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Comments
Like I said, prefer backseat for occasional use.
Did you mention your budget?
TM
M6
XK-R
ZR-1 (speed freak in me!)
Regards,
OW
I'm a longtime fan of the 3-series sedans. They're well-balanced, fun-to-drive cars that will look good forever. I'd go for a 328i with the sport package & - need I say it? - 3 pedals on the floor. You'll never get tired of it.
I don't care for the looks of the 6 - to me, it looks like a fish out of water gasping for air - & it's not supposed to be an engaging drive. Still, why not test-drive one if you have a chance? That way, you can get it out of your system.
Convertible? My favorite is the BMW E36 although you obviously can't get it CPO'd at this late date. But I just love its lines!
That's All Folks!
At least that quote applies to me
My posts on my new third generation LOW $$$ LOW ENTHUSIASM non-luxury slow Prius and my whinings about my traffic violations are not exactly appropriate topics for a Luxury lounge whose focus is mainly on BIG $$$ luxury high speed enthusiast vehicles.
If I ever get interested in another luxury or premium performance car you fellows will be the very first to know. But one thing I can guarantee you is that I would never ever buy a rebadged leather seated, interior wood trim Lexus Prius. I'd pick the Toyota Prius over such a car any day.. Having said that I just want to bid my farewell to all of you folks and to our good host Pat and just want to say I really did enjoy it here.
Take care,
Dewey
TM
Regards,
Jose
I've landed in Southern California, connecting to Northern California. I have a few minutes.
I am so freakin' sad to think that you would actually leave this forum. Particularly for the reasons you have indicated
Our tastes in cars change over time as well as cars themselves change over time. We are entering a very different and new chapter in the auto industry. I want to share your views and opinions of these developments. I have thoroughly enjoyed them for years.
I don't give a damn what your car flavor of the year is. It's fine with me. Even if you did not own a car, you surely do have keen insight. So, you know that ownership of a luxury vehicle is not a prerequisite to post here. Heck, after I sell my Porsche and Jag, I will own a couple of economy cars, one for me and one for my daughter. I guess I'll have to say goodbye as well (again).
The economy sucks, and the world is facing challenges. We are all a small part of it all. The automobile industry is closely linked to the world's economy, energy, and social factors. You know darned well you are keenly aware of these things and you are interested in them.
I can only request respectfully that you reconsider your thoughts today, and allow yourself a "challenging day" that pushed you over the edge perhaps. I've been there, my friend.
Please stick around.
TM
I know you have had some bad breaks, and I for one have suffered with you....I surely hope you re- consider your involvent with this board, as your knowledge and essence shine through your writing.....My Man, everytime I now buy something and it comes from Canada I think of yourself.....And on another part of your post, I agree about the Prius and if I were to get one --it would be the stripped down version and no gussied up clone....Purity is in Purpose.....Tony
I hope you'll stick around and continue to contribute to the conversation here regardless of what you drive (or how fast you drive it
I hate to say it, but my business has been cut in half over the last year and I am making the necessary choices to adjust. Hopefully, better times lie ahead. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to selling the Porsche and Jag, and driving a Honda hybrid in the near future.
Take care. We're all in this together, and I hope we stay united by this forum.
TM
C&D just tested the new FX35, and said that it both rides and handles much better than the FX50. If you're considering the new FX, that would be the one to test. The new X5 is nice, but its also quite pricey. The '07 X5 is most likely out of your price range. Most are still $50K and up. I would just avoid the Touareg all together, it's a slow, unreliable, lousy handling, too heavy truck with pathetic electronics.
The A6 and the new A4 are great choices. The new 3 sedan is better looking than before, and has the new iDrive system, and the G gets the 3.7L V6 and the new automatic. All are worth checking out.
I really like the A5 and 335i coupe, but I'm not a big fan of the 335i convertible, I think it looks awkward. There will also be a G37 convertible, which should be interesting. An '04 or '05 CPO 645Ci can be had for $45K, but why? The 335i coupe looks and drives so much better than it's big ugly catfish faced cousin.
Absolutely!
But... You had better put a pic of that Jag XK up next to that catfish as well. As stunning, sexy, and gorgeous as that car truly is, let's admit that it's got a bit of the sucker treatment on the front end The question is which generation XK has the bigger sucker... Hehehe. ???
