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I can answer this! Just yesterday, my wife was locked out of her Lexus after the battery in her key fob died. Fortunately, she was only a mile from home, & the 2nd fob still worked.
She took delivery of the car in September, 2006, so the battery lasted for a couple of months shy of 3 years.
Her Lexus dealer charged $10 to replace the battery.
The Infiniti dealer in here in San Diego pointed this fact when I was out test driving M. I am surprised that lexus does not have this feature.
I am not a luddite... but sometime too much technology is not good (IMHO)
Sanjay
I find it hard to believe that any maufacturer would rely solely on the remote fob to unlock the car. Neither safe nor smart.
Our salesman demonstrated this procedure when we took delivery, but I had forgotten all about it.
Per a new auto motor und sport report, Toyota has entered into talks with Daimler – the parent company of Mercedes-Benz – about a potential partnership. The tie-up would reportedly see Toyota producing its own versions of Mercedes’ A- and B-Class vehicles on its MC platform and could even include the co-development of the automakers’ flagship models – the Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
ToyBenz
Interesting...high quality M-B's?
Regards,
OW
With prices up almost 100% at the peak from the low... a 10%, 12%, 15%, or even a 20% decline is just a normal retreat. Nothing like the "bottom falling out" or "going off a cliff". We've already discussed this. It is going to take a major crash in prices to get my attention. I think it is entirely possible that we are already entering into a whole new world economy anyway. Unfortuntately, the old rules might not work like we think they should.
BTW, I saw another white new generation Prius today, on the Pacific Coast Highway, right here in Malibu. (Saw a Rolls Royce as well... ha... there is some serious money here in this town.) Anyway, the Prius looks much better than the previous generation it replaces. (The Prius owner probably has more money than the Rolls owner... LOL.)
TM
Sign of the times.
I think many of us have higher or different priorities now. I certainly do. Shifted priorities can take a fair share of the wind out of the sail when it comes to lusting for a machine that will cost a lot of green to acquire, operate, and maintain.
Len, hope you are having a great summer!
TM
I did not like the previous 2 generations of the Prius but the new one is much better to look at. Needs a bit better design flow AFAIC, however.
Somehow, this lends to the near future of Government Motors....
and this a stark contrast and begs of the Bernie Madoff era.
Regards,
OW
I've actually found that I'm much more interested in cars now than I have been in years. As I mentioned earlier, there was a time were I just wanted a comfortable, reliable car, and I didn't really care about mid-cycle updates or the next big thing. My LS400 really wasn't that different from my last W140 Benz other than it actually worked properly. There were no advanced communication and control systems that separated the brands, and even the styling of the full size luxury cars at the time was basically the same.
The Lexus had much better ergonomics than the Germans, and it was probably the first to start the audiophile sound system ball rolling with the Nakamichi setup. That was enough.
Now though, were on the cusp of a major shift in how cars are designed, as big as the change from the '60s to the '70s. This time though it will be a positive change. Instead of pathetic, dying muscle cars with emissions choked 7 litre V8s producing less than 200hp, we're going to see radically lightened cars made of aluminum and composite materials, with powerful engines using all of the variable timing, direct injection, and sequential turbo charging tricks.
The normally aspirated V8s, V10,s and V12s will give way to turbo and supercharged (or both as in some VWs) 4 and 6 cylinder engines, hopefully with HCCI technology sooner rather than later. Eventually the ICE will disappear completely, but before that happens, there's going to be some great cars.
Awful weather here in June - worst I've ever seen but it's a lot worse in New England. Here in central NJ we've finally broken into summer with 8 straight 80+ degree days but from NYC northeast they are still having a lot of gloom and doom June like weather. Here, just 35 miles SSW of NYC we've had 8 straight days of pool weather and with a little help from the pool heater my water is holding steady around 85-86 degrees. To my weather expertise it looks like we get hot after the first week of July in this area thru lower conneticut at least.
My mother broke her hip a few weeks ago but is now recovering. She should be back on her feet in early august. Business remains strong with a lot of opportunity.
