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

robr2

Even Porsche wants to build another one. If so, they'll have more crossovers than Lexus.

But remember, Cayennes and the new Cajun help fund new Boxsters, Caymans and 911's.

fintail

Yes, lots of errant tasteless new money out there, might as well suck some of it down while it still exists :shades:

fintail

OK, non-poserfied wagons that weren't designed for a demographic that just has to sit up high :shades:

Reminds me of this local print ad in a used car rag:

ateixeira

I went to one of those BMW driving events, and after they had a cancer fund raiser/test drive.

Who am I not to help cure cancer while sampling a bunch of Bimmers, right?

Any how, I drove a 5er wagon, then an X5, back-to-back. The wagon was so much more satisfying to drive. I'm sure the high view point is nice, especially for petite women who can barely see over the steering wheel (i.e. the target demographic), but I had to drive the wagon again, a 2nd time, just to confirm how much better it drove.

I'm sure the X5 outsells it 10 to 1.

texases

Too bad the wagon's not here any more, like fin said...and even Porsche's SUV can't swim!

ateixeira

Double Darwinism...eliminate the dumb driver/least capable vehicle.

robr2

...and to quote "Risky Business" "Who's the U Boat Captain?"

fintail

I don't really like the high driving position, to be honest...makes me feel tipsy when I corner fast, which is all the time :shades:

I drove a 5er Touring as my last rental car in Germany, sweet ride even in mere 528i form.

ateixeira

I go from a Miata (daily) to a Sienna (family hauler).

The transition feels more or less like driving on the roof of the Miata, if it were full of water.

To be fair they have different missions. The Sienna can haul 8 people and luggage. The Miata can only haul.

fintail

I can't even imagine. My greatest daily transition is E55 to fintail. Depending on my mood, both can be the most fun to drive.

I remember having an old style Focus ZX5 as a rental a few years ago, and then going back to the E55...it seemed so low and smooth in comparison to even a normal car like the Focus.

qbrozen

my most extreme is the '85 MR2 with coilovers and wide open exhaust to the '08 Town & Country. I've always been the type to transition easy, but i do find myself entering corners too fast sometimes in the T&C. Wife gets upset with me. But, hey, as long as all 4 wheels stay on the ground, no harm done.

i drove the bimmer mon-wed this week. Then back to the GTI yesterday. I found that tougher at first only because of the clutch/tranny. The GTI is SO MUCH easier to shift ... but it also needs to be wound up a bit more, so I bogged down quite a few times in the morning.

fintail

Sometimes I get the "I'm on 2 wheels" feeling when overdoing it in corners in the old car, too. Driving what is in effect a 40 year difference in evolution back to back points out amusing differences...and some similarities.

On the new car front, got behind a brand new loaded freshly plated Sportage. The rear lights in the bumper are weird, reminds me of a 78-83 intermediate GM wagon. I bet that's fun in a low speed impact, too.

texases

Well, not 2, but how about 3? This isn't me, no cameras around when I did it with my '83 GTI

fintail

Cable hanging down, just like my old car right now :shades:

I wouldn't doubt if I've came close to that...when you are hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life, you're probably overdoing it.

ateixeira

While in the minivan, coming to a stop, I often lift my clutch foot. Instinctively.

Pretty funny.

ateixeira

One of the first I've seen in the flesh.

Funny thing is - the taillights reminded me of a Sonata. To be fair Hyundai copied the last CLS, not the other way around.

qbrozen

haha. my current facebook photo is of my GTI's rear driver's wheel off the ground during an autoX.
Didn't think it would do it on street tires, but I was wrong.

ateixeira

My 91 Escort GT would do the same thing.

Neat, but I'm not sure that's the best way to get traction - tire up in the air like that.

kyfdx

That's okay....it's front wheel drive..

stickguy

even Volvo, one of the former wagon kings, goes back and forth between real and pretend.

they have the XC70, purely a wagon jacked up and cladded pretending to be an SUV. and at times, a V70 too 9cheaper, better ride/handling, better MPG, etc.). and of course, the XC dwarfs it in sales.

