psychz wrote:

You lucky guys in the US got the Ford Probe (92-97)...

Yea, built on Japanese technology... Mazda.
With that beautiful V6 they had.

This is what I drive now.

Makes a great family car (despite estates/station wagons not being very popular in South Africa).
For some reason, I just never thought of myself as an "SUV guy".

However, before I got married, I drove this:

and this:

GP?

psychz wrote:

You lucky guys in the US got the Ford Probe (92-97)... Only twice have I seen it here in Greece 😵

It's the same as a Mazda MX-6, or whatever it's called in Europe.
We had a 91 Ford Probe in the family back in the 90s. It wasn't mine personally, but my family bought it from family friends who had it since new.
Out of all the 4 cylinder economy cars I've driven, that one might have been my favorite. It had a 2.2L 12-valve pushrod engine which had a pretty well balanced torque curve, and the 4spd auto trans worked well with it. It was good for real world driving, decent at all RPMs, not as annoyingly peaky as some other 4cyls I've driven. Driving in the mountains can make that issue readily apparent on some cars.
There was a problem with the silly automatic seat belts on that car, but it got fixed under a recall. When we took it in, turned out there were actually a few recalls it needed done.
Unfortunately the transmission didn't hold up and so it ultimately got junked.

psychz wrote:

You lucky guys in the US got the Ford Probe (92-97)... Only twice have I seen it here in Greece 😵

The probe was junk. That and a Mazda mx6 if I recall. But I could see why one might like them... If can find one that still runs. Most of them have been crushed in the us.

No Mazda MX-6s here either - the middle class is stuck for years with indifferent cars, from 700c (fiat cinquecento?) to at most 1600cc engines, due to increasing taxes/fuel price and generally high total cost of ownership. Everything else (with larger motors) consists of Jeeps, SUVs and pickup trucks.

I've heard from a Probe owner that he had problems with jamming rear brakes and idle air control valve might have some problems do to it's design. I also recall Probe having lackluster performance with the 2.0/2.2 engines. Other than that, it looks pretty good, but it somehow lacks the fun factor that the Japanese (sports) cars have and also lacks the muscle that US made cars have (or should have). It's like the worst of both worlds.

sf78 wrote:

I've heard from a Probe owner that he had problems with jamming rear brakes

This was a problem on early models of that platform (also Mazda 626, Xedos6, mx-6), to do with the handbrake.
The brake calipers were modified to solve this, after which the problem was gone.

The 91 we had was the first car I drove with hyper sensitive brakes. There is a general tendency for modern cars to be that way, but it was a severe and irritating contrast from the brakes on everything else I had driven, or was driving at the time. In retrospect, I think it might still have been the most sensitive brakes of anything I've driven since, but it's been so long since I drove that car that I couldn't say for sure.

brassicGamer wrote:

rps20151119_192516.jpg

Some of the cars here make me almost embarrassed to share. Some not so much. I like my little BMW although I don't think it will survive its next MOT. 1998 1.9l 318ti.

I used to have an e36 323ti (compact). Great little car, pretty light, lots of torque. It was a blast to drive. Had it for like two months but I loved every minute of it. Yours is not bad looking. A nice set of wheels, an E36 M3 front bumper, smoked corner lights and maybe the EVO rear wing used on the 323ti with the sport package, and she would look great.

Here is a similar one to yours, also black, with just a little bit of "pimping":

Not too fond of the wheels on this one either, or the white corner lights. Don't like the black kidney grills either.

Maintenance-wise, I don't know what bmw parts cost in your country, but in Romania they're among the cheaper cars to maintain (as long as you find a decent service to take it to with a mechanic who knows his stuff and won't destroy your wallet)

sf78 wrote:

I drove a E36 325 coupe once and it wasn't anything special. Lackluster drive with a rock hard suspension. In fact, it's one of the cars I'd least want to own.

Stock E36 coupe should not have "rock hard" suspension, even with the M package, and handling is one of the best, if not the best in it's class / time frame, especially if it's one of the later models that come equipped with DSC. How an e36 drives varies greatly depending on production year and buyer options. Most 4-cylinder cars, especially the older ones are mediocre at best. Poor brakes, mediocre suspension and poor steering response. In contrast, a 1997-1998 E36 325i Coupe with the M suspension package and DSC should drive like a dream. The only thing I find lackluster on some E36 cars is the brakes. I'm not saying the're bad, but the're not as good as I'd like them to be.

The problem is lots of E36 and even E46 BMWs have been "tuned" (i.e. ruined) with unbalanced aftermarket suspension or lowering kits and not well maintained (steering rack play, bad bushings, tie rod ends, bad control arm pivots and so on).

323 compact must have been fun! Great little cars. I took my 316i to the Nurburgring around 2008. Was an awesome trip, I miss that car 😢

kanecvr wrote:

The problem is lots of E36 and even E46 BMWs have been "tuned" (i.e. ruined) with unbalanced aftermarket suspension or lowering kits and not well maintained (steering rack play, bad bushings, tie rod ends, bad control arm pivots and so on).

That must've been it. I know the engine had been tuned a bit and I'm sure it had some expensive as shit suspension that made the ride worse than it should be. But in my opinion, if you have to slow for speedbumps the suspension is too hard. 🤣

20 years old, rusty underside but the engine is still like new 🤣

kanecvr wrote:

I used to have an e36 323ti (compact). Great little car, pretty light, lots of torque. It was a blast to drive. Had it for like two months but I loved every minute of it. Yours is not bad looking. A nice set of wheels, an E36 M3 front bumper, smoked corner lights and maybe the EVO rear wing used on the 323ti with the sport package, and she would look great.

I'd rather the saloon but I have seen a compact with the sport package and it went like shit off a shovel. I'd consider a 323 if I saw one.

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-chinese-drone-ma … n-carrying.html

retrofanatic wrote:

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Something (slightly) older than the first IBM PC.

Wow. That's an awesome land cruiser. ..a great example of a classic Toyota. Very nice.

badmojo wrote:

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Something (slightly) older than the first IBM PC. Don't ask, I just love vintage things, from PC hardware to audio gears to automobiles.

That is one beautifully monstrous beast. Love that utilitarian style - it must be a bitch to drive and maintain though? What's the aircon situation?!

Thanks, and sorry for the very late reply, guys. November was one hell of a month --very very busy and very little sleep.

Believe it or not, the FJ 40 Land Cruiser isn't difficult to drive. It is easily the most overpowered car I've ever driven, and it's very nice to drive because you never need to floor it when making a climb. I don't know about off-road, but in the city, I've never really needed to push the gas pedal when driving in the city.

For off road, it's all about smooth low speed torque.

gdjacobs wrote:

For off road, it's all about smooth low speed torque.

It really depends on the car 😀 This winter I tested Outlander in almost waist-deep snow - I found that out only when we got stuck and I had to get out of the car. The conclusion I came to once again is that on cross-overs and other vehicles that are not serious off-road performers, you've got to go fast on off-road. So fast that your wheels are just about to slip. The inertia helps you go through difficult places and once you stop in one of them, you're done.

jesolo wrote:

ST.jpg

The car I owned before my falcon was the same one, but in red.

(not my picture, mine had the factory alloys)

My both babies in one picture.

Audi A6 3.0tdi Quattro and Yamaha XT660X.