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

js06gv

stickguy said:

first new CRV. drove past and only caught a quick glimpse, but looks sharp. Looking forward to checking it out next weekend at the car show.

and parked in Philly, a white Mazda CX-9, That was really good looking. also looking forward to seeing the insides next week.

Is Philly one of the bigger, better, more comprehensive shows? I went to the NY shows in the 70s as a kid when we lived up there. Since the mid 80s it's been a handful of Houston and mostly Dallas shows for me. Dallas seems to be pretty good, although I remember when the economy was in the toilet around '08-'09 there were some regular players like BMW that were a no show. Everything back to normal these days, however. Last week in March for us.

stickguy

philly is a big one. every brand is there. lots of "extras" like camp jeep, and a few where you can test drive outside. Tons of people show up. Very popular attraction.

tjc78

I've only been to one auto show (Philly) but yes certainly seems like a large one to me. First time this year I'll be taking my son. He will be three in March and already showing interest in cars, so it should be fun.

I was planning on a night after work to minimize the crowds, but the kids are usually "done" by 8/8:30 so that doesn't give us much time.

stickguy

If you go on a weekend, get there when they open. The first 1-2 hours is much less crowded.

Michaell

stickguy said:

philly is a big one. every brand is there. lots of "extras" like camp jeep, and a few where you can test drive outside. Tons of people show up. Very popular attraction.

Denver offers that, as well.

tjc78

stickguy said:

If you go on a weekend, get there when they open. The first 1-2 hours is much less crowded.

Yes I'm thinking that will be the way to go. The kids are up at 6, no problem getting out of the house.

explorerx4

In the parking lot at work. RX350, WRX, R-V, all are black.

fintail

Saw another Ridgeline today, and not new but eye-catching, an R8 in the workplace parking garage.

tlong

fintail said:

Saw another Ridgeline today, and not new but eye-catching, an R8 in the workplace parking garage.

Seems like a lot of 1%-ers in your garage.

fintail

I work for a company with a 40+ BN market cap and decent revenues, the upper-uppers no doubt make nice salaries. The only real reserved spot is for the CEO (and a mystery spot that belongs to unknown), so the rest get to mingle with the plebes

Really, more than a few 1%ers in my area as a whole, at least the ones at work are less sketchy.

tlong said:

Seems like a lot of 1%-ers in your garage.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

philly is a big one. every brand is there. lots of "extras" like camp jeep, and a few where you can test drive outside. Tons of people show up. Very popular attraction.

I only went to Philly once and was really disappointed. Several missing upcoming models, few you could sit in, and the ones you could sit in were unkempt and missing knobs and switches. I have been to NY several times and found that far far better, although it can get VERY crowded. Maybe I went to Philly on an off year, I don't know. This would have been '00, I believe. 

stickguy

It has changed over the years. Gotten a lot bigger with the expansion of the convention center. I have not been to the NY show since I was in HS, so a long, long time ago.

Yeah, a few concepts don't make it, and IIRC that long ago the show was earlier in the year, and at the same time as Detroit maybe? Basically they competed with a more prestigious show, and lost. They do now get a decent number of upcoming models, but unless they are really imminent, they get put up on a platform and you can't get in. But they have all the new production models.

Plus for me, getting to the Javits is a huge and expensive pain! I get all I need out of Philly.

fintail

If Philly car show attendees are anything like stereotypical Philly sports fans, I can see why they wouldn't want to bring the nice stuff - it'll be torn apart and stripped to a shell

stickguy

well, they behave much better. And phlly is no different than any other big show. Anything that people can steal, they will. So shift knobs, etc. are removed. Not a big deal to me. I'm just sitting in them, not trying to drive em.

stickguy

the other bonus? My annual visit to Oscars dive bar, for cheesesteaks, onion rings, and cheap beer.

fintail

The Seattle and Vancouver shows tend to have cars with their interior bits, and many higher end (not exotic, but S/7er and similar) vehicles open. Been a couple years since I've been to the Seattle show, might go to Vancouver again this year.

stickguy

Craig used to tell stories about working the Seattle show, and people stealing everything, right down to the dipsticks. I think they only take off the stuff that is quick and easy to remove and pocket.

fintail

No doubt. Maybe they did that in Accords and Civics, which are still stolen here in huge numbers. Usually there's a person pretty close by the fancier stuff too.

tjc78

I don't find the Philly show to be any worse than any other large event.  You have mostly good people with a few knuckle heads thrown in.   

Last time i went I thought every make was pretty well represented.

Plus being 15 minutes away makes it easy.    

fintail

Saw a new Lacrosse at work today, rental.

tlong

fintail said:

Saw a new Lacrosse at work today, rental.

I hardly ever see them around here in CA.
Lots of lower end domestic sedans, I assume a high fraction are rentals.
In these parts, it seems that people buy foreign-nameplate sedans, domestic and foreign trucks/SUVs. But not domestic sedans for the most part.

ab348

fintail said:

Saw a new Lacrosse at work today, rental.

