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

berri

I believe the problem with today in many things is that people think they are more proficient at multitasking than they really are.

Mr_Shiftright

The human brain CAN'T multitask at all. You are either doing A or B, but not both at the same time with equal concentration---not even close.

berri

The real problem may be that too many people know they've got to do A and B, but can't prioritize or spatially coordinate the tasks. Maybe a little too much "me" focus.

stickguy

house around the corner from me has a new TLX with a temp tag. I still really like these, but you just don't see too many.

tjc78

The Accord Touring (or whatever the top line model is ) is probably so good it doesn't pay to spend more. 

fintail

Saw my first Maserati Levante on the road - yet another Stepfordian mallcruiser for the idle leisure set.

laurasdada

Why would anyone buy a Levante when they could have an F-Pace!

fintail

Or a normal sedan

A few new models on the road this afternoon:

New style CRV, Genesis G90, GLC coupe, E-class, and the grand whale of them all - a Bentayga. Of course, the "driver" was holding a phone while "driving".

kyfdx

I see a lot of new 2017 CR-Vs. Might be the best looking CR-V, yet.

berri

Kind of makes you wonder in most circumstances if the next size up crossover is worth an extra $10K

tlong

Kydfx - well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My wife and I took a look and test drive of the latest CR-V. I personally find its styling a mess, don't like the looks at all. We sat in the premium model. The interior is generally pretty nice, but I find the fake plastic wood particularly tacky looking. There is also a big ledge between the back cargo area and the top of the rear seats when folded down - there is like a 4 inch cliff up to the flag folded seatbacks on an otherwise flat load floor. Doesn't makes sense to me.

ab348

I saw a first edition CR-V on the roads this week - nowadays, a very rare sight around here as they all seem to have disappeared and I haven't spotted one in a while - and was stunned by how small it appeared Was it based on the Civic platform of the day? I always assumed the vehicle was spun off from an Accord but that made me realize it couldn't be the case.

kyfdx

tlong said:

Kydfx - well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My wife and I took a look and test drive of the latest CR-V. I personally find its styling a mess, don't like the looks at all. We sat in the premium model. The interior is generally pretty nice, but I find the fake plastic wood particularly tacky looking. There is also a big ledge between the back cargo area and the top of the rear seats when folded down - there is like a 4 inch cliff up to the flag folded seatbacks on an otherwise flat load floor. Doesn't makes sense to me.

Well.. I can't see inside, as they drive by..

kyfdx

ab348 said:

I saw a first edition CR-V on the roads this week - nowadays, a very rare sight around here as they all seem to have disappeared and I haven't spotted one in a while - and was stunned by how small it appeared Was it based on the Civic platform of the day? I always assumed the vehicle was spun off from an Accord but that made me realize it couldn't be the case.

Yes, first generation was Civic platform and engine. 2nd generation was still Civic platform, but Accord engine.

I had a '98 with a stick... You really got to wind out the gears. If you like driving a stick, it was a lot of fun. That one died a horrible death in 2002, and I bought a Gen 2 automatic. Drove that one for 100K+ miles. Repair costs were terrible... $11 + maintenance for the 106K miles and 6.5 years.

fintail

Funny how older car survival is so regional - I see first gen CRV virtually every day. Some of them are pretty beat up, but they are still moving along. I suspect they aren't immune to rot, especially underneath.

stickguy

I agree about not wanting to spend so much money for the bit of extra room in a pilot over a CRV, since I have zero need for an emergency only 3rd row (and if i did, would still have a minivan!)

as to the trunk, I think it has a multi level rear floor. At least, it did. Or I am confusing it with a different car. In any case, you can set it at the low position for more cargo space, or raise to top spot to make a flat floor with the seats down.

and does this model have sliding rear seats? A number of wagons like this end up with a gap if you slide the back seat forward.

anythngbutgm

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

I saw a first edition CR-V on the roads this week - nowadays, a very rare sight around here as they all seem to have disappeared and I haven't spotted one in a while - and was stunned by how small it appeared Was it based on the Civic platform of the day? I always assumed the vehicle was spun off from an Accord but that made me realize it couldn't be the case.

