What Makes the Nissan 350z a Strong Competitor in the World of Sports Cars?

[Andy]

Nothing sexier than a good looking girl driving a fast car.

Oh and the Buggatti veyron has arrived and its the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 252 mph if i remember rightly. I have driven or been driven in many mercedes and my favourite has to be the SL55AMG its a fantastic car with a metal roof that will fold down into the boot in 16 seconds.

The porsche 917 was never a production car, still pretty good though.

 

[chroot]

Tell me some taxes come on top of that. Here a 350Z incl. tax costs €50.000 or $61,000.

The US economy is fueled (pun intended) by two things: houses and automobiles. As a result, we have some of the cheapest car prices anywhere in the world. It was, indeed, $35,000 with taxes, delivery, tags, etc. included -- everything but the interest on my 5-year loan.

That's the reason people are so stuck in automobile hegemony here: there's no economic disincentive, and money drives the actions of most people. The grotesque social, political, and environmental consequences of car ownership just aren't a concern for most people. There are more cars than drivers in the US, and there's no sign of that changing anytime soon. Personally, I hate sitting in 90 minutes of freeway traffic, each way, on my commute to work. I hate smelling exhaust, I hate road rage, I hate the frazzled feeling I get after sitting in traffic, I hate the ugly parking garages, I hate the taxes and tickets and parking fees and registration fees and license fees, I hate the maintenance worries and costs, I hate constantly being concerned about someone stealing it or vandalizing it, I hate the debt trap -- I basically hate everything about car ownership, and have come to deeply resent the political and corporate efforts that destroy public transportation projects, fill the American media with billions of dollars in advertisements, and were ever successful in seducing me into thinking I ever wanted one in the first place. Eventually, I realized there's a better way to get around.

Sorry to derail this thread. You look lovely in front of the 350Z.

- Warren

 

[Monique]

The US economy is fueled (pun intended) by two things: houses and automobiles. As a result, we have some of the cheapest car prices anywhere in the world. It was, indeed, $35,000 with taxes, delivery, tags, etc. included -- everything but the interest on my 5-year loan.

That is crazy! I'm pretty sure that the dutch taxes must be of the higest in the world.

I just looked it up, net catalog price is €31.419 on top of that comes a car tax (bpm) of €12.656 (which I think they calculate based on the type of car) and a regular tax of €5.970 (19% of the net price). Total taxes paided: €18.626 ($22,581) = 60%.

Oh, and I should mention I did not actually buy the car I couldn't handle that much power, but it was a fun test drive I've got my eyes set on something more classy (and girly), the Italian design Lancia Ypsilon. I love it.. the only thing that worries me is that maintenance is expensive, if I get a good price on an ocassion I'd buy one http://www.irancar.com/images/Gallery-larg-1024-768/Lancia/lancia_ypsilon_2003_03_m.jpg

 

[Moonbear]

If anyone wants to see what an incredible dork I am, click the link: http://www.virtualcivilization.org/bike/DSC02659.JPG

- Warren

Is that you on the bike?! :!) :!) You're definitely going to be included in the next Hot Physicists Calendar the PF Sisterhood makes.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I want to be able to drive MY car.

 

[rocketboy]

Porsche Carerra GT or Ferrari Enzo.

That would actually be very dangerous with a speed-freak like me in the drivers seat...I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to really drive the car.

 

[Cyrus]

Fast is just a matter of being still in control. Fast in a ferrari at 130mph is not like 130 in a crapy every day car. Thats why I limit my speeds to below 115mph, my car gets wishy washy over 115. (I only went that fast to test out the limits on my car, I don't drive that fast normally. Fastest I go on the beltway ever is a 80-85mph typically).

 

[rocketboy]

Hey, so how does it look on me?
3.5-litre V6 with 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 5.8 seconds

Oh I forgot the stats!

Carrera GT:

V10, 5.7L, 605HP @ 8000 RPM, 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.

It's also very sexy:!) http://motor.tuportada.com/img/wp/porsche-carrera-gt-22.jpg
http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/03/carreragt05_01.JPG

Enzo:

V12, 6.0L, 660HP @ 7800 RMP, 0-100 km/h in 3.65 seconds.

http://www.luxcars.ch/wallpapers/ferrari/404_ferrari_enzo_1600_03.jpg

Sorry...I'm a car fanatic and I had to get in my say!

