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

ateixeira

Her wrecked fleet alone would be amusing.

fintail

She should be forced to drive a pink H2 for the rest of her life - she, like it, signifies what is wrong with society. She's good in a custom Bentley or Lambo too, though. She'll probably buy that Kubang too, she meets the standard demographic - more money than she deserves, oblivious to the world around her, accountability-free zone. She could live in Medina, the heights of Clyde Hill, or in "The Points", locally :shades:

Upon looking at the Kia, it appears a pano is actually optional on the turbo model...I swear the one I saw was just a conventional unit though, and I saw it from the air.

tifighter

Hey now, I like Clyde Hill.

fintail

I like the 40s-50s era housing stock, but some of the pretentious mansions built on the higher ground there in the past decade are just insane - and not in a good way.

stever

Pano treatments - is that like a vinyl roof?

And if you like pink, here's a limited edition to watch out for.


2012 Fiat 500 Pink Ribbon Bows (Inside Line)

fintail

It's just a black painted top, to simulate a panoramic sunroof, as has been popular on E-class since 2003.

Pink doesn't work on many cars,that one included. The Fiat 500 I saw last was yellow, not the best choice either IMO.

tifighter

I grew up in Clyde Hill. Lived in Enatai for years. Moved to West Seattle via Queen Anne. They've all been over-developed. Enatai hurts the most; I really liked my neighborhood.

ateixeira

Yeah, I was gonna mention it - saw an ad for the Kia Optima during the local news last night, and sure enough they showed off the pano roof.

I like those - I remember the one in the C coupe, and the Scion tC, both very trick.

Our Forester has a giant moonroof, too. Big enough for all 4 of us to stick out of it for funny family photos.

ateixeira

Made in China:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x2Khqmet9uc

Actually that can't be true. We all know a chinese copy-cat's quality would not be nearly that good. :P

ateixeira

Saw a Porsche Barf-a-mera last night.

Followed by a new Civic. Not diggin' it.

fintail

Are you sure that's a copycar? Looks like the real thing to me :shades:

My F11 BMW rental wagon had a long sunroof too, nice touch.

I saw a few new Civic coupes sitting on a lot last weekend...so invisible they could be Toyotas.

berri

I saw two new models on the road today. Since it was on the highway, it was only the outside. 2012 Camry - what's with that Anime rear end? Sad thing, it probably costs them more that way than a more standard tailight. New MB SUV. Kind of looked like a 3/4 scale new Explorer.

ateixeira

Camrys have hit the roads already? Haven't seen any yet in person. I'm sure there will soon be billions of them.

berri

I'm pretty sure that's what it was - it had dealer plates.

ateixeira

Could be an early demo/tester. Or some times dealers handle the press fleet for manufacturers. I've been in a Mitsubishi that was a press car and was not available for test drives, it was even labeled pre-production in many places.

berri

You may be right since I saw it on the Interstate with odd plates. The only reason it caught my eye is because it kind of looked like my Camry with a funky butt. I'm not sure this car will surge, but I'm also pretty sure it will do fine in sales volume.

lemko

I saw a white Nissan Silvia similar to the vehicle pictured above near Bryn Athyn, PA. I wonder how a JDM car got here. It has the nameplate "Silvia" in chrome script in the little slot grille.

ateixeira

Lucky kid of a rich diplomat?

We get a lot of those on embassy row in DC (Mass Avenue basically).

ateixeira

Mixed feelings about it.

That the cheapest model is the most efficient is nice, but...

Should M-B be copying Lexus? Why not a low-cost diesel instead?

berri

Some people think old Dr. Z is flailing at Daimler. That MB is losing its image to BMW amd Audi. If he can't beat the German competition, maybe that is driving him to copy Lexus instead?

fintail

Was it really a RHD car, or just a facelift? I have seen numerous old Nissan SX cars with JDM front trim.

fintail

Not really a Lexus copy...it's been out for a couple years, for one - and it doesn't occupy the same position. S400 is the bottom of the line S-class (for NA), LS600h is the top of the line LS that virtually nobody buys. Overpaid underworked sychopantic MBUSA marketers are only now coming back to accept diesel.

Newbies today - new E wagon with a little old lady driving it, and a Lexus IS cabrio with the top down - a rare sight. Wearing dealer plates and just a few blocks from the dealer, I suspect being used as a demo. Driver had his elbow out the door, which looked dorky as it has a high beltline.

ateixeira

Same idea, new spin. Affordability is relative.

The issue is that by doing it they validate what Lexus pioneered.

fintail

Yes, Toyota got a lot of hype going with hybrids, and others are looking for a piece of that pie. Never underestimate the gullibility of the consumer. If anything, MB might be doing it more of the Toyota way than the spinoff brand, as it using a hybrid for an economical model, not a white elephant flagship.

But the cars themselves, technically, no copy. Different price points in the class, different positions in the class, different purposes.

lemko

I dunno. Saw it real quick. A guy was telling me some people do conversions on Nissans to make them look like the JDM cars.

ateixeira

OK, then, how about this for Germans copying Asia?

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/26/what-can-hyundai-do-silently-and-inexpensivel- y-that-volkswagen-a/

I guess turnabout is fair play. :P

fintail

Sounds like just a tactile issue to me, either you feel it lock in or not...CEO might not have got it. Doesn't matter to me, my modern cars have all had power units :shades:

fintail

Yep, the 240SX conversion is very popular, many of them out here in the land where a few years ago every old Civic was made into a race car with a fart can exhaust and a park bench spoiler. Lame. The Nissans were usually more legit.

ateixeira

What, no "how lazy and spoiled are we?" comment to follow that sentence?

