Depressed Geo Owner

why do i get so depressed by driving my car, everytime i see another corolla or prizm around i get excited maybe thinking it will be someone like me making it kinda [higher performance], but its always like a chick who hates my car cause its loud or some or grandma, depressing night, taking the geo for a spin to annoy more people by reving and shooting fireballs

why do i get so depressed by driving my car, everytime i see another corolla or prizm around i get excited maybe thinking it will be someone like me making it kinda badass, but its always like a chick who hates my car cause its loud or some or grandma, depressing night, taking the geo for a spin to piss off more people by reving and shooting fireballs

My Corolla isn't modified in any serious way. I have a hood protector (the vinyl kind, not the plastic bug shield) and a modified sunroof. However, I'm a performance oriented driver and I will squeeze every last ounce of performance out of anything I drive. Due to this, I drive faster and brake harder and am willing to pull more g's than others are. So, I often find myself getting wired looks on the highway when I pass a BMW or Mustang GT going 20 mph faster than they are. I call it the "but that's a Corolla and I'm in a _______), I thought my car was faster than a Corolla" look. While it is true that my car is much slower than almost everything I pass, it maintain it isn't the car, but the driver. I'm personally not into street racing or ricing or being a menace on the road, but I can sympathize with people who feel like they're driving with a bunch of people who don't care about the performance aspects of their cars.

I will say this though, the Corolla/Prizm is supposed to be an economy car and it's mostly driven by people who want something that starts everytime and gets them from A to B. The typical Corolla driver isn't likely to understand what you've done to your car and doesn't think making anything "badass" is worth it and may even think it is stupid. I'm not one of those people, but like I said, most Corolla/Prizm drivers are.

I frequently get the feeling that I got the wrong car - a dull, white auto corolla sedan. Being a younger male, maybe a mazda3/323 or subaru impreza/liberty (legacy), or mitsubishi lancer VRX or even a mitsubishi magna would have been more appropriate for my image and the way I see myself. I don't see other young guys driving white '05 corollas. They are more likely to be in a rice rocket or a large aussie ute or sedan (ford or holden)

However, I do console myself with the following:

1. With toyota's advanced design and engineering, it is far more likely that my corolla will be on the road than an aussie dungbox at the end of the warranty period. I get to drive mine everyday, its not in the shop for days on end.

2. With VVTi, sophisticated safety systems, coil-at-plug-ignition, precise build quality and focus on core engineering and quality the corolla appeals to a male such as myself with a 125 IQ than any striped and bewinged taxi with a fart-box strapped on ever will. I mean, seriously, the Gen4 V8 still uses pushrods!!! My little japanese ninja machine gets 55 kw/litre!!! this is bmw territory...

so chins up, at least you are driving something that does what is designed to do - the ultimate goal of any engineer...

well its not that im a street racer, i only race on track, but even daily driving my car is back firing and all and i leave my numbers on, always sucks taht everyone thinks they are fast, i wont race straight lines, but get them on a on ramp and i dont car what they drive i will keep up, be it sti's or s2k's

not so depressed, once in a while you can get a guy to snip with you on some on ramps, its even better when its a superchraged cobra, lets just say he was very pissed that he couldnt keep up with a geo

I gotta admit. After 2 years of driving my 98 corolla, I'm getting a little bored. I love the corolla for what it offers (ie, the practicallity aspect of it). However, being a 20 yr old CSUF student, something with more umph would be great! I just know that in the long run, maybe a few years, I'll regret it due to increased gas consumption.

I also gotta say that for a small gas miser vehicle, I'm still able to take on older corollas and majority of civics. In accelleration of course. The utility of the vehicle is almost surreal with what you can put in the corolla. The folding seats give near unprecedented space for storage, hell, your car is practically a little pickup truck. I've been able to fit my entire corner desk in there. I was able to fit a twin size mattress in there, plus space in the passenger seat and the foot space behind the passenger/driver seat.

