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

texases

Ford looks about tied with Nissan and Subaru, a little better than GM, etc.:

fintail

124s don't seem to rust, even 123s do OK, but some 210s - not pretty. A HBS case study in bad planning.

ateixeira

I'll put money on Subaru improving. Their achilles heel was coolant leaks in the head gasket, and now that the coolant was re-routed it simply won't (can't) happen any more.

Interesting curves from BMW and Hyundai, too.

busiris

I remember reading that the Chevrolet Vega was one of the first GM products to use some sort of dipping-galvanizing method (I know.... Hard to believe), but the process was poorly designed and implemented, and the rustproofing materials never made it to many body locations.

That, coupled with a thinner steel body and no fender-well liners in the first several year model runs, and owners got bodies that rusted quickly...

From Wikipedia...

After a six-stage zinc phosphate rustproofing process and two minutes submerged in a 65,000 US gallons (246,052 L; 54,124 imp gal) electrophoretic painting vat (Fisher Body Division’s "Elpo" electrophoretic deposition of polymers process) to prime and further protect them from rust, assembled bodies were dried, wet-sanded, sealer-coated, sprayed with acrylic lacquer and baked in a 300 °F (149 °C) degree oven. Fisher's rustproofing was faulty. Failure to penetrate a gap between front fenders and cowl allowed moist debris and salt to rust the untreated steel, and trapped air prevented coating inside the tops of the front fenders, which on early Vegas had no protective liners.[8] The finance department had rejected liners as they would have added a $2.28 unit cost. After GM spent millions replacing thousands of corroded fenders under warranty, Chevrolet installed stopgap plastic deflectors in late 1973 and full plastic liners in 1974. Rust also damaged the rocker panels and door bottoms, the area beneath the windshield, and the body above the rockers. It sometimes seized the front suspension cam bolts, preventing alignment work, necessitating removal with a cutting torch and replacement by all-new parts.

fintail

Saw another new unplated E today, also a new Accord, 2x new ES, and a new A6 loaner car.

tifighter

I saw an new Accord Sport today and must say, its a big improvement on the last model. Honda seems to have put on their rally caps.

fintail

It looks a lot better, the styling is refined. I saw a brand new Civic last night too, the cheapo looking edge seems to be off it.

ateixeira

I noticed one, too. I thought Honda was phasing out the badges but I noticed the Sport badge on it.

fintail

Another new Accord tonight, the brakes work well on these, as this one looked like it wanted to plow into a line of stopped traffic, braking just in time. Also saw a dirty dark red Tesla, a Dart, and another new unplated white W212 E-class with pano, couldn't tell the model but not a Bluetec.

andys120

I've been wondering when I'd see the new little Dodges since the competition from Ford and Chevy are everywhere. Yesterday I saw two new Darts, the first was black with those damnable black wheels and sported an R/T badge (I think, it was pretty small).

The second was a nice bright blue.

robr2

I saw a Dart yesterday as well. I spotted about 4 new Fusions and I keep seeing the same Suzuki Kazashi.

ateixeira

For whatever reason I very, very rarely see any Darts. They simply don't sell here in Potomac, MD. DC, too.

boomchek

I haven`t seen any on the road yet, I think they`re too new still? When did thwey come out, about 3 months ago?

imidazol97

>very rarely see any Darts

It may be that they don't stand out when I see one usually from the rear. I recognized one a couple weeks ago on the interstate downtown. In black. Looked okay. Then I realized it was next to a black Focus, a new one. Their rears look similar other than the Focus has Sonata syndrome and is overstyled. The width of the Dart rear or the fenders make it look diminutive; the taillights on the Focus make it look dominant. Dart rear needs more ooooomph visually.

berri

Isn't DC kind of like the west coast - a mostly import town? Bad news for Detroit, because regardless of what people may personally think about gov workers and contractors, they tend to be a highly educated workforce, which means they tend to be consumer decision leaders rather than followers.

ateixeira

Import friendly I suppose. Not many manufacturing plants, lots of foreign diplomats, and a transient population. We do see a lot of livery cars on K street and on Capitol Hill, and cabs. Mix of stuff.

robr2

Isn't DC kind of like the west coast - a mostly import town?

