The Good The Bad And The Ugly!

[Supra_Natural]

BAD

198? Toyota Sprinter Carib 4wd - Was a nice car in many ways, very advanced with push button 4WD, TEMS electronic suspension, sports seats and a lot of other bells and whistles, and this was in the early 90's... Only problem was that everything on it had been screwed up by the time we got it, my father fell for the old car sale "wash and polish" trick... the TEMS wasn't functional, the Twin carb engine drank like a fish and worst of all, the car had been in a bad crash that left it with chassis damage that hadnt been sorted!! could have been great, but turned out to be the opposite

1984 Fiat Uno - Had this for a year or so, was bought as a runabout, had been allegedly taken care of by previous owner, appeared in good shape and mechanically ok... but was TERRIBLE! stopped running for no apparent reason, suffered from fuel blocks, random electrical shorts and all manner of other electrical maladies that would never go away... even took it to the agents at the time (Browns I think) they claimed to have sorted it (for a fancy sum)... but a couple of weeks later everything was back! Gave my family a Fiat Phobia that exists to this day!

1984 Nissan sunny B11 - Boring, Bland, Uncomfortable and slow... oh and a wheel once fell off!

1986 Toyota Carina Wagon - Boring and bland... but also for some bizzare reason hideously unreliable!! and if you cant have reliability in a toyota, what's the point?

1995 Mercedes Benz E200 Diesel (W124) - More boring than watching paint dry, and nearly as slow... almost couldn't get up steep hills with five people in the car, engine was loud and uncouth. Was still very comfy though, and built like a bank vault, but the engine ruined it!

OK

2000/2002/2004 Honda Civic ES8 - Had 3 of them at various times, mother adores them for some reason. Currently have the 2004 one which is a 1.5 Auto... Not great in anyway, but reasonably pleasant, quite comfy, and with a reasonably nice engine.... all in all, a reasonable car.

1998/2001 Toyota Corolla AE110/Toyota sprinter AE111... Decent, Economical, Comfortable, Reliable.

2002 Nissan Primera TP12 - Huge interior, decent shove, nice ride and awesome stereo when you figured it out..... Thirsty though, and figuring out the all japanese controls took some time... Not a good driver's car either.

1989 Mazda 323 Hatchback 15-7767 - Was small when we had this, but remember that it seemed quite fast, and my dad loved it a lot.... still on the lookout for the car if anyone knows of it's whereabouts let me know.

2006 Mitsubishi Montero 3.0 V6 - Decent vehicle... Roomy, capable off road, comfy interior, nice Aircon.... Thirsty though, and the 3.0 Engine struggles a tad when its fully loaded.

1969 Volkswagen Beetle - Characterful, Cheap to Run and Reliable... If it were a wee bit more interesting to drive it would be in the "best" category

1995 Toyota Land Cruiser KZJ77 3.0 Turbo - The Box model 'Cruiser. Brisk, Comfy and built like a bank vault, also endlessly reliable.

BEST

2000 Peugeot 406 1.8 GLX - Superbly comfortable, Lovely Handling, Comfy interior etc etc. Was the 1.8 version however, so it was kinda underpowered for the weight, AND it was thirsty because of the weight. Was also prone to random electrical/electronic maladies. The plus points made it worth it though..... Still regret getting rid of it.

1993 Honda Civic Eg8 18-7003 - I know about the image, I know all the negative connotations etc, but we got one of these brand spanking new, just after it had been introduced to SL, and back then it was fantastic.... Remember that this was the era of the corolla AE91 and the Doctor sunny!.... Again, if anyone knows what has become of this car, do let me know.

1969 Triumph Spitfire Mk3... It's British, It has Lucas Electrics, and it is prone to random, mysterious maladies..... Theoretically I should HATE it, but I dont. Its A blast to drive (when it works), it looks cool, makes a positive impression on anyone who sees it, and just has such a lot of that factor that saves most brits.... Character!

1993 Toyota Hilux Ln106 2.8 Diesel - My daily Driver. Owned from new, 415,000 KM and still going strong... engine rebuilt once, no unexpected mechanical maladies, great off the beaten track and only a defender can come close to it in the cut and thrust of urban traffic!

