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Comments
You are right.
If total yearly milage is low, the mpg or cost per gallon is not as important. Although it always feels good to brag about great milage.
I think that you are missing the point.
The Azera is Hyundai's attempt to enter the high end business.
They have the ability to include features such as NAV, Blue Tooth, Smart Key, Lazar guided cruise control, back up sensors, Ipod connectors etc.
They supply these features in other markets.
I agree that all buyers do not want or need all of these features, but they might offer them as options.
The addition cost to them of pre wiring for such options, I believe, would be minimal. Their dealers would make the extra bucks from fools like me,who might want some.
This isn't a situation of survival. Many of us grey heads have driven long before a/c, power windows or automatic transmissions. Now we want all of the luxuries and toys.
With the Ford Fusion now offering AWD, I think Hyundai will be forced to step up and begin offering more bells and whistles on their vehicles. Not to mention, the Avalon offering smart key, laser guided cruise & Nav. It's a matter of time before these options start becoming available if Hyundai wants to stay in the game, they have no choice.
I think they needed to see how well received their initial product would be. With positive results...now they can move forward. I wouldn't be surprised to see an upgrade on the powerplant to push it close to 300 HP in a few years as well. I mean...you can get a 270 HP Altima now, which means the Maxima will be around 300 HP. Toyota has always been slow in the HP game, so not sure if the Avalon will get a boost, but I'm sure the Accord will get one as well.
Most tire shops in my area {south east florida} charge between 5 to 10 bucks per tire.
Nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules and the theory is that due to their larger size, they will less liksly pass through the tire. Nitrogen also does not expand and contract as much as oxygen due to temperature changes, therefore the pressure in the tires will remain more constant which may help reduce fuel consumption.
If you monitor your tire air pressure on a fairly regular basis, I doubt that you will notice much of a difference in your fuel consumption with either.
If you go the nitrogen route, most shops will check and add if necessary at no charge.
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There are places around here that just use nitrogen, but I've never heard of anybody charging extra for it. What a scam.
As has been pointed out, plain old air is already 78% nitrogen, so even if there were any demonstrable difference between pure nitrogen and other gases, it would be scaled down to a fractional difference.
That thing about moisture (besides being a red herring in general, because tire rubber is designed to be resistant to moisture already) is more marketing BS. Water vapor can be suspended in pure nitrogen just the same as it can be suspended in other mixtures of gases, such as plain old atmospheric air. Sure, you can in theory create very dry nitrogen. But you can also create very dry atmospheric air. How dry is their magical nitrogen in a tank? Gee, I guess we just have to take their word that it's really really dry. It must be, because it costs $6 a tire, right?
I think this whole nitrogen thing was thought up by someone selling nitrogen (corporations such as Linde and General Air) as a way to unload mass quantities of a gas that they need to separate when they're creating some of their more lucrative products. Some bright guy figured out that instead of throwing away 78% of their feedstock they could turn it into cash, if they had an appropriate marketing campaign (IE: the right set of lies backed up with plausable-sounding pseudo science).
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No, I don't believe nitrogen will alleviate that at all.
As onlyonedr already pointed out, the Ideal Gas Law states that there is a fixed relationship between pressure, temperature, and volume. For any given volume of gas, vary the temperature and the pressure changes in lockstep. This is in effect the entire picture when working at the low pressures involved in tire inflation. Here's why...
If you want to examine the tiny departure from the Ideal Law for any given gas, you get into the van der Waals equation of state, which accounts for the difference in the radius between different gas atoms or molecules. Considering that atmospheric air is 78% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, we're primarily concerned with the radii of those two atoms (IE, the other 2% of atoms in the mix is just not a factor because of the small quantities involved).
The van der Waals adjustment for nitrogen is virtually zero across the range from 1 to 20 atmospheres. That is, the Ideal Gas Law applies virtually without adjustment to nitrogen. The adjustment for oxygen is not quite so close to zero... it varies from almost nothing at 1 atmosphere to a 3% difference at 20 atmospheres. This is the nugget of pseudo-science that underlies the whole nitrogen-in-tires scam: The van der Waals equation of state shows that oxygen technically expands at a slightly faster rate than nitrogen as temperature increases.
The reason this all amounts to junk science is that while a 3% difference at 20 atmospheres seems significant, our tires are filled with approximately 2 atmospheres of pressure. At 2 atmospheres the difference in Ideal Gas behavior (IE, in the rate of expansion with temperature) between nitrogen and oxygen is a tiny fraction of a percent.
And in plain old air, oxygen is only 20% of the mix, so only 20% of the total gas volume in a tire is going to expand by a tiny fraction of a percent more than the nitrogen as temperature increases.
So if it's important to you as your tires warm to driving temperature they go up from 30 psi to 32 psi (instead of 32.005 psi) then by all means, fill them with nitrogen. But if you're this kind of picky, then I think you need to be adding air before you drive to work in the morning, then airing down before driving home, because tires sitting in the sun all day are going to be way over-inflated by your standards.
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OK, now I need an aspirin...
This kind of reminds me of my old schools days, listening and not quite sure what the physics and chemistry professors were talking about.
Thanks for the enlightenment...definitely saved me a trip to the local shop for a nitrogen fix! LOL
The high end auto accessory stores sell valve cover caps that indicate pressure changes as little as 1 1/2 psi.
I think that they sell for about 20 bucks per set.
Ebay has some at $9.00 per set, delivered, but they show pressure changes of 4 psi and higher.
These are poor man's version of tire pressure monitor systems.
