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

teds1

I Saw a couple of STS's for the first time this weekend. They looked pretty good, and I'm not a huge fan of the industrial art and design thing Caddilac has going. It fits this sized sedan best of anything I've seen yet though out of them. Meaner looking than a cts or srx. The DTS pictures I've seen though look disapointing. they are looking for the same old tired geriatric demographic with that one. They could be selling a dynamic looking less expensive competitor to the s, 7, xj set and make a mint but they made a sharp angular looking buick instead

ateixeira

CLS is so low, you have to see it in person to understand the scale. My opinion of it improved a lot.

 

-juice

fintail

I saw my first Buick Lacrosse on the road today, or at least the first one I have noticed. Being a GM sedan, of course it was a rental car. It's new, but it'll attract the same Century/Regal set.

anythngbutgm

I've got 2 neighbors with new Avalons. One Ltd (White) and one XLS (Light blue). Interesting, because the one with the Limited just had a brand new Lacrosse for a month or two before hand... Pretty sharp looking, though I would not be in the market for something so large.

ateixeira

They had a loaded one at the mall, I dunno, it was over $30k street price. Seemed a bit steep. I've seen about two on the road so far.

Avalon does look improved. I've seen one or two, but of course I live near a Toyota dealer.

-juice

erics6

Saw my 1st Lotus Elise on the road today. Very nice!!! It was night. Tailights looked very Ferrari like. Looked like a bumpy ride too. Hmmm... do I have a spare 50k for a impractical but fun car?

210delray

Saw my first one today, in beautiful bright blue.

I can see why they're sold out for a year or so.

Texas vanity plates, "Crewe."

lemko

...black Mercury Montego on Rhawn St. near Veree in Philadelphia.

ateixeira

I would not mind spotting an Elise in my driveway!

-juice

jaserb

Every bit the abomination I imagined. I honestly have no idea what you would use that dorky little pickup bed for.

-Jason

ateixeira

Saw one of those the other day, also. But just one so far.

They didn't take off like the original H2 did.

Saw a Five Hundred on the road this AM.

-juice

teds1

There is a hospital near my office
(in NYC) that always has the Docs cars out front with special dashboard signs permitting them to park. There is a changing cast of cars with the same black D.A.R.E PA plates which have to all belong to the same guy. He has by my count, a Black new Viper (replacing his old grey GTS coupe, the 06 Vette convertible in orange, a cayenne, and an SUT. Must be nice... except for the SUT bit. What a useless piece of crap. The only person I know who likes this thing is an insane right wing Nam Marine vet and even he prefers the wagon version. Plus driving that thing into the city from PA must cost like $80 a trip. Crazy

210delray

I spotted the huge bulging hood first and then saw the "SRT" script on the quarter panel.

The driver pulled out of a crossroad without stopping as I was approaching...far enough away that there was no danger of colliding.

bksward

Saw a car carrier on I-405 heading south from Long Beach with 4 new M45s yesterday afternoon.

turboshadow

Saw a black version of Honda's new pick-'em-up. Looks like a 7/8 scale Avalanche, the naked one that is.

Not bad looking, but not worth 30K, IMHO.

Turboshadow

ateixeira

Saw a couple of Equinoxen on the road. Is that the plural form of Equinox?

-juice

jaserb

Sometimes a vehicle looks better in the flesh than in pictures? This was the opposite. The rump end especially looks awkward and ungainly. Then again, that's not my best side either, so maybe I shouldn't be talking...

-Jason

210delray

Aren't the prettiest in my opinion. They look like a throwback to the late 50s and early 60s. This is one instance where retro doesn't work.

andys120

There is a hospital near my office
(in NYC) that always has the Docs cars out front with special dashboard signs

A friend's Dad worked in St. Luke's and stopped wearing MD plates cuz it was an invitation to
break-ins (junkies looking for drugs).

------
I think I saw a Freestyle, they're hard to tell from Explorers being basically 7/8th scale replicas that ride a little lower.

ateixeira

New Pathy does look a little strange. We'll get used to them soon enough.

-juice

bhill2

Well, I like your suggestion of Equinoxen as a plural.

fintail

Reverse C-pillar = Rambler Cross Country, which is fitting seeing as a Pathfinder and Armada (and other SUVs) are big jacked up station wagons at a masquerade party.

It's not a new car, but I am seeing Aveos every day now. Someone is buying them. I think.

andys120

Maybe in Canada, Fin, they're pretty rare around here but small cars of all kinds are more common up your way..

ateixeira

They're rare here around DC.

-juice

fintail

I think some of them might be rentals, but I know of 2 where I work alone. Kind of odd, but they are just about the only new tiny cheap car.

ghulet

...they do have a cheap base price (US $9995 for the strippo hatch), but by the time they're equipped for human consumption (A/C and stereo), I think their price must approach that of a Scion xA, Focus or base Corolla. Plus, reviews of the Aveo (both published and by consumers) say it gets lousy fuel economy for a car its size (unlike the Metro it replaces). So, where's the upside?

fintail

I saw maybe 5 or 6 of them out on the road today, all but one the pudgy little sedan, which is IMO the worst looking one of the pair.

I've also seen several Cobalts now.

rsx-sfan

I saw a new Avalon driving around. I like the fron end but the back kinda looks bad. I also saw a Benz CLS with black 19" rims. The CLS was really nice, better than the pictures I've seen.

lemko

...new silver Mercury Montego.

ateixeira

I've seen a couple of Avalons also. Looks much better now.

