On Mon, 18 Aug 1997 08:01:22 -0700 Paul.Kile@Aerojet.com (KILE, PAUL D)
writes:
>There's been a lot of discussion about what cars have a "soul", even
>whether or not this is a correct concept. Well, I was seduced by the
>M**ta back in 1989 when it came out, and I bought one 6 months later.
>Suffice it to say that I sold it 5 years later, to partially finance
>my
>Factory MGB-GT V-8, and felt no remorse, for the M**ta has no soul...
>
>I think a car's "soul" is that indefinable quality that goads you into
>a
>full involvement with the car. With the V-8, I enjoy driving it,
>working on it, hunting down parts for it, planning the restoration,
>etc.
>With the M**ta, I enjoyed driving it at first, and looking at it, but
>thats all. Working on it was a chore, even changing the oil was an
>exercise in frustration. Cleaning it was no fun either, it just
>pointed
>out how lousy the paint was (I paid $16,000 for this?). As time went
>on, the M**ta even became boring to drive. Sure it handled and
>accelerated better than a B, but it did it without any of the right
>noises, just like any other Japanese sedan, I started taking it for
>granted. Even the M**ta Club didn't help, what fun is it where people
>don't talk about their latest malfunctions or weekend repairs?
>
>Sure, my wife regretted the sale of the M**ta, but she doesn't derive
>the same satisfaction from "just getting there" that I do. And with
>the
>V-8, she knows where I am all the time, out in the garage.
>
>But I still enjoy looking at M**tas as they drive by. Every other
>modern sports car, Z-3s and MGFs included, have too many little design
>fillips and excrescences stuck on, whereas the M**ta is clean and
>uncluttered. We won't even talk about the new Alfa Spyder, I saw one
>of
>those in the UK last month (a Chartreuse one!) and it was ugly as an
>old
>boot...
>
>Cheers, PK
NO, NO, NO. You can't say "ugly as an old boot". Somebody who is into
collecting old cowboy footwear will be offended, and that is tatamount to
being a racist.
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
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