TM
LG, you made me laugh with such an accurate formal comparison.
m4d cow,
I only can repeat to you I am very satisfied with the 3-Series coupe. I am not single, but I don't have childs (neither grand ones) in my nest now. For my wife and I the coupe size is perfect, even if we occasionally travel with some friends. Perfect for my commuting and for extended drives. The car makes many heads to turn on. I drove before a 5-Series, and because of this I feel the size of the 6-Series would take some driving pleasure out without adding advantages. I have adviced my 29-year-old daughter to buy either a 1-Series or a 3-Series. Others cars seem pretty attractive too, but I have no experience with them.
Regards,
Jose
Well, Jag's big oval mouth goes all the way back to the D-type from the '50s, but the XK is really paying homage to XKE's front end. The latest XK, especially the XKR looks a lot less fishy than it used to.
Regards,
Jose
But, the catfish front oval is an inherent part of the XK design... not to ever be abandoned! (hopefully.)
Sorry... just had to post that fish one more time. It's got character.
TM
Well, I certainly agree with the first part of your statement, but given that, the second bit couldn't be more wrong. Granted, if you end up with an SUV to "be up high," or because Madison Avenue was otherwise successful, then what you actually do with one is probably beyond a mystery.
Our Pathfinder (yeah, I know, totally non-luxury) has provided hours of real fun, usually at well under 3 mph.
I didn't need that Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider edition, but I bought it anyway... and yes it was fun.
And, I didn't "need" the FJ Cruiser that replaced the Jeep, although that FJ turned out to be a really big mistake :sick: ... wish I had kept the "fun" Wrangler Rubicon.
TM
My upstate friends who live 300 miles north take their SUVs into the woods, but they drive late 80s vintage Ford Broncos & the like.
That's funny you should mention that.
I just realized that the vehicle I owned longer than an other in my life has been a 1988 full-sized Ford Bronco, of all things. (Of course, it was white, like the famous OJ Simpson Bronco, but I got mine first... LOL.)
Anyway, I acquired it around Thanksgiving of 1987, as a custom-ordered 1988 vehicle, and I owned it for twenty years!... I gave it away this past Christmas to my nephews.
Yikes.
TM
Dewey: Simply owning a car is a luxury. Please stick around and discuss whatever you believe to be relevant to this luxurious world of automotive worship. Even, if you must, finances of the great auto companies of the world! I'm just a simple caveman who doesn't understand your fancy discussions of high finance, anyway!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
well, occassional to me means not used often but still liveable. I doubt I'll like the XK, the current one doesnt look as good as the old one, while the old one got terrible fit-finish. I'm planning to test a 911 though, just to get a feel, and if it turns into a love affair... curse you TG
Dewey, relax, not being a speed freak doesnt mean you cant join in the conversation. How about helping out this poor dude who still cant make up his mind on car choices (me)
Gotta say I feel sorry for your tickets though, I've been driving 5-7 mph over the speed limit for the past 7 years and never got a single ticket.
LG, great comparison, :P
Acura may have more trouble trying to sell this interior in the $42K TL AWD. The new TL AWD is nearly the exact same size (and price out the door) as the RL, so once again Acura's "flagship" becomes totally irrelevant.
I have no idea what happened to Honda's interior department. They never had Audi level style or materials, but they used to be very functional and easy to use. This new control knob method though just isn't working. The TL's two big remaining FWD challengers, the Passat and Maxima, both seriously out class the new TL on the inside.
Unless I'm flying with the left lane traffic on I83, I usually drive with the speedo needle just under the 10mph over the limit mark. Since speedometers all tend to read 2-3mph fast, that should be about 6-7mph over the limit. I've sailed past many a state trooper at this speed without issue.
It's Acura, not Honda. Honda's probelms are exterior, not interior. Element and Ridgeline as examples. Acura is now screwed up inside and out. Acura went completely nuts after that "independent from Honda" decision they promised everyone a few years back. From what I remember, they recently built an entire new design complex, hired some young designer guy who was responsible for the "gladiator" look on the new MDX, and then they wanted to carry the look to all the vehicles, yet keep that "V" icon. It's really stupid, and they should fire the whole bunch... managers included.
Honda is one of those companies whose vehicles people really want to love, until they force folks to hate them. And that's what they are doing over at Acura.