You've gone soft, fin...

fintail

Actually, I'd need to talk about not needing tilt/telescope at all for that one.

My old W126 S-class had just telescope, no tilt - angle was fine for me, MB has always been good at ergonomics.

stever

conversions on Nissans

Yeah, maybe some of the cladding and logos were mail-ordered from Japan?

fintail

Saw another new style CLS63 today, this one with normal plates. Couldn't get enough of a look at the driver to stereotype :shades: but I did see it use its signal - something local BMW drivers are especially unlikely to do. Speaking of that, also saw 2x new style X3.

fintail

Had a new style Maserati cabrio behind me in traffic today. Some young teens were walking by on the sidewalk, I was in the fintail, guess which one they pointed at? Not the Maserati. :shades:

Also saw an R8, both a Crosstour and a ZDX, and two new style Infiniti QX...where's the vomit emotorcon?

lemko

I was at the Fall Carlisle meet this past Saturday with andre1969 and grbeck and spotted a really nice silver 1990 W126 Mercedes. It had 51K miles on it and the seller wanted $9,995 for it. What do you think?

ateixeira

I guess the Germans can do it at a cost, but not at Hyundai price levels.

Any how, you have to admit it's interesting to see the VW CEO trying to reverse-engineer a tilt mechanism from a Korean manufacturer. He had a tape measure and it looked like his posse was taking notes!

I'm just happy my NC Miata has a tilt at all. The NA did not.

ateixeira

Seeing lots of new Focuses Focus Focii (?) around lately, 3 this weekend. Ford deserves a medal for Most Improved.

Also saw a black Volt. Still rare around DC, surprisingly.

fintail

If it was a nicely optioned and colored car with absolutely no needs (factory fresh mechanicals, perfect tires and brakes, etc) and perfect cosmetics, not a bad deal. A mint 560SEL should be worth that.

fintail

I don't know how you can "reverse engineer" a steering column with a tape measure and no internal inspection, or if the Korean design isn't brand new and the German design is ancient and an industry standard or what. Too many variables here to bow down to the coddled and bailed out Korean overlords...they aren't taking over the world just yet, no matter the hyperbole some fanboys want to use :shades:

But seeing how the Koreans have tried to "reverse engineer" (or simply buy when their unsightly home market stuff isn't up to snuff) the styling of others for some time, I guess anything can happen these days.

stever

It's called competitive analysis in the biz. A friend of mine worked for HP and his job was to study competing printers. Sometimes that involved buying one and taking it apart and other times it was just measuring stuff to see how the performance stacked up.

If Hyundai has a better range of motion in their tilt wheels, VW better get on the stick.

robr2

Saw one at the Kia dealer in town that is also going to sell these and checked it out. I then saw about 5 on a carrier at the Honda dealer down the street owned by the same dealer group.

It's not pretty but it looks like it'll do what it's designed to do - a purpose designed vehicle from the factory for wheelchair bound drivers and passengers.

fintail

The Korean model moved silently, the German one didn't. That annoyed the CEO. I'd chalk it up to a feedback issue more than anything else, letting the user know the wheel had locked into position. Nothing was taken apart or otherwise analyzed by the suit

ateixeira

Wanna bet VW secretly buys one of those Hyundais to take a closer look?

I was a little surprised to see them taking notes in broad daylight. I guess it's normal to take a peek, but he was doing more than that, and he was even aware that he was being filmed. I guess I expect that sort of thing to be delegated to some design engineer, and on the down low.

No, they're not taking over the world any time soon, but LG and Samsung sure are trying.

ateixeira

Nice to see the Grand Caravan and Sienna access vans getting some competition.

imidazol97

Saw an X6 driving home from Columbus. I was surprised after seeing this thing behind me to see a BMW emblem on the back. It looked lika giant pillbug in black. It did not have the trim, lean look of most BMWs. Maybe a giant Crosstour on steroids?

ateixeira

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

That and the ZDX, Crosstour, Panamera all give nausea.

fintail

If the CEO wants it, of course. I don't think it is any kind of legitimate technology or usability issue, it's just something different that a bigwig liked. He used a tape measure, he didn't crack it open or demand a schematic. Germans don't do subtlety very well.

A friend of mine who is also from South Korea (and rabidly nationalistic, as always seems to come with the territory) tells me I would be an idiot to buy a Samsung laptop, and my latest LG phone was a horrible nightmare, so there's work to be done yet. My Samsung TV has been nice though.

imidazol97

I had seen them mentioned in discussions here, but I expected something different. They must be okay for others; someone owned that one and was perking along I70 at a good pace.

fintail

It's rolling proof that money doesn't buy taste, now that Hummer is gone someone has to sell to those who want hideous overblown messes, I guess. :shades:

fintail

I like the idea behind this thing, it is discreet, doesn't have the weird jacked up with cheap bodykit look that current conversions are cursed with.

ateixeira

You got it backwards, get LG appliances and a Samsung smart phone.

Apple resorted to blocking them vs. having to compete head-to-head, you've likely heard.

I think it's cool that Samsung reference a Kubrick movie in their defense. Apple was not the first by a long shot.