Never mind the plethora of sound, objective reasons for not wanting an electric car. These have been elaborated at length many times previously. I just don’t want an electric car. For purely emotional, entirely subjective reasons. I cannot understand why anyone would want an electric car. Because I cannot imagine anyone being interested in one of these soul-less plasticized appliances.
Of course, the same is nearly true of almost all current not-electric cars – with a handful of valiant exceptions such as the marvelous Ford Mustang, the endlessly engaging Mazda Miata and the recalcitrantly retro Dodge Charger, among the Valhalla few. 
Most of the rest might as well be electric – and this congruity is not accidental. In order to make the electric car more appealing it is necessary to bleed away the appeal of the not-electric car. To make them so similar as to make the experience of them almost indistinguishable.
This has been done in a number of obvious ways, among them the homogenization by regulation of the engines available such that most new cars come with the same 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine – almost always paired with an automatic transmission, so as to eliminate one of the not-electric car’s major pleasure centers, for people who like cars and driving them. When all there is to do in a not-electric car is pull a lever from Park to Drive (and in many case, push a button to move from Park to Drive) and then push on the accelerator pedal, there isn’t anything else to do.
Just the same as in an electric car.
With the exception of the noble holdouts mentioned above, almost all the sound has been eliminated from modern not-electric cars. Even the turbo-supercharged ones. To know there is a turbo or a supercharger, it is necessary to read the advertising literature. You cannot tell by ear. The whistle-snap of the turbo that once set a turbocharged car apart is gone; the hair-raising whine of the supercharger muffled into oblivion beneath black plastic engine covers – underneath of which you’d be hard-pressed to tell there is an engine there, somewhere.
There’s not much to see underneath the hood of an electric car, either. So why bother seeing it?
Perhaps you see the point.
Modern not-electric cars are also electronicized cars. They emulate the electric car’s all-touchscreen control surfaces – which of course provide the illusion of control. The car, itself, is completely controlled by electronics over which the driver has little, if any control. Just like the electric car. Both cars are subject to external controlling – via over-the-air “updates,” want them or not.
They are both fundamentally sealed, owner-unserviceable disposable appliances made of spray-painted plastic, even the “chrome.” The congruity waxes as the meaningful differences wane. It is easy to foresee that the time is not too far distant when there will be no meaningful difference between an electric car and other cars, except perhaps the practical/economic inferiority of the electric car. But even that difference wanes with each new model year. The electric car’s mechanical simplicity is countered by the non-electric car’s waxing complexity – necessary to make it feasible to continue building non-electric cars, at all.
48 volt electric systems with flywheel generator-starter systems. Electronics that regularly cycle the engine off and on. Multiple fuel-delivery systems, one (port fuel injection) there to offset the problems (carbon fouling of intake valves) created by the other (direct injection). Automatic transmissions with “dual clutches” and as many as ten speeds, doubling the cost of the transmission as well as its complexity, which increases the odds of unreliability.
It makes the electric car seem sensible – in the same way that adjusting oneself to life in an insane asylum seems reasonable.
To get a sense of what’s being frittered away, have a gander at this advertisement for the Caterham Super 7 – which is an updated version of Colin Chapman’s elemental Lotus 7. Press the start button – if you dare.
The car, purely distilled. Purely defined. It should be pictured in every dictionary under the entry for “car.”
I know of no other car that more profoundly embodies the difference between a car and an electric car. It is the same kind of difference between a sex doll and a beautiful, warm and real woman. Both end up achieving the same result – assuming you can manage it with the former.
But it’s not something to get excited about or look forward to.
And that’s what we’ve got to look forward to. It is why I loathe the electric car and all it embodies – for it represents the transformation of passion into passivity, of fun into dreary utility. Of the end of difference for the sake of the same.
Which is a kind of sampling of death, where we’re also all the same.
. . .
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Looks to me like the super 7 is the English version of a real American hot rod. Pick out your choice of engine, trans, rear end, and front suspension, put together a chassis from what you find, then box and stiffen it until it is stiff as can be, stick on a minimal body like a 20’s roadster tub, and have a ball. I’ve done it many times. Until the street rod, overdone luxotoy came about (and those are nice, but you can never compete with cubic money) they were a fine expression of real American freedom. It can always be found, if you are willing to go get it.
What’s also cool is that the Caterham is available as a kit – you will know this car inside and out.
