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

jaserb

Leave it to the Italians - the Quattroporte has to be about the best looking 4 door car ever designed. It just oozes sensuality. If I were in the market for a high end 4 door I'd toss the practical options (STS? 7 series? S-class? LS430?) out the window and go for the Maser. Of course I'm not in that market, and I probably never will be, but still.

-Jason

andys120

I got a brief glimpse of a new Merc Milan in front of a dealer. Like it's bro', the Fusion, it looks trim and well detailed and the black paint looks great.

ateixeira

I like 'em too. I saw one in trendy Rehoboth Beach, DE, it was surrounded by Benzes and Bimmers, but the Maser is the one that stood out!

-juice

lemko

...the first Ford Fusion I've seen outside a showroom. This one was black - about the ideal color for a Fusion. Looks good, Ford! Best of luck with it!

andre1969

I saw my first Hummer H3 on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. It was on the median strip, behind a Plymouth Voyager that had a smashed in tailgate. Oops! As I drove past, I could see that the H3's bumper was pushed inward and upward. The grille was completely missing, with only the headlights remaining, pointing somewhat inward, giving it a cross-eyed look. Looked like the hood and fender fronts were a bit buckled, too.

The H3 definitely looked like it got the worst of it.

anythngbutgm

I know it's not new, and definitely not worthy of mention but I thought I would post the most bizzarre sighting. Went out to local restaurant on Sunday night and saw 4 Mercury Mystiques in the parking lot at the same time! I think Mercury only sold like 4 of them so imagine the shock! Must have been a club gathering

ateixeira

You read that right, another diplomatic car. VW ought to sell it here since they moved the Golf/Jetta up in price.

Also saw a Passat and a Jetta. VW is adding incentives to both.

-juice

fintail

I saw a new style Passat Saturday that had some decent body damage, but was still being driven. That's gotta suck.

ateixeira

I was hit by a Saab while driving my Miata. He still had temporary tags! This was a year or two ago. He was bummed. I had to get some string from my car to help him elevate his bumper enough that he could even drive it!

-juice

fintail

I think a wrecked normal new car is more painful than a wrecked new highline or exotic, simply for the fact that the car is likely more of a significant item to the driver. A wrecked new Ferrari or Porsche etc is likely just a castoff from some spoiled irresponsible inheritance playboy/lottery winner/entertainer/etc. But a mangled new Saab or Passat or Honda etc is probably more important to its owner.

lemko

...that shows wrecked highline and exotic cars called wreckedexotics.com

anythngbutgm

OMG, I must have saw 100 new Civics yeserday, literally... I took a 50 mile+ trip to the south shore which consisted of mostly highway. The wife drove while I was playing "Punchbuggy" with all the new '06 Civics I saw

fintail

I've seen that site...kind of sick seeing Ferraris etc all mangled.

I've seen many new Civics too, mainly sedans. I've seen a couple up close, and I will say this, they raise the bar for small cars. Everything else looks kind of old now. Honda will likely be satisfied with its performance.

Personally, I think the sedans are a little odd - Saturn-like ugliness and some odd proportions (but no lameo 4 spoke wheels and cartoon interiors), which makes sense given the design background. But the coupes are better.

lemko

...silver Ford 500 on the way to lunch. They're quite common around here. The '06 Civics are still quite scarce. I've seen one white sedan in all this time.

navigator89

I attended the Motor Show in Kuwait on the 11th, and saw some very nice vehicles there, and had the good fortune of sitting in a lot of them.

I sat in...
Range Rover Vogue Supercharged
Hummer H2
Range Rover Sport
Audi A6
Audi A8
Audi A3
Audi A4
Dodge Charger
Chrysler 300
Chrysler Crossfire
Volkwagen Passat
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Subaru Forester
Toyota Avalon
BMW 750Li
Infiniti Q45
new Accord
Mustang convertible
Euro Focus (very nice)
Hyundai Azera
refreshed Grand Marquis, (looks classier)

and a lot more cars! The best one I sat in was definitely the Audi RS4. You can read my impressions in the thread there. Beautiful car, with nice, grippy shifter, carbon fiber trim, special wheel, body kit, and sport seats.

