On the dock

[Sloopy]

On the dock.

Will be arriving at the dealer on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by Sloopy

On the dock.

Will be arriving at the dealer on Tuesday.

Well, what say you.

[MITSU-EVO]

Originally Posted by Sloopy

On the dock.

Will be arriving at the dealer on Tuesday.

Damn, man! I could only wish!!!

[Sloopy]

Sorry for the length.

I brought the car home on Wednesday.

It is far and away the best car I have ever owned. As I had stated before, I shopped for over a year before I made my choice and used my S2000 as a guideline for what I wanted. It is important to note that the S had some suspension modifications that made the car handle considerably better than stock.

My criteria for selection was as follows:

1. The car had to retain the joy of driving that I get in the S2000. It needed to communicate well what it is doing and remain nimble.
2. It needed to ride better than the S, firm but smooth. The Ss ride is pretty harsh.
3. It needed to be faster than the S and have more pull at a lower RPM. I also wanted a car that was faster.
4. I wanted the car to be almost as good in tight turns. I had yet to drive anything that could beet the S in this department.
5. The car needed to be quieter while cruising.
6. It would also be nice to have something with a little luxury.
7. Last but not least, I wanted something that you don’t see every day on the street.

Following are a list of cars I had driven along with my thoughts on each.

· Porsche TT with X50 kit. Fastest car I have driven in acceleration. Almost as noisy as My S, 78 DB at 70 mph compared to 80 db for the S. It rides slightly better than the S and can take most turns as fast but can exit way fast. At constant 70 mph the drone from the engine is hard on your ears. After 20 miles on the freeway, my ears were feeling the effects.
· Porsche GT3. This car handles well but the ride is no better than my S. While this car is faster than the S it has to be driven hard to get the performance out of it. The torque at low rpm, bellow 3000 is not very good. It is every bit as loud as the S with maybe a little less drone than the TT.
· SL 500. This car is a real luxury ride but it doesn’t even come close to being what I would call a sports car. It is also the quietest of all the cars I had driven. It would probably be the best on long trips if you didn’t care about the driving. The weight in the nose keeps it from being nimble and it has very little feel or feedback to the driver. Kind of num.
· NSX. This car is very interesting. Quite fast in the turns and would keep up with most of the cars I have driven in the turns. Very quiet at cruse and would be very comfortable on a long trip. It doesn’t give as much pleasure while driving as the Porsche or the S. While this car is fairly fast, it has no more torque than the S and has to be wound up to get any performance out of it.
· Viper. Well what can I say? It is probably still the fastest car I have driven. Very fast, very maneuverable, very loud, very hard riding, very harsh, and very very rawwwww. Oh, and by the way, it has loads of torque. This would be a hoot for a day in the mountains but the wife would hate it on anything but a trip around the block.
· 03 Vanquish. Almost as fast as the fastest while providing true luxury. It is quite quiet on the road yet has the most amazing sound when pushed. This is far and away the best sounding car I have driven or heard. I think it sounds better than a Ferrari. The interior is quite luxurious and a long distant drive would be very enjoyable. While this was my favorite of everything I had driven at the time, I would have a hard time living with the transmission. It works well with the paddles but is horrible in traffic. The auto portion is ok on the freeway but wouldn’t be very good in town. As far as looks, I think it is the second best looking car I have ever seen. It is also the most expensive and I don’t feel the value is as good as the others.
· DB9.

This was my choice and after a few days and with 200+ miles I will state my opinions.

1. Driven easy this car is as nice as any car I have driven. It rides harder than the SL but is also just about as quiet. We took it to dinner the other night and had a very special evening. Never went over 45. It’s like taking a super model out for the evening. (Don’t forget to dress up). If I was going to ride I would prefer a RR but I can’t think of anything I would prefer driving. Put it in drive and the car just moves off with little attention. Kind of like a rheostat on an electric motor.
2. Pick up the pace and at about 3/10s you can start to feel the car. At this point you can start to guess that it is fairly capable when pushed.
3. At 5/10s the car is communicating very well with the driver and is probably the most fun way to dive this car. You can feel the weight change and the suspension working. The balance between the steering, throttle and brakes are better than any other car I have driven. At 5/10s it is faster than most cars on the road.
4. At 8/10s this car is down right scary. It is just about as fast as the Viper but with better feel and feedback. All while retaining the comfort of the SL. It sounds just about as good as the Vanquish when pushed but is just about as quiet as the SL at cruise. A real surprise is that it feels almost as nimble as the S2000. As the speed builds, and it dose this so so fast, the car stays balanced and smooth. It is as comforting at speed as sitting in any other luxury car while going easy as long as you keep your eyes shut. Open them and you get a rush like you were just shoved off a cliff. Death seams immanent.
5. Lastly, I personally think this is the best looking car on the road. Oh, and the attention. Don’t buy this car if you feel uncomfortable when people look at you.

In closing it is a multiple personality car and by far the best car I have ever owned. The final proof will be after a few years of ownership.

I take it that you like your car.

Congrats and good luck.

I just have one thing that is confusing me. How are you comparing all these cars to a $40,000 S2000?

Aren't we comparing apples and oranges?


______________________________________________

[Sloopy]

Yea, that may seem a little funny but what does the price of a car have to do with how it drives?