I’m re-re-..watching The Prisoner episodes; I also grew up watching it, usually late night PBS. One Halloween when I had my Lotus Exige I went as Number Six – I was disappointed only one guy got it on sight.
Super 7 build your own. The car is so simple you can fix it yourself and save more money, it is very, very simple and very easy to work on, easy access to every part.
The new cars today are very, very complicated, absolute abortions, even the dealers can’t fix them, they are a complete nightmare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-nSrOA25ns
Some Super 7 history
https://silodrome.com/not-just-a-number-documentary-lotus-caterham-7/
Another huge benefit to owning a Super 7 is they hold there value better then almost any other car, depreciation is the biggest cost in owning a vehicle.
A great reason to own: The Super 7 the ultimate anti nanny state car, no driver assists, air bags, etc., only has a computer to run the fuel injection. (the Prisoner drove one.)
Forget about EV’s, build your own, save money
Caterham 170
85 hp, (other models available up to the 620R with 311 hp.)
0 to 100 (62 mph) 6.9 seconds,
1100 lb,
58.3 mpg
It is green: It’s compliant with both Euro 6 and London ULEZ rules, with a CO2 figure of just 109g/km, that is cleaner than a Toyota hybrid.
1100 lb = uses only 25% of the earth’s resources to build compared to a tesla.
The biggest cost in a car is depreciation (should be the main reason to not buy an EV), Caterham super 7’s hold their value far better then almost any other car (electric cars have horrible steep depreciation).
Very little depreciation and 58.3 mpg = one of the lowest cost cars to drive.
The most simple car, wrench on it yourself.
The best feature: more fun to drive then any other car, at any price.
A super 7 (a 1957 design by Lotus), is the ultimate driving experience, buy or test drive one, it is a completely different experience.
The most direct, analog, raw, visceral, unfiltered driving experience, perfect for the hard core driver enthusiasts, they say you don’t drive it you feel it, this is how a car should be, small, light, agile, fast, no frills, mechanical art made to go fast only, no luxury, no doors or roof, some have no windshield, nothing extra, with a 4 cylinder engine about 1200 lb. the closest thing to an old F2 car for the street, very fast,
You get two cars in one, use it to commute to work, drive it on the track on the weekend.
https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/seven/first-drive
The Super 7 the ultimate anti nanny state car,
Another great part of the Super 7 story is it was sold in kit form as a tax dodge, if you bought a fully built Super 7 from Lotus there was a 35% government purchase tax, to get around that Lotus sold it as a kit to dodge the tax, it worked.
The government didn’t like it so it told Lotus they could not include an assembly manual, Lotus got around this by including a disassembly manual, it worked (you just read the manual backwards), when the tax laws changed Lotus quit making the Super 7 in 1973 and sold the rights to Caterham.
If you want the ultimate top down driving experience get a super 7, it is also the exact opposite of a nanny state car.
A super 7 (a 1957 design by Lotus), is the ultimate driving experience, buy or test drive one, it is a completely different experience. The most direct, analog, raw, visceral, unfiltered driving experience, perfect for the hard core driver enthusiasts, this is how a car should be, small, light, agile, fast, no frills, mechanical art made to go fast only, no luxury, no doors or roof, some have no windshield, nothing extra, with a 4 cylinder engine about 1200 lb.
A Donkervoort a Super 7 clone in 2003, 2004 had the world record lap time for any street legal car on the Nurburgring, (quite a bit faster then the plaid lap time).
Dutton Super 7 clone with SBC V8 434ci, 1600 lb, steel tube frame, fibreglass body, it has run a best 8.90 sec 1/4 mile, it is quicker then all the hypercars and the tesla plaid.
A Super 7 the 2nd most copied car in history, 160 companies made copies, (Cobra was the most copied car), the Super 7 is a close copy of a 1913 Bugatti Type 22, the specs are close, one of the first small light cars (did Lotus copy it?).
If I could buy a vehicle for pure driving delight (not a daily driver), I’d get an Ariel Atom. Saw one in person on the road a while back and was jealous of the fun that driver probably was having.
The Caterham super 7 and all the other super 7 clones are in the ultralight category, the reason the super 7 handles so well it is low, light and very stiff because of the tube frame chassis and has 50/50 weight distribution.