I also many other exotics, like the Porsche Cayman, Carrera GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and Murcielago, Jaguar XK, Jaguar XJ Portfolio, Rolls Royce Phantom. Man, that car was big! They also had a Charger RT with a 440, and a Corvette Sting Ray with a 427. Not too many concepts, excep the Lexus LFX, and something from Skoda.

I'll post pictures soon.

Anyway today I saw a Hummer H3 in red. Very tidy looking. I wanted to sit in at the show, but the models were full of people. :mad:

And a white SL55 AMG zooming down the highway.

Question for you guys, how are autoshows there? What kind of cars can you sit in, and how much is admission. I remember at Toronto admission was high, it was very crowded and you could only sit in everyday cars. Admission here was free!!!

ateixeira

The biggest ones are Detroit, Chicago, New York, and LA. The catch, however, is that a lot of the nicer, newer cars are roped off. Concepts especially.

So in a strange way, the small-town shows are better. I used to go to the DC auto show and even though they would get the same cars Detroit got 9 months later, more of them are open for you to crawl inside.

It really depends, if you are car shopping, seriously, you have to get inside. So the big shows may actually not be the best.

If you are just browsing, and want to measure crowd reaction to the cars, there's nothing like the Detroit. I've been the last 2 years. It's huge.

-juice

boomchek

The Pacific International Auto Show in Vancouver BC is held in April, and the admission is about $13.

Most of the cars you can sit in except the high end luxury marques. Sat in the Acura RL, the BMWs, Audis were open, but all Jags, Land Rovers, and most of the high end Benzes were locked up.

We get quite a few exotics and concepts here as well.

This year's show had the RR Phantom, a bunch of Porsches, a ton of GM concepts, the Ford GT, Lambos and a couple of Ferraris if I remember correctly. Last year we had a Maybach 57 on display as well.

ateixeira

Passat - looks bloated and much bigger than the old one.

Impala - nice improvement, but still kinda dull.

330i - Bangle's best design so far.

-juice

guss

so far i I have seen two of these.

I like it over the last generation .But , for some reason it reminds me of a woman with big hips(apologies if I offended any women).

I don't think this is the car will save Mitsubishi's kiester.

fintail

Autoshows in NA can really vary. I just went to the Seattle show weekend before last...I sat in SL500/E55/A8/S4/XJ. I didn't see an S class at that show, which surprised me. Cheaper performance cars like WRX/EVO/etc were all open too, and had as much of a crowd as the higher end cars. I am pretty sure the XLR was open too. I'm not a SUV fan so I didn't look at those. I went to the Vancouver show in the spring, and sat in a SL65, C55, S500. I was surprised they had that SL open, and that was my highlight of the show. Maybe it's because MB are so common in Vancouver, but there were no crowds around them either. The dealers at the stand were also surprisingly nice. Of course the exotics like Lambos/Ferraris/Rolls etc were not open for such viewing, but I didn't expect them to be.

I am seeing new Infiniti M quite often now, and it's competitor the new GS is a daily sight here too. Quite a few new 3ers too, and I agree, the design works.

i_luv_toyota

I have seen several of the new 2006 Civic sedans, many Chevy Uplander vans, many new Chevy Cobalts, and many, MANY new Toyota Tacoma 4WDs. This was in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island where I was for a week.

While on Oahu (Honolulu) for a day I saw a new Ferarri with a large "RENT ME" sign on it at a gas station in Waikiki. I'm not good with IDing Ferarris so I have no idea what model I saw as I was just driving by.

Then I come back to Connecticut and see a new Range Rover Sport in that orange color we all have seen in that commercial.

lemko

...new black Mitsubishi Galant. It is just as strange-looking from the back as it is the front. The taillamps are shaped similar to the Dodge Charger, but are chrome and illuminated through three tiny horizontal slits - red for taillamps and brake lights, amber for turn signals, and white for backup.

teds1

I saw a CL65 this morning... that's gotta be pretty rare, even for NYC.