 

[rocketboy]

Fast is just a matter of being still in control. Fast in a ferrari at 130mph is not like 130 in a crapy every day car. Thats why I limit my speeds to below 115mph, my car gets wishy washy over 115. (I only went that fast to test out the limits on my car, I don't drive that fast normally. Fastest I go on the beltway ever is a 80-85mph typically).

What kind of car do you drive? 115mph, that's what, 180km/h? Sweet.

 

[Cyrus]

Its a 98 honda accord, stock v4. Zero to 60 by the time you get there. A SILVER ENZO! I have seen red, black and yellow never silver. NICE!

 

[dicerandom]

My current car:
http://www.warpenguin.com/~dice/car/DSCF0154.JPG
1968 Ford Mustang GT/CS

Classic car I'd love to own/drive:
http://www.warpenguin.com/~dice/cobra-resized.jpg
AC Cobra 427

Modern car I'd love to own/drive:
http://www.warpenguin.com/~dice/enzo.jpg
Ferrari Enzo

 

[Cyrus]

You have good taste.

 

[rocketboy]

I'll second that...your mustang is a beauty!

 

[Cyrus]

You should take your date in that car rocketboy.

 

[rocketboy]

Damn...that would solve the problem of coming up with an idea for something to do!

Owning/Driving a beautiful car must be an amazing feeling...especially one that you have put a lot of time into and take pride in, like that Mustang.

Tell us, dicerandom, how does it feel to get into that car and fire up the engine and roll down the street? Oh, and can I borrow it?

 

[dicerandom]

Tell us, dicerandom, how does it feel to get into that car and fire up the engine and roll down the street? Oh, and can I borrow it?

Feels great, providing that none of the ten thousand things which tend to go wrong with 38 year old cars happens to go wrong on that particular trip That car's trouble enough in the rain, you really have to fight to keep the rear end in check sometimes, I'd hate to think what it would be like on ice.*

* Note: This is my Californian "All of Canada is a frozen wasteland" prejudice showing itself

 

[Monique]

Oh I forgot the stats!
Carrera GT:
V10, 5.7L, 605HP @ 8000 RPM, 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.
It's also very sexy:!) http://motor.tuportada.com/img/wp/porsche-carrera-gt-22.jpg
http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/03/carreragt05_01.JPG
Enzo:
V12, 6.0L, 660HP @ 7800 RMP, 0-100 km/h in 3.65 seconds.
http://www.luxcars.ch/wallpapers/ferrari/404_ferrari_enzo_1600_03.jpg
Sorry...I'm a car fanatic and I had to get in my say!

How likely are you actually going to DRIVE those cars, not many replies I've seen fall into that category..

 

[Cyrus]

Oh, If I had any of those cars, I would drive them daily. You have nice taste in cars too monique. Are you looking to buy a car?

 

[scorpa]

If I had my dream car I'd drive it, you'd have to pry me out of the drivers seat everynight...haha. But all the same I'd rather have a Harley Dyna Wide Glide.

 

[ray b]

want a 67 ferrari P4

building a pontiac fiero with a swaped in caddy northstar DOHC 4v V8
holly fuel injecton controler custom tube A-arms 13" vett brakes
should run sub 13sec 1/4 and handel turns like a lotus
450 hp with NOX and under 2500 lbs

total cost less then a new econo box

 

[rocketboy]

How likely are you actually going to DRIVE those cars, not many replies I've seen fall into that category..

Very likely

If I could afford one, I wouldn't hesitate buying it. And providing the weather is good I'd drive it every day...*drool*

 

[Pre-AlgebraDude]

Looks like Dodge has finally figured it out...now we wait for Ford and Chevy...


http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/naias_2006/0601_dodge_challenger_concept/




BRAND NEW DODGE CHALLENGER CONCEPT! AHH, HOW I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY!

Ford is coming out with a new Shelby G.T. 500, and Chevy redid the Camaro, but they need to go back to the old models, the ones that made them rich in the first place. The new camaro is just...crappy, and oh, how I hate the new Charger.

