Torqued Off

I have found the best experiences are often the most demanding physically. I have put 120,000 plus miles on my Harley Road king,.....all without a windshield or fairing. To me, its not riding without the wind in my face. Could I ride longer with a fairing or windshield? Yes, but each extra mile would come at the price of a lesser experience. Same with my 77 Vette. The T-tops come off early in the spring, windows stay down all summer long, and without the wind, the noise, the sound and the rumble,.......its a lesser experience. Not interested in quiet. It quiet when I sleep, and will be when I am in the dirt box. When I am in the Vette or on the Harley,....its time to live. Its a feeling I get nowhere else.

And I drive the car as much as possible, and ride the Harley as much as possible, until the winter returns. When I am done at end of day, I feel good about the experience. Comfort is not a requirement, although I feel quite comfortable on both. I have very little interest in being closed in, with windows rolled up, .....all the fun is just gone.

But, that's me.....and I am sure glad I like it, otherwise, I wouldn't own either one. My F150 provides the meaningless transportation to and from, and means nothing to me. Try living instead of dying.

SciVette

My wife drives a BMW 328i x-drive. Nice car- sunroof, well-made, can be sporty, fun to drive but great for long trips as well... But turning on AC/DC's "Back in Black" doesn't add or detract from the ride. Now, hop in my 1980 Vette, yank those t-tops, crank her up. She's a little loud, no cats mean she smells a bit, and she can rattle and squeak on occasion, but the combination of the Vette and classic '80s rock actually improves BOTH- like some kind of alchemy that's just out of reach of the folks at Bavarian Motor Works.

Both are pleasurable experiences, but comparing the two will get you nowhere.

marshal135

Yeah we have Lexus performance cars for daily drivers.
I press the pedal and it whisks me right up to 100 but it feels like an elevator ride
to the penthouse. Its fast and smooth with little force acting on my body.

Now get the '68 427 out and light her off and my body knows I'm out for a ride.
Some times I'll go for a late night ride T-tops out, Pandora on 60's music and I'm teleported to a much simpler time in America. She squats down between shifts and you feel the forces of nature working on you as you reach 4500 rpms.
Then like a Cinderella story she's back in the garage and I return to my previous program.
A classic is an escape from the routine. I call it therapy.
I've had and do have a Harley similar feeling but with the vette I don't need all the outer wear. Shorts on jump in and go.
Marshal

PainfullySlow

I echo many of the sentiments here.

Modern sports cars are engineering marvels. They work seamlessly to put out ridiculous power which is carefully controlled by electronics. It is very easy to go fast.

Our C3s are a more visceral experience which is exactly what I am looking for. There are little to no electronics. Our 'traction control' is also called our right foot. Ultimately the are slower and imprecise compared to the modern counterparts but the experience of driving these cars simply blows away the modern cars.

That driving experience is why I am investing my time and money into one of these cars. If I want to go fast, I can just hop on a bike.

whateverpratt

True that
After riding a liter bike for a while where 120 feels like a natural cruising speed and getting there is effortless, it takes quite a bit of car to impress

M Pete

You are driving the wrong BMW.

lowbuck72

I've long since lost the desire to go dangerously fast. (0ccasional burnouts not withstanding).That being said, you can keep your new cars. I own a couple, but only for transportation and they both are sticks. Of my 3 old roadsters, I like my '65 Ghia best, but my '72 Corvette is a very close second. One thing I can't stand about newer cars with sticks is that the rpm doesn't drop instantly when you take your foot off the gas. Blame emmisions or drive by wire, but it sucks- but it's still better than any automatic. Nowadays, nearly every new car is fast, and nearly everyone is driving like they're in a race. The only thing I can say about new cars is that they are safer in an accident. And almost any new car will lose half it's worth in 4 years. And good luck trying to repair one yourself.

radiotexas

Driving a late model Vette is like dating the lead ballerina of the Bolshoi ballet.
Driving my big block '70 4-sp is like dating a pole dancer, fun and lively. Both have their place. I can tell how fast the '70 is going through the seat of my pants and the exhaust note.
And going country cruising in a car with 4:10 cogs, you're a braver man than me.
(than I?, which ever is correct)
Would trade my autographed 8x10 of Westbrook Van Voorhis for an overdrive tranny.
Bubba's first cousin, Jethro

Torqued Off

Any BMW is the wrong BMW.

