S2020

sounds good. CS for NSX. let's meet at a S2ki norcal event one of these days...
supposedly people on Fchat avoid test driving the 458 b/c they then "have to have one". Not sure if the wife is going to let me spend $250K on a toy.... yet.

berny2435

I bought a 458 the other day.. . On Grant Turismo 5

Someday, someday!

common folk, I think it's a pretty solid choice to pickup a Mid-engine car, S2000, MR2, Boxster, after they've lost most of their value and have some fun for a little while. It just makes sense. I got my S2000 fix for a while. I'll most likely be back for more once I own a home instead of rent one. It's actually a pretty practical car for a small roadster.

SpudRacer

Why Alfa? I've owned two (both bought new) and while I enjoyed them, they were not "must own" cars for me. They were a 1985 GTV6 and a 1988 Milano Quadrifoglio Verde. The Milano was the most memorable. It was chock full of cool stuff for its time. Rear transaxle, DeDion tube rear axle, rear inboard brakes, fuel injection, 2 spark plugs per cylinder, variable valve timing, picnic basket handle for parking brake.

smurf2k

renaultsport clio 200

never driven any car that *eager* to move. vw gti may have been the original hot hatch, fiesta st might be the modern hot hatch, but that clio is the genre taken to its most extreme form.

alfa romeo... i could live without having had that experience again

s4play

Sounds good, maybe on of these Fridays during the meets? My NSX is getting a new high flow header and HFC's so hopefully will be running soon My wife is not too keen on a $250k toy either with 2 kids in daycare that alone is an F-car ROFL!



No offense to the others but what's up with the Renault and Alfa's? Those cars are nothing but headaches when my dad had them and I don't see any of them qualify for this list of cars you need to own once! Might as well put the Gremlin in there or the Dolorean

mosesbotbol

You don't need to say anymore, your explanation says it all...

I can give you a list of people that had "nothing but headaches" with their Lamborghini's and Ferrari's. You are missing the whole point. Could be an age thing; are you under 40 years old?

I can say for Alfa, they pretty much invented the sports car, defined what a sports car is and was the first to bring many racing technologies to the mass consumer.

rob-2

From what countries perspective?

Triump, lotus and MG made cars in the 60s that I would suggest better defined a sports car. Though all mentioned weren't reliable.

mosesbotbol

Those three marques are following in Alfa's foot steps. Alfa is much older company with a lot more racing palmares than all three totaled together.

To put it in perspective, Ferrari was racing Alfas before he had his own company, similarly with Maserati. Think Nuvolari, Fangio... Alfa was making Hemi engines several decades before anyone in USA had even heard of it. Alfa's whole ethos has been geared to driver's cars. The aren't into mini-vans, trucks, etc... Everything is designed to for the active driving experience. Always has been. If they have delivered on that premise all time is another story...

tiger1964

Maybe add to the list a Berkeley, or a 1172cc sidevalve Lotus 7, or something else with such low power that you learn not to rely on it. YMMV.

Hard to overestimate Alfa's contribution! But let me add:

(A) Inventing the sports car -- all I've read (and I'm not old enough to have been there) cite four early cars -- The Vauxhall "Prince Henry", the Stutz Bearcat, the Hispano-Suiza "Alfonso" and the Mercer Raceabout -- as the earliest sports cars, all before WWI. I guess dates of introduction were close enough that it's hard to pick who was first.
(B) To be fair, the Alfas were always at a different price point than MG & Triumph.

termigni

how do you compare daycare payments to a ferrari? is the daycare for 2 kids charging you +$250k? I guess daycare in SF is that expensive.. in which case, I'll quit my daytime job, move to SF and watch your kids for $200k. Deal?