The guys from Top Gear have always said that to be a Petrolhead (Translation: Gearhead) you HAVE to own or have owned an Alfa-Romeo. I agree with that statement.
However, It got me to thinking. What other cars should guys drive in order to have sampled a varied buffet of automotive and be able to properly call themselves "connoiseurs"
My list:
A V8 ponycar
A big block musclecar
A wankel powered Mazda
A VW Rabbit/Golf GTi
Now, you'll notice that I didn't include Ferrari's and Lambos. There's a reason for that. We ain't all rich. So... keep your entries in the 10,000$ an under purchase price realm. For example, you'll notice you can kill two birds with one stone in my list by simply buying a 1976-79 Trans Am with a big block. And neither the Wankel nor the GTi need be a particularly expensive purchase.
Oh, and as for a cheap Alfa? You can find a Spider for under 10k and if you're reaaaaaaallllly on a budget you can get a 164L for under 5,000$ and they have the awesome 3.2 Alfa V6. The most beautiful engine ever made.
So what's your list of must-haves?
screw afla
any muscle car or hot rod
American
we don't have alfa-romeo over here. we like cars that go in a straight line fast.
my list is to long.
Knoxfire wrote:The guys from Top Gear have always said that to be a Petrolhead (Translation: Gearhead) you HAVE to own or have owned an Alfa-Romeo. I agree with that statement.
However, It got me to thinking. What other cars should guys drive in order to have sampled a varied buffet of automotive and be able to properly call themselves "connoiseurs"
My list:
A V8 ponycar
A big block musclecar
A wankel powered Mazda
A VW Rabbit/Golf GTi
Now, you'll notice that I didn't include Ferrari's and Lambos. There's a reason for that. We ain't all rich. So... keep your entries in the 10,000$ an under purchase price realm. For example, you'll notice you can kill two birds with one stone in my list by simply buying a 1976-79 Trans Am with a big block. And neither the Wankel nor the GTi need be a particularly expensive purchase.
Oh, and as for a cheap Alfa? You can find a Spider for under 10k and if you're reaaaaaaallllly on a budget you can get a 164L for under 5,000$ and they have the awesome 3.2 Alfa V6. The most beautiful engine ever made.
So what's your list of must-haves?
your list is flawed
a V8 pony car can easily be turned into a big block muscle car
those cars are pretty much hand in hand
that and many people argue over what is a muscle and what is a pony car because a lot of times the line can easily be blurred
i also dont think a rabbit or golf is a must
maybe any diesel vehicle
a truck should also be on the list, because a full size pick up is an entirely different beast in every possible aspect
and also a vehicle with AWD
4x4 can be added with the truck, but a car with AWD and also FWD
basically, you should have an idea of how each different configuration of car/truck runs, whether it be fwd, rwd, awd, a mid engine car, etc
gas or diesel or whatever else you can think of
that would be the ultimate gear head
to be just a regular gear head, pretty much anyone that works on a/their car extensively can be considered one
What happened to the j? You HAVE to love cars to drive one, and you have to know quite a bit about cars mechanically to make it fast.
well, if everything goes well I should be a gearhead next week. Planning to pick up an 83 alfa spider.
Porsche or something else RR or MR (excluding Beetles),
both mouse and rat v8's
and any rally bred AWD car.
-
"Youth in Asia"...I don't see anything wrong with that.
In order to be a gearhead you have to know how an engine runs.
In order to be a total arrogant douche, you need to compile a list of cars that aren't attainable by the common person.
By his logic the prick that drives his Alfa Romeo in town is more of a gear head than the transmission guy that drives a 88 Volvo station wagon.
Game Over.
Emor8t wrote:In order to be a gearhead you have to know how an engine runs.
In order to be a total arrogant douche, you need to compile a list of cars that aren't attainable by the common person.
By his logic the prick that drives his Alfa Romeo in town is more of a gear head than the transmission guy that drives a 88 Volvo station wagon.
Game Over.
Uh... dude. Where you get off talking trash? I was asking a simple question. I wasn't being snide of anything. You'll notice I wrote LOW PRICED CARS in my post and it's not like I said you had to collect the flipping things. I said you had to at least own one. Haven't you ever bought a car, had a little fun with it, and sold it a month later? First learn to read, then you can contribute to the conversation. What do you do when someone politely asks you to pass the salt, smack em in the mouth?
As for cost, you can buy an Alfa for 3000$ An 80's Spider goes for what? 7000$ A 1979 Trans Am costs 10,000$ tops. You can buy a Golf GTi for like 4000$ How much more common is that? Anything cheaper is a pair of sneakers or a bus pass. The total cost of ALL of the those cars COMBINED is less than the price of a new car.
Now you can spend your life talking trash and being a low class jerk, or you can learn to drive something that isn't a Volvo station wagon and not have a yard full of cars with no wheels. It's all very nice to know how to tinker with a car (and I know that very well thank you) but I was talking about the pleasure of driving. To be one with the car in some lonely backwoods road and to feel for one instant as if you should be wearing driving gloves.
And Alfas are some of the greatest cars ever made. One day it's on the side of the road with steam coming out of the radiator. The next day it's purring like a kitten up a hill. Nothing makes you scream and want to kill like an Alfa.
I mean LOOK at that engine! It's a work of art.
Anyway, I didn't mean offense to anyone. Jesus. Next time I'll put a disclaimer that the guys who beat their girlfriends and have gone to reform school can't peek in the thread.
I think that anyone to be considered a gearhead, must be someone who loves cars, and enjoy's working on them, and is knowledgable about cars. There can't be a certain list of cars someone must drive in order to be a gearhead.
