So damn cool. Thanks for sharing!
Show off your cars
- Thread starter Nico1970
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motto
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Your Welcome !
Benz3ne
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A recent change-up from the Mx5. Sad to see the old motor go after 2 and a bit years of exceptionally fun motoring.
However, this is frugal as they come. 1.0tsi petrol motor kicking out just shy of 100bhp (riveting, I know), and achieving around 60-64mpg on my longer commutes, with it not dropping below 40 at any point otherwise. Real world economy worked out at 49.7mpg for the one time I remembered to keep check.
So much quieter than the Mx5, so makes for a nice environment for the 350 miles I'm doing every week. I estimate the '5 was doing closer to 20mpg...
Considerably dirtier than the picture lets on.
motto
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Did some detailing work to the car the last days so the latest SOTD is related to this ...
https://www.atgshaving.com/posts/306079/
https://www.atgshaving.com/posts/306079/
Burgundy
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In the end, we swapped the decade-old Ibiza for a three-year old Astra. It’s a compromise of budget versus practicality. I’d love a slightly bigger boot and a more engaging steer but it’s an honest, decent vehicle. It’s no more fuel efficient than the car it replaces but it’s a considerably nicer environment (Elite Nav spec plus a few extras) and the 1.4T (150) engine has plenty about it. Two weeks in and it feels like a good purchase.
The old car lost me about £750 a year in depreciation but its maintenance bills were starting to rack up with a fair amount of work needed to keep it roadworthy this year - so it was a good time to let it go. When I consider that we funded the Astra by p/ex, a 0% credit card and a bit of the ‘rainy day’ fund, I can’t really imagine buying a brand new car without considerable incentivisation.
My commuting now happens in my wife’s Fiat 500. It’s ten years old but it’s on fairly low mileage, it’s been well-maintained and it’s cheap to run. Truly, I don’t really like the car to drive or to look at but... priorities. I’ve just given it a full service, including cambelt and water pump, so we’re hoping to get another few years out of it. As the family expands, the next car move will probably be to replace the Fiat with an estate or (shudder) an SUV.
Perfect weekend cruising down Highway 1 to Monterey. Back for a wash/wax today and a quick grocery run. Paint needs a fair deal of work, but it’s easy to forget from behind the wheel. 
Northam Saint
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Did Route 1 last summer, San Fran to San Diego. Stunning !
MntnMan62
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I've done that route twice, but in the other direction. And we added Sonoma/Napa into the mix. One of the best trips we've ever taken.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived in Monterey for a few years and now SF so I take the 1 for granted, but everyone should try to do it at least once.
MntnMan62
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There are so many places worth stopping and seeing along the way. Of all the places I find the least interesting is LA. But the list of great stops is long. San Diego is amazing including Coronado Island, La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle, Carmel By The Sea, Monterey, Half Moon Bay and the many spots where the seals tend to congregate. On one of our trips we found tons of seals out including my favorites, the Elephant Seals. Very wild. And very smelly. On both trips we missed out on Hearst Castle so I want to go back and see it. I also would like to include the rest of the Northern California Coastline beyond San Francisco. I'm guessing there is some amazingly gorgeous topography and scenery.
Yea south of San Louis Obispo it loses its charm for me. North of SF is wonderful and the Oregon coast is stunning if you make it that far. But north of SF becomes no-man’s-land pretty quick so I’m not sure it’s a great vacation from abroad because of hotel access and cell service.
Northam Saint
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We arrived at LA last year and went up through Sequila National Park, another fantastic drive. Sorry but we didn’t like SF, all them homeless people and weed. One homeless person started following us, we had to duck in a few stores and get their security to get her to move on. Not nice. Carmel was very nice.
MntnMan62
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San Francisco is a large city. They have homeless people. Just like most large cities. London has them. Berlin has them. New York. Chicago. Seattle. If you can't enjoy a large city because the homeless people bother you then I suppose cities aren't your thing. One of the best parts of San Francisco for us was Chinatown. Best dim sum I've ever had. Blows away NY's Chinatown.
MntnMan62
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I've been up the Coast of Washington. Spent several days in the Olympic National Park. Gorgeous. I would make sure to have sleeping arrangements set up in advance if we did that trip.