Bull. The two best cars I ever drove in the snow were a RWD Caprice and a RWD Dodge Magnum. Hands-down the scariest was a wrong-wheel drive Charger. You do not have a vehicle problem. You have an OPERATOR problem.
OH BTW, I'm seriously thinking of getting my 540i Supercharged (NOT TURBOCHARGED) using dinan parts which would give me in the upper 400s and closer to 500hp. I'm sorry but I just can't bring myself to ever move on from the E39 body style...I think its the best sedan body style ever made in car history. The new F10 sedans are good, so I may get a 550i (most likely used) and mod it. CTS-V is a monster car also, I've driven my friends and hands down, it is absolutely fast. The coupe gets to 60mph in under 4seconds.
Being German I won't argue with your high regard for Mercedes, Porsche or BMW, but face it: all of these companies mainly build cars for men who feel the need to compensate for a small-penis-complex. A lot of these cars may indeed be great for many reasons - as a former owner of a virtually indestructible Mercedes that's still on the road, now since 31 years I could name some. But to want a car just because it can theoretically reach a speed that normal traffic conditions and/or speed limits will never allow you to drive, one must be a bit of a tosser! I know I must sound worse than my own mother here. But as a European who grew up in a region that's known for its harsh winters and who has negotiated many wet, icy and snowy roads let me give you one advice: the only speed that's reasonable when negotiating such roads isn't brisk but slooooow, no matter which car you drive!
I drive a Chevy Equinox. I had to go out to look at the model to say this- to me, it's just a car. I have had all sorts of cars over the years and ultimately they are all machines that get me from A to B. My last car was a Chevy Cavalier convertable which was a luxury to drive and is a car I won't soon forget. But I have had many cars through the years and ultimately, they were all machines to get from A to B. Funny story- in my region there are many trailer parks. One in particular has a trailer home in the front with a car roof that holds a Mercedes. Funny- too poor to afford a home but rich enough to afford a Mercedes.
I dunno what to say. I have only had my licence for a little over a year, so you are obviously a much more experienced, and better, driver than me. But honestly, I do not find 'my' 530i anything like inoperable on wet and icy roads. And I actually enjoy practising catching the tail with a dab of opposite lock on winding mountain roads - it's a nice feeling. The traction control and ABS combine with only 230 bhp to make this an uncommon occurrence. The rack and pinion steering, with progressive power assistance (so it cuts out completely at speed), is so sensitive as to tell you exactly what level of grip your front tyres are generating. Add the perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and you have a very neutral handling machine in high speed cornering. I am running Pirelli P7s on standard alloy rims, and although a little noisier than the standard Continentals, using a soft, relatively high hysteresis compound (as do racing tyres), the grip is outstanding in the dry and very good in the wet. I suspect their wear rate will not be as good as Michelins or Continentals, but its a trade off. And tyres (even P7s) are cheaper than new BMW panels and parts. Oh and BTW, did you know that your 4.4 litre BMW V8 was used successfully to power the earlier Bentley Arnages - all 3 tonnes of them?
1949&1/2 Truck(Studebaker)1992 Ford Probe(little Rare)1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Limited ,Tow Pkg. Big V8,LOW MILES)2000 Jaguar XJ8 (Aqua Marine with chrome pkg)
YuP ... I could honestly envision a nice rusty '49 Studebaker shorty bed Pickup drivin' down one them thar dusty dirt roads leadin' to Antree. That bein' AFTER I hear them banjos a playin a nice hillbilly tune.
you hear that banjo a lot, eh? just messin' with you old foolie...someday you'll have a Cherokee, just like the cool kids.
OK,what kind rusty Studebaker do you own. If it's a Packard,then what year and which Uncle put in his will.
i had a 1979 IH Scout II when i got out of high school....crusin' Main in a convertible SUV got me all the babes.
The New (Late Model ) Jags make me wanna puke, They look like a cross between a Lexus & A BMW with a little 12 Mercedes thrown in for good measure .