It's time to assemble a whole new design team. Truly. How far down the freeway, going the wrong way, does Acura have to travel before they decide to pull over and change direction? Apparently, they won't turn around, and they are going to kill themselves. lt's so much money being sent down the sewer, it's a tragedy.
An additional part of the tragedy that is looming here is that the next NSX will also have the same rotten design elements threaded throughout the car, and it will be a bomb... I can pretty much guarantee it.
Acura is systematically self destructing... by design... no pun intended.
TM
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
I know there are lots of elitists here that will disagree, but as far as luxury and style are concerned, all the luxury manufacturers need to be worried right about now. If the Genesis had been around at the time I decided on my 550i Sport... (Well, it's not sporty enough and doesn't come with a manual, but it definitely would've been a contender.) I checked out the G8 GT as well. The Genesis is much nicer.
I have to say that if you're in the market for an Acura TL/RL or Lexus ES, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to check out the Genesis.
edit:
Now I will say this; if you're already in a Merc or BMW, you probably won't go to a Hyundai dealership. I have to admit that I felt like I was slumming when I drove onto the lot, not that I'm some uppity snob. It may have had more to do with the dealership itself. Not on a "pretty" side of town and the lot is kind of laid out all willy-nilly (thanks Kwame!) like. Anyway, a person that is about to step up into the luxury market, a trip to Hyundai should definitely be on the itenarary. It might end up being the only stop.
Really. I just don't get it. With all their resources, how does this happen? I've seen kid's auto design competitions that result in better looking cars.
I have always been convinced that the Asian mind sees design characteristics in a totally different way than we do... and not just with cars. I guess this is true for all societies. Yet, it doesn't matter what country these designers are from, considering that all countries produce some of the ugliest cars ever imagined.
Why? Why? Why do auto manufacturer's include ugly cars in their production?
American Motors produced their share. Ford made quite a few, and so has GM and Chrysler. The Swedish have proved that a shoebox is a design for a car, and the French, who have shown how to cook a snail, have also manufactured some ugly cars. Mercedes recently manufactured the R-Class. Lexus... the SC. No way to name all the ugly cars. That is a seperate topic and the internet is full of pics and discussion.
What I'm rambling on here about is that so many of the manufacturers produce ugly cars. Some do it now and then, like the Mercedes' R-Class I mentioned, but how can a company keep producing them, one after another, like our modern-day Acura? Something is seriously wrong.
I strongly believe that there were no U.S. or North American market studies conducted with regards to the Acura designs, and that Acura kept it all internal. Or else the studies, if any, were seriously flawed.
It kills me to think how much time and money and human resources have been wasted. The domino effect is huge. If I was an Acura dealer, I'd be really ticked off.
Anyway, enough muttering.
TM
Dont' forget that leases on Mercedes and BMWs expire every day. I truly believe, as I have so strongly posted in the past, that the Genesis will be a force to be reckoned with. An unfortunate circumstance for Hyundai could be the unforeseen risky timing to introduce a large sedan, with the current U.S. economy and the shifting auto buying behavior... although some of this economic downturn can actually work in Hyundai's favor.
The luxury car market has been put on notice.
Bullseye!
I totally agree with you regarding the Hyundai Genesis.
TM
How about a low mileage E46 M3?
My local BMW dealer offered me an E46 M3 SMG about couple months ago for $42k. It was a '05, with only 8k miles on and is in mint condition. I am sure with some research you can find one with less than 20k miles for around $35k to $40k.
Now, let's on move to ugly cars...
Well, ugly is kind of a strong word so I'll rephrase it to be "not-so-desirable-looking" luxury cars. Some of you probably know by now that my taste is somewhat a bit different and un-traditional when it comes to luxury car design so just bear with me here...
The whole Acura lineup except the current TL and RDX
BMW Z4
BMW 7-series (current gen)
Infiniti FX
Jaguar S-type
Land Rover LR2
Lexus SC430
MB R-class
MB G-class
MB CLK
Inside Line has a recent test of this new "fuerza a tener en cuenta"! Jose will translate for all!
Caddy Killer 101
Regards,
OW
And the list can be a looooong one if we really start by going from manufacturer to manufacturer, and taking a good close look... like Scion, for example, and the Honda Element and Ridgeline.
