End of Manual-Transmission Era - Honda Accord

[Peacoat]

The most fun car to drive I have ever had was a red 1958 MG-A. After I got the carburetor problems sorted, it was reliable. The one pictured below isn't my car, but, unfortunately, I have no pictures of mine. I had the engine and carburetors rebuilt and did some minor body work, along with a paint job. It was like a new car. Wish I had never sold it.

 

[GHT]

I haven't paid much attention to the Z3 in recent yrs but the early yrs didn't have much room or head clearance with the top up. They had a very long front end from the driver's perspective, and not much aft. Very reminiscent of driving a Triumph TR-3.

A TR3? I've got just the thing for you:
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C593248
To save you looking it up, £30,000 is about $38,250.

The most fun car to drive I have ever had was a red 1958 MG-A. After I got the carburetor problems sorted, it was reliable. The one pictured below isn't my car, but, unfortunately, I have no pictures of mine. I had the engine and carburetors rebuilt and did some minor body work, along with a paint job. It was like a new car. Wish I had never sold it.

You are in good company:

 

[belfastboy]

The most fun car to drive I have ever had was a red 1958 MG-A. After I got the carburetor problems sorted, it was reliable. The one pictured below isn't my car, but, unfortunately, I have no pictures of mine. I had the engine and carburetors rebuilt and did some minor body work, along with a paint job. It was like a new car. Wish I had never sold it.

View attachment 264904

I had a barn find, a mid 50's MGA that some kid had filled the gas tank with dirt. Offered the owner $50 and he wanted more....I wouldn't budge on my offer and it sat in the field rusting. To this day I regret not moving my offer upward and had the experience of restoring it. It was red too!

 

[St.Ignatz]

Most fun I had driving was my 79 Accord LX. Drove it into the ground in a mere ten years. First front wheel drive and never stuck in the snow. Next three vehicles were jeep cj and yj's because of the reliability. Bad battery you just park on a hill and pop the clutch to get you to the auto parts store.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yes, but South Korea & Japan makes the most reliable autos.

They can build motors, they can build cars, def.!

BUT, if I would ever get a car myself again, NEVER again with manual transmission. I never had a problem with MT, but this age is over! And I'm getting older and AT would surely by much more comfortable in the citys.
Double-clutch transmission or classic torque-converter. CVT is not more happening, I think. Automated gearbox still seems to be a "shoddy" thing, here.

AND I WANT MY REAL HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING BACK!!

 

[GHT]

My car does not have, in no particular order:
Power steering,
Multispeed wipers,
Screen washers,
Laminated screen,
Remote door locking.
Central locking,
Locking fuel cap,
Seat belts,
Electronic ignition,
Fuel injection,
On board computer,
Synchromesh gears,
Heated rear screen,
Monocoque body,
Enclosed headlamps,
And probably a lot more that doesn't immediately spring to mind.
So what does it have? Fun!

 

[tonyb]

The most fun car to drive I have ever had was a red 1958 MG-A. After I got the carburetor problems sorted, it was reliable. The one pictured below isn't my car, but, unfortunately, I have no pictures of mine. I had the engine and carburetors rebuilt and did some minor body work, along with a paint job. It was like a new car. Wish I had never sold it.

View attachment 264904

Had a ’64 MGB. Big fun to drive. Parking was a snap. And great visibility with the top down.

If I were to get another roadster (top-down two-seater) it would be something of more recent manufacture, unless a really great deal on a “classic” came along, either a low-mileage original (fat chance of that in a 50-plus-year-old car) or one already restored. Old cars aren’t quite the money pits old boats generally are, but rare is the old car owner who comes out money ahead on his restoration.

 

[tonyb]

Q: Why do the British not make computers?

A: They haven’t figured out how to make them leak oil.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Q: Why do the British not make computers?

A: They haven’t figured out how to make them leak oil.

Or put a pair of side-Draft SU carburetors on one.

 

[tonyb]

Many of us here clearly remember when British-made goods (bicycles, motor vehicles) had a certain cachet here in the colonies and “Made in Japan” was a warning.

