Do all new vehicles suck..?

New car purchases are like voting for politicians...
Hold your nose and pick the least likely to screw you.

 

Come on man, your 88 Sierra does not get 19-23MPG(14,16,19). Not only that but you get 150 hp.
Anyway, yeah, regulation limits what vehicles can do. But you are getting a truck. Got get a sports car if you want something "fun". But yeah, that's the world we are in now.

 

The most fun I've had in years behind the wheel was in my 64 Corvair Turbo Monza Spyder Convertible running the mountain roads here in Southern Kentucky.
The second most fun was driving my 2009 RAV4 with the V-6. it would outrun a LOT of 1960s "Muscle Cars" from 0-60, 0-100, and had a higher top end then a lot of them, too. It's a shame Toyota took the 6 out of the 4th Gen RAVs.

 

Granted you are older than I by a few years but your points are correct. I too find the new vehicles to be uninspiring. Technology is great but after a while, it's just another thing that isn't really required for driving enjoyment. I have had a couple of full size 4 X 4s, SUVs, sports cars and prior to this I was driving a 328xi. Great handling and performance but it still lacked something to me. I found what I was looking for in a 2013 regular cab 4wd Tacoma with the 5 speed manual transmission. Very simple and has the fun factor I've been missing. Granted I will not win any races and it doesn't corner like my S2000, but it's still fun to me none the less, and that's all that matters to me. Now if only the regular cab could have been had with a v6 and a manual tranny. I imagine that would be a load of fun. Good luck.

 

Well, one of the big problems, is that you're trying to pull "fun" out of a truck -- aka a cargo/work vehicle.
I suggest you look at Subaru if you want to look at "fun" without breaking the bank.

Uh, drive by wire is NOT causing a slow throttle response. Since you're dealing with an automatic, the issue is more about how it wants to shift. These things are programmed to resist downshifting unless you really mean it. That means that you either need to put the pedal on the floor, or give it a moment to decide that it should downshift. Try driving a manual and you'll see what I mean.

Again, this is a problem with the transmission programming. Your engine makes more than enough power (torque = speed*power/5353), but the transmission needs to decide that its time to put torque through to the wheels.

 

Best fun behind the wheel I have ever had was a M520 Goer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M520_Goer

Loved to push trees over with it!

 

I owned a 2014 Nissan Juke SV AWD. It was less than 23K OTD. That car was AMAZING in town. It was super quick from 0-30 mph and turned on a dime. It even had Nissans thrust vectoring AWD and 50/50 torque AWD systems on it so it stuck to the road no matter what you did. It was like a go cart on steroids. Quite easily the most fun I've ever had with a car. I might go back some day to one as a commuter, this time in the NISMO trim.

 

At least we have an ECT PWR button. I could care less about gas mileage on a truck. It's still a bit better than my 2011.

 

If it was so much fun, why did you get rid of it at such an early age?

 

I needed a personal truck. I work in agriculture and the juke is a car.

 

I agree and after test driving three different '16 Tacoma's (one of which the sales guy was turning off the AC every time I approached a hill!), I changed my mind and ordered a '16 Pro 4x. Ten year old technology but has a strong motor that doesn't hunt gears, accelerates great, has just enough techno stuff for me and even still has a spin-on oil filter a tranny dip stick!

 

Interesting thread, op. I love the older cars a lot(still own a few good ones!), and part of the reason I bought my '14 Tacoma was its simple, proven, 10-year old design. I also considered a reg cab hemi ram 4x4, but couldn't get past its reliability, resale value, cyl-deactivation, or rotary shift knob. Another choice could be a '16 F150 5.0V8 RegCab 4x4??

 

Interesting that you pointed out the rotary shift knob. I have yet to find someone that says they like the automated shift knob system in any vehicle.

 

^^ Amen here's my "fun" car

 

Government regulations, safety, government regulations, fuel economy, government regulations, customer demand....oh, and government regulations. This all dictates the direction vehicle design...including all the "electronic stuff" modern vehicles have. It will not change.

 

BEAUTIFUL!! GTO's are my first love, and own a couple myself.

