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Only thing I can honestly tell you is that regarding diesel smell I possibly am as BIG a maniac as you or any other may be. I hate diesel smell. Because of this I am very distressed when driving/riding a vehicle with the smell of diesel around me. Yet here I am having consistengly driven four diesel vehicles to my full satisfaction during the last five years. A plastic glove in my hand to avoid impregnation from the fuel hose is all I need. A tissue Kleenex can do the work as well. Go for your MB E diesel if you like the car!
Regards,
Jose
PS: I met a nice lady from Florida while in SA. (Under close vigilance from the side of my EW.
Some people are amazed when confronted with the huge hordes of poverty stricken people.....They find it amazing that there is order and happiness ...That is something that can touch your heart...
I still have some time to think about the diesel.....I would guess that the price of diesel would go up when the U S economy improves, and maybe higher than gas, so that would be self defeating, but other than that I think more about the diesel ....Part of the game is not taking such a hit when trading cars, and therefore the E is appealing in that way....Thanks for your encouragement Tony ps as I am down here in Miami , it really is a car lovers city, to the extreme....Every exotic every day and usually several all parked just to be admired, pretty much everywhere....:)
You've said this truth in a handful of words. It is indeed amazing. Yet when unemployement last too much, they can go for crime. Apart from the usual ones than go for crime without being in the necessity of providing for their families.
Regards,
Jose
Sounds like you had a great time.
BMW = BeMyWife :confuse:
Maybe if I lived at Reno and only Reno where marriage can last a few hours. :P
The Luxury Lounage now consists of one single humble owner of a Prius and an old clunker from the early 80s.
Yikes if this site is a barometer of the economy then we are all in deep deep trouble.
Love the idea of a Audi S4 but unfortuantely my love will remain hypothetical since I sat inside my client's new generation Audi A4 2.0 and the rear seating was just awful especially since I need a car which will fit a fifth non-masochist in the rear seats.
So I guess that leaves me speculating on a future generation Audi A6. Sorry Lexusguy but an Audi S6 is waaaay beyond what I am willing to pay for any car but I must admit hypothetically at least I would definitely be a Audi S6 owner.
Ok I admit the last post was a really really Badly Misfired Weak joke.
Also here's my vow: I will never ever make another bad joke about a BMW again because of it's possible effect on our economy.
The Luxury Lounage now consists of one single humble owner of a Prius and an old clunker from the early 80s.
Yikes if this site is a barometer of the economy then we are all in deep deep trouble.
Hahaha... No trouble. I think it is the time of year when folks get busy with other things... like vacations, and getting kids back to school. I know I've certainly been way too busy to post much here lately, but I hope to post more often in the near future.
As far as owning a "qualifying" car for the luxury lounge... I occassionally drive my Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas around Malibu and Hollywood... so it seems that I am still the proud owner of a "luxury" car... LOL. Seriously, Dewey, I could give a rat's - - - about luxury... I just don't care much about it any more... actually I never really cared all that much about it anyway.
Funny, how it takes an economic crisis to wake some people up to what really matters. On the other hand, I think it is somewhat understandable and human nature for people to indulge themselves a little on the heavy side when the money is flowing strongly. Unfortunately for many, the money wasn't really flowing... it was an illusion... just a bubble. For others, just the basic flow of ordinary income stopped entirely, and the unemployment rate took a leap. Crazy times... but I totally believe we are now heading out of one of the nation's worst recessions.
I hope some of the members checked into my recent recommendations, and bought AIG and Citigroup as well as Hartford (HIG), Bank of America and Wells Fargo. They made very good gains, especially AIG and Citigroup... which made massive gains in recent days.
Glad you are enjoying that Prius... but I'm willing to bet you will buy a German car again one day.
TM
I'm not concerned about it either, but I'm not quite sure I would put them as "one of the best" just yet. Their '06 cars are now ranked better than BMW's and well ahead of Mercedes' according to JD power, which is a huge feat for a company that was often the butt of many (deserved) reliability jokes. They still have a ways to go though before they can rub shoulders with Infiniti and Lexus.
