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

andyman73

Saw a G55, the other day, that side exhuast looked sweet!

kyfdx

A gray S2000 with the hardtop on... I love the way roadsters look with the hardtop.. First time I've seen an S2000 this way.

alexradu

A wonderful red/black Smart. I absolutely loved it - it was a beauty.

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/mbccustom/smart/getsmart/

It gets about 3.7L/100km of Diesel in the city. I know it does not fly from 0 to 100, but who cares ? Few people actually need a dragster, right ? :-))

I'm really happy they finally decided to import it here.

ateixeira

Very cool, love how open that looks.

I'd seriously consider one. I want an open top commuter to eventually replace my Miata. It has to be small, fun, and efficient.

-juice

teds1

I saw a blue and Black smart car last night on Amsterdam avenue in Manhattan, I did n't know they were imported yet, I had read there is a gray market guy in California who only does the four seater version but I definitely saw a two. Makes a lot of sense for parking, but can it go highway speeds? does anyone know? what about pricing for the US model?

andre1969

I went to the Chevy dealer to get a power window switch for my '85 Silverado. It's right next door to a Saturn dealer and a Toyota dealer. Saturn dealer had 3 or 4 Relays sitting out in front. Somehow, they're not quite as bad looking in person as they were in the pictures. Still nothing to get orgasmic over though, IMO...

orangelebaron

in Hong Kong... I saw this super beast:

 

http://www.pbase.com/tastyorange/image/37327899

orangelebaron

In Hong Kong I also saw this Smart convertible:

http://www.pbase.com/tastyorange/image/33311870

http://www.pbase.com/tastyorange/image/33311871

 

and went into the dealership in Causeway Bay:

http://www.pbase.com/tastyorange/image/37357826

 

Just click on the pic and you can see the rest of the pics on the page.

ateixeira

I was driving behind another new Ody yesterday, 2nd I've seen on the road. Supposedly Honda will have more supply this time around so maybe prices won't have markups.

 

-juice

m4d_cow

a maybach down the I-5, the shorter one (57?), kinda like blueish silver colored. 1st time i see one not in black.

alexradu

Apparently, from what I've read, they should be able to hold their own on the highways in America, since the speeds here are very low anyway. Of course, in Europe you'd have to keep the first lane, but here how many people drive over 120 km/h ? Because that's what they say is the max maintainable speed of this car. Of course, its purpose is mainly city driving. And, considering how many Navigators and other "buses" I see on the roads in the city, rarely carrying more than the driver and a cellphone.... I think that this kind of transportation should be strongly encouraged by the governments (incentives and so on). Not to mention that it consumes almost nothing (about 4L/100km - with a tank of, say, 30L you'd go almost 800km - if you drive, say, 50km in average perday, you'd have to fill it every two weeks, at a cost of less than 12$)

ateixeira

Saw another Ody so I guess they're common now.

 

I also keep seeing a dark blue Phaeton, but I think it's the same one, and I just keep seeing it, because it's always on the same road at about the same time.

 

-juice

teds1

the LIE is always a fruitful highway for interesting sightings. Last weekend I saw a testarossa, which looks soooo dated now, I can't belive that not that long ago it was the epitome of automotive style and technology. Also a Jag xk-120 trailered with the hard top. It needed some restoration but it was clearly gorgeous. I can't believe Ford hasn't thought about resurrecting something like it. Instead of the potential F type which although nice is a small xk8 you could go for a more retro stlyed 50's roadster in the lower price range.

kyfdx

Stretch limo....

 

Really long one.. The car seems perfectly shaped for this application.

i_luv_toyota

I finally saw the vehicle I wanted most to see on the roads in motion, a silver 2005 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD.

 

Looked as good moving as it was standing still!

kyfdx

It has been parked near my son's school the last couple of weeks.. brand new, temporary tags.. not garaged.. I think his girlfriend lives in the apartments near there..

