Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

My GRC auto-blips also, which I have mixed feelings on.

It was really fun at first, just downshifting and automatically having the revs match up without messing with it was really fun. It's accurate 100% of the time, which is helpful considering how weird that car revs compared to other sticks I've had.

OTOH it feels like it robs some of the manual-ness out of it and, even though I can turn it off, I'm hesitant to do so. The motor has a weird feel to it and a lot of people are burning up their clutches at <20k miles and Toyota is refusing to warranty them, so I figure leaving it on might be a safer bet.

The gearing in the Porsches I've had over the years is a lot more enjoyable to drive IMO, but *** they are getting expensive to maintain.

New autos are faster, too. Used to be times would be quicker with the manual, but new autos (like PDK) put down better times than manuals will, they can shift faster than any person could.

I've only driven one PDK car and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to buy one. Personally for me, the newer a car gets the further it gets from something I actually enjoy driving.

It's part of the reason I love bikes so much. Even though most have a quick shifter now days, you can always use the clutch and do it yourself and it feels amazing to do it like that.

Most quick shifters on bikes work better going up not down anyway, manual down shifts are usually smoother, except on race bikes at >10k RPM but those aren't meant for the street.

At the expensive end sure.

For what Joe Sixpack could afford the muscle car era still cannot be beat. I have a story ....

Most electrics smoke gas cars. Its that full torque at liftoff thing. Steamers did that too way back when. But quicker =/= faster.

Is it 18+?

Umm.. Being faster in a straight line is easy. Turning is when things get tricky.

You ever seen a tesla on a race track? Wonder why.

Most real race cars are hybrids. The full electric ones need to be swapped out mid race - see formula e. Which is slow af compared to hybrids.

And if you're talking 0-60 production bikes smoke everything at 1/4 of the price and those are petrol engines.

They're production bikes.

You can go buy one, drive it off the lot, and smoke any Tesla or Porsche you feel like at a fraction of the price.

Best thing is the look on the guy's face when you buzz past them in their $200k car on a bike that cost 1/10th that.

My bike is not even a "fast" bike but it will still do 0-60 in 2.8s if you have the cajones for it. Completely stock.

This discussion predated electric cars by a long time, at least a decade if not longer. The Cayman and 944 being good examples, they were relatively low powered for their era, but there would be a lot of conversation around why those cars were keeping up with their more expensive, sophisticated peers on the track when they had slower 0-60 times. I remember this discussion ~2005-2006 at least and the same discussion around 0-60 times being somewhat meaningless.

I think how much you heard this depends on whether you were in car enthusiast circles or not, but it was definitely a discussion for a long time. The average person would "feel" 0-60 times more than weight bias, brake performance, traction, etc because it's evident in daily driving on the street, so they may be more consumed with that figure. Folks tracking their cars would have a different perspective and view 0-60 times as less meaningful.

My Model Y Performance has completely changed my mind on how fast I need a car to be. It's so stupidly quick 0-60 (3.4s), I can't imagine having a Model S Plaid now (1.8s). It's made me appreciate my 1999 Porsche Boxster with it's 210hp 2.5L flat 6. It's not impressing anybody with it's 0-60, but it's usable powerband between 4k-8k RPM is incredible. She pulls HARD coming out of corners, way more than 210hp should. I can drive my Porsche at 100% anytime I want and not risk dying or prison. I used to want a 996 Turbo (I guess I still do), but the fact that car is as fast as my Tesla makes me worry.

That old saying "I'd rather drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" is something that took me a long time to understand. I've just always had "slow" cars. I never owned anything over 500hp until this Tesla and I don't think I want a sportscar with more power than that. My buddies R35 GTR making about 1000whp scares the hell outta me.

Wish I'd bought a GTR back in 2012 when they were going for 20-25k EUR.

Same car worth ~100k EUR now. Crazy prices.

Teslas are just too heavy though really. All the bhp in the world doesn't help you when the car weighs a few tonnes.

Road tax should definitely start taking weight into account not just engine. All those heavy EVs running around completely destroy roads.

I feel that I missed the window on a 996 Turbo too. 2 years ago you could snag one for about $45-55k, now they're $60-75k and still climbing. I also really like not having some crazy expensive rare sports car that I gotta worry about anytime I park it anywhere. My cheap Porsche Boxster is great because nobody thinks it's cheap. I got it for $8000 and put about $3000 into it, most of that was wheels/tires.

I have to pay an additional $300 "EV Tax" when I plate my car. They're going to collect their tax money one way or the other. Since I'm not giving them tax money everytime at the pump, this is what they do. It costs me $550 to plate my Tesla for 1 year...

