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

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited April 2013
    Lots of ground-hugging weight for better handling? :shades:

    Here's a rental review of a 4cyl SE - guess these need the V6

    The "short on seat bottom" is something I have noticed in Corolla, too. These cars are definitely engineered for the under 6' set.
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    I haven't driven one, but I checked out those new, supposedly NASA inspired Nissan seats at the auto show. They didn't knock me over. My initial impression was one of perhaps puffery.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I haven't experienced a new Altima in person. For good seats, everyone says Volvo is tops.
  • thatguy510thatguy510 Member Posts: 1
    I live near the Silicon Valley, and saw a lovely Fisker Karma hybrid.

    If you are not familiar with the car: http://media.caranddriver.com/images/11q1/379496/2012-fisker-karma-review-car-an- d-driver-photo-386473-s-429x262.jpg

    It was burgundy with a sandalwood interior. Simply stunning! I'm still torn between the Karma and the Tesla.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    "I'm still torn between the Karma and the Tesla. "

    I assume you mean just the looks. Fisker's pretty much shut down.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...coworker just bought a new dark gray Hyundai Elantra.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The 323GTX looked like a little rally car, but IIRC is was sort of pricey.

    There was a guy in College Park (MD) who delivered pizzas in one of those things! :D
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Not brand new, but they are so rare in Potomac.

    The kids all drive the MB-BMW-Lexus hand-me-downs, and the parents buy new lux cars. Pretty rare to see a Dart.

    This was in a high school parking lot at a Lacrosse game.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...green Ford Fusion near Hellerman and Oxford Avenue in NE Philly.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 265,617
    I bought an '88 323GTX in 1994... but, it had been abused, and I sold it about 18 months later... It was a hoot, though...

    Mazda was building some really cool cars in the '80s/'90s...

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  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited April 2013
    There is a 'senior' editor over there that I think does very sloppy work, so I don't bother reading any of that anymore.
    Most of the others are great.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    I thought maybe it was a Jag from the back, but it looked a little different and then I was able to read the name.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Subaru Crosstrek, sort of bland, MB SLX 350, nice sized wagon, a bit busy stylewise, but I liked it, got passed by two Prii, and the treat was getting passed near Chicago by three GR-Rs in a row. All out for a Sunday drive I suppose to enjoy their exhaust notes.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    SLX350 :confuse: Maybe GLK350? Was it kind of boxy and Tonka toy-ish?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Opps, drafted that post in Notepad and forgot to look it up and edit that; not on my usual computer. :blush: Yeah, the GLK 350.
  • anythngbutgmanythngbutgm Member Posts: 4,277
    "GR-R" or GT-R?

    If it is the Nissan, I've been sseing more of them too.

    Just browsing some sites, and there are quite a few examples that originally sold for near $100k going for half that with about 30k on the clock. Probably luring a few used buyers who can now afford the ultimate Asian Monster... :shades:
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Hm, GT, but the way they sounded, my typo sort of fits better.

    Funny assortment of cabs here - Prii and xDs are common.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Must be "International Drive your RDX" day. Saw THREE this morning.

    One was next to a Q5 and I realized how much it's grown. It looked much bigger, but I look up dimensions and it's only an inch taller and an inch longer. In person the difference seems greater.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Not me, but paisan, shared some S-class pics on his Facebook page.

    So there's a prototype Benz driving around in the tri-state area.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited April 2013
    I saw like 5 of them in Germany, 5 months ago.

    This was spotted in Florida a few days ago:

    image

    The interior will be the impressive part, a jump in poshness from the current model, which isn't exactly harsh itself.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I wonder how it'll look, it is the flagship after all.

    Now that Mayback is gone, they can go all out, no reason to hold back. Look forward to seeing it.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    That's kind of the vibe I got from the pics I have seen (MB has made official interior image releases) - it is moving upmarket, and there's a Maybach influence. The real high end is as competitive as any, and this will set a new standard IMO.

    Here's a little blurb about it

    Official unveiling has been slated for May 15th.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    According to the current issue of Automobile, the next S class is supposed to come in two wheelbases and is expected to spawn a limo and 4/6 door Pullman varianst to replace the Maybach.
  • jpp75jpp75 Member Posts: 1,535
    I could count on one hand the number of Darts I've seen on the road. If you include rentals I could probably use both hands and maybe a foot but they just aren't that prevalent.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I wonder how the Maybach will be viewed ten or twenty years from now? Will it be fondly remembered or will it merely be seen as a ostentatious relic of the housing bubble and the preferred conveyance of Wall Street fraudsters? How soon before I see them showing up on some shady Buy-Here-Pay-Here lot in a marginal Lower NE Philly neighborhood alongside all the other out-of-warranty white elephants just waiting for some unsupsecting victim trying to look rich for cheap?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My guess is the latter. Rare for a car's reputation to improve with age.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    >some unsupsecting victim trying to look rich for cheap?

