Jeremy Clarkson-The Good The Bad The Ugly

[Blank]

wondering about could I afford to run these cars in the UK been doing some research: (no i couldn't afford either unless i got them on credit)

did a quick search on autotrader for local sales for the cars:

2006 lotus Exige S = £33,995
manufacturers spec sheet = 24 mpg city  / 29 mpg highway
Price (ish) per Mile  =16p city  / 14p highway

2006 Mustang GT V8 = £24,800 second hand uk
manufacturers spec sheet = 17 mpg city  / 25 mpg highway
Price(ish) per Mile  = 23p city / 16p highway


Fuel Prices:
1 uk Gallon = 4.54 L   =  £3.98 or  $7.65
(Average fuel price locally = 87.6p per L)


so in city driving over 1 year doing 10k miles the mustang will cost a whopping £700 more to run. (thats 4 pints of beer a week more)

well thats not much unless the manufacturers are lying about the MPG of the cars.

Now insurance:

Lotus Exige S = £1053 per year fully comprehensive for me, not to bad (ish)

cant find an online quote for the mustang though, but an AC Cobra 4L was £1,116 a year,  so mustang prob around the 1k mark as well.

So basically, not much in it really.

I wonder what real world driving would do for fuel MPG though, would the Mustang drink more with slow-fast-slow-fast driving than the lotus or the other way round?

anyone have any real world experience in either of these?

[AKH]

Originally posted by lazs2
My grandfather came from Scotland... a step up from england but just barely...  I went back there and couldn't understand a word they said.  Much like england... they laughed at my "accent".

I pointed out that I had no accent but that they did.   More laughter... I pointed out that if I were wrong... How was it that they could understand every word that I was saying while they were all but unintelligable to me?

Because you talk more than you listen?

[wooley]

Originally posted by moot
Vike, how much of the US have you experienced first-hand?

Can we throw that question to the floor please...

How many Americans commenting here have any significant European driving experience? Likewise, how many Euro's have significant US driving experience?

I'm guessing more Europeans have been to America, simply because they get more vacation, but for the sake of this argument, can we assume 2 weeks driving a rented Chevy Malibu around Florida theme parks doesn't count as 'significant'. Equally, tootling round London in a rented Fiat is not 'significant'.

[Bronk]

Originally posted by wooley
Can we throw that question to the floor please...

How many Americans commenting here have any significant European driving experience? Likewise, how many Euro's have significant US driving experience?

I'm guessing more Europeans have been to America, simply because they get more vacation, but for the sake of this argument, can we assume 2 weeks driving a rented Chevy Malibu around Florida theme parks doesn't count as 'significant'. Equally, tootling round London in a rented Fiat is not 'significant'.

How about 4 weeks in Ireland .

Almost everywhere but the northern counties.

I know that on  some of those roads.  I wouldn't want a car  bigger than a mustang.  Not much more than a paved cow path.

Bronk

[eskimo2]

Originally posted by Excel1
Sorry, but I can’t see what’s to like about the Fiat 500. It looks like it was designed by a smurf.

I've never owned a Fiat but one of my brothers had a Fiat 127 as his first car. At first when he told me he had bought a Fiat I had an expectation of Euro sophistication of a poor mans Ferrari. But when he told me he had only paid $200 for it I had my doubts; until the first time I saw it... it turned out to be a 900cc micro hatch chitbox. At the time it was only about 10 years old but it was so riddled with tin worm that the only thing holding the body together was the paint. It was crude and unreliable, and as my brothers unpaid mechanic I had to get intimate with the damn thing. I prolly spent more time working on it than he did driving it. It was easily the worst car I have had anything to do with and I have had a few cheap and nasty cars over the years.

Like I said, I hate myself, that’s why I drove Fiats (but only as a second car, you can’t count on them as a primary).  They all sucked and I also spent more time fixing them than driving them.  I also have a good sense of humor which is why I liked the 500.

[lazs2]

bronk...  I would say that a couple of weeks driving in any country of any size is not much.    I would have to say tho that I did put 1200 miles on the car in england and Scotland.    This amounted to seeing a whole lot of the country and driving a lot of roads.    It is a really tiny little island.

I would say that if you spent 2 weeks driving Hawaii you would probly have a decent idea of what it was like to drive there.....  not so much russia or North America.

Size of country is relevant.

lazs

[Torque]

man...the cheeky guy is an entertaining smacktard, he can pull his counterparts out of the fold.

who didn't like big cars as teenager...mobile bedroom...what's not to like?

[Viking]

Originally posted by moot
Then you'll understand that a picture of a random car and a random road doesn't tell the whole story.
e.g. The Utah salt flats.

Of course not ... it's a stereotype. But the thing about stereotypes is that they wouldn't exist if they weren't for the most part true. The road networks and cities of our two respective continents have been the major influence of our rather different approach to car design. While Europe's cities and roads sometimes dates back to the Roman Empire with narrow streets and tight bends designed for nothing less maneuverable than a horse; American cities and roads are mostly built after the introduction of the motor vehicle.

So in essence you can say that while in America the roads are built for cars, in Europe the cars are built for the roads.

[Viking]

Originally posted by Mini D
It's OK moot. Viking is going out of his way to avoid any reality based assessments and stick to stereotypes as much as possible. It's always been his way, thus multiple handles.

Take that chevelle he linked. It's lighter and has twice the horse power of that 633csi, but he'll swear the BMW is better based on his vast understanding of everything he's seen on tv.

I did not proclaim that the BMW was better than the Chevelle. I only illustrated the connection between our different car designs and our roads. But by all means don't let that stop you from making a stereotype of me.

[Mini D]

That 633 you show is nearly as big as that chevelle and weighs more. You tell me how that correlates to the road pictures you show? There's a reason they had an elise and an atom on that show and not an 80s 633.

[john9001]

the Romans built straight roads, it's you euros that made roads wiggly. In america not all roads are arrow straight interstates, in the mountains the roads follow the animal trails.

[Viking]

Originally posted by Mini D
That 633 you show is nearly as big as that chevelle and weighs more. You tell me how that correlates to the road pictures you show? There's a reason they had an elise and an atom on that show and not an 80s 633.

The BMW 6 can corner a lot better than the Chevelle. The Chevelle otoh is a lot faster in a drag race.

Oh, and the BMW does not weigh more than the Chevelle. It weighs 300 lbs less.

[Viking]

Originally posted by john9001
In america not all roads are arrow straight interstates, in the mountains the roads follow the animal trails.

Not all ... that indicates that most are.

[Bronk]

Originally posted by Viking
The BMW 6 can corner a lot better than the Chevelle. The Chevelle otoh is a lot faster in a drag race.

Oh, and the BMW does not weigh more than the Chevelle. It weighs 300 lbs less.

300 lbs in a car makes a HUGE diff.

Hell full tank makes a diff in a drag race.

Bronk

[Viking]

Originally posted by Bronk
300 lbs in a car makes a HUGE diff.

Hell full tank makes a diff in a drag race.

Bronk

I'm sure it does. Just to make myself clear incase my previous post could be misinterpreted: the BMW weighs 300 lbs less than the Chevelle.