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Speaking of international food, I love the Brazilian BBQ meat buffet. The only countries that produce both good cars and foods are probably Italy and Japan.
Man after the blizzard of special days here, I for one don`t need a St Georges Day
I noticed that myself. I hope it is because that 135 is more fun than he thought possible, and not something more serious! :confuse:
That depends on the region/province. There is a number of paid Holidays common to all provinces and others particular to each of them. All in all, they should add up to 36 days in every site, apart from 30 paid vacation days.
Here are the EU Countries that have more and fewer number of paid Holidays, apart from paid vacations:
EU average, 34 days
Finland, 44 days
France & Letva, 40
Estonia, Austria & Malt, 38
Ireland, 29
Romania, the Netherlands & the UK, 28.
Thus—and extending a former Anthon's remark—some may rule :confuse: :sick: , but others enjoy :shades: So far, so good.
Regards,
Jose
You are sure having a lot of free time to enjoy life.
Prices in Bilbao are as for today:
Premium unleaded gas, € 1.227 per liter (US$ 7.43 per gallon)
Diesel fuel, € 1.137 per liter (US$ 6.89 per gallon)
And taxes are about 50% out of each price.
Still a good idea to buy a diesel car, though taxes have increased for diesel fuel from 44% to this 50% along the last three years.
Regards,
Jose
Source: Autoblog
So the wait continues...
No!
Audi is growing faster but it still is not close to both MB and BMW yet in terms of global sales.
Remember this has nothing to do with BMW and MB being better cars than Audi. I am speaking strictly in terms of sales.
The Audi Q5 may replace my wifes 530xi Touring.
My misunderstanding. I just couldn't fathom in a country like Japan there would be such a thing as a racial discrimination restaurant policy .
Thanks for clarifying since now I can stop my Sushi boycott and discontinue cooking my own fish.
A Canuck Alfa Romeo built in small town Ontario? Sounds even sexier than built in Milan IMO.
Wholly gripes I can just imagine the 2012 Consumer Report ratings on these cars. :lemon:
Whenever I eat in a fancy restaurant and spend a lot of money I end up regretting it because I feel I did not savour the food since my conversations with a dinner partner/partners distracts me from my food.
Undistracted mindfulness and high concentration is the most important thing in enjoying any meal, fancy or non-fancy. Even a single unsalted walnut tastes fantastic if you concentrate on what you are chewing.
I will tell you that I third the remarks from Tony and Jose that the best meal is the one eaten under an open sky and with a minimum of fuss.
Some of the greatest restaurants favour simplicity over complexity, I find I really have to be in the mood for 'serious' food but simple, wholesome stuff that tastes like it's original ingredients without an over-dose of garnish or dressing up is always the best!
I think the intriguing facet of Eastern food and the complexity of the rituals around it is that the truly signify something. In alot of high western cuisine, the additional pizazz usually just signifies a desire to be noticed by a NY Times restaurant critic.
I invite anyone interested in continuing this very interesting thread to fire up a new discussion on the topic over on the Off-Topic Chatter board. That's the perfect place.
But here, let's come on back to the subject of cars, okay? :-)
Point taken.
I checked out that Edmunds site. It's called "Diet and Nutrition" and it consists of one single post:
Do you consciously diet or try to follow the pyramid to maintain a healthy weight?
Sounds like a site for retired burnt out connoiseurs who have given up on all fine restaurants after a doctor's appointment.
Anyways back to fine cars versus fine foods.
Maybe the best definition is subjective: A poser is someone who drives a car, usually leased, for social-psychological reasons unrelated to objective criteria such as performance, handling, ground clearance, cabin noise, etc. etc.
And you're cherry picking with the GS hybrid. I stated that the G35 is more reliable than the ES, which it is, and comparable to the IS, which it is. I also said the M is more reliable than the GS, which it is. The GS hybrid is "nearly hand built" in a special factory, which is why there's such a huge quality discrepancy between it and the regular GS.
