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

andys120

As I was coming out of a downtown store I saw a new Hyundai Accent go past. Nothing remarkable except it was that neon green-gold color that's become popular recently and on a dreary grey, drizzly morning it made that car stand out as if was the only colored thing in a black-and-white world.

Hyundai deserves some credit for taking the most nondescript vehicle and turning it into a real looker. The only trouble is it's better looking than the more expensive Hyundais.

ateixeira

I know they are selling but where are they? Not many in the DC area. Weird.

robr2

Hey juice - how was the storm? I know you had to deal with it in two places.

ateixeira

We dodged a bullet, the worst was north and east from us.

DC was not too bad. There was a downed tree about 150 yards from my house.

Ocean City is a mess, coastal highway was under water and one of the fishing piers (at least) was totally wiped out.

Our condo is 2nd floor so it should be OK, though I worry that our A/C unit may have been flooded. The place is winterized so I'm asking a neighbor to check it out.

NYC got it much worse than we did.

fintail

Saw a white Fisker Karma this morning, in the rain. It wasn't on fire, unlike the several in NYC that got flooded and then burst into flames

ateixeira

He's a stylist, not an engineer.

anythngbutgm

:surprise:

stickguy

well, that will save them the trouble of having to junk them and recycle the important parts.

fintail

Or having them hit the used market. Disasters always make for troublesome shady used cars.

ateixeira

Here's the full blog:

http://updates.jalopnik.com/post/34669789863/more-than-a-dozen-fisker-karma-hybr- ids-caught-fire-and

I call dibs on those rims.

berri

I ended up behind a white C-Max pulling out of a parking garage today. First one I've seen. Kind of looked like an Escape, except possibly just a bit more compact. Saw another new Fusion as it blew by me on the Interstate. This one was silver. Liked the looks of it's grill in my review mirror, but as I see more of them the rest of the car is looking more Hyundai like to me. Still nice, but maybe not quite as exceptional as I initially thought. If it's priced right I think it will sell well.

anythngbutgm

New Hyundai Sante Fe, a red Subaru XV Crosstrek (which looked pretty good in person) and a 2013 Fusion. Gotta say, in person, the Fusion is kind of disappointing. This one may have been rental grade but it just looked fat and heavy and the miniml wheel gaps made it look like a low rider...

Spent last weekend in Key West and on the way down, spotted a new ATS. It was the first one I have seen on the road.

Meh...

The XTS has much more presence, even tho it's nothing more than a Glammed up Lacrosse/Impala rental car.

lemko

...new white Dodge Durango near Hellerman and Bingham in NE Philly.

ateixeira

Saw a new Dart while taking the kids around, first around here.

C-Max is one of those that looks better in person than on paper. I wonder how real world mileage will be. They claim +7mpg over the Prius V, but other Ford hybrids make the same claims and real world mileage still doesn't match similar Toyotas (Fusion vs. previous TCH) per fuelly and fueleconomy.gov.

I hope it does because it's a pretty cool package. Not that I'm shopping, but that would make my short list to replace the minivan if it were stolen or something.

fintail

I saw an Opel Ampera today, which should give a clue as to where I am.

Also, have been out most of the day, have seen 2 Prius (one in fleet service) and not a single Lexus.

ateixeira

Europe is in crisis, they can't afford them.

fintail

The amount of traffic in Cologne even with $7.50 or so diesel prices begs to differ. Also more late model Maseratis here than I expected.

Lots of funky little crapbox diesel cars though, and Suzuki Swift remains popular among odd Japanese things.

Oh, high speed train today hit 288 km/h, and was smooth as glass. Love it.

anythngbutgm

Ya, not much Japanese representation over there, I saw the occasional Honda Accord (our TSX) and a couple of S2k's but other than the few Toyota yawners (Like the Auris rental I had) , there wasn't much excitement. I did see an FR-S up in the Rothenbug ODT area tho....

Oh and Cologne Cathedral is on my "must see" bucket list.

Have an awesome time man!

anythngbutgm

One car that I saw over there that isn't available here is the Audi Q3 which I think would do very well over here. Sure, size wise it's not much different from the Q5 but I think the nipped and tucked body shape and I believe a 200lb weight reduction would be a nice competitor to the BMW X1.

fintail

I've seen a couple Accord wagons, and a couple of other oddballs that come to mind are a loaded Peugeot 508 wagon, and a Citroen DS3. Haven't noticed a Q3, but 3 door A3 are common, along with all variants of 1er. Most common Toyotas are Yaris - Auris size.

I could see the Dom from my window right now if this pesky office building wasn't in the way :shades:

ateixeira

Enjoy all the cool oddball cars but stay away from the Bavarian Rosswurst (horse sausage). :shades:

stickguy

well, sadly, not looking like it.

I am renting a car to drive down to Norfolk on business for a couple days (actually more convenient than flying, since the company won't spring the extra $$ for a non-stop flight!) from Philly. Was supposed to go Wednesday, but for obvious reasons (including the Hertz location at my local AAA not having power) it got postponed.

