Why is it such a lovable car?

[yeewiz]

See also the NYT "Love On Wheels" by CAITLIN MACY -

http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/specials/20010225mag-lovewheels.html

nice write-up that Caitlin piece, thanks for the link

[AndyS]

box on a box. Car you drew as a kid without knowing what one was. People are compelled to go faster to get next t you just to look. My wife came out of a Boys and Girls Club mtg the other night and there were a few younger guys that had been in the meeting gather around her car. They told her they didn't thing she would be that cool. Her car said it all!

[Mike Self]

would be driving one for nearly 41 years if it wasn't fun to drive?

mike

[dubois]

I don't know, I've driven cars with 3 or 4 times the horsepower, and they ain't got what the 02's have! I think it is a matter of balance, connectivity, simplicity and lightness. A happy revving M10 is what defines the 02's in my opinion. The 2300 lb unibody chassis doesn't hurt either. It seems to be just the right size too. Not too big or too small, it just feels right. Visibility and seating position are outstanding. Stock is great, with a great source of parts to just make it just a little better. I can imagine in my head driving this car, taking each turn on Quien Sabe Rd, or just any other road, and the results are the same: F U N.

[cj]

For me, it's stupid fun to drive , very reliable, stupid fun to drive, smog exempt in CA, and most of all, stupid fun to drive...

I think MJ covers it all. Did he mention stupid fun to drive!

Cris

[JohnW]

It's the original, no-bullshit sports sedan. It has everything you need and nothing you don't.

My daily driver is an e30 318is. It's a great car, puts the power to the rear wheels better than the 02 and I'm sure would turn faster lap and autocross times. But I just don't feel as involved when I drive it. It's a practical compromise, but at the end of the day I don't like driving the e30 as much.

[robspeed]

Giant Killer.

[Delia]

It does everything and it does it well. That's why, IMO it will never go out of style.

What made the 2002 so great in the late 60s and early 70s was the understated design PLUS German engineering and reliability.

There were cars that were comparable in performance like Alfa, but without the reliabilty. Sure, there were cheaper cars, like the Datsun 510, but they needed a bunch of mods to make them perform. Audi had little to offer, the Swedes had their Amazons and 142s with ribbon speedometers, twin SUs and beam axles.

The 2002 was a driver's car right off the showroom floor. Great driving position, a gear shift that fell into the palm of your hand, tall greenhouse airy cockpit and so much outward visibility it simply begged you to follow the next open road. And what a rush it was to squeeze the loud pedal and watch things go backward as the highway opened up in front of you. Instead of lifting for the corners, you hold back just enough to change down a gear and charge into the apex just hard enough to kick the tail out and eagerly anticipate the next turn, hand poised over the shift knob.

What always enthralled me about the 2002 has been the design. It's a study in Mid-Century modernism -- along with the principles of the Bauhaus School.

I could go on for days regarding the 2002 (1600-2) design, let me keep it short:

Buried within the seemingly simple design is a host of classical design elements dating back into antiquity. Think classical design and look for the golden rectangle and Fibonacci sequence -- they're everywhere -- from location of the front wheel in relation to the windscreen to the Hofmeister kink -- The DaVinci Code is not just a film. And it's a kinship we feel intuitively based on the design elements PLUS the engineering/manufacturing abilties of the Germans. (It's no wonder Hitler closed down the Bauhaus School in the 1930s.)

From the beltline upward, a tall inward-leaning green house rests upon a solid plinth -- like the Parthenon.

From the beltline downward, a proportion that is the same as from the beltline upward.

The forward angle of the nose and grill with its round eyes and smiling grill looks a bit like *cubist* animal straining at its leash.

The door section offers up a shape reminiscent of the cello.

It is the subtleties, too, that have kept me interested -- The beltline is not, as it may appear, a straight, flat plane -- the crisp creases that run front-to-back on the sides and roof -- the slightly curved side glass -- the frameless windows -- the clamshell hood and trunklid -- the "matching" round head and taillights.

The early paint colors seemed to have borrowed from The Arts and Crafts movement, perhaps William Morris' work.

The 02 series is as timeless as the automobile itself. As long a there are cars, there will be an '02.

D

[conkitchen]

Dam D,

I think I'm gettin misty eye'd.

[robspeed]

...animal straining at its leash.

or a clenched fist punching through the air, which is how i always saw mine. as "cute" as 02s are they are very tough and purposeful looking. and they are just that: they are indeed tough, and they are indeed purposeful. the thing i loved about mine the most was the total connection to the mechanicals underneath and around you. there is a purity of that purpose (driving fun) that you don't get with other cars, especially these days.

[PatAllen]

i have both extreme 02, one automatic and one modified to hell with turbo.

i love both of them to death.

The automatic is the smoothest car ive driven. the turbo is scary as hell.

the fun factor is impossible to recreate with any other car. and ive tried weird cars in my life, 2cv, Lancias, Alfas, porshes, saab (90, sonnet,...), mini,...name them.

02 to death !!

[davidboco]

CAITLIN MACY's piece is very well-wriiten - timeless really

I too googled her and emailed her to ask what's she's driving these days.

hope she sees this thread and responds.

But if she lives in NYC then a car might be forbotten - for a city I'd recommend a electric solex - now this is cool - see link

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/05/esolex_french_e/

Happy weekend

[jgerock]

Excellent thread!

I was reminding my wife last night that I've owned the tii for 3 years this month. She turned to me and said it has changed my life in a positive way.

Just thinking about that reminded me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful wife, great BMW-loving friends, the FAQ and the ability to wrench on my cars.

We also discussed how much time off work I'd have to take for the trip in April to Arkansas. She asked me: "Why would you drive all the way there just to drive your car?". I replied: "Because it's fun driving with other 2002 owners". I would have replied differently before the 02berfest with the 02 Group in NC last year. As Bill Engval says in his comedy act: "There's your sign".