I have seen a bunch of the RR Sports now and I have to say, the image one projects while driving a 390 hp sporty SUV is not that of a smart humble man. It would seem that seem that these are bought 100% for image although the drivers look like they are having fun. what a dumb truck

fintail

You'll see a dirty RR Sport as soon as you see a dirty normal RR or H2 or Escalade or G-wagen. All image, and for many the image isn't the most positive. These things are made for off-roading, that being leaving the road and entering the driveway of a face brick McMansion in Pressboard Estates.

Sometimes I go for a walk on nice weekend days, and I prefer to walk through a ritzy residential area near where I live. There's one house I walk by that has a SL55, S55, and C55, all in black. I wonder if the guy owns the local MB dealer or is just set in his tastes.

fintail

I'm in Bellevue WA, which has more than its fair share of high end cars. Well today I saw one on par with the Enzo I saw a couple months ago. I saw a.....

Mercedes SLR

And it's a freaky lookin machine. It was black, driving in normal city traffic. Such a long hood, and the car is so long and low. Really it's hard to describe how it compares to normal cars. But it stuck out!

navigator89

I went again to the Kuwait Motor Show on Tuesday, which was the last day.

And I was fortunate enough to sit in 4 Porsche, the Carrera 4S, Boxster S, Cayman S, Cayenne Turbo! All beautufil cars, high quality materials, and you can feel the technology in them

Also sat in a BMW 6 Series. The interior is fabulous and the wood is rich.

And I sat in some other cool SUVs, like the Infiniti QX56, Lincoln Navigator, FX35, Yukon and Envoy Denali. Also tried out all the French cars from Peugeot, Renault and Citroen. They have some pretty neat designs, like the Renault Clio Sport, Espace, Peugeot 607, 407 Citroen C5 and Picasso.

teds1

I wonder if he just wanted to see how the same engine performs with slightly different weights and wheelbases...

Seems kind of boring, I never understood those people who had a 745 and a RR (pre Jag engine). It's the same damn motor!

And why on earth would you want an SL AND a CL? It's the same car almost.

Isn't the point of being wealthy enough to afford multiple cars the otion of variety?

BTW SLRs are really cool in person, I've seen two in the wild and there is usually one in a showroom by my office. They sell them pretty quick actually

lemko

...gray Ford Freestyle. Hey, somebody bought one.

kyfdx

A new BMW M5...

I had to run a red light and knock over a boy scout leading Grandma across the street to catch up to him...

But, it was worth it... In silver.. four big fat exhaust pipes coming out the rear...

Shewwwww.... I need a shower..

210delray

That is, pardon me while I puke.

I saw the rear end of a Mercury Milan today. Taillights too big for the rear, sort of like the Olds Alero, only worse: the Milan's lenses are mostly clear, so it reminded me of looking into a zombie's eyes.

guss

I was behind a New Passat. When the brake light comes on it's a circle and the turn signal is in the middle of it.

I was behind it at a red light nd had to look away because I felt I was being hypnotized.

"Buy the new Passat....Buy the new Passat...."

ateixeira

New Civic sedan. Looks modern but still not as nice as the coupe.

-juice

fintail

I don't know if it was brand new, but I saw a yellow Murcielago today. As well, I spotted both a new A6 and A8. They are pretty cars.

jcat707

My roommate's girlfriend's mother just bought a Civic Sedan. I've only seen it from the fourth floor window but it looks pretty good. I noticed that the windshield wipers open from the middle to the sides like the GM vans instead of the usual left to right sweeps.

derrado1

I don't see many luxury SUV's around my parts (the entire northside is pretty much middle-class suburbia) but on the same stretch of road, on different days, I saw a Porsche Cayenne (ooooohh, I'm uber-jealous ) and today I saw a new Range Rover (looked quite small from the back)

So I'm thinking the intersection of these two words gets some pretty interesting traffic... I'll keep my eyes peeled.

navigator89

Today as I drove by I saw what I first thought to be a Maybach, but then I realized that it was a new S Class. It was in maroon color and certainly looked better than the numerous, generic looking S Classes and 745Li's that I see everyday. I couldn't tell exactly which model it was though.

