Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) VW group cars diesel emissions issue

Cars are changing in a way that they have to fit to new cultural and political demands. Why are they boring, because they isolate/ "protect" us from the elements, because they are (generally) very reliable, which means you may not get a deeper emotional relationship with your car when she always just works. The car feels remote, the driving experience feels remote, the sound of the engine is distant and locked.

I think the above said is only the first smell of the next step which is the car without a driver. Even more remote and boring in the way the public transport is nowadays.

In 60 years kids will go to traffic museums and cannot believe seeing that people of the past piloted themselves their cars with all the risk of an accident.

Whilst I agree with the general view that I REALLY wouldn't want any of the cars I once had, with the possible exception of an Alfa Sud, but equally there are no cars on the market that really say "buy me"!

I use Tarka more and more, to the point where I am seriously considering getting a set of 18" wheels so I can fit winter tyres...and investigating a removable hard top.
Yes, fuel efficiency is poor, but driving it makes me smile.

I had a rental BMW 320i Touring earlier this week. Desperate road noise and unremittingly dull, with strange handling.
Perhaps the M2 Coupe would be better, it is £50K.
Only £10K more than an M3W, yes, more of a viable toy,....but is it more enjoyable??

I've never really been interested in mainstream cars, preferring unrefined two seaters, although I've had one occasionally, and a Golf since 2001, well, two Golfs.....

Our epiphany was at the beginning of our Scottish tour in June 2014. The weather forecast on the day we set off, was for torrential rain. The longer range forecast was for torrential rain - some of the time. Up to that point we would probably have sighed, and put the luggage in the Golf.

This time we didn't. The whole point of buying Bumble was for touring, so it made no sense to take the Golf. At the end of that trip, having had the full 'Morgan in Scotland experience' - which involves getting wet (a lot), we both decided that it would have been a huge mistake to take the Golf.

And having done the trip to BHM in the day both in the Golf, and in the Morgan we both concluded that there's no comparison.

So now, we have become "all-weather long distance tourers".

When I first bought my Roadster I continued to use it as I had used my MG's - so quite selective, avoiding wet weather where possible, and that's why we only had the roof up once in the first six years - although we did get wet occasionally.

Now we just use either no matter what the weather forecast, and it really doesn't seem to have had any effect on the Roadster. It still shines up well.

Although it's handy to have a runabout car, and MrsW's ('04) Polo does that well, we could manage without the Golf and in some ways I wonder if I should have bothered with it.

While I'm still working, I will always have a modern car. When it's a cold and dark November morning, chucking down with rain, and I have to be 100 miles away for an 08:30 meeting, the Morgan is always going to stay tucked up in the garage.

But when I'm retired, and able to choose when I travel, then I'm fully intending to just keep the Morgan as my main car.

My friends father has never owned a modern car.

His current daily driver is a Triumph 2500 saloon. He uses it both locally and on motorway trips. It's his only car.

He keeps it well serviced and it's never let him down in three years of ownership.

Dave. Thanks to a couple of pieces of neoprene here and there (thanks for the tips) we get very little if any water coming in to the car. After the windscreen was replaced we get a drop coming in somewhere but that should be rectified this week. We have used the car in pounding rain, snow, and boiling heat (the hotest being in Sicily this July). The car is used mainly for long distance touring and a quick count arrives at 9 countries visited so far (oh! Plus 3 principalities).

If I did not need to occasionally transport 3,4 or 5 people and luggage is would be my only car. Actually I could probably hire a car when I needed it for less than it would cost to buy and own one.
Now there's a thought

We did just that for about ten years Peter, and sometimes we got lucky with nice almost new transport. But sometimes the cars were tatty by my standards. Although hire cars did introduce me to diesels and VWs so not all bad. We still hire a car for holidays when we take my mother. Usually mini SUV class. Some have been capable but not my cup of tea at all.

Funny the differing views people have over cars.....one of the cars I miss is my BMW 320d M Sport Touring! Kept it 5 years and loved it. Now my main driver is a Discovery Sport which replaced the Cayman....and I find I dont miss the latter!
It's rather surprised me but I can now hear the radio and feel refreshed after a long haul up the M6! If I was offered back one of my sports cars...apart from Nero of course....I'd settle for my last Z4. Says a lot about my driving I think!

I sold the Merc as it was getting on an have a VW Polo TSI with 110 bhp as a tin top.

In reality I am doing 5-6k in the Mog & under 3k in the tin top that is used for the odd UK business trip & bad weather.

When I retire I might go totally to the Mog as also has a car.

After several fast cars - VW Golf GTI's then migration to Golf R32's and then a very quick TT. I decided earlier this year to rein it all in a little. My commute is through the Surrey Hills and in winter time can be a challenge for the pocket rockets...so I got the Mazda AWD, bit dull to be sure but you know, I have had it since April and am enjoying it. It doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't and I don't feel the need to pretend I am a anything I'm not by driving it....and it should get me over the hills through the winter safely. However, when I retire I shall probably let it go, the question then is what to do - upgrade the +4 maybe or something else, the trouble is I could only justify one car as Mrs Tuftie has her own so we won't need three with me not working......