Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mine is a 5 speed manual,and it's well -paired with the supercharged 4 cylinder. It pretty quick,again,not Nascar type stuff,but not bad.

jcreasy wrote: But no manual transmissions unless you go to the bottom of the lineup. That's a gyp...

There is definitely the visceral satisfaction of a clutch and manual transmission, but I'll tell ya, the automanual transmissions they are making today are incredible. I had no choice within the line (as AMG doesn't do manual trans), but it is hands-down one of the best transmissions I've ever used. Quick shifting with flappy paddles, three drive modes and pulls like a freight train in fourth gear. Oh yeah.

A 911 is a more staightforward sports car, and they're probably a better track car in the right hands, but for being easier to live with (though...not practical!) the SLK has to win for comfort.


PW, sorry for the thread drift.

Did someone say drift?

There was a guy in Melbourne back in the early 70s who raced a Hillman Imp with a mid-mounted Repco 308 cubic inch Formula 5000 donk in it.

The thing handled unbelievably well and was unbeatable!!

Just in case you don't know what a Hillman Imp is (or was):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman_Imp

Cool, it looks like a cross between a Beetle, a Fiat of some sort, a Corvair, a Ford, a...........

When I first started driving the SLK series 11 years ago, it was all about Turbochargers, traction and speed.

Now it's all about one thing. Heated leather seats.

gareth wrote:When I first started driving the SLK series 11 years ago, it was all about Turbochargers, traction and speed.

Now it's all about one thing. Heated leather seats.

Yes!


And I'll add "airscarf" to that list (....of things I didn't know I needed until I had.)

gareth wrote:When I first started driving the SLK series 11 years ago, it was all about Turbochargers, traction and speed.

Now it's all about one thing. Heated leather seats.

Yup, almost indispensable, especially in a cold climate! My new car has heated AND cooled leather seats!

cjj wrote:

gareth wrote:When I first started driving the SLK series 11 years ago, it was all about Turbochargers, traction and speed.

Now it's all about one thing. Heated leather seats.

Yup, almost indispensable, especially in a cold climate! My new car has heated AND cooled leather seats!

My driver side heated seat quit after 7 years. Time for a new car.

I have a 89 Toyota van and a 95ish Holden Rodeo.... (+ a 76 Fiat in the shed)... I'm really in the wrong forum.

Eden.

I started out with a modded '61 Triumph TR-3. Warmed-over engine, three SU carbs that never stayed in tune, tube headers and as close to zero backpressure as the motor could stand... That was 40 years ago, and until my current ride, the quickest, best-handling car I've owned (althought it rode like a farm tractor, the cornering was very similar to a go kart). It also had the added advantage of the cutaway doors, allowing me to butt out my smoke at a stoplight simply by reaching out the door and down to the pavement.

I dont' smoke any more.... and I've owned a bunch of 'fast' cars (mostly stock or mildly warmed up) since. Torino GT500, Ford 429 Interceptor, Z-28 Camaro, even a Mazda MX-6 Mystere.. all have been various versions of quick, but to my everlasting surprise, it's my current ride that takes the acceleration prize. O-100 (60mph) in 6.6 sec, quarter mile in 12.3, four doors, leather (heated, of course), woodgrain trim, surprisingly quiet inside, automatic stability control, switchable traction control...

Made in....

Altlanta, GA.

Yup. It's a Hyundai.

2009 Sonata with V6 and all the toys.. beat the '09 5-series Bimmer in Road &Track and Car & Driver comparos.. It's no 911, nor is it an SLK, but I can take three friends and their guitars to the club, plus it works for carrying the parents to Sunday brunch..

Ah, SU carbs. I used to love those things (well, when I wasn't hating them ). Keeping them synchronized was just all part of the fun!

bvstudios wrote: O-100 (60mph) in 6.6 sec, quarter mile in 12.3, four doors, leather (heated, of course), woodgrain trim, surprisingly quiet inside, automatic stability control, switchable traction control...
Yup. It's a Hyundai.
2009 Sonata with V6 and all the toys.. beat the '09 5-series Bimmer in Road &Track and Car & Driver comparos.. It's no 911, nor is it an SLK, but I can take three friends and their guitars to the club, plus it works for carrying the parents to Sunday brunch..

Hyundai's are really getting better all of the time but if that Hyundai does the 1/4 mile in 12.3, I'll eat everybody's hat, lol.

jcreasy wrote:I've got a 911 and you'd be surprised how very well it does work but it is also with a very different feel and dynamic. When you consider everything (initial cost, initial quality, reliability, performance, repair costs, efficiency, aesthetics) it is absolutely the best sports car value on the planet... Hands down. Second best, the Mazda Miata. These are established truths in the World. Not opinion.

Woah woah woah. What about the 1m? ///M I'll race ya