I doubt it will be closed. All around the globe there is always talk about what bases should/should not be closed. They recently just spent money to have certain bombs shipped to Lakenheath to stay for the long run.
That's what the USAF personnel said about Bentwaters..........but in the meantime there are quite a few Hummers about in the UK..........just right for our poxy roads..........
Things are quite different over here, in particular the quality of fuel and oil is dramatically better over here, so 10 - 20,000 mile oil change intervals are normal, as opposed to the 3 - 5000 miles you are used to. Audi BMW Mercedes and VW should all be excellent for reliability. If I were to put them in ascending order it would be merc, BMW, VW / Audi. I would suggest the reputation for these cars being maintenance headaches come down to American mechanics being used to less precise 'barn door' engineering. I have owned several American cars, the European stuff is undoubtedly in a different league for refinement, build quality and reliability.
But I would rather have a Mustang, Firebird, Corvette or a Camaro than any of the current crop of Euro or Asian / Oriental stuff.................
Own one for a while..... Too wide, too long, soggy to drive not that quick and not that reliable. The novelty wears off as quickly as bits fall off. The camaro I owned was better than the mustang, but it's still no comparison for a European car.
Same country same design ethos. The camaro was nice enough on a sunny day with t tops off, but even with a V8 my old celica would make an absolute monkey if it. A mate had an Lt1 Z28, and a standard MR2 another mate owned could utterly humiliate it point to point across mk. The other problem in the UK is that yanks are very prone to warping brakes, as they just aren't up to the job and get very hot on our roads
it's really hard to compare models like these to European cars. They are all purpose built cars. In handling you really can't compare a muscle car to some European models like Audis' S's, BMW's M models, or Merc's AMG's and such, plus these European models are a lot more money than the Camaro's and Mustang's. I find these hard to believe. Stock to stock, a V8 is going to be faster than an old Celica or MR2. Now maybe on a small size track yeah the Celica and MR2 are probably going to shine a little more.
Nah, in MK there is very little in it. The z28 could pull a little on straights (it's only about 1/2 second quicker to 60) but on the first roundabout the mr2 could brake much later and harder, was much more agile around it and the camaro was never able to pull it back on the way out. In Milton Keynes is a bit of a special case in this sort of thing as there is a roundabout every mile or so - it was an absolute walkover for the mr2. Think of mk as being like a very tight track and you are getting the idea. American market celicas a got a different engine to the euro / jap market version (the higher compression 2 liter couldn't run on American fuel) so where the us got a 120bhp 2.2 we got a much faster 170bhp 2 liter. In a car as light as a celica that's like adding 100bhp in a camaro. The two continents design their cars very differently as the driving conditions are very different. My camaro (mine was a carb thirdgen 305) was actually less powerful than the celica by 20bhp, but weighed 750kg more, so yeah, the celica was much quicker, even in a straight line. A friend had the LT1 Z28, it was only very slightly quicker than the MR2, and only in a straight line.
You will find quite a few 'pocket rockets' over here that weren't sold in the US, some of which are serious bits of kit. There is a version of the jetta built by Spanish manufacturer seat called the Toledo which got the turbo 20v engine from the TT, and the latest version of the Seat Leon FR can lap the nurburgring in 7 mins! US (especially California ) legislation prevented you from getting some the best European cars.
i recon in 10 years you will get linched for driving around in a v6-v8 give me a 1300 that has 150+bhp and still does 60+mpg all day long.
My old mans 'Vette had twin turbos and +500bhp. It was an absolute fucking animal. I loved that car. A bit too much throttle from a standing start could easily see you facing the wrong way in a microsecond and sometimes facing the right way after a full 360. German muscle cars are too technically brilliant. American muscle cars are visceral brutes for the insane and deranged. Thats everything a muscle car should be.
The main thing the OP needs to watch out for are that there are too many dealers and private individuals that are ready to rip him off........