    That happens a lot with Jaguars, Mercedes, and BMWs here in this metro. A proud person buys at a high or low price on what they think is a bargain that will give them status especially if they bling it out, and they end up with a driveway queen.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    More money than taste...saw a Bentley coupe, fully blacked out, lowered with a cheesy looking chin spoiler, not even well installed. Or maybe the owner had hit a few curbs and it was not lining up. Tacked on rear spoiler, too, and gold/chrome wheels.

    I threw up in my mouth a little.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,861
    That Benz photo cracks me up. So that is supposed to keep us from seeing what the car really looks like when it drives by? :)
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It's such a Franken-car anyway. The camo only calls attention to camera holders.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Sometimes I think that's the point - drive them on public roads where someone will eventually notice, put the pics online, and generate chatter.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Some LWB models for China, no doubt.

    Also, the CL is becoming the S-coupe again.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    It'll be 99% forgotten. Most people aren't car people, so they never knew about it to begin with. Most car people will see it as it is - a relic of the 2003-2006 mirage economy, huge price for something that looks like a pimped out W220. They might never really make it to the sketchy BHPH lots as they are pretty rare, but a future legend, they are not.

    A nice final run 2006 model year W220 is worth about 20K. If a Maybach could be had for the same, it might be a fun curiousity. But, the maintenance would scare even the truly affluent, no doubt.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    There are a few in my area like that - I know I have seen a black one with black wheels. New money is as idiotic as ever. Even the crooked investor visa types have better taste. The coupe is getting a little old, too - putting them in a range where some normal people might be able to stretch their way into one.

    Speaking of new cars, saw a truckload of new Fusions being unloaded this morning. A few of them were loaded looking hybrid Titanium models. I noticed the wheels were wrapped in plastic, nice touch.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited April 2013
    Saw some new Lexuses this morning; they had some sort of white material covering over the trunk and hood.

    Saw a C-Max in the wild; had only seen them at the auto show.

    And a new white Impala with Florida plates. My rental today. :-) A bit less than 7,000 miles on it.

    Before three minutes had passed my wife said "we're not buying this car".

    She meant that particular car; it took ~ two minutes to hit the on ramp to I-5 whereupon I floored it. :shades: Managed to get a bit of rubber in town once (unintentionally).
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Ah an Impala, the darling (or curse) of rental fleets. 2 years ago, I got one with 4 miles on it. Newest car I have ever driven.

    Rode in a new GLK with stop-start today. Didn't seem too intrusive, but it might annoy me, and I would still worry about excess starter wear.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Coming back from lunch at the Steelhead, I walked toward a white Malibu thinking it was my rental. All these sedans look alike to me. Gonna be hard to give up the minivan but I'll guess I'll get used to it.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That's a first, an Avalon with a guy in the back seat.

    Looked closer and it had diplomatic plates, so definitely had a chauffer.

    De-coding the plate, which was DTS...

    D = UN Diplomat
    TS = Iraq

    Interesting.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Nice to see that sector living rather modestly, rather than rolling around in a Bentley or something.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    For sure, you'd expect big bucks when it's an oil producing country.

    Of course maybe that was the intern. :D
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Probably the butler :shades:
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited April 2013
    Not new, but something odd today a weird custom VW, maybe a Bora. It was like a 99-05 Jetta, but the headlights and taillights were different. Couldn't make out the plate.

    Went to the MB dealer for work on a little rattle, the matte painted SL that was on the showroom floor Monday is now sitting in the back of the shop entrance, "sold" sticker on it. Also saw a Tesla S and a Pathfinder minivan.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,107
    Saw a new Mazda 6, Altima, and Accord within a few spaces at a parking lot. The Altima seems overdone, lots of styling without much effect. The Accord's much improved over last one, now a classy, simple design. But the 6 really impressed me, striking without being overdone. Very nice.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My best bud just got one.

    In related news, I'm collecting donations for the blind. :D
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Called him up to get the full scoop.

    His wife works for Nissan, and they have an employee lease program that is heavily subsidized. On top of that, she get a car allowance.

    That narrowed it down pretty well. ;)

    Then he said he wanted a stick, but something well equipped. He got Juke SL loaded up with tech, but with a 6 speed manual, which forces FWD.

    Most models force you into a CVT if you want all the tech toys. AWD is CVT only, too.

    He's in TN and they get little snow.

    Per TrueCar.com that's a $23k or so car. I dunno, I'd have gone for an Altima SV with Tech, but those don't come in stick.

    I'm not a big fan of the Rogue, either. Blind spots are awful.

    I'd have looked at a Leaf, or spent more and go with a G37.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...white Prius-C at Levick and Martins Mill Road in NE Philly.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    How about the back seat warmer? :surprise:
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited April 2013
    Does Avalon have it? No idea.

    You can get bun Warmers in the back of an Elantra nowadays.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited April 2013
    Could be handy. Have to imagine it is available in many cars today - could be had on a MB W126 30+ years ago.

    Saw another new style Range Rover today, and a new Mazda 6.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 265,617
    Rear heated seats in the X3 we are getting next week (2011).

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