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

fintail

Maybe it was some DCX higher-up...hmmm interesting. Maybe some organized crime figurehead too.

rockylee

LOL

Rocky

teds1

I have a few sightings to catch the forum up on as I was in California last week (always good spotting out there). I saw an fj cruiser which I love (I'm kind of obsessed with the original FJs), drove behind a Ferrari 456 for a long time on a highway, lots of new S550s, Slk55, Lambo Gallardo (in NJ of all places), a countach (in a very modest condo building's parking lot covered up... weird priorities out there) some solstices, new 911 4, elise, etc... They have a large Lambo dealership in downtown San Fran which doesn't count but was cool. Also a classic car club with quite a cool inventory on display.

fintail

I saw an Azera today. I really don't like that rear quarter window.

I saw another pig-snout Camry too.

ateixeira

LOL at the typo in my title. They can get up there in price.

-juice

natenj1971

Saw a black on black G6 Coupe on 57th and 2nd this morning. Thought it was much better looking in person.

solarflame331

Spotted an Infiniti FX SUV today. The tires were huge. SUV's sure aren't what they used to be.

ateixeira

20" rims I believe.

-juice

210delray

Hey, are you ragging on my favorite car (Camry)?

But I agree, the front end is a loser in my book; I much prefer the '04 and '05s that I have now.

Someone in the Camry boards called the oversize emblem a "hanging globulus."

210delray

...my first FJ Cruiser over the weekend in that cool blue color with a white roof. This is going to be another home run for Toyota.

navigator89

Just got a new 2006 Camry V6 yesterday, and while it doesn't have the interior or power of the 2007 version, the styling really is great, very sleek and aerodrynamic.

The new car, I don't know....just doesn't looks good to me.

lemko

...white Hummer H2 Recovery Vehicle. That's what the nameplate on back read.

navigator89

two Range Rover Sport in black. Also saw a refreshed 2006 Rang Rover in sage green. The front looks better.

Also saw a white Jaguar S Type R, "Ä Superbly Mediocre Car" according to Editor Karl. I thought it looked pretty good.

ateixeira

More than spotted, I actually test drove one. Wife had a $50 offer from AMEX if I did a test drive, so that motivated me to go in.

Yawn. Kinda dull to be honest. Drove a 4 cyl automatic Premier model, loaded up minus a moonroof. Interior is nice enough, a little inconsistent, with some good and some cheap plastics, leather that doesn't match the vinyl around it, and mixed textures.

Engine noise and road noise were a bit high for the class.

But overall, no strong impression either way. Not memorable and certainly not compelling enough to make me want to own one.

-juice

gsemike

I've seen a couple. When I look close, I'm put off by the center stack which seems too upright. I think that the Fusion is nicer looing. The Zephyr is just a mess.

british_rover

Hyundai Azerea things yesterday. It was white with a tan interior so very blah but the inside looked nice. I would like to sit down in one to see how comfortable the seats are the leather at least looked nice and soft.

gsemike

Two cars when I went out tonight:

Lincoln Zephyr - I'm surprised by how many of these that I see. I've seen about a dozen of them to only 3 or 4 Lucernes. If I was 70, I would definately go for the Lucerne. I just don't think that the Zephyr looks like a premium car at all. So, the Zephyr I saw tonight had a carriage top on it!! Way to go after the younger buyer FoMoCo.

Bentley Flying Spur - Now that looks like a premium car. It is smooth and classy. The one thing that I noticed, is that the taillights look kind of dim when they're on. If I was driving a 6 figure ride, I'd want those things to be incredibly bright.

fintail

I saw a new Mercedes GL SUV today. It's an order in size larger than the ML for sure...should be successful in these parts anyway.

Will the carriage top ever die?

rockylee

Will the carriage top ever die?

Great Question ?

