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

anythngbutgm

Jag:


Avy:


Sorta close... maybe not, lol.

ateixeira

Did the Jag have dotted LEDs before?

I swear these styled lights will go out of style like tailfins...

anythngbutgm

Looks like it did, here is a picture from NYT back in 2009 when the XF first appeared.

ateixeira

That has a lot more in common, 2 rows of LEDs, only the Jags' join at the extremes.

fintail

Visited the MB Museum today, which is connected to a huge dealership. So I saw tons of new material, of course many which will never be seen in the repressed NA market. One tacky thing, matte paint seems to be a new fad, I have seen it on MB on the road several times, and several higher end models in the dealership had it. The paint feels delicate to me, I wonder how it will resist chips. Also there are endless tons of new A and B class on the road here, so they must be a hit.

Saw more cool things. too - on the bus on the way to the museum, saw 2 new S-class test mules being driven. One was completely disguised, the other had the greenhouse unmasked.

Also, one Prius, zero Lexus. I think I can live with this :shades:

fintail

Looks good? I assume you didn't see the front?



I think I'd just go all the way and get an ES. I'd rather have a 61 Plymouth than some weird sea creature.

robr2

One tacky thing, matte paint seems to be a new fad...

It's been popular in the tuner community for a while (along with bed liner paint for the whole vehicle). But now BMW offers it on some vehicles and they call it Frozen Paint.

According to BMW you can take it through a car wash every day and it will be fine. But if you rub it to remove stubborn debris you will "polish" it. BMW sells a line of paint car products including a wax that helps to maintain the matter finish.

fintail

Yeah I have seen the customs, in Seattle often embraced by the flamboyantly mysteriously over-monied and tasteless (matte X6, matte Range Rover, etc). Actually, saw a late model 5er in Stuttgart today that was completely blacked out - tint, wheels, no chrome, no badges, flat black paint. And it was dark when I saw it, kind of striking...but I don't know if it's for me.

The matte paint I saw has a very hard kind of porcelain-enamel feel, and seems thin. I guess time will tell. I am sure it will sell just because it is more expensive...sometimes, that's all it takes.

robr2

Yeah I have seen the customs, in Seattle often embraced by the flamboyantly mysteriously over-monied and tasteless (matte X6, matte Range Rover, etc).

You haven't seen the clapped out 15 year old Civics with the V-TEC stickers and rims worth more than car with the matte black paint? That's what I typically see.

fintail

The matte paint I see from the fart can boy racer set seems be due to neglect, or maybe Krylon at best. Maybe the 2%ers think it looks cool, and they want in on the action. Hopefully the undoubtedly insane profit margins will be used for product improvement.

I wonder if it will have the same impact on resale that $3000 wheels and $5000 stereos have for Hondas.

qbrozen

Worse. I project a negative impact for most mainstream vehicles. Its like a manual trans in that you are limiting the market.

kyfdx

The matte paint effect on cheaper cars is actually a vinyl wrap....

qbrozen

well, it used to be just spraycan primer. Guess they've evolved.

stever

At Lowes, new platform washers and ... oops, wrong thread.

Spending a week in Port Huron and got to see a new New Beetle. Like it even better than the old New Beetle but it was still being driven by a woman. My wife liked it too.

Also a barn door Countryman S John what'shisname edition in the wild; have only seen one before at an autoshow.

Not new, but a yellow Sky turbo.

imidazol97

Have seen some of the birds going both north and south in their motor homes.

One had a bright baby blue Volkswagen older than the large taillight versions from decades ago. It had smaller taillights and the bumper on the rear was not overweight, oversized and obtrusive. I couldn't get a good look at it because they were in the left lane moving fast.

Another was towing a pure bright red Volkswagon with the larger taillights but not the modern era of embedded taillights that are within the fender.

Usually the collection of cars hooked on the rear are a mixture of smaller cars. It's odd to see VWs from earlier eras.

fintail

Today saw a couple new style 911s, a customized (read: ostentatious and homely) Panamera, and a new style VW Golf Cabrio - maybe destined for the US?

One Lexus - RX. No Prius.

Read that the new B-class is something like the 3rd or 4th best selling car in Germany, which surprised me. Toyota in 8th place. Something like 2000 Lexus sold here this year, which is roughly the weekly sales volume at my local dealer.

ateixeira

I imagine the looming crisis will cut that dealer's volume in half.

fintail

Back in suburban Seattle? It would have to be a world ending event the oh so hard working locals to not buy a new RX every 4 or so years.

I must say this road culture that lacks the uber-beige along with pointless trucks and oversized SUVs doesn't exactly make me upset. I can deal with the tin cans and CUVs.

Oh yeah, I saw something I kind of want today - a quad. 4 wheeled ATVs can be licensed and driven like cars here. I am pretty sure that isn't the case back home. Also seeing all of the scooters makes me want a bike, too.

stever

I've seen a few street legal "side by side" ATVs up here in the UP. They trick them out with lights and tags, maybe some other things.

ateixeira

Any issues with getting around with the narrow roads?

That's probably more an issue in Italian cities.

fintail

I was in Heidelberg earlier...some roads there where you can re-enact "I know this car honey" from "European Vacation". But most modern city areas are fine - narrower than the US, but truck transport exists here too.

Regarding ATVs in the UP - can snowmobiles be used on the road there in winter?

Saw another new Golf Cabrio today, nothing else comes to mind. I think maybe one Prius, zero Lexus.

stever

can snowmobiles be used on the road there in winter?

