Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

tjc78 said:

I really don’t remember. Pretty sure this was on the AC Expressway so pretty smooth and straight. As bad a shape as that car was in the front suspension was all brand new including the bushings. It was as good as new in that area. Brakes were Hydroboost and honestly I thought they were better than my 89 Town Car I also had at the time.

———————————————
Since you mentioned the AC Expressway, back in the Summer of 1968 I had a ‘68 Old Delta 88 Custom Coupe with the 455 CID V8. As we’re cruising down the AC Expressway, Mrs. j fell asleep so I figured nows my chance to open it up a little. I gradually stepped on it so as not to wake her by a stomp that would have down shifted the car and got it up to 105 MPH. It held the road OK but it wasn’t build for that speed, so I chickened out before she woke up and let it drop back to 70 MPH. She woke up and said, “why are you going so slow?” I said, “I’m going 70, what’s wrong with that”? Her reply was, “I guess I was dreaming because I could have sworn we were going faster than that a little while ago.” I said, “go back to sleep. We’re almost there I’ll wake you when we get there”.

Even back then she didn’t listen when I said something. She stayed wide awake for the rest of the trip into AC. I guess it was fun while it lasted. Maybe I should have stayed on it a little longer.

jmonroe

In 1984 I crossed Pennsylvania in my 1973 Bavaria averaging 100+ mph one drizzly Sunday morning on my way back from the BMW CCA Octoberfest. My bride never looked up from the book she was reading.

roadburner

breld said:

Does seem like these ‘verts can go fast. The Long Beach Blue M240i that I posted earlier is gone. I suspect the Mineral Gray one could be soon too.

Speaking of white over red, the mineral white over red leather M440i xdrive that my wife arrived this week. Unfortunately I think we’re gonna pass on it though it’s a bit painful to do so.

A nice car, but I can't get past the grille- of course the X7 LCI(facelift) looks worse- if that's possible.

mjfloyd1

breld said:

Does seem like these ‘verts can go fast. The Long Beach Blue M240i that I posted earlier is gone. I suspect the Mineral Gray one could be soon too.

Speaking of white over red, the mineral white over red leather M440i xdrive that my wife arrived this week. Unfortunately I think we’re gonna pass on it though it’s a bit painful to do so.

Is this an imposter @breld?

tifighter

Well, it IS convertible season.

Sandman6472

We also had a '72 Lincoln Continental 2-door and that sucker was fast! A very large vehicle and the front hood was stupid big with doors that weighed a ton. My mom had her '70 Cadillac DeVille drop top and she skidded in a really heavy rain storm. Next day when I got home from school, noticed a brand new white over white Lincoln Continental in the circular driveway. Seems that she decided that morning the Caddy had to go and she went to the Lincoln store to test drive it and my dad did the negotiations over the phone from the country club. And home it came. But, was the biggest vehicle we ever had, not sure if the '60 Cadillac Sedan DeVille was bigger though.
A beautiful vehicle though!

nyccarguy

Sandman6472 said:

We also had a '72 Lincoln Continental 2-door and that sucker was fast! A very large vehicle and the front hood was stupid big with doors that weighed a ton. My mom had her '70 Cadillac DeVille drop top and she skidded in a really heavy rain storm. Next day when I got home from school, noticed a brand new white over white Lincoln Continental in the circular driveway. Seems that she decided that morning the Caddy had to go and she went to the Lincoln store to test drive it and my dad did the negotiations over the phone from the country club. And home it came. But, was the biggest vehicle we ever had, not sure if the '60 Cadillac Sedan DeVille was bigger though.
A beautiful vehicle though!