I swung through today to make sure they were back open (yes they were) and saw the little collection of cars in their part of the parking lot. Seemed to consist of a Versa (yuck) Corolla (yuck) and a Camry SE (last generation, didn't those redesign for 2013?).

I was hoping for something interesting (Mazda, even a new Malibu or fusion) but no such luck. I just hope that the Camry is what qualifies as the "standard" (full size?) or whatever it is I reserved. Because 5 hours in either of the other 2 could be painful.

fintail

It's the weisswurst that scares me - just looks wrong.

Spotted a Q3 this morning (you can see the weather is just awesome)



Also saw an Audi A1 cabrio - uncommon even here, new Jag XJ diesel, late model lowline Landcruiser, all kinds of off small euros and a few small Asians, zero Prius, zero Lexus, and not new but a Citroen C6 - which is cool.

fintail

Is that some off the beaten path rental branch? Camry redesigned for MY 12...Hertz sometimes has a rep for some older cars now and then, that would be one of the oldest in the fleet, I bet. Hope you got something decent.

kyfdx

Weisswurst: You need Handlmaier mustard for that.... German-made... trust me on this.... US Handlmaier fan club

By tradition, you should eat weisswurst before Noon, along with Hefeweizen to wash it down.... Remove the outer skin, before eating...

I really like the Q3...

I saw a new Altima for the first time, yesterday... (or, at least the first time I've noticed one).. Looks good compared to the old one..

fintail

I might be too grossed out to try it. The color just makes me think of undercooked and food poisoning.

Oh yeah, I was going to mention odd license plates. Although I am only on foot so far, have noticed British, French (quite a few), Dutch, and saw a VW Passat wagon with Russian plates

stever

Actually you have to wash down a few (quite a few) Hefeweizens first. Then tackle the wurst.

stickguy

it is just a Hertz counter in the local AAA office, which happens to be about a mile from my house. So, the most convenient location that was available on my corporate travel site. They seem to only have a couple on hand at a time, so I assume if they get a booking they might bring in a unit from some central place.

I ended up with a 2012 Malibu LT. 37K on it (Florida plates up in Jersey, so it has been around). Lot of miles for a rental, but insides seemed OK. Body a bit beat up (bumpers and so forth). Decently equipped, with XM radio at least, heated power seats, and even shiny chrome wheels (tacky, but shiny).

first time driving one of them. Drivers seat was actually pretty comfortable on the drive home. Lets see how it does after 5 hours!

I asked about the lone Camry, which I think was the new body style so probably a 2012 also. The guy said it wasn't ready yet, whatever that meant. But it also did not have sat radio, and since I am going to be driving through the boonies most of the way, that is a nice feature to have.

kyfdx

It's not the "worst", it's the "wurst"..

And, weisswurst is actually quite good.... I recommend Paulaner or Franziskaner Hefe...

You have to use the sweet mustard, though...

stever

I may be the only guy posting here who's toured the Löwenbräu brewery and stuck to the sausage and rolls in the tasting room. Not much of a beer fan. 100 grams of plockwurst was the usual lunch order at a grocery on my knapsack trip there right out of college.

The mustard does sound good and it sounds like there's a lot of demand for it down in your neck of the woods. Next time I pull up to a Rolls, I'll ask them to pardon me, but....

berri

Long drive, you're probably better off with the Malibu. Camry seats aren't all that comfortable on longer drives.

kyfdx

Come on down... Mustard Club meets the 2nd Saturday of each month... Nice German buffet for $11 at Mecklenburg Gardens...

At least a dozen different German beers on tap... We'll find one you like!

Hefeweizen isn't a bad place to start for a newbie.....

stever

I sample ones my wife gets all the time, and there was one brown something that was tolerable. Not so good that I can remember the name now, lol.

A friend gave me a beer making kit two years ago that's sitting in the basement.

Guess I could try to make some - would die of boredom if I took up new car spotting around here. There ain't none, more so since the tourists left

fintail

Didn't have any wurst today, did see 2 Prius - both taxis. Probably 80% of Toyotas are iQ and Yaris/Aygo. Still not one Lexus. Saw a Honda FR-V, (not new, but odd) which combines the awkward style of a CR-V with a Fit. Several new style Audi A1, facelift 1er, Focus RS. Odd plates - Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium.

kyfdx

It was sitting outside a local restaurant, as we came out.... .. like he was in getting a carryout order... Dark tinted windows... Was admiring it, and evidently the driver was still inside it, because he revved it up near redline...

I was amazed at the growl, considering it's a 4-cylinder boxer... very nice...

Still think they missed the boat, by not naming this a Toyota Celica... Could have doubled sales, I think....

ateixeira

Q3 looks like a Q5 hatchback (less cargo room).

Bet it will sell well anyway.

ateixeira

Saw one of these, huge faux metal strip across the tailgate reminds me of the earlier F150 my roommate had in college. Don't flash your brights at 'em, you'll blind yourself.

Also saw a white Benz wagon. Sadly rare compared to the ML SUVs.

