Just why are these car so fun to drive?

[scitzz]

It is hard for me to put into words. Sure, I think all the posts so far have pretty much summed it up for me, but there is more, somehow.

I have driven baby car for going on 20 years now, ever since she was brand spanking new, off the truck. From the time that she was brand new, and during all her ups and downs. With the elective drop shifter installation, the funky suspension, worrisome brakes, all of it, she has been FUN to drive!

Even when I have owned other cars, and there have been a bunch, she is the one I prefer. Cars, trucks, vans, none of them have the overall versatility or durability.

I now have a few festiva's, but I bet Baby car will always be the one I go to first

[KJ4YXY]

Well the only 2 cars I drive (@15 @my farm) is my Festiva and my parents Suburban. And I just love how in the Festiva you actually have to push the pedals to get a response from the vehicle. As with the Suburban, you barely touch it and bam your driving... for lazy bums... (not calling my parents lazy or bums, they need a work truck...)

[Advancedynamix]

Here is a good place to start. Proof that a Festiva can catch and pass a Ferrari F430 on the race track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i18n7MWIBY

By the way, the previous picture was shot by FordFester (his lovely wife was in the passenger seat as we caught and passed that cobra).

[Festivame]

It's one of the most well designed cars ever to be sold in the united states. How many other sub 2000 lb cars can be picked up from one side with a jack and both doors still open and close freely? I have worked on, modified and driven some of the wildest exotic race and street cars in the country but none of them hold a candle to the potential of a Festiva. When tuned properly these cars will embarrass a Ferrari or Porsche on the race track. Exceptional. I have an idea that this chassis wasn't designed solely to be an economical street car. The 121 chassis was designed during the end of the group B rally era. The car has the ideal dimensions to be a group B contender and it's wide fenders and stubby hatchback just scream 80's rally car. There are very few cars that are made with such thin metal but were sold worldwide, and most of them are homologated race cars that were sold in very low volume (Porsche GT3 rsr, Ford RS200 ect). Was the 121/Festivas fate changed by the end of the FIA group B class? Who's to say, but this car is built far to well to have been just another econobox.
It even makes the Shelby Cobra look like a slouch.

I learn more about these little cars all the time. Interesting comments I would not have know enough to even consider.

Now I gotta find your vids, that's one section of the forum I haven't really checked out very good yet.

Festivame

[2xclutchin]

^^I always called my car my little ralley racer, never really put the amount of thought into it you have though. You make very valid points, and it is nice to watch your vids beating up new cars with your Festy!!

[Advancedynamix]

It's one of the most well designed cars ever to be sold in the united states. How many other sub 2000 lb cars can be picked up from one side with a jack and both doors still open and close freely? I have worked on, modified and driven some of the wildest exotic race and street cars in the country but none of them hold a candle to the potential of a Festiva. When tuned properly these cars will embarrass a Ferrari or Porsche on the race track. Exceptional. I have an idea that this chassis wasn't designed solely to be an economical street car. The 121 chassis was designed during the end of the group B rally era. The car has the ideal dimensions to be a group B contender and it's wide fenders and stubby hatchback just scream 80's rally car. There are very few cars that are made with such thin metal but were sold worldwide, and most of them are homologated race cars that were sold in very low volume (Porsche GT3 rsr, Ford RS200 ect). Was the 121/Festivas fate changed by the end of the FIA group B class? Who's to say, but this car is built far to well to have been just another econobox.
It even makes the Shelby Cobra look like a slouch.

[Movin]

I stopped at a friends house with my Festiva to help work on some stuff, you should have seen the looks when I opened the hatch and pulled out my 8 foot fiberglass step ladder, my sears lawnmower and a gas weed wacker.
These cars are like little compact utility vehicles.

People look at you like the school board did here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTrXpDK_EYE

Just make sure your stunts have a positive influence on our sport,
this kid didn't do sporting gun ownership any favors...

[Bert]

Back to Basics!

Everything you need to get around, and nothing you don't.

Kinda like a motorcycle that hauls more and keeps you dry in the rain!

Karl

Festys are addictive, if you like to drive. They're grownup go-karts in every respect. And, they are (so far) street legal and have a usable backseat, excellent roof, windows and doors. Gov't must have modeled updated safety legislation around them so as to make everybody else's future seat-of-the-pants driving experience a much lesser experience.
A current eco-friendly 'Smart' car is much the same weight but there is only seating for two and you can't figure on hauling anything more than a case of beer in one. And as to whether they handle, or not, is of no concern to Ministry of Transport (gov't regulators) either.

[All systemz]

I stopped at a friends house with my Festiva to help work on some stuff, you should have seen the looks when I opened the hatch and pulled out my 8 foot fiberglass step ladder, my sears lawnmower and a gas weed wacker.
These cars are like little compact utility vehicles.

[Ford Fester]

You can pick them up for under 500 bucks and drive the crap out of them for years....

[Aaronbrook37]

For me, it's mostly the ease and breeze of driving and ownership. The steering and clutch pedal are as light as a feather, yet the car overall is very responsive and has excellent road feel. Affordable to modify and an absolute blast in the bends. Parking is an absolute cakewalk and visits to the gas station aren't too painful. What more could you ask for?

[Safety Guy]

Back to Basics!

Everything you need to get around, and nothing you don't.

Kinda like a motorcycle that hauls more and keeps you dry in the rain!

Karl

[getnpsi]

Driving a slow car fast is always better than the other way around. Sure you can kill yourself in a festive, as unsafe as they are but finding the cars limits where everything isn't a blur puts your skills in perspective. I make tires cry on unfamiliar roads...I won't do that in something bigger faster more expensive etc

[drddan]

I like the "Seat-of-the-pants" feeling while driving mine. I can feel the road, and what my car is doing. I dont have the Aspire swap, but I have it stiffened up with Aspire struts all around, and IT IS like driving a sort of hi-performance go-cart. It is smooth on the highway, it corners great, and it turns on a dime!

Not to mention, that parking spot the car in front of you couldnt get into? Just whip right in there, no problem!

[2xclutchin]

^+1