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

kyfdx

fintail said:

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,

I think that's the XSE and/or the SE that has the weird rear trim. It's sort of off-putting. I saw an XLE, yesterday, that looked a lot better from the rear.

explorerx4

One models that have the two outlet pipe on one side, only one outlet is functional.

berri

I guess there is a difference between sporty, classy or tart it up with some more lipstick

fintail

Got behind what I think was a recently plated 4er cabrio today, driven by the most stereotypical BMW driver: zero signal use, floors it and goes double the limit, foiled by lights and then dawdles when the light turns green.

fintail

Not new but not sure where else to put it. I saw a BWW 550i (I think) GT blowing blue smoke at least as much as when the fintail is hot and in a bad mood, if not a bit more. Do these V8s have the same issue as the x45 badged cars?

Saw two garish model Camry today, to be on topic.

thebean

Saw a real unicorn today. A new Acura RLX with paper tags. I guess that is the one they sold in 2Q.

Michaell

thebean said:

Saw a real unicorn today. A new Acura RLX with paper tags. I guess that is the one they sold in 2Q.

Not new, but just as much of a unicorn - Jetta Hybrid.

tjc78

thebean said:

Saw a real unicorn today. A new Acura RLX with paper tags. I guess that is the one they sold in 2Q.

My cousin’s wife has one, she loves it.

laurasdada

On the way home from the Berkshires Sunday, a brand new-looking 911, an Aston Martin DB9 Vantage and a BMW i8. Aston Martin, please.

stickguy

neighbor from across the street seems to have traded in (probably lease was up) her Traverse. Came home last night with a new Malibu. Black. Actually quite sharp looking. but surprisingly large. Looks almost as long as her hubbys recently purchased Silverado. also black. I made a crack about cornering the market on black chebbies.

He traded in a Cruze on the PU, so I guess that beast made the large SUV redundant.

ab348

I never understood GM's thinking in making the Malibu almost as big as an Impala.

stickguy

I better check tomorrow. It looked as big as an Impala today, but I think I saw Malibu yesterday. I have to see the nameplate usually to tell the difference (though I guess there is a trim piece on the C pillar too).

they do seem to be very redundant at this point.

andres3

stickguy said:

neighbor from across the street seems to have traded in (probably lease was up) her Traverse. Came home last night with a new Malibu. Black. Actually quite sharp looking. but surprisingly large. Looks almost as long as her hubbys recently purchased Silverado. also black. I made a crack about cornering the market on black chebbies.

He traded in a Cruze on the PU, so I guess that beast made the large SUV redundant.

This is great news for GM. In the past, the cars were so bad most were one and done, or at most two and out for life. Some fan boys might need to be screwed 3 times even.

It seems the cars are getting good enough and consistent enough in durability that many owners are becoming repeat buyers more routinely.

ab348

stickguy said:

neighbor from across the street seems to have traded in (probably lease was up) her Traverse. Came home last night with a new Malibu. Black. Actually quite sharp looking. but surprisingly large. Looks almost as long as her hubbys recently purchased Silverado. also black. I made a crack about cornering the market on black chebbies.

Too bad she couldn't have waited for the 2019 refresh. They finally are shedding the frowny face. Hopefully they are upgrading some aspects of the interior too.

kyfdx

Frowny Faces

https://untappd.com/b/streetside-brewery-frowny-faces/2752201

fintail

Guy who parks near me at home who appears to lease a Tiguan every other year has showed up in a new unplated Jetta - I assume not a loaner as it has no dealer ID. Fancier wheels, didn't notice the trim.

texases

I drove a new Mustang GT for a week, vacation in CA, drove San Diego - Carmel - San Jose.

It was a birthday present, I was curious how it compared to my first car, a '65 with the 170. As expected, it was much bigger (what a long front!) and MUCH faster. What I wasn't expecting was how LOUD it was, at all times. Starting, driving in traffic, hitting the gas, LOUD! It kept me from using the gas as much as I might have. I guess I'm not the target market...