You and I are on different pages on oil. Proper fundamental price is 20+ bucks cheaper than it is and I still see it falling back to the 40's. Pure speculation and fear of unwarranted inflation has driven prices but w/o fundamental support that can't hold. How do you make a currency out of a commodity that is not in high demand and there's tons of production capacity on the side. Hedge funds and Goldman Sachs have tried, using everything from 20:1 leverage to nicaragua to again using China stockpiling as false demand but I don't see it happening. We are at an 18 year high in oil inventories, a 22 year high in distillates and gas inventory is now growing robustly. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
Of bigger concern to me is that fears of inflation that don't exist, along with hedge fund investing (and their pied piper followers) will crimp/slow a more robust recovery by keeping commodities out of sync witth fundamentals until such bubbles burst rapidly. All Obama has to do is take these huge leverage ratios out of commodity investing and we'll get more in-sync markets. It makes no sense to have leverage ratios as high as 20:1 in small markets when you have 2:1 ratios in large markets like stocks. The higher the leverage ratio the greater the manipulation. Plus the biggest fear is fear itself.
Hope all is well for you.
Where's Charlie?
We just got back to Seattle from a few days at Lake Quinault on the southern edge of the Olympic National Forest in the Olympic Peninsula. I had no Internet access there and it was great being in the wilderness for a bit. We have had a family reunion here in Seattle area the past 7 days. My son and his wife live here and our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter met us here from Detroit. It has been wonderful. We are heading back home to IA on Sunday and guess what is waiting for us in our garage. Yes, you guessed it. It is the 2010 RX450h. It arrived at the Dealer in Des Moines two days prior to our flight to Seattle. The dealer got it prepped in record time and we brought it home on Thursday evening (we left for Seattle very early Friday morning, June 26). I drove it and played around with it for a bit, but there was so many new bells and whistles on it that I just began to scratch the surface. The salesman will spend a couple hours with us this Monday and show us everything about the car. I loved what I have seen in the very brief time that I had to play around with it. It is quieter, more comfortable, more powerful, and just plain more luxurious than its predecessor (RX400h). Best of all, it is much more fuel efficient. I got a bit more than 30mpg test driving it about 35 miles around town and some Interstate. But, for about a half hour, prior to the test it was idling in the driveway for a half hour while I was trying to activate XM radio on it. I am quite confident that this new generation RX will get mileage up into the high 30s if one is careful and drives it in the Eco Mode. The new navigation system is awesome on this car. We ordered the car with all the options except for the rear seat entertainment system. Among other options, it has the radar cruise, side view monitor, auto high beam, heads up display (great feature), window breakage warning system, remote starter, etc., etc., etc. I will try and post some photos of it after we get back home. This car will be a lot of fun taking it on long trips. BTW, ours was the very first one to arrive in IA. The dealer did not even have a demo prior to our trip to Seattle and they still may not have one now.
I know that some of you do not think very highly of the new RX, but as Len says, it makes no difference to me. This is what my wife and I wanted.
Len, I am thinking that this is the start of a big down move in the crude oil market.
I guess that's what you can call my current car choice which by the way I dont have yet but I will have soon all because of cognitive reasons.
The reason is taxes. It's a bit technical but I am deprieved of gaining a hybrid tax incentive because the net trade in value between my BMW335i and the new Prius is very low.
Anyways I had proposed to a Toyota dealership that they re-arrange their paperwork in order for me to gain the benefit of hybrid tax incentives .They agreed so now I am soon going there to buy/order my Prius.
So my enthusiasm is strictly based on taxes .I guess if there was such a thing as Mr. Spock he would approve
But I beg to differ with those who buy German cars under a lease program because they are afraid of after-warranty expenses.
In my view if a car does not have the durability or quality to last beyond a few years without major headaches then that car is a piece of junk.
After the horrific resale value hit I will take with my BMW I have decided to buy a car that will not terrify any future buyers without warrranties . Longetivity and value is my priority for cars. Who knows maybe there will be a Lexus in my future?
Trust me being a non-enthusiast has not been easy for me. My enthusiasm was killed (RIP) by 2 years and 8 months of " living hell on 4 run flat tires.
That applies especially in my case. In many profession the car you drive is an essential indicator of success. Right now in my case a car has no relevance with my success since I live and die by my investment returns. At this stage of my life all my new clients are referrals.
