Missing my ICE car. . .

[hellocar]

Personally I just love how smooth and quiet my model 3 is compared to the BMW I had before. Maybe I'd feel differently if I'd had a nice inline 6 instead of the 2L turbo 4, which wasn't the smoothest.

Overall the powerful, fluid & silent acceleration still hasn't gotten old after 3500 miles. I like how I can move quickly without attracting attention / making a lot of noise. For me, having a great car has always been for my own enjoyment, rather than showing off to the people around me when I'm driving.

 

[one2many]

I think most of you are having fond moments about BEER.
Change the brakes, 6 pack of beer. Change the clutch a case of beer
and some friends. The more you mess with performance, the more stuff
brakes, more beer. Of course there is wife factor, sorry dear I need to work on the
car today, more beer. We go out and open the stall so that other folks can see us
and come over for a beer. I learned shifting at 10, double clutching at 12. Pushing
cars to start them with dead batteries at 13. A motor rebuild, lots of beer.
I really like the idea of driving the 3 now. I still drink beer.

 

[holmgang]

was zum teufel...

 

[cucubits]

I don't buy into the "I miss maintenance" mock argument. Of course not comparing with old rust bucket projects but when put next to a newer ICE car, it's very hard to take Tesla's side.
Had my previous ICE for 3 years and I've had exactly zero issues. I have my Model S for 6 months now and I've been to the service center 3 times and had a mobile tech visit another 3 times.

 

[facedown]

I got rid of my ND Miata to get my 2020 Stealth Model 3. Obviously, they are apples to oranges regarding most all factors (power, convenience, size, etc). Still, I have to say that I vastly prefer the M3 and don't often miss my Miata. The amount of instantaneous power in the Tesla far outweighs the tactile advantages of the Miata for me.

When I got the M3 it was between that and the new Corvette. I can easily see how somebody leaving a truly powerful sports car could miss it relative to an M3. Even with that, I sure don't miss gas stations and general maintenance. If I had it to do over again I'd make the same choice.

 

[Dolemite]

Right!

Can't wait for FSD so that I can browse the internet while being passively shuffled down this road!

 

[Viper GTS]

I miss the *sugar* out of my Viper when the weather turns nice. I don't regret selling it, but I do miss it.

But - These worlds do not have to be at odds. I will never buy another ICE car as a daily driver. I will, however, own more ICE sports cars. Hopefully ones that have some electrification.

I miss manual transmissions but for every MT car that appeals to me (GT350, another Viper) there is something new and exciting coming (C8Z, GT500).

In the early 2000s when I was in my early 20s I thought I was missing the golden era of cars. We were seeing absurd power levels and I had no money. Now I'm closer than I care to admit to 40 and I have come to realize that there will always be fun cars They'll just be different than the ones I loved back then. With few exceptions (Viper, NSX) I would not touch anything from that era.

The big change for me is that the M3P makes everything but the absolutely glorious utterly pointless. My fun cars are now less about being the fastest car I own and more about fulfilling my need for mechanical mastery and the drama of IC.

 

[Gasaraki]

Words that have never been said.


Do you miss filling up with finite dinosaur fuel and then polluting the roads and air we all breathe with toxic carbon monoxide?


Because I don't.


And I only listen to music when I drive. It's a concert in my car all the time. Could care less for exhaust notes as they are the sound of pollution and try hards. I use to like exhausts but not no more. Can easily do without them. And I do!


Now I wouldn't mind a sound maker which emits futuristic whining sounds like the Taycan or the OG Fisker Karma or for the people that love their "exhaust notes" emit the sounds of a ferrari or lambo to troll

Most people do. Ask the people who coal roll. Those people are scum of the earth.

 

[jkoya]

I miss my Miata. Jinba ittai bitches.

Well said !! 人馬一体

I've never had the pleasure of driving a Miata with a manual transmission, but I used to drive a Mazda RX-2 rotary engine car...

 

[TigerNinety]

I love my Tesla, been looking forward to it for years. But I sympathize with OP. It's not the things that his ICE vehicle had that my Tesla should have (CarPlay, for example). And, I can't even say "it's the intangibles," because shifting through the gears/gates is REALLY tangible!

I grew up driving a 1974 MGB convertible, a wondrous deathtrap in more ways than one. But, boy, if you didn't feel connected to the road and that car in that car, I'm not sure you ever could.

As a teenager, I fell in love with the idea of Ferrarri's 512B Berlinetta Boxer, a 12-cylinder carbureted engine (just looking at that engine is...NS for this forum). One day, on a trip, I saw one on the Champs Elysees in Paris, and I almost lost it. Closer to college, an auto magazine writer described the sound of the Ferrari Testarossa engine as "ripping raw silk." And then, in my freshman year in college, some magazine brought a few classic Italian cars for a photo shoot on campus. They were beautiful to look at, but as I walked away, in the distance, I could hear that they started one of the engines. OMG....

