I'm not on any side. I like nice cars just like you. One day you'll probably become an adult with a fulltime job and a kid to raise like me... and then you'll realize there's more to life than just "speed" and "enthusiast cars". Which is why enthusiasts are a minority, otherwise we'd all be daily-driving exotics sportscars.
You and shotgun are the blind disgraces, and a minority group. Cars aren't made for enthusiasts. I'd wager over 90% of the population give no shit what they drive
Fun fact: I disagree with that guy on many, maybe even most, things, as he can prove. He is the wild US speed enthusiast showing that you can be a gearhead on a near-zero budget, I am a more practically-minded Europeans. However, both of our viewpoints lead to the conclusion that Twinairem delendam esse.
Not the words I'd use to describe you, but whatever. I'd probably use something along the lines of simple-minded I think you guys are all taking Shotgun Chuck's point the wrong way. It sucks when every car is getting optimized for economy instead of having a sporty-yet-practical car or a dedicated enthusiast car. If you want a car with 90 hp, that's good for you, but I don't think that's going to be a lot of fun to drive unless it's also a very light car. It isn't a bad thing for a car to get good fuel economy, but when you start handicapping performance in the name of economy (beyond a reasonable amount), the cars are going to be miserable. That's why it's nice that they at least give you the option of having a bigger engine. Are most people going to need it? Probably not. But there are going to at least be a few people who will use it and I'm sure they are happy they have it.
Fun fact: I love it because I can take advantage of fuel economy and reduced emissions, which is exactly the purpose of that powerplant. Either way, TwinAir is out of production, will be replaced by the FireFly engine family. Other way 'round, really. While I'm glad we have options, even those I can't practically use like performance cars, he despises every non-enthusiast, sensible option for no apparent reason.
I'm still at odds with anyone who can wake up to see a 500L in the drive way and not feel at least a bit dissapointed for buying what looks like a modern rendition of the original Fiat Multipla with a touch of Ssangyong Rodius.
Wrong, I don't care for exotics as in super cars like lambos. There is very little more in life than speed, and nearly any car can be an enthusiast car. I have been working full time jobs for several years, I am an adult, but have I gone fast enough yet? In my mind, no. Your kid is your priority. That's great, the world needs good dads, but that doesn't mean others don't need speed. --- Post updated --- Hey, my girlfriend bought it. I just have to work on it and be dissatisfied with how cheaply it's made, like door handles and armrests and undecarriage guard and how lame the traction control is since you can't shut it fully off. Sure isn't the best winter vehicle, but it is cheap, gets good mileage and I can park anywhere in any space just about lol! It handles okay with sport mode on, but I would take my old 97 civic on those winding back roads over that electronically controlled crap all day. I really miss the connection with the road in it.
I fixed the salvaged garage in a box that prevents my car from getting full of water every time it rains right now Connecticut is in the middle of a large no'r easter that wont die down until tomorrow
Sometimes you need speed and power. Sometimes you need efficiency. But I hate how modern car industry tries to combine both in one engine, fail miserably, but tell everyone it didn't. On certain occasions I even feel modern cars are overpowered.
Again, go tell that to @Shotgun Chuck. This whole debate started when he said he was glad the fuel-efficient variants of the 500L aren't available in the US, because "faster is better". Generalizations galore. Others might need speed, while plenty of people - the vast majority - need a sensible car and value fuel-economy and have different priorities. People in the market for a 500L are more likely to be in need of a sensible car than the comically overpowered "speedy" version - powered by the same engine of the Abarth hatch, really? - offered on the other side of the pond. Assuming everyone is a car enthusiast... or worse, assuming one can't be an enthusiast just because he has different priorities in life... well, that's a gross generalization, especially when statistics say that "those who need speed" are a minority.
OT: I totaled my car (not exactly today, but a few days ago) And that after I renewed the engine and repaired the brake lines and the exhaust. How? The Airbag warning light got on and I got distracted in a very bad moment. I just was about to overtake a parked trailer (in the left turn move, but the turning radius was too wide). I hit the trailer with 30 kmh.
Did you try to open the hood and look inside? Visible damages seem repairable (although almost anything is repairable, it's just a question of time and money).
Of course I did and it is repairable too. It would cost round about 500€ and a week of intensive work, but I don´t want to spend anymore on the car. I also thought before that about a new car and now I have a reason to buy a new car . It is more wise to save the money for a better car (my goal is a Opel Vectra B Facelift).