Of course, the A6 3.0T Sport is so much better than the GS350 that the difference in reliability isn't too important.
This is true, but the Germans are steadily improving, while from what I've seen, Lexus has either hit a plateau, or is slipping (looking at you, GS AWD). When I bought my second LS back in '01, I wouldn't have even considered an Audi. Now I'm unlikely to consider a Lexus, and that's a problem for them as there are probably a lot of people like me who used to depend on the brand for their service and reliability. Now that the Germans are "good enough" we're jumping ship for cars that are interesting to look at and fun to drive.
The IS is a good start, and the RX and ES have their own market and I wouldn't mess with the successful formula there. The GS though is crap, and the LS needs to be better. It's not so much "1989" as it is "warmed over LS430". Lexus also needs to get off their dependence on Toyota trucks if they want to have a real shot against the GL. A luxed up 4Runner just isn't going to cut it anymore.
Welcome back. I'm just back myself from Lake Maggiore, which was lovely. Not too many animals, but I did see a 599GTB and a couple of F430s
Maybe take a look at the A6 3.0T? It's not quite S6, but the S-line package (weird that Canada still gets that and we don't) is at least close, for around $72K CAD rather than $100K+.
Or, just come to the states and buy an '07 S6 for under 50 grand
But, as TM suggests I also believe that though bmw is not your honey right now, a nice audi could arise your happily-go-for-trouble german lurk in no time.
By the way, I owned time ago a third hand Seat 600 with a steering as loose as apparently is that of your Prius: I would never be sure if I was getting the car in the lane in the motorway; it always was a matter of guessing. :mad: Oh, that Seat had all the bells: suicide front doors, animal-powered side windows and natural ventilation coming through the holes of the rusted body work. Pretty green for the epoque. :shades:
Regards,
Jose
Was not to much hot in there? This summer is quite caniculair in Europe, even in the mountains. Glaciers in the Alps are getting thinner and shorter by the day. Swiss and Italy are speaking about to renegotiate their Alpin boundary because of this. The border used to be the midlane of some glaciers, but now that the ice has melted nobody is sure where the line was.
I'm impatiently waiting for the sound setting I've ordered. I added to the Wienna Haydn Grands a REL 305 sub-bass system to ensure good linear bass response below 50 Hz. Ahh music is in the air!
Regards,
Jose
I meant FEEL! Sound systems were even WORSE!
Regards,
OW
Good point, but I'm still not convinced that Audi is indeed "good enough" for those of us who would rather buy than lease. I certainly see many more Audis around my town than I did 4 or 5 years ago, but without exception, those of my friends & acquaintances who now drive them lease them. It's hard for me to shake the suspicion that Audis are built to be leased - that the company still hasn't invested the effort required to build truly durable vehicles.
Years ago, I bought an Audi & suffered the trials of Job. I'm sure that the brand has improved - it would have disappeared without a trace if it hadn't - but is it as good as BMW? (My Bimmer is still going strong in its 9th year.) Mind you, I'm not asking for Toyota or Honda levels of reliability here.
I suspect that most BMWs and Mercedes are leased as well. BMW especially since (until very recently) they were doing give away pricing on leases. Audi Care unfortunately is not as comprehensive as BMW ultimate service, but it does take away most of the maintenance sting, at least under the standard warranty period. The switch to timing chains has also eliminated the $2000 75K service required on previous Audis. That said, if you look on the Audi World forums, you'll see many owners who have kept their Audis for well over 100K miles.
A 9 year old BMW is likely to be considerably more reliable than a 9 year old Audi. Ingolstadt really didn't get their act together until 2005 or so. Since then they've made considerable strides, JD power rates their '06 cars as better overall than Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Mazda. The idea of an Audi being more reliable than a Japanese anything used to be laughable.
We both said it before - Citi at a dollar was the buy of a lifetime.
