cars are something
>>you buy with your head and your heart
In my case it would be a '65 Volkswagon Beetle
When Joe Walsh sang “My Maserati does 185, I lost my licence so now I don’t drive”, he was lying. In 1978 no Maserati could do that speed. He could have had been talking km/h, in which case it might have been an earlier-generation Ghibli: that did 155mph, or 174mph if he had the Ghibli SS. The Ghibli S reviewed here won’t do …
Alfa Romeo for me back in the 1990s, complete with lots of electrical problems - but that glorious (and reliable) 3 litre v6 Busso engine. Don't regret it.
Oh and the Citroen C6 now - and the fact I was considering an pre-facelift Maserati Quattroporte auto (not duo select) ....
Actually, just try to sing the "one fifty-five" version to the cadence of the original. The transition from "ONE" to "fif-" isn't easy, especially if you're singing loudly: and even sung clearly, it's a bit clunky.
The hard F and the stressed "i" in "fifty" place emphasis on the word, but to follow the cadence of the other lines in the verse, whatever syllable is at that position must be unstressed. The "ay" in "eighty" is easier to get to from the closing "n" of "one", and can also be sung unstressed.
But that's probably too much analysis: As you correctly point out, Joe was wasted for most of this period, so writing such a stumbling-block line into his own set wouldn't have been a great idea.
@Kristian Walsh
You must have had voice training...
I can't sing,(I ain't pretty and my legs are thin) the missus has banned me from singing in front of the boy, she says I'll ruin his ear for music. She's on to something I'm afraid. My duration with a band is about as long as it takes for the other members to sober up a bit...
Actually, just try to sing the "one fifty-five" version to the cadence of the original. The transition from "ONE" to "fif-" isn't easy, especially if you're singing loudly: and even sung clearly, it's a bit clunky.
I might go with "one twenty-five", particularly if you elide the second "t" (so "one twenny-five"). The prosody's considerably better than "fifty-five", at least to my hearing. But the coarticulated consonant "w" in "twenty" is still a bit of a stumble, compared to anything in "eighty". The same can (in my opinion) be said of initial "th" in "thirty" (generally a dental or aveolar fricative, I think) and initial "f" in "forty" or "fifty" (labiodental fricative).
And "seventy" has the wrong number of syllables, obviously. And "ninety" is worse than "eighty" in terms of making the song closer to accurate. That leaves "one sixty-five" as an alternative; but I find the double-consonant "x" just as bad as "ft" in "fifty".
So I suppose we should just leave the lyrics as they are.
I agree very much, there is however a artificial delay when you accelerate on most diesel cars, I suppose it adds something to the economy and I would feel happier without it. Funny how people who have never driven a good 2L turbodiesel have an opinion about it. A bit like kids who think they can beat a good automatic with a stick at the lights.
"but a diesel engine of sufficient power has so much torque that it's hard to dismiss it"
The writing is on the wall for private DERVs. Even France, who fell for its faux eco credentials hook, line and sinker are starting to introduce bans in cities.
No amount of pollution control strap-ons will solve the issues with it.
People can now stop fooling themselves with the torque/mpg/eco BS they come out with to try and justify their choice of engine that was based purely on cost. Not power. Not performance, not "torques".
I know that there is a case that I'm missing the point, and I know that it isn't what you immediately think of, but my main question was 'Is the diesel any good?'. (Any good being primarily, does it clatter like an FX4 taxi, and does it just waft you along on a wave of torque?)
Probably a bit sad to be more interested in those than in 0 - 60 times and gorgeous curves and detailing, but I don't think I'll be buying one, either way. But, the way these things have traditionally depreciated, who can tell?
Don't necessarily do them down.
Here in the US, unfortunately, we generally don't have the option. I wish Volvo would sell their diesel hybrid V60 here. I don't know that I want one, but I'd like to give it a try.
This post has been deleted by its author
I don’t know what it says about my friends and their view of Italian society, but every one of them who looked into the 500-litre boot said “you could get a body in there”
I had to laugh at that as I had a similar experience, though decidedly not with a Maserati (alas). We got a Sienna (Toyota van). It has storage compartments everywhere - it has them where other cars don't even have places. Almost everyone who got in it made a comment to the effect that we would have plenty of places to hide guns.
Hmm. The girl in the film 'Hanna' (can't remember her name) hides in a 'camper-van' and the family doesn't know she's there.
So, is there enough room in a Sienna (it might have been a VW in the film) for a young girl to hide from the family for the length of a road trip while still carrying all the usual gubbins a family requires?
(Nothing sinister, I just thought the film was a load of pants and this was one of the reasons why.)
Except it has "Italian" design cues; Example: faux Buick exhaust ports on the fenders.
Far to heavy, too many bells & whistles, and not enough motor to make up for it.
Want a boot to smuggle people around in? Try a 1962 Buick Invicta ... You can easily fit a "California King" box-spring & mattress for the comfort of about 6 smugglees. Or 8, if you are heading for the drive-in movies (Hey, I was a teenager in the 1970s). 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds.
As a side-note, I personally watched a 1969 Ghibli SS do 205 MPH at Bonneville (204 out, 206 back) in about 1977. Factory stock ... with better-than-street tires, and about[0] a 200HP shot of nitrous in the top-end. So yes, Maserati's could do 185 in 1978. Maybe not STOCK cars, but what flamboyant multi-millionaire owns a stock car?
[0] Nitrous tech was in it's infancy back then ...
While I enjoy the car reviews, I'm constantly disappointed by the terrible pictures that accompany them.
For example: Show us the whole back end, not just a taillight, and not a close-up, either, step back so we can see how it integrates with the whole. Same with the front end.
Just sayin'.
Ditto on the photos.
OTOH, kudos for properly using "dampers" and "damping" in the article. Use of "dampener" and "dampening" unless one is referring to a heavy dew on the south forty drives me mad. (Although as my old dad told me more than once, in my case that's less a drive than a short putt -- but that's another story!)
Yes, nothing with an automatic transmission qualifies as a sports car. For you see, even though automatics now changes gears faster than all but the most overcaffeinated stick fiddlers (what is the proper Reg-ization of driving stick?), can be be used in manual mode to choose your own shift points, and provide better fuel economy to boot, it's not a sports car without a manual transmission. If it lets me pay half as much insurance as the ricer that got eaten by my turbo-fed SUV, I'll support it.
In related topic, opinions on Ford/Mondeo's decision to offer an ECU 'tuner' box for their vehicles? I think it's simultaneously neat and rather behind the curve. To hear it told by one I know, tuner shops already offer the ability to fit a module that lets you switch between "Normal", "Eco", and "Badger in Pants Crazy" ECU profiles from the cruise-control ... er, controls.
Agree 100% that the paddles should be on the column. However, many of these cars spend a lot of time on twisty mountain roads. Sometimes you need to downshift through a series of bends and you need to know where the paddle is, even if you might not be pointing straight.
Besides, they look like decent sized paddles. Most cars with steering wheel paddles suffer from those paddles being so small you end up having to use the stick.
I'll stick with an manual though. Might be slower, but it's a hell of a lot more involving.
You know, I never really get people who complain about fixed paddles not letting you change gear in a corner.
If you're driving enthusiastically enough that you need to be using the manual, you shouldn't be changing in the corner. Set the car up, then turn.
On my CBR I COULD knock it up and down the gears mid corner all I like with my foot. But I don't. Anymore. A bike will teach you very quickly that you shouldn't unbalance things mid corner in a way that will stay with you for quite a while...