All of my friends have a better car than I do. Like a passat or solara or an SUV (if you consider that better, but I dont). The passat was able to get 0-60 in 6.5s. That must be really fun and I can stay stimulated driving something like that for a few years. However, at 20-23mpg, my friend is not liking his passat anymore. What good is driving something if you cannot afford to drive it anywhere because it chugs gas?

With that said, all of my friends actually like my car better because its light, I can make a u-eee in 2.5 lanes<-awsome turn radius, and the pickup in first and second gear is decievingly quick. One of my other friends that drives a 97 maxima, same specs as the passat, kinda looks down on corollas. What many people don't realize is how quick the pickup is in the first few gears of the corolla. In fact nearly nobody that has driven a corolla knows how peppy it is at low speeds. Ever since I mentioned that I can get 0-60 in 8s, he listened. He respects it that much more because his impression of it was a pretty low standard to begin with. Mind you 0-60 in 8s is not that bad and realistically, that's all anybody really NEEDS. But everyone wants that number lower but that is a WANT.

I'm not really a racer, every once in a while its fun but, thats rare to about 1nce every month or 2. To me, the corolla has the most genius minds working behind it. To me, true engineering is how efficient you can make an engine and still keep the hp. Anybody can make more hp out of an engine, that part is simple. Its like sex, anybody can get sex, even the ugly guys can get sex. If one really wants sex, they'll just pay, either way, sex is always available. Sure sex is fun this that and the other. But what defines a true person isn't the sex, but its loyalty and care. Wow, this is a retarded analogy but it works. Likewise for a corolla, a true car through and through. Its quality in its class and some classes above it. I know, I would rather drive a corolla than a pontiac grand piece ** ****. Hell, I can out accellerate them and last longer.

My friend presented a website to me and I was comparing my gf's 94 grand piece to a 94 corolla. The Grand piece was falling apart at 150k miles (alternator broke, trans broke, pwr windows stopped, door handles didn't work, trunk was leaking, engine mounts needed r&r, starter needed r&r, 2 pages of crap) But it lives up to its name well, the grand piece. the 94 Corolla DX (r&r tranny at 350k, r&r alternator at 350k, change clutch, thats it) Even back in the 7th gen corollas, the guys at toyota knew what they were doing. I can only imagine how the 9th gen corollas could be. Toyota just refines their drive train and powertrain more and more.

not so depressed, once in a while you can get a guy to snip with you on some on ramps, its even better when its a superchraged cobra, lets just say he was very pissed that he couldnt keep up with a geo

not so depressed, once in a while you can get a guy to snip with you on some on ramps, its even better when its a superchraged cobra, lets just say he was very pissed that he couldnt keep up with a geo

I'm sorry, either he wasn't racing or thats bullsnip.

 

I've got to agree with Bitter.

Most likely he saw your car and thought that it wouldn't be any fun to try and take you and didn't try. I've ridden in a S/C Cobra and it can put a C4 Corvette in last place even with a mediocre driver behind the wheel of the Cobra. Acceleration and handling are the Cobras claim to fame. A 4.6L 390 hp 32v V8 in a Mustang is mighty. Coupled with an IRS, a quicker steering ratio, and stiffer struts and spring, plus large wheels sporting ZR rated summer tires, you've got a handler. SVT does some amazing stuff with rather ordinary cars, more amazing than what M does at BMW or AMG does at Benz, and there is no way if the Cobra driver tried that you out ran or handled him, no way.

isnt bullsnip, if you take the simply fact that i have a pretty hardcore suspension set up compared to a cobra you would agree, now cars that i have to work hard at beating "in a corner" are sti's and slightly modded s2ks, if you new the potential of your corolla you might understand, its not about power, look at the ae86 most underpowered car out there and it still beats like the r34 skyline, i like how there is no faith, should i send you all my solo 2 times compared to other cars, yes the cobra was trying and no he didnt beat me, says its bullsnip all you like, but until you know what the car and better yet someone who can drive the car you wont know what it can do, ive only been beaten on an on ramp by my long time friend and fellow racer in his 02 wrx fully modded with JIC suspension on the same tires i am on, so you non races, have a hard time believing it but it did happen, the car is a beast even with its 105 hp rating, by the way svt isnt all that great, they do some pretty cool stuff with lame cars, but M and amg both are awesome cars for higherspeed cruising, go drive them somemore before you make that bold statement

