

And every last one of them will ask you "What's it run?" or "How fast will it go?" Men, women, children...

Every single one.

It's amazing, really.

I used to dread those conversations.

But once I abandoned my prior approach, which was telling the truth, they've become really fun.

:lol:

Same thing with catching fish.

You tell them what they want to hear and everyone has a good time. Lee was right about this.

Completing the circle, what they care about are quarter mile times and top speeds. Because America, I guess.

Guess I'm in the minority here (as always, lol).

I wasn't too fond of Dodge/Chrysler products, until I rented a Challenger not too long ago.

*IF* I ever hit the lottery, I wouldn't mind having a Demon in my garage. I don't think GM or Ford has anything that can compete with it........maybe perhaps the 'Vette.

:dunno: :dunno:

I have never said to myself, "I want to own a muscle car specifically designed to go fast in a straight line."

But watching those videos, hearing the sounds.. and watching the acceleration. Damn that seems like a fun toy. If I had the money and a garage big enough to collect and store dozens of cars, I'd put this one in it for sure.

I liked Doug Demuro's words on the Demon

Indeed, I’ve always liked sleepers.

Something about lining up against Europe’s baddest and most expensive cars, and beating them at their own game with something cheaper.

Kinda like what the old Ford G40s did to Ferrari back in the day.

Speaking of sleepers, in nearly every real world situation my car will probably get the jump on the Demon. And it will do it without making any noise.

You definitely win the sleeper award. And the acceleration-per-decibel award. And your car was cheaper too.

But is that true about being faster? There's > 1 second difference in 0-60. Are you focused on gravel-filled intersections?

Traction limits and gear kick downs mean probably yes, as long as we’re talking about a fairly short race.

I mean, it’s a W210 in a really cheap suit with WAY too much power.

I’d kind of like to put the motor in a real W210, though.

Plus it'll do that 1/4 mile sprint without burning 7 gallons of fuel and 2 quarts of oil.

So... same as the Demon, then? :dunno:

I'll just leave this here.

Next time, keep the "Eco" button turned on. ;)

It's a Camaro. There is no "Eco" button.

What is "Best"?

Best 1-mile stretch? :?

25 miles. Best 50 mile stretch is recorded as 38.1.

All those are with undersized tires which artificially inflates the number of miles driven and reported MPG.

Corrected for tire size and fuel pumped, best actual tank was 30.87mpg over 499 miles. Several others at 28.0+/450+

EPA rating is 20 city, 30 hwy and 23 combined, which seems accurate...except I bet a full tank on level ground with the cruise set at 65ish would return mid 30s or better. The problem is that 65 is too slow for 6th gear.

edit- in the pic, the arrows point to relative MPG current to best. When driving, the bar fills up left to right to show "instant" compared to both.

I think I've come to the conclusion that I'd like the Boxster more if it were a Cayman :P

I drove the Boxster to work on Monday and Tuesday (I'm in the Mazdaspeed today). This is going to sound like a first-world-problems whine, but here's what annoys me about the Boxster.

1) Wind noise. The top is insulated and of very high quality, but there is no getting around the fact that it isn't a hard roof.

2) Rattles / squeaks. Convertibles are fairly well-known for this in general and if I'm diligent about gummi-pflegeing the door seals, it's quiet. But give it a week and the general flexiness of everything will cause some very minor squeaks. I admit that I'm super sensitive to and annoyed by very minor rattles, and my wife doesn't notice this stuff, but I do.

3) This is the biggie... I just don't think I'm a convertible person. Or maybe just not as long as I'm a Maryland resident. I just don't get much top-down time because of the heat and humidity here. So I'm living with the tradeoffs of having a convertible for the ~ 10 nights a year that I want to have the top down. Not worth it.

I guess the point of posting this here is the Boxster has become a car that I want to want... but not one that I necessarily want.

Maybe I'm just being salty about the gray / cold / wet weather this season and this will all change when we have the random 70 degree day in November. :lol:

I hate to say it, but my answer to this question is a Miata... I've driven two different NDs and one NA, so I can't say I've experienced all versions. They are great cars, I get the point, and I can't come up with any reason why I shouldn't have one instead of my FR-S other than they've just never interested me like they should. I'm sure I'll own one someday, but maybe the reason is the same as JV's "Boxster vs. Cayman conundrum" except on a ~$20k less scale?