Mr_Shiftright

Isn't there some sort of exhaust adjustment? Many cars have that these days.

texases

There might be, I didn't take time to figure out the 326 different buttons and their functions...
I also wondered if some of the noise might have been artificially piped in through the stereo, but the open windows showed the car was making plenty of noise the old-fashioned way.

And to think that many GT buyers think the stock exhaust is too tame. I seem to remember Edmunds did a long term test of one a few years back, and considered an aftermarket exhaust.

stickguy

Probably most shocking, I bet the GT got way better mileage. Especially highway.

And much faster is probably an understatement.

ab348

Funny you mention the sound of the GT, @texases . Over the last few days I encountered two new GTs and they both were really obnoxiously loud to me as a passerby. There is an enjoyable exhaust note and then there is just noise. These were the latter.

andres3

stickguy said:

Probably most shocking, I bet the GT got way better mileage. Especially highway.

And much faster is probably an understatement.

Several Audi owners have reported losses to street light antics with races against the Mustang GT's in a straight line, including a 3.0 supercharged owner. However, there was also a report of a guy with a Stage 1+ 3.0T A6 that walked away from a previous generation (or 2; mid 2000's?) Roushe Mustang; apparently the older ones only had 415 HP or so??? That's beatable with a stage 1 tune Audi with a 3.0.

stickguy

The driver has a lot to do with that too.

andres3

stickguy said:

The driver has a lot to do with that too.

Especially with 2WD

However, if one is trying to engage launch control in a modern fancy car, there is plenty of opportunity to screw it up and get a slow launch in the process. I tell people you need a good 5 second warning before engaging in a stoplight race.

texases

The mpgs on the GT were fine, 26 mpg in mostly highway driving, buying premium. I don't remember what the '65 got.

qbrozen

Is the 2019 A7 out yet? I don't see any listed at dealers around me, but I was behind one today. It had Michigan plates that said "Manufacturer" on the bottom. And the car was debadged. Really good looking in person! Driver was awful, speeding up and slowing down and stepping on the brake randomly for no reason. Oh and the spoiler was stuck in the up position, even when fully stopped. Don't know if it is supposed to be speed sensitive or can be manually overridden.

fintail

I had to run an errand across the street from the MB dealer, good time to pop in and see if there's anything cool. Most noteworthy was 2 late run 18 G63s, both in odd colors. It seems the G color palette has expanded lately, and some old colors have returned. The one in the showroom was "Tectite Grey", the same color as my old E55, and one that previously existed from around 1995-2003 or so. Nice color, cool car, I had to sit in it - but dreary black interior, and 160K MSRP. The other G was "Mauritius Blue", another color with some age, but is a bit bright for me. Same dark interior and MSRP. Other cars on the lot were as-expected, maybe the S63 cabrio being a little unusual. Used section had a few loaner or ex-rental E class and tons of W205 C-class but no E-class with many options. Looking at these and then getting back in my car has me satisfied with my car. Neighboring Porsche dealer had a usual lineup, oddity was a Panamera wagon (as I call it), but no MSRP, and a MB E43 sedan in the used section, 57K asking, no drivers assist option.

berri

What's with all the black these days - inside and outside. Are we reverting to Henry Ford's Model T approach?

fintail

I think it is a few factors. It coordinates with any exterior color, it is probably seen as somewhat fashionable (Germans have been into it for years), and although it shows small dust and hairs etc, it doesn't show built up grime nearly as bad as a light color. Especially if leather or pleather, it is easy to clean.

What happened to blue interiors? I like blue. Blue interiors are effectively gone for mass market cars, and have been gone for some time.

Mr_Shiftright

You can get an orange interior in the new Volvo XC40---yes, orange. Well not the ENTIRE interior, but a healthy portion of it, including the carpets and door panels.

ab348

fintail said:

I think it is a few factors. It coordinates with any exterior color, it is probably seen as somewhat fashionable (Germans have been into it for years), and although it shows small dust and hairs etc, it doesn't show built up grime nearly as bad as a light color. Especially if leather or pleather, it is easy to clean.

