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Comments
I am for anything: twin-turbo, diesel, etc; that will finally correct the 3 Series major weakness.
Well at least that's a distant memory for you. In my case I still drove a slow 99 BMW 323i a bit more than a year ago. Although I must proudly say that not a single Prius owner smoked my 323i.
I'm curious to see the reviews of the diesel 4 Accord. Sounds interesting. 52 mpg?
What awesome power this 545i! :surprise:
PS: We really need those Emotorcons with the rolling eyes and spinning heads. Am I the only poster here who finds this repertoire of symbols a bit "sedate?" :shades:
Absolutely the perfect post at the perfect time!
Nothing more needs to be said on the matter. Case is closed, sealed for life, the key destroyed... :shades:
hpowders - take the rest of the week off with pay - and feel free to use the company jet while your at it!
TagMan
I do wish I had use of the company jet. I would point it straight for Australia, thanks to Jose and his "forced" vacation! LOL!!
PS: I already took the last 2 weeks off with pay! You are sending me away again? You sound like the owner of the Atlanta Falcons!
Man, that post was perfect.
PS: I already took the last 2 weeks off with pay! You are sending me away again? You sound like the owner of the Atlanta Falcons!
LMAO!!
TagMan
I will let the regular night shift take over. Brightness04, the chair is yours.
A: 1974 911 with the bulletproof 3.0 engine dropped in as a replacement. Not really fast, just fun.
Ok, as I am settling on a list of 3 or 4 cars to start shopping for, my research is turning up a lot of horror stories about the early 2000s MBZ S class. Most specifically, complete failure of the air suspension system, ABS brake controller units failing leaving no brakes, failure of the anti-slip system resulting in no power delivered to the road, etc. Here is a site summarizing many of the stories I have run across. Given the replacement of thousands of dollars of faulty electronics and possible engine rebuilds, I am not sure which I prefer.
Can anyone shed light on these failures in the S Class and whether they were common or are these only the extraordinary cases. I went to my favorite lawfirm highrise parking deck today to get a look at the different body styles and like the 2002ish S class nearly as much as the 740IL, not as much, but almost. I didn't find an LS430, but lots of newer LS models which looked to have good fit and finish to them.
Diesels look like they'll get a seond chance to make it big here in The States, and that's great.
The tone of many is the diesel will replace the hybrid as the alternative propulsion device to the ICE, and I'll have to disagree, but I'm putting the pressure on Honda with it's Accord Diesel.
If the market accepts it, and it does offer Camry Hybrid-like efficiency (or greater), and doesn't hamper performance, than diesels should take off from there.
The market is pretty funny towards Hybrids. Highlander Hybrid offers more power, more efficiency, and a higher price, than any other HL, but it sells nicely.
The same cannot be said for the Accord Hybrid. Some major magazine said they got 22-23 MPG over a long-term test, so that could be a problem.
Looks like diesels inherently, lose HP, but gain torque, costing speed, but gaining drivability.
Hybrids have shown they can increase performance AND economy noticably.
I expect diesels to show a greater effect on economy, if they won't necessarily increase performance.
Honda takes a huge hit if Accord Diesel bombs. :surprise:
DrFill
Those stats are no lies. (Dewey)
May I add to that, BMW diesels are not and never were banned from any European city because of pollution or whatever? I wonder whether they are banned from Canadian cities
José
Well... it would sting, but the bigger picture isn't the Accord. Ultimately, it'll be with the nation's #1 selling SUV, the CR-V. THAT vehicle with the diesel, as well as the Pilot, and Ridgeline will be the real test for Honda, IMO.
Same with Mercedes SUVs... the GL, the ML, the R, and the GLK. Mercedes will also have the E320 BlueTec, and they will possibly have a new diesel engine that boasts a turbo-charged 4-cylinder, making a modest 204 hp, for a possible S-Class appearance, although that is only rumored so far. It may be more likely to be in the C-class for all we really know, and that makes more sense to me anyway.