EarlyC34me

1/2 Glorified go cart. 1/2 hot tub time machine

M Pete

MRANT212

Have my 71 454 Coupe and its fun and I like to say these cars have " character". In its time they were advanced....today let's be honest they're old on a platform that was off the C2 which puts the engineering technology to the early 1960's. Great character but a new Honda Accord will blow it away in acceleration, braking and handling.

I currently drive a 17 SS and prior had a 14 Audi S6 and a 12 CTS-V. Those three cars will run circles around my 71. They don't have the "character" nor are they as fun to drive as the 71. The 71 is pure old school!

JoeMinnesota

Our 19 yr old is into cars and has a pretty stout Volvo S60R ... powerful AWD 6-spd manual, sweet exhaust, turbocharged 5 cyl with a healthy tune - smooth and pretty refined.

I recently let him drive my 1970 coupe after a complete drivetrain rebuild and he was literally a bag of nerves. He was afraid to open it up at first. He described it as a raw, active driving experience. Mechanical throttle, good brakes but manual, so requires some real driver input, heavier clutch, archaic shifter, louder, some whiffs of old school exhaust and very engaging. Also, Lots of recognition wherever you stop - people know it's something old and the retro interior and gauges are sweet.

cv67

newer cars have their place but they will never make you feel alive like something old school. If I want real comfort Ill lay on the couch.
I dont care if a new car runs 10s it cant give that same experience.

SciVette

M Pete

I'm in full agreement with you. The eye roll was in response to a baseless opinion with a broad generalization.

I love BMWs and am on #6. If you want a raw feeling I recommend an E30 M3 or E46 M3 (traction control off!) blasting Ramstein on country roads. It is even a thing to drop Chevy engines into these which is, of course, considered sacrilegious in the BMW community. I have seen two LS engines put into Z3Ms and they are pretty cool.

Torqued Off

My opinion is not baseless, I just don't have any interest or desire to own a BMW, nor do I subscribe to the religious obsession with BMW cars or motorcycles. This is a Corvette forum,...so don't get offended. People like different things....! Although I must say that typically BMW lovers aren't quite as open minded.

If you gave me a BMW, I would be selling it to buy another C3.

v2racing

My brother has a C6 Grand Sport with a supercharger. It makes 638 HP at the rear wheel. It is obviously fast, but just feels very civilized.

When I had my 80 Vette with the engine and tranny in my signature in it, it felt much faster than my brothers Grand Sport, it wasn't of course, but it was much more brutal feeling and sounding, very raw. It used to scare the crap out of people I gave a ride to, which was great fun.

Mike

hdal

71 yrs old,I've had every kind of fast car made. Back in late 1967 I worked at a buddies Sunoco cas sta. Because of the"infamous 260 oct"gas he had lots of fast cars hanging around. I got the job super tuning a 67' 427/435 tri-pwr Corv. Got late,dark,1st test ride put the car sideways,actually over-shot the headlite beams. Felt like Star-trek. Came back shaking. Never forgot that experience.....Hdal

lowbuck72

I'm sorry, I have to add my 2 cents regarding BMW's. These cars are for the rich who can afford a new one every 3 years. Every wonder why they depreciate so fast, every wonder why they don't even have dipsticks. Ask any mechanic who works on these things. The only beemers I respect are the old carbureted motorcycles and the original 2002's from the 60's.

Thanks, that felt good. I like puling into a gas station in my C3, top down, motor rumblin', and there's some guy in his new M3 or M4 and I don't even give him a second look, or I might just say "Hey nice beemer, does that clutch pedal on those things take a lot of effort?... oh, it's an automatic?"