What happened to blue interiors? I like blue. Blue interiors are effectively gone for mass market cars, and have been gone for some time.

Far too much black used these days.

The shrinkage in color options in interiors is unfortunate. Maybe until around 2000 you could still get some choices like blue, red, maybe even green in addition to tan, gray and black. Not all of those in every model of course, but you had some choice.

One of the underrated interior shades that is seemingly going away is the very light dove gray that used to be popular. I had that in my Lacrosse and really liked it. Going back into the '70s Ford used to offer a knit nylon cloth in the LTD and other top-line models in that shade and it looked wonderful.

@explorerx4 sent me a copy of the book Car! that detailed the development of the '96 Taurus (a very engaging read) and the author spent some time discussing the process around the seat fabric choice, which was apparently one of the first applications of Uglycloth (TM Regd.) via a multicolor printed fabric which was not well-received by dealers and the public. It seemed in that account that the interior color was barely given any thought at all given the much bigger challenges the development team faced.

fintail

MB had blue into the mid 90s, maybe late 90s on carryover models. Some, I think Honda especially, have limited it to just greybeige and black on some models.

My Bluetec has brown, which I like even if much of the trim is black. At least it gives some contrast, and at the same time coordinates well with the natural finish wood:



My prior E had light grey, which brightened things up inside and had kind of a posh feeling, but showed dirt easily. Luckily it was tex, and was easy to clean:



I have a 2018 G Wagen brochure, and it lists 21 interior color choices (some are distinctions between solid color and color/black), including a dark blue. The real fun thing is exterior colors - 13 regular colors, 26 designo colors. At that price point, I guess there should be variety.

I remember the 96 Taurus cloth choices, here's a good illustration:



Looks like fungal growth.

ab348 said:

Far too much black used these days.

The shrinkage in color options in interiors is unfortunate. Maybe until around 2000 you could still get some choices like blue, red, maybe even green in addition to tan, gray and black. Not all of those in every model of course, but you had some choice.

One of the underrated interior shades that is seemingly going away is the very light dove gray that used to be popular. I had that in my Lacrosse and really liked it. Going back into the '70s Ford used to offer a knit nylon cloth in the LTD and other top-line models in that shade and it looked wonderful.

@explorerx4 sent me a copy of the book Car! that detailed the development of the '96 Taurus (a very engaging read) and the author spent some time discussing the process around the seat fabric choice, which was apparently one of the first applications of Uglycloth (TM Regd.) via a multicolor printed fabric which was not well-received by dealers and the public. It seemed in that account that the interior color was barely given any thought at all given the much bigger challenges the development team faced.

ab348

fintail said:

My Bluetec has brown, which I like even if much of the trim is black. At least it gives some contrast, and at the same time coordinates well with the natural finish wood:



My prior E had light grey, which brightened things up inside and had kind of a posh feeling, but showed dirt easily. Luckily it was tex, and was easy to clean:

Ha, your present E interior is almost exactly the same shades as used in my ATS, and your former E had the same grey that my Lacrosse sported!

fintail said:

I remember the 96 Taurus cloth choices, here's a good illustration:



Looks like fungal growth.

Man, that IS bad. I had no recollection of that. What were they thinking?

Mid-90s to mid-2000s seemed to have an epidemic of Uglycloth (TM Regd.) upholstery, at least in N.A. makes. I remember seeing similarly unappealing fabrics in Chevys, the Pontiac Grand Prix, and some Chrysler products. Hopefully a trend that does not return.

fintail

I think brown has made a minor comeback, and I am all for it - something to break the monotony, and it is a rich looking color. Grey can work too in the right shade with the right trim. My ideal MB color combo would be diamond silver on porcelain (or blue, if it exists for the model), but I don't see many like that.