isnt bullsnip, if you take the simply fact that i have a pretty hardcore suspension set up compared to a cobra you would agree, now cars that i have to work hard at beating "in a corner" are sti's and slightly modded s2ks, if you new the potential of your corolla you might understand, its not about power, look at the ae86 most underpowered car out there and it still beats like the r34 skyline, i like how there is no faith, should i send you all my solo 2 times compared to other cars, yes the cobra was trying and no he didnt beat me, says its bullsnip all you like, but until you know what the car and better yet someone who can drive the car you wont know what it can do, ive only been beaten on an on ramp by my long time friend and fellow racer in his 02 wrx fully modded with JIC suspension on the same tires i am on, so you non races, have a hard time believing it but it did happen, the car is a beast even with its 105 hp rating, by the way svt isnt all that great, they do some pretty cool stuff with lame cars, but M and amg both are awesome cars for higherspeed cruising, go drive them somemore before you make that bold statement

I didn't say AMG and M were crappy cars and I didn't say SVT cars were better, I said it was more impressive that SVT could do what they did than M or AMG. M and AMG are starting out with state of the art, autobahn cruising cars. SVT was starting out with Contours and Mustangs. Raise a Contour to a similar HP/L figure and a greater skidpad number on a FWD car than a RWD BMW M3 and I'd say that is more impressive than BMW making a 330i have a slightly greater skidpad number and a bit faster acceleration. Start with crap and turn it into something to respect> starting out with top of the line and making it faster.

k cool, just making sure, but still dont ever second guess that a geo with a modded suspension could beat a sc cobra, doesnt matter about power, conditions favor me, better tires, stiffer car, lighter weight

your geo is not stiffer than that cobra, its a wet noodle compared to it. thats like saying a midget is going to beat hulk hogan because the midget can run around between his legs.

that cobra heard you coming and said "oh man not another one" and just let you go past. maybe he did give a little throttle just messing around, but unlike you he decided to be a responsible driver and NOT RACE ON A FREEWAY OFFRAMP!

your geo is not stiffer than that cobra, its a wet noodle compared to it. thats like saying a midget is going to beat hulk hogan because the midget can run around between his legs.

that cobra heard you coming and said "oh man not another one" and just let you go past. maybe he did give a little throttle just messing around, but unlike you he decided to be a responsible driver and NOT RACE ON A FREEWAY OFFRAMP!

The light turned red and the retard who ran it was going to fast that if he broke, he would be in the middle of the intersection. So he drifted off the offramp and nearly T-boned my a**. 95afe, if that was you.....jk. There's a time and place for driving like retards, its either at a track, or on a pc.

ok well when you have 9k springs all the way around im sure im stiffer than a cobra, trust me. and when the on ramps clear im gonna go for it cause all i can do is go off the edge and hurt myself, cobra was full on it and he couldnt keep it in a decent line, i know how to race, i won my division class for the year. so please kick me off this fourm for saying this, snip you guys who have no idea what you are talking about, how many of you race your corolla? prolly none. you wouldnt understand the true limits unless you set up your car and raced it, my car is not stock by any means , thats why i can beat a sc cobra, snip off go act like you guys now snip on here, only one i can respect is bikeman, the rest of you old timers dont know snip, come out to my regionly autocross (FWR) beat me and ill pay for your trip expenses and autocross, this will prolly be my last past as i am prolly going to be kicked off, peace

you know sooooooo little....

