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

tjc78

Has anyone seen the Verano commercial with Peyton Manning. I thought it was well done. First Shaq now Peyton. I guess Buick got some serious advertising dollars.

iwant12

What did your wife think of the Grand Cherokee? I bought one last year, 4x4 Laredo, and I'm still loving it! 17 K on the clock and no problems . . . knock on wood. I hear they may offer it with a diesel soon.

iwant12

Spotted a new XTS in Fort Worth this week. Nice looking car but I still prefer the CTS body style.

stickguy

It was OK. I think it was a little bigger/boxier than she was looking for, and the MPG was not stellar. She did not really look all that close, and we did not get inside one. She pretty much has her mind made up. we stopped so I could see the Dart, and just for the heck of it!

fintail

Saw a current style Elantra today - rebadged as a KDM "Avante" - no swoopy H either, it had a weird kind of shield/coat of arms badge.

fintail

Saw a dark blue Scion Freeze today, a freshly plated CTS-V coupe, and a GS.

The white Freeze that a local lot is trying to flip is still sitting there.

stever

Last week I saw a new Quest. It was parked next to a Dodge Ram 2500. Once you got past the front ends and the higher ground clearance of the Ram, the sides were very similar. :shades:

This morning I saw a new Odyssey. My brother is shopping one to replace his miled up '05 (with a dying AC) and he asked me why the back end was so odd. Having only seen pics before, now I know why he was grumbling.

Hard to understand why the manufacturers can't simply make a functional box that doesn't make you go ewww. Dodge seems to manage okay with their minivan body styles. Even the purple eggplant ones they had a while back weren't really all that bad, and the "oddball" Previa still looks better than most new ones.

texases

"Hard to understand why the manufacturers can't simply make a functional box that doesn't make you go ewww."

To me, this was the high point of minivan styling:

stever

Yep. Hard to explain this:



The Mazda5 is probably the best of the current bunch.

imidazol97

That



and this



certain take away any award from the Aztek.

stever

I kind of like the Juke. Then again, I kind of like the Murano CrossCabriolet.

tifighter

Saw a white 4-door LR Evoque this afternoon. On the back of a flatbed tow truck. Good to know the radical looks didn't change the core LR traits.

robr2

The lightning bolt in the Odyssey profile has to do with creating enough rearward visibility.

Continuing the rising line in the slider without that dip would result in a small third row window and rear hatch glass.

fintail

Especially as that basic design was an early MY 1996 entrant, hitting the roads in the spring of 95 (somehow, I remember it). It aged pretty well. No real competition from Honda and Toyota then either.

Regarding ugly, IMO the rear quarter of the new CR-V has it in spades as well. The first part of the car is ok, then "yikes!" once you get past the rear door.

berri

I think the Ody is still ugly, even having seen more of them on the road. Still looks like a body shop welded on the back third of it to me. I'm not sure the Toyota Sienna gives much up in the 3rd row to the Ody, nor the greenhouse view. Another thing I've noticed is that the new Ody is noticeably lower than the previous versions, not just profile, but more cramped driving position as well. They've also lowered the new CRV, although doesn't seem by as much. If I want to sit lower, I'd just buy a sedan or a wagon. Giving up a mpg or two for a roomier, better view doesn't seem like a bad trade to me. I'll bet the new Ody becomes a rattle trap just like my old Ody did - not impressed with the workmanship out of their Lincoln, Al. plant either.

qbrozen

I think the previous gen Mazda5 was pretty good looking. That's what I would consider the high water mark ... although technically a microvan.

lemko

That weird kink near the "C" pillar makes the van looks like it's about to break-off and collapse at that point.

tifighter

I had a Pilot made in the Alabama plant and the assembly quality seemed good. Rattles were not an issue. I like the interior of the new Odyssey okay, but can't believe roof rails aren't available from the factory. Minivans are supposed to be about utility.

stever

Wondered about the roof rack from looking at the pics. My brother often carries two kayaks on top of his current Odyssey. Haven't talked to him since they went car shopping last weekend. I always use an aftermarket rack anyway, so as long as I can get clips for my towers, I don't much care, but hauling several canoes requires wider racks than factory ones.

tifighter

The roof rails are available as dealer-installed options. I have the thule adapters for factory rails that have worked on the last 3 cars I've had, and its easier to adjust the spread if you can slide it up and down the rail vs re-mounting a tower each time. Although generally winter time is ski/cargo box time, and obviously summer is Wenonah time, right?

ateixeira

Saw a handful of these in Brazil. Funny that they got it before the US will.

It's low, more wagon-y than the X3.

fintail

Saw another white Freeze, different than the one that is still sitting on that used car lot almost a month later.

ateixeira

I hope their greed backfires.

Did you read about how they sold out in Australia in 3 hours? At full list price.

There was pent-up demand for affordable RWD coupes. Problem is, they can't increase production permanently because coupes usually don't sustain sales for long. So this will be an issue for a year or two.

fintail

I think it already has backfired. They were asking 33K, now 29K last time I checked, no sale.

That demand will exist here for some time, too - as you say, there is demand for cars like that. And like you say, eventually it will level off and sticker will be easy. It's PT Cruiser syndrome, as I call it. Those were bringing huge markups in the summer of 2000, a year later - all gone.

ateixeira

They could probably get 27k for it.