Then a new IS with the LEDs under the headlights.

fintail

Saw another 3 or so of those, today. Always debadged.

Also a new B-class (extra styling!) and a new A-class. I'm in Stuttgart now, so MB and Porsche are more common, and the car scene is active overall. Also saw a GT-R, which has to be uncommon here.

Finally saw a Lexus too. A debadged old IS sportcross, probably IS200. Not one Prius today. No big fat SUVs either, and pickups are for people who live on farms, and for construction work. What a world...

ateixeira

FWIW, among the 5 major makes, Toyota's share in Germany is higher than VW's share in Japan:

http://parts.olathetoyota.com/2011-car-sales-statistics.html

Also, Toyota share of their own home market is much higher than VW's in Germany.

Better offense and better defense, home turfs.

VW makes it up in China and Brazil, though.

When I was a kid the 4 major names there were Fiat, Ford, VW, and Chevrolet. Toyota sold a few FJs here and there. They really have a lot of catching up to do, but Toyota is stubborn and prices their products WAY too high there.

fintail

The small models are accepted here. Many iQ and Yaris sized things. But anything bigger than a Corolla, forget about it.

Mistubishi seems to do well too, for the very small cars esp. Honda has some presence with the excellent Euro Civic. Have seen maybe one Subaru.

Japanese consumers are nationalistic to put it lightly, so those stats are not shocking.

Oh yeah, I saw a Brilliance on the road today. Several years ago the brand tried to launch in Europe, I believe it was a quick failure. The only local listings I can find are paired with Lada dealers and garages, so that explains something. Driver probably works for a Chinese embassy or dreams of sweatshops and opression.

ateixeira

German nationalism is strong, too, no?

The Subarus are all up in Scandinavia.

The Brilliance didn't implode on itself?

Lada tried in Brazil, offering uber-cheap cars, some less than half the cost of competitors. Didn't take long for them to rust in the sea air, and before long they were gone. And I mean LONG gone, you don't even see them any more.

fintail

Germany is very loyal for large cars. But normal and small cars are pretty open - even French cars are common. Subarus are very popular in Switzerland.

The later Brillance was engineered to pass safety tests...but I suspect few wanted to roll those dice.

Lada tried Canada, too. I think the only survivors are Niva/Cossack. The brand is still offered in Europe, I think, but finds few sales. The cheapskate set buys Dacia and small Koreans now.

ateixeira

Dacia Duster is sold in Brazil, but badged as a Renault.

You could say it basically took over the Niva's slot, in terms of being the cheapest little AWD you can get. Though it's more crossover, less SUV.

At least it doesn't rust when you stare at it like Ladas did.

fintail

I've seen a couple Dusters on the road. Actually, I watched a car show on TV last weeked, where they compared the (very very) base model to a loaded model, which cost more than twice the base car. Lots of differences.

I think the Lada Niva is fairly robust. I kind of like those things.

Had a good car sighting day - as I went on a tour of MB assembly facilities at Sindelfingen. These were all outside or driving - at least a dozen SLS cabrios and many normal SLS, maybe 10 CLS Shooting Brake, 5 or 6 B-Class F-cell,and the highlights were two thinly masked facelift (2014) E-class, and a heavily masked protoype C-class. Sadly, I was on a bus and they were long gone by the time my phone camera was ready. C-class was odd, lots of CLS DNA in it.

ateixeira

Samara was awful.

Niva was a decent little truck, but a very dated design. They should have at least switched to galvanized steel. The bodies just didn't last.

Keep in mind most of Brazil lives on the coast with salty air. Mom owned a Fiat Uno that had a rust hole go all the way through in less than 12 months (no kidding).

Cheap cars simply rust away.

fintail

They tried Samara in Canada, too. Up to maybe 1995. I bet all were off the road by 2000. Imagine how those held up in Ontario winters.

I am surprised I haven't seen a Lada yet here. Once you go to the old east, you still see Trabis and Wartburgs. I did see Romanian plates today.

Oh yeah, and one Prius and one Lexus - RX that was holding up traffic trying to find a nonexistant parking spot. Cultural universal...

ateixeira

Imagine how those held up in Ontario winters.

I imagine the rust holes in the sheet metal made for poorly insulated cars!

Maybe the RX owner was a VIP and expected people to vacate a spot for her.

anythngbutgm

It was dusk so that may explain my mistake for those who might criticize me for this but I was on the highway last night and came upon what I thought was a jaguar XF. Looked fantastic, the rear light bars and the integrated exhaust. Come a bit further on it and what do ya know, thing had a Toyota badge! It turned out to be a new Avalon... Gotta say, it looks really good in person. Maybe not Jag good when you get next to it, but still...

ateixeira

Haven't seen one at night yet.

They're not selling as quickly around here as the new Camry did, but national sales are strong.

ateixeira

Turns out one of my Directors owns one.

Here's the new one:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/06/new-maserati-quattroporte-revealed-before-det- roit-debut/

Kinda reminds me of the Infiniti M.