Ideal car for car photographers? And where does the Leica connection come from?

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Ronald_H

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An article by James May of Top Gear fame. I like this quote

"and as he must arrive fresh for his encounter with Leica, the Greek muse of creative photography"

http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2008/04/stories/11/1.html

Hmm, I like to photograph cars. I even own a Leica. But especially Ameerikans would never be able to understand why I drive a Fiat panda. But guess what Mr. May uses as his basic runabout?

My car (no pics of my Leica yet):

http://ronald.krezipmedia.org/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=40&pos=34

http://ronald.krezipmedia.org/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=40&pos=43
 
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Ronald_H said:
... But especially Ameerikans would never be able to understand why I drive a Fiat panda...
Click to expand...

Go, Panda, Go!!

I've got a '94 one..

Bought it new after having driven a Saab 900 for a couple of years. Man, that 900 was a moneypit.. It gobbled up money faster than fuel. That Panda has had less repairs over its lifespan than that Saab had in a single year..

Since I got that Panda, I never felt the need to 'upgrade' again..
 
A photographer friend of mine swears by the old Saab 900. Easily drives 400.000+ km with those - and they can stand a fair beating. Same goes for the older Volvo estates.
 
No need to be top shape condition, but posing is important.
Citroen is gorgeous poser

citroen.jpg
 
Original Pandas (the old boxy shape) go on for ever. Especially the second generation, with the Lancia Y10 suspension and Fire engines, are much underrated. Bodies are galvanized too, but the doors are not, a fact which become painfully obvious for a lot of survivors 🙄

Sadly they are often poorly maintained budget or starter cars, so not many are left. I have soft spot for them, they are basically a 1980's Citroen 2CV in their honest simplicity. But in modern traffic I prefer my 'new gen', with its airbags, ABS and modern creature comforts like MP3 player, satnav and aircon 😀

And I think an old Volvo 240 estate would be the ideal car for the kind of photographer Mr. May had in mind.
 
I drive a 240 (Wagon, not sedan) same age as myself. They're fairly simple, usually reliable, and you can drive them until they fall apart. (after that, you can put them back together and drive again) There's a reason they have a million-mile club!

Unfortunately, mine has a transmission problem. So, no more camera lenses for awhile.
 
I think the ultimate photographers car is something like a diesel subaru outback wagon. AWD, turbo diesel so great milage without scamping performance, subaru build and reliability, comfort, ability to go just about anywhere, room to put gear.

I myself own a Mazda 3. It's great.
 
Probably the two worst cars that I have owned were new Volvos continual problems that the dealer couldn't fix the last one I kept 6 months and sold it, one of the happiest days of my life.....What a pile of junk...I think Volvos are made for people that hate cars.Oh I am sorry you were looking for best cars but I couldn't resist.
 
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Fiat is long since out of the U.S. market, sadly. They went bust back in the day when Fiats were already rusting when they came off the boat.

Another vote for a Volvo. Anyone who think's a Volvo is "boring" is welcome to come for a ride in either my wife's R wagon, or one of my T5 wagons, one auto, the other 5-speed manual. 😀

The fact that they're galvanized and nearly immune to rust makes a big difference here in New England... 🙂

2449142532_350acbba59_o.jpg
 
kevin m said:
Fiat is long since out of the U.S. market, sadly. They went bust back in the day when Fiats were already rusting when they came off the boat.
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Fiat is finally leaving the worst behind them. The have decades of rust and electrical problems to their 'credit', as well as very poor management.

The current line-up is strong though and the fact that the specialize in small cars is a big asset with the current oil prices. The new 500 is a runaway success and has polished up Fiat's tarnished reputation a lot.

I was aware of Fiat's poor reputation, but my previous car became one anyway. It was so bad that my current car is one too 🙄

Even after 70.000km I am still amazed how mature this little car is (a little over 3.5m/10 feet long). It's solid and utterly reliable too, not really traits associated with Fiat in the past. All the goodies you expect on a modern car are present as well. Best of all is its fuel comsumption, or rather lack of it. Oh, and it's galvanized too, so rust is history.

Sure, I'd rather buy something more sexy, but as we all know there can be quite a difference between what you want (a Leica M7) and what you need (A 20$ Canonet) 😀
 
In the past I have owned 4 Fiats and yes they did have a rust problem but they were fun and very reliable aside from normal wear items they never gave any problems.Would buy one of the new 500s in a heartbeat if they were available in the US.
 
Nice Panda, had two of them (years ago).
My favorite car for photography (and anything else) was my former Renault Twingo Air, the model in which almost the whole roof can be opened up in seconds. Drives very comfortably and runs 19 km's per liter. I made a lot of photo trips with that handy little smooth inexpensive car. And you could almost load it like a stationwagon.
 

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kevin m said:
Fiat is long since out of the U.S. market, sadly. They went bust back in the day when Fiats were already rusting when they came off the boat.

Another vote for a Volvo. Anyone who think's a Volvo is "boring" is welcome to come for a ride in either my wife's R wagon, or one of my T5 wagons, one auto, the other 5-speed manual. 😀

The fact that they're galvanized and nearly immune to rust makes a big difference here in New England... 🙂

2449142532_350acbba59_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice... Are these models still rwd? My girlfriend has a 940gl (i think) and it's super comfortable and safe. It scares me how well such a slow car brakes.

I imagine the t5 is 5cyl turbo? What's it go like?
 
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