 

I agree with most everything posted here. But I'm not sure if it's as much of a gubment issue and a culture issue. There are getting to be less and less "car people". Cars have gone from fun to a mode of transportation, if that makes sense. Be happy toyota even offers a manual. Most vehicles are getting away from it. How many kids under 25 do you know that can drive a manual? It's like telling them about a home phone with a cord attached.

I'm not real big into the computer controlled bs. But it's a part of life anymore. Other than Bluetooth so I can tap my phone in, listen to sat. Radio instead of the god aweful crap that is broadcast, id give the rest of it back. That's why I bought my 09 gt500 over a newer one. Less computer nannys, driver assisted crap. My dad recently bought a new vette. He's always calling me telling me all the "cool things" his car does. I'm proud of him buying his dream retirement car, but I still have to tell him that's nice and all. But it sounds like he bought a new ipad, not a car.

End of the day I'd rather get my old cutlass out of the garage, get my 4 mpg in my environmental crushing 455. Make a couple prius' piss on them selves and remember what it was like to drive a car, not just measly be passenger in a car that could probably drive it's self.

And since we are sharing pics .

 

You bring some good and interesting points OP. And oftentimes I feel that way also. The vehicles now a days are not too gear head friendly.
One really could do some very expensive damage if you make a mistake for the lack of knowledge.
Technology is great for most ppl, but it does make everyone lazy and some driving skills will be lost to the generations to come.
Take ABS for instance.
When it first came out, I had no use for it because I knew how to pump my brakes so as not to lock the wheels and come to a complete stop in full control. In fact, I lost braking crossing railroad track when the vehicle landed and had to wait for the abs to get its chit straight and give me back my brakes lol!
But now with the addition of VSC, I can see its benefit as there’s no way I can apply breaking on just one or two wheels, control engine power, with the speed the ECM and ABS systems can, to control the vehicle.
Moreover, in the old vehicles, 45-55 mph was high speed so less tech was ok.
Now I get passed at 75mph like I was standing still in wet, slippery or dry conditions by all kinds of unskilled drivers.
Now also, lets look at airbags when they first came out.
I actually disconnected the first generation air bags on a '96 T-Bird as they were too dangerous IMO, and they either killed or injured lots of ppl due to the force of full deployment.
Now a days it’s a measured deployment by the weight of the person, and in measured force stages. I wouldn’t think of disconnecting them now.
The engines now have a lot more power now vs the old.
In the good old days 200 hp was a lot, and mpg were like 8-12 mpg. And you had to be skillful enough not to snap the driveshaft.
Now a days, 250 hp and 26 mpg is just adequate for most ppl on lighter vehicles because manufacturers use lockup torque convertors to keep driveshaft and pinions from snapping and still offer warranty on the drivetrain for 60-100k 5yr miles vs 12k 1yr miles of yesterdays.

So yeah, initially its a bummer, but once the new tech gets the bugs (hopefully) worked out, it becomes a benefit.

The FuN is after you learn the new tech and spend the tons of $$ it takes to have that FuN!
Enjoy, be safe and….Best of luck!

 

Yeah. I hate to say it but while I LOVE the look of the Mustang GT350 from the past I'd rather have the modern equivalent. It's simply a better car. What's cool and I could see becoming popular is jamming new powertrain components in older cars. Basically making modern cars underneath with more power and control while keeping the old simple look and interior.

On a side note though safety features now are pretty awesome. How many people used to walk away from collisions without major injuries. Look at now. Now it's more surprising when someone gets badly hurt in a car crash than if they don't.

 

While a new gt350 would beat the pants off if an old one. At a point the new ones make you feel disconneced. It's like the car would be driving the same if you were there or not. To me I'll take the primal feel of old muscle.

There are a lot of kits to swap an LSX into older cars (camero/chevelle) or a new 5.0 into a classic. Hell I saw a 34 ford street rod with a 5.4 iron block gt500 motor in her. A company in Illinois iirc takes wrecked 03/04 cobras, cut the body off and drop/mod 65/66 mustangs onto them. Old stlye with all new drive train interior etc. Pretty slick