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

berri

Personally, I think the whole dealership thing needs to be re-evaluated by the manufacturer's. They often more alienate, then inspire buyers. The manufacturers may be better off with small showrooms in retail areas where people can test drive a vehicle and order one directly. The trade in function can really be handled by the Carmax's of the world these days. Manufacturer's can also set up warranty contracts with repair shops they certify. It just doesn't seem essential in today's market to have large, costly dealerships and their often offensive F&I people.

bhill2

fintail said:

Paranoid people will pay good money for the false pretense of "safety". Probably big with new hoverparents too.

It's worse than that. A potentially costly innovation with dubious value? California will have a law mandating it within a year.

fintail

Saw another Uterus today, or probably the same one, garish in white with black wheels and yellow calipers. Makes a AMG G look tasteful.

I could see idiot safety nannies mandating the blinking CHMSL.

laurasdada

There's a Urus in the showroom of my Jag dealer. Now, what was traded for a Urus??? Maybe it's the owner's, looking to flip.

fintail

Got behind an RX with a blinking CHMSL today, and not a minute later then got behind a Corolla with a blinking CHMSL. Most aggravating new feature I can recall, loathsome to the core.

sda

I haven’t seen many blinking CHMSL here, but I’m sure we will. I haven’t looked at the dimensions but it looks like the new Corolla is bigger, like the current Civic.

berri

Something tells me that dealer add on blinker will be a problem down the road, especially in damp climates.

fintail

Makes me want to get a hammer out and have fun.

New Corolla is an every day sight here now. Inoffensive, invisible, just what the demographic wants. Not as "bold" as other Toyolex design monstrosities.

berri

I don't know if Toyota is going to continue to get top dollar much longer. HyunKia is putting out very nice new stuff with a lot more value for the buck and Toyota, as well as Honda, don't have that prior big lead in quality and reliability anymore as others are closing the gap. I recently looked at a new Kia Telluride and it seems to really spank the Highlander and Pilot, both as a vehicle and as a value proposition.

stickguy

I have never seen a blinking 3rd brake light.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I have never seen a blinking 3rd brake light.

$499 accessory on all VWs where I got the Jetta.

berri

I've mostly seen them out west

ab348

Are the blinking high-mounted brake lights an actual full assembly or just a different bulb that replaces the OE one?

Michaell

ab348 said:

Are the blinking high-mounted brake lights an actual full assembly or just a different bulb that replaces the OE one?

I honestly don't know what it is. Probably a kit of some sort

berri

They are some kind of circuit thing that dealers use as another dealer pack to jack up list price. Claim the fast blinking light prevents accidents, but don't really see any validation of that.

explorerx4

Not sure how effective the blinking brake lights are, kind of remind me of those randomly flashing trailer lights you see behind a semi, at times.

berri

I wonder if some who aren't used to them just stare at them and end up rear ending the car???

fintail

They make me think of someone brake checking,

ab348

Saw a new-style E450 wagon in traffic locally, Selenite Gray outside, black inside. Impressive-looking vehicle though the paint color didn't do much for me. Seriously expensive here, probably well north of $80K in worthless Canadian dollars.

explorerx4

How about a chrome wrapped Model X? Yes, they do exist.

fintail

You can load em up well past $90K in overvalued greenbacks. Funny, with exchange rate shenanigans and different option groupings, such cars spec for spec are often a bit cheaper north of the border.

ab348 said:

Saw a new-style E450 wagon in traffic locally, Selenite Gray outside, black inside. Impressive-looking vehicle though the paint color didn't do much for me. Seriously expensive here, probably well north of $80K in worthless Canadian dollars.

ab348

berri said:

They are some kind of circuit thing that dealers use as another dealer pack to jack up list price. Claim the fast blinking light prevents accidents, but don't really see any validation of that.