That Lincoln definitely would not fit on your side of the garage.

stickguy

saw a Grand Wagoneer today (oddly, parked at Aldis). for something with dimensions that big on paper (and man, 6,400# curb weight? what a porker) it did not look as big in the wild as I expected. though 27.4 CF of cargo space behind the 3rd row does not seem to be all that much for something that long.

corvette

Didn't there used to be some sort of regulatory issue with having a curb weight over 6,000 lbs.? Like having to register it as a commercial vehicle, or different emissions regs, or something? Or am I making that up?

stickguy

not sure about registering it as commercial, but there was a weight where it was exempt from something (I think would not undergo EPA mileage testing). which I think was about 3 tons!

laurasdada

Ti, I've also been looking for Zed4s, pickings in my neck are Slim Whitman...
I'm struggling enough with my dark blue A7, keeping it clean. Black would likely have me in tears six days a week.
There is a Boxster that has been available for quite some time, with no price adjustment. Unusual color, perhaps that is the reason? May take the day off Friday and road trip for a test drive. Although, wifey wants me to go window treatment shopping with her. Wow, what a tough choice...

Sandman6472

Stick, we have them at work and they really are big vehicles up close...real big! Haven't driven one yet but looking forward to it just to try one out for size. That's really the best part of working at Enterprise, they get most vehicles in the market place so eventually, we'll get to try a lot of them. Did finally drive the Honda HR-V, the outgoing model and sure, it was a tad slow but nothing like I had heard, not that bad. One just needs to give one's self plenty of room to merge into traffic and get up to speed. Once there, found it to be a non issue keeping up with the flow of traffic and even passing other drivers. The infotainment system is dismal at best but with some after market help, think it would be o k though at this stage of life, I no longer want to spend a lot of money & time bringing the sound system up to acceptable levels...I want that done by the manufacturer before I take possession.
Glad I do like my job because I'm just not ready to stop even on those bad pain days when I tell myself it's time to just say good-bye. I'm resolved to the fact that there will be good days and there will be bad ones to. Lately though, the bad have been more frequent than the good so it's a bit depressing right now. I know within a few minutes after I wake up how things are going to be. If getting in the shower is more than I can handle, I just know that maybe I need to just stay home & rest the spine. And that's happening on a more frequent basis which I hate. Just lucky I have a boss who has a lot of empathy and gets it...he knows if I'm calling out, I must be in pretty bad shape. But, for the most part, do try to push through the pain, and get 'er done though a bit slower than normal.

tifighter

@laurasdada said:
Ti, I've also been looking for Zed4s, pickings in my neck are Slim Whitman...
I'm struggling enough with my dark blue A7, keeping it clean. Black would likely have me in tears six days a week.
There is a Boxster that has been available for quite some time, with no price adjustment. Unusual color, perhaps that is the reason? May take the day off Friday and road trip for a test drive. Although, wifey wants me to go window treatment shopping with her. Wow, what a tough choice...

Drive a Z4 if you can find one. A criminally underrated car. Yes, major bias.

stickguy

Id like one but a Z3 is probably more in budget.

tjc78

You know… lots of things play a factor when buying a truck. Towing capacity, comfort, fuel economy, resale value, payload to name a few. I’ve learned none of that matters if you can’t put your coffee carrier safely inside the console. 😜😜😜

kyfdx

stickguy said:

not sure about registering it as commercial, but there was a weight where it was exempt from something (I think would not undergo EPA mileage testing). which I think was about 3 tons!

Over 6000#, and it's not subject to the CAP on depreciation, like a passenger car (for business tax purposes). I don't know the exact numbers, but at one time, a passenger car, even for business had a 5 year depreciation deduction cap of approx $5000/yr. (even if it was a $100K vehicle). But, for 6000#+, the deduction is unlimited, so a $100K vehicle could be depreciated at $20K/yr (in this hypothetical scenario).

No idea what the actual numbers are, but that's the idea.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
Over 6000#, and it's not subject to the CAP on depreciation, like a passenger car (for business tax purposes). I don't know the exact numbers, but at one time, a passenger car, even for business had a 5 year depreciation deduction cap of approx $5000/yr. (even if it was a $100K vehicle). But, for 6000#+, the deduction is unlimited, so a $100K vehicle could be depreciated at $20K/yr (in this hypothetical scenario).