The uglycloth I think is following a 90s trend in Europe, but made boring for NA consumption. Starting in the 90s, many more affordable Euro cars had kind of playful or brash cloth patterns, and it was probably seen as a way to liven up a basic product:







The era around the turn of the century sometimes seems like a mini-malaise era, things got pretty dull for awhile, and some cars had reliability issues.

ab348 said:

Man, that IS bad. I had no recollection of that. What were they thinking?

Mid-90s to mid-2000s seemed to have an epidemic of Uglycloth (TM Regd.) upholstery, at least in N.A. makes. I remember seeing similarly unappealing fabrics in Chevys, the Pontiac Grand Prix, and some Chrysler products. Hopefully a trend that does not return.

berri

What's with those cloth interiors - did the 60's and 70's come back? Paisley will be next

bhill2

fintail said:

I think it is a few factors. It coordinates with any exterior color, it is probably seen as somewhat fashionable (Germans have been into it for years), and although it shows small dust and hairs etc, it doesn't show built up grime nearly as bad as a light color. Especially if leather or pleather, it is easy to clean.

What happened to blue interiors? I like blue. Blue interiors are effectively gone for mass market cars, and have been gone for some time.

I'm kinda with you. Fin. Our '09 BMW is black with a blue interior. It is a nice combination.

fintail

That's gotta be rare, too.

I notice MB has blue options for the S-class and G, but I have never seen one in person.

bhill2 said:

I'm kinda with you. Fin. Our '09 BMW is black with a blue interior. It is a nice combination.

andres3

Having nightmares of the rainbow speckled gray cloth in the Neon.

That light gray in the MB looks more like white/gray. Most grays are darker then that.

VW is offering up like 30 colors for the new Golf R. You just have to pay $2,500 extra if you want a real color selection.

However, don't ask for any interior other than black

tjc78

@andres3
I was just thinking about the Neon cloth. My Stepdad bought a first year Neon, white over grey with the white hubcaps. When he brought home and opened the door I couldn't believe that interior.

fintail

Welcome to the 90s, I hope you like roundness.

tifighter

Saw a new NSX in white. It actually looks pretty mean on the street; I think I like it.

texases

I wonder if they'll ever sell an 'NSX-lite', without all the hybrid equipment and associated electronic wizardry for less $$. My understanding is that it was a BIG job to get actual performance benefits out of a hybrid NSX over a straight gasser.

tifighter

I doubt it. The NSX is a brand piece, and the hybrid system is in line with their F1 program.

qbrozen

texases said:

I wonder if they'll ever sell an 'NSX-lite', without all the hybrid equipment and associated electronic wizardry for less $$. My understanding is that it was a BIG job to get actual performance benefits out of a hybrid NSX over a straight gasser.

It was designed around that drivetrain. Doing a gasser version would be a huge engineering and testing cost.

texases

Very true. But they could probably sell a lot more at 2/3 the price.

fintail

I've read the NSX is selling in single digits per month. I'd so rather have an original one.

Mr_Shiftright

I've driven the original, and they are surprisingly easy to drive really fast. Compared to an equivalent year Corvette at speed (scary), the NSX makes you feel like a pro, first time out. Of course, you DO have to stare at an Acura steering wheel.

tifighter

fintail said:

I've read the NSX is selling in single digits per month. I'd so rather have an original one.

Yeah. But are we sure dealers want to sell them? I imagine the ADM is insane on these. I can just picture an Acura dealer getting allocated one for the year and the principal wanting to keep it around just to show off to buddies.

fintail

That could be it. Does anyone really care enough anymore to stop and look at one? The enthusiast marketplace met it with a resounding yawn after it was hyped for eons and finally launched. But no doubt some dummy dealers have 20% ADMs just to troll for suckers, especially if they are in dirty money markets (like this one!).

tifighter said:

Yeah. But are we sure dealers want to sell them? I imagine the ADM is insane on these. I can just picture an Acura dealer getting allocated one for the year and the principal wanting to keep it around just to show off to buddies.

texases

There are 3 NSX at the Acura dealer near me, listed at MSRP.