BTW - Don't give me so much credit on Dow 10,000 yet. We're not quite there and the year end is still a ways off. But I'm holding to a Dow in that range and maintain that oil will fall quite a lot as I think lackluster demand continues and folks just get tired of waiyting for it to pick up. Problem with that market is that it has far too much leverage and folks are either too on or too off the train creating volatile swings. Besides the easy money days of making some money on oil this year are done. I'm curious to see how big the build is tomorrow. Up 10mil would not surprise me.
I'm really glad things have improved so much for you my friend.
I completely disagree with your quote above. We ain't seen nothing yet! Mark my words on this one.
Monetary-wise fiat currencies worldwide had credibility when "paper" was issued reluctantly in order to control inflation as Mr. Volcker did as Fed Chairman.
But today is different. Boy is it different!
Almost every currency today is being printed like cheap toilet paper. Trillions and trillions of toilet rolls does not create prosperity. The money we are so proud of in terms of our savings will have hardly any value in the future with the deliberate Central Bank Policy of Quantitativ Easing (printing money excessively in order to deflate the value of future debts while simultaneously deflating the value of all of our life savings).
As Alan Greenspan had noted when he was young and in which he still admits today: Currencies must be based on a precious metal since history has shown that all currencies that are not based on metals like gold end up becoming worthless. Read financial history and you will find out that no fiat currency has survived beyond a few decades. It has been since 1971 when President Nixon said bye bye to the gold standard four decades ago. Now the clock is ticking closer to the day when the US currency will share the same fate as all fiat currencies: WORTHLESSNESS! The same applies to every other currency worldwide but in the case of USA and Britain no other country competes in terms of having such speedy printing presses (except Zimbawe Africa)
The trillions of out of control government debt increases is one way of prolonging a debt crisis not ending it. USA like Japan has a balance sheet recession and such recessions lasts beyond a few years. In fact they last a few decades and during those years stagnation gets worse and worse and worse as debts become out of control. Japan during the past two decades had many bull markets like the one we have today. Unfortunately Japanese equities are about 80 percent below where they were two decades ago. Nothing fails like success especially during bull markets when most so called "successful investors" get burnt.
Anyways tomorrow Toronto weather is suppose to be sunny. So at least there is some good news out there.
Also regarding investments alway look where Wall Street is not looking. That is where future wealth is. Unfortunatley lately Wall Street is looking everywhere in terms of equities. Buying stocks is the easy part. Selling stocks at the right price is the hardest part and right now after buying stocks between November and March I am right now at the point of selling a few stocks that are priced idiotically high. They may shoot higher but I was never a believer in the "Greater Fool Theory(keeping an expensive stock and hoping a bigger fool will pay a even higher price for it)
I am the future and I know it! I am the first person in our street who traded in a luxury car for a humble car.
Wall Street Journal:
Car-industry executives say even some buyers who remain well off appear to be turning away from the large sedans and SUVs that have been the backbone of the luxury business -- and the source of outsize profits -- and moving toward smaller, more fuel-efficient models.
"In this new climate -- call it value, call it thrift -- purchases that are simply indulgences are out," said Donna Boland, a spokeswoman for Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.
The recession is the main reason for the decline. But another factor is the growing desire by some consumers to cut carbon emissions, which has given fuel-efficiency a new cachet, car makers say.
Earlier this month, Mike Robinson, a married father of two in Charlotte, Vt., turned in his 1992 Mercedes 300 CE wagon with more than 200,000 miles for a new Toyota Prius hybrid. The 49-year-old sales and marketing professional still owns a Range Rover, an upscale SUV, but said "the Prius is in kind of a class of its own. It still has the status symbol in its own way."
Mr. Robinson added his Prius "shows people you're concerned about the environment and it shows you made a sensible purchase."
Conspicuous consumption is no longer in," said Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst at IHS Global Insight. We aren't necessarily getting the under-35s back in the [luxury] market and we think there is some resistance to them coming in, both from a social-conscious perspective as well as an economic one,"
BMW AG canceled plans for a super-luxury model called the CS that reportedly would have been equipped with a six-liter V12 engine. The German car maker now plans to introduce its first hybrid in the U.S. later this year. We do see changing consumer values," said Martin Birkmann, BMW's head of U.S. product planning. "Sustainability has caught on in the United States."