Here is some ultralights being tested…….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlW8_ScMk7g
A Donkervoort a Super 7 clone in 2003, 2004 had the world record lap time for any street legal car on the Nurburgring, (quite a bit faster then the plaid lap time). no other ultralight has done this the Donkervoort super 7 clone is the best and the quickest of all the Lotus 7’s, Caterham 7’s and all the other super 7 clones.
The newest Donkervoort super 7 clone evolution is the first street legal car that will corner at over 2G’s
If you prefer drag racing there is a super 7 clone for you…..
Dutton Super 7 clone with SBC V8 434ci, 1600 lb, (a Cobra was 2500 lb.) so it is very, very fast….
steel tube frame, fibreglass body, it has run a best 8.90 sec 1/4 mile, this is how a car should be, small, light, agile, fast, no frills, mechanical art made to go fast only, no luxury, no doors or roof, some have no windshield, nothing extra, it is quicker then all the hypercars and the tesla plaid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn2lHb7N3uQ
3 ultralights on track test…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5cNufikhFU
the super 7 requires 100% focus when you drive it, it is 100% analog.
Another car that requires 100% focus all of the time is the Lancia Delta S4,
The Lancia Delta S4 is said to be the scariest car to drive ever made it requires 100% focus 100% of the time or you die, no computer driver assists.
The quickest car in the world now, (apart from F1) is the Porsche 919 Evo hybrid, but computers do 40% of the driving?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeRTQJOzwj4
The Ariel Atom is a great car, one of the best ultralights, a fantastic track car, the problem is the exoskeleton tube construction, rocks, dirt and water can fly up inside the car, it is an open design (some are sold now with body side panels).
The Super 7 looks a bit like a $1500 dune buggy type vehicle I test drove & almost bought back in the 80’s.
…It was fun to drive!
How-freaking-evah; both of them would be close to worthless in -20 degrees & a foot of snow. U-til-ity.
Hi Helot,
“How-freaking-evah; both of them would be close to worthless in -20 degrees & a foot of snow. U-til-ity.”
Without doubt!
My TA is similarly worthless in that respect. It’s still worth its weight in gold to me, though!
The modified ’91 Firebird I had, I couldn’t even back it out of the garage when there was a 1/4″ of slick snow on the ground. The tires were high speed rated & I forget what kind of rear axel the previous owner put on it, it just would not go anywhere in snow.
It was also fun to drive, on dry pavement.
I seem to recall getting around in the snow okay-ish with a rusted out 80’s Firebird.
a $1500 dollar dune buggy is far different than a super 7, that is like comparing a ford ranger to an F1 car………..
a super 7 is a properly designed race car, designed by an engineer Colin Chapman who founded lotus, it was such a good design it has changed very little since 1957, it is that perfect,
(go and test drive one, you will get it), warning it intimidates weak drivers.
160 companies have made copies of the super 7, that is how good it is. it is very similar to a 1953 F2 car you can drive on the street, the ultimate driving experience……. things were simpler back then….
A Donkervoort a Super 7 clone in 2003, 2004 had the world record lap time for any street legal car on the Nurburgring, the Donkervoort super 7 clone is the best and the quickest of all the Lotus 7’s, Caterham 7’s and all the other super 7 clones.
Go and buy a super 7 before you can’t, last chance for the ultimate driving experience. It is designed for one thing only FUN. if you hate cars and fun go back to watching cat videos…
I wouldn’t turn down a free Super 7, but unless I could turn back the hands of time,… getting old is a drag & it wouldn’t have the same thrill it would have ten or 20 yrs. ago.
Crap, if I had the money to buy one I’d use it to buy a tractor with a front end loader & a blade on the back.
That said, I do hope others get the opportunity to drive one & have fun.
…Thankfully, I’ve never seen a cat video. And, hope I never do.
tough guy driving super 7 in the snow with no roof……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXVYFmnJmno
this super 7 seems to be handling snow driving better then a Corvette or the rear wheel drive modern muscle cars…….
What do Super 7 owners like about their 7’s? Throttle response and lightness……
Separation Or Purge? Sharing A Society With The Political Left Is Impossible
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/separation-or-purge-sharing-society-political-left-impossible
The scorpion & the frog.
I see that quite often these days in sooo many places.
Interesting…..So even the hybrids are having troubles.
