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Anyone who thinks that the contruction quality of his or her Z or M is great probably traded a Jensen Healey for it. And the J-H was his first car!
Owning my Z3C for 6 months has given me many of the same emotional experiences I've had with English cars over the years - so in that regard our cars are "outdated" - you ought to be able to get a $40k car that doesn't have a million little faults (and a few big ones). Repeated annoyances and multiple trips to the dealer for ineffective repairs and patronizing platitudes aren't new to me. You forget all that when the car's running right, the clutch pedal's not aqueaking, the sound system works, you've waxed off the water spots under the rear washer nozzle, and there aren't any dash lights in your face. (That's what gets MG owners off, too!)
Then some magazine moron dis's your baby in favor of the latest German or Asian rocket, claiming that your chassis is "outdated". Well, I read my entire car from stem to stern - there's no warning label that says "drive before 1/1/2001 to ensure freshness"!
As for progress, Car and Driver may find the Boxster to be the chassis du jour. So's the plastic body panelling, and it breaks when it's really cold outside and you tap it lightly! Progress, huh? Give Dr. Porsche a point for freeze-dried fenders.........maybe that's what wins comparison tests!?!?!?
Every car has its +s and -s. My Z is like my children. It lets me down every once in a while, and it sometimes demands attention when I'm trying to do something else - but I love it and I can't change it. So that's how it is.
My advice to KR3 and anyone else who doesn't know much about cars but loves them is to read fewer magazines and join a club so you can DO something with your car. Get with other active owners. Learn to change your oil and do other minor things. Go on tours and compare your feelings about handling with others. Raise your rear tire pressures by 3 pounds and go up a few on-ramps to see how it affects the feel (DO IT AT REASONABLE SPEEDS - DON'T BE A MORON!). Then lower the pressure by 3 and do the same thing.
Don't talk. DO! In the hour you spend reading Car and Driver, you can learn firsthand how tire pressure changes affect your car's handling. If you want to know about different suspension designs and how they feel to drive, go take some test drives. If you pull in with an M or Z, you'll be welcome at any car dealershp in North America and they'll fall over backwards to get you to test drive their cars. Take a high performance driving course - they're given at every major race track in the world.
I started checking this board because my coupe came with problems at delivery and I wanted to see how the rest of you fared. I must admit, it's great to be able to express my feelings about these things to people who respond appropriately and enhance my knowledge and enjoyment of the car. At 53, after 32 years of competition driving and 40 years of wrenching, I enjoy spending a few minutes at the keyboard every day or two. But if those of you with minimal knowledge of cars really want to learn, stop trading up to the next chassis, stop reading 18 magazines a week, check this board weekly instead of daily, and get some experience behind the wheel and/or under your car. That's how you "trade up" for real.
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