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

texases

The current 200 and Dart ARE the 'new, modern models'. And they're failures.

berri

Down the road the Saudi's will freeze out higher cost producers and gas prices will go back up. Historically, that means truck and SUV sales will go down as car sales rise. So I agree with Michaell.

iluvmysephia1

Maybe that's why they're going to quit making the 200 in a couple of years...

Yes, this is true, I found out on the Mitsubishi Mirage website I belong to - FCA has already made the decision to axe the 200 and the Dart and dedicate those production lines to SUV's and Jeep's. Interesting - the Chrysler 200 is an interesting design that I sort of like and I do think Chrysler gave it their all on that rig - automobile making is not a business for the faint-hearted...bet you've read that one before, huh?

jpp75

I saw my first new gen Malibu yesterday, white. It's a good looking car, kind of reminds me of a larger Chrysler 200 from the front.

stickguy

First (that I recall) new Civic out on the road.

kyfdx

Toyota HiLux, crew cab pickups. They are all over the place!

Michaell

kyfdx said:

Toyota HiLux, crew cab pickups. They are all over the place!

Hope you are enjoying your time in Central America!

Mr_Shiftright

or Somalia!

fintail

I stopped by a BMW/Ducati dealership today, when passing some time. The Ducati selection was small - a handful of Monsters, Scramblers, and a couple Diavels (people buy these?) - Bellevue has better selection, it seems. BMW was better, S1000XR that I had never seen before, and either it or a normal S1000RR had a hangtag of 19K, yes, nineteen thousand dollars. Strong dollar huh.

Also saw a GLE coupe with one of the expected drivers, blonde woman with large sunglasses.

explorerx4

This morning, a black Audi R8 and a white Porsche Panamera.

berri

First (that I recall) new Civic out on the road.

Some of the new ones were affected by some piston related issue, so while they were on the dealer lot, they couldn't be sold until the matter was resolved. Personally, I like it's looks better than the previous one.

ab348

berri said:

Some of the new ones were affected by some piston related issue, so while they were on the dealer lot, they couldn't be sold until the matter was resolved. Personally, I like it's looks better than the previous one.

Looks like Son of Crosstour to me. Not a fan, though from the straight-on front end perspective it isn't bad.

Sandman6472

Sat in the new Civic and they did a nice job with the materials. Nice seat fabric and controls had a great tactile feel to them. Vision out was excellent and bet they will sell a lot of these puppies. Also was in a HR-V EX and liked it, a lot! Only Honda I'd buy right now and if my Plan A and Plan B don't pan out in a few years, the HR-V could very well be Plan C. Liked everything including the higher seating position, the one thing I miss from the Tucson. Luckily they had steering wheel controls for the infotainment system since I think knobs are essential and will come back to most systems very soon. Pinching and using one's fingers on the screen while driving is a safety hazard to me, as bad as texting because most folks can not drive and do another task simultaneously in a safe manner, we're just not wired that way.

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright

berri said:

First (that I recall) new Civic out on the road.

Some of the new ones were affected by some piston related issue, so while they were on the dealer lot, they couldn't be sold until the matter was resolved. Personally, I like it's looks better than the previous one.

The recall was about a wrist pin snap ring that could come loose....not good.

ab348

sandman_6472 said:

Also was in a HR-V EX and liked it, a lot! Only Honda I'd buy right now and if my Plan A and Plan B don't pan out in a few years, the HR-V could very well be Plan C. Liked everything including the higher seating position, the one thing I miss from the Tucson. Luckily they had steering wheel controls for the infotainment system since I think knobs are essential and will come back to most systems very soon.
The Sandman

Reviews of the HR-V are terrible.

Mr_Shiftright

Most reviews liked the car but cursed the CVT and the pokey engine.

stickguy

The car reviewer dude from the Philly Inquirer (major Philly paper) tested a Civic (a T sens model) this week. He is doing a comparison of that vs. the Mazda3 GT (will run that review and announce a winner next week).

Much more negative on the Civic than I was expecting. Had a lot of faults listed. Though interestingly enough, he was fine with the CVT (best of breed and relatively seemless or some such).

I still have not driven one but did sit in one at the car show. Better interior at least than the old model!

Oh, this was the same guy that picked the Soul as the winner of a 4 way mini CUV comparo recently.

Mr_Shiftright

Apparently the objection to the CVT was that combined with a pokey engine, the laboring of the CVT drives you crazy.

fintail

Saw a black GLE coupe with a couple of middle aged guys in it - not the typical demographic.

Sandman6472

Haven't driven either the Civic or the HR-V yet as am waiting till Hertz gets at least the new Civic in. We picked up 10 new Accords on Monday, just like we did in 2015, so know the Civic purchase will be coming soon. Like the Accord, again we did the same thing last year. So I can wait till that time for a test drive. Doubt Hertz will get any HR-V's in their fleet but will test one in due time. Not that I'd purchase but see no reason to tempt the fates here. But, if I were to buy something tomorrow, it would be the HR-V hands down as I suspect there'd be a small amount of cash plus my Golf to drive one off the lot.
Did check on CPO units of the CLA and GLA and their newness to the market place makes them still out of reach for my pocketbook, an HR-V is definitely doable but the desire is missing. After my first test drive in the Golf, I knew I was going to buy one, soon. Went back for a second test drive a few days later and walked out with a tentative signed sales order with a small down payment left to secure the exact model and to swap out the horrible stock wheels. But once the wife had purchased her A3, I knew inside that by New Years Eve, the Tucson would be gone.

