First, another less than pleasant dream, this one from two days ago…I dreamt I had returned to a job from which I had been absent for awhile. The reasons for the absence were not made clear in the dream. I went to the office building, or what I thought was the office, only to find it was an enormous complex, filled with people I did not know. I did not recognize my surroundings and could not find “my” office. I was more bemused than angry, though. I was sure I was supposed to come back to work, but never did find my office.
I cannot remember a period in my life when I did not have dreams about being lost, about not being able to find what I am looking for. For years I had a recurring dream about my being (usually) unable to find my apartment. The theme was always the same: I lived in a new apartment building, but had to go through an older building to get to the one in which I lived. About nine of these dreams out of ten I could not find my apartment. For some reason, about every tenth dream I could find my apartment.
******************
I have to admit that I had one idea for this week’s Frugal Friday, but then changed my mind because I thought I had used the same idea before, just not with the catchy title. I was going to call this post Frugal Friday, Double-Digit Cylinder Edition. Then, I actually looked at the list of Frugal Friday Cars (yes, I have a list…it’s called OCD) and didn’t see any post where multiple cars had been shown with that theme. So, long way ’round, here is the Double-Digit Cylinder Edition of Frugal Friday.
On AutoTrader I did a nationwide search for all convertibles and coupes made since 1981 (that’s as far back as AutoTrader goes without using their “Classics” website), fewer than 100,000 miles and with a 10-cylinder or 12-cylinder engine. Oh, I capped the price at $40,000. Do I have to explain why I used that price?
The search yielded 187 cars, some of which were listed for under $10,000, although all of those were either Jaguar XJS 12-cylinder coupes or Mercedes-Benz CL 600 or SL 600 cars. The C-series Mercedes do nothing for me, even if they weren’t a German car. Actually, most of the cars from the search are either a Mercedes-Benz CL 600/SL 600, BMW M6, or a Jaguar XJS 12-cylinder.
For no reason in particular I decided to show this car; well, maybe I had one reason:
This is a 2000 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster with 48,000 miles listed for $37,995. Yes, I know the car has a V-10 with 450 HP. My question is: have you ever seen a worse-fitting top on a car? The tops for this generation Viper roadsters look like a very bad toupee. This particular car is not unique in that respect. Whenever I see one in an auction, televised or live, the ill-fitting top is all I can see. Sorry, Mopar fans, but that’s my opinion to which I am entitled even if it differs from yours.
How about this car?
This is a 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante, which is the name Aston uses for its convertibles. For an Aston it’s not a low-mileage car with about 61,000 miles; the dealer is asking $25,990.
That’s a BEAUTIFUL car (my wonderful wife would concur). The maintenance would be expensive, but I can’t think of too many cars, if any, that would be as cool to drive and to look at for that money.
You can buy a V-10 or V-12 car, even a convertible, without breaking the bank, at least initially. I would very much like to read your thoughts on inexpensive double-digit cylinder cars.
#FrugalFriday
#DreamsOfBeingLost
#2000DodgeViperSRT10Roadster
#2006AstonMartinDB9Volante
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.
Disaffected Musings 
Would love the Volante, but alas, I don’t want maintenance to put me in the poorhouse. I’d probably keep it in Arizona where the maintenance would be a long way from our home and very expensive.
LikeLike
Yes, sir, I’m sure every Aston is expensive to maintain. Still, it’s tempting to buy one, anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
About 15 years ago I had a similar thought, “I’ve never had a 12 cylinder car”. This thought was spurred by the sight of an 850 series BMW for sale in blue over white interior. I know a mechanic at a shop that specializes in German cars, so I asked him about some of the costs involved with basic and/or required maintenance.
I wish I had been wearing Depends at the time.
Given the layout of the Viper V-10, I would be more likely to go with it. Pushrods, basically a truck engine so not really expensive to maintain. But yes, the soft top would never be up. Uglier than homemade sin. Hard top looks good tho.
But thats just me. YMMV
LikeLike
I also think the BMW 840 and 850 are quite handsome. You were almost certainly not reading my first blog, hosted by the Evil Empire (Google), but my trials and tribulations with the Z4 I owned for 29 months were quite overwhelming. For me, BMW stands for “Bring More Wampum.” How about $2,600 to fix two transmission leaks?! (I bought the car used and out of warranty.) Maybe the child of Holocaust survivors should never own a German car. I never will again.
How long do you think it will be before Dodge (Chrysler) updates the Challenger and/or Charger? Every now and then one reads rumors about a rebirth of the Barracuda, potentially as a replacement for one of those cars.