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you know treating a car like like a disposable shaving blade is no longer the "in-thing". The Germans with their lease programs promoted the disposable concept which benefitted them with higher replacement orders.
But this day and age is over. Here's the new trend: SUSTAINABILITY. Who knows with my sustainable MB300D and green-friendly Prius I may be the most trendiest car owner on this planet earth right now. :shades:
From the Wall Street Journal:
Luxury car companies aren't taking chances. Some are preparing smaller, cheaper versions of their high-end nameplates. Others are tweaking their messages, emphasizing "sustainability" and fuel economy in a market segment that for years competed on who had the highest horsepower and richest leather.
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I really have no clue on this topic, so please share your knowledge.
For me, the appeal of their cars/trucks is reliability. Even if I am not planning on keeping my cars beyond 3/4 years cycle, I still buy them based on this reason just in case I decide to keep them for life after retirement
I am hoping that the Corolla look alike HS will drive more like the IS than the Camry, then I will have my first hybrid car.
It's raining right now, so I don't buy whatever you've said about the economy
Oh no? The SC400 was definitely flashy for its day, much more so than the staid CL and BMW 8 series. The SC430 is all flash, with absolutely zero practicality. And what's the IS-F if not a direct assault on what are BMW and Mercedes' flashiest cars?
Reliability is fine, but as the competition catches up, it becomes less and less of a compelling reason to buy a Lexus when things are also unlikely to go wrong with other more comfortable, more attractive, and more fun to drive cars.
Lexus should be most worried about Infiniti though. Even the current M stomps all over the GS, and Infiniti is preparing to launch the new one which will just hit it that much harder. Lexus will probably let the GS dangle on the vine for an 8 year run like the last one, because they really don't care about seriously competing in that segment. Only Acura is more clueless when it comes to making a competent mid-lux sport sedan.
I think you're going to be disappointed with the HS if you're expecting the driving experience to be anything like the IS. From what I've read, the drive is as Corolla-like as the look.
Lexus is still outselling them (all vehicles) 90K units vs. 38.5K as of YTD June so there is a lot of ground to cover for Infinity. The M cars vs. LS is where the battle will be fiercest. As of June, M is 100 units higher ytd than LS.
Regards,
OW
I can further say that the recession is ending down here in Miami------I really think it has been an adjusting experience for those neeeding to adjust---a mental adjustment and a bad scare ---but spirits are up and business is going on everywhere...It will be a while before it is noted though..I would imagine the recovery won`t be a really quick one, but he bottom is being put in Tony
That is terrific news Tony!
It is good news, and a little more of it will set the stock market up for it`s usual scarry October....:) I wish us all a happy financial conclusion Tony
AS Jose has eloquently reminded, his 335d proves you can be green and have fun in the same moment.
Regards,
OW
What rubber came with your S6? If I remember correctly, you were in the mid to high teens mileage wise. Will the sneaks make 20K?
Once I cracked 9K, my TPMS has come on weekly, & I find my rear tires both down 5psi. Had them checked & there are no leaks. Rotated at 5K & will do again @ 10K, but looks like I'll need to keep my compressor active on weekends.
I don't baby the car, but with a combined 21mpg, I'm not exactly tearing it apart at the track.
Price of doing business, just surprised at the lack of psi this early. Rated 40K, hoped to get 20K, but won't be shocked if replacements are needed @ 10K.
Regards,
OW
What rubber came with your S6? If I remember correctly, you were in the mid to high teens mileage wise. Will the sneaks make 20K?
Once I cracked 9K, my TPMS has come on weekly, & I find my rear tires both down 5psi. Had them checked & there are no leaks. Rotated at 5K & will do again @ 10K, but looks like I'll need to keep my compressor active on weekends.
I don't baby the car, but with a combined 21mpg, I'm not exactly tearing it apart at the track.
