Best and Worst List: 2013

"Jay Lauer" (thefaultinourcars)
12/20/2013 at 22:32 • Filed to: None

Best: AC Cobra (Kit Car, obviously)

This will probably be one of the greatest drives of all of my life. It has the best of everything: no weight, V8 power, and gobs and gobs of character. Best of all, since it has the inerts of a Fox body Mustang, parts to fix it are cheap. That may sound like a minor detail, but it means you're much less afraid to step on it. Lastly, there is no manlier feeling on this earth than operating the shifter in this car. Nothing.

Best: 04 WRX Wagon

As some of you have read in my WRX piece, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . But, it was a tremendously great vehicle. It had great power, AWD, tons of cargo, a great seating position, and a puppy dog enthusiasm unlike many other cars. It's a shame I sold it, but !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Best: Corvair Convertible

One of America's worst cars is also it's best. I drove this for about two weeks and it was just great. No, it's not fast, nor is it any good at turning or stopping, but it's a fantastic cruise-a-bout convertible. It's comfortable (for an old car) and girls love it. Nuff said.

Worst: Jaguar XJR

Maybe my bar was set too high. But I expected a Mustang performance with loads and loads of comfort. Instead, I drive in a car with hard leather, numb steering, and a ride that just wasn't comfortable by any standard. Also, an incomprehensible navigation system.The engine was fantastic, but that can't make up for everything else.

Worst: B5 S4

Like the XJR, but worse. I thought this would be a car with all of the WRX upsides, and none of the downsides. A WRX with more comfort and refinement. Instead, it's an uncorfortable, yet fast, piece of unreliable VW shoddy build quality, with an engine that gives the owner no room in the engine bay.

Worst: Bro Truck

If you need to know, just !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

DISCUSSION (11)

Hindered23 > Jay Lauer
12/20/2013 at 22:38

try a b6 s4! it's pretty nice, very fast, great sounding, and very unreliable!

sellphones2493 > Jay Lauer
12/20/2013 at 23:08

I drove one of the AC Cobra Kit's, and I had actually a really bad experience. Despite having loads of character, it had the worst clutch I've ever encountered. I've driven a fair amount of older cars with tough clutches, but nothing rivals the one in this Cobra.

I guess it varies upon each car, being a kit car and all. The one that I drove at the dealer I used to work at sat for sale forever. The previous owner registered it as a 2006 (the year built), instead of a 1963. Because of such, it was impossible to register it as 'historic' making it a lot less desirable for anyone.

Bad Idea Hat > Jay Lauer
12/21/2013 at 00:18

My wife thanks you. I just spent some time pricing out Foxstangs and kit prices.

Jay Lauer > Bad Idea Hat
12/21/2013 at 14:46

If you can, try to find someone's project that they ran out of money on. That'd be the cheapest option.

It's probably the most glorious of combinations. They're so cheap to maintain for that astronomical amount of fun they provide.

Jay Lauer > Hindered23
12/21/2013 at 14:47

Oh my god, That's exactly what I look for in a car!

Reliability just doesn't have any character. I want a car to just break my heart into pieces.

Jay Lauer > sellphones2493
12/21/2013 at 14:50

It could've just been a poorly built kit.

The one I drove was a customer car that have a pretty shoddy build. The steering was laughable, it squeaked everywhere, and the brakes were a switch: on or off.

Or it could be the clutch. The one I drove felt just like a stock Mustang.

Definitely give it another shot in a different car. It's easily one of the all time great cars.

Hindered23 > Jay Lauer
12/21/2013 at 15:33

mine sure did, right up until the moment we sold it

Jay Lauer > Hindered23
12/21/2013 at 15:51

Really? How bad was the B6 S4?

And what did you sell it to buy, out of curiosity?

Hindered23 > Jay Lauer
12/21/2013 at 17:49

the reliability was terrible. lights were always coming on. it was an absolute blast when it was in working order though. it only failed to function once, when the fuel pump went out. it went out at about 85k miles so it wasn't too unusual. my dad traded it in and got himself an ats instead of keeping the s4 because i wasn't making my payments when i was away in college without the car.

Jay Lauer > Hindered23
12/21/2013 at 19:10

Bummer, I was really hoping they were a bit better than the B5's.

Well, I'm still glad I bought a 330xi Bimmer instead of the Audi. Definitely better made. However, the BMW is still "finnicky" at best.

Hindered23 > Jay Lauer
12/22/2013 at 01:39

they feel nicer. they look nicer. they drive nicer. the reliability is no better. maybe it was due to me being deep into the rust belt, or maybe it was the jackass previous owner, but reliability is the one thing that broke the deal.