Rocky

fintail

I thought the people who thought that to be cool/in good taste had died off by now. There hasn't been a car made in about 20 years that has looked even remotely correct with a padded vinyl top. Everything since is some kind of weird joke.

rockylee

Cadillac tried to bring a few back last year. One of ya'll posted it on Edmunds and nobody wanted it (STS)

Rocky

navigator89

two Range Rover Sports, in white and silver. Two Dodge Charger SXTs as well in black and blue.

Also a grey Hummer H3, white Hyundai Sonata, and a blue-green Toyota RAV4.

solarflame331

I spotted a Dodge Sprinter, the tall van, and a Cadillac STS. I know the STS has been out for a little while, but this is the first time I have seen one. The tail lights are very distinctive.
The Dodge Sprinter certainly does stand out. There is nothing else like it.

rockylee

The STS is very stylish. I saw a black STS a few weeks ago and wished I was the driver. :shades:

Rocky

fintail

Spotted a FJ Cruiser today...a little weird, but I think it will do well enough

rockylee

I saw a yellow one the other day and it looked very different. It looked like a H3 that had a run in with a car compactor. :surprise:

Rocky

kyfdx

I saw the full carriage roof on a Chrysler 300 yesterday.. It made the purple Prelude in the next space look positively tasteful..

navigator89

a peacock blue Nissan Tiida (Versa) and a black Dodge Charger. I'm pretty sure it was the SRT8, as I think I saw that badge. It blazed down the highway too fast to tell.

fintail

I saw two Charger "Daytona" models yesterday

lemko

...in downtown Philly - orange Dodge Charger with bold black HEMI graphics.

ghulet

The other day on I-94 in Chicago, I saw what I thought at first was a new Toyota Yaris or something, turned out to be a Mercedes-Benz B200, with Ontario plates. It's a mini (probably a bit smaller than a Mazda 3) five-door hatchback. Wonder what it costs, or what it would cost were it sold in the U.S., what with the three-pointed star and all.

ateixeira

I don't think Mercedes could sell it here for much less than $25k. If they could, it would probably already be here.

-juice

lemko

...but one for the "who do they think they're fooling" file.

I was coming home from downtown Philly a stopped at a light next to a lady in a type of Lexus I've never seen before. It kind of looked like an ES300, but something wasn't right about it. As I pulled away from the stoplight, I saw the front of the car and it turned out to be a 1992-era Camry with Lexus "L" badges and nameplates on it in place of the Toyota crossed ovals "T" and nameplates. Nice try, sister!

rockylee

LOL

Rocky

fintail

There are a few other-market MB I'd like to see brought to the US, but I dunno about that B-class. I went to the MB Canada site, specced one out to the highest level of trim, and it was 57K CDN! Not far from an E-class, for heavens sake. It's a neat enough looking little package, but that's just insane pricing. I am sure it can be cheaper, but

Not as bad as the fake Lexus, but a couple weeks ago I got behind a ca. 1995 Camry coupe...and instead of Camry it said "626". I don't see the point.

ghulet

Yesterday (high at Midway was 55F, but as bright and sunny as any Summer's day; I was near the lake so it was actually cooler), I saw TWO topless Lotus Elises, in red and yellow. Saw lots of people in shorts, with convertible tops down, one guy walking around shirtless, too (not necessarily one you'd want to see that way, either, naturally). The first signs of nice weather in Chicago always brings out an amusing amount of undress overkill the first few weeks of Spring. I swear you woulda thought we were sitting at a cafe on Miami's A1A in June. But I digress.

I've also seen I think two FJ Cruisers. They're pretty darn big, and at $23-something (I think that's base, and offer surprisingly few options), they seem to be a pretty good value, especially for a Toyota.