“Chrysler parent company Stellantis has been forced to recall 19,808 hybrid minivans after reports of 12 fires in parked cars, the company said on Saturday.”
https://www.rt.com/business/549206-stellantis-recalls-cars-fire-risk/
We don’t need this battery powered crap. The ice powered cars are far superior in every way. Here is a gas powered car with one little gas engine beating an overweight battery powered abortion with THREE MOTORS, (they lie and say it is quicker then anything, what a bunch of liars), the gas powered car also has a great sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWQaAkYgftY
Forget an expensive R8 just buy an Audi RS 3, one of the best sleeper cars sold today.
A brand name new Audi RS 3 starts off at a base price of $56,200 in the USA, MSRP.
You can buy and tune an RS 3 for less then a tesla plaid and it is quicker, this RS 3 ran an 8.4 second quarter mile. 0 to 60 1.3 seconds. 3000 lb
This RS 3 is a better solution then buying a 5000 lb. tesla plaid. ice cars are better then EV’s.
The RS 3 you can actually hear, feel and smell, the sound of this thing is wild, EV’s are dead no emotion or fun.
https://www.hotcars.com/worlds-fastest-audi-rs3-drag-races-ken-blocks-1400-hp-mustang-hoonicorn/
Indeed, there are chilling parallels between the authoritarian prison that is life in the American police state and The Prisoner, a dystopian television series that first broadcast in Great Britain more than 50 years ago.
The series centers around a British secret agent (played by Patrick McGoohan) who finds himself imprisoned, monitored by militarized drones, and interrogated in a mysterious, self-contained, cosmopolitan, seemingly idyllic retirement community known only as The Village. While luxurious and resort-like, the Village is a virtual prison disguised as a seaside paradise: its inhabitants have no true freedom, they cannot leave the Village, they are under constant surveillance, their movements are tracked by surveillance drones, and they are stripped of their individuality and identified only by numbers.
Much like the American Police State, The Prisoner’s Village gives the illusion of freedom while functioning all the while like a prison: controlled, watchful, inflexible, punitive, deadly and inescapable.
Described as “an allegory of the individual, aiming to find peace and freedom in a dystopia masquerading as a utopia,” The Prisoner is a chilling lesson about how difficult it is to gain one’s freedom in a society in which prison walls are disguised within the trappings of technological and scientific progress, national security and so-called democracy.
Perhaps the best visual debate ever on individuality and freedom, The Prisoner confronted societal themes that are still relevant today: the rise of a police state, the freedom of the individual, round-the-clock surveillance, the corruption of government, totalitarianism, weaponization, group think, mass marketing, and the tendency of mankind to meekly accept his lot in life as a prisoner in a prison of his own making.
The Prisoner is an operations manual for how you condition a populace to life as prisoners in a police state: by brainwashing them into believing they are free so that they will march in lockstep with the state and be incapable of recognizing the prison walls that surround them.
Dystopia Disguised As Democracy: All The Ways In Which Freedom Is An Illusion
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dystopia-disguised-democracy-all-ways-which-freedom-illusion
Hi Anon,
I watched The Prisoner as a kid; it had a great influence upon my thinking. As did a number of other shows that were regularly aired back in those days. It astounds me when I reflect on how many of them were thoughtful to the point of subversive of the system. In retrospect, I’m surprised they were even aired.
Hi Eric,
Yes it was a great series, you are right, it would never be aired anywhere today, it shows how much progress the leftist/communist/globalists have made in their takeover.
The super 7 was the ultimate anti nanny state car, (that is why the prisoner drove one in “The Prisoner” series), give the finger to the nanny state buy one.
they are small, very light (1200 lb.), tube frame construction, the frame weighs 100 lb., no air bags, ABS, no safety features of any kind, mechanical art made for one purpose to go fast, the closest thing to an old F2 car for the street, very fast,
(a super 7 clone a Donkervoort had the record lap time for street legal cars at the Nurburgring in 2003, 2004). 50/50 weight balance, some had engines with no computer, just points and condensor,
no power steering or power brakes, some no heater, no doors, some had no windshield, no roof (some had a convertible top), the ultimate analog driving experience, buy one. You are the prisoner now.