We should all move into the EV era, it's a move "for all mankind." But, for those of us who had ICE experiences like the ones of my youth, I hope we'll find some tolerance for the occasional sensory...tryst.

 

[qingshan]

Yup same here. Model 3 is a great daily driver, but you can't beat a stick shift and the sounds of a good exhaust

Never had super car but a few that were super (Alpina '70 2002, Mitzu 300GT VR4, GSX, Subi '05 and '11 Sti (05 more fun and way better sound) - but my take is shifting is making love, dual clutch is getting l**d. So I get pro racers don't shift any more - they aren't there for fun.

I was able to have my Sti and a Volt (which I did 82% electric for 25K miles) but I wanted full electric so both went - not regretting it at all. I moved into an area 20 years ago that got popular, so for nice ice auto sounds I get my fix listening to my neighbors (Porsche, Lambo, McClaren, GTR, BMW M3) and all the folks on the way to run GMR. I'm good

 

[Msjulie]

I love my 3 but I do admit to missing, rarely luckily, rowing through the gears on a nice entrance ramp or on the twisties.. 3 is faster than any ICE car I've ever had so that helps a lot

 

[Bubbatech]

The appeal of the manual for me was the feeling of fine control. However, all I ever drove were putt-putt rice grinders.

 

[SammichLover]

The appeal of the manual for me was the feeling of fine control.

Yeah, that was part of the appeal (see the last paragraph for the other part). And that's why the Model 3 killed any nostalgic feeling for manual transmissions because I've got the fine control responsiveness in spades now.

"Rowing" up and down the gears does give you something to do but I find very adequate compensation for that by just driving faster and focusing more on shifting the weight around to ride closer to the edge of the friction circle.

Of course I'd already partially gotten over manual transmissions because of driving rough roads and outright off-roading a lot for work. Which commonly necessitated driving in spite of whatever weather and conditions, on top of having to navigate often to somewhere I'd never been before....while talking on the phone....and a huge legal property ownership map (or two) scrolled out in the cab. So things were plenty frantic without having to worry about shifting up and down. I still occasionally downshifted, to avoid braking and such, but mostly I was just working the accelerator, brake, and steering wheel like mad to keep from getting stuck and/or wrecked.

 

[RayK]

Well said !! 人馬一体
I've never had the pleasure of driving a Miata with a manual transmission, but I used to drive a Mazda RX-2 rotary engine car...

Except when the apex seal(s) blew out. I had a 1980 RX-7 which lasted great until I put a turbo on it. A rebuild then another blown seal convinced me to stop putting money into that hole.

 

[DonLafferty]

I sold a Volt and Leaf to buy my M3P+. I also own a 2005 Jaguar XKR 4.2L. I almost never drive the Jag but when it comes to looks the M3 can't touch it (IMHO). I also still love the sound of the V8 and the whine of the supercharger but if going quickly from point A to B the M3 will ALWAYS be the answer.

If I got rid of the Jag I would have to buy some ICE vehicle because I'm a "car guy" and that requires the ICE.

Sorry.

 

[JBailey895]

Lol, Ok, I guess I'm not alone, although I'm toying with the concept of "trading down" from my 3P+ to an SR and getting a stick/droptop. The Performance is irrefutably amazing, but the SR would be fine for around town, when I want to just "drive", I'd rather have the top down and row the gears. Ironically I bought the P to make sure I didn't have regrets, but now. . . I guess if I have to only have one car, the P is right, but for those Sunday drives, gah. Maybe I'll look up Turo or Hertz, ultimately it would be cheaper and doesn't occupy garage space.

 

[nvx1977]

I definitely miss shifting.

Hey, rather than emulating engine noises in EVs like some manufacturers are doing, they should have placebo controls like a stick and clutch pedal. That way we can go through the motions of shifting for the nostalgia! Holding the clutch down or shifting to neutral will cause the motor to hover between accel and regen. Letting go of clutch applies regen. it will feel just like engine braking!

I guess if any manufacturer was crazy enough to do this, they might as well keep the engine noises.

 

[WolverineAF]

I felt the same. I'd never replace the P3D so I bought a 2020 RAM 2500 also and put exhaust and a lift on it. Now my garage has polar opposites, a P3D+ and a lifted truck that gets 9mpg I got the performance for speed, not environmental reasons. I'm also in the market for a Lamborghini Gallardo for similar reasons.

 

[Guy V]

I'm sure I'm in a vast minority, and I love my 3P+, but I really miss my convertible V-8 stick shift Camaro. Against my better judgment, I sold it because wifey insisted I couldn't have both. I'm going through serious withdrawls of rowing through gears, dropping the top, the heated/ventilated seats, heads up display, android auto, magnetic ride control, rumble of the exhaust, etc. I still giggle when I floor the 3, but the senses aren't stimulated the same. I don't post this to anger anyone (this is a tough crowd and fiercely defensive of their cars), just venting I guess.

None of that stuff at all except the convertible, and I was never willing to put up with the negatives of that anyway, just stole the chance now and then of riding in someone else's.