No idea what the actual numbers are, but that's the idea.

That makes sense as a large vehicle like that is more likely to be used for actual work rather than the owner’s personal use.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

Over 6000#, and it's not subject to the CAP on depreciation, like a passenger car (for business tax purposes). I don't know the exact numbers, but at one time, a passenger car, even for business had a 5 year depreciation deduction cap of approx $5000/yr. (even if it was a $100K vehicle). But, for 6000#+, the deduction is unlimited, so a $100K vehicle could be depreciated at $20K/yr (in this hypothetical scenario).

No idea what the actual numbers are, but that's the idea.

That makes sense as a large vehicle like that is more likely to be used for actual work rather than the owner’s personal use.

In theory. But, also applies to Escalades and Tahoe/Suburbans.

ab348

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

Over 6000#, and it's not subject to the CAP on depreciation, like a passenger car (for business tax purposes). I don't know the exact numbers, but at one time, a passenger car, even for business had a 5 year depreciation deduction cap of approx $5000/yr. (even if it was a $100K vehicle). But, for 6000#+, the deduction is unlimited, so a $100K vehicle could be depreciated at $20K/yr (in this hypothetical scenario).

No idea what the actual numbers are, but that's the idea.

That makes sense as a large vehicle like that is more likely to be used for actual work rather than the owner’s personal use.

The latest long-range electrics are very portly. The Cadillac Lyric, which isn't particularly oversized in terms of dimensions, weighs 5600 lbs. A longer-range, longer overall size version with a bigger battery would likely exceed 3 tons.

laurasdada

stickguy said:

Id like one but a Z3 is probably more in budget.

Budget? I found no such word in the CCBA dictionary.

au1994

kyfdx said:

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

Over 6000#, and it's not subject to the CAP on depreciation, like a passenger car (for business tax purposes). I don't know the exact numbers, but at one time, a passenger car, even for business had a 5 year depreciation deduction cap of approx $5000/yr. (even if it was a $100K vehicle). But, for 6000#+, the deduction is unlimited, so a $100K vehicle could be depreciated at $20K/yr (in this hypothetical scenario).

No idea what the actual numbers are, but that's the idea.

That makes sense as a large vehicle like that is more likely to be used for actual work rather than the owner’s personal use.

In theory. But, also applies to Escalades and Tahoe/Suburbans.

Exactly. I’m forming an LLC and getting a Waggie.

mjfloyd1

2023 Honda Civic Type R (@breld edition??)

https://www.autoweek.com/news/sports-cars/a41042788/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-honda-civic-type-r/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_aut&utm_medium=email&date=090122&utm_campaign=nl28916432&utm_term=AAA -- High Minus Dormant and 90 Day Non Openers

nyccarguy

A customer of mine has this Bug Eye WRX. Even though it’s an automatic, still very simple & very cool.

mjfloyd1

I can’t remember who does not like BMW red interiors but here is an an awful (to my eye) McDonald’s spec M4. Speed yellow with Fiona red interior 🤮

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947473

I don’t mind the Superman spec - blue with red interior

kyfdx

The red looks good with a lot of colors. But, maybe not that one...

mjfloyd1

kyfdx said:

The red looks good with a lot of colors. But, maybe not that one...

Someone else commented that the yellow over red is the hot dog/ Oscar Mayer spec (as well as the Ronald McDonald spec). Wow. That is just awful

laurasdada

Me sainted mother liked red interiors with white exterior. But, me, not so much. Shame as there are a couple of 440s available as such.

Does anyone here have any experience purchasing a factory buyback vehicle? '21 Q5 PHEV with 498! miles at a nice dealership. Bought back as "Non-Starting" issue (a minor detail, no doubt), but it's been repaired with 3 years of Audi warranty to go. As well as a 90 day warranty from the dealer. It's in transit, may go look at it, for/with the wife.

I'm scheduled to test the '15 Boxster tomorrow.

mjfloyd1

laurasdada said:

Me sainted mother liked red interiors with white exterior. But, me, not so much. Shame as there are a couple of 440s available as such.

