Favorite Car Reviews

[DFB FGXR6]

Listen to that Busso V6! And to think the GM HF-V6 replaced that engine.

[DFB FGXR6]

GT3 Touring vs 911 S/T..........

Very few modern cars light my fire, but these two certainly do!

[Wretched]

Would love me a MST Escort.
I'd go this spec but with a series 1 Escort.

[anobserver]

For driving experience, what could be better than an air cooled Porsche, re-imagined by Singer?



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2MSyHu9bMPo

[DFB FGXR6]

While we are on old Porsche's................

Chris Harris and the Tuthill Porsche 911K, all 11,000 rpm of it..............




Chris Harris and the Porsche 911 Reimagined By Singer -



I love the harshness of the engine note at the top end on that car.

[DFB FGXR6]

Naturally aspirated V12 Aston's are a firm favorite of mine. So which of these two do you think I would rather have? One is considerably faster, one sounds better.....................

Vanquish -



DBS V12 Superleggera -

[DFB FGXR6]

Chevy Caprice PPV Review by Uncle Doug................



These cars were a strange concoction and only sold to police departments. The interior was based on the standard Commodore instead of the upmarket Statesman/Caprice. The front bumper was closer to the Commodore Omega instead of Statesman/Caprice. The door handles were unpainted black plastic, same for the fender vent. Vinyl flooring and unfinished door trims. No badging to keep the cost down to not advertise a car that the general public can't buy. They didn't even blank out buttons for the missing Sat Nav and other interior functions, why pay for that.

And its those last two aspects that sums up GM's view of Holden, not good enough to sell as an aspiration purchase, so they flogged them into fleets instead. Same happened with the later Chevy SS, no advertising and a high price to discourage sales.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

And its those last two aspects that sums up GM's view of Holden, not good enough to sell as an aspiration purchase, so they flogged them into fleets instead. Same happened with the later Chevy SS, no advertising and a high price to discourage sales.

That wasn't GM's view of Holden. GM US were hamstrung by the UAW (Union of Auto Workers) which limited the number of imported Holdens to "protect" their jobs.

Dr Terry

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

They didn't even blank out buttons for the missing Sat Nav and other interior functions, why pay for that.

All VE Commodores had the Sat Nav button regardless of whether that option was fitted or not.

Dr Terry

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

All VE Commodores had the Sat Nav button regardless of whether that option was fitted or not.

Dr Terry

How lazy.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Chevy Caprice PPV Review by Uncle Doug................



These cars were a strange concoction and only sold to police departments. The interior was based on the standard Commodore instead of the upmarket Statesman/Caprice. The front bumper was closer to the Commodore Omega instead of Statesman/Caprice. The door handles were unpainted black plastic, same for the fender vent. Vinyl flooring and unfinished door trims. No badging to keep the cost down to not advertise a car that the general public can't buy. They didn't even blank out buttons for the missing Sat Nav and other interior functions, why pay for that.

And its those last two aspects that sums up GM's view of Holden, not good enough to sell as an aspiration purchase, so they flogged them into fleets instead. Same happened with the later Chevy SS, no advertising and a high price to discourage sales.

I love those things, its like a sedan version of the VDJ79,

https://youtu.be/LvynJKOdT4g?si=pJBX44laMA17af7d&t=14

Here's an older review of one by 'Regular Car Reviews',

He mentions about issues getting parts for it, GM follows the same part number convention globally, but the part numbers themselves are unique to their markets.

You can't give a GM US part number to your local Holden dealership, and they can't give Holden part numbers to their local Chevrolet dealership, they have no reference to GM part numbers outside of their own markets - which is absolute clown show material if you ask me.

Had the same issue trying to get US GM stuff out of my local Holden dealership, even though they use the same ignition coil on Commodores, no dice with GM US part number.

[DFB FGXR6]

I'm so in love with this car, and this video distils numerous videos into one continues love song................



There are currently two M3 CSL's on Carsales at the moment. For a car which I would have thought to be bought and used sparingly, both of those have over 90,000 km's on the clock. $250,000 for a 21-year-old BMW with 90,000+ kms on the clock is very hard to justify, even if it's probably my favorite car sound ever.

This one presents as new -

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...22726838/?Cr=0

This one would need work and has been clearly well driven -

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...15096692/?Cr=1

[smoo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I'm so in love with this car, and this video distils numerous videos into one continues love song................



There are currently two M3 CSL's on Carsales at the moment. For a car which I would have thought to be bought and used sparingly, both of those have over 90,000 km's on the clock. $250,000 for a 21-year-old BMW with 90,000+ kms on the clock is very hard to justify, even if it's probably my favorite car sound ever.

