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I spotted a NEW (insert make/model) today!

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Comments

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    They need in the center console for cup holders!

    Concessions to the US market.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Fill me in...you mean that light in the grille, if that's what that is?

    Those outer ones aren't sealed beams, are they?

    My NA Miata had sealed beams and in darkness it went from pitch dark (off) to merely "dark" when you turned them on.

    They were so horrible I swapped them out for e-Codes, and put in Halogen H4 bulbs. Huge improvement.

    When you drive a small car you're invisible to others, so bad lighting had to be addressed.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    The light in the grille is the SuperLite available on 1969-70 full-size Dodges.

    From Wiki:

    "Dodge topped off the new 1969 cars with a new option, which forecast the projector-beam halogen headlamps that came into use years later. It was called "Super-Lite," and consisted of a $50 optional road lamp mounted in the driver's side of the grille. The premise behind the Super-Lite was to enhance visibility at night in situations where more light than the standard low beams was needed but the high beams would cause glare to oncoming drivers. Despite the fanfare surrounding the Super-Lite that had been introduced the previous year, Dodge dropped the light option at the end of the 1970 model year because of a lack of consumer interest and challenges to its legality in some states."
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I like the first M, the ~2003-04 model - very much a JDM interpretation of American styling. I saw one the other day. The newer ones don't appeal to me somehow.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Why did the US have such ridiculous legalities regarding lights? It set styling back about 20 years, where Europe and Japan moved to flush lights but the domestics did not.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited September 2010
    No BMW - no Hofmeister kink. But it could be a German Acura with its pointy nose and angularity. That being said, I don't mind the new style E - I like it more than the predecessor, but I think I'd prefer the AMG version.

    People with extra money laying around buy all the options just to say they have it - they don't use them. E class can be configured in an almost infinite amount of ways, creating MSRPs from under 50K to almost 70K, and over 100K for the E63.

    The baby shift lever is weird. Certainly not sporty.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Those first Ms looked like old school muscle sedans.

    I like the new ones, too.
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    Because the law was written to codify the standard headlight that the domestics had already settled on. De facto protectionism at work.
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    Yeah, but those last Qs had super-loafy rear ends in them; basically a Japanese Town Car. A bit ironic since the Nissan Cedric/Gloria that the first M45 was derived from was a Japanese Town Car in Japan.
  • tifightertifighter Member Posts: 3,785
    I'm with Juice on the M; first-gen is old school Japanese square styling, which it not surprising as it was a gussied up Nissan Gloria. I like the look in a sinister yakuza kind of way. But, JDM styling meant JDM interior space...way cramped if you are 6 ft tall. Deal killer for me. I like the looks of the newest one too, actually. Second generation; not so much.

    25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0 / 03 Montero Ltd

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Funny that the Cedric would be a town car when it is one of the more masculine and tough looking sedans to come out of Japan in some time. Too bad it apparently isn't big inside...that's one reason I like German cars, you can be over 6' and still have plenty of room.

    Looks like the headlight scheme didn't work.

    As a coincidence, today's new car sighting was a new style M.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...blue and silver Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible on Rte 232 in Bryn Athyn, PA.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    edited September 2010
    I was passed up by a Bentley with the look of a 1950 Chevrolet slopeback.

    This must have been a Continental Supersports model or a Continnental GT.

    The car has an interesting shape. Black.

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I was behind him, so I noticed the LED tail lights.

    They're odd, to be honest. They look very pixelated. It's back to the low-res video games from the 80s, like Asteroids.
  • ajvdhajvdh Member Posts: 223
    We were pretty thin on new cars this time. We did have a student show up with an Audi S5, in a nice, understated gray. I agree about the LED running lights, they're at 15:01 of their 15 minutes. We also had two 997 GT3s, one in gray, the other in the obligatory burn-your-retinas yellow.

    The day before (open track, not part of the school) there was somebody out there with a new Z4 (retractable hardtop) in a very dark blue. We don't allow convertibles without a full cage at the school due to concerns about rollover safety. He was running with the top up, and I wonder how well those stand up to being upside down.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I wonder too, now that you mention.

    Federal standards require closed cars to be able to hold 150% of the car's own weight.

    IIHS tests go much further than that, however. To be a Top Safety Pick I think they have to withstand 400% of its own weight.

    I wonder if folding hardtops have to meet that 150% standard.

    IIHS usually does not test low volume cars like those.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...black Porsche Cayenne at the drive-thru at the bank on Rising Sun Avenue in Lawncrest in NE Philly.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Bummer, I can't find any the IIHS has tested.

    BMW 3 series convertible, Volvo, VW Eos, ... none have been through the roof crush test.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...white Rolls-Royce Phantom backing into a repair shop on Knorr Street between Rising Sun and Bingham in NE Philly.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Saw one this AM. Nice looking crossover.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ..a black Rolls-Royce Phantom in the same neighborhood as the white one I spotted the other day. Strange! This neighborhood is a lower middle-class neighborhood at best.
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    Three cans of Krylon or one bucket of Dutch Boy will do that.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    looks better than I was expecting.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,338
    I saw one parked at the mall the other day, with temp tags on it. Looked fine. totally innocuous, and could pass for just about any maker. Taillights as rear end did resemble an Audi though.

    will have to stop at the VW dealer next time I am nearby to check one out.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • anythngbutgmanythngbutgm Member Posts: 4,277
    Black, moving at a good clip on the highway this morning.