Does anyone here have any experience purchasing a factory buyback vehicle? '21 Q5 PHEV with 498! miles at a nice dealership. Bought back as "Non-Starting" issue (a minor detail, no doubt), but it's been repaired with 3 years of Audi warranty to go. As well as a 90 day warranty from the dealer. It's in transit, may go look at it, for/with the wife.

I'm scheduled to test the '15 Boxster tomorrow.

If the price is 50% of a non lemon vehicle (assuming the Audi has a lemon branded title), then you are ok. You will get killed on trade in with a lemon branded title.

I guess it would be ok if the price was a bit higher than 50% of non lemon vehicle if the warranty is intact and you intend to drive it until the wheels fall off.

nyccarguy

On my way home tonight, WAZE diverted me off of the Merritt parkway and through the back roads of Greenwich. Ahead of me I saw a very old pickup truck in almost perfect condition in a Blue not too many shades off from my Wrangler. As fate would have it, there was a large branch in the middle of the road. The pickup stopped in front to clear. As I got out to help, I had to ask. A completely restored 1955 Willys. In the age of the iPhone, pics or it didn’t happen:

laurasdada

Thanks, MJ. The price is ~85% of the MSRP. And, I found the vin under the NJ consumer affair site, found a lot of Audi Q5 there!
Warranty is still valid (3 years to go). It's for the wife, I think she'd keep it a while. But, the premium over a dino-only Q5 is steep.
Perhaps a pass, perhaps a hard negotiation. Or a walk.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
Awesome pic. What are the chances of that side by side?
My wife's sister is coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow.
Cleaned up the MKC and told my wife, "I cant have your sisters Cadillac looking better than your Lincoln".
The Cadillac is less than a year old.

henryn

laurasdada said:

Does anyone here have any experience purchasing a factory buyback vehicle? '21 Q5 PHEV with 498! miles at a nice dealership. Bought back as "Non-Starting" issue (a minor detail, no doubt), but it's been repaired with 3 years of Audi warranty to go. As well as a 90 day warranty from the dealer. It's in transit, may go look at it, for/with the wife.

Some of our members here have had experience with factory buybacks. And from what I've heard on here, the factory is VERY VERY reluctant to do a buyback, and it takes some really extraordinary circumstances before it happens. I would really be cautious if I were you.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,
Awesome pic. What are the chances of that side by side?
My wife's sister is coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow.
Cleaned up the MKC and told my wife, "I cant have your sisters Cadillac looking better than your Lincoln".
The Cadillac is less than a year old.

My Father’s side of the family are all car nuts. My uncle and cousins own a transmission shop. My other Uncle ran Dodge dealerships for years, had his own lot and his son is currently a Service Mgr at a Chrysler dealer. Anyway…. I won’t ever visit them or go to a function where they will all be without my car looking pristine!

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,

Awesome pic. What are the chances of that side by side?

My wife's sister is coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow.

Cleaned up the MKC and told my wife, "I cant have your sisters Cadillac looking better than your Lincoln".

The Cadillac is less than a year old.

My Father’s side of the family are all car nuts. My uncle and cousins own a transmission shop. My other Uncle ran Dodge dealerships for years, had his own lot and his son is currently a Service Mgr at a Chrysler dealer. Anyway…. I won’t ever visit them or go to a function where they will all be without my car looking pristine!

"My father was a mechanic. His father was a mechanic. My brother is a mechanic..."

ab348

nyccarguy said:

On my way home tonight, WAZE diverted me off of the Merritt parkway and through the back roads of Greenwich. Ahead of me I saw a very old pickup truck in almost perfect condition in a Blue not too many shades off from my Wrangler. As fate would have it, there was a large branch in the middle of the road. The pickup stopped in front to clear. As I got out to help, I had to ask. A completely restored 1955 Willys. In the age of the iPhone, pics or it didn’t happen:

Nice old Willys. Wish he had gotten the name on the tailgate painted as the factory did it (just block letters IIRC) but no big deal. One thing that I notice: at some point it was decided that the 7-slot grill was a trademark for Jeeps, but that Willys used an 8-slot grill. I guess those responsible in Chrysler/Daimler/FCA/Stellantis never got thst memo.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,

Awesome pic. What are the chances of that side by side?