Where does all that money go when you buy a MB? Is a Mercedes the fastest? Nope. Best handling? Nu-uh. Most luxurious? Not really. Most reliable? Absolutely not. Does it offer the best electronics? You've got to be kidding.
The stars of the Infiniti stable are the G and M. You get about 90% of the performance of a 3 or 5, with stellar reliability and electronics far superior to iDrive. Also, only Infiniti offers a Japanese alternative to the Cayenne or X6 type of V8 SUV hotrod. Lexus and Acura have absolutely nothing that can compete with the FX50.
Considering Infiniti has really only been a credible luxury brand since 2003, (all the earlier cars with the exception of the short lived M30 convertible, J30, and Q45 were transparent Nissan rebadges) I think they are doing pretty well. I think we're going to be seeing a lot more from them in the next 10 years.
Regards,
OW
Some of it goes to those off-shining front/tail lamps!! :confuse:
Regards,
OW
Which Is The Better Car? 2008 BMW 135i vs. 335i Review
After testing BMW 135i and 335i coupes back-to-back, I can reveal that there are only two good reasons to purchase the smaller, cheaper car.
Either you need a track day machine or you're an idiot. Otherwise, spend the extra bucks and buy the 335i coupe. The 335i coupe is more attractive, more enjoyable to drive, holds its value better and offers far more real road usability than the 135i.
I will only know after first-hand drive but it's interesting some of the irregularities put forth regarding the 1'er. Can this really be the case?...only TagMan can help here!
http://www.autospies.com/news/Which-Is-The-Better-Car-2008-BMW-135i-vs-335i-Revi- ew-28867/
Regards,
OW
Diesel fuel, € 1.137 per liter (US$ 6.89 per gallon)
Good old taxes. Premium unleaded here in Houston is $3.46/gal. which is about $0.10 below the national average. God bless America, and thank God for Houston. :shades:
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Here goes:
Napa/ Sonoma Valley- 1961 Chevy Apache pick-up truck. Classic, farm vehicle, gets the retro-organic-refit witth bio-diesel nod.
Manhattan- Is there really anything other than a black MB S-Class?
Paris- Citroen DS 21. With a Gitane in hand.
London- Aston Martin DBS. Absolutely.
English Gourmet Country pub- Land Rover Defender, diesel.
Barcelona- Jose's 335D! (I know you're not in Barca Jose, it's just the only part of Spain I have actually eaten in)
And that about sums them up for me.
I would say that describes 95 percent of all luxury car buyers. The other 5 percent attends Edmunds forums, reads car mags and is very conversant in automotive specs.
In fact I can argue that very same point for most luxury goods and services.
Higher prices are an indicator of "superior quality and performance" and so people who want better things just pay a higher price without actually knowing why. Not many people have the time to research all the attributes of their purchases.
Based on the criteria above it is so easy to shoot down any brand. Substitute MB with BMW, Lexus, Jaguar and Infiniti (as was done before), even Lambo and it will be easy to conclude that all luxury brands are inferior.
That's at least 50% of the BMW owners to ya...
social-psychological reasons
That pretty much covers 95% of the MB and Lexus crowd...
IMO, a poser is someone who bought the car for a purpose that's different than the car's mission. For example, a person who bought a 3er for its luxury and the badge on the hood is a poser to me.
Oh, never mind. My daughter is in Barça. 700 miles of happy all-round 335d driving! And in addition to this driving and the pleasure to stay with her, I use to enjoy there theater/music plays and nice meals!
Regards,
Jose
In that definition the Prius driver who buys it because it makes their buddies think they are cool is as much a poser as the guy that buys the AMG C-Class.
In the final analysis there is very little that any of buy that we buy with no thought to how it informs others opinions of us. In effect, while none of us are average, we are all posers. And should be proud of the fact!
link title
Regards,
Jose
Hi Pat, on my part, I feel you may transfer the fine food/restaurants posts recently posted here to start a new thread on the Off-Topic Chatter. Then we will see if these posts attract others on the subject. :shades: The other poster fellows on the subject should agree to this suggestion, nevertheless. What do you think?