I just read that the new Lacrosse has that same electronic shifter that Cadillac saddled the XT5 with. The thing is confusing as can be. I thought it was a disaster in the rental I had. That should cause all kinds of grief for rental customers. Between that and stop/start that cannot be turned off I am thinking maybe I should keep what I have.

fintail

I saw another new Lacrosse today, this one not a rental. It is nice looking, but if that shifter is bad, it might turn off the traditional Buick demographic (who already seem to also go to Avalon/ES anyway).

It's the same in WA regarding domestics. I see smaller models that are private cars, but anytime I see a new 300, Taurus, or Impala, I look for (a lack of) plate frames and (numerous) barcodes.

tlong

Hard to believe this one.

A 2004-era Honda Odyssey, happily driving along, with a fake silver grill set glued onto the body just in front of the driver door (on the rear of the front quarter panel). Sort of like the Pontiac portholes, but grille instead. About six inches long.

I assume the other side was the same.

fintail

JC Whitney Speed Holes.

I've been seeing a few more new E-class on the road lately. Seemed to be a slow start,.

berri

I owned a 2004 Odyssey back in our child raising years. Poor build quality, but mechanically a very good vehicle. Replaced a Windstar - what a huge difference!

fintail

Got behind a new unplated A4 with sequential turn signals in a (free) turn lane this morning. Driver is at first playing with his phone, then timidly creeps up, brakes, creeps up again, looks around, stops. Then finally goes, just in time for me and those behind to miss the next light. Yes, he got the horn

stickguy

New CRV, 5 series, and Camry (2018). All are very nice, and I predict will sell well.

iluvmysephia1

I'm glad that you honked at the A4 driver, fin. He deserved it!

anythngbutgm

stickguy said:

New CRV, 5 series, and Camry (2018). All are very nice, and I predict will sell well.

2018 Camry already? I didn't think they were selling those till the fall?

stickguy

It was at the auto show. Up on a display.

Michaell

Any model on sale after 1/1/17 can legally be marked as a 2018 model year.

berri

I think he was talking about at the auto show

anythngbutgm

stickguy said:

It was at the auto show. Up on a display.

Ah gotcha, missed that part.

laurasdada

A red Jaguar F-Pace today at work. Sharp. For an SUV...

fintail

Saw what I think is the CEO's Bentley again - I think it might be a Supersports, as it has a ton of chrome/silver mesh on the front end, different from what I am used to on a Continental.

I also saw another Bentley, this one a convertible, poorly driven, slowed to a crawl on a busy arterial street to make a late lane change. Got just a little honk.

fintail

The woman who parks across from me where I live leases a new Honda every couple years. There was a new car in her spot last night, a Civic hatch, the one with so much styling. This must be what people felt like looking at the 1958 models (without the space-age cool factor).

Mr_Shiftright

Well the nice thing for her is that when she's driving it, she doesn't have to look at it.

explorerx4

A silver civilian version of the Chevy Caprice PPV.

qbrozen

Ah, you mean the Chevy SS? I'm not sure I'll ever know if I see one since all the Chevy big sedans look the same to me.

explorerx4

@gbrozen,
Not the SS. It's longer. Very few civilian models were sold.
This one had alloy wheels and didn't have an antenna farm or strobes anywhere on it.
http://jalopnik.com/5815228/chevy-dealer-will-sell-you-a-new-caprice-police-car.

qbrozen

huh. Still a nondescript blob, so I'd never notice, personally. Good eye.

fintail

New Bentley Continental in downtown Bellevue, white. Also a couple of late model Ferraris, traveling together, probably some of the lucky local kids who work hard for it

qbrozen

Nothing new but just observing how the parking lot at our Parsippany office building seems chock full of interesting stuff. On my most recent trip, in just the row from where I parked to the door, I saw a Challenger 392, Jag XJL, Raptor, ATSV, and CTSV.

Mr_Shiftright

You gotta be a real truck lover to buy a Raptor--- The Crew Cab version is 220 inches long, 7.2 feet wide, 6.5 feet high, and well north of $50K.

Not really your best commuter vehicle.

fintail

Those are a "be seen" vehicle as much as anything else. I am always surprised at the amount of large and even lifted trucks being used as commuters at the campus where I work. Many can't fit in normal spots, so they have to park in an open lot.

Mr_Shiftright

Just wait until gas hits $6 a gallon---I'm gonna pick these up for $2500 bucks.

Let's see here....$6 a gallon, @ 12 mpg= .50 cents a mile. Yep, that's gotta hurt.

berri

Maybe there are just lots of subliminal "want to be a semi driver" people out there. A lot of these big pickups also seem to have diesel engines these days. But heck, it's their money.

fintail

If the dollar collapses as some want, high gas prices might be more than a funny thought. There's definitely an overcompensation or illusion of safety issue at play.

Diesel engines that also smoke like a 1960s diesel car but are immune from responsibility.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

Nothing new but just observing how the parking lot at our Parsippany office building seems chock full of interesting stuff. On my most recent trip, in just the row from where I parked to the door, I saw a Challenger 392, Jag XJL, Raptor, ATSV, and CTSV.

We've got some interesting iron at work too.  There is a Tesla, BMW 750, M4, and few nice Audis