My wife's sister is coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow.

Cleaned up the MKC and told my wife, "I cant have your sisters Cadillac looking better than your Lincoln".

The Cadillac is less than a year old.

My Father’s side of the family are all car nuts. My uncle and cousins own a transmission shop. My other Uncle ran Dodge dealerships for years, had his own lot and his son is currently a Service Mgr at a Chrysler dealer. Anyway…. I won’t ever visit them or go to a function where they will all be without my car looking pristine!

"My father was a mechanic. His father was a mechanic. My brother is a mechanic..."

LOL. It really is like that. The transmission shop was started by my Grandfather.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Stick, we have them at work and they really are big vehicles up close...real big! Haven't driven one yet but looking forward to it just to try one out for size. That's really the best part of working at Enterprise, they get most vehicles in the market place so eventually, we'll get to try a lot of them. Did finally drive the Honda HR-V, the outgoing model and sure, it was a tad slow but nothing like I had heard, not that bad. One just needs to give one's self plenty of room to merge into traffic and get up to speed. Once there, found it to be a non issue keeping up with the flow of traffic and even passing other drivers. The infotainment system is dismal at best but with some after market help, think it would be o k though at this stage of life, I no longer want to spend a lot of money & time bringing the sound system up to acceptable levels...I want that done by the manufacturer before I take possession.
Glad I do like my job because I'm just not ready to stop even on those bad pain days when I tell myself it's time to just say good-bye. I'm resolved to the fact that there will be good days and there will be bad ones to. Lately though, the bad have been more frequent than the good so it's a bit depressing right now. I know within a few minutes after I wake up how things are going to be. If getting in the shower is more than I can handle, I just know that maybe I need to just stay home & rest the spine. And that's happening on a more frequent basis which I hate. Just lucky I have a boss who has a lot of empathy and gets it...he knows if I'm calling out, I must be in pretty bad shape. But, for the most part, do try to push through the pain, and get 'er done though a bit slower than normal.

Sandy, keep a look out for Mrs. stickguy. I understand he’s going to have her work for Enterprise so that he can get daily test drive reports. I hope she comes to our office so I can claim the $100 bird dog that the company pays for recruiting new drivers.😇

stickguy

If I quit my real job I’ll let you hook me up.

oldfarmer50

laurasdada said:

Me sainted mother liked red interiors with white exterior. But, me, not so much. Shame as there are a couple of 440s available as such.

Does anyone here have any experience purchasing a factory buyback vehicle? '21 Q5 PHEV with 498! miles at a nice dealership. Bought back as "Non-Starting" issue (a minor detail, no doubt), but it's been repaired with 3 years of Audi warranty to go. As well as a 90 day warranty from the dealer. It's in transit, may go look at it, for/with the wife.

I'm scheduled to test the '15 Boxster tomorrow.

Samcrac dabbled in dealer buy backs for awhile with mixed results.

https://youtu.be/edAusNIaZkc

kyfdx

My mother's third husband (who, 25 years earlier was my father's best friend) owned a transmission shop in Nashville, TN. His son also helped run the shop. From 1960-1985, more or less.

The stories he would tell. PRO-Tip: Never take an Audi or a motorhome to the corner transmission shop.

henryn

I just read an interesting piece on Quora.

Question: “Is it true that today's cars can't have the cool muffler sound of the late 60s muscle cars due to the change over to fuel injection?”


No. There are several factors that made the muscle cars of the late 1960s sound “cool” and different from today’s cars, but fuel injection by itself was not one of them. Though I strongly suggest that you read Stan Hank’s answer to this question concerning the relationship between fuel injection and induction noise.

