Liftgate wrote: I was pretty sure I'd catch some flak for my remarks, I'm not surprised. Fast & furious is a crappy movie that does little to show what owning a fast car is really like, but everyone has watched the movie and that one scene does illustrate what I was saying pretty well, and there's alot of other guys besides myself who feel the same way about these type of cars.
And thats your right to feel that way. If you don't like those types of cars, then thats cool.
Liftgate wrote: 5150 Cruiser, I don't think I'm off on the respect thing too far. When you pull up in one of these cars, what do you think is the first thing through other's minds? It's 'Wow, that guy has alot of money!' Now what are they thinking when you drive up in a custom car you put together yourself? 'Wow, that's awesome!' Sorry man, but I'll take the latter any day. There's alot more respect and pride in something that's one off, that you put your ideas, your time, work and money into, something that's your own car. Not something you have simply because your wallet was fat enough.
Well for the most part i can agree. If you put a nice custom 70' Chevelle SS 454 next to a Stock Ferrari F430, chances are my attention would be focused more on the Chevelle rather than the Ferrari. But thats just because i preffer muscle cars. But Others might preffer the ferrari for there own reasons. Maybe they follow racing and there a Ferrari fan. Or maybe they just like the looks of the car. Either way its not fair to write off someone ass buying somthing just because there wallet is fatter than yours.
Liftgate wrote:I do respect all models, but as far as owners, if he really knew his stuff he'd know he didn't need to drop that much cash to get that level of performance. For the $80,000, heck for $65,000 or whatever it's bid up to now, I could build two of my dream cars, both of which would leave a Saleen in the dust. Now I wonder who would get the respect there? If you're the type with money to burn, or don't know a torque wrench from your big toe, then by all means, a car like this is for you.
Again, its not all about performace for some people. Its about having an exotic, well balanced all around ride. I'm sure you could build two of your dream cars for the price of a Saleen. But you'd be preety hard pressed to match, let alone beat the
all around performace that the Saleen gives you. Now yes, there are many that are well over priced, but for the most part these cars offer alot more than just straight line speed. If you honestly tried to build a car that was fast in a straight line, handled well, could brake from 60-0 in less than 100ft, that you could drive to and from the track, and was comfortable at the same time, you'd quickly see just how expensive it can get. They offer build quality that can't be matched by your average wrencher.
Also, i really don't think its fair to say just cause you own an 60+K car that you can't wrench. In fact, most people i know with exotics (one of my old investors raced his Viper) they were very mechanicly inclined.
I've built a few cars over the years. Some performance oriented, some show cars. But over the years iv'e gained alot of respect for
some of these exotic cars. Alot of people buy cars like these because of what they offer right out of the box. I can't blame them for that. Can they be beat for less? Sure. But that doesn't mean the one who bought the exotic doesn't know anyless about cars than you.