"Nate-964" (Nate-964)
08/28/2014 at 12:59 • Filed to: None
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"Nate-964" (Nate-964)
08/28/2014 at 12:59 • Filed to: None | 10
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I was very disappointed in the article from Road & Track posted on Jalopnik today
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Perhaps I misrepresented the message, but the main point of the article was don't buy an old super car because they are finicky and so outclassed by the current generation of supercars that you will look silly driving one. It also mentions that you should be responsible and get a 911 instead.
Several critiques / observations
1. Is R&T and other car magazines catering to only what is trendy? Do modern car magazines cater to what is "cool" and "trendy" so as to not lose their sponsors in face of twindling readership (Note: I have no facts to back that readership is declining other then the fact that readership trends are declining across print media)
2. Is the oppositelock/jalopnik audience very different from the R&T audience? I am not meaning to offend anyone that is a fan of car magazines, I have just been more intrigued by the online community. I love new vehicles such as the M235i, Porsche Cayman/Boxster, Corvette C7, Jaguar F-Type, but having a hobby surrounding these type of vehicles requires significant disposable income which I do not have. I love the focus on older (ranging from classics, older vehicles with a niche following, older SUVs, now-affordable sports cars) that this community embraces while still keeping us updated and excited about the new offerings from Detroit, Germany, Japan, England and South Korea.
3. I personally find this to be a greater time then ever to like older cars. Jay Leno said cars have changed more in recent years then they have between 1930 through 2006 (I do not have the exact quote). Surprise R&T!, I LIKE having a manual transmission! I LIKE not staring into the screen of an I-Pad/Computer when I drive (I get enough of that at work!!!) I like having analog feedback from my steering wheel! I view a car as an extension of my interests in style and the art of driving! NOT my social media life...And these cars that I love are affordable because they are not yet considered classics by the R&M auction crowd!
4. Assuming that you will look silly driving an older super car because it is not the "latest" and "greatest" super car assumes that your readers (and car enthusiasts in general) only care about "looking cool" and "trendy" which is just insulting.
5. I took the article to refer more than old super cars but any sports car, sporty coupe, luxury car or SUV that is now more affordable because of that beautiful thing called depreciation.
6. Because the author has a Ferrari 365 BB does not excuse the article.
Sorry for the long rant!
Party-vi
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:04 |
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The only reason I subscribe to R&T is for the metrics. Everything subjective in the magazines are taken with a big ass grain of salt.
anothermiatafanboy
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:08 |
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I must be a mindless drone. I read this article the other night in my bathtub, and didn't think much about it, but you make a good point, it is quite pompous of him to assume everyone buying a used supercar buys it for attention. No, that is what people buy NEW supercars for, the used ones are bought by some of us jalops who can finally afford one. P.S. I am a huge fan of car magazines, and have all this issues I have ever received saved (from about 2008 onwards). Print media has its advantages. I like something tangible.
cazzyodo
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:11 |
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In regards to your third point, specifically analog steering feedback, I had no idea what a vehicle without power steering felt like - absolutely no idea - until I got the chance to take a 280z for a short hop.
Not too long behind the wheel but a short, curved road and parallel parking later test later and I knew.
I loved it.
Parking, not as much, but driving yes.
dinobot666
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:11 |
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Articles like that are why I no longer read the front page.
With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:13 |
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I only regret that I have but one star to give for my Oppo.
Manuél Ferrari
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 13:34 |
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They must be catering to their masters - the car manufacturers.
GrayHays
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 14:20 |
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I just didn't understand the author's thesis. He talks about how today's exotics are tomorrow's trash and cites depreciation as evidence. He goes on to call out this year's crop of hybrid supercars - LaFerrari, 918 and P1 - as part of that "soon to be on a Miami used car lot" crowd. But the past iterations of those cars, The Enzo, Carerra GT, and F1 are rising in value quicker than the S&P 500. It just wasn't a coherent column, to put it nicely.
BrainForest
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 14:27 |
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I felt something similar when I read the article - "No no, the Diablos and Testarossas are not for you, plebe, your paltry pittance won't even cover brake pads. Have a Beetle."
Saf1
> Nate-964
08/28/2014 at 15:39 |
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Mixed feelings!! I definitely agree with your points; you (should) buy a supercar out of love. The Diablo is as old as I am (nearly 24) but absolute rubbish that people wouldn't really notice it now. In a sea of modern supercars, yea it's possible. But for the 99% of other situations you and your car would be in, people would notice. Not that any of that matters because uh I am in my dream car a car I lusted over for 2 decades (realistically it'd probably be 4 for the average owner). If things go right then my first car will be an MR2 and that to me would be my little supercar. I'd feel like a king anywhere I went and this article seems to say that I will face mockery and derision at some point IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY BEARING I AM IN MY CAR. So I can see your anger at this article because they are meant to be enthusiasts like us but they have such a disappointing "fashionable" viewpoint. ON THE OTHER HAND I actually like his point about supercars being about the now as the term is relative. This is why calling the new generation "hypercars" pissed me off - a supercar is as he says the pinnacle of performance and design of its time which is exactly what 918 LaF P1 are. Also why a Porsche is not a supercar even though the modern ones will slay an F40 which will never not be considered one. So it's a relative term that is for LIFE. Finally the note at the end of the article says they'd still want a 365BB regardless of this fool's opinion, not that he owns one!