Well, if the absence of fuel injection was not the primary or single reason why those late ’60s sounded different, then what did account for that “cool” throaty burbling sound?

First of all, DISPLACEMENT. The 1969 Dodge Charger pictured above had a 426 cubic inch V-8. That is more than 53 cubic inches per cylinder. Just one cylinder of those muscle cars had a larger diplacement than the entire engine of many European cars of the era! Large displacement engines naturally produce that deep throaty sound.

Second, the muscle cars of that era were NOT TURBOCHARGED. Sure, turbocharges are a great way to get a lot of power out of a small displacement engine. But turbochargers strangle engine sounds. They are so notorious for doing that that some car builders, for example BMW, compensate for the anemic sound of their turbocharged power plants by playing a digitized recording of an actual engine through their car audio speakers to make the driver think that there is real engine under the hood.

And, most importantly, the muscle car engines of the 1960s LACKED VARIABLE VALVE TIMING AND LIFT. The valve timing of those cars was fixed and it was a compromise. The high lift-long duration camshafts needed to get those high horsepower ratings made it impossible for those cars to idle smoothly at low rpms. The idle was deep throated but uneven, rough, and loping. And at low speeds the amount of valve overlap was so great that some combustion sound came through the exhaust. That valve overlap was responsible for the distinctive bark that those engines made when quickly accelerated from idle. That was a defect, not a feature. But the sound came to be associated with the speed and power of those cars.

Modern cars are more powerful, faster, more efficient, and far more roadable than the muscle cars of the 1960s. But, because of basic differences in the engines, they will never sound as “cool”.

Back in the day, I owned a few of those big V8 muscle cars, with the high-lift long duration cam which gave the "loping idle". And headers, which produced the really deep sound from the exhaust. Those were the days, my friends! Yes, cars today are faster, but they certainly don't sound as good.

ab348

Interesting performance comparison here on Edmunds between the Elantra N and the new GTI. I won’t spoil the result.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/vw-gti-vs-hyundai-elantra-n-drag-race.html

andres3

corvette said:

I'm not thrilled so far with the 7-speed DSG in the Q5. It seems like it gets confused as to how many gears to downshift during moderate acceleration when you are already moving and there is a lag of close to a second, then the power suddenly comes on. I have tried changing the drive mode to "dynamic," and that didn't seem to help. I may try driving with the transmission in S instead of D. When I had the GLI (with a six speed DSG), all that seemed to do was essentially apply the same shift program, but kept the car in one lower gear than it would otherwise be in D, which would help, but may not be ideal. And, there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to whether or not the car will creep when you let your foot off the brake pedal (I initially thought it never did, but now I realize that it sometimes does).

Other than that, it's extremely nice. I went hiking last weekend and it was very quiet and stable on the interstate, even at very high two-digit speeds. One neat feature is that it lowers the audio volume when you are reversing. There does seem to be a fairly large discrepancy between the Bluetooth media volume level and the XM volume level--Bluetooth has lower volume, and if I switch to XM, I get blasted with very loud music.

My parents did not have an active XM subscription. I opened the chat box at SiriusXM and asked them to transfer my subscription on the Tundra (with a negotiated discount) to the Q5. They told me there would be a $15 fee (on an $8/month subscription). I told them I'd rather just cancel since I no longer own the Tundra, and they waived the fee.

Are you sure the Q5 has the DSG Dual Clutch? Audi doesn't exactly advertise that they "cost cut" on several models including the SQ5, RS6, and S4 lately. I think that's why they had so many names, tiptronic, S-tronic, DSG, and interchangeably used them.

I know all B8 A4's have a torque converting automatic. If "S" mode is programmed correctly, it should give you much livelier throttle response, particularly from 0 MPH. I know in the TTS it actually raises the idle RPM level and keeps the car warm and ready. I'm sure CAFE and CARB hated this feature. I like it!

andres3

henryn said:

laurasdada said:

Does anyone here have any experience purchasing a factory buyback vehicle? '21 Q5 PHEV with 498! miles at a nice dealership. Bought back as "Non-Starting" issue (a minor detail, no doubt), but it's been repaired with 3 years of Audi warranty to go. As well as a 90 day warranty from the dealer. It's in transit, may go look at it, for/with the wife.