Odys are all over the place now.

-juice

chidoro

...they do have a cheap base price (US $9995 for the strippo hatch), but by the time they're equipped for human consumption (A/C and stereo), I think their price must approach that of a Scion xA, Focus or base Corolla.

I think people are getting OTD prices w/ AC and stereo for under 8k. MSRP is a starting point but it's certainly not the price people end up paying.

I finally saw the new RL about a week ago. In fact, I saw two different RL's the same day and not once more since then.

The Continental GT I've seen around is definitely from someone in my neighborhood. He eats at the same deli every saturday afternoon around the time I do my dry cleaning in the same strip. It really is a beautiful car and this is coming from someone one is not a real fan of coupes, even luxo coupes

odie6l

I'm afraid that I'll have to wait and see a Freestyle on the road when I end up buying one...lol. Everytime I think I see one it's a some other car. I swear they should call owners of the Freestyles U.F.O (Unidentified Freestyle Owners).

Odie

ateixeira

I don't see them often either. I think I've only seen one or two so far! And there is a Ford dealer 2 miles from my house.

Slow launch? I saw one article that said Ford underestimated demand for the Haldex AWD.

-juice

andys120

Ford expected about 40% of Freestyle and 500 sales would be AWD models but IIRC the demand level is more like 50% right now.

andys120

a Mazda6 at a stop light and noticed the small seam at the top of the rear window that let's you know it's the five door hatch. That has to be the most completely disguised hatch ever made, it looks nearly identical to it's four door
counterpart.

ateixeira

Very sleek, I think. You lose some rear headroom, but noone would know it's a hatch.

-juice

seminole_kev

..Couple of thoughts.

The new Acura RL looks much better in person than what I had seen in photos.

New VW Jetta is hideous. Real step backwards. Looks like a VW built Corolla.

I'd chew my own ears off if it would get me a Ford GT (as in the GT-40, not the Mustang...which I do like as well though).

New Lexus GS, ugh. Do not like that fat bottomed Maxima look. Same to the new Avalon's rear (though not as bad as the GS).

Don't care for the back half of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Just a little awkward looking.

New Audi A6 didn't look as bad as I had feared from photos. Looks much larger than the previous version.

..Oh, and Andre, I saw the new Dodge Charger. It is different looking, but it isn't ugly to me. It does stand out in a sea of generic sedans, which is good. Like the front. The butt is a little off though. Much better than I had feared.

seminole_kev

..but the new Honda Ridgeline is beyond ugly. Wow. That thing could stop a clock.....just ugly. Of course that is just my opinion, but.......wow. Just bad looking.

ateixeira

Wild, I spotted a new Golf driving in Bethesda, MD, this weekend.

What's strange is that it did not have diplomatic or manufacturer's plates. We're near the capital so I see diplomatic plates all the time.

I don't think the Golf is due here until early next year, so that was quite a shocker.

-juice

ateixeira

Wild, I didn't expect to see these so soon after their auto-show debut, but I followed a GS300 AWD on the way home today.

Looks good in person, better than photos. It's longer than it looked, pretty sleek. It just flows better in person.

AWD is a sweet addition, too.

Complaint - the rims looked way too small, fender gaps are huge. Looks built to handle a Plus Two or so.

-juice

davem2001

Saw one on the road today, red with a black top...it's still sorta cold where I live....the top was UP, the driver wasn't frozen solid!

odie6l

I saw a Mustang Conv. today pulling out of a local Gas Station (with top down and 42 degrees out). It was a dark grey color....really nice looking to.

Odie

P.S. - Still waiting to see the Freestyle driving around, local dealer has 15 on its lot. Guess I'm gonna have to try the Jedi Mind Trick on my wife (even though it hurts me to get rid of my Escape).

ateixeira

Wild, I saw one yesterday. V6 coupe, with some vinyl graphics on the side.

Saw another Ody today, they're all over the place.

-juice

lemko

...sort of an orange-red Chrysler Crossfire.

jaserb

Porsche Carrera GT. It was extremely yellow, which made it seem more exotic than the silver I've seen in pictures. It was parked in the same spot I generally see either a 356 or a 968 cabrio.

-Jason

ateixeira

I went to the Brazilian Embassy today, and I usually see some cool cars on Embassy Row (Mass Ave in DC). No such luck!

-juice

fintail

Not so unusual anymore, but every day for the past week I have seen a loaded looking Cobalt sedan drive up my street...dark blue with deluxe wheels and I believe a small spoiler. Sure beats the plastic hubcap strippers (not a single deluxe model to be seen) sitting on the Chevy lot.

teds1

I was down in Destin FL this weekend for business (panhandle near Pensacola) and I saw a bunch of nice and rare stuff. Hundreds... and I mean hundreds of new mustangs every color and decal combo but no convertibles. Old ones too Boss 302's etc... I saw a black panoz esperante, tre rare, a navy Maseratti Quattroporte, a pair of prowlers (not that they are cool), a whole club of corvettes mixed years, and an e-type Jag. It is a resort area so I guess there is money, but that seemed like a lot for 3 days. Nice spot on the carrera GT above by the way... are you in TX? I heard there is a yellow one there

ateixeira

Must've been a club meet of some sort going on? They aren't that many on the roads yet.

-juice

jaserb

Don't laugh - I've seen an Enzo in the parking lot of the local mall, and driving down the main drag in town, I'm sure the Enzo is Richard Losee's car, the one that was in the Road and Track article.

-Jason