At an earlier part of my life driving a BMW or any luxury marque was important to me. Not now.
So what about driving dynamics? The pure joy and thrill of driving a performance car? In all honesty I forgot what those joys are with the trials and tribulations of the piece of Bavarian crap that I intend to dispose of ASAP!!!
I am sure it is quite an impressive piece of engineering. I wanted one too but unfortuately in Canade the price of a new hybrid RX makes no sense when compared to USA pricing and pricing compare to a non-hybrid RX ($46K non-hybird RX versus $59K hybrid RX).
I'm not sure that's true. Take a Ferrari for example. Properly maintaining a Ferrari means significant expenses every year, even if nothing goes wrong. That doesn't mean a 599GTB is a piece of junk. It comes with the territory.
High-end European cars are more likely to have problems and will be more expensive to maintain as they age than Japanese cars. This isn't news. That's different though from getting stuck with a lemon. If my S6 was anything like your 3 series, I would've made Audi buy it back and I'd be driving something else. Probably an XF.
TM
Ditto. CR-V for me.
Regards,
OW
Same here. In PA, if the same problem cannot be fixed by the third try, or if the car has been in the shop a total of 30+ days, the manufacturer can be taken to court. If they lose, they have to buy the car back and pay attorney fees and any other legal costs. Used car buyers are also protected from lemon law buyback cars if a dealer tries to represent them as having a clean title.
I'm not sure how it works in Canada.
Interesting turn of phrase. It helps buttress my decision to have purchased my own appliance.
Enjoy yours.
Take a Ferrari for example. Properly maintaining a Ferrari means significant expenses every year, even if nothing goes wrong. That doesn't mean a 599GTB is a piece of junk. It comes with the territory.
I guess junk is the wrong word. Waste would be more appropriate.
In my opinion luxury can be subdivided into three categories.
Conspicuous Waste-- Ferrari or a Hummer
Conspicuous Precision --- Lexus or any car that is well built in a high quality/durable fashion.
Conspicuous Reputation --- A European Marqe rich in history
Luxury that is defined primarily by waste (excessive primitive fuel inefficient horspower) or "repuation that any snob can recognize" is not in my opionion a worthy luxury. Precision in terms of technology, engineering, quality and durability is what counts most for me at this point of time.
The beauty of a Prius in that it provides "conspicuous precison"-best of the best technology, reliability, quality and durability (based on its one decade history) without a luxury price. The only reason a Prius is not a luxury car is because of its low price. For people who like paying luxury prices can always buy a Lexus HS instead of a Prius.
At least I dont feel so lonely now in my quest for an appliance.
I'll second that. I've been posting praise for the CR-V ever since it made its debut, and became (justifiably) the best-selling SUV practically overnight.
BTW, your post about the Prius sure sounds like a guy that has some definite appreciation for the vehicle... maybe not to the level of enthusiast, but certainly not posted by someone who hates cars.
I think you have a strong dislike for the senselessness of many vehicles. Interesting perspective, and at this time in many of our lives, it isn't such a bad thing to focus on being sensible, having meaningful priorities, and an aversion to wastefullness.
TM
First of all, upon returning to Toronto from KC, my wife has decided to really learn to drive in order start driving our daughter to/from school in the coming years. So she's decided that my beloved IS350 is HER car. That left me with a little too much car in the form of the 2008 RX350 for my most of my daily driving.
There is nothing wrong with the RX, but I missed driving the IS too much, so here I am thinking about swapping the SUV for some thing different.
What vehicle should I get? aside from really wanting a G/T-R, I have a few criteria for that new car, but I need your input so that my search is more complete:
- AWD for winter usage, but ideally with rwd bias for non-slipper condition.
- Can do 0-60 mph in the 6-7 seconds range, with avg FE around 25 mpg
- It needs to occasionally be able to carry large cargo.
- It has to provide smooth, quite ride for most of the time, but can also turns into nimble machine like my IS at my choosing.
- Not a Subaru.
Where should I start looking?
I will have to give it a try for myself.
Anyone here think anyone makes a better sounding 12 cylinder than AM? If so, the audiologist visit is on me!!!!