Chris Harris reviews the Caterham Supersport R
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAwNfgvF_Ww
Caterham 620r At Spa Having Fun With A Tuned Porsche GT4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MEL1aLpIGg
Super 7 clone the HKT RS Clubsport, only $80,000, quicker to 125 mph then a Porsche GT2 RS, which is one of the world’s quickest street legal cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBrzpayx-zw
CRAZY Caterham Super 7 620R driven by professional Le Mans race car driver.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WtAFciXxLQ
LOUD Caterham Super Seven 620R Driven Fast at Goodwood FOS 2017!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IPePVyq7Y8
I have no comment because you NAILED IT, Eric!
Thanks, Nunz!
Did you hit the “start” button by the way? If you haven’t, I recommend doing so… you won’t be disappointed!
When I hit that start button I just love that only slightly muffled sound of big bore, short stroke V8’s that you can’t believe will rev that high. I don’t have to worry about my fuel source being a bomb that explodes and leaves me locked into said vehicle. No doubt you can’t die fast enough in that case. A glance in the rear-view mirror and seeing nothing but smoke as you attempt to keep it going straight……when you want it to do so.
Besides, I like taking chances and doing such as going 105 on a curve marked 45 and having the hood pop up and hang on that second latch while I’m trying to keep it all going the right direction on that tiny wet road we have locally called “The Devii’s Backbone” for the exact reasons it sounds like. Damn, I hated when all that was straightened out and widened and meeting that big truck with me doing the same thing on that road.
I love getting to know a road so well I can nearly drive it eyes closed. I made so many 6 mile runs from a pit on a caliche road to a site for a large oil tank and all sorts of other things I couldn’t go around the really high speed curve without having a big grin on my face and other drivers commenting “You seem to have that one down pat”. 18 wheels sliding sideways on a road like that is a blast. The day I got a big overload on and did a walk around and found that KW suspension broken all the way around on the passenger side nobody could figure out why I was coming back at 10 mph. That wasn’t 8 cylinders but they were wound high and being pushed with nearly 20 lbs of boost. I didn’t even care it said “Cummins” on the side of the block.
Perhaps this is the natural result of an engineer’s natural tendency to turn everything into a Rube Goldberg machine. Overengineered-yet-somehow-underbuilt cars were an inevitability. I can’t wait to see what they do with EVs.
Hi BD,
More like a bureaucrat’s tendency! Today’s cars are compliance cars – built to suit the government. In other words, bureaucrats “design” the cars by issuing regulations that engineers must figure out a way to comply with. This won’t end until the regulations do. Until a way is found to jab-stick government back in its cage. Until cars are once again designed by engineers to satisfy the market.
A bureaucrat’s tendency is to gain as much power and influence as possible. First by making cars as useless and complex as possible, and then eliminating them all together so we can be herded onto public transportation.
I would like to see a car company make a fully electro-mechanical version of those spaceships on wheels, just to show people how asinine all this is. If people see this huge, complex, idiotic looking tank rolling down the street, they might begin to reconsider their faith in our DOT and their car-destroying regulations.
There is no better display of that “natural tendency to turn everything into a Rube Goldberg machine” than German engineers. They simply don’t know when, or possibly even how, to quit. I’ve had experience with German engineering outside of cars, and it’s the same there. Excellent engineering, until they start adding this and that “improvement” or “accessory”. That’s why it may cost you $175 to get your oil changed in a BMW or Audi.
If the sound of a ferrari v12 doesnt give you chills here you dont have a soul. Yes they used a corvette replica in the series but Michael Mann dubbed in the sound of a real ferrari V12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSARDlHh-Mg
One thing few people seem to point out when it comes to EVs…the massive hypocrisy in that they’re meant to be so much better for the environment because they release zero emissions. When in fact the heavy metals that are mined out of the earth to build their batteries and parts actually has a cumulative effect that’s far worse than internal combustion engines, especially the amount that’s required to make 50-100% of vehicles on the road electric by 2050, which is the globalist plan.
Lithium ion is NOT in any way good, and the potential for battery pack leaks can cause a lot of environmental harm, not to mention danger. Similarly, supposedly sustainable/renewable wind turbines that we’re constantly told is so much better for the natural environment by the globalists than traditional sources like natural gas, requires an insane amount of deforestation and heavy metal mining. By the way, to mine these heavy metals for EVs as well as wind turbines and even solar panels requires a lot of child labor from Africa. Yet these things are being hailed as “the future”. Really, it all comes down to money. A lot of money and a lot of marketing and colluding with national governments.
