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Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 11:01:15 -0800
From: "pablo" <pabloATsimplyhombreDOTnet>
Subject: Re: Convince me!


"The Conquistador" <ConqueringHeronopsamiron.org> wrote in message news:b00133$5u1$1nopsamnews.rcn.net... > "Style" to me is elegance with an edge... A car that elicits "ooohs" and "aaahs" > looking at it, an interior that wraps around you and says, "You're home, take your > coat off and stay a while". German interiors, to me, are always too clinical and strerile to offer that warmth that welcomes you. Jags, of course, have interiors that only lack a fireplace, but the X- or S-Types does not convince me, and even the XJ has seen its share of cuts over the last years. The "all wood and leather" look suffers when you can see from a mile most of it is fake. The Saab's somewhere inbetween. To me, it has by far the most comfortable seats, but it might be down to your own ergonomy preferences. It also has a very clean Cessna cockpit look somehow. The Beemer's sport seats to me are an ergonomical nightmare - if you're 6ft and want thigh support, you'll have a two-inch gap in your seat. I actually think the Audi has the most elegant design of the bunch. The BMW is a bit too stubby these days. And God only knows what Bangle has in store for the 3-series going forward. > A car that > *looks* fast. Hopefully without the addition of giant spoilers...? > ... a car that makes girls want to sit down and take their clothes off. ;-) Even guys that buy Ferraris are disappointed when it comes to that effect. :-) > ... And > I have little tolerance for torque-steer. ... Just from my experience: I *like* the torque steer in my 9-3 convertible. It makes the spirited driving experience a bit more of an *experience*. With a Beemer or so, you got all sorts of stability controls, and no matter what you do the car sorts it out. You can lose your license very fast in any of these cars, but within that, it's how involving the driving experience is. And if there's nothing that bites you even a *little*, it becomes a bit of a sterile driving experience. I have a BMW R1100S motorcycle. The motorcycle experience always includes *involvement*, it's what it makes it fun. Part of the reason why I got rid of my previous car (370HP and the inevitable traction and stability features) is that it was *remote*. I might as well rent a limo and sit in the back. My dream cars, going forward, are cars that involve you more: stuff like the Morgan and such. I don't mind some level of imperfection. Of course, that is might unpractical for every day, and thus I decided on a car that is extremely comfortable and well sorted in everyday to spirited driving conditions, and becomes a bit edgier when truly pushing things. That is why I *like* my Saab's torque-steer when you slam the throttle during a turn, that's why I like its tendency to lean more in turns. > I drove in a 2002 9-3 sedan, and power doesn't seem to be an issue. I'd be willing to > bet that little turbo 4 would keep up with 5.0 Mustangs. That's good enough for me. Yeah, Saab's are plenty good enough off the line, and especially adept at accelerating from 30-50mph up to ueber highway speeds, which is the acceleration that truly matters and contributes to safety. > Yup, part of the reason I'm looking now. As for too many to choose from, isn't that a > good thing? LOL Yeah, bad cars do not sell these days, period. They're all great cars, and it's more of a function of what you like. I'd be curious to see what you go for in the end. > How have you found your Saab to be in the reliability dep't.? Everything I hear is > either a laundry list of "Saab (sob) stories", or "I've put 200,000 on it and I'm > ready to put another 200,000 on it". There seems to be little in between! The inbetween people with more unremarkable stories are seldom compelled to report their stories. It'd make for rather boring reading, anyhow. :-) For a trouble-free experience, I still think the best is to buy a used car with an extended factory warranty - every new car will nag you with stuff that is more due to your personal preferences rather than outright problems. Since my car only has 7k miles on it, I do not feel compelled to offer an opinion on this subject. I'd assume they're all roughly about the same, and all have their extremes. That said, one doesn't hear about 200k mile BMW 3-series all too often. ...pablo

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