DC to Boston is like that - coast to about 150 miles west. Highly educated, leaders instead of followers, et al.

ateixeira

Was taking the dog for a long walk and it looks like neighbor bought a new one.

Looked better out in the daylight vs at the auto show. Rear fenders actually look a bit muscular. I still think the rear looks like a Genesis but that's a handsome car as well.

Moonroof is tiny, that's a let down when the Optima has a huge dual roof.

Saw the new 2 screen Nav. Bottom half is touch screen, upper screen shows the map supposedly, smart solution to easy interface with no finger prints.

Thumbs up. Honda is trying again.

fintail

Still not a fan of touchscreens, for the fingerprint issue. I am just too OCD. I do agree the Accord is a lot nicer looking than the previous one, more refined.

Saw an X1 today, looked barely taller than the Prius in front of it. It's really a wagon.

texases

I'm looking forward to sitting in the X1 at the next car show. Not enough headroom in a 3er, but like smaller/cheaper than X3. Get an X1 with rwd and (possibly) NO sunroof. Big hit to resale value, I know, but I like my headroom.

ateixeira

I just can't deal with scrolling to one letter at a time. Give me a full keyboard.

Took a road trip in an Audi S4 convertible and it took us 20 minutes to find the address for a Subaru dealer, for 2 reasons:

* Audi actually removes Subaru dealers from their POI database (what if your wife owns one?)
* Entering the street address manually was a one-letter-at-a-time affair

Voice recognition is better so hopefully you can avoid that in newer Audis, but otherwise give me a touch screen any day.

ateixeira

It's more of a small hatchback than a wagon, even.

My kids are tall, but my 13 year old said it was not a car for tall people.

lemko

...blue Chevrolet Spark on Rising Sun Avenue near Cottman in NE Philly.

fintail

Had my car in for a couple of adjustments this morning - spent an hour at the dealer, sat in everything on the floor. Kind of amused that the CLS appears to have basic C-class HVAC controls. The C really does feel smaller and lighter than my E, not to mention less equipped. But not bad, the interior materials seemed nice enough. Sat in a new S63 with a 150K sticker - ooh boy.

Also saw 2 Tesla sedans, one parked at the MB dealer, the other at an alignment shop.

anythngbutgm

Acura RDX sales are strong now that dealers have inventory to sell.

Spotted a new Range Rover, man that thing has presence...

Also the Acura dealer nearby has a silver RLX on display, nice looking car in person. In a 2002 Lexus LS430 kinda way...

Audi is on fire around here. I have seen more late model A6's A7's, Q5 3.0T's and RS4's around here than BMW 3-series. Although the brand new 3-series is becoming a little more common.

Neighbor down the street got an XC60 - "R" design in a cool electric blue color. Had a first gen MDX (2001 - 2002 with the single exhaust port) before this.

Saw a few revamped Honda Civic sedans as well. The new tail is pretty upscale looking. Also saw a few ILX's, i think the lease deals on those are helping...

boomchek

Yeah I see the new 2013 Civics here too. They did a good job with the refresh as other than the car's general shape, it does not look much like the 2012 Civic.

It's funny because I see 2012 models on the road and they do seem plain compared to the 2013's. The 2012 looks like a design that could have come out in 2001, it's so dull. I've never seen a manufacturer do a big refresh like this only 1 year after a full redesign. Gotta give Honda credit for listening to the criticizm but on the other hand it makes you wonder what they were thinking in the first place? The reputation they earned from the last 20 years is not enough to carry a new model into sales record books amid the competitive small car market today.

fintail

I like the theory that the 2012 Civic was decontented as not to compete with the ILX - but I guess that doesn't hold as much water in Canada. The 12 really does have a bland cheap look to it, even the exterior plastic just doesn't look up to snuff. Really bad planning, I wonder what it cost them.

Saw a Fisker Karma on the road not long ago.

explorerx4

'Problems' need to be defined in order to interpret that graph.

explorerx4

My wife has a 2013 Escape and the lower front control arms look awful because the are pretty big, so you notice them.

stever

If your's has "rust" maybe you can head over that way and reassure folks.