Yes, first generation was Civic platform and engine. 2nd generation was still Civic platform, but Accord engine.

I had a '98 with a stick... You really got to wind out the gears. If you like driving a stick, it was a lot of fun. That one died a horrible death in 2002, and I bought a Gen 2 automatic. Drove that one for 100K+ miles. Repair costs were terrible... $11 + maintenance for the 106K miles and 6.5 years.

I came close to buying one of the first ones when they came out, a 97 Black, AWD with a stick when I was first looking to dump my 6 month old lemon Exploder. It was pretty slow with only 128hp (power was bumped to 148 for 98') but it was nimble and tossable. Dealer offer the same exact payments as I had on my Exploder so I walked because I thought of it as somewhat of a downgrade.

4 months later, I dumped it for an Accord

fintail

Saw a MB S600 non-Maybach today today, pretty rare car, probably sold at maybe 1:500 of normal S550. Also saw a S600 Maybach and a GLE with an illuminated grille star.

fintail

Saw another new NSX, or probably the same one, as it was the same color. A poorly driven AMG G-Wagen was also a fun sight, and a hockey stick 7er rounded out the afternoon.

And not new, but I am pretty sure I saw a Lexus LS600h, pretty rare car, that might be an LS I'd buy just for the unicorn status.

fintail

Another Levante today, and a red 911 Targa.

laurasdada

I want the latest edition Targa. Just love Rube Goldberg contraptions! Of course I could get a Miata RF and save a pretty penny.

tlong

I saw a Tesla Model S driving down the freeway yesterday with a bike rack hanging off the rear bumper. This was in Silicon Valley...

Mr_Shiftright

an electric bike no doubt?

PF_Flyer

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fintail

At work today saw a brand new unplated X1 with what looks like a white or very very light beige interior, kind of unusual color. Also parked next to me the past two days, maybe a Challenger Hellcat? SRT at any rate, it has some kind of animal head fender badge. Out of state plates, probably parking by me because I park with care, mirrors folded, up against a pole, so the Challenger would have more room for the huge door.

tlong

A pink Fiat 500. At a regional park, where people often hike...
Is that a factory color (I doubt it) or one of those cosmetic selling cars, etc.?

tlong

fintail said:

At work today saw a brand new unplated X1 with what looks like a white or very very light beige interior, kind of unusual color. Also parked next to me the past two days, maybe a Challenger Hellcat? SRT at any rate, it has some kind of animal head fender badge. Out of state plates, probably parking by me because I park with care, mirrors folded, up against a pole, so the Challenger would have more room for the huge door.

I really try to avoid parking next to the driver's side of two door cars.

kyfdx

fintail said:

At work today saw a brand new unplated X1 with what looks like a white or very very light beige interior, kind of unusual color. Also parked next to me the past two days, maybe a Challenger Hellcat? SRT at any rate, it has some kind of animal head fender badge. Out of state plates, probably parking by me because I park with care, mirrors folded, up against a pole, so the Challenger would have more room for the huge door.

I think they call that interior, Oyster.

fintail

Me too, but I was there first. I usually assume/hope that someone driving something that is kind of an enthusiast car will also be more careful. I try to keep away from big trucks and Stepfordian CUVs/SUVs.

tlong said:

I really try to avoid parking next to the driver's side of two door cars.

fintail

Got behind a GLE43 coupe yesterday while in the fintail. It was different, that's all I will say.

