Automotive

A few weeks ago, out of the blue I got a message from a car freak. "Hey ! I got your nr from one of your clients, he says you're a real hot hatch freak, especially with French cars. Can you give me some advice please ?". So i invited this very nice person...  

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain Too much love drives a man insane You broke my will, but what a thrill Goodness gracious, great balls of fire

Naahhhh, in the end a truly great driving experience. I bet a manual would be fabulous to drive !

Wait and see ... in a couple of weeks I get my reward. And I'm not talking about my 'new' acquisition ;-)

Went to a concert a few years ago, quite impressive.

It's red and exotic haha 😄

But I think it wil be fun as well .. and the looks are crazy. The engine .. well .. I'll give you a hint: 150 hp

hihi

The brand stopped production of this model last year. I bought a low mileage 2,5 years old. Let's say I was looking for something to do most of my driving in, but you know I want a car that is fun to drive. This time it had to have following specification... 

actually a BMW , but not a BMW ;-) So much fun teasing Biminineano ;-)

Mini Clubman diesel !!! 2 litre 150 hp / 330 Nm. Plenty powerful enough and the Clubman is the best steering Mini of the range with a lot of comfort on top of it. I think I will like this one for the long distance hauls, engine and gearbox are basically t... 

In 2005 we had the R53 phase 2 Cooper 1.6 petrol. From 2007 till 2011 the R56 Cooper Diesel 1.6 And now after 16 years again a Mini. Actually the Clubman is a much bigger car as it literally sits on a BMW platform. About the weight, apparently it's 1500+ ...  

I found some more tech specs stating the Cooper D auto has a kerb weight of 1335 kg which sets it in between my Clio (1240) and Megane(1460). I had the opportunity to weigh the Renaults and came out at 1230 for the Clio and 1460 for the Megane. So I will ... 

... the 'parc à conteneurs' ... the car gets weighed with the 'trash' inside and after dumping the trash it gets weighed as well ;-). But the car ( if it is a van) also gets weighed at the 'controle technique'.

I'm having fun

I have a good lawyer ;-) ...  

The hellhole according to Trump

... we had to mount 3 fans against an outside wall but every time we tried to drill a hole the bricks simply fell apart, I am not lying here my friend. Those walls were so humid and rotten, the whole building was/is(?) a complete ruin. When we entered the... 

Et mes pots de vin ????

It was very stable at 200+ kph, may have been faster in top stick shift gear at full throttle for many minutes. Was passing many cars too, with some very surprised looks on other drive's faces. Guess they never saw a Clio going 200+kph. 😁😎

... that's when you hit the limiter at 7100 rpm in 6th gear, first 5 gears can go to 7500 rmp. Although we cghanged mine to 7800 rpm .. in all gears. I remember going 240 kph (228 gps) and it felt as solid as any modern sportscar. I remember once the cops...  

... in a 70 zone ... and took an alcohol test ... I had to join them to the police station. After an hour long questioning and more tests they realized I was too smart for them so they had to take me back to my car and let me go. Let's just say they sudde... 

... they thought ... ... i was ... ...a state security guy LOL Why ? I gave them references of some 'people' I know and the Clio was coincidentally stacked with (non live) ammo ... very funny sight watching them search the car LOL.

that lil car was fun rowing through the gears while driving Swiss Alps roadways. That Clio was a very solid performer imho, predictable, and nimble. Glad your situation turned out well. i've had to bribe police in France... and Budapest... and....

That's all a man needs. Don't bribe the police in Russia ! It's cheaper to just pay the 3 € fine ;-)

No doubt the first generation of the triptronic was not perfect, though 20-30 years ago it seemed pretty good. While I do love a manual experience, modern PDK is so quick it has its own fun factor. Both look like fun rides! Living in the states I've not b... 

.. especially Porsche is perfection. So much it actually feels a bit clinical ... imagine doing 50 kph in a 4 liter Boxster in second gear, then downshift to first, full throttle and in the blink of a eye you're going 79 kph fearing you will hit the limit... 

He was gobsmacked by the fun factor and feeling .. a feeling of real driving and exhilaration.

count me among those who never got tiptronics.

Modern auto gearboxes have really evolved a lot. I remember driving a Mazda 323 1.5 liter with an automatic 3-speed gearbox. That was very funny, 80 kph in first gear, 120 in second and probably 160 in third LOL. Pulling all the way up in first gear took ... 

My Boxster is tiptronic…drove sticks all my life but can’t anymore due to foot injury, nothing wrong with it, it is fantastic…stick notwithstanding!

.. that this 1995 Tiptronic really takes the momentum out of the ... going Also only 4 speed gear box. But as you say nothing really wrong because I do believe that you can get used to it and enjoy it likewise.

The 993 is not the new acquisition? 😉🧐

It's kinda German as well, but then it isn't