Alas, I clicked on Toyota's website, and it appears that the '07 Camry with manual transmission isn't even offered in the Chicago region. Shocking, I know.

british_rover

If I had an Elise I would drive it every day of the year that was not raining and/or snowing.

kyfdx

I had the top down today... 64 F

bumpy

Cobalt SS and 2007 Tahoe yesterday. The giant wing actually improves the looks of the Cobalt, but the Tahoe just looks bloated. Think Fat Elvis.

fintail

I've seen a few of them in white now, and I will agree with the "Fat Elvis" idea...not the best color for the vehicle

anythngbutgm

Pulled up next to a Blue Lotus Elise at the stoplight last evening. Cute Brunette driving kept my attention away fromthe car though. :surprise:

teds1

So I saw the new Camry and I kind of think it's hideous. Not like Tribeca Hideous, but the nose is terrible. First off, I don't know if it's the Euro pedestrian safety regulations or what but the whole front end looks too high to me. It should slope downwards more. To have that Totoya symbol crowning that high front end like a rhino horn is not a good look. They need to make some aftermarket grills for that thing STAT.

Also I have seen a bunch of new S550s now and while they are not as bad as they seemed in pictures, the headlights don't really match the body curves and the trunk is bangled something awful. It's looks worst in light colors like white or silver. Interior is beyond gorgeous though.

Saw an H1 wagon in a magenta purple in midtown today parked. pretty bizzare to think they were fashionable at one point. I think Coolio had one

fintail

ROFL at the Coolio car. I saw a H1 yesterday too, it was the 4 door pickup version, in kind of a candy apple red. There are many fakes out there now though, so I don't know if it was even real.

Over the weekend I saw a H2 pulling a boat! I've never seen one of those ridiculous things towing anything before.

ubbermotor

They had just started replace our vehicles (All Jeeps, Gamma-Goats, and Mules, and some of the pickups and SUV's) with HUMMV's the last year I was in the army. The thing was insanely wide, keeping it from going alot of places the Jeeps could go, but they told us it was impossible to roll (The man don't know Joe). It was the trick suspension the made them killer off road, but the only thing that the H2 and H3 carried over was the look. In my mind they should be th P2 and P3 (Poser).

i_luv_toyota

Saw a couple new Tahoes the past week. Personally I think it looks like a rolling block, as opposed to the popular "bloated" opinion on these forums. I think the last generation Tahoe looked more bloated than this new one does.

I also saw a 2006 Civic full on from the front for the first time (it was sitting at a stop light going in the opposite direction as me) today. Looked like it had a fat lip worse than the Scion xB does. Also with a front plate it looked like it had buck teeth.

british_rover

We got a H2 stuck on our test track behind the dealership. We had a big yellow one that we took in trade so we were going to drive it onto the boulders behind the test track. Thought it would make a good billboard.

Well our F&I guy drove it into the 24 inch deep by 42 inch wide ditch that is the entrance to our test track. As the front drivers side tire started to come up the other side of the ditch the frame was tweaked so badly that the driveline bound up. The truck could not move forward our backward and the body was pinching all of the doors shut. He had to call on his cellphone for help.

After a few of the techs sat on the opposite side of the hood and stood on the back bumper they were able to take enough of the stress off the driveline that he could back out.

We don't let any other vehicles but Land Rovers on the test track now.

On topic:

Had a 2005 Mercedes SL600 come into the dealership today. Owner was looking at our supercharged Range Rover Sport.

210delray

I know from a Toyota insider that the Camry hoodline was in fact raised because of the pedestrian regulations. He agreed with me that the older design looked better.

british_rover

Yaris or whatever that new tiny Toyota is. Not sure if I liked it will have to wait till I see one up close.

kyfdx

New Yaris sedan... They should have made the 4-door a hatchback...

Also, right behind it.... a new '07 Camry.. The XLE model... I kind of like it.. Not as boring as before..

gsemike

I've started seeing a number of new Lexus IS250s and 350s. What is the big deal? If you put a split grill on it, it would look pretty Potiac-ey. The side windows are right off of a grand prix.

I've seen my first couple of Camrys. It's pretty sharp... not headturning but nice looking. Definately not nearly as bland as the last.