mystery machine

yer some man, Deek!

P.S. Loving your wheels!

Blinding!!! So, the burning question... ...how much? (you can PM me if you'd prefer).

P.S. I'm amazed that no-one's chimed in yet with the irrepresible... "get youreself a classic M8!"

OFF-TOPIC POST (sorry)... Do you play much blues on that sax? I was watching a Buddy Guy (Chicago blues guitarist) DVD recently and his saxophonist played a solo that absolutely blew me sideways. Not usually a fan of wind instruments in blues (save for harp), but this was seminal...

What does the STI hatch's PPP consist of? On the last rev saloon it was purely an engine-related upgrade - exhaust bits, fuel pump, intercooler hose & ECU, for which they charged about £2000 when bought separately...

Absolutely. Been driving for years and years, but only recently made a more conscious effort to brush-up on car control, and I reckon I learnt more about limit-of-grip driving when pushing my wee runabout (away from traffic) on greasy roads during the harsh winter there than I could ever learn in the Scoob on public roads. With the Scoob the thrill comes more from the sheer level of grip, and the forces that I can feel acting on me and the car through bends, and of course the power delivery (even in my weedy standard STI!). It handles well, but could be better... got my eye on some Bilstein coilovers which might help out with that Nothing wrong with thrashing the odd Audi/Beemer/Porsche into the bargain, of course - but there are various perspectives you can have on that scenario

This isn't a response to anyone's post in particular... I was just considering how much more there is (or can be) to driving pleasure than straight line speed, or even cornering speed, for that matter. For instance, I recently 'held off' a 911 on a popular Fife B-road - he was willing to go a bit quicker than me on the straights (I try to avoid license-busting speeds), but I was gradually pulling away through the bends... All sounds great, apart from that the low-slung Porker looked so much more composed in the corners than the STI! I still love the Impreza, and bangs-for-buck they're hard to beat, but I know which car I'd rather have been driving that day...

Totally!

No way - nae danger would I pay for that! Especially not when I can get the missus torn-in about it with the garden strimmer for free

Still a bit cheeky when most good saunas will do that for £15 - or even the full "back, sack & crack" for £25....... I'm told.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10700893

Defo a great car, let's hope he's the harmonica player!

Och of course Gordon, same here

P.S. Surely not a drummer, what with that shortlist of compacts!

Oh c'mon, the Lotus isn't a hairdresser's car by any stretch of the imagination! Now, if he'd posted a pic of a Mini cabriolet...

Welcome! If you're happy enough with the hatch's looks, then I'd suggest that the STI330 would be a fantastic car to own and to drive - the hatch STIs seem to have gained generally very positive reviews to date. Impreza turbos make fine all-weather cars (severe snow excepted), which could be very useful for someone who's travelling to gigs/sessions in a variety of places, on a variety of roads, in a variety of weather conditions... Would you really want to go front-wheel drive after the Beemer and the Merc? And jeez-oh, that's a wh*re of a lot of money for a Civic! I'm not convinced about the EVO X as a driver's car - what with its five-speed box, characterless engine and softened handling. The previous EVOs I gather were great cars, but with their very short service intervals I guess they wouldn't make much sense to a high-mileage driver like yourself - also a bit uncompromising compared to the other cars mentioned so far Audis are always fashionable and the S-series have great engines, but what's the latest story on the handling? Certainly up until recently they had a strong rep for being 'grippy but dull', which may or may not be an issue for you. The Golf R might be worth a hurl, although I wonder if the 4MOTION system has been improved in recent years. IIRC it was essentially a front-wheel drive system, only applying power to the rear when front traction is lost - hmmmmm ('decent' 4WD systems like the STI's are rear-biased). I'm struggling to think of any alternatives... does it have to be brand new? With your budget I could be sorely tempted by a secondhand M3 All the best P.S. Which instrument do you play?

Looks great - twin pipes on a Scoob just ain't cricket IMHO

That's a bummer, Kenny. The 2.5 will be nice though - nice to have the security of the forged bits too!

Not as long as Andy's in business and there's cash burning holes in pockets Whatever browns the toast, I 'spose - straight-line racing isn't my mug o' slash but it makes for an entertaining thread

Och no, I understood your point - just a comment FWIW.

Each to his own, I suppose. Personally, I'd have his V10 twin-turbo - or even the Audi V10 N.A. - over any 2.0L high-pressure turbo setup, even if the latter was boosted to produce 1000bhp. Not a fan of Audi in general, but they produce some beautiful engines!

Might it have been an S6? The S6 was a naturally-aspirated V8 until 2006, after which they switched to the V10. Needless to say, still a very quick car! You'd know if it was an RS6 - I had one runt past me once and the turbos were loud... even above the menacing growl of the V8 (this was one of the older models). Seriously quick car in a straight line, if that's your thing (and they say the newer ones can take corners too!)

I did wonder! Any former truck drivers care to shed light on this one?

I don't mean to suggest that you're anything but the springiest of spring chickens Cathy, but I'm sure you're old enough to know the answer to that... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens'_band_radio CB - the original chat room?