BTW, I've done some research, and it has revealed that this is Acura's design supervisor...
edit: oops... my error, that's clearly a corporate hog... Here's the design supervisor in charge of the latest Acura designs.
TM
2009 Genesis grill has a sort of strenght that must be taken into account, IMO. It is different from others.
I don't like the interior of that Hyundai however, in particular the console and steering wheel.
All in all, I agree she has heart. She is a new-girl-in-the-block to be willingly watched
Regards,
Jose
Au contraire, mon frere! The control knob and button explosion/fest are infecting Hondas as well as Acuras. Just look at the new Pilot, its center stack is an absolute disaster. The '05 RL started this mess, but Honda has definitely picked it up, both in the Accord and in the Pilot. They've lost it.
The Genesis could do well (even though I think the interior is lousy), but I think the Borrego has BOMB written all over it. Nobody wants to pay $30K+ for a Kia with a double hit of epic depreciation, one for the Kia badge, and one for the fact that its a body-on-frame SUV when the market for that has left the building. Two year old Borregos will be going for $15K.
I'll take a closer look at the infection.
TM
Are you driving her or ....
Regards,
OW
I'm sure all the car-snobs will have a thing to say, but I'm more interested in hearing from those who believe that the never ending quest for more horsepower, fuel economy be damned!, will become a thing of the past.
I want all the Luxury bells and whistles Lexus is known for and 30+ mpg.
Prius-based Lexus
Regards,
OW
The Lexus variant of the Prius will provide the extra power and luxury and still achieve major fuel economy. Excellent job!!
Over time, we'll have "performance dynamics" in the mix, like the Tesla, but in more substantial cars at normal price tiers.
Soon, we'll have our cake and eat it too!! No reason to feel guilty about our desires for power. That all said, would I buy a powerful luxury car again in the future? Yes, if I can afford it... But, I'll never buy a gas guzzler again, under any conditions!
TM
Yes, OW: I'm driving the best one from my point of view. But in this I am like the faithful husband which notwithstanding his love to his evil partner, chastely (sigh) admires many other devils for different reasons.
For instance, and without being exhaustive,
Audi A5, R6, R8, but also A4, A6, A8. The other day I drove my car side by side with an A5 on the highway, and I was really impressed. I could have followed her for a long while.
BMW. 1-Series convertible & coupe, but not forgetting the hatched 3/5 doors models. Within 3-Series, only the coupe and M models are meaningful to me, really. I still see 5-Series as excellent cars. I am deaf to 6-Series for practical reasons, and blind to 7-Series. On the other hand, I do not like the Mini. My wife drives a Cooper and I find the interior quite awful. Though I can find pleasure driving that Cooper for short periods of time, she is not the sort of car for my apetites (the Cooper, I mean :P ).
MB. Not my taste either. I can turn my head to watch some models (e.g., S Series). But as much as I can admire luxury and sophistication in a car, they must be of the sober sort, and for some reason I consider MB is always a bit showy.
I like very much Aston Martin and Maserati Quatroporte. You see, I love THAT kind of sophistication. Class is class, at the end.
I do not follow the pace of most Japanese cars, not because some of them do not deserve it but simply because they are not so many around me.
Porsche deserves a word. I consider she is an excellent car, in particular the Carrera models. But I do not like their aesthetics. And for me, performance and beauty must be balanced for a babe to be my babe. But I have driven no one up to now, and one can never guess what a not so beautiful carcase hides.
As for engines, I prefer the most powerful ones for each model (disregarding if gas or diesel). After all, I am a boy. But you know I have liked very much the 530d and the 118d due to their balanced economy and power.
Ah! I was once upon a time a Citroen admirer. Peugeot and Renault have never been attractive to me. Opel has good medium level cars (i.e., 'D Segment' Vectra). I do not like SUVs.
Regards,
Jose
Edition after Circlew's answer: I forgot Jaguars in my account. I have mixed feeling on them. Whilst some are among the best (i.e., E Type; but also others in recent times), other models are too 'chromed' to me.
Regards,
OW
French cars have never done much for me either, but I have to admit I find Peugeot's 308 RCZ coupe to be very interesting, especially with that wild roof line. It makes the Audi TT seem a bit boring.
The new Renault Laguna coupe looks good from the rear (which is basically a blatant copy of Aston Martin) but the front isn't great with that too large grill that gives it an angry looking face.