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

iluvmysephia1

You mean no 2018 Toyota Yaris iA type front end styling, eh?

fintail

National Bocceball League? National Bridge League?

andres3 said:

Saw a nice, but probably 7 or 8 year old MB with the plates "NBAPLYR" on it. Hmmm.....

kyfdx

fintail said:

National Bocceball League? National Bridge League?

andres3 said:

Saw a nice, but probably 7 or 8 year old MB with the plates "NBAPLYR" on it. Hmmm.....

NBA

fintail

Hey, it's early

kyfdx said:

NBA

tjc78

qbrozen said:

texases said:

Can't say I'm a big fan. Looks OK, but front (grill in particular) looks kind of heavy.

I picture a Chrysler or Cadillac badge on that grille. Can't quite pin it down.

At first glance I see Chrysler 200.  No doubt 

explorerx4

I see the side of a Ford Fusion.

fintail

A new unplated Model 3 parked by me at work, base wheels, no visible build quality issues.

fintail

Saw another X2 on the road, it's a thing.

fintail

Someone at work has a new R8, kind of a gold bronze color maybe (dark garage), no plates.

texases

Followed in a new LS500, I was surprised how much I liked it:

fintail

Another new Jetta, this one red. Also a new RDX, faux floating C-pillar is still a trend.

fintail

Saw a Clarity last night, and another this morning.

Mr_Shiftright

A new owner posted a review here. He seems to like it but has a few criticisms.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5538415#Comment_5538415

explorerx4

Wife confirmed one of the neighbors has a new blue Mustang coupe in the garage.
Probably passed the S60 on to one of the kids.
Black wheels, so could be a GT.

texases

If you get a look at the back, it'll have 'GT' between the taillights. (but you already know that)

explorerx4

@texases,
Yes about the 'GT' and unfortunately it was too far down the street to hear anything either.

texases

Followed in a newish 911 Turbo S cabrio, about $250k or so...

andres3

I saw an attractive brunette in a recent model Porsche 911 Turbo. A slow moving old boxy something or other (like an old Forester maybe) managed to get in front when the street got down to 1-lane, and goes up a hill. The boxy SUV starts going really slow. Predictably, the Turbo Porsche starts to get really close, then tailgates, then honks their horn. This was somewhat justified, as predictably, the guy in the box slow car wanted to escalate the situation all along with their passive-aggressive driving, and slowed down even more (drastically slowing). I"m behind the 911 so now I'm a victim of the slow down caused by Mr. Passive-Aggressive. So I honk too.

At the top of the hill, the road widens a bit, but is still one lane. The Porsche aggressively moves to pass them on the right, and successfully does so. I continue to honk at the car that got passed, but I'm turning right at the next intersection anyway, and they went on their way, straight, going much faster than when the 911 was behind them.

kyfdx

So... what did all that horn honking accomplish?

fintail

Pressure release valve, easier than yelling

I honked this morning, at a dimwit in their XC60 who bumbled down a straight only lane at half the limit, caused everyone to miss the light, then jerked over into the turn lane at last second.

kyfdx

I've found that most drivers seem even angrier, after honking... I don't think the valve really releases any pressure.

berri

We just seem to have become an overstressed country anymore. Rudeness way too often seems to prevail these days. Kinda sad really.

fintail

Maybe some become more irritated when I honk, to me, it is easier than yelling or doing a pit maneuver. I know in some parts of the country (crapholes, to paraphrase our dear leader, perhaps), a honk might be met with gunfire, but much less likely here. Honking in the fintail is also fun, as the horn is 5x louder than a modern car.

Rudeness could be a chicken and egg, what is ruder - honking, or driving like a decapitated chicken who earns the honk? Oh, if only we had the inconsiderate driver thread

On the new car topic, someone in my building has a new (or at least new to them) 4er GC, debadged, pearl white.

ab348

The Fintail’s horn is loud? I wouldn’t have expected that. My ‘79 Electra had GM’s “3 note horn” which sounded like it should have been on a locomotive. That was fun. 

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, fintail horns are loud--borderline obnoxious by today's standards--a sharp dual horn with a spinal cord frequency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqlNMJKjJGo

Mr_Shiftright

Or a Mercedes 600 horn would be a nice addition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMNlAbUeTuk

fintail

That's the one, I believe the same on all fintails, but somehow mine seems louder. People look when you honk, that's for sure. I've thought of a 600 retrofit, but I bet those are pricey. That video reminds me I want to get my steering wheel refinished.

This ponton horn sounds familiar, too:

https://youtu.be/cYvtPDDzn9I?t=2m20s

Maybe the next time I drive it, I will make a horn video.

On that note, I gave a short toot when out again just an hour ago, to a Rogue that stopped for an invisible stop sign (and once again, I missed a light).

For new cars, there's a Model 3 at the building where I store the fintail. Base wheels, dirty, has plates but still has the temp registration in the window, sounds about like what I expect.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yep, fintail horns are loud--borderline obnoxious by today's standards--a sharp dual horn with a spinal cord frequency.

andres3

kyfdx said:

So... what did all that horn honking accomplish?

The honking of the horn for me was equivalent to yelling:

1) Your inept driving was noticed, and your control-freak desires are not tolerated on the roadway, and by the way, the 1,000,000 cars behind you don't find it acceptable, and you are not the only 2 people on the planet!