I think price is often dictated by performance, luxury, and exclusiveness. The engineering cost of the S2000 was probably equal to the DB9. The DB9 may be a little higher due to more complex systems. Honda uses a lot of their parts from other cars so total cost of production is lowered. The DB9 has many one of a kind parts. Honda also uses way less labor. The DB9 takes about 200 man-hours to build where the S2000 is probably less than 10. I would guess that Honda sold more S2000s during the first year than the total production run of the DB9, thus recapturing the startup cost is easier.

I really drive my cars and get a lot of enjoyment out of them. Most of this comes from feel. I relate feel to feed back in the wheel, the pedals and in the seat as transmitted through g force. I happen to like a car that is very close to neutral handling with maybe a slight tendency to push or under-steer.

To me a great handling car will allow the driver to change how a car goes through a turn by using different weight transfer techniques such at off throttle over-steer or trail braking. My S2000 was very well balanced and had an excellent suspension under it. In a constant radius turn with constant throttle the car would exhibit just a little under-steer and would go to over-steer just by letting off the throttle a little. It was very easy to steer with throttle alone once set in a turn. The DB9 has many of the same traits with increased performance.

The other issues are based on emotions, which are hard to quantify, and what ultimately dictates many if not most of our purchases. Many of these emotions are set by how we are treated by the manufacture, the dealers and their staff. Ferrari sells most of its cars based on this issue alone. I would guess that most drivers who purchase upper end cars never realize the full potential or performance of a car.

I’ll end by simply saying that the DB9 stirs my soul enough to justify the price.

Originally Posted by Sloopy

I’ll end by simply saying that the DB9 stirs my soul enough to justify the price.

Oh, I definitely feel the DB9 is worth every penny you have to pay for it.

I just think comparing it to the S2000 is an insult to everything that went into this great car.

In my opinion, they are not comparable, although you are the one that had driven both of them.

I am going on theory alone.

Anyway, I am glad you are enjoying your DB9. It is both a great and gorgeous car.

[Sloopy]

Originally Posted by LovinSL600

I just think comparing it to the S2000 is an insult to everything that went into this great car.
.

You are correct in thinking that there is no comparison in the two cars when they are sitting still or moving at the limits of the car.

The build quality of the DB9 is amazing. The most amazing things are what you don’t see. I was able to watch as my car went through dealer checks and saw some of the underside of the car. Little things like the way brake lines are attached every foot or so. Brackets are similar to what you would use in the aircraft industry. I don’t know what the car is capable of when pushed to the limits and will probably never know.

From a pure driving experience, however, the S2000 exceeds many of the most expensive cars in the world. I found it an excellent comparison vehicle to help select a car to fit my purposes. I would drive it to the dealers, drive a car I was thinking about and then drive the S back home. Most of the time I felt I was driving home in a more enjoyable (fun) car, even when the other cars were in excess of 100K.

The SL500 for example is an amazing car from and engineering standpoint. It delivers a very refined ride that is both capable and comfortable. It cannot be compared to the S2000 in any way except that they are both convertibles. The S2000 is raw with a choppy ride. Drive it at 80 and your ears will feel it after a short time in the seat. Go through a tight twisty section of road where 50 or 60 is very difficult to maintain however and the S will come out the other side first, and with bigger grin on my face. This is what mattered to me most. I wanted a car that would put a grin on my face just from the pleasure of driving.

It was very difficult to find a car that would be this much fun while being comfortable and refined at the same time. The DB9 came the closest.

They make a lot of different cars for different people with different personalities. What is enjoyable to me may be distasteful to others. Many people take the freeway. “I take the road less traveled.”

[Sloopy]

Originally Posted by LovinSL600

Oh, I definitely feel the DB9 is worth every penny you have to pay for it.

I just think comparing it to the S2000 is an insult to everything that went into this great car.

You are correct in thinking that there is no comparison in the two cars when they are sitting still or moving at the limits of the car.

The build quality of the DB9 is amazing. The most amazing things are what you don’t see. I was able to watch as my car went through dealer checks and saw some of the underside of the car. Little things like the way brake lines are attached every foot or so. Brackets are similar to what you would use in the aircraft industry. I don’t know what the car is capable of when pushed to the limits and will probably never know.

From a pure driving experience, however, the S2000 exceeds many of the most expensive cars in the world. I found it an excellent comparison vehicle to help select a car to fit my purposes. I would drive it to the dealer, drive a car I was thinking about and then drive the S back home. Most of the time I felt I was driving home in a more enjoyable (fun) car, even when the other cars were in excess of 100K.

The SL500 for example is an amazing car from and engineering standpoint. It delivers a very refined ride that is both capable and comfortable. It cannot be compared to the S2000 in any way except that they are both convertibles. The S2000 is raw with a choppy ride. Drive it at 80 and your ears will feel it after a short time in the seat. Go through a tight twisty section of road where 50 or 60 is very difficult to maintain however and the S will come out the other side first, and with bigger grin on my face. This is what mattered to me most. I wanted a car that would put a grin on my face just from the pleasure of driving.

It was very difficult to find a car that would be this much fun while being comfortable and refined at the same time. The DB9 came the closest. From my point of view I am paying the DB9 a true compliment.

They make a lot of different cars for different people with different personalities. What is enjoyable to me may be distasteful to others. Many people take the freeway. “I take the road less traveled.”

I loved that book.

Are you going to Calistoga on April 8th?

[Sloopy]

Yea, I can get a bit carried away.


What’s in Calistoga?

[MITSU-EVO]

Hey Sloop,

Can you do me a huge favor and post some pictures here if possible? It would be greatly appreciated as my eyes will most probably be wide open with festivity!