That sucks man! I hit a deer at about 70 mph in my plymouth breeze, took some straightening and robbing green parts for a purple car and a little epoxy on the fuse box, new radiator, re attached the shifter linkage on the trans because it apparently hit that hard lol... and was back up and going after the weekend was up. Helps to have connections and a helpful dad. that was 7 or 8 years ago now. Good luck buying your new car!
I looked up the Fiat 500L and while it wasn't as heavy as I thought, it's still heavy enough (minimum ~2700lb) that I'd call an 80HP twin-cylinder, or even a 100HP turbo twin, flatly underpowered for a car of that size. The 500X was fortunately not even available with the twin; a minimum 2900lb car is way beyond what such an engine is suited for. My own car is way lighter than any of them with more power (at least new) than the NA version and it's still horrible. The problem is that once a car's power output drops towards or into the double digits, it's going to be dog slow no matter what else you do to it, unless it's Lotus/Caterham levels of light, which the 500L and X most certainly are not. It's a lot like the Escort: it wouldn't need that much more power to be legitimately quick - the sports model only had 127, after all - but where it is now, it decidedly isn't. If we take both the 500L and 500X and get our specs from Wikipedia, we're looking at a weight range of 2750-3300 pounds, with the X being on the high end of that. I would not consider either the 160HP 1.4T or the 180HP 2.4 to be either oversized or overpowered for vehicles that heavy. On the low end of that range, they might certainly be more suited to a sports model than a base model, but I get the feeling that 2750 is for an 875cc NA manual and the 1.4Ts are a bit heavier. Missing the point, part 1 As stated above, it wouldn't make any sense at all in the US market, and I'm surprised it does anywhere else. That little power into that much weight just doesn't go. Literally. Missing the point, part 2 Missing the point, part 3 This guy gets it. Enthusiast-oriented and enthusiast-friendly aren't necessarily the same thing. "Normal" models aren't and don't have to be enthusiast-oriented, but they used to be a lot more enthusiast-friendly than they are now. They weren't perfect; depending on the car you could encounter dog-slow engines, slushy 3-and 4-speed automatic transmissions (which some cars had by default even in the old days) primitive suspension setups, or just suspension & alignment setups Senna himself couldn't have made look good, along with deeper issues such as a terrible cylinder head design on some GM V6es. But the cars still have a few things going for them as well: they don't weigh nearly as much as current models, the engines had actual size to work with, and the cars as a whole were still simple enough that an amateur mechanic could repair and upgrade them reasonably well. I don't think every car needs to be a race car, I just think they should have the potential to become one if you're crazy enough to try. I don't hate sensible cars, I just hate how they're becoming so freaking sensible that you can't do anything un-sensible with them. It's like the 1-liter EcoBoost I3; they were so obsessed with making the engine physically smaller that they cast the exhaust manifold and cylinder head as one piece, thus immediately blocking out an elementary and fairly easy beginner-level upgrade (header). Comically overpowered? Really? I addressed this above, but to reiterate, 160HP is not even close to overpowered for a car in the weight range of the 500L or, even worse, 500X. At the low end of the 500L's weight range, to be sure, 160 might be more along the lines of a sports model, but I suspect that the 1.4Ts are not at the low end of that range, especially once you start adding options, especially with the inevitable (and now mandatory here, assuming it wasn't all along) automatic transmission. Put it all together and suddenly 160 horsepower isn't too much at all. The 500X is even worse.
Why don't we just let it go boys? Chuck and soul flier. Getting ridiculous. Not trying to moderate but no point getting each other in trouble or causing this thread to close. Been happening a lot round here lately. Appreciate it.
we replaced both rear axle bearings.......again on our 02 zx5 Focus. this time, we got Detroit Axle Bearings and not that cheap Auto Zone trash.
I, FCA and most european manufacturers do. The fact the car - an urban commuter - moves no problem contradicts you. Because you fail to see there might be other purposes to a vehicle other than "speed". I'm surprised you think a market with its peculiarities - the US market - is just like "anywhere else", and that's my point all along: US market is an exception, not the norm. In the rest of the World, american cars are considered oversize and overpowered for a reason. In the rest of the world, the brunt of the sales for the 500L and any similar car is 1.4, 1.6 engines with 100-120HP at best. The 1.4 Multiair isn't even available in the Euro-spec model. See above. 160HP is "warm hatch territory" outside of the US - the 1.4T is found under the bonnet of the entry-level Abarth 500 and the 124 spider here - . Anywhere else, people move just fine with less power and 6-7 speed manuals and also save fuel in the process. Must have something to do with the much higher fuel prices here, we don't like wasting expensive resources. Anyway let's agree to disagree, this is getting tedious and pointless.