Now they are going the other direction. instead of turning a wagon into an SUV, they have a FWD version of the XC70. talk about a poser mobile!

lemko

...white Honda CRZ near the Holiday Market a few blocks from my place.

andys120

I saw my first new Regal on the road yesterday, it looked OK but not particularly distinctive. Being Opel-based it's probably the best Buick to drive but the Lacrosse is a good deal better looking IMO.

lemko

Somebody at work got a new Regal and I saw another one in a parking lot at the Giant the other day.

lemko

Red Chrysler 200.
Black Buick LaCrosse CXL.
White Ford Fiesta.

qbrozen

On Saturday, I saw a couple of Cayman Rs, a couple of Boxster Spyders, a few Panameras, and a GT2 RS. I got to drive the Cayman R, Spyder, Panamera, and a few 911 variants (no, not the GT2 ... GTS was as good as it got... although that's still pretty damned good).

Here are the pics.

texases

Very nice! Any comments on your test drives?

qbrozen

Well, I didn't get to drive them as much or as hard as the literature had me believe, but we had fun nonetheless.

911 GTS is silly fast. Just pushes you back in your seat. Courses were wet, so that slowed us down a little, but they still had a great amount of grip, so it wasn't tame speeds by any measure. The three 911 variants I drove (4, 4S, and GTS) were on the long course, which was done while in a train of 4 cars led by an instructor car. We were only as fast as our slowest driver, which, unfortunately, made us quite a bit slower than we could have gone. In any case, my friend and I pushed it where we could through corners and short burst of acceleration. All cars were very nice, of course.

I had much more fun on the short course where I got to drive 2 Cayman Rs, a Boxster Syder, and a Boxster S (pic shows 2 Syders and 1 Cayman, but that was the previous run group. They took away the white spyder and replaced with a red R for us). The S was much faster than I anticipated. I was thinking it was a chick car until I drove it.

The Spyder was my favorite to drive. Not sure I'd want to live with it, though. On all those special cars, like the GTS, Cayman R, and Spyder, they have a seat that only adjusts fore/aft. You can't even adjust the recline. Makes it very uncomfortable for me.

Finally, for the road test, I chose the Panamera. I fell in love with that car. It is huge when you get in, but shrinks as you drive it. The base 6 cyl is much faster than I thought, too. And, while the PDK was annoying us on the track (more, I think, due to the slow drivers in front of us), it came to life on this test drive. Absolutely incredible device. Lightning fast shifts, and just as many as you want, as quick as you want.

Disappointment came at the end when I looked further into pricing. For some reason, I really thought the base Panamera started down around where the Cayenne does. Boy, was I wrong. I could actually get a Cayenne S, which is faster than the base Panamera and offers more room, for $12k less! Just for fun, I optioned up "my" Panamera online. A mere $84k. Again, I remind you this is with the BASE engine! Yikes!

texases

Wow, $84k for the V6... :surprise:

Any thoughts about the Cayman? I've wondered about a used one as an alternative to an older used 911 (wondering's free, at least).

qbrozen

well, its smaller.
I think it is a much better looking car, personally.

Tough for me to compare comfort since I only drove the Cayman R vs a range of 911s.

I really didn't find the 2 comparable, though. Kind of like a 370Z vs a G37 coupe. You are getting a much more raw experience with the Cayman. Less room, lighter car, more of a toy than a tourer.

ateixeira

I'd have to spend an extra $2 grand or so on camouflage for the back half of a Panamera. I can't stand the way they look from the back.

I didn't like the original Cayenne (out of principal, perhaps?) but the new one looks much better.

qbrozen

I think I'm one of the few that doesn't mind the back of the Panamera. At least it still looks like a Porsche.

ateixeira

I get what you mean, but the stretch makes it look bulbous, pregnant.

