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

tjc78

First new Atlas at Wawa tonight.  Silver, looked like a base model (wheels were 16 or 17s). I don't mind the styling (or lack of).  I think it will sell pretty well.  

fintail

Saw a Ferrari F12 on the road, it's big. Also surprisingly not driven by the 17 year old devilspawn of a newly arrived money laundering investor, but by a typical middle aged guy.

stickguy

saw a nice new red Ferrari something driving today. Probably because I was just down the street from the Ferrari/Masserati dealer!

berri

I think the VW Atlas looks better in person than in pictures. I was pleasantly surprised, but am leery of first year models.

fintail

Odd one on the highway this evening, a white Atlas with Michigan manufacturer plates.

stickguy

so many CRVs. they are everywhere.

explorerx4

In one of the neighbor's driveway over the weekend, a blue TLX with some really nice wheels.
Had a dealer plate.

texases

I've seen maybe one new Giulia, now I know why:
http://jalopnik.com/no-one-wants-to-buy-an-alfa-romeo-giulia-1796219373
No Alfa dealer in Dallas proper, have to go quite a ways for one...

fintail

Saw a Nissan Micra today, BC plates, suspected rental.

andres3

texases said:

I've seen maybe one new Giulia, now I know why:
http://jalopnik.com/no-one-wants-to-buy-an-alfa-romeo-giulia-1796219373
No Alfa dealer in Dallas proper, have to go quite a ways for one...

I think you'd have to have been living under a rock for the past 35 years to want one of those at the prices they ask for them.

fintail

A Quadrifoglio can be loaded up to insane levels - if you choose a lot including fancy seats and brakes, you're at 90K MSRP - with fees and tax, that'll be 100K in my area. No doubt they don't sell for that, but still, it will scare people off as much as reliability concerns. It'll be interesting to see what happens when leases are ending, if the cars are solid, then maybe some deals.

fintail

On the road today: 2x AMG GT, Lexus LC pulling into one of the fancier money launderer condo buildings.

explorerx4

In the parking lot at work, a new white Acadia and a black Durango.

Mr_Shiftright

Audi A3 e-Tron. I know they've been a modest success in the U.S. but I rarely see them.

fintail

2x CT6 and an electric Golf.

fintail

Stopped by the Alfa dealer today on a whim. I was in the fintail, so that went over well - a couple salesmen hopped out to look at it. They had a Quadrifoglio in the showroom, 87K MSRP + 10K ADM (!) - Sold (!!). They had a dozen normal Giulias, under 50K. Not a bad looking car.

berri

Curious Fin, was it a stand alone Alfa dealer, an Alfa-Fiat, or a multi-brand dealership carrying the Alfa's?

fintail

Alfa-Fiat-Maserati

berri

Ah, forgot about the Maserati tie. I guess the expensive parts of the Seattle area can handle on of those type dealerships.

ab348

Out in the Cutlass this afternoon and got behind a Rolls-Royce Ghost. black in color. Never knew there was one of those in town. It had privacy curtains with nice little pleats on the rear window. Kind of unimpressive from the rear view though.

andres3

Are there any "lifted" Outbacks or Foresters in Seattle?

Michaell

andres3 said:

Are there any "lifted" Outbacks or Foresters in Seattle?

You mean, like a lift kit you see for other SUVs?

I've not seen any here in Denver, but have actually seen 'slammed' (lowered) Foresters on a couple of occasions. Seems to defy the purpose of the vehicle, but to each their own.

fintail

I am certain I have seen a lifted Forester, and I think a couple generations back Outback could be had with greater ground clearance than current models.

Lowered ones are much more common. If you wear a sideways flat brim cap and have a vape pen always in your hand or mouth, I have a car for you.

andres3 said:

Are there any "lifted" Outbacks or Foresters in Seattle?

fintail

Not the newest thing, but I saw a Buick Cascada today. Kind of odd looking from the front, like the windshield isn't tall enough.

andres3

fintail said:

Not the newest thing, but I saw a Buick Cascada today. Kind of odd looking from the front, like the windshield isn't tall enough.

What's a Buick Cascada? Shows the marketing isn't very strong on that one.

I know all about the real people not actors awards that Chevy wins though. Great initial quality; meaning it isn't junk already when it leaves the factory floor.

Jaguar and Alfa seem to have a lot of commercials on TV lately.

Michaell

andres3 said:

fintail said:

Not the newest thing, but I saw a Buick Cascada today. Kind of odd looking from the front, like the windshield isn't tall enough.

What's a Buick Cascada? Shows the marketing isn't very strong on that one.

I know all about the real people not actors awards that Chevy wins though. Great initial quality; meaning it isn't junk already when it leaves the factory floor.

Jaguar and Alfa seem to have a lot of commercials on TV lately.

The Cascada is an Opel-derived convertible. 1.6T engine with something like 197HP.

fintail

On the road today - pretty blue C43 or C63, crawling on 405 as I shot past in the fintail; white S550 cabrio going slow, top up on a sunny day, experienced driver and passenger; new CRV that from a distance at rear I thought was a Misubishi due to the somewhat different styling.

andres3

fintail said:

On the road today - pretty blue C43 or C63, crawling on 405 as I shot past in the fintail; white S550 cabrio going slow, top up on a sunny day, experienced driver and passenger; new CRV that from a distance at rear I thought was a Misubishi due to the somewhat different styling.

