Quite possibly the best car review of all time ...

... here.

--Chris H.

Comments

[OldCarGuy on April 16, 2008 at 08:50 AM]

A wordmeister. I smiled throughout the entire piece. :-)

[Cookie the Dog's Owner on April 16, 2008 at 09:20 AM]

Delightful, lovely writing.

The car is absurd--glorious, but absurd. The review is just plain exquisite.

I always thought the Car & Driver 1981 comparison test of the DeLorean (scanned images here: http://www.entermyworld.com/articles/car-and-driver/) was the best car review I've ever read, especially the first five paragraphs (http://www.entermyworld.com/cat/articles/caranddriver/cddec811x1.jpg). I'm not so sure now.

(HINT: The DeLorean would make a good "Car Lust" subject, Chris.)

[David Drucker on April 16, 2008 at 11:15 AM]

Well sure, what do you expect from a Nobel (or something like that) Prize-winning writer?

[Mochi Mochi on April 16, 2008 at 11:18 AM]

Beautifully written. Also so really balanced points for thinking about the utility of a car. Given our recent discussions I thought this was an appropriate set of quotes to pull. Kind of follows the safety and utilization questions we have been pondering:

"To get the GT2 to really harmonize, to come into itself dynamically, you have to go at it really hard, and that is simply too dangerous on the street... This brings me to a truism, a Zen koan of automobility: It's more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car... Whom is this car for? First, it's for extremely well-heeled club-racing enthusiasts, who will weep with joy behind the wheel. Second, it's for organizations like Motor Trend"

Yeah, I could not have said that better. Funny coincidence, I drove past one of these cars this morning. I can't call it a beautiful car by any means. I'm impressed by its capability. I'm concerned that there mere mortals are allowed to drive this car without a special license. God I hope that car I saw this morning is not being driven by a young male under the age of 25. I'm guessing the owner does have an iPhone and uses it while driving... that worries me - a lot.

I've been thinking a lot about roads and cars optimized for those roads. My Civic would feel horribly slow on an open track, as it did on a run through a mountain highway with 8% grades and big fast sweepers. I kept thinking I need another 50hp to work this road. Yet it feels so perfectly realized in the tight curves of a canyon road. I'm guessing that 50 extra hp would not make the canyon any better or more fun. Recent tire and suspension upgrades now require my investigation of big brake kits even after the switch to racing brake pads. The koan "It's more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car" could not be more true. The corollary (if a koan can have one) is that tuning a car will means you will endlessly need to retune the car, keep it stock and you will be just fine.

[David Drucker on April 16, 2008 at 11:34 AM]

Speaking of that koan, here's a link to an editorial I wrote for The Truth About Cars, entitled "In Defense of Crappy Handling Cars."

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/in-defense-of-crappy-handling-cars/

[OldCarGuy on April 16, 2008 at 12:15 PM]

Great piece, David Drucker -- it ALSO had me smiling because I could relate so well to it. Well, except for having driving experience behind the wheel of contemporary sporting machines. (My most recent was an '86 MR-2, a wonderfully balanced toy but hardly up there with a Porsche.) But I think we all were and are better drivers for having pushed those old creatures to their limits and beyond. It brought a seat-of-the-pants understanding of physics, and left impressions and lessons that stay with an enthusiast forever.

Great articles, guys. Keep 'em coming. I don't get out enough these days.

[Cookie the Dog's Owner on April 16, 2008 at 12:43 PM]

David: I remembered reading your editorial when it came out, and I sent the URL to some pistonhead friends of mine. Nice job!

[David Drucker on April 16, 2008 at 01:26 PM]

[blush]Well, thanks guys![/blush]

[Mochi Mochi on April 16, 2008 at 01:58 PM]

David - serious great article!!! To the list of widow makers, please add the late 70s BMW 320i, with rear semi-trailing arms I would add car would snap the tail around in a fraction of a second. There was some kind of brutality in German suspension design at the time - kind of an "if you survive you will be stronger" mentality.

For driving beyond adhesion fans here are a few clips from the master, Jean Ragnotti - this man is the god of driving beyond the limits :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Moz0rx1mIE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo26FwaSt7k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fja0-da1v5U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWeue-NPhY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faq1h_S4KSY&feature=related

[Mochi Mochi on April 16, 2008 at 01:59 PM]

David - serious great article!!! To the list of widow makers, please add the late 70s BMW 320i, with rear semi-trailing arms I would add car would snap the tail around in a fraction of a second. There was some kind of brutality in German suspension design at the time - kind of an "if you survive you will be stronger" mentality.

For driving beyond adhesion fans here are a few clips from the master, Jean Ragnotti - this man is the god of driving beyond the limits :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Moz0rx1mIE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo26FwaSt7k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fja0-da1v5U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWeue-NPhY&feature=related

[Mochi Mochi on April 16, 2008 at 02:38 PM]

BTW - David et all - this is the sublime I was referring to. This is the tone and quality of the conversations that make CarLust so great. As "diverting" as the SUV Throw Down was... it was indeed ridiculous.

[Cirque on April 17, 2008 at 02:39 AM]

Mochi, My 79 320is was a brutal witch to drive at high speed. Oh so fun!