Think about it like this. I hate Mustangs, but to some people they are the best cars ever created. Does that make me less of a gearhead, or does it make them less of a gearhead, given our stance on mustangs. It shouldn't be about what cars you drive or have driven, but about the love, pride, and knowledge you have for cars.
1996 Impala SS ... that is it!
dan
Emor8t wrote:In order to be a gearhead you have to know how an engine runs.
In order to be a total arrogant douche, you need to compile a list of cars that aren't attainable by the common person.
By his logic the prick that drives his Alfa Romeo in town is more of a gear head than the transmission guy that drives a 88 Volvo station wagon.
Game Over.
I agree with him completely actually.... not calling anyone names though.......
but the term "gearhead" doesnt describe what a person drives...... but the knowledge and knowhow attained to work on cars of any kind... whether it be a cavalier or koenigsegg....... can't forget about the passion too
so in other words..... im more of a gearhead driving my cavalier than a snobby rich guy that drives an Alfa and knows nothing of cars
Meckster wrote:Emor8t wrote:In order to be a gearhead you have to know how an engine runs.
In order to be a total arrogant douche, you need to compile a list of cars that aren't attainable by the common person.
By his logic the prick that drives his Alfa Romeo in town is more of a gear head than the transmission guy that drives a 88 Volvo station wagon.
Game Over.
I agree with him completely actually.... not calling anyone names though.......
but the term "gearhead" doesnt describe what a person drives...... but the knowledge and knowhow attained to work on cars of any kind... whether it be a cavalier or koenigsegg....... can't forget about the passion too
so in other words..... im more of a gearhead driving my cavalier than a snobby rich guy that drives an Alfa and knows nothing of cars
Contrary to Knoxfire's belief, I wasn't talking about him or rich people, I was talking about Jeremy Clarkson. Who would, by the way, call every car brought up in this thread...an utter piece of trash.
The OP isn't stating that anyone who drives the cars named above is a gearhead, he is just simply stating that if your a gearhead these are cars to own or drive before you die. Its not a "your not a gearhead because you don't own a Alfa" its "you'd really enjoy these cars and what they have to offer if you were one."
Solid Snake wrote:Porsche 928
Outruns Z28s
Outhandles Vettes
Outclasses Caddies
lol you act like a vette wouldn't "outrun" a z28...or outclass a "caddy" on any given day
Blew it up, build numbers coming soon
I'm not sure, but i think a ctv-v could out run a z28. I was in a v before, very nice car.
howe0822 wrote:I think that anyone to be considered a gearhead, must be someone who loves cars, and enjoy's working on them, and is knowledgable about cars. There can't be a certain list of cars someone must drive in order to be a gearhead.
Think about it like this. I hate Mustangs, but to some people they are the best cars ever created. Does that make me less of a gearhead, or does it make them less of a gearhead, given our stance on mustangs. It shouldn't be about what cars you drive or have driven, but about the love, pride, and knowledge you have for cars.
i think this guy said it best
True, but I simply meant (again... with no malice or snootiness. I insist) that some very specific cars just remind you why people like cars in the first place. A 64-70 era Mustang is just such a car. So is a 67-69 Camaro/Firebird. You drive one of those cars and it reminds you that the always composed, nearly impecabble, and always reliable cars we have today just don't have the soul of those older models. Because when you drive a car that's as perfect as an old Stang (for example) on a twisting road, it's like falling in love.
You don't get that from just any car. You don't get that from a Ford Fairmount or a Buick LeSabre. It's not the same. Sure a car may be fun to cruise in, but... I dunno. Then again, one of the cars I dream of owning is a 1979 Dodge Aspen... so who am I to talk?
Anyway, this post has become way too controversial :-p All I wanted was for people to give me their opinion of cars they thought were must drives.
Just so y'all will know. I love ALL cars. I saw a really nice 1988 AMC Eagle the other day and thought about how nice it would be to own. It's a piece of history. It's not hot blooded or passionate, and it's arguably one of the worst cars ever made. But it's the last car made by AMC and I feel affectionate towards the make. So just because I'm babbling about Alfas doesn't mean I denigrate anything else. It just means that I think that SOME cars make your heart rate go up more than others because of something other than just speed or handling; and that it'd be a shame that some people would miss out on that.
MY thoughts:
- LSx equipped F-body or GTO, 305 TPI equipped F-Body.
- 4.6L Mustang, 5.0L Mustang
- Wankel powered Mazda
- Mazda Miata
- Porsche 914/6, 88 Pontiac Fiero GT or Toyota MR2
- Subaru Impreza WRX STi/Mitsubishi Lancer EVO (VI and IX)
- Suzuki Swift GTi/VW Golf GTI VR6 (MKIII) or VW Corrado/Scirocco
- Acura RSX (pick a flavour), Honda Civic SI (at least one of each Generation since 91) CRX SI, Integra GSX/Type-R (a REAL one)
- Pontiac G6 GXP/Honda Accord (EX V6)/Nissan Altima SE or SE-R/Toyota Camry
- 1963-1974 Muscle Car (again, take your pick)
- 1960's Cadillac/Lincoln.
There's more, but these are the beginning.
I've driven every car brought up in this thread except
1960's Cadillac/Lincoln & koenigsegg
Well, koenigsegg is a wee bit exotic, you get a pass.
But the 60's Caddy/Linc.... I'm sorry, you're not yet a proper gearhead
For the ones I've listed, except for the 60's era cars, I've managed to take most of them around on a track, and it's damned fun