 

But, today.... something different.. He now has 22" chrome wheels.. With the corresponding ribbon-thin-sidewall tires. Unreal how someone can spend $80K on a car, then screw it up by spending $3K more!!

jaserb

A guy down the street has one. The styling is OK right up until you get to the wheelwells. As bad as the Trailblazer "square" wheelwells are, these are worse. There's a wierd kink at the back, and the more I see it the more it grates on me. Too bad, as I think the Tacomas were about the best looking small trucks from the early '90s up to about 2001 (whenever they put the pseudo-Dodge mean looking grill on it).

 

 
Edit: Here, see for yourself.



-Jason

kyfdx

I'm not in love with it... I see quite a few every day, as a Toyota parts distribution center is near where I work... All of the managers get company cars.. and they all drive like madmen.. I can barely get around them..;-)

andre1969

and truthfully, the things still look tiny to me. Okay, so they went from an A-cup to a B-cup, but there's a whole lot more to the alphabet than that! ;-)

jaserb

I mean, wheels are round. How do you fill out the wheelwell if the wheelwells aren't round? Somebody needs to take the designer's crayons away for a while.

 

-Jason

stickguy

just trying to look cool or macho. You see the shape of an H2 lately?

jaserb

there was a white H2 in the parking lot here at work today. Covered in moo-cow black spots, with the name of some realtor plastered all over it. Parked in a handicapped space.

 

Now, did it get my attention? Yup. But combine my general opinion of realtors with my opinion of people who drive H2s and my opinion of people who park in handicapped spots and you can guess how likely I am to ever deal with that guy...

 

-Jason

kyfdx

I saw a new Acura RL today.. first time in person..

m4d_cow

are common views here (mostly in red or black), along w/ merc c-class, vw passat, civics, and lexus sc430 (very popular in my sisters highschool)

seminole_kev

but I spotted a new bright yellow Ferrari 360 Modena in Oklahoma City tonight at dinner. Rare sight here.

shiphro

In Olde City in Philadelphia, I saw a white G55? The big square MB SUV. Customize with chrome everywhere (blinged out?). Was defintely a vehicle for someone who craves attention.

 

I don't know if it was knew, but it certainly was an unusual ride.

chidoro

I've seen a Bentley Continental GT twice this past week. Early in the week getting gas and on the weekend he was coming out of my dry cleaning place. Although he was only leaving the parking lot, you could hear how absolutely wicked that engine is. The James Earl Jones of engine sound if that makes any sense.

ateixeira

juice chiming in from Brazil!

 

Boy have I seen some unique cars, in fact they're almost all not sold in the US.

 

Fiat Uno, Palio, Strada.

 

Chevy Astra, Celta, Vectra.

 

Peugot 206, 306.

 

Renaults are all over the place.

 

VW Gol (not Golf, Gol), Voyage, Parati, and Saveiro (pickup).

 

Some if the wackier cars I've seen include the Citroen Xsara Picasso, which my brother owns and looks exactly like an egg. So does the Chevy Mariva, you can't tell if it's coming or going!

 

And the SUVs here are diesels, including the Blazer (old model), Hilux (4Runner), and Dakota crew cabs (also old model).

 

Coolest car was my dad's dune buggy, a VW beetle chassis with a fiberglass kit on it. Soooo fun.

 

I'll try to get some pics of my faves and then host them when I get back in January.

 

Later folks.

 

-juice

jaserb

Have a good time - Recife, right? I really like all the itsy bitsy pickups like the Saveiro. The US market has pretty much given up on compact trucks, let alone subcompacts.

 

-Jason

canuckguy

spotted a nuber of weeks ago the new Honda Ridgeline a 4 door /pickup similar to Honda pielo

sharp looking vehicle more like SUV than truck

due out in the spring.

ateixeira

Yeah, I'm in Recife now.

 

Saveiro is the VW pickup, 2 seats, truly compact. Now that US compacts are really mid-size, you wonder if there would be room for these.

 

Chevy has one called the Montana. It's based on the Opel Corsa sub-compact. But the bed is pretty long, more so than a Baja or most of the Crew Cabs, at least.

 

They carry a payload of about 500kg, or about 1100 lbs, not bad. Subaru Baja only has 800 lbs.