Regarding large cargo, that is where you throw me off. The IS350 is a small car, and in my mind cannot really carry much of anything. That's why I mentioned the EX350.
The normally aspirated V8s, V10,s and V12s will give way to turbo and supercharged (or both as in some VWs) 4 and 6 cylinder engines, hopefully with HCCI technology sooner rather than later. Eventually the ICE will disappear completely, but before that happens, there's going to be some great cars.
I am in fully agreement to that. Looking forward also to new diesel developments.
Regards,
Jose
Regards,
Jose
:confuse: Jose, we already own a hybrid... I bought a Ford Escape Limited Hybrid many months ago... my daughter drives it primarily, although my wife and I have sneaked it our now and then. In addition, I have posted a substantial number of positive remarks about hybrids for quite some time now. I believe they represent the transition to all-electric vehicles. I would seriously consider one for my next car.
That said, I have also mentioned several times that diesel fuel is now priced well enough to re-consider the clean diesel alternatives that I was so excited about in the recent past.
I cannot predict when I will buy my next personal vehicle, however, as I am enjoying the 135i for the time being. It is still covered under years of warranty and included maintenance. By the time I am ready to get my next vehicle, I am certain there will be some very interesting choices out there... including hybrids, diesels, and EVs.
TM
Yup, though I know your opinion is in favour of hybrid technology, I forgot you own a hybrid car. I imagine your daughter is happy with that hybrid. Has she inherited your love for cars?
My apologies for my bad memory.
Regards,
Jose
So a reasonably fast, fuel efficient car with performance oriented AWD that has some decent cargo space and good handling. Putting all of those things together into one car isn't easy.
The 25mpg requirement writes off the entire luxury CUV class. Even the best will only manage 20mpg, with most of them far below that. Only the RX450h qualifies, and as I'm sure you know, the RX doesn't know the meaning of the word "nimble". It also is driving only its front wheels 90% of the time.
In this case, I think you're best bet is to skip the SUVs and go for a wagon, more specifically the A4 Avant 2.0T. The maximum amount of cargo space is a little more than half of what's available in the Q5, but that's the sacrifice that's required to hit 25mpg. The 5 and A6 wagons have space more comparable to the SUVs, but they also drink fuel like the SUVs.
The A4 is a bit more spacious and fuel efficient than the 328i xDrive Sportwagon, and should satisfy every one of your requirements. The 2010 car I believe gets the latest version of MMI with Audi NAV "Plus", which is the most advanced factory NAV system in the business. Quattro is also the best in the business. If you get Audi Care scheduled maintenance is covered for the warranty period, but it's not as good as BMWs program because it doesn't cover "wear items" like pads and rotors. The price ranges from around $35-50.
She is indeed very happy with it, but, to answer your question, no... she doesn't seem to have a genuine passion for cars... she has other things on her 16-yr.-old mind... I'm sure you can imagine.
My 9-yr.-old son, however, is already a car freak, just like me. Maybe even worse. I hope he becomes successful enough one day so that he can enjoy some of the good ones... whatever they may be when he is old enough to drive. Fast and electric is my guess, but who knows.
TM
TM
Yeah after I thought about it for a minute, only the A4 or the 328i wagons fit. They actually have more space in back than I thought. For some reason the cargo space listing on New Car Test Drive is completely wrong. The Avant has 50 cubes with the seats down, not 34. That's actually not that far off from the compact utes, which have around 65-75. The 328 xDrive wagon has 48. The Volvo V50 wagon has the most space at 62, but the T5 AWD version is unlikely to average 25mpg. I also don't think it's nearly as nice as the Audi or BMW.
Regards,
OW
How's this for non-wastefulness
Toyota iQ will have a Aston Martin version with its 3 cylinder 67 hp engine. So much for the future of wastefulness
link title
I talked to my cousin from Germany and I told him I will replace my BMW with a Prius and he immediately said why not a diesel VW, Benz or BMW?
He was persuasive but not persuasive enough.
The cargo space of the the Prius is quite generous. For such a small car with such a big battery the space efficiency is phenemonal.