EVs also are not THAT heavy. My Model Y weighs the about same as a F-150. Some EV are that heavy though, like the Hummer and EV GM trucks. That stupid Hummer is 9700lbs. That's more than 2 F-0150s.

I keep laughing at all the articals that hype up the range of the GM EV trucks as being so much better than everybody else. What nobody bothers to mention is that they have 210KWH batteries, while the Rivian and Cybertruck have 110-120kwh.

The Hummer battery pack alone weighs only 100lbs less than a Chevy Malibu.

F-150.. bro that's a truck.

That truck is ~5,000lbs or 2,200Kg... My bike weighs ~500lbs/215kg. At ~200bhp and 215kg.. now you know why every acceleration test has bikes right at the top.

Tesla model S weighs at about the same as that truck too.

And yeah GM makes heavy cars. What else is new. There's a saying in Europe - "American sized". That's why.

Back in the neolithic age when I was a teenager there were two measures of performance for your flintstonesmobile.

Waddle she do in the quarter. That's the acceleration or quick bit.

Watts she top out at. That's the top speed or fast part.

Both are still viable today. The only thing that has changed about measuring automotive performance today other than numbers is as well as HP and torque they also measure power in KWs.

P. S. for most cars and motorcycles the fast and quick part are somewhat interchangeable. That's the rear end ratio part.

Have you driven one before? You might find you don't like it, I know a lot of Porsche owners that are kinda meh on them once they drove it. They have some weird handling characteristics. They've also gone up in price a lot lately for good ones.

Personally, I prefer the NA 996s with a 3.8 or 4.0 overbore done. It really brings available torque earlier in the RPM range and adds a lot of life to the car without the complication of the AWD system in the Turbo. OTOH the M96 is just...bad...even after they've been overhauled, Mezger engines are a lot better...ask me how I know (currently on rebuild #2)....

I have not driven any 911 yet, but I do know a lot of people who say they prefer the Boxster/Caymen performance and handling over the 911. I'd love a 718 Boxster GTS, but that's way more than I'd ever spend on a car. There is a 996 C2 at a dealer near me, I might go drive it.

The M96 scares me. My 2.5 is the one that has the least problems. Way less common IMS failures (no stupid single row bearing on the 2.5) and no coated pistons that cause bore scoring. I wouldn't buy a M96 car just because those motors still cost $7k-$13k. LS swapping everything always makes me sad, but the 996 really does make a fantastic LS powered car. Whenever my motor does give out, I've been seriously considering doing a EJ25 swap on my Boxster to be unique. I sold my WRX to get my Boxster, so it feels like combining these cars.

because EV sales are the reason we don't have road budget... Not because of politician misappropriation of funds.

Its both

Politicians *** around with money, but they're also not getting that sweet gas tax.


also inb4: "OMG POLITICS VYRE HELP MY DAINTY EYES CANT HANDLE THIS"

I'm still waiting with popcorn to read this story!

I find it hilarious that EV sales were subsidised by low taxes and low registration fees for years just to appear to be environmental friendly, while these same cars cause so much damage to roads that their taxes have to be put up to compensate them.

The consumer is worse off in the end, not car makers.

I am enjoying the continued low taxes on high MPG gasoline engines on low weight motorcycles. EV bikes are not a thing, for good reasons - weight mostly as discussed.

Same manufacturers are now rolling back their "EV onry" plans in favour of hybrids and alternative fuels. Seems like the grass is not so green after all.

I live in Michigan and we have all 3 major US car companies right here in a 50mi radius. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler are all right here. This is important because it really distorts our traffic vehicle ratios. We have so many people who will just always buy a new vehicle every year because it helps their companies sales.

But even with that, there is not that many EVs on the roads. Absolutely not enough to tip the scales. Also, all electricity is taxed, so it's not like that gasoline money is 100% missing.

Here in Michigan, we have the most corrupt state level funding crap bills and propositions. We have had multiple increases to our taxes over there years with the promise of "rebuilding our roads". All that revenue increase went on to fund several round-a-bouts in extremely rural areas that nobody asked for. No doubt the contracted construction company is related to Governor Whitmer.

You are correct tho, crooked politicians stealing our tax dollars is a non-partisan issue.

My coworkers and I have a theory on that. Since the general population is "EVs suck", companies are just going to build PHEV (Plugin-Hybrid Electric Vehicle) for some years.... then remove the PH and leave everybody with just EVs because they are drastically better from a manufacturing standpoint.

People don't like change. EVs are a big change. I don't think everything needs to go EV, but every commuter/daily car should be. Trucks and sports cars still need ICE and will until something very drastically changes with battery tech.