ok well when you have 9k springs all the way around im sure im stiffer than a cobra, trust me. and when the on ramps clear im gonna go for it cause all i can do is go off the edge and hurt myself, cobra was full on it and he couldnt keep it in a decent line, i know how to race, i won my division class for the year. so please kick me off this fourm for saying this, snip you guys who have no idea what you are talking about, how many of you race your corolla? prolly none. you wouldnt understand the true limits unless you set up your car and raced it, my car is not stock by any means , thats why i can beat a sc cobra, snip off go act like you guys now snip on here, only one i can respect is bikeman, the rest of you old timers dont know snip, come out to my regionly autocross (FWR) beat me and ill pay for your trip expenses and autocross, this will prolly be my last past as i am prolly going to be kicked off, peace

Springs dont make your car stiffer FYI. Strut bars and sway bars decrease body twisting, however, springs do not. Perhaps if you took a look at www.carbibles.com it will help you out. I think if you displayed a video of your race it will help sway nonbelievers into believing you, until then, I don't think you have too much leverage into persuading us to believe.

IMO, if you were able to beat your better opponents I would think its because you wouldn't let them pass or, they didn't give it their best. I say, if your that good (ie, able to take on sti's), you should compete in WRC! If your as good as you say you are, you should get some rep through that. Just an idea though. Your opponents have a much better power to wieght ratio. Even the sti's have that 4wd working for them and works wonders on on racing and handling. Don't take what everybody says too seriously, its like what bitter wrote, its like a midget able to take on hulk hogan. Its very hard to believe what you claim. If you were the other way around, you'd be reacting the same way. I think your taking what everybody writes way too seriously. If your gonna boast, back it up........hella firmly I might add. Springs won't really cut it.

O yea, for any of you that was wondering about how my hubcaps turned out, they look great! My rolla is the only one that has black emblems on its hubcaps. They seriously look factory made with the aluminum plate spraypaint and the black toyota emblem. I put 3 coats of clear coat and so far, no flaking or cracking!

ok well when you have 9k springs all the way around im sure im stiffer than a cobra, trust me. and when the on ramps clear im gonna go for it cause all i can do is go off the edge and hurt myself, cobra was full on it and he couldnt keep it in a decent line, i know how to race, i won my division class for the year. so please kick me off this fourm for saying this, snip you guys who have no idea what you are talking about, how many of you race your corolla? prolly none. you wouldnt understand the true limits unless you set up your car and raced it, my car is not stock by any means , thats why i can beat a sc cobra, snip off go act like you guys now snip on here, only one i can respect is bikeman, the rest of you old timers dont know snip, come out to my regionly autocross (FWR) beat me and ill pay for your trip expenses and autocross, this will prolly be my last past as i am prolly going to be kicked off, peace

It's true - I never say I know it all or can outrace anyone.

I just drive stock 7th generation Corollas, because I like the way they look.

Personally I don't think it is wise to drive fast or race on public roads.

Ocassionally I drive fast and it gets scary ( I just hate "left laners" - people who only drive in the left lane, regardless of the speed).

Corollas reputation is as a dependable, reliable family car (there are some mods that can be done to enhance performance and appearance), but overall it is just a good car.

We are here in this forum to share information, not to have conflict.

We all have Corolla in common, with our own personal tastes and preferences and that should be repected by all.

This is the end of this discussion, after this post, this topic is closed.

For one, I just realized this topic violates rule number 3 in the General Forum Guidelines.

3) Posting about racing is fine, by racing I mean legal racing done on a closed course or sanctioned by a sanctioning body. Street racing isn't ok. It's illegal, stupid and threatens the lives of everyone on the road. Posts about street racing won't be tolerated.

For two, I see this topic heading nowhere but into a pissing match and then into a degrading, name-calling episode. It's my job as a moderator to make sure that pissing matches and degrading posts don't get started or to stop them if they do.

I'm not warning anyone for violating the rules this time, especially since I posted without thinking this post violated any rule, but I will if it happens again. For your own sakes, everyone needs to read the General Forum Rules.

Now, if you all still want to keep this topic in discussion, move it to the PM. Argue over this topic till your hearts content, get in a pissing match and call each other names if you must. If you want to talk about how the Corolla/Prizm isn't comparable to the Cobra, go ahead, but no one is going to do it here.

-the99contour