What kind of car do you drive?

[KevinBarrett]

Definition of terms
Manual: has a clutch pedal
Automatic: has "PRND" selections, possibly steering wheel mounted paddles or other "+/-" selector, no clutch pedal
Other: automated clutch, dual clutch, or sequential manual; not all paddle-shifters are created equal, still no clutch pedal

I should clarify, by "1st, 2nd, and 3rd car," I mean of the cars that you have right now, allowing for ownership up to 3 cars. It is not meant to discuss "your first car," necessarily.

This thread is not meant to be limited to the transmission, but I was mainly curious to learn what kind of cars photographers drive. We're all part gear-nuts in here, so what is the model? is it all wheel drive or front wheel drive? Is it old or new? Is it a sunny day car or a commuter? Four wheels or eighteen? Feel free to gush or criticize my wanton waste of server space.

[Javelin]

hrm... what have you got against trucks ?

[bakubo]

Here in Hawaii this is how I get around:



Or:

[bakubo]

I have done Rockford Metro Transit here in Rockford...The price was just raised to $2 a ride (walk on price) but all seniors now ride for free (Blagovich legislation)...This photograph was taken about 75 yards from my house.

Here on Oahu they raised the bus ticket price from $2 to $2.25 on July 1st and then it will go to $2.50 next year. The monthly pass went from $40 to $50. The senior pass (65 and over) stayed at $30 a year. They have been raising taxes and fees left and right here because they have big budget problems -- just a bit behind California, I guess. Of course, they have a state income tax too but, strangely, any kind of pension (government, military, corporate, social security, etc.) is untaxed. The income tax starts at the first dollar earned too. That means you have hard working relatively low income people paying income taxes right next to people making as much or more from pensions who don't pay a cent in income tax. Although Hawaii is very liberal you would be surprised at how regressive their tax and fee system is in many cases.

If you are 65 and get a pension then Hawaii is a great deal. Property taxes are quite low although those went up on July 1st too. Perversely, they went up a higher percentage for lower priced homes than higher priced homes though. Again, regressive.

[KevinBarrett]

I have a 2003 Mazda Protege5, manual transmission, nickname, "The Hrududu." My wife has a 2001 Mazda MX-5, also with a manual transmission, which I bought for her last month to purge the last automatic transmission from our family. She loves it.

[KevinBarrett]

hrm... what have you got against trucks ?

Nothing against "trucks," its just a simplication of terms. For what it's worth, the Dakar rally classifies almost any personal transportation as a "car" including the burly Hummer H3. What they call "trucks" are great hulking behemoths that could only be used for commercial purposes, and man are those a sight in rally dress!

[Javelin]

well in that case.

My main ride is an Explorer. my highway car is a crown vic. we have a Cherokee my wife dives. and of course my JaVelin which is just about to be dissasembled in the garage. all automatics except the Javelin which is a 4 speed. and all V8's

[David Kilpatrick]

We used to have loads of cars. Shirley had VW Golf Cabrios, then a Porsche. I had Merc estate, Land Rover Safari, turbocharger Subaru and all sorts of other stuff.

It's just a plain waste of money. We now have just one car, a little Merc A140. It will do 90+ mph down the motorway in perfect comfort, it has a roof which opens fully for the sun if we want, you can remove the back seats completely to fit stuff in it (though a 2.1m IKEA blind was a tight fit into the driver area). I used to buy a new car every 3 years, or lease them - along with vans and staff cars etc. It just ate money.

This one is six years old, it will do four more. Our son is the one leasing stuff and buying thing now, he has a huge Citroen C6 with leather interior and everything for business and just bought a 1960s Austin Healey as a project/hobby car. But he has owned in excess of 130 different cars between getting his driving licence (17th birthday - as early as you possibly could!) and now, he's 34 now. He also knows the history, pedigree, specifications and detail of almost every car made in the last 50 years anywhere in the world.

Cars are for him like cameras were for me at the same age - glad that I had a less expensive obsession. Still, I managed over time to progress from being on a motorcyle until I was 23 (didn't get my licence for cars until then), through three-wheel Reliant and Berkeley (no Morgan, too costly) and some odd stuff like a razoredge Karman Ghia to cars capable of sustaining over 140mp on the autobahn. There was this really weird item on Fox News last week, some police in Texas going mad about 'dangerous' driving in a chase - all of 90mph! Hell, kids do 90mp on the car park near us. 90mph isn't even moving. I find it difficult to keep even the little 1400cc Merc under 90mph on long runs. I forgot the satnav one day recently and there were none of the usual bleep warnings, I found I was doing over 100 and had not realised it, just cruising along...

David

[KevinBarrett]

...I would prefer an old-school jeep or a nice convertible. I would lose out on the great cargo space we have but I would gain in shooting opportunity.

The convertible (the MX-5) isn't quite as useful for photography as one might imagine. Sure, it's easy to shoot out of, but you're sitting so low that you can't shoot over anything (roadside fences, other cars, highway barriers, etc.). Ultimately, however, it's the cargo space. The trunk is shallow enough that I don't have to worry about my camera bag even turning over (which is kinda good, actually) but I seriously wonder how I'll make a road trip in it this fall. I have to break down my tripod every time it goes in or out, and if I intend to walk far from the car, putting up the top is one more step in the process, too.

That said, I love my (wife's) MX-5: low miles, well appointed, maintained and tuned-up by a retired aircraft engineer, it's been fitted with a Borla dual exhaust kit and Racingbeat cold air intake.

[Dr. Harout]

A couple of weeks ago I bought a brand new Toyota corolla after selling 2 of my cars: a 1991 Mercedes E190 2.3 and a 2003 Ford Focus SE 2.3. I still keep my truck, a 1996 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0
I bet Richard doesn't know anything about Volga gaz 24 which I owned previously (as some Japanese people said once: "not a tractor , still not a car yet"...

[Greg Beetham]

I'll enclose a little snap (of not much value) for illustration purposes, see if anyone can guess what type of transmission it has.
Greg

[KevinBarrett]

Greg, I might as soon guess that that thing has manual windshield wipers!

[Dr. Harout]

I'll enclose a little snap (of not much value) for illustration purposes, see if anyone can guess what type of transmission it has.
Greg

MTM I guess (that stands for Mass Turbo Matic... read it as you like )
Sorry Greg, couldn't resist.
BTW, is that a Land Rover or a Land Cruiser?

[bossel]

Greg, thats a tough one. But it looks like one of these old jeeps, built to last forever (or longer ) - no place for automatic gearbox and another point of failure!

[Greg Beetham]

Haw! thanks guys, Doc's on the money, an old Landcruiser. I've had it completely rebuilt at a 4X4 workshop (spent about $12000) not so long ago, so it's good for another 25 years...probably.
Greg

ps. Bossel does the tour go through where you are this year? seems like a good chance for a few shots.