2) Move it! I got places to be!

ab348

Fin, I'm surprised that the Ponton in that video doesn't overhead given the number of badges on the grille blocking airflow. I've not seen that bodystyle before, thanks for that.

The M-B horns are loud but have a higher-note "Euro" sound to them that I associate with European city traffic. The GM ones sounded like this (sadly installed on an old CRV):

https://youtu.be/PBtOB4we-Zs?t=2m45s

kyfdx

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:

So... what did all that horn honking accomplish?

The honking of the horn for me was equivalent to yelling:

1) Your inept driving was noticed, and your control-freak desires are not tolerated on the roadway, and by the way, the 1,000,000 cars behind you don't find it acceptable, and you are not the only 2 people on the planet!

2) Move it! I got places to be!

Got it.. accomplished nothing.

berri

We've got an old Camry we use for driving around town. I'm not a slow driver, but people perceive I must be slow because of the vehicle and particularly SUV's ride my [non-permissible content removed] when I'm actually driving over the limit. Doesn't happen with our crossover. My attitude is: you hit it, you bought it because in reality their insurance will probably payout more than a dealer will on trade. I'm not going to be your point man getting the ticket for 15 or more over the limit. I say that because oftentimes when they pass, they end up hitting their brakes and driving about the same speed as I was already doing. Too much!

fintail

Ponton coupes and cabrios are relatively rare and expensive, along with wincingly expensive to restore.

That GM horn sounds like a train, nice. Horns on many modern cars are almost embarrassing, like they are yelling and apologizing at the same time. To relate to new cars, maybe there could be a market retrofitting new cars with real horns.

For those triggered by horns, I suspect they or maybe someone they are yoked to get honked at a bit. For people who notice lots of honking, maybe look to personal driving habits

ab348 said:

Fin, I'm surprised that the Ponton in that video doesn't overhead given the number of badges on the grille blocking airflow. I've not seen that bodystyle before, thanks for that.

The M-B horns are loud but have a higher-note "Euro" sound to them that I associate with European city traffic. The GM ones sounded like this (sadly installed on an old CRV):

andres3

berri said:

We've got an old Camry we use for driving around town. I'm not a slow driver, but people perceive I must be slow because of the vehicle and particularly SUV's ride my [non-permissible content removed] when I'm actually driving over the limit. Doesn't happen with our crossover. My attitude is: you hit it, you bought it because in reality their insurance will probably payout more than a dealer will on trade. I'm not going to be your point man getting the ticket for 15 or more over the limit. I say that because oftentimes when they pass, they end up hitting their brakes and driving about the same speed as I was already doing. Too much!

I've heard that from others, similar to your story. I don't get it. When I pass, I pass, and I continue to pass gaining more and more room each second between your car and mine. I wouldn't pass just to slow down unless my radar detector indicated a reason to do so.

Strange your Camry gets tailgated more often than your Crossover. Are you sure you are driving them the same? The meager 4-banger in the Camry is pretty slow. Perhaps your acceleration rate is offending them (it's not always about top cruising speed).

lemko

benjaminh said:

@lemko Welcome back! How do you like the LaCrosse?

She absolutely loves the car! I might get one myself one day. We did very well with our 2005 LaCrosse!

lemko

Here's a better shot of her ride.

fintail

Hey Lemko, nice to see you. That blue Lacrosse must be a rare color.

Someone at work has turned up in a fresh new white Volt.

explorerx4

In the parking lot at work, 2018 black F150 FX4 supercab.

fintail

Not a new release, but new enough and noteworthy for initial hype that hit the ground with a loud "meh"

New NSX, white.

texases

The dam broke on new Accords, after not seeing them for a while they're everywhere.

tjc78

Same thing happened here with the new Enclave and Traverse.

stickguy

Down my street, in houses across from each other, new X1 and a Q5. In a unique medium green. Rare seeing something that color. Nice change.

explorerx4

Never see any new Accords other than the 2 or 3 I see on a regular basis.
Definitely see more new Camry's.
I now see that not all Camry's have the same rear bumper styling.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

Never see any new Accords other than the 2 or 3 I see on a regular basis.
Definitely see more new Camry's.
I now see that not all Camry's have the same rear bumper styling.

I think the sport model gets different treatment.

ab348

explorerx4 said:

Never see any new Accords other than the 2 or 3 I see on a regular basis.
Definitely see more new Camry's.
I now see that not all Camry's have the same rear bumper styling.

I don't see either, so far. I guess I should consider myself lucky.

thebean

Saw a new Subaru Ascent yesterday. Sure is big, and to me it doesn't look that much like a Subie.

stickguy

but looks really nice to my eye, if you want a large SUV barge like that.

berri

good AWD system for a crossover as well.

fintail

Quite a few new Accords on the road here, but I see 5x as many Camry.

Saw a BMW of Seattle loaner car today, 340i with nav and HUD, so not a stripper.

berri

Camry's are in the rental fleets, Accords seldom are. Seattle is a business and tourist destination.

fintail

I see more higher spec non-rental Camry than I expect, too, you know, the ones with 8 exhaust tips, weird rear trim, and strange two tone treatment,