This one presents as new -

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...22726838/?Cr=0

This one would need work and has been clearly well driven -

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...15096692/?Cr=1

Too bad they’re SMG only. That is a deal breaker for me. Ohh, and the stupid asking price.
Very hard justify when $60k will get a manual E46 M3. I’m leaning towards one of them as my next vehicle purchase.

Not really car reviews, but who can remember Best Motoring racing stock Jap and Euro cars from the 1990s and early 2000s. Good viewing.
I can remember downloading their videos as an early teen on dial up as MPEGs.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by smoo

Too bad they’re SMG only. That is a deal breaker for me. Ohh, and the stupid asking price.

Very hard justify when $60k will get a manual E46 M3. I’m leaning towards one of them as my next vehicle purchase.

To be honest, I think it suits them and the time period. Yeah, I would probably want a manual, and if I had the money to buy one, I would probably spend the money to have a manual conversion too.

I've looked at E46 M3's on and off over the years. Actually, I would probably go for the newer Z4M Roadster and have the CSL-style aftermarket carbon intake system fitted. No SMG offered on those cars either. Those Z4's have aged well in my opinion.

This one has the carbon intake..............



Jason Plato likened it to the AC Cobra................



..........a bit of a handful.....................

[smoo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

To be honest, I think it suits them and the time period. Yeah, I would probably want a manual, and if I had the money to buy one, I would probably spend the money to have a manual conversion too.

I've looked at E46 M3's on and off over the years. Actually, I would probably go for the newer Z4M Roadster and have the CSL-style aftermarket carbon intake system fitted. No SMG offered on those cars either. Those Z4's have aged well in my opinion.

This one has the carbon intake..............



Jason Plato likened it to the AC Cobra................



..........a bit of a handful.....................

Yeah not wrong, and like the E60 they copped flak when new due to the styling.
But looking at E60 M package cars and the M5 and the Z4 M, they don’t look 20 years old.
The Z4 M seems to be a bit of a forgotten and under rated M car. Although the asking prices don’t suggest that.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by smoo

Yeah not wrong, and like the E60 they copped flak when new due to the styling.
But looking at E60 M package cars and the M5 and the Z4 M, they don’t look 20 years old.
The Z4 M seems to be a bit of a forgotten and under rated M car. Although the asking prices don’t suggest that.

image

I remember that era so well, BMW copped it for the "flame surfacing", but eventually the worth of that styling direction made sense and began to appear across the car industry. For example, that double layer boot lid arrangement that first appeared on the E65 7-Series was so hated but eventually made its way onto countless other sedans, including the VF Commodore. And the heavy body sculpting was subtle when compared to the dogs breakfast of intersecting lines that is common now, the Hyundai Elantra/i30 in particular.





Then take a look at the bloated, overwrought stuff BMW are putting out now and I can't help thinking that the newer stuff won't age very well at all...................

[Tonz]

that 2nd Hyaundai (grey one) looks like a Lego construction

[nibble]

One of my all time favourites is Clarkson's review of the Ferrari 458

[smoo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I remember that era so well, BMW copped it for the "flame surfacing", but eventually the worth of that styling direction made sense and began to appear across the car industry. For example, that double layer boot lid arrangement that first appeared on the E65 7-Series was so hated but eventually made its way onto countless other sedans, including the VF Commodore. And the heavy body sculpting was subtle when compared to the dogs breakfast of intersecting lines that is common now, the Hyundai Elantra/i30 in particular.

image

image

Then take a look at the bloated, overwrought stuff BMW are putting out now and I can't help thinking that the newer stuff won't age very well at all...................

image

image

image

With the exception of maybe Mazda, the Jap/Korean makes have really lost the plot when it comes to aesthetics. Not that they were ground breaking in the first place, but they weren’t visually assaulting like they are now.
AU Falcon and Bangle BMWs have nothing on the POS of today.

[DFB FGXR6]

Considering how sketchy my Mustang is at speeds I won't mention here, I do wonder how the GT500 would feel at 290 kph?







I really love the generous blip of revs upon startup, especially cold starts. I also can here some Miami overtones, especially the induction and supercharger notes. Of course, that is natural considering the shared parentage.







I always like to remind the yanks who did a supercharged Coyote first.............. they don't like that very much.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Tonz

that 2nd Hyaundai (grey one) looks like a Lego construction

We've got an N Line Highlander. Looks are always subjective but i love the way it looks.

[DFB FGXR6]

Love this sound-off with a C63 and Mustang GT.................



I can't stand those turbo C63's, they sound the garbage. Sure, the pops and bangs from the exhaust are fun, but it just doesn't have the pure sound that the naturally aspirated Mustang has. I really don't know why people buy those turbo AMG's, and a reason why I died a little when Aston Martin started using the same 4.0 V8.

[mondeomatureguy]

Hi Guys,
iam one of these guys that have old car mags still after all these years and going thru one of them which i still love to read it tested two cars in 1978.

