1007 5544

Yes, but that is all you have owned. Most people moved past that, or have never driven that. Car weight has gone up because people demand leather instead of cloth, soundproofing on every surface (including under the bonnet), aircon, electric metal sunroofs instead of no sunroof or a glbutt one. Emissions gear has added weight too, a catalytic converter weighs a surprising ammount for it's size. People now don't want a radio cbuttette, they want CD, SatNav, and 15 speakers with multiple amplifiers in solid beefy mounts that don't boom or rattle or resonate when the volume is turned up. Alloy wheels add weight over steel in many cases, as to bigger more powerful brakes and wider tyres than you would have found on a world rally car 10-15 years ago.

I started off like that, small, economical, low powered, and becasue it was old, a little rattly (first two cars).

Then I bought the Saab, and discovered the benefits of a car that has a reasuring ammount of weight to it (like the clunk when you close the doors instead of a clang). You know the extra metal is there for a reason, much as I love the old rear engined skodas, I don't think I could go back to owning one as a daily driver, and it has nothing to do with lack of power, it would hav eto be a second car for club events. But tomorrow, I would go out and buy another Saab, because you felt so secure in it. Visibility forward was fantastic (including the very narrow but re-inforced A pillars and curved windscreen that helped remove a partial blindspot, the roomyness etc, and the way that in a headon accident, the bonnet was designed to slide back and up the windscreen surround to protect the cabin, which the engine moves back and down to avoid intruding into the leg space inside. Things like that don't get designed into small tinny cars. -- "Sorry Sir, the meatballs are Orf" The poster formerly known as Skodapilot.