I find it hard to believe Americans, who value their convenience, are willing to sit over an hour or more to charge their car when they can spend 5 minutes filling it up with gas and be on their way. As Eric says often. But I’m constantly told by people the battery technology will improve, that this is just the beginning. I haven’t seen any of that yet.
and the fact they have an enormous weight penalty and the extra power that has to be generated to compensate and transmitted over power lines with a 20% loss from generation to source is not in the sales brochures either
Always loved that opening scene from “The Prisoner”. The PTB are trying to keep all of us in “The Village” while they get to be number 2; never did find out who was number 1.
Hey Mike, if I’m not mistaken, I think its Satan.
“Who is Number One? You are, Number Six” Or is it “…you are Number Six”? Always thought it was the former, personally, Number Six was being evaluated and trained to take over as Number One.
‘I loathe the electric car and all it embodies – for it represents the transformation of passion into passivity, of fun into dreary utility. Of the end of difference for the sake of the same. Which is a kind of sampling of death, where we’re also all the same.’ — eric
See a poem in the eloquent thoughts of your writing today Eric!
“Loathe Against the Dying of the Life!”
“Dreary utility.” I believe it was Karl Marx who wrote: “Nothing has value unless it has utility.” It certainly explains the leftist fascination with EVs.
I’ve owned lots of fun to drive but slow cars, but at least the engines would rev nicely with a crisp shifting automatic. The same car without that would be less fun to drive than an electric forklift (which I ran in a warehouse). This also applies to motorcycles. But like Eric said: “It makes the electric car seem sensible – in the same way that adjusting oneself to life in an insane asylum seems reasonable”. But the way the world works now I get the feeling that we could wind up like the Warner Bros. cartoon “A day at the zoo” from 1939.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7vuwTvVOoY
It’s a strange world and getting stranger all the time. It’s all starting to remind be of the book “Atlas Shrugged”.
‘I loathe the electric car and all it embodies – for it represents the transformation of passion into passivity, of fun into dreary utility. Of the end of difference for the sake of the same. Which is a kind of sampling of death, where we’re also all the same.’ — eric
What fine, dark writing, this! Reminds me of an entry in the late Alan Clark’s diary (Mrs Thatcher’s Minister), dated 8 August 1990:
We drove over to Ian Gow’s funeral service in St Saviours, Eastbourne.
The heat was oppressive and we set off in casual clothes, intending to change en route. Some little distance from Pevensey we diverted and found a wooded glade just nearby to the canal, and started to undress. This aroused the disapproval of two people, fat and ugly, who were slumped in deck chairs by the canal bank and who clearly thought we were going to make love.
To tell the truth I would have liked that. The proximity of death always makes me feel sexual. But our timing was tight. Guests were enjoined to be in their places at least forty-five minutes before the service started.
I cannot adequately record how ugly those people were. The man squat, paunchy, resentful in his horn rims; the woman gross, runkled-up nylon skirt, varicose veins, eating from a paper bag. At intervals each drew on a cigarette. Beside them glistened two luckless baby bream which the man had caught with his line.
Jane had a brilliant idea. That, once impeccably dressed in our funeral weeds, we should reverse back to their site and kill them, leaving the wreath which we were taking over for Ian. And removing instead, a fish, to lay beside the open grave. Lovely and black, that humour. Pure Buñuel.
Thanks, Jim!
Vert much liked the excerpt as well. I will check out Alan Clarke; he seems like my kind of people!
But Eric, that has always been one of the fundamentals of Puritanism. “No fun allowed”. Puritans who “evolved” into Yankees, who “evolved” into Progressives. And here we are. They’ve always had a cynical view of life which prevented them from having fun. So of course you aren’t allowed to either, even though you celebrate life. Or perhaps because you do. My own light died a bit yesterday. After months of difficulty, I finally concluded that at my age, and with my infirmity, I was no longer capable of being a Miata pilot, and traded it off. Heartbreaking.
John…
I am saddened to hear about the Miata. About you. But you have the memories, eh? And I hope perhaps some piece of the car, to remember it by. I have kept the shaker scoop from my other ’76 Trans-Am lo these past 32 years. I keep it on the wall. Maybe you’ve been able to do the same?
I kept the nameplates from many of my 60’s/70’s cars, back when they were actually made of metal. They’re now on my rolling tool chest. I’ll have a dilemma soon though, as I too am old and infirm and I can’t really do any wrenching anymore. Time to clean out the garage. I’d like to give my tools to a nephew who just graduated from trade school to be an HVAC tech, but I’m gonna wait a year or so just to make sure he’s serious about the trade.