2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited - Im not a major fan of SUV's but this somehow manages to get up there.... by all rights it shouldnt, on paper it's crude with nothing like the technical sophistication of a Discovery or even a rexton!! has a live rear axle for heaven's sake!!! Fit and finish is not great either... Somehow manages to rise above that though.... Goes like the clappers for one thing, and handles far better than anyone would believe if they read the spec sheet. Also very comfy (Bit cramped in the back though). Drinks like a fish though...

Edit: Cant believe I forgot this!!! - 1967 or 68 Ford Escort Mk1 1300GT 2 door 10Sri 3452 - Popularly known as "Mrs Robinson" . turned up at the garage next door to my office one day, had no paint to speak of, but a VERy solid body, and fired first turn of the key... scrounged up the cash and bought it in two days! was just a very entertaining car, as D_z, who drove it most will attest!! sadly got a little stuck and sold it to a mutual friend who promised to restore it, only to see him later buy a fully done up escort after this was dismantled! He then sold it to someone in Kandy.... doubt I'll ever entirely forgive him for that.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Supra_Natural

[MasterDon]

impressive list supra...i envy you on owning that cherokee,all aside it is a mighty imposing vehicle on the road!.....and it seems you've covered all the major automitive countries on ownership

and i'm glad to hear thet you are not a hater of honda's like our mutual friend

Edited March 13, 2009 by HelRazor

[kotte mafia]

hey ... i'm a die hard honda fan too .. used to have a eg8 which wasn't riced way back ....but i still can't understand why ppl hate honda's specialy the eg8 .. and i will always buy a honda over anything else ....

and remember for all the guys who hate them alot of doods started to climb the steps of motorsports and tuning from honda civic's

[kotte mafia]

supra you lucky guy .... do u own a grand cherokee limited .... it's one of my dream cars too ...specially the SRT8 version ...

[MasterDon]

hey ... i'm a die hard honda fan too .. used to have a eg8 which wasn't riced way back ....but i still can't understand why ppl hate honda's specialy the eg8 .. and i will always buy a honda over anything else ....

and remember for all the guys who hate them alot of doods started to climb the steps of motorsports and tuning from honda civic's

i think people like peri and devinda DONT hate civics when they are stock or modified tastefully...it's the the rice buggers that spoil the scene for all of us...infact even i want to kill myself each time i see that civic with a 4x4 like snorkel air intake in marawila...so i think peri and devinda are somewhat justified in their view

i think i fall in to the rice catogory as well...because i havent done anything to enhance the performance of my sol...i just added a lot of weight(bodykit,wheels) that will make it even slower...but both peri and devinda have seen my car,and i think they like the way i have made her pretty like a proper lady...not like a drag queen!

[kotte mafia]

i kw machang ppl hate to see riced up cars even me ...specially once which have snorkels,dinner table like spoilers & furt barrels which makes the dogs bark at night those r stuff which makes me puke too

our family used to own a factory eg8 and i'm planing to buy myself a ek3 hatch to do some performance mod's and keep it at home machang and i don't see anything bad on dressing up your car to satisfy your taste ... like you did and many other good folks around SL did ... and i would surely done the same if i had mine till all this mod's sean started ...

but this morons who drive in rice mobiles give all the rest who are proud to own civics a bad name ...

people like nigel,zakie,asanka,wahab's and alot more used to own and still own civics and are very proud of them ...

but these buggers from the mental hospital who drive around are giving the bad name to all the die hard honda lovers...

Edited March 14, 2009 by kotte mafia

[Supra_Natural]

impressive list supra...i envy you on owning that cherokee,all aside it is a mighty imposing vehicle on the road!.....and it seems you've covered all the major automitive countries on ownership

and i'm glad to hear thet you are not a hater of honda's like our mutual friend

haha, only a couple on that list are my OWN... rest are/were parents' vehicles at various times.

as for hondas, i dunno about peri, but Devinda DOES genuinely dislike them, NSX aside... so much so that even when he sees a Honda that impresses him, you'll never catch him saying so!!