Things change.

Fire away, friends, and please know that I love old cars, but whenever I hear someone say in regard to motor vehicles, “They don’t make them the way they used to,” I say, “Thank the god of your choice for that.” It’s not at all unusual for all but the worst newer cars to cover a quarter million miles on the original engine and transmission, and half a million miles is far from unheard of. (Lincoln Town Cars and Ford Crown Vics, now discontinued, routinely cover that kinda mileage.)

Where old cars had it over the later ones is that they were simpler and less expensive and major components could be had at the wrecking yard for relatively small money. I suspect that part of the reason getting a car and a license at age 16 isn’t the rite of passage it was for boys of my generation (and the ones immediately before it and after it) has more than a little to do with that. Cars just cost too much these days for every kid from humble circumstances to acquire one for less than a month’s pay. My first car set me back 65 bucks. My friends and I routinely bought engines and transmissions and rear ends at the boneyard and squeezed a few more months out of those beaters of ours.

 

[belfastboy]

Q: Why do the British not make computers?

A: They haven’t figured out how to make them leak oil.

My buddy has an older Jag....the list of deficiencies is lengthy.

 

[belfastboy]

Many of us here clearly remember when British-made goods (bicycles, motor vehicles) had a certain cachet here in the colonies and “Made in Japan” was a warning.

Things change.

Fire away, friends, and please know that I love old cars, but whenever I hear someone say in regard to motor vehicles, “They don’t make them the way they used to,” I say, “Thank the god of your choice for that.” It’s not at all unusual for all but the worst newer cars to cover a quarter million miles on the original engine and transmission, and half a million miles is far from unheard of. (Lincoln Town Cars and Ford Crown Vics, now discontinued, routinely cover that kinda mileage.)

Where old cars had it over the later ones is that they were simpler and less expensive and major components could be had at the wrecking yard for relatively small money. I suspect that part of the reason getting a car and a license at age 16 isn’t the rite of passage it was for boys of my generation (and the ones immediately before it and after it) has more than a little to do with that. Cars just cost too much these days for every kid from humble circumstances to acquire one for less than a month’s pay. My first car set me back 65 bucks. My friends and I routinely bought engines and transmissions and rear ends at the boneyard and squeezed a few more months out of those beaters of ours.

Yes, I do not pine for the old days. I had to learn to maintain my first cars as something was always amiss or out of whack in some manner. My last two vehicles a 2003 Honda Element, 185,000km just brakes, tires and oil changes. My current is a 10 year old Hyundai Sante Fe at 197,000km and same thing....nothing has gone wrong, nothing. I have not even bothered to change the spark plugs yet as my mileage has not changed at all.

 

[GHT]

Had a ’64 MGB. Big fun to drive. Parking was a snap. And great visibility with the top down.

If I were to get another roadster (top-down two-seater) it would be something of more recent manufacture, unless a really great deal on a “classic” came along, either a low-mileage original (fat chance of that in a 50-plus-year-old car) or one already restored. Old cars aren’t quite the money pits old boats generally are, but rare is the old car owner who comes out money ahead on his restoration.

Tony, one of the nick-names we give to old cars is, a banger. There's a TV show called, "Bangers & Cash." It features a family business that deal, mainly by auction, classic cars. in one episode they had three MGB's that had never been registered, they were still covered in their delivery, protective wax. Amazing or what?
As for the British car industry, where did go? Where it belonged, consigned to history. Here's a link to those MG's:
https://mathewsons.co.uk/auctions/auction-dates/vehicles/9370-march-auction-mg-bgt-jubilee

 

[Peacoat]

Had a ’64 MGB. Big fun to drive. Parking was a snap. And great visibility with the top down.

If I were to get another roadster (top-down two-seater) it would be something of more recent manufacture, unless a really great deal on a “classic” came along, either a low-mileage original (fat chance of that in a 50-plus-year-old car) or one already restored. Old cars aren’t quite the money pits old boats generally are, but rare is the old car owner who comes out money ahead on his restoration.