At least driving it you'd never have to see that view. :shades:

texases

As for the Cayman and 911 - I guess I'll just need to sit in them. I need LOTS of headroom, neither may be an option. Used to be at the Dallas show they'd have a couple open to sit in. No more

qbrozen

Well, I'm 6'5" and fit in everything no problem .... as long as I didn't have a helmet on. Had a tough time in the 911 GTS with a helmet. Thankfully, they didn't make us wear one when driving the Boxsters/Caymans. I wouldn't have fit.

kyfdx

I notice that Caymans don't give you much room to lean the seat back... less options for head room, if it's close... you won't have that problem with a 911 coupe...

Personally, I'd take the Cayman..

ateixeira

Dodge Charger. They should stop selling cars and just sell grilles. That thing must stick out several feet in front of the radiator.

Also saw a Jag XJ from the rear - it's least flattering view, though I like the overall and especially front views.

anythngbutgm

Spotted a white Fiat 500 at lunch today. Looked like it had some ground effects A LA Abarth, but I don't recall the Abarth being offered here.

Anyways, cool car nonetheless. Gave him the thumbs up as I was driving by :shades:

ateixeira

Not yet, so that could be an early tuner's body kit, or custom.

lemko

...white Ford Taurus turning right onto Verree Road from Napfle Street and a red Chevrolet Cruze travelling south on Oxford Avenue in NE Philly.

texases

Followed an A5 in to work today. Looks nice, I don't know that it'll stand out in 5 years. Maybe because it looks so much like the new Jetta and Passat from some angles. I wonder why they let VW pretty much copy the Audi look...

anythngbutgm

Those A/S5's are some of the sexiest non-exotic cars I've ever seen. The A4 looks downright frumpy next to it.

anythngbutgm

Saw my first CTS coupe last night, man is that thing ugly. The wagon is still my favorite bodystyle for the CTS line even though in black it looks like a hearse How do you see out of the back again, is there a rear view camera on the dashboard that helps? Also, this particular one had a weird bounce in the tail like it had worn shocks or something. It definitely wasn't the road because that was a washboard highway surface, but everytime there was a rut or a bump the thing just couldn't regain composure. Odd... :confuse:

ateixeira

The A5 is one of those "better in person" cars.

When you see it in the flesh, you can better see the long and low proportions.

In photos is resembles the old Chrysler Sebring:



But in person, not so much.

fintail

Saw a new SL65 parked near Wall St the other day, plate said something about "trader", so I am sure none of the money is illicit - of course, how dare I question how the money was raised? That class seems to be loving the Panamera too, loads of them in the financial district along with Maseratis and the usual German players. Not much else new in the area, did see a matte painted R8 which was unusual at night.

Not new, but saw a Maybach on 5th Ave too...couldn't tell if it was an S-class with poorly repaired accident damage or a Chinese/Korean copy :shades:

fintail

I liked how the wheels so strongly resemble old AMG monoblocks - hinting at the "merger of equals" perhaps.

ateixeira

Must be the latter since Maybach's sales round to Zero.

Sadly, I'm not kidding.

ateixeira

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/16/aston-martin-cutting-rapide-production-amidst- -slow-sales/

Sad day, because that's one of the few of the new crop of low-slungers that looks fantastic.

I'd take a Rapide over a Panamera even if the Rapide lacked an engine. I'd just park it in the driveway and admire it.

qbrozen

For the same price as top-of-the-line Panamera, you might just be able to get a Rapide with no engine.

fintail

I've actually seen a few of those in my neighborhood, likely because the dealer is just a few miles away. Agreed, on a different planet compared to the weird and sometimes unsightly Porsche.

fintail

Yep, a failure and deservedly so. Rolls prices with weird copycar styling, not a winning combination.

Speaking of that, I saw an Equus not long ago - at Costco. No options, sticker at something like 58.9. I am sure there is some value there, but not for me.