I think it's county option, but there's so many trails you really don't need to get on a road except to access a trail (or a bar :shades: ). Lots of trails get on the highway shoulder to get across bridges or to snake around private property where the landowner won't give access.

It it pretty amusing to look off into the woods and see stop signs where trails intersect with little roads or driveways.

ateixeira

zero Lexus

Sounds like they're about as open minded as you are to Asian cars. LOL

fintail

Or maybe the local offerings are so much better, and the imports aren't priced right. Lexus doesn't seek to undercut so much, here. Or maybe it is being close minded and not being beige averse, right. Lexus is just now developing cars that can somewhat drive like the euros - and some of that is because the euros have numbed it up.

Hell, I remember the useless suits at Hyundai trying to sell the Azera here for over 40K Euro - well into E/5er territory. I am sure that one didn't sell because of closed minds rather than simply not being a value.

ateixeira

If the Hyundai Azera is priced that way, I can only imagine a Lexus.

Maybe they figure they may as well keep them exclusive since the masses are not going to buy them.

fintail

I think they might know it is a tough road, and profit margins fall into play. For large cars sold on the European continent, Germany has dominated for maybe 40 years now. Large Italian and French sedans usually don't fare well either.

There are some open minds - can't count the amount of small Toyotas and Mitsus that are everwhere, even Hyunkia has a respectable presence.

ateixeira

Lancia is the new european Chrysler...ugh. How badly is that going to fail?

Edit for link:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/04/lancia-to-continue-on-with-models-built-in-am- erica/

Can we short sell Lancia stock?

It was like Saturn becoming the American Vauxhall. Like Merkur before that.

Citroen certainly makes, uh, shall we say "interesting", cars, and be nice about it?

It's a crowded home turf, and a shrinking market on top of that. Probably not even worth pursuing, at least until they begin to rebound.

fintail

I don't know if Lancia has been viable for a long time. I have seen numerous late model Alfas on the road though.

Citroen has a little cult behind it. Maybe like Saab, but with more mass market/affordable cars. A big Citroen might be the only large French car that anyone would buy.

Europe might have too many brands for a market that isn't really any more likely to buy than the US, and maybe no more economically stable either.

ateixeira

I've always loved Alfas but I've just given up after many heart breaks.

Next MX-5 is supposed to share a platform with the new Spyder, that certainly sounds interesting. Would likely be too spendy for a toy, new at least. We'll see.

Way too many brands, I predict at least 2-3 will fold.

lemko

Way back in the day, the Eiffel Tower displayed colossal Citroen advertising:

ateixeira

Gee I wonder why they stopped.

lemko

Looks like some graffiti vandal tagged the tower!

ateixeira

I know man that's just awful. Hideous!

explorerx4

I saw signs in Mackinaw that read 'No riding snowmobiles on the sidewalk'.
In the winter, snowmobiles are the preferred way of getting to and from the island to the mainland.

fintail

Does the US get a new style S60/V60 wagon? I saw one, doesn't seem familiar.

Zero Prius and zero Lexus, but I am in not in a big city today.

Random selection of cars on the road. Truck is a bit out of place:



Also saw a Durango with a Canadian flag on the windshield.

imidazol97

Is that a horse at the left end of the parking lot?

stever

Bright red, nice looking compact.

Asked the valet if he had driven it. He said yeah, it was horrible. He was tall and said the Spark wasn't meant for anyone over six feet tall.

Saw a truckload of Audis too, but they were all in shrinkwrap.

Saw fields of new Fords and Jeeps, but I guess driving by the factories doesn't count.

robr2

Does the US get a new style S60/V60 wagon? I saw one, doesn't seem familiar.

S60 yes. V60 No.

kyfdx

A dwarf horse, maybe? :confuse:

fintail

No wagon, right?

Saw a Hyundai i40 today, which is kind of like an upmarket Sonata for Europe. It was in Belgium (I think), and declared what it was in big letters on the side - likely a promotional vehicle.

3x each Prius and Lexus (all RX), all in Benelux.

I'm at the Ring now, who knows what I might see tomorrow.

robr2

No wagon, right?

Correct - no wagon. We get the XC60 instead.

anythngbutgm

No, unfortunately no V60 here in the states... More strangeness from Volvo who currently have zero non-XC wagons for sale here, a once hallmark of the brand back in the 80's and 90's.

Saw a few of them myself when I was there. I'd buy one. :shades:

Another Euro only model you might see is the V40.

Volvo V40

They also have an XC-ized version which is pretty cool as well.



Both are based on the Ford Focus.

ateixeira

Check out that one row with all wagons, 7 of them.

More wagons in that pic than sedans, or any other bodystyle for that matter.

You should post in Mystery Car Pix, I can ID a bunch of those.

ateixeira

Friend just picked one up, our daughters are basically best buddies.

CR-V LX AWD, silver.

fintail

There was a red SL63 (I guess) buzzing around the Grand Prix part of the Ring this morning, sounded like a WWII fighter plane, monster. Also a newish M3 wagon was playing in the same area.

fintail

Meh, another crossover kind of thing. I've probably seen it and not noticed. I'd rather have the wagon. Unfortunately, I am not the trend

andys120

M3 wagon?

fintail

Well, it was an E91 Touring fully trimmed out and obviously had a big engine by the noise it was making. Custom, but close enough :shades:

Saw a 4 door Fiat 500 today

qbrozen

you did? I think that was going to be called the 500L, maybe?

Where did you see it? Its not even on their website yet.

fintail

Yep, 500L. In France.