 

[scott1]

I would like to drive a this
http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/mine/toys/Transformer-7.jpg
It's a new Mustang that can transform into a giant robot so I can got to make sure the gas staion gives me free gas every time
Or this
http://www.chesco.com/~silknitt/probert/end.jpg
It's the back to futre car so I can go to future find the cure to cancer nuclear cold fussion or find lottery ticket numbers
and of course
http://www.webbedenvironments.com/images/articles/flyingCar1.jpg
the flying jetson car so I don't have to worry about traffic(I herd thermonuclear missle lancher is optinol)

 

[rocketboy]

Looks like Dodge has finally figured it out...now we wait for Ford and Chevy...
http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/naias_2006/0601_dodge_challenger_concept/
BRAND NEW DODGE CHALLENGER CONCEPT! AHH, HOW I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY!
Ford is coming out with a new Shelby G.T. 500, and Chevy redid the Camaro, but they need to go back to the old models, the ones that made them rich in the first place. The new camaro is just...crappy, and oh, how I hate the new Charger.

No offense...but the interior of the Challenger concept looks really crappy...like most american built cars. They build (fairly) nice cars (sometimes) but they really cheap out on the interier.

I don't think it would be the same as driving the old Challenger either...it looks like a wannabe american muscle car despite it being the challenger of today...for some reason I don't see them putting a 450 in it.

 

[brewnog]

Wanted one of these since I was fourteen...


Mwhahahahahahahaaaaa!

 

[Astronuc]

http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2006/06/14/extreme-cars-adventure_cx_dl_0616feat.html

A new type of car is available -- one that can go off-road, then go back on the pavement and compete with top-drawer sports cars. Dutch automaker Spyker calls this kind of car an "SSUV" -- a "super sports utility vehicle." Earlier this year, Spyker unveiled its D12 Peking-to-Paris SSUV at the Geneva Motor Show. The four-wheel-drive SUV, which will go into production next year, has a 500-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine that generates a zero-to-60 time of five seconds and a top speed of 185 mph.

Porsche has also recently entered this segment with its $112,000 Cayenne Turbo S SUV, which can scale down the side of a rocky hill and then go head-to-head with a Corvette, thanks to its 520-hp motor and zero-to-60 time of 4.8 seconds.

This kind of racecar/SUV hybrid is as adventurous as a car can get and will do virtually anything you want it to. But there are other kinds of "adventure cars" too, such as the Aquada boat-car from Britain's Gibbs Technologies. It can reach 100 miles per hour on land and a startling 30 mph in water.

All three have made our list of the most impressive adventure cars currently on the market. And they share another trait besides being built for unusual undertakings: sky-high base prices. Though we included such affordable fare as DaimlerChrysler's $19,000 Jeep Wrangler, the average price of a car in the slide show is $241,000.

 

[motai]

All these new fast cars, what about other, less performing ones for old time's sake.

Karl Benz's "Velo", 1894.

(Btw that car was raced according to wikipedia, so its not like there weren't daredeveling racers back then)

 

[scorpa]

Looks like Dodge has finally figured it out...now we wait for Ford and Chevy...


http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/naias_2006/0601_dodge_challenger_concept/




BRAND NEW DODGE CHALLENGER CONCEPT! AHH, HOW I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY!

Ford is coming out with a new Shelby G.T. 500, and Chevy redid the Camaro, but they need to go back to the old models, the ones that made them rich in the first place. The new camaro is just...crappy, and oh, how I hate the new Charger.

I'm really looking forward to the challenger coming out. It will be a pretty cool car, but of course nothing will ever replace the originals. Dodge really did screw up on the charger...how many chargers did you ever see that were 4 doors ? However, I don't hate them, they are nice cars if you don't think of them as a real charger, I drove an SRT8 charger and it was a very nice car.

 

[wolram]

Chity chity bang bang.:!)

 

[FrogPad]

Dream Car:
http://voip-blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/uploads/bugatti-veyron-big.jpg"
I would just eat this car!

Car to save up for:
http://www.airbagonoff.com/Porsche_turbo_from_Passenger_side.jpg"
I'm a sucker for the turbo...

http://www.autotudos.hu/fotokgaleriak/kep_het_kep_05_08_27_hr_1_nagy.jpg"
Saw one in Paris and almost died... sounds SEXY

http://www.automotivechronicles.com/articles/2005/mar/02/images/b33125-bmw-m5.jpg"
Classy fast. You don't expect it to be fast until you watch the driver punch it.


Realistic Car:
http://www.desktopextreme.com/photos/BMW_2006_3_series_617200512032PM733.jpg"
Always good.

http://www.fantasycars.com/gallery/Cars/Acura/2004%20TL/acura_tl4.jpg"
Friend has one, and I love the inside. It's a quiet and comfortable ride.