Regards,
Jose
With a potential unveiling at the LA Auto Show in November, the supercharged S4 is also tipped to feature a Magna-sourced "sport differential" like the ZF unit featured in the BMW X6, bringing the fight to the turbocharged BMW 335i, while the RS4 takes on the M3. While power will likely remain similar to the current 339-hp 4.2-liter V8 and weight only marginally reduced by 100 lbs or less, the purpose in switching to forced induction would be to improve fuel economy while returning comparable performance. The S4 is also expected to be developed outside Quattro GmbH, while the RS4 would be created by the Audi performance division, giving the former a more restrained look compared to the all-out bulging bodywork of the latter. The forced-induction V6 is also tipped to replace the 3.2-liter V6 in the base Audi A6 Quattro.
Source: Autoblog
Now Audi is talking my kind of car! If this is indeed true then I'll have to seriously consider it as the replacement of my current ride. :surprise: :surprise: :surprise:
So I am real, after all! I could care less if they took the badge off and half the options. Gotta love the bluetooth, though...but the drive is where the money talks, IMHO.
Regards,
OW
I think what you all mean is poseur.
Definition of a poser is one who poses. Another equivalent word for poser is poseur
link title
True! As you said a poseur/poser is someone who has a very high self esteem and who thinks he or she deserves the best in which most cases the "best" is based upon the opinions of others.
Just call me a proud poseur.
Though I dont think we will end up having those brutal Lexus versus BMW type of exhanges that we have here, unless someone in that new forum says that McDonalds coffee(based on Consumers Report) is better than Starbuck's French pressed Sumatra blend then look out!!
I sort of feel like all the people on this channel are sort of friends, in an interesting way, with a moderator who keeps things on track...Therefore what ever anyone says takes on a meaning, where as on the other channels--not all--I don`t feel as though I know any of them...I guess it`s sort of like `caring`....As for yourself, did you pick up the other hour of sleep this Spring-with the change on DST ? Tony
This is a unique discussion and one I enjoy very much, largely because of what you say. But honestly, I think you all do yourselves a disservice by not looking outside of here every now and then. We really an awful lot to offer. You don't have to check it all out, but an occasional check outside the window is not a bad thing.
Some of your mates here already know of what I speak!
Jose, last night I decided I would do just what you suggest, start a discussion and move those posts there. It's going to take me some time to get it done. If I can do it tonight, I will. Thanks for the prod!
And thanks to all of you for being a great group of people who have fascinating conversations. This discussion is often the highlight of my rounds on the Sedans board. :shades:
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The Lexus vs. BMW debate should be the standard case study for all debating classes.
AWD Luxury Performance/Design/Progressive/Nonconformist
Where BMW, MB, and Lexus owners zig, Audi owners like to zag as the saying goes. We're very proud of that.
That zig zag slogan was used for Cadillac Catera in the 90s.. Unfortunately that slogan did not attract as many non-conformists to a Catera as GM had expected.
Interesting. I've always thought that people who need symbols to show others have lower, rather than higher, self-esteem.
People with high self-esteem often drive old cars, wear clothing they like and may very well use a Timex watch. They don't feel the need to impress anyone.
I've had this conversation before on Edmunds on other boards, and several are quick to point out that in certain business situations you "are what you wear/drive/etc." That Rolex you wear tells the person you're shaking hands with that you're worthy.
Include me out.
The point I was trying to make is that a MB is often the most expensive vehicle in a class, and yet doesn't seem to have much to show for it. For a buyer interested in more than just 3-pointed star badge prestige, Infiniti could be a credible alternative.
Same here. I am very interested to see what Audi decides to do with the replacement for the V6 A4 and A6. If the A6 3.0T becomes the base car and yet packs 340hp+, what happens to the A6 4.2?