I think there are two ways to have fun driving - with lots of power to play with, and with very little power, requiring you to get the max all the time. I enjoyed driving the low powered (cheap) '60s sports cars, my VW bug (1951), and I also enjoyed driving the V8 powered MGA. Most of the rest in between are boring, which is fine most of the time.
On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 2:35 PM, Randy Bennell <[email protected]> wrote: > I have commented on the spot that I was thinking about before in other > posts. When I have driven the old 300D to the lake in the summer I have > encountered a spot that causes me to wish the car had more ability to > accelerate. On the outskirts of Kenora, Ontario, the road comes to a T > intersection with a stop sign. It requires that I stop and then make a 90 > degree left turn onto the highway to go west to Winnipeg. It is an uphill > grade for maybe a half mile and I find it hard to get the 76 300D up to > highway speed until I crest the hill and head down the other side. It is 2 > lane highway and fairly heavily travelled by transport trucks. I prefer not > to have to get over onto the shoulder to let them pass me and I really > don't want to hold them up so I try to pull out when it is an opportune > time. However, those waiting behind me may not be pleased to wait until I > let all the big trucks go by either. Most modern cars have pretty good > acceleration so my old car is not a welcome addition to the mix. Around > town here it is fine and on the 4 lane at 70+ mph it is fine but merging > from a slow speed is not one of its strong points. > > And, if you read my post, I don't think you will find that I claimed to > need the horsepower in the truck. I said the new one has more advertised > power than the old one did and it is noticable and I like it. Modern > engines with all the fancy controls may be a problem waiting to happen but > when they work well, they are a joy to drive. > > I am not sure but I think the hotrod Mustang version is either turocharged > or supercharged. I said I don't need that sort of thing but I am willing to > bet that the new 5 liter in a Mustang would be fun to drive. It would weigh > a whole lot less than a Supercrew. > > I also wonder if one could take one of the late model Lincoln Town Cars > (2011 was the last I think?) and use components from the Ford Crown > Victoria police inteceptor suspension and a new 5 liter engine and have a > hotrod Lincoln. That sounds like fun to me. > > A friend is trying to sell a 2009 Town Car right now and if I had a few > spare $$ and a place to park it, I would cheerfully take it home. It is > Burgundy and has about 65K miles on it. It may be a bit of a boat, but I > think I would prefer it to a Miata. > > Randy > > > > On 20/11/2013 2:01 PM, Curt Raymond wrote: > >> So what happens if they "run you down"? They step on the brake and honk >> the horn and blast past you. Who cares? >> >> You've fallen for the line that you "need" more power. In reality you >> "like" more power or maybe even "want" more power but you don't "need" it. >> In fact most of the time as we've discussed you don't "need" a car at all >> since your commute is so short. That said there are plenty of reasons for >> you to have a vehicle and since you are able to support yourself its >> nobody's place to tell you you can't have one but please don't confuse >> "need" and "want". >> >> I'm not impressed with the 300+HP engines, they make it all at super high >> RPM. My v8 Dakota was "only" 205ish HP but it made it around 2,000rpm (your >> 360hp is probably at 4500 or more) and was much more useful. Low RPM hp >> also equates to more torque. Torque gets things done, HP makes noise and >> burns gas. >> >> -Curt >> >> >> Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:09:06 -0600 >> From: Randy Bennell <[email protected]> >> To: Mercedes Discussion List <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [MBZ] horsepower >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed >> >> I am not so sure that I agree with you all. >> >> I can drive my old 300D and it does reasonably well, but there are times >> when it could use a bit more. For example, pulling onto the highway from >> a dead stop with a 90 degree turn and uphill for the next half mile or >> so. I have to be careful not to be run down. >> >> My current F150 has the new 5 liter and I can say without a doubt that I >> like it more than the 5.4 that was in my 2002 version. >> If I keep my foot out of it, it appears to be making better mileage than >> the earlier one did and if I step on it, I get a nice growl. >> I have not yet needed to hit it hard so I don't know what it will do if >> pushed, but so far I like it fine and I am willing to bet it could be a >> whole lot of fun in a Mustang. >> I don't need the 400+ HP version but this one is rated at 360HP and that >> suits me fine so far. >> >> Randy >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > -- OK Don "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin 1775 "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin 1789 2013 F150, 18 mpg 2012 Passat TDI DSG, 44 mpg 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