LikeLike
Having owned BMW motorcycles since 1976, I’m familiar with the parts and repair costs for them. About 15 years ago I had to buy a starter for my 93 R100. Factory part was over $375, aftermarket was around $250. For a starter not much bigger than what’s on a riding lawn mower.
The prices given for just a tune up on that 850 was staggering, around $750 IIRC. To service/replace that cam drive belt (which based on the mileage was coming soon) would have been near $2,000.
I suspect it will be a while longer before any significant updates are done on the Challenger or Charger. Both are still selling well and given the possible merger of FCA and PSA, I just don’t see any money being allocated for a major update.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing, sir.
The first motorcycle I remember my father owning was a BMW. It seemed like a good bike and was shaft-driven, I believe. At one point, my father owned three motorcycles at once: the BMW, a Honda, and a Harley. Believe me, he couldn’t afford to own three bikes. He became a sort of born-again American, ditched the Bimmer and the Honda and rode Harleys until he was in a terrible accident in the early 1980s. I might have been the only kid in the city with two motorcycle helmets at the age of 10.
LikeLike
BMW motorcycles have long had a reputation for being a well made bike. Mileage in excess of 200,000 is not unusual before needing a rebuild. And other that an off road oriented bike introduced in the 90’s that was chain driven, they have always been shaft driven.
Over the years, I have owned multiple motorcycles at the same time. At one time I think I had 11 at the same time. These days, I’m down to “only” 5, one of which is the bike I bought in 1976. It’s a 1974 model and was rebuilt/restored 10 years ago when it had 283,000 miles.
Minor point; Bimmer is the nickname for the cars, for the bikes it’s been Beemer for as long as I can remember. There are however some folks that will nearly scream at someone who uses the “wrong” nickname.Some folks need a life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry for the Bimmer/Beemer faux pas. I know very little about motorcycles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, major props for the Depends line!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not a fan of convertibles because of the Arizona heat, they being too hard to cool down with the AC in the summer time. The Dodge Viper V-10 is an interesting design and would be more in the affordable class for me. Turning my body into a pretzel to fit into the car would put it in the do not buy category.. The only other modern double digit cylinder engine I am familiar with is Ford’s modular 6.8L V-10 but it is a truck engine.
Now Ford did make a V-12 for the Lincoly-Zephyr from 1932-1942 which was a typical Henry Ford design of that era, being an L-head or more commonly known as a flathead with the valves in the block. The Lincoln-Zephyr being Henry’s luxury car line, thanks to Edsel, ever the rebel to his father’s frugality. This is the engine used in the rock-and-roll song “The Hot Rod Lincoln”.
I have seen Jaguar’s V-12 transplanted into a 1932 Ford roadster hot rod and even a Ferrari V-12 in a 1932 Ford roadster called the Deucarrari, being a mashup of Deuce and Ferrari. There have even been a few custom racing engines built using Chevrolet V-8 components to make a V-16.
My favorite V-12 would have to be the 3.0L Gurney Westlake in Dan’s Eagle Mk1 in which he won the 1967 Belgium Gran Prix. This being another of Harry Westlake’s successful designs.
LikeLike
“My pappy said, ‘Son, you’re gonna drive me to drinkin’ if you don’t stop driving that Hot Rod Lincoln.'”
As you know, the last American production V-12 was used in the first postwar Lincoln Continentals, ending with the 1948 models. Lamborghini only makes double-digit cylinder cars, a V-10 in the Huracan and a V-12 in the Aventador. BMW had a V-10 it used circa 2005 for their M6 cars. My wonderful wife and I once rented a Mercedes SL600 (“600” means V-12) convertible while on vacation in Las Vegas. I have to admit it didn’t suck.
Cadillac made a fully functional V-16 concept car in 2003 with the cylinder deactivation technology in use today. I still think a market exists for a super-luxury car made in America by an American company. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
LikeLike
Yes, the 1948 Continental was the swan-song for the venerable L-head V-12.
The Mercedes SL600 did not “suck” mainly because it sucked sufficient air to make the horsepower.
Provided the rebound to the current panic-induced economic slowdown, produces sufficient cash flow, your idea of a American-made super-luxury car may come true. I think GM would be hard pressed to be the manufacturer though. I think they lack the imagination in certain divisions. Corvette is not lacking in imagination.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL on the use of “suck” in your comment.
One of the Big Three has to be the builder of a super-luxury make or it won’t fly. Electric cars are still only 2% of the American car market so Tesla is out.
Still think Cadillac is a natural since they’ve produced so many amazing concept cars in this century. It wouldn’t even have to be called a Cadillac a la Lexus and Toyota.
LikeLiked by 1 person