Nissan 350/370Z
E85/E86 BMW Z4
Mitsubishi Evo

I recommend you get a 987.2 (due to steering feel and gearing, someone like you can solve the brake feel). With two sets of wheels, a base Cayman would be a wonderful commuter. It's also the "good"/closed deck 9A1 engine but the only one without DI, so no carbon cleaning ever. Only downside I can think of is passenger side rear three-quarters visibility in odd merges.

Interesting on the wind noise. I don't hear any, even at higher speeds, on the highway with the Boxster. I never noticed an "increase" in wind noise going from 911/Cayman to the Boxster.

The squeaks and extra moving bits are certainly there. The Cayman actually has more engine noise due it being "more in the cabin". Finally, both have a solid amount of tire noise, some of it by design so you hear the surface. The car can be whisper quiet on new blacktop and roar on some concrete. You can pass a sprinkling of loose surface and hear the pitter patter of it hitting the wheel wells.

Why base 2.9 instead of 3.4S? I think the latter makes the better weekend sports car and the former feels easier to be in day in day out with less straightline temptation. But sure, an S would do. Also JV has and for the foreseeable future will have race car builds that even a Porsche could not compete with, so why even start? Just get a super nice daily.

John, you listed all the reasons why I often wished that my S2000 was a hardtop instead of a convertible. As much as I loved owning that car far more than any other, it still wasn't the perfect one for me.

Maybe for a short commute? But unless the purse is severely constrained, none of those cars come close to a base boxster/cayman except on paper. I get tired fairly quickly on long drives and I love to nitpick on comfort and NVH, i.e., I'm spoiled somewhat. I had no troubles driving my 997 to Raleigh, NC in one shot and returning the next day in a 987. They are great highway and long trip cars. I have a feeling a miata or an s2000 (or an Evo) would have beat me up in a way only a 4-cyl can.

The z4 and the 350Z are going to be reasonably comfortable, but they are nowhere near as fun or even good cars that hold value. Especially the 350Z, with a coarse engine, not that comfy or ergonomic interior. But again, I'm comparing to luxo cars. Remember he's coming from a nice Boxster!

I love driving a convertible. For one or two days of the year. So agree with you.

I will say, I've driven a lot of cars and I've never noticed anything remotely wrong with the brake feel of my 987.2. I'm sure the GT3 master cylinder is better... everything on a GT3 is better :lol: but I wonder if equ's experience is not the norm. The brakes on the Boxster are phenomenal.

As far as base 2.9 vs. 3.4... The 2.9 is just too slow. the 3.4 is in the bare minimum power level for the capability of this chassis. For me. YMMV and all that.

Chris, you should definitely drive a Z4 and see if you like it, but holy crap I hate the way those cars drive. They are even worse than the E46 M3 when it comes to ride/handling balance. Truly bizarre handling cars.

I wasn't meaning to compare any to the Boxster/Cayman, only that the Miata/FRS are the options I can attain right now. I know they are not on the same level. I know JV is not going to get an 86/FRS/BRZ and probably not a Miata.

I rode in Kam's Z4M once and liked its power delivery a lot, but it seemed pretty weird on corner entry (though could have been driving style, setup, etc). They would have to drop a bit more in price, but I tend to like the ugly duckling type cars.

The Z4Ms are even worse in the handling department. They're just ... no fun unless you're going in a straight line. IMO.

Yeah, Miata/FRS/BRZ are definitely not my cup of tea. I drove a stock FR-S once and was really underwhelmed.

I haven't driven one, but I bet an M2 would be a pretty perfect daily driver for me... if they weren't so freaking expensive, and if they weren't a BMW. :lol: Modern BMWs just suck ass to work on, and they have a lot of recurring issues. I put a lot of miles on my cars. I don't want to work on them constantly.

I loved my E46... it was just too slow and it seemed like I was always working on it. I loved my E36 (and Nick's E36 brought back a lot of good memories) but holy crap they're old.

I feel like I should go drive a V8 gen6 Camaro. ;)