I think I'm gonna have to say that you're biased. The RX450 has the fuel economy, the AWD (kind of) and the space, but that's it. Every review I've read has described it as the Blandtastic 4(50). 0-60 in less than 7? Nope. Nimble, IS style handling? Uh, no. The A4 Avant can blow through the cones at 70mph, and hold .86g on the skidpad. The RX450 trundles through at 58mph, and can hold .76g. I'm sure feedback, on-center feel, and proper weighting in cornering from the wheel is also el-zilcho.
It may be more exciting than the last one, but that's like saying that French Vanilla ice cream is more exciting than Vanilla icre cream.
In terms of economy and practicality, the Prius is off the charts. No argument from me there. Unlike the Insight, it's not a clunky penalty box that gets the same or worse fuel economy than the Civic. It shows how far in the bag C&D is for Honda that they rated the Insight above the Prius. Even CR trashed it.
If your requirements extend beyond a super efficient box with wheels though, the Prius starts to come up short.
Yes the MB300D is a good example to illustrate the senseless of progress in the auto industry.
Mercedes Benz realized that they would go bankrupt if they continued producing cars like my 83 MB 300D which just keep on going and going and going..... The MB 300D is gaining cult status because there is no other model whose vehicles accomplish such high mileage in the history of the auto industry.
In order to achieve "going concern status" MB had no choice but to make their cars less reliable with less longetivity and they had accomplished this with expensive technologies that makes maintenace for the long term uneconomic. I know a client who drove a long time ago a MB CL and he paid a fortune to replace a vacuum pump for his door ( I believe it was 6K $ but not certain since the performanc of my long term memory is not as good as the long term performance of my MB300D). :sick:
This whole notion that a luxury car has to be expensive to maintain is entrenched in our thinking (even reliable Lexuses are expensive to maintain). The old Benzes contradicted this whole notion and would make leasing a reliable Benz car quite senseless in term of saving after-warranty expenses.
But let us not forget that a fuel efficient dull vehicle is as hard f not harder to produce than a performance vehicle.
For instance below is a link to a euphoric article about how sophisticated BMW is in terms of enhancing fuel efficiency by 2.5 percent by reducing drag.
2.5 percent :confuse: I guess that means my mileage (mainly on congested city roads) would increase from 15.6 MPG to 15.9 M PG. My oh my ain't that something.
http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/733681
I'll give you some besides iDrive. How about direct injection? VTEC is pretty old, but variable timing and lift on both intake and exhaust valves is new. Automatic stop/start systems. Regenerative braking. Rain sensing wipers. Magnetorheological adaptive dampers. LED headlights and tail lights that last the life of the car. Sequential twin turbos and variable geometry turbos. Tire pressure monitors. Aluminum space frames. Real time traffic updates. The list goes on and on.
There are some new innovations like lane departure warning and prevention that are mostly stupid and useless, but blind spot monitors can be useful even if you are actually paying attention to the road and not drifting in and out of your lane.
Starting at the end of the '90s, Mercedes seriously dropped the ball in quality. When Top Gear tested a CL65 AMG several years ago, pretty much the most expensive car they made at the time, one of the headlights was out and the drivers seat was broken. I remember seeing literally a dozen lemon law buyback SLs for sale on eBay at any one time, and there were endless owner reports of perpetually broken tops and a host of other problems. They aren't alone though. Remember what Volvos used to be like? An old RWD, straight six Volvo wagon could outlast the sun. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
Any Mercedes SUV that came out of their Alabama plant used to fall apart pretty much instantly. They are getting better, unfortunately the same can't be said for VW, Land Rover, or Saab. Audis were pretty terrible from the mid '90s through around 2003, but now they are doing very well. In the latest JD power VDS, they came in above Hyundai and just below Porsche and Honda. Jag did brilliantly, but I suspect they will take a huge hit once the XF is factored in.
Toyota and Lexus are sort of holding the line on their stellar reputation for quality and reliability, but it's hard to argue that they are improving. The Camry/ES transmission problems are a serious concern. The V6 Camry was shockingly poor for a new Toyota, and the GS300 AWD was the lowest quality new Lexus model in their history. Supposedly Toyoda has blasted the troops and wants things to improve, but we'll see. They may have reached a plateau, and will only be able to watch while the rest of the industry slowly catches up.