The first was a HZ GTS Holden 5 litre v8.
The second was a GXL Fairmont with a 5.8 lire V8.
Prices were for the GXL Fairmont was $10,135 and for the GTS Holden was $9,267. both hand manual gearboxs

The standing 0- 400m: Holden 16.8 falcon 16.3.
Top speed: Holden 187km/h and Ford 189km/h.

Then you go to 1979.
The falcon XD 5.8 and the Commodore SL/E 5. Litre.
Prices: Falcon XD 5.8 was $8,798 and the Commdore SL/E was $11,194.

they both had manual gearboxs.
Standing 0-400m: Falcon 15.8 and Holden 16.4.

Top Speed: The falcon was 4800 rpm and doing 195km/h. The falcon could have done faster as it was seen doing 5300rpm on the tacho coming back from a trip from the Flinders range.

The Holden was 5500 rpm and 202km/h was flat at that speed.

[DFB FGXR6]

Not necessarily a review, rather a retrospective.



This was filmed in 2018, two years after production ended so its interesting to hear Justin talk post development.

The good old Falcon seating position complaint was explained from the point that the steering column moved for the FG program, and a fixed hard point being the crash support beam that prohibited the column from moving sufficiently high enough. To change that beam would have been cost prohibitive, mainly from crash testing point of view.

The Bosch test engineers in Germany finding a slight calibration issue with the wide open upshifts in 5th gear....................something that would mean 240+ kph on a car with a speed limited set at 230 kph. Apparently, the Germans coded out the speed limiter and were running along the Autobahn in a right-hand drive "white XR6 police car" setting land speed records. I highly doubt a Sprint customer will ever discover that improvement in the full throttle 5th gear upshift. I love it!

The XR6 Sprint's carbon fiber intake ironically ended up being the cheapest solution to a problem they found in development. For short runs, the carbon fiber intake was cheaper than tooling up for a regular plastic part.

The above insider information is something I miss from having a local car industry. The Mustang has had a similar long running history like the Falcon did, and when you listen to engineers who work on the Mustang program talk you can see the pride in working on an icon. But it's just not the same. While the Mustang eventually became a better car than the Falcon, for a loooong time that wasn't necessarily the case and the Falcon punched well above its development budget would suggest.

Oh how I wish I could go down and order a new Falcon right now. Waiting two years for a Mustang sucks and makes the one month I waited for my FG seem like a blink of the eye. We have lost so much.

[FTE217]

Well having the TS50 and Sprint in my stable I can only thank my lucky stars in the position doing so.
My luv for the Falcon has never wained to this day thankful I can take em out for a workout and relive some of the best car times in my aussie life.

Getting back ontop Wheels mag, I always rated Motor the far better mag for Wheels COTY always triggered my dislike towards it.
Fancy the P76 getting the gong and before a Reno12.
Then I thought WTF the damn Camira and a Nimbus couple of years later.

I know the carpark wasn't as diverse as the modern times but come on, those above were a joke.

[DFB FGXR6]

Tiff Needell and Paul Woodman drive every BMW M5................



My favorites were the V8 E39 and V10 E60, the E28 and E34 were before my time, the F10 and F90 are not M-cars in my opinion.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Tiff Needell and Paul Woodman drive every BMW M5................



My favorites were the V8 E39 and V10 E60, the E28 and E34 were before my time, the F10 and F90 are not M-cars in my opinion.

Yeah I was tempted to turn it off after the E60.
But how good do those E39s look, spot on from every angle inside and out.
Don’t want to be pedantic, but the E12 M535 was the first M sedan. Pretty much an M5 before they started using the badge.

https://www.bmw-m.com/en/topics/maga...m535i-e12.html

I’m not into exotics but this channel is worth a look. I’ve binged on all of his videos.
Hosted by the knowledgeable workshop owner.

[DFB FGXR6]

Matt Farah driving a mint E39 M5.



I love the balance of size and power this car has. I'm also a sucker for that engine, and I guess that's why I love my Mustang so much, high revving, naturally aspirated, induction note, exhaust note..............what's not to love.

As much as I hate to say it, the closest thing to the E39 M5 you could buy after its run would be a VE or VF Commodore SS. Naturally aspirated V8, 6-speed manual, well sorted RWD chassis, great steering. Which is no coincidence, Holden (and Ford with the BA) benchmarked the E39 5-Series in general for the VE Commodore.

[DFB FGXR6]

Another E39 M5, this time The Next Big Thing with Magnus Walker...............

[NX74205]

I have been remiss in not mentioning JayEmm on Cars. His channel on YouTube is one of my favourites, and at only 355K subscribers I think he's very much underrated. His reviews are very detailed. I think he's one of the best.