I think something like this would be far more effective and pleasant to look at.

stickguy

JC Whitney catalog?

ab348

Not sure, but since it offers only "acrylon-like fur" and not REAL acrylon I would guess so.

explorerx4

The idea behind the CHMSL?

benjaminh

Yesterday I saw a new Cadillac XT4 on the road, which I thought was a good looking car.

thebean

Saw a Maserati Levante yesterday. Not sure why Maseratis are so popular in pickup obsessed North Texas.

tjc78

New Supra in white. Wife was like, that’s a Toyota?

fintail

BMYota or ToyMW.

berri

Now Fin, your first new Supra name would seem to convey the Supra is a POS , at least in medical terms

kyfdx

I’d buy one of these.

stickguy

Looks look Eva slightly squished Volvo C30. I like it. New scirocco?

kyfdx

Yup

imidazol97

fintail said:

Got behind an RX with a blinking CHMSL today, and not a minute later then got behind a Corolla with a blinking CHMSL. Most aggravating new feature I can recall, loathsome to the core.

I've seen a few of those that blink 3 times and then switch to steady burn. I assumed they were manufacturer OEM on certain models.

The first car that I saw that did something similar was a Mercedes maybe 15 years ago. The taillights blinked once brighter than normal as the brake pedal was depressed. This is long ago, but it seemed I read something about that occurred if the brake was hit harder than average as in an emergency stop mode.

laurasdada

kyfdx said:

Yup

My first love, I mean, car. Ok, same thing!

texases

laurasdada said:

kyfdx said:

Yup

My first love, I mean, car. Ok, same thing!

Same here, mine was a '79, black like this, stripe included:

sda

I always liked those, and they even had a plaid interior like the later GTI. I’ve owned multiple VWs from 79-06. I had a good relationship with a VW salesman that I bought or referred to many times. When ever a new model would be introduced he would call or send me a note to come drive it. When the Corrado was introduced and had the supercharged engine I was excited to drive it. It was coarse and not very satisfying to drive and was expecting much more. What a difference the VR6 made!

laurasdada

My '78 was white over black, with Recaro seats. I was none too pleased that VW took styling in house for the second gen Scirocco, the exterior was a bit too bulbous for me. The most recent iterations look pretty good, though!

kyfdx

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

texases

You can imagine the improvement in driving fun I had, coming from a '72 Duster with a 198 slant 6!

laurasdada

kyfdx said:

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

But, Mustang 2, boredom 0!
I loved my Scirocco, as did rust. So light and tossable. Purty, too.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

I could've used that same $1000 in 1991 to get a Sentra SE-R, rather than the SE I ended up getting

ab348

I used to know a girl named Aura Lee who had a 2nd-gen Scirocco. Fun car, fun gal.

laurasdada

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

I could've used that same $1000 in 1991 to get a Sentra SE-R, rather than the SE I ended up getting

Bought the ex a '92 Sentra SE-R. Taught her to drive the stick, which carried over to the '95 Saab 900. Alas, that was the last stick for me/us. To this date...

stickguy

same here. $1k might have upgraded me from the 1985 Colt GTS (turbo package, sans turbo) to a GTI or Corolla SR5

thebean

Saw a TSX A-Spec today in Royal Blue with what looked like red interior. I was behind it at a stop light, so the interior color was a bit hard to see with the tint. Looked sharp.

Michaell

laurasdada said:

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

I could've used that same $1000 in 1991 to get a Sentra SE-R, rather than the SE I ended up getting

Bought the ex a '92 Sentra SE-R. Taught her to drive the stick, which carried over to the '95 Saab 900. Alas, that was the last stick for me/us. To this date...

My other choice in '91 was the Civic Si. However, insurance guy told me it would be more expensive than the Sentra.

In retrospect, I should have convinced the then-wife that we needed to spring for the SE-R

andres3

Old School Silver vs. Modern Silver

andres3

@fintail cousin to your newer wagon

kyfdx

Michaell said:

laurasdada said:

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

My biggest regret from 1977, is that I didn't steal $1000, so that I could get a Scirocco, instead of a Cobra II

I could've used that same $1000 in 1991 to get a Sentra SE-R, rather than the SE I ended up getting

Bought the ex a '92 Sentra SE-R. Taught her to drive the stick, which carried over to the '95 Saab 900. Alas, that was the last stick for me/us. To this date...

My other choice in '91 was the Civic Si. However, insurance guy told me it would be more expensive than the Sentra.

In retrospect, I should have convinced the then-wife that we needed to spring for the SE-R

then-wife

Bad choices result in bad consequences