Price of doing business, just surprised at the lack of psi this early. Rated 40K, hoped to get 20K, but won't be shocked if replacements are needed @ 10K.
Continental ContiSportContacts. Definitely didn't love them. When the car went in for 15K, I had them replaced with Bridgestone RE-11s, which are quieter, more comfortable, and stickier at the same time. Cant argue with that.
Sunshine from 10:00 AM until dusk.
I got a sunburnt today visiting the Ontario African Lion Safari with my family. I am trying to keep up with Jose's wild life sightings.
Weather-wise I am right. Economy-wise I am hoping I am dead-wrong but facts dictate otherwise. Massive debts plus massive currency printing does not add up to prosperity. Show me one case where it did so in the past and I will take back my pessimism.
Warren Buffett and Mr. Gross from PIMCO have made dire warnings about debts, inflation and the US Dollar. I am not writing this merely because I am cranky. Based on my observations optimism is what kills investors. The shrewd ones like Buffett and Gross are perpetually worried about the future and that attribute owes a lot to their investment successes. But pessimism itself does not guarantee success. Investment success is also earned by knowing and understanding the difference between a balance sheet and a bed pan. And believe it or not there are a lot of professionals in the investment industry who are quite ignorant in basic high school accounting.
Well... Mr. Dewey... I understand your concerns, but if those were the only ingredients regarding the economy, it would be easier to agree with you. But, as you know, the economy's real engine is the consumer. And because it is consumer driven, it is good to pay attention to the multitude of factors that affect the consumer's behavior... like jobs, interest rates, stock market, credit, world events, media, and of course taxes... just to name several.
TM
That is why there is such a mess.
The consumer takes over 70 percent of US GNP and that is far too high to be sustainable in the long run. The reason consumption is so excessive is because it is borrowed and not earned.. Debts have increased faster than GNP for the last three decades and now debts are increasing at the fastest rate ever.
Factors like jobs, interest rates, stock market, credit, world events and higher taxes also confirm a not so rosy economy. And it so happens that those very same factors you mentioned are mostly influenced by bad monetary and fiscal policies that encourages consumption beyond what is earned .
Sorry for the double post everybody, thought my pc was hung up, guess it was still working.
Regards,
OW
Regards,
Jose
Regards,
OW
Not too shabby! Didn't take too long to make it's mark.
The North American Car of the Year Hyundai Genesis continued its strong sales performance, with sales more than tripling from last year, up 10 percent from a strong performance in June. In July, J.D. Power and Associates presented Genesis with two more major awards: "Most Appealing Mid-Size Premium Car" in the 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, and the highest ranked 2009 all-new or redesigned vehicle in the inaugural Vehicle Launch Index (VLI).
Regards,
OW
Needless to say that as C4C has proven, the market for fuel efficient vehicles is alive and well @ $2.60/gal. of gas ($2.01/gal. in 1999 dollar terms). Yes, the program forces fuel efficiency and proves if the manufactures make more efficient models, they WILL sell.
No need to raise the gas tax, Mr Jeremy Anwl! :P
Michael Lynch, NY Times -- In the end, perhaps the most misleading claim of the peak-oil advocates is that the earth was endowed with only 2 trillion barrels of “recoverable” oil. Actually, the consensus among geologists is that there are some 10 trillion barrels out there. A century ago, only 10% of it was considered recoverable, but improvements in technology should allow us to recover some 35% — another 2.5 trillion barrels — in an economically viable way. And this doesn’t even include such potential sources as tar sands, which in time we may be able to efficiently tap.
Oil remains abundant, and the price will likely come down closer to the historical level of $30 a barrel as new supplies come forward in the deep waters off West Africa and Latin America, in East Africa, and perhaps in the Bakken oil shale fields of Montana and North Dakota. But that may not keep the Chicken Littles from convincing policymakers in Washington and elsewhere that oil, being finite, must increase in price.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t keep looking for other cost-effective, low-pollution energy sources — why not broaden our options? But we can’t let the false threat of disappearing oil lead the government to throw money away on harebrained renewable energy schemes (see WSJ article below) or impose unnecessary and expensive conservation measures on a public already struggling through tough economic times.