Funny, I found the car in a run down section of town, you know, the "ghetto".

ateixeira

I'm not crazy about those, but I think the idea is that they clear more windshield area, mostly the improvement is on the passenger side. They just look weird in their operation.

Saw a new STS at Target in Rockville, MD, yesterday.

-juice

fintail

I've noticed the "clap hands" wipers on the Civic too. Who pioneered that? I don't mean wipers going in opposition to each other, but actually overlapping.

I've also wondered why NA always gets new S class and other German cars like a year after everyone else. It'll be at least that long til I see one. But if I don't have to see that huncbbacked dashboard, maybe it's not a bad thing.

fintail

I saw a new Impala LT this morning, it wasn't a bad looking car, better than the dumpy 00-05 models. I couldn't tell if it was a rental or not, but it didn't have a license plate frame. However, I did notice the panel gap where the rear bumper meets the body was pretty shoddily done. Didn't look encouraging. I hope it was damaged.

I also saw a Trailblazer SS. It reeked of lameness. But I say that probably because I think the body is less than pretty, the interior second rate, and "SS" on a mall cruising SUV to be an insult to the old cars.

ateixeira

Not brand new, but these are so rare I thought I'd share. Looks like a really tough climb into the back seat, and poor visibility too.

-juice

lemko

...new cars at the Willow Grove Mall today: a silver Kia Sportage, a black Lexus GS300, white Honda Civic sedan, and a red-orange metallic Infiniti G35

kyfdx

I can remember our '62 and '67 Pontiacs both having the wipers pivot from the outside... Since that was my first experience, I thought that was "normal", and that the other ones were strange... notably on Fords in the '60s... Now, of course, seeing the wipers "meet" in the middle looks weird, since it is so rare...

But, the first time I saw the Mercedes sedan with the single wiper? Now, that is weird...

fintail

The fintail had it starting in 59...I am sure someone had overlapping wipers before that. On many old cars I see, the wipers oppose each other, but never cross over.

MB's single wiper idea came with the W201 (190 series) in 1983. It's actually pretty effective. My C43 has it as well.

ghulet

I thought the two wipers on one big arm was kinda neat (I think the 116s and 126s had these), then the single wiper on the 190; I think the 190 was also the first to have the articulated single arm (which I think debuted in '85), where the wiper takes a dip in the middle, then kind of hops back up before it makes its downward sweep. Kinda strange to see in action, but it's effective (sweeps something like 85% of the glass area on the 300E).

teds1

Last night I saw a white Jeep Commander ewwwwww!
wow I hate that thing.

Also saw a 400i Ferrari though... remember that one? The sedan from the 80s? A guy I used to know's dad had one and I rememebr thinking even as a small kid that it was kinda odd.

I've seen a few civics now and strangely they don't look as good as in pictures (it's usually the other way around) I am still waiting on the coupe.
A guy in my neighborhood bought a TSX Acura and made it Euro spec with Honda badges. He did a pretty acurate job of it and I kinda like the result, not that I usually support that sort of thing

fintail

I think the Ferrari 400 is the least loved Ferrari, and deservedly so. It looks like a sporty version of a Fiat 130.

The Mercedes 2 wiper system on the 116 and 126 was really unique. I've never seen anything like it. It is effective though. For awhile there, MB was an oddball in wiper design. My C43 has the wiper that pivots up and down when it reaches the apex of its sweep. It's still kind of distracting when I see it.

ateixeira

I saw one, too, bright white, it really stood out. That thing is a rolling box.

-juice

guss

I loved the basic utilitarian looks of the Cherokee. The Commander really butchered the look.

I saw my first Impala on the street. My first thought was pretty cool car what Japanese make is it? Then I realized it was the new Impala, what a vast improvement over the previous model.

lemko

...this should be in the "obscure" forum, but I did see a new black Infiniti Q45 today. Also, spotted another Cobalt today - this one was silver.

kyfdx

...so that is where the Infiniti Q45 is located... in Philly...