The Sandman

tlong

Saw an Audi Q3 today on the road. Looked cute and small.

explorerx4

In the parking lot at work, a new gray Impala.

fintail

Saw my first Model X on the road today, it's a Grade A XXL egg. Wish it would have parked and opened the doors.

fintail

Real oddity - Infiniti Q70 LWB.

PF_Flyer

My oddity... there was a stretch Dodge Charger limo running around town.

jpp75

I spotted what I'm pretty sure was a Buick Cascadia today. It was a dark brown color, looked pretty small but I only got a quick glance.

berri

Now that limo spells "Detroit"

Mr_Shiftright

Oh it has no doors. That's good.

fintail

Saw my first new style Prius on the road - it's something.

stever

Wait until you see the bathroom sink they use for a center console tray.

texases

Followed a new Flying Spur, black, not that impressive from behind:

berri

Did Gepetto carve it out of a block of wood - just kidding!

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

Saw my first new style Prius on the road - it's something.

Oh them tail lights!

fintail

I was once told that if I can't say anything nice, to not say anything at all. As being different for the sake of being different is apparently the key take-away to be learned at modern design schools, I will say it is "different"

I see a few of those Bentleys on the road here, along with the recent Continental facelift. They must be amazing inside, because they are almost kind of awkward outside. Oh, those Horatio Algers.

Mr_Shiftright

Or as one socialite once famously said: "If you can't say anything nice about someone, then why don't you sit down here right next to me"?

texases

Saw my first MB Metris, HUGE side windows:

stickguy

Nice looking van.

stever

Not bad for a RWD commercial van.

Mr_Shiftright

Carries 2500 lbs, 330 lb roof weight, can tow 5,000 lbs (total) 208 HP, 24 mpg. $30K MSRP. Not bad.

explorerx4

A new brown E class! Not exactly the right shade, but could work for Ronin II.

ab348

explorerx4 said:

A new brown E class! Not exactly the right shade, but could work for Ronin II.

There were 2 new brown E250s on the lot at the local M-B dealer yesterday. Surprised me - normally they only order silver, white or black cars for inventory.

fintail

I am pretty sure W212 production has now ended. I suspect there will be some odd and high trim cars showing up at the end of the run, and maybe some good lease deals at the end of the year as people wait for W213.

IIRC, there have actually been two different shades of brown for this style E.

ab348 said:

There were 2 new brown E250s on the lot at the local M-B dealer yesterday. Surprised me - normally they only order silver, white or black cars for inventory.

stickguy

I'm patiently waiting until October 2017 to find one gently used and still under warranty for a big discount. Fine by me if the tried and true current style takes a massive hit in value when the new style comes out!

ab348

fintail said:

IIRC, there have actually been two different shades of brown for this style E.

Both of the local cars are Dolomite Brown. Not a bad color but I would prefer a slightly darker metallic brown.

fintail

The darker brown was/is "Cuprite Brown". This appears to be a 2012 model:

ab348 said:

fintail said:

IIRC, there have actually been two different shades of brown for this style E.

Both of the local cars are Dolomite Brown. Not a bad color but I would prefer a slightly darker metallic brown.

fintail

Seeing how they depreciate even now, maybe deals to be had. The W212 appears to be aging very well, it still looks good, and doesn't appear to have any horrible problem areas.

At lease end for me, I might try to find that perfectly optioned 14 E550, last of its type.

stickguy said:

I'm patiently waiting until October 2017 to find one gently used and still under warranty for a big discount. Fine by me if the tried and true current style takes a massive hit in value when the new style comes out!

qbrozen

its too bad that, like the Ford Transit Connect, MB isn't offering the amenities on their van to make it a good family hauler.

ab348

fintail said:

At lease end for me, I might try to find that perfectly optioned 14 E550, last of its type.

Still available here in Canada, in fact just for laffs I built one yesterday on the M-B Canada site. $82000 devalued Canadian dollars, just over $60K in real money.

fintail

I still find it funny/irritating that MB has some significant differences between US and Canadian offerings - I am unaware of any other maker doing it to this degree. From features to entire models, there are many differences. I think Canada even has different color offerings than the US. I built a loaded E550 for 86K Loonies, or about 63.5K USD - actually, not bad, as it would have cost more here.

ab348

fintail said:

I still find it funny/irritating that MB has some significant differences between US and Canadian offerings - I am unaware of any other maker doing it to this degree. From features to entire models, there are many differences. I think Canada even has different color offerings than the US. I built a loaded E550 for 86K Loonies, or about 63.5K USD - actually, not bad, as it would have cost more here.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered that Kia offers a completely different lineup for the Soul model here in Canada than it does in the US, and has different colors as well. VW and BMW also offer different color choices inside and out for their models between the two countries, although in those cases it is a far more restricted set of choices being offered in Canada, as one might expect with it being a smaller market. M-B's case is interesting in still offering the E550 here. Perhaps it is due to fleet fuel economy averages or some such, as they sell the B-series here which might make room for some thirstier models at the other end of the range.