Wall Street Journal -- The biofuels revolution that promised to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil is fizzling out. Two-thirds of U.S. biodiesel production capacity now sits unused, reports the National Biodiesel Board. Biodiesel, a crucial part of government efforts to develop alternative fuels for trucks and factories, has been hit hard by the recession and falling oil prices.
The global credit crisis, a glut of capacity, lower oil prices and delayed government rules changes on fuel mixes are threatening the viability of two of the three main biofuel sectors -- biodiesel and next-generation fuels derived from feedstocks other than food. Ethanol, the largest biofuel sector, is also in financial trouble, although longstanding government support will likely protect it.
Regards,
OW
In July, luxury vehicle sales fell as much or more than mainstream brands. Cadillac was off 52.6%, Mercedes-Benz fell by 21.8%, BMW sagged 31.5%, Jaguar-Land Rover slumped 25%, and even previously bulletproof Lexus fell 16.5% from the year before, Autodata says. And for many of them, July was actually an improvement over earlier this year.
Flash is Out for Now
Regards,
OW
it becomes less and less of a compelling reason to buy a Lexus when things are also unlikely to go wrong with other more comfortable, more attractive, and more fun to drive cars.
I thought you would not reccommend owning German car out of warranty still?
I did take a peek at the specs and pricing of the new S4, WOW, I can see a test drive in the near future :surprise:
Well.. beyond the extended warranty period, there is still more risk, sure. 150K miles shouldn't be too big of a deal for a Lexus, while a German luxury car is likely to need more intensive maintenance. If you're looking for a 10 year car, a Lexus or Infiniti would be a smarter choice, and the Infiniti doesn't require too many sacrifices in terms of driving pleasure. The new M looks like its going to absolutely rock, and the interior is fabulous. I think its better on the inside than any Lexus, including the LS.
Under a more typical 5 years or less luxury car ownership period (or an even more typical lease) reliability just isn't that big of factor, and frankly most Lexus products aren't that strong in the other areas that count.
It really doesn't. That's what the Q was for. A new version of the Q has been on again, off again. I'm not sure what the status is presently. The M competes with the GS, and the rest of the mid-lux, $50Kish segment.
How can anyone boast about any car especially an expensive one when there is little confidence about it beyond warranty? What's there to boast about in terms of a lemon with great driving dynamics :confuse: A car with great driving dynamics should be a great car even beyond warranty. ALemonade is lemondae no matter how sour or sweet it tastes.
More complexity in terms of German luxury technology makes reliability far harder to achieve. But what question remains unanswered is that Japanese cars that can be considered even more complex are far more reliable. .
I dread to think what would have happened to hybrids today if it was the Germans that pioneered them. Most likely a VW Prius introduced 10 years ago would have been such a reliability DISASTER that hybrids would be non-existent as of today. A Luxury hybrid VW Phaeton would probably be found in scrap yards tdoay due to the steep costs of maintaining such a car.
I salute Toyota/Lexus for making complex cars that are far more reliable than the simplest cars out there. Kudos to them. Not too long ago the luxury of owning a Mercedes Benz was high quality sustainability / durability. Well at least the good folks at Toyota CIty haven't forgot that.
And this describes what Toyo product? IS? :P
Not too long ago the luxury of owning a Mercedes Benz was high quality sustainability / durability. Well at least the good folks at Toyota CIty haven't forgot that.
In my eyes, that was long ago for Merc, some 20 years. IMO, making a car 'reliable' for 10 years is attainable, but not desirable for today's car manufacturers. The disposable car has been shoved down consumer's throats for some time now. Especially with the luxury cars. Who's going to brag about their 10 year old rock solid you name it, when everyone is looking for the latest and greatest?
Is there any concern about recent announcements that China & Bolivia, major raw material areas for Hybrids & Lithiom batteries are planning on hoarding their resources?
These latest news items lead me toward diesel...