You want a slow on-ramp merger, take a look at the White Corolla CE that was in front of me Sunday afternoon on the 8W-I15N transition. I know that car is the "slow" model, but goodness gracious. Even my father commented that he was surprised I didn't honk at them. They deserve a battering ram taking them off the road.

fintail

Saw a blue Giulia on the road today, not a high spec one.

fintail

Got behind a Range Rover Sport SVR today. Pretty flamboyant exhaust note, and driven as one would expect, without turn signals - those are for plebes, and you don't make to SVR level by following rules.

fintail

Belle Epoque day in Bellevue.

S63 coupe - not brand new, but unusual enough to be notable

S600 Maybach

Rolls-Royce new style convertible (I think the name is "Silver Spoon" )

All were white.

kyfdx

Audi A5 SportBack with temporary tags

Michaell

kyfdx said:

Audi A5 SportBack with temporary tags

Better or worse looking that the BMW 4-series?

kyfdx

Tough call. I like it a lot

tlong

fintail said:

Belle Epoque day in Bellevue.

S63 coupe - not brand new, but unusual enough to be notable

S600 Maybach

Rolls-Royce new style convertible (I think the name is "Silver Spoon" )

All were white.

Nowadays >90% of the cars on the road are black, white, or some variant of silver/grey.
Occasional smatterings of red.

In Europe it is more colorful, and in the 70's here it was more groovy.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

Belle Epoque day in Bellevue.

S63 coupe - not brand new, but unusual enough to be notable

S600 Maybach

Rolls-Royce new style convertible (I think the name is "Silver Spoon" )

All were white.

Scary depreciation on those Maybachs---you can pick one up now for a fraction of MSRP.

fintail

I'd expect the current one to depreciate like an S-class, which means quickly. This is the new Maybach, only on the road for about a year or so here, which is more of a submodel of the S600, and has a distinct black money air to it. The prior Maybach 57/62 was a MB W220 with thrice the complexity and 4x the price. They remain surprisingly expensive on the used market given their insane running costs and now-dated styling.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Scary depreciation on those Maybachs---you can pick one up now for a fraction of MSRP.

fintail

For German cars in this market, black and white are typically the "free" colors, with others commanding a slight surcharge. I think some other makers do that too. Beigegrey is perfect for the Camrollaruis driver, and the makers know it. Non-enthusiasts don't complain about the dearth of color options - if they did, things would change.

Inexpensive cars in Europe seem to be more prone to reds, yellows, and similar than here.

tlong said:

Nowadays >90% of the cars on the road are black, white, or some variant of silver/grey.
Occasional smatterings of red.

In Europe it is more colorful, and in the 70's here it was more groovy.

tlong

But some makes even charge for things like pearl white. Sort of like the airlines, give some minimum base and then monetize as many extras as possible. BMW has been the king of that for many years.

fintail

Pearl white must be difficult to apply - MB doesn't just charge a premium for it, but often double the premium for a normal optional color. Germans know how to play the option profit margin game. I think Porsche is the winner, where it is not unknown for a car to have options approaching the base MSRP.

texases

Anything other than straight regular paint (no pearl, no metallic) often gets a premium added.

ab348

In Canada, Cadillac charges extra for any paint color other than silver or plain black. The red that I have, along with pearl white, goes for $1395, while all other paint colors are a $900 charge. Seems a bit much.

berri

So we're heading back to the model T days

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

I'd expect the current one to depreciate like an S-class, which means quickly. This is the new Maybach, only on the road for about a year or so here, which is more of a submodel of the S600, and has a distinct black money air to it. The prior Maybach 57/62 was a MB W220 with thrice the complexity and 4x the price. They remain surprisingly expensive on the used market given their insane running costs and now-dated styling.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Scary depreciation on those Maybachs---you can pick one up now for a fraction of MSRP.

Oh, that's right I forgot. They discontinued it in 2013 and brought the corpse back for another funeral.

fintail

New one, at half the price, seems to be selling at more than twice the rate of the old one. Maybe some different economic realities between 2004 and today, and the lower price helps too. It's more of a niche now, a superdeluxe S600. I doubt many buyers know anything about the name.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh, that's right I forgot. They discontinued it in 2013 and brought the corpse back for another funeral.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, it's "only" $189,000 now. It's a lavish version of the S600, and I think stretched out a bit---even at that price, seems a screaming bargain next to a Rolls Phantom.

fintail

I think that's one area where Maybach models and S-class coupe are playing now - it's like 80% of a Bentley or Rolls-Royce for half or less of the cost.

Heck, the Maybach is cheap even compared to the oh so basic Ghost, which itself shares more than a couple bits with the F01 7er.

fintail

On the road today: Maserati Levante and new style Panamera.

tlong

Driving through Beverly Hills yesterday on the way to the Hollywood Bowl. Saw a car from a distance, I believe it was a Benz but could have been something else. It was parked on a sidestreet we could see from the red light we were sitting at. It was fully silver chromed! I wish I had gotten a better look. You definitely would stand out with that one.

fintail

That kind of thing is big among the buy-your-way-in set from a couple areas, I think. With the amount of glare it could produce, I am surprised it is legal. Then again, the same license that you get in a Corolla lets you drive a Veyron or a 42' motorhome, so I guess it works.