I''m selling my motorcycle so I need something fun to ride. Back in the day I lusted after the TR-3, but the MG-A came along first. This time I may hold out for an already restored TR-3.

 

[Zombie_61]

...My current is a 10 year old Hyundai Sante Fe at 197,000km and same thing....nothing has gone wrong, nothing. I have not even bothered to change the spark plugs yet as my mileage has not changed at all.

So, what you're saying is the odometer's broken?

 

[belfastboy]

So, what you're saying is the odometer's broken?

This Hyundai is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned with the Honda Element very close second. The cost of ownership the lowest, the reliability the highest. Hyundai has come a very long way since the mid 80's and the Pony. I am due for a new car and will likely give up the idea of finding a manual and buy another Sante Fe or Tucson. Sadly, at my age and my history of lengthy ownership, it will likely be the last one I buy.

 

[scottyrocks]

Many of us here clearly remember when British-made goods (bicycles, motor vehicles) had a certain cachet here in the colonies and “Made in Japan” was a warning.

Things change.

Fire away, friends, and please know that I love old cars, but whenever I hear someone say in regard to motor vehicles, “They don’t make them the way they used to,” I say, “Thank the god of your choice for that.” It’s not at all unusual for all but the worst newer cars to cover a quarter million miles on the original engine and transmission, and half a million miles is far from unheard of. (Lincoln Town Cars and Ford Crown Vics, now discontinued, routinely cover that kinda mileage.)

Where old cars had it over the later ones is that they were simpler and less expensive and major components could be had at the wrecking yard for relatively small money. I suspect that part of the reason getting a car and a license at age 16 isn’t the rite of passage it was for boys of my generation (and the ones immediately before it and after it) has more than a little to do with that. Cars just cost too much these days for every kid from humble circumstances to acquire one for less than a month’s pay. My first car set me back 65 bucks. My friends and I routinely bought engines and transmissions and rear ends at the boneyard and squeezed a few more months out of those beaters of ours.

My first car ('71 Corolla] cost me $750 in 1977. My daughter's first car ('04 Civic] cost $4995 in 2015. And mine needed less work to be roadworthy.

 

[belfastboy]

My first car ('71 Corolla] cost me $750 in 1977. My daughter's first car ('04 Civic] cost $4995 in 2015. And mine needed less work to be roadworthy.

A friend bought one of the first Japanese cars to hit the Canadian market in late 1960's. It was a chain driven Honda.....really a motorcycle with a crap steel body bolted to it. I imagine similar to the Deux Chevoix(sp?) It really was a horrible car as was the one that followed the Datsun 510 that rusted out as you watched. In 1958 my parents bought my first bike. They could not afford a Brit Raleigh so I got a Japanese Tiger brand.....I didn't really care...a bike was a bike.

 

[Zombie_61]

This Hyundai is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned with the Honda Element very close second. The cost of ownership the lowest, the reliability the highest. Hyundai has come a very long way since the mid 80's and the Pony...

We bought my wife a new Hyundai Excel (the 5-door hatchback version with the 5-speed manual transmission) back in 1988, and that turned out to be one heck of a car. Our mechanic called it a "five year disposable car", but we drove the heck out of that thing in the 10 years we owned it. The only "problem" we had with it was having to replace the clutch every 15K-20K miles. Other than that, all it wanted was the regular maintenance (oil change, tire rotation, etc.) and it just kept going. We finally sold it to a young lady who lived across the street with her parents and needed a reliable car to get her to college and back, and she put another 50K miles on it before it needed a new water pump.

 

[Downunder G Man]

Clutch every 15-20K miles ? Sounds like an "LA traffic" car maybe? Automatic is best in that daily scenario even in Australia.

My 2002 Suzuki Liana (Aerio in the US) has 300,000 K's , original clutch !

Sure it slips if given a bootful once moving , but it's just a "dog carrier" for the most part now , plus me to part time work.