    Anonymous looking profile and has that fat, dumpy Buick-like stance to it where the back end sags because it's got too much "junk in the trunk". Yet, only one occupant...

    Meh.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...yellow Lamborghini Gallardo making a right turn onto Tabor Road from Robbins Avenue in NE Philly.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Saw a new S60...meh. I mean, it's nice, but doesn't bowl me over. Also saw a facelift GL...meh again...and it had some tacky Brabus/Lorinser style kit on it, and was white - quite tastless. Driven by a stereotypical local trophy wife looking thing, of course. Ford dealer had a couple of Fiesta sedans too...tiny sedans just don't look right.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I like the XC60, but the S60 has a droopy front end that looks like it needs a face-lift.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    fin: I've been noticing these, and I dunno about the rental car theory. I'm seeing them on older cars, cars with toll readers stuck on windows, etc. In other words, mostly non-rentals.

    They must be for access to gated communities or commercial parking garages as well.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Are the cars also late models with no license plate frame?

    I guess I'd have to see some pics. It is awfully coincidental that models that are known to be fleet queens also have these identifying criteria, where I never see them on a 3 series or a Bentley etc.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    XC60 is an oblivious woman's car to me, no offense meant ;)

    Saw another LED-ized C-class today, the new tailfins.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,338
    a new odyssey. In dark gray. Goofy looking from the side, but not hideous.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    Unlike the Crosstour, the Odyssey's grown on me, to 'not ugly' status, at least...
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,338
    Not sure what happened to them, but Honda used to have very nice looking cars. Now, they seem to be trying to out ugly (to an aztec level) with every new one that comes out. combined that with getting bigger (at least the accord) and it is not promising.

    At least they still seem to be keeping some of the driver's car aspects in tact.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Retro styling seemed all the rage there for a while. Would you welcome the revival of fintail styling on Mercedes if it was tastefully done?
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I saw some spy shots of the next Acura TL. It seems they're going to clean up the back end of the car and tone done the Pokemon front end.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I don't think tailfins can work in any modern design language, and vertical light assemblies won't work with modern MB themes either. A new fintail would be really weird.

    Although, on the new E , there is an accent line above the rear wheel opening that is from the ponton and fintail.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The 2-3 I've seen were on older cars, definitely not rentals.

    I usually notice them while driving so I haven't been able to snap pics.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That sounds like a plan, because every pre-beak Acura looks better than its replacement. Honda is getting to that point also, where every new model is uglier than what it replaced.

    They're just trying too hard.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,338
    I currently have 2 Hondas in the garage, and an Acura (older TL) with my son at school. So I guess we qualify as a Honda family.

    But, if I was to go out today to look for a car for any of us, I would not even bother to stop at the Honda dealer, since they have zippo that interests me.

    I might stop at the Acura dealer, since the MDX is still nice and the TSX is not too bad. If we happened to be looking for something of that type (and wanted to pay that much extra).

    But nothing at Honda, and at Acura prices, I could find a lot of other tastier and cheaper options (some new or used).

    Honda is not the only company infected with ugly disease. BMW did a pretty good job of going from some of the best designs ever to much uglier, even tortured, replacements.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    You can't do much worse than the Crosstour and it's even uglier Acura sister whose namplate escapes me. What were they thinking?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    ZDX.

    BMW seems to have come to their senses as their latest designs are de-Bangled. The 7 looks much better, the 5 lost the Dame Edna face, etc.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    Honda/Acura got a "C-" from Car and Driver, only exceeded by Toyota/Lexus' "D+". I think those grades should be reversed, actually. "repulsive" rates lower in my book than "entirely forgettable"...
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    You can't do much worse than the Crosstour..

    Element.
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Element was a HUGE success. It created incremental sales for Honda, and never cannibalized its sister vehicle, the CR-V.

    In fact the CR-V became the best-selling SUV only after the Element came out.

    Honda's business plan:

    1. use only parts off the shelf
    2. sell tons of them without cannibalizing the CR-V
    3. ???
    4. profit

    Crosstour is a different story - it's getting clobbered by the Outback, and sales are way below projections.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    Well, maybe not as bad as a Crosstour and not really new but today i got caught behind a blinged up previous generation DeVille with gold package and insanely chrome wheels. I wish I could remember the vanity plate on it because it added to the mess. All the while I am thinking 'that's enough to put lemko into a Toyota!"

    I really hate seeing a pretty car destroyed.

    Meanwhile i saw two Corsicas today. Did we go back to the 90s and no one told me?
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • fushigifushigi Member Posts: 1,459
    I meant in terms of looks/styling and performance, not so much sales. :D
    2017 Infiniti QX60 (me), 2012 Hyundai Elantra (wife)
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Blame the dealership and the car's owner for that self-destructive add-on junk. All that stuff is aftermarket garbage. I can't believe anybody finds that trash desirable. My DTS is free of all that mess.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Saw a ZDX today. Eek...at least it was black, so it was unobtrusive.

    I saw a ~2005 STS with a thick padded cabrio top the other day. Hard to get respect with that. Although locally there is a period custom W126 with a vinyl top, but no padding.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited October 2010
    Edmunds had an article comparing the Crosstour to the Outback, and it simply got clobbered.

    Edit to add link:

    http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2010/10/2010-honda-crosstour-vs-subaru-out- back-the-numbers.html
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