I never got attached to machinery like that. I didn’t love the car, I LOVED driving it. One of the best engineering jobs on the planet. I do indeed have the memories, fine and abundant. Until I get like Brandon.
Most of the modifications I made to the car to improve performance were done by myself. It is the car I learned to wrench on. I spent about as much time working on it as I did driving it. It was a labor of love. Yes, I loved my Miata. I loved driving it too.
The only thing I don’t miss was all the wiring work I did under the dash. I had to learn to be a contortionist to get under the dash to do work.
A guy with a YT channel, “Uncle Tony” of UTG (Uncle Tony’s Garage) once took a well-used Miata and dropped a Mopar 170 cubic inch Slant Six, backed up with an A904 Torqueflite with obviously a custom engine tunnel and driveshaft. Believe it or not, this rig, and with nothing particularly special done to the Slantie (even has a Holley single-throater, much like the Carter BBS it originally left Mound Ave engine plant with), the car “scurrys”, and is FUN to drive! Just imagine what this thing would do with some relatively low-cost and straightforward performance mods like a four-barrel manifold and carb, tuned exhaust headers, and a cam that’ll facilitate higher revs…as well as doing a little custom headwork (cc’ing and polishing the head intake ports and combustion chambers, and perhaps milling it to up the compression ratio to at least 9.5:1). With as light as car that the Miata is, that slantie won’t be overly stressed.
The 302 V8 has become a common mod. Which while a very hot unit, has created some tranny and clutch issues. Like the very robust slant six, the 302 is a much heavier engine that may spoil the front to rear weight balance Mazda so carefully engineered. Going so far as to but the battery in the trunk in the older models.
Oooh, yeah, that short stroke G block had more tuning potental than the long stroke RG 225. The 225 made gobs of low end torque, but with the right cam, exhaust, and carb, the 170 could be made to scream at the top end, in the manner of a European inline six. I will have to look the Miata conversion up, that sounds like a neat little ride. Now you’ve got me thinking…an MGB with a tired old B type four, replace with a Slant Six…hmmm! Not my B of course, it still has lots of pep under the hood. But man…an MGB GT maybe.
So sad to hear about the Miata. I owned one for 19 years. It unfortunately fell into disrepair after a deer struck it and then got invaded by rodents sitting in the driveway.
Even before letting it go, I sat behind the wheel one last time and shifted gears remembering the fun I had with it all those years. And learned as well that I am too old to be getting in and out of such a small car.
I almost cried as I watched the flatbed take my car down the road. I felt like Forest Gump watching my Jenny leave on that bus from DC. I watched until the car disappeared from view going down the road.
Getting in one is fairly easy, just put your right foot on the floorboard and fall down. On other hand, getting out is not, causing me to search for a parking space with enough room to fully open the door. I was near tears when I signed the papers because I knew I would never again feel that thrill and rush of adrenaline I got from pushing it. I’ve owned 3 of them since 1999, and they were my daily driver.
You’ve owned 3? Which models? NA, NB, NC, NDs? What did you think of all 3 different versions? I have heard that the original NA was the best “Miata”, but that other versions were better sports cars.
I owned an original 1990 red NA, supercharged bought in 2001. I upgraded everything. I miss my Mazdarati. Such a thrill to drive and a fellow community almost like the Jeep community to be a part of.
The first was a B. The second and third were Cs. My main complaint against the As and Bs was interior space. As in there isn’t any. The As were underpowered too, which I assume you resolved, and had the ever present one eyed problem with hidden head lights. In 2006 the Cs were bigger, had significantly more power, and better gas mileage. I never understood the objection to the Cs, unless it was jealousy, but there is an abundance of it. They did change the rear suspension from double wishbone to a design specific form, but I found no detraction in performance. The Z fold top does take away some storage space behind the seat when it’s down. The engine compartment is also very crowded compared to an A or B.
My only objection to the NC is its looks, not its performance. I haven’t driven any other version of the Miata apart from the original Miata, which with an aftermarket supercharger picked up the power. The supercharger really did bring the little 1.6L engine to life.
an example of what “equity” means.
all outcomes will be the same.
remember the USSR, where everyone was supposed to have the same stuff? no one had what they wanted.
it failed
No one even had what they needed.