Jags used to be a very finicky car.Like early Ferrari.I had a mid-60's MGB and it too was somewhat finicky.It tended to go thru starters.Plus the carburation needed adj. too often.Oh ... and the bottoms rusty out quickly { the car sat low } and the Universal Joints tended to take a beating.
When ya make it down to Antree ,- Deliverance - {1972} , them country boys will teach ya the correct pronunciation. PorShee
QUOTE=Foolardi;4750993]Jags used to be a very finicky car.Like early Ferrari.I had a mid-60's MGB and it too was somewhat finicky.It tended to go thru starters.Plus the carburation needed adj. too often.Oh ... and the bottoms rusty out quickly { the car sat low } and the Universal Joints tended to take a beating.[/QUOTE] 1998-2002 Jag XJ series are the last of the Traditional Flagship style . They are the finest looking modern era Jaguars and they run like a 300 HP Sport tourer with buick like reliability .
the Panamera gave me trouble for a couple of weeks, but driving them even just accross the port was like getting road head. it made me nervous as (*)(*)(*)(*) that i'd hit something, but it was just sooooo awesome! when i win the lottery, i'll send you guys traveling Gnome pics on the way to vegas.
1998-2002 Jag XJ series are the last of the Traditional Flagship style . They are the finest looking modern era Jaguars and they run like a 300 HP Sport tourer with buick like reliability .[/QUOTE] No question in it's heyday the very long { resembles a ferret } and sleekly fashionable Jag could not go unnoticed.it had the nice British pur and was a good handler.The car was made for being seen with a gal in fur coat or guy in Raccoon coat.The car had Class. Now as far as what it's expected to do after turning the car, that is an entirely another debate for another day. Most guys wanted a Jag,and most chicks loved to be seen in a Jag. Name for me a famous Actor who liked their Jag.I can think of a few. Early T-Birds were another favorite of Hollywood.
Oh yeah, high speed cornering is amazing on these cars. Also, just so you know, the 530i produces its 230hp at only around 3500rpm...where as many other cars make it at 5000rpm+. This means that at low speeds, you are producing much more useful power for yourself so you have higher torques at lower speeds. A 530i is a great car. I haven't been driving long myself either...my first car was my 540i that I got when as soon as I got my license at 16. And no, thats interesting, never knew that those 4.4's were used in bently cars. Thats interesting. I do know that bmw created either a V12 or W16 engine for rolls royce though.
Hey, we must be pretty close in age - I just turned 18 - how old are you? The 4.4 litre V8s were used in the BMW designed Bentleys, but when VW bought Bentley they changed back to a modified version of the old Rolls/Bentley designed 6.75 litre engine. The last car my dad bought before he died was a 2001 Bentley Arnage with the 6.75 litre V8 (that's how I know). My mum kept it for a few years but it was too big for her, so she swapped to BMWs.
Cuz the Car I own is the Car I have. Now there are situations where the Car I own is not the one I have on account it may be in the shop or on vacation. I mite have left it at the dry cleaners. It may be staying at my Uncles for the weekend. Or just out fishing. Cars DO have a life,also ... y'know. BTW what does your car do on it's day off. It's OK to admit yer car is at the gym shedding a few.
My car rarely gets a day off, but when it does...i'll probably be doing some maintenance...because as I said before, reliability is NOT a stronghold of this car.
I like all Jags, drove a S-Type until 2009, wish I could afford an FX right now. Jag may have made some real unreliable cars in the past, but they never made an ugly one. BMW has mad a ton of ugly cars, they should steal the designers from Audi. Right now my daily driver is a 1968 Bug, I have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee w/ 236,000 miles on it, primer grey, and a 1994 GMC 1500 that gets 11 mpg-going downhill-with the engine turned off. My next car will probably be a Ford Fusion or a used Lincoln MKZ. Guess I should mention I have owned over 80 cars.