Brad Wardell's views about technology, politics, religion, world affairs, and all sorts of politically incorrect topics.
Which one
Published on September 1, 2006 By Draginol In Your Car
You ask someone what their dream car is and you'll get all kinds of mega cars that cost millions of dollars.

I never gave much thought about cars until relatively recently. I drove a 1984 Chevette well into my 20s. That was all I could afford.

But over the years, fate and prosperity have been kind to me and getting the untouchable dream car starts to become a reality. But a lifetime of ignorance on cars means I've had to play catch-up.  Having been burning the midnight oil for the past 15 or so years, I've finally reached the point where I can start to afford really cool stuff.

In just over 10 years, I've gone from the Chevette to a Jaguar S-Type R which is what I have now. The Jaguar S-Type R is a roughly $65,000 car. In a couple of years, I will be getting a new car. But the next step up involves looking at cars that you have to order literally a year or more in advance. Which means I have to start thinking about these things now.

Here are some of the cars I'm thinking of:

1) The BMW M5. It's a Sedan which means I can fit 5 people in it. Wife, and 3 kids. So it is practical. It's also about 500hp and does 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds. It's even faster than the Jag in theory.

2) The BMW M6. Not a Sedan and not really any faster but still an awesome car. But the BMW's have a really goofy transmision system.

3) Porsche 911 Turbo. Now this is starting to cost real money. $130k to get the version I'd want to get. Ironically, the Porsche has a really crappy GPS system. I know, it's a minor thing but at that price, there should be no compromises.

4) Ferrari F430. This is at the high end of what I would be willing or able to afford at this point. It's actually slower than the Porsche but it's a Ferrari. The problem with this and the other super cars is reliability. I am not a car collector. I plan to actually drive whatever I get pretty much every day (at least in good weather). Ferrari's and up tend to ironically be fairly unreliable by reputation.

What is a real bummer for me, as a Detroiter, is that there are no American cars on the short list. The Ford GT looks interesting but has reliability problems and just doesn't seem very interesting. Corvettes, here in Detroit, are a dime a dozen. The various high end Caddy's are somewhat interesting but I don't like the way they look. That pretty much leaves me with what I've mentioned here.

I figure now is the time to get some ridiculous car because the car after this one will be when I hit (gulp) 40 and I plan to have a more modest, reasonable car by then lest one thinks that I'm experiencing a mid life crisis. In reality, I just want to have a really cool car while I'm still young. So if you had $150k or so as your budget on a car, what would you get?
 
  

Comments (Page 2)
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on Sep 02, 2006
I would buy a Authentic Army Issue Hummer (not the passy-ass ones that GM sells to the general public), I want the real deal! Any vehicle that can drive almost completely under water is about as cool as it gets IMO.
on Sep 02, 2006
Otherwise I'd go the Porsche or go for the next model up in the Jag. Both look far, far better than any BMW or Ferrarri.


If I really had lots and lots of disposable cash and was willing to completely throw caution, not to mention my bank account, to the wind I think I'd just go for it and get a Bugatti Veyron. It would probably cost just as much per year to maintain it as it cost to originally buy it, but still, I'd like to give it a try.
on Sep 02, 2006
F430's are nice.. but I've always wanted ( me and everyone else ) a 360. although the model with the F1 ( paddle shifting ) is probably around $250,000 still.

go with a ferrari.
on Sep 02, 2006

If I really had lots and lots of disposable cash and was willing to completely throw caution, not to mention my bank account, to the wind I think I'd just go for it and get a Bugatti Veyron. It would probably cost just as much per year to maintain it as it cost to originally buy it, but still, I'd like to give it a try.

One of the things about how much things cost is that it's all relative. If someone makes $50,000 per year they might have a $30,000 car.  If someone makes $100,000 per year, they might have a $60,000 car with it having the same affect on their bottom line. 

One of the things I often see in discussions is people making value judgments based on their own economics.  A $300,000 car doesn't seem crazy to someone who makes $100 million per year.  That's the people who buy some of those really ultra super cars. 

When I was a kid driving a Chevette, people paying $30k for a car seemed a bit silly. You can still get a good car for half that.

on Sep 03, 2006
Gosh, I wish I had your budget for a new car! I think it's great that you can do that for yourself!

I say go with the one Braeden mentioned, the BMW M5. I've seen them around my neighborhood and man oh man, they're really great. One thing about where I live, there are cars, and there are cars! I've seen the new BMW SUVs and they're pretty good lookng too! Yep, there are cars and I'm wishing I could have one of them too! For now I'll just live vicariously through you!! Vipers look good, my boss drives one, so does the VP, and a few other people on the road, they're pretty common.
on Sep 03, 2006
thats because vipers are cheap compared to all of the cars he listed

on Sep 10, 2006
The various high end Caddy's are somewhat interesting but I don't like the way they look.

Have you considered getting the Caddy and customizing the appearance?
on Sep 14, 2006

Have you considered getting the Caddy and customizing the appearance?

What would be the point? I dn't like Caddy's enough to go through that kind of hassle. There's nothing special about them.

on Sep 19, 2006
Any of the Beemers in an M configuration.
on Oct 02, 2006
Take a look at the new Audi R8, love the way it looks.

http://www.automotoportal.com/article/Paris_debut_for_Audi_R8_super_car
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/autoexpresstv/spyshotvideos/200300/audi_r8.html
on Oct 02, 2006
And then there is a cheaper really fun car.

http://www.arielatom.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtDsAGd7uj8
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