Edited March 14, 2009 by Supra_Natural

[Pericles]

i kw machang ppl hate to see riced up cars even me ...specially once which have snorkels,dinner table like spoilers & furt barrels which makes the dogs bark at night those r stuff which makes me puke too

our family used to own a factory eg8 and i'm planing to buy myself a ek3 hatch to do some performance mod's and keep it at home machang and i don't see anything bad on dressing up your car to satisfy your taste ... like you did and many other good folks around SL did ... and i would surely done the same if i had mine till all this mod's sean started ...

but this morons who drive in rice mobiles give all the rest who are proud to own civics a bad name ...

people like nigel,zakie,asanka,wahab's and alot more used to own and still own civics and are very proud of them ...

but these buggers from the mental hospital who drive around are giving the bad name to all the die hard honda lovers...

Ask Nigel if he is a die hard Honda lover. I dare you! He loves that Type R, and will clinically explain why it is a superior car, but he doesn't fall into that "Honda lover" category. He'll give you the unemotional "its the best bang for buck when modifying for racing".

Pila, on the other hand, will explain about its superiority, but get emotional about it. Despite being "turned"

[GTAm]

Hey I also list the same 7878 to my good list.BTW you the first owner of 7878.Think it changed hads thrice before making it to my stable.

MINIACE

No no we were not the 1st owner. Maybe the 3rd or so......can't remember. Where are you located? I think it was a gent from Dehiwela, Wella or Mount (I know I'm being vague here ) who bought the car from us..... Can't recall why we sold it

It was a good car but I guess I expected too much from it after the hooliganism of the Interplay. After the short throw gear change and the powerful acceleration, the BM seems sedate. But boy was it refined and well engineered. I recall how 3 years before this we nearly bought an E30. Was so crazy about the car. At the last moment the seller pulled out. So I HAD to buy one some day.

[GTAm]

GTAM .... just like that ..i never had enough money to buy that M3 which was next to my car when i went to the Car Sale....

Oh don't worry mate. Most of us here can't afford an M3 I'm sure.... Although I admire the M3, I'm sure even if I could afford one, I'll opt for a older Ferrari or 911

[GTAm]

so thats a so and so ride ... just does the job with out any complains

the toyata corolla 141 is the new family car but still i never had the chance to try it out surely it sucks ... nothing personal on toyota but i hated corolla's all my life and our family took the advantage of my Absence and bought one after a lot of brainwashing done by my uncle over the new honda CIVIC ...

As a drivers car the 141 is truly crap. When I saw so many permit cars invading our roads like locusts, I thought maybe I've been wrong about the Corolla. And also maybe it's only me who thinks it looks horrid.

So I arranged a test drive...... and discovered that I was wrong because indeed I was right after all It was crap to drive. Anyways the new Civic did not stir me much either. The engine is fab as ever, but the ride is crap to an extent I cannot believe. In fact the Kia Cerato rides better than the Honda! And steering feel is only slightly better than the Coro...

Best drive in that class - Impreza hatch (by a mile). Unfortunate looks though . Maz 3 s not bad either.... all round I mean.

[MasterDon]

haha, only a couple on that list are my OWN... rest are/were parents' vehicles at various times.

as for hondas, i dunno about peri, but Devinda DOES genuinely dislike them, NSX aside... so much so that even when he sees a Honda that impresses him, you'll never catch him saying so!!

LOL...you're not the only one riding his parents coat-tails for glory...me is very guilty of that crime

[GTAm]

Fiat 1100 - no reason,i just hate this car

Aiyo why? I hated them too (even without owning or driving one ) I drove a friend's 1100 upto Nuwara Eliya and back........ It was an experience. Started looking at them in a different light after that.... Even considered buying one... But then sanity prevailed

[GTAm]

on its day and in its element the Z is just down right fantastic

and it certainly has the ability to spice up even the most mundane of drives

(when it comes to performance cars, i can't help but have "the grass is greener on the other side" syndrome )

A clear sign that it's time to swap wheels ?

[MasterDon]

Aiyo why? I hated them too (even without owning or driving one ) I drove a friend's 1100 upto Nuwara Eliya and back........ It was an experience. Started looking at them in a different light after that.... Even considered buying one... But then sanity prevailed

LOL...this was the first car i started to restore,i did it as a project during a school holiday,i tried to do everything myself and it ended up as an abomination...and to this day it's still at the place where i left it,rotting away...it's hard to point out a reason but i cant stand that car

[Devinda_Z]

A clear sign that it's time to swap wheels ?

precisely

if you know any one who'd be interested in doing exactly that , tell them to give me a hollar

as always, AWD Flat 4 preferred!