Some of our members here have had experience with factory buybacks. And from what I've heard on here, the factory is VERY VERY reluctant to do a buyback, and it takes some really extraordinary circumstances before it happens. I would really be cautious if I were you.

If I'd of sold my S4 right after putting another engine in it, the buyer would have had 9 months of perfection just like me. Now I have to calculate how many more months/years I can get out of it to pass it on at just the right time to make the next buyer a sucker.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

I can’t remember who does not like BMW red interiors but here is an an awful (to my eye) McDonald’s spec M4. Speed yellow with Fiona red interior 🤮

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947473

I don’t mind the Superman spec - blue with red interior

I like ketchup and mustard spec! Hulk Hogan?

Anyways, someone in the SD Audi Club just mentioned that yellow with red interior would be an ugly McDonald's spec. What's wrong with McDonald's besides all their food other than the fries?

Besides, an ugly color combo is gorgeous compared to that ugly grill. No one is looking past that grille to notice the colors.

roadburner

My Alfa dealer has a 2023 white over red RWD Giulia Veloce- with 0% APR for 36 months. Still lack the courage to pull the trigger.
Might take another look at the C43; a friend told me I likely didn’t set up Sport+ mode correctly- and it is at least $10k less expensive than anything else I find even remotely entertaining.

andres3

ab348 said:

Interesting performance comparison here on Edmunds between the Elantra N and the new GTI. I won’t spoil the result.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/vw-gti-vs-hyundai-elantra-n-drag-race.html

The N did beat the WRX though: https://youtu.be/bCNGgbrwbOE

I wonder if the Veloster being a bit smaller and lighter and stiffer could match the GTI. Credit has to go where credit is due; the GTI chassis and suspension is just "wonderful."

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

My Alfa dealer has a 2023 white over red RWD Giulia Veloce- with 0% APR for 36 months. Still lack the courage to pull the trigger.

Might take another look at the C43; a friend told me I likely didn’t set up Sport+ mode correctly- and it is at least $10k less expensive than anything else I find even remotely entertaining.

I was taking a Stelvio out of the airport garage the other day and a woman backed up without looking and nearly t-boned me. As I gave her “the look” I wondered if she realized what an expensive blunder she almost made.

A while ago we were discussing the Stelvio that the rental companies had vs. the hopped up 500+ hp. version. One of my co workers also transports for the high end multi line luxury dealer. He had to deliver one of those suped-up Stelvios and said it was blisteringly fast.

qbrozen

@andres3 said:
The N did beat the WRX though

I wonder if the Veloster being a bit smaller and lighter and stiffer could match the GTI. Credit has to go where credit is due; the GTI chassis and suspension is just "wonderful."

First driver of the Rex obviously launched it much better than the 2nd. Neither cornered it correctly. Even with the all season tires mine came with, it can hit turns shockingly fast. In the first race, you can see how he slowed down sooner and more for the turn, allowing the N driver to catch him. The 2nd race shouldn’t even be acknowledged considering the FWD car jumped out to the lead from launch. That tells you everything you need to know about that driver/car matchup.

tjc78

roadburner said:

My Alfa dealer has a 2023 white over red RWD Giulia Veloce- with 0% APR for 36 months. Still lack the courage to pull the trigger.

Might take another look at the C43; a friend told me I likely didn’t set up Sport+ mode correctly- and it is at least $10k less expensive than anything else I find even remotely entertaining.

I think that is one car that I’d rather lease or keep just until the warranty is up.

roadburner

@tjc78 said:
I think that is one car that I’d rather lease or keep just until the warranty is up.

I’m mainly worried about depreciation as well as the possibility that Alfa will abandon the US market.