$4k markup will turn buyers away.

qbrozen

Saw an Aztek with a temp tag.

ateixeira

Hard to commit to ugly. Beer goggles?

stickguy

you scoff, but if I found one that had been babied and was dirt cheap, I would buy it. Just watching the expression on my (16 YO) daughters face would be worth it.

tifighter

I think the values have increased a bit on these due to the 'Breaking Bad' effect. The show made them a little cooler.

stever

I traded my ABS Wenonah for an old Kevlar Mad River two years ago. Liked the Wenonah better but the light boat is nice for the lake paddling up here.

The last time I played with putting (Yak) adapters on a factory rack (er, '99), the spread was fine but the bars sagged with a couple of canoes up there. So I went with towers. (And the snowboard goes inside so the base stays nice and clean :shades: ). We just did a longish road trip over to the "North Shore" north of Duluth and saw a zillion canoes up near the east side of the BWCA, many just barely tied on the car tops. Lots of old Grummans too. The rental outfitters must have paid them off 35 years ago.

Saw another new Ody today but forgot to ask if my brother has purchased a new van yet when I talked to them an hour ago. Didn't spot anything else new over in MN. Only interesting car we saw was an older del Sol.

fintail

Saw a white Rolls Phantom cabrio today. The economy is still booming for a few.

ateixeira

Surprising how big these have gotten.

lemko

For those types, the economy is always booming, it's just to what degree.

fintail

And if we give them more breaks, things will trickle down and jobs will be "created".

Speaking of that, saw another gilded age one today - new style Bentley sedan with the gigantic single round lights. Not a pretty car. Driver looked kind of young (as even new money or young trust fund garbage wouldn't want something so big and stodgy), I'll wager a dealer employee or salesman.

lemko

Funny, for such hideously expensive cars, current Rolls and Bentleys are not very attractive. They had some absolutely beautiful cars in the past, but the current crop look like they were designed by Kenworth or Peterbilt. Maybe they outsourced their design studios to Korea or China where this look passes for "attractive?" Heck, for that kind of money, you're better off getting an S63 and keeping a couple hundred thou in change.

fintail

The Bentley I saw was a Mulsanne...had to look it up. The old names for new models confuse me, especially as some of these names are from the malaise era.

The reason for the ugly brashness is easy - new money in new markets. China, Russia, Arabian peninsula et al, aren't exactly known for elegant tasteful displays of wealth. There's an especially douchey clientele that needs to be won.

The value proposition is 90% about showing you can pay for the badge. Works for people who have hired security forces.

I can't call this pretty, unlike plenty of older Bentleys:

ateixeira

I bet most of their future customers will be from China, so why not design to Chinese tastes?

lemko

That Bentley's strange headlamp placement makes me think of this:

fintail

It's about as elegant - but the old car has freaky period charm, the new one is full of nothing but the arrogance of unearned wealth.

Speaking of new cars, saw a white SLS cabrio at the dealer yesterday

berri

Ah, the old downsized Dodge. Not a Polara, was the lower model line maybe a 330? I think that car looks better from the back end. I actually didn't mind the 62 Plymouth Fury though. I thought just about every one of these was long gone to people dropping big engines in them for racing or drag strips. I wonder how these cars would have come out if they weren't downsized at the last minute?

berri

Ah, the old downsized 62 Dodge. Not a Polara, was the lower model line maybe a 330? I think that car looks better from the back end. I actually didn't mind the 62 Plymouth Fury though. I thought just about every one of these was long gone to people dropping big engines in them for racing or drag strips. I wonder how these cars would have come out if they weren't downsized at the last minute?

fintail

Just saw an Infiniti JX. The more I look at these, it doesn't even seem like a crossover - it's a small minivan with a goofy styling kink to be different from the rest of the beige.

ateixeira

I've seen tons of them around here. To be fair there's an Infiniti dealer about 2 miles from where I live, but I see more JXs than Caddy SRXs and the Caddy dealer is right next door, plus it's been out longer.

Nissan just unveiled the Pathfinder today on its Facebook page. That could actually hurt JX sales, as it's the cheaper and more practical twin.

ateixeira

Comments are funny:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151950498880375.876769.238312155374&- type=1

fintail

Wow, I can understand the comments. That's really minivan-like. Pathfinder did sell to a few die hard real SUV users - they won't be buying one now.

ateixeira

Key word being "few".

They were nowhere near the volume of the Pilot, Highlander, etc. Even their own Murano outsold the Pathy 2 to 1 last year (4,829 to 2,462).

They have the XTerra, which is better for the off road crowd anyway.

The odd thing about Nissan is that the Quest isn't minivan enough. The 3rd row seats fold forward, and the cargo floor is nearly a foot shorter than competitors.

fintail

And now even that few will be gone. Who will buy this Pathfinder minivan in such a crowded soft roader market?

ateixeira

All the Murano owners who want more space and a 3rd row.

I bet it finds plenty of homes.

The JX has sold well and this is better looking and cheaper...

fintail

JX might even sell better - a minivan for those with too many self image problems to buy a real minivan, with a still kind of shaky badge on it.

I see a lot of people with no kids who drive Muranos - no need for a third seat.

I saw a new style Infiniti M with ridiculous stick on chrome trim today.

ateixeira

Murano sells to females IIRC. Probably empty nesters, past the minivan stage.

Edit: yeah, Nissan is the #2 female brand behind only Mini:

http://blog.truecar.com/2012/04/23/men-prefer-flashy-or-brawny-vehicles-women-pr- efer-import-brands-and-smaller-vehicles-according-to-truecar-com-study/