Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Too much is never enough!

The biggest issue for me is that cars in general have become much heavier and required more tyre and brake surface area to keep safely on the road compared to 30 to 40 years ago. Which creates far more noise and of course tyres and brake pad particles pollution than in the past, (with the exception they have replaced asbestos in the brake pads).

My 1968 Vauxhall Viva GT was a full blown 4 seater car with about 115bhp with 13 inch wheels and only 850kg, and was a great car to drive a little light at the back but so rewarding to drive compared to many of the modern GTs.

Caterham brought out a "retro" Seven. Small engine, narrow tyres etc to give a low power old school feel to the driving experience. Limited edition and sensibly priced versus their model range.
Outright high speed is less desirable for road use. Go to a track for that!
I like trying to drive smoothly yet still "make progress". Read the road and yet stay within limits. Example....roundabout without over braking. Why? Watch traffic on roundabouts and you see degrees of style. React to traffic on it but if clear keep momentum up. How many vehicles do you see creeping round ? This doesn't mean treating it as a chicane at high speed but "slow in - fast out " style within road conditions and your skill level. Put your attention on the driving style without distractions or silly things.

I've said many times, there is greater pleasure in driving a slow vehicle fast.

Neither of my two cars have any real 'performance' but give me a few roundabouts or a set of twisties and I always manage to put considerable distance between me and the performance car that's been up my @rse on the straights. They seem to be very good with the right foot, but less accomplished with the steering wheel.

Currently having a clear out of my folks house as they're moving, and found my John Watson Race School course certificate from about 1988!

It also doesn't help that cars are getting heavier and heavier (even without the addition of EV tech). Crash protection, pedestrian safety measures, power EVERYthing, leather, large components designed to be easier to manufacture on mechanised production lines, all add up to cars that are far larger and heavier than ever before.

I had a 3-door UP! GTI for awhile and it was the same size as the original Golf GTI, it also had the same bhp (well, in fact, 5bhp more iirc!). It was being sold as VWs smallest model and a 'city car'. When parked next to the Polo it looked small and when next to a Golf, it looked tiny.

As per TBM's comments, it was hugely fun to drive quickly and seemed to egg you on to do so! Sadly, VW killed the UP! and the GTI version along with it. There is no replacement with talk of an EV ID.1 coming in 2027 but that isn't the same in my book.

PS - park a modern 991/992 911 next to a 1970s 911 and the experience is not dissimilar in terms of showing how much modern cars have grown.

My little Corsa was an absolute hoot - the only downside was I went through the nearside front tyre in under a year due to hooning round MK roundabouts.....

The only downside of roundabouts is that either cars think you are driving slower than you are, or they think they can pull away quicker than they are able to - I get people pulling out in front on me at least once a day. And don't get me started on those that try and 'straighten' a roundabout by moving from left lane to right lane then back again......

I was just reading this thread, and I am completely in the same line, but almost by coincidence I saw the latest vid from Harry Metcalf on the latest Lamborghini right after that. It says it all. I think you will find them in Monaco in front of the Casino with " celebrities " coming out. 1000+ BHP is madness. Harry was doing well with the Morgan PlusFour, Renault 5 etc, but apparently this is what people want to see. It's a parallel world of the richest on earth! In times of war.....!

I seem to recall a quote from many years ago that the perfect Sports Car should have 100 bhp, weigh 1000 lbs and be about 5 feet wide. The details may vary but the context is right, I cannot recall who the quote was from, possibly Gordon Murray as he has a love of tiny sports cars.

The Smart Roadster is just such a car. A friend had one. On paper it is average. And yet the experience is way more than it should ever be, and it wasn't even a Brabus. Sure, build quality is a bit Morganlike, but the Smart Roadster might well be at the top of my list of cars which have blown my prejudices out of the water.

K, I never ever stopped looking at old bikes, though did stop looking at new bikes, surprisingly enough, once they became digital.. (-: I guess the newest bike I considered as a possibility was the Honda VFR 750, but instead my stiffening frame had me buy a BMW R850R which was so much easier on the wrists and neck, not to mention my licence...(-:

My Harley experience is very limited to a short ride on an shovel head Sportster,(?) in the 90`s, the name Sportster sure did not fit the machine, it weighed a ton and it`s twin disc brakes could not stop the bike as well as could the drum brakes on the little BSA 350cc B40 designed as anything but sports bike usage.. !

Richard, my guess is that when the +8 first appeared on the scene there would be those Morganeers who typed similarly to that which you typed on the Plus 6.... ? (-:

John I think the saying it is better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow may have been attributed to Colin McRae...? I suspect both he was and you are entirely correct... (-: Or was Colin`s quip that "Straight roads are for fast cars, and roads with corners are for fast drivers"....Hmm..?

Simon, having spent a great deal of time in and under my 60`s, 70`s and 80`s air cooled Porsches and with access to a 991.1 C4S, I have little doubts about the external dimensions or the difference between old and slightly newer Porsche tec advances...all my air cooled Porsches were manual, and the C4S PDK, which when taking to my favourite tight and twisting circa seven mile long designated A road, with B road dimensions, I am pretty sure were the road closed and I able to be timed , I suspect despite the reduced number of open sections and slightly wider body lines of the C4S than my last SC, that the C4S would cover the distance quicker, and likely so due to a combination of grunt and all the digits doing their bit to get it all down on the road surface, including PASM and inner rear wheel braking on tight corners, despite all of which with the push of a button it is "reportedly" still possible to get the rear end to step out controllably, if one may care to do so... For sure my SC was more demanding on that stretch of road, and no doubt would be felt to be more so now some 30 years later, but a dawn drive at the right time of year, can in recent years provide reasonable amounts of enjoyment for me these days, though got to keep my eyes out for the wildlife.... As a comparator, I also enjoy that same road in my Morgan on occasion, though it pops and bangs a little more, thus the wildlife issues are perhaps less of an issue...(-: I feel most fortunate to still be able to enjoy the physical demands that my old Mog places upon me than does the 991, and thus enjoy the Morgan quite a bit more than it`s Porsche pal...(-: The Tesla, nah, I have no desire to use it other than for shopping trips and any other daily duties, though I did unintentionally cause it to require a bit of oppo exiting a local roundabout, I suspect there may have been a splash of diesel on the road... (-:

Ruut, suppose while I am often frustrated by the amount of speed at which digital tec has "advanced" expectations relative to the modern world, I am also in awe of it`s capabilities, perhaps much as blacksmiths were when cars first arrived on the roads.....Though electric boosts to the ICE performance in the latest Porsches and Lambo`s are mind boggling for me, but I am happy that there are those who can afford them in order that they might exist...for Harry to share with the likes of me in his excellent vids...(-:

I am on-board with most of this. Power to weight is more fun than more power and more weight which is the way I see it going.

All of the new world BEV's with 600+ bhp and even more lb/ft torque plus 2400kg of batteries and electronic fud. This is just going to make the impact bigger and squishier for all those involved.

I will admit that the tweaked MB E63 estate I use most days matches what most of you describe for over-powered on public roads. I do however enjoy using the power to come out of roundabouts with a bit of vigour when it's clear. I went for the earlier model with 2WD because you could have fun without becoming a missile. You don't have to use the power all the time.

Given I can buy a Mini (up to 306hp JCW-4WD estate) that can almost equally nail every road rule in a single journey where do you draw the mechanical line? It has to be in driver mindset. Public roads and public speeds.