Look at it this way. It won't do any harm.
All this idle time I have had waiting for the 2007 Azera , I spent researching other vehicles
like the 2007 Toyota Camry and the Camry Hybrid , also been looking at the Highlander both H and non-H .
Plus the salesman at the local Toyota dealer says that sales have been slow for the month and they have a big inventory , so practically I can deal with them to the bare bone , is always nice to have the upper hand once in a while.
Now more than ever I am very confused, so many good choices .
Lou
Although the 07 Camry was selected car of year by MotorTrend, The Azera matches up closer to Avalon. Especially the Ultimate wich is closer to the Avalon Limited.
By the way, if your roving eye extends to soft-utes, have you tested the Highlander against the Pilot and the V6 RAV4? Interested to hear your impressions.
I have heard the "sales are slow, we're dealing" story so many times. When it comes to the out the door price, run your numbers on Edmunds and compare content you get for the $$. I think the Azera will overpower either the Camry or Avalon. And, yes, I've heard all the trade in value comments guys, but when you keep a car ten years, it becomes a non-issue.
Drive what you want. I think the Azera is a great choice.
The loaded Camry is probably similar price to Azera.
The warranty is not as good as Azera and the car is smaller.
No question that Hyundai resale values are poor.
Hard choice.
I am 5' 11" and weight 265 pounds and my hair is all grey .
The first part of my body testing the vehicle is my butt, I like to seat quietly for a few minutes or till the salesman start rambling.
I test drove the HH and RAV4 plus the three sedans , in order of comfort #1 is the Avalon , #2 Azera , a tie at #3 Camry and HH and last the RAV4 ( hard seats).
The Avalon Limited comes with driver's side cushion extension , what a wonderful experience the thigh never gets tired. The Camry has an option called LiqiCell ( Liquid cell ) is OK but it will set you back around 1500 tacos.
Right now I am leaning toward the 2007 Highlander Hybrid their inventory is high and in retrospect my wife drives a sedan and we can always use the extra space.
If when I went to the Hyundai dealer a few weeks ago and could have been told the truth when the 2007 Azera be in town I would defenitively not shop around and would have bought one.
Yes, I would like to wait and see the new Hyundai Veracruz but when I ask the salesman about it he was clueless.
In any case I am in no hurry to buy , and I am shopping in different fronts waiting for the very best of prices of any of this vehicle , also the End of the Year sales are always the best to shop.
I will keep you guys posted.
Thanks for all the good advice and keep it coming.
Lou
PS: The 2007 Azera still in the running in spite of what I wrote.
A lady in my building just purchased a new Powder White Azera 2 days ago and mentioned how hard it was to find the one she wanted. The dealership she went to had to go about an hour and a half away to get the car she wanted at another dealer.
I looked at the Maxima myself, but in the end...the ride to too harsh for me. Then again, I didn't mind getting an '06 Azera which I've now got 23K miles in 9 months of ownership and I couldn't be happier! Enjoy your Maxima!
I am still undecided , but I have a bad taste the way Hyundai take us for granted.
Before I commit or get insane whatever comes first , I would like to test drive the new 2007 Toyota Tundra. That said, I might not wait if the" End of the Year" deals are extremely good , right now the 2007 Avalon Limited has my full attention , I have been browsing thru Edmunds , Motor Trend , Consumer Reports for some Divine guidance .
Have a safe holiday.
Lou
Good luck!
Hope your holidays are safe, happy & blessed!
Does anybody know the VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control)is available on the US model? I found the VDC feature is available on korean model. The VDC feature looks like a DSC of BMW.
Happy holiday.
Also I would like to test drive the redesign 2007 GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 .
I have read so much about the new Tundra , I just need to wait , I got to make sure.
My spring chicken years are long gone this next vehicle could be my last , come February I will turn a year older , an even 62.
Have a safe holiday.
Lou
I agree with you on the wait. I, too, am a truck guy. Bought my car for mileage as I drive about 3000 miles a month for work...big territory to cover. The new GMT900 trucks are getting terrific reviews but the new TOYO is supposed to be revolutionary. If I HAD to buy today, I would get a Sierra but if I could afford to wait, I would look at the TOYO and GM trucks and then make my final decision.
Truck Trend Magazine (published by Motor Trend) just did a side by side first run comparison of the GM versus the Tundra. You may want to pick up a copy to look at the article. Even now, TOYO is keeping many things quiet until full launch but you get some great insight.
Merry Christmas
Lou
According to my local Florida dealer (Sales Manager), it was a Hyundai Corporate decision to delay the introduction of the 07 models of the Azera. Maybe the owner's of the dealerships had some input into that decision, to help burn off excess inventory.
Yeah, but this cuts two ways: if said Florida dealerships refuse to accept '07 Azeras while they're loaded with leftover '06 models, and cash-in-hand buyers go where they can find and deal on an '07, then the holdout dealers don't make any profit, do they? That's the famous "shootin'-yourself-in-the-head-to-spite-your-feet" business model. (But, at least they still have a poop-load of leftover '06 models they get declare as taxable inventory - le coup d'grace finale!
You never know.
is this true, because if it was that would be very nice!
Auto Express spy shots
I love the Azera and think that mid-$20's is an awesome price for what you get and it's a great car. Hyundai will have a hard time in the States convincing folks like you and me to spend more than $30K on a Hyundai.
As with everything, time will tell but Hyundai really has to hit the bulls eye and demonstrate they can build a solid and reliable rear wheel drive sedan. All the electronic gadgets in the world won't help if the overall execution isn't perfect.