Mr_Shiftright

It doesn't work. There's neither the angularity of a trunk or the cut-off of a hatch or the grace of a fastback---it's a blob.

fintail

It's a MB X4/X6. These brands now copy and out-niche each other more than anything.

fintail

Saw my first new Lincoln Continental on the road. Appeared to be in livery service, that might not bode well. Also a S600 Maybach, perfect if you made your money in the laundry business (and I don't mean like George Jefferson), and another GLE43 coupe.

qbrozen

Saw my first S90 on the road today. It was a steelish powder blue yet still looked quite macho (mostly due to those taillights) for a volvo.

stickguy

I am really interested in seeing the upcoming XC60. I am sure the wife will be perfectly happy to trade in the RDX on one of those. Only wrinkle in the plan is waiting to hit MegaMillions first so we can pay for it.

maybe in 3 years when the off lease CPOs are out.

stickguy

Livery might not be so bad, if it is limo service. At least it indicates luxurious.

back about 20-25 years ago when I traveled a lot on business, I used Boston Coach often. For a while they used S80 Volvos. Then they moved onto big Caddys (FWD devilles IIRC). Might have been something else along the way, but those are the ones I remember. Probably sold a few customers for the car companies, since it mostly businessmen using the service that could become interested in the cars from the back seat!

fintail

On the road today - GLC coupe (not a MAzda - if an X4 is just too brash), hockey stick 7er.

andres3

speaking of rare, ever see a 30+ year old Audi moving along the road?

I remember when my mechanic let me borrow his early 80's coupe that I felt part of a very exclusive club since I had probably the only 30+ year old Audi on the road being used that day in all of CA.

fintail

Being in the PNW, I see an Audi of that era now and then. Usually a 4000, but there's a GT Coupe in the area I see now and then. There are a couple of 5000s seen every blue moon or so, too.

Mr_Shiftright

The 4000s weren't too bad a car. They could stretch out the miles if you took care of them.

They have certainly gotten more reliable and more fun to drive over the years.

fintail

I know it irks the devotees of the 4 rings to make "gussied up VW" claimss, but I think the 4000 was much the same as a same era Passat/Quantum. This lineage would lead to the A4 of today, I suppose. A Quantum, there's something not seen too often these days. Surprisingly enough, there are 2 of each on local CL right now.

andres3

fintail said:

I know it irks the devotees of the 4 rings to make "gussied up VW" claimss, but I think the 4000 was much the same as a same era Passat/Quantum. This lineage would lead to the A4 of today, I suppose. A Quantum, there's something not seen too often these days. Surprisingly enough, there are 2 of each on local CL right now.

I suppose in the early 80's Audi's were far more affordable apparently, and hadn't made the move yet to be a "luxury" division. They certainly went more upscale with the original A4.

kyfdx

That is definitely not the case. Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc, etc... were very expensive in the '80s

fintail

Yeah, an Audi back then wasn't priced like an S-class, but it wasn't a cheap car. I could see a 1980 Audi 5000 being 15K in those dollars, anyway (where a normal diesel W123 was probably 20K+). Not as luxurious as modern models either, but that was true for German cars as a whole.

Michaell

When I was still living in CA, my mom and dad's next door neighbor bought a 4000. Kind of a 7-Up can green, and it was the 5+5 (5-cylinder + 5-speed)

berri

It seemed like there was brief period of time when the Europeans were pushing 5 cylinder engines. Don't know how they sold in Europe and Scandinavia, but didn't seem to catch on here. IIRC some complained the engines were not as smooth.

Mr_Shiftright

New Audi RS3 is a 5-er but there aren't many anymore. But for some reason, 3 cylinders are still in the game.

berri

I think most of today's 3 cylinders are turbos? If that is the case maybe it compensates a bit?

stickguy

stopped at a light today next to an X6. Quite odd looking. But tall.

fintail

MB day - saw 2 new MB "coupes" today, a new E that might have been a rental (basic looking, out of state plates with no frames), red G63 that screamed sketchy money, and a zillion Teslas as usual.

Speaking of old Audis, I remember back in the 80s, my mom had a friend who had a 4000 coupe. I think it was brown, it seemed a little unusual then and is a unicorn today.