Re: Honda V6

["Barton P. Chambers" <bchambers@atlantic.nos.noaa.gov>]

(ahem...)

> i test drove the new eclipse GSX with real intentions of buying it some day..
> after all, there is no more turbo quattro koop here (nor S2) and this was the
> closest thing there was on paper.  

Eliot, Fellow lovers of German metal;

Why not consider the Porsche 944 turbo (AKA, 951)?  While it is only *rear*
driven, prices are very low compared to value, build quality is very high,
and you get a full complement of curses/delights that one assocuates ownership
of any high end German product...

> i was sorely disappointed.  it has all the
> usual japanese trappings of user friendliness (which i like), but the brakes,
> the turbo lag, the skinny 6 inch wheels coupled with fat rubber all conspire
> to make the whole less than the sum of its parts.  it is a mass market
> economy car with the high performance bits added rather than the other way
> round.  my corrado g60 is lesser in terms of numbers, but far more
> satisfying to drive hard.  it is also every bit as reliable as any 
> japanese car.  

a well crafted summation of the differences.  Many folks have favorably compared
the Corrado G60 to the 944.  They always leave out one essential difference.
The 944 uses the very effective (Mitsubishi-patented) dual balance shafts to
dampen out the second order harmonic buzz that *will*, in time, make life 
miserable with any 4-cyl lacking a similar system.  The VR6 is better...

But I'm suggesting you look at the 951, a whole nother kettle of fish, as it 
were...

Cheers,

Bart Chambers,
Frau, Dora
'77 Feline Varmint, Felix, Gray
'86 Carrera Cabriolet, Indischrot
'87 Syncro (Stealth Quattro) Alpenweiss