How Tiny is the X1/9 in todays World?

In my garage of misfit toys an X19 isn’t that tiny
Trick photography, similar to why I didn't use my photo of my X next to the orange ix35 (see second post) as the wide angle lens on cameras is shocking. Try another photo from the same distance by from the opposite end of your garage and the X will miraculously shrink!
 
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Trick photography, similar to why I didn't use my photo of my X next to the orange ix35 (see second post) as the wide angle lens on cameras is shocking. Try another photo from the same distance by from the opposite end of your garage and the X will miraculously shrink!
Same pic from the other end, same iPhone. The Bugeye Sprite and Mini still look smaller than the X, and the Volvo and Porsche still look bigger
 
I have had my 84 X for about twenty years.
For the first eighteen years I had this car I never drove it anyplace except around the small tourist town here (pop 2,000) and the highway.
Even in season when traffic is heavier here the cars are fairly spaced out and I never gave the size of my car much thought so a few years ago when I took it to the big city 40 miles away and got in heavy traffic I freaked.
All those big trucks and SUV's made me uncomfortable looking at all those lug nuts and hubcaps level with the side window.
Even motorcycles riders heads were higher than my roof.
I never felt so boxed in when I had my 128 or when I rode a motorcycle.

I keep my X19 in the garage attached to the house and my 70 Land Cruiser in the separate work shop garage so a couple weeks ago when I switched them to work on the X I once again realized how small the X was because all that walk around space with the X was gone with the Cruiser sitting there.
 
I had an X in high school and absolutely loved it; couldn't wait to get another one. Bought one a couple years ago and recently finished the restoration. I drove it to work for the first time and heading down route 309 toward Philadelphia it was a little unnerving looking up at Civics and Corollas. Big truck behind me and all I see in the mirror is his license plate.

But to me, it's the same as driving a motorcycle where it is my responsibility to be extra aware of my surroundings and predict the movements of the other cars.

Something I learned years ago in a motorcycle safety course that has stuck with me...
When we drive automobiles, we tend to look, at most, one car length ahead of us. We become complacent about our surroundings and feel comfortable that other drivers see us. On a motorcycle, though, we have to train our eyes to look at the horizon and rely on our peripheral vision. This way we see a lot more and notice cars about to pull out ahead of us.

The other thing I learned was when you are stopped at a light, always leave room ahead of you as an escape route. Watch your mirrors and listen for tires screeching to avoid getting rear ended.

These tidbits of advice apply when driving a tiny car. My X is all black and I have to assume that others don't see me. They are complacent, drinking their coffee, looking at their phones, and feel comfortable in their massive seventy-thousand dollar SUVs. It is my job to be aware of them and to predict their movements.
 
You learn a lot riding motorcycles. They didn't have bike training courses when I started riding bikes but I did learn to leave a space between me and the car in front to dive for the shoulder if need be. I also learned to watch the outside rear view mirrors of cars near me, it's amazing what you can tell when you see the driver's eyes looking about in their mirror. And the biggest point is to assume you are invisible and drive accordingly. Fortunately those skills carried over to my car driving. Maybe we should take a page from the pickup truck drivers and attach a flag pole to our Xs and wave a big American flag from it.
 
Same pic from the other end
Here they are side by side, and where the X looked bigger than the 914, even looking wider of all things, it's dwarfed in the second angle. Ah, the ol' wide angle lens, the Realty Agents number 1 marketing weapon, can make a broom closest look like a banquet hall.

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PS. Very jealous! Would love a garage that big to store my toys!

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listen for tires screeching to avoid getting rear ended
The reason it baffles me that so many are in a rush to remove the bumpers on the 79 - 89 X's. Along with the strengthened body (why such a small car weights so much), it was all done to meet the extremely high US crash standards at the time, which the X passed with flying colours making it one of the safest vehicles on the road.
 
And the biggest point is to assume you are invisible and drive accordingly.
Unfortunately in our neck of the woods its a philosophy abandoned by probably 80% of motorcyclists on our roads, as they view the markings between lanes as a motorcycle lane, and like to treat cars as cones in high speed chicane manoeuvres.
 
I think it's just revenge, after awhile bikers get tired of being run off the road so they just decide to really take control of the situation, I know when I came down merge ramps on my bikes I was not looking beside or behind me to see where to merge, I was looking four or five cars ahead since the bikes were powerful enough to make traffic "back up" at you pretty damn quick. Sadly, in a 75hp one ton X you have to be a tad more selective!

I was watching a program on Velocity last night where there was an engine dyno shop that had just tested a hot rodded Viper with 2,000hp...for the street no less.
 
It's kinda funny you guys started comparing the X1/9 to motorcycles. I learned to ride and bought my first bike about 20 years ago at Blackman's in Allentown, not too far from Huey over in Quakertown. Riding the back roads around Eastern PA, the Watergap, the river road to New Hope was a real pleasure. Then I moved back to Texas and every road was 8 lanes wide and filled with huge SUV and pickups. I got to the point I felt I was risking my life every time I put on my helmet.

The X1/9 is my motorcycle now. I love it's small size and nimble footing. It's fast enough to be fun yet gives me at least some protection if I get clobbered.
 
It would have been tiny in 1966 as well.

Went to a car show Sunday 8/24/14 and as I was pulling into the show area to park, a friend waved me over to park next to the car he is selling for a customer.

Immediately seeing the contrast, I made sure to park so that our front bumpers were lined up.

Here's the result:
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BTW, the other car is a 1966 Cadillac DeVille Convertible. The owner was asking $20,000 for it.
 
It would have been tiny in 1966 as well.

Went to a car show Sunday 8/24/14 and as I was pulling into the show area to park, a friend waved me over to park next to the car he is selling for a customer.

Immediately seeing the contrast, I made sure to park so that our front bumpers were lined up.

Here's the result:
index.php


BTW, the other car is a 1966 Cadillac DeVille Convertible. The owner was asking $20,000 for it.
When I bought my X in 1974, my other car was a 64 Sedan de Ville. I used to get a lot of jokes about whether or not the X was parked in the trunk.
 
Back to the supermarket today, sun is shining again, and again my poor little X is dwarfed. And no, that is not some kind of People Mover beside me, but a 1.3ltr Daihatsu Sirion compact, described on one site as a "funny looking little 3 cylinder shopping basket"

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