 

-juice

teds1

I got a chance to check out a parked a6. I like it much better than the old one which never really did it for me as an audi fan. The trapezoid grill is pretty crisp and looks better than in pictures. the proportions are better and I like the thin chrome trimlines. Interior look veeeery nice as well. Very spacious back seat but the A6 has always had that compared to a 5 series or E. It was also parked next to a 993 (I think thats the code for the last water cooled models) carrera 4s, my Favorite 911 iteration by far so it was a good sighting

ateixeira

On the opposite end of the scale for VW/Audi, I saw a relatively new original Beetle. They made those here until recently, although I think Mexico has even newer ones.

 

-juice

andys120

of a couple of '05 models I haven't seen before and only caught a quick glimpse of as they cruised down a busy street:

 

-Audi A6 3.2 Sedan, big-mouth grille and all, otherwise looking very much like a new A8.

 

-BMW 645i Coupe, looking a little porky from some angles but basically pretty attractive as befits it's heritage.

 

Both were more attractive than photos would suggest they'd be.

 

Parenthetically I'm astounded by the apparent popularity of the controversial BMW Seven series in the NYC-LI area, they seem to far outnumber Mercedes S class, Audi A8 or even Lexus LX430s.

 

Perhaps they stand out more since they don't look much like any other Bimmer.

ghostbuster23

I saw a Nissan NX Sportback. The wagon version of the Pulsar NX. It looked very robotic or space shuttle-ish. Pretty cool.

m4d_cow

saw a white M5 with orange underbody neon lights, i thought thats illegal, right?

ateixeira

Might vary by state, but I think that is illegal around here.

 

-juice

ghulet

...they should be, or at least morally unjust, on an M5!!

 

Last night, when leaving for work, parked in front of my place was a brand new Mazda6 S V6 5-speed hatchback sedan, in charcoal gray. It was as though someone ordered it for me, it was exactly as I'd like one. I'll have to find out who it belongs to.

teds1

On 87 northbound NY state thruway on Friday 31st of January I saw a test mule of the new 06 (?) Mercedes M-class. It was covered in the standard black cladding but you could makeout the new shape. It has a smaller emblem up front and sleeker lines. Think a hybrid of the current model with the original rx 330 and a little nissan murano. It's about time becaus ethe current editions are dated to say the least and were recently rated the worst vehicles to own by a British magazine. The best part was that the prototype was bing issued a ticket by a trooper when I passed it so I guess it is fast

scape2

all band new! On the way home from work today I spoted 3 pontiac G6's today. At first I thought they were some sort of new Acura. Colors were silver, black and red. These are nice looking vehicles. The Black one was of obvious higher level trim. I feel Pontiac will sell plenty of these with no problem...

stickguy

I saw a G6 recently in the Target parking lot. Actually didn't realize what it was, and went over to take a look. Nice exterior, and the interior seemed to be a big improvemet (although the baseline was set pretty low!).

andys120

in my 2000 528iA(E39). I find that I'm starting to warm up to the styling of the E60s. I still like the E39s better and I think the shape of the head and taillights are overdrawn but in the right color the new ones are good-looking in their own way.

 

Like a lot of new designs it owes a lot to Audi, especially the side view.

fintail

I am seeing at least one Ford 500 a day now...they seem to be selling. Are they going to fleets or are more cutting-edge Crown Vic folks moving out of the 60s?

andys120

I saw one yesterday that was obviously a fleet car belonging to a state agency.

ateixeira

Oddly enough I haven't seen the Five Hundred or the Freestyle, yet plenty have sold. What gives?

 

-juice

teds1

They are so boring you probably didn't notice. You probably thought they were Passats and explorers. The only guy I know who has a 500's Mom owns a dealership and he is driving it for free right now.

210delray

Unless you're up close and see one from the side. I haven't seen a Freestyle yet.

scape2

The 500 is "boring" yet the class leaders like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are not? Now these two cars have no soul or lines of distinction whatsoever..

m4d_cow

actuallly imo the accord and camry are just as boring

i think i saw a freestyle once, quite a rare one around here.

ateixeira

Well, they're not new, so of course they're not being mentioned in this thread.

 

Subaru had a record year in 2004, best ever, due largely to the new Legacy and Outback. So don't be surprised to see lots of those around, especially in the snow belt.

 

-juice