VW, with all its woes, actually has a decent diesel reputation, and I think they will do fairly well with theirs. Nissan and Hyundai are unknowns.
Audi should do well.
BMW will do great with their diesels, without any doubt.
So, the diesel Accord will be significant, but it won't be soley carrying the diesel torch by any means.
TagMan
Howard, those BMW 5 Tourings are gorgeus like mature beauties
José
What I'm saying is the Accord Diesel will be the one everybody looks at as the barometer. The new Accord can be a benchmark car, and Honda is a benchmark engine maker. If they make a dud diesel, that will torpedo interest in diesel engines industry-wide, amongst the common folk, IMO.
If diesel is going to take off like Hybrids, the Accord is the one that will, or won't make it happen.
DrFill
'00-'05 are the "dark" years at MB in terms of the huge quality slide. Any used luxury car is a bit of a gamble, but with those early S-classes, the odds are stacked a bit more against you. If you want to hang on to the car until the end of the decade, a warranty would be a very good idea.
This is why something like an '02 E430 may be worth consideration. The last of the old Es weren't affected with all of those issues caused by so many new electronic systems. Avoid the COMAND system (just buy a Garmin) and it should hold up well.
With an LS430 you should only have to replace normal wear items, and the occasional O2 sensor. For whatever reason, older, high mileage Toyota/Lexus cars seem to burn out O2 sensors mighty fast. The paint and leather wont last as long as a German car's, but if you take regular care of it, it should still look pretty good when its time to sell.
There's always the E63 AMG wagon, only about $90k
If anything, a 535xi Touring will be even more rare. A neighbor has a 3 Series Touring. I like the look of it.
Unfortunately, so many people have been sold the SUV "experience." I shudder out there when I see how some folks push them to the limit. :surprise:
Wagons provide better handling, better mileage and better rear visibility. Fewer blind spots in general. Rear-view cameras need not apply.
Some posters here have many vehicles, so adding an SUV is fine for them. As for me, I only have one vehicle, so I must make the best all-around choice.
Of course, if the 535id makes its way here within a year and I see more diesel fuel visibility, then a BMW 5 Series Touring will just have to wait! :shades:
You can use other emoticons besides the Emotorcons. Here's a couple of places to get them and I'm sure there are many others (the google is your friend
http://www.smileypad.com/
http://forums.finalgear.com/misc.php?do=getsmilies&editorid=vB_Editor_001
That second one is not working for me right now, but it has worked recently, so it may be just a temporary site problem.
FYI, a smaller displacement version of the diesel that Honda is bringing to the US has been out in Europe for a couple of years.
Gets great reviews and seems to deliver the goods over there. Diesel is not a new gamble for any of the automakers, they just seem to have a lot of trepidation bringing them into this market.
Nope no curfews on diesels here in Toronto.
Based on the study below if there ever was such a ban based on environmental considerations then hybrids should be outlawed and in this case I am not even joking.
Oregon-based CNW Marketing Research Inc. has conducted the world's most comprehensive analysis of the "life cycle" energy requirements of more than 100 makes and models of cars and trucks. Given the thousands of parts and processes in the manufacturing and operation of cars, it was a complex task and took the company two years to complete. Volvo once tried to do it - and gave up in frustration (though it does publish "life cycle" analysis for its own makes).
CNW identified 4,000 "data points" for each car, ranging from the energy consumed in research and development to energy consumed in junkyard disposal. It calculated the electrical energy needed to produce each pound of parts. It calculated greenhouse gas emissions. It calculated mileage, too - adjusting for the differences between rush-hour Tokyo and rural America.
The company describes this exercise as "dust to dust" analysis. CNW has now published its second annual report, a 400-page production.
To keep it relatively free of technical jargon, the company expresses energy requirement as the dollar cost of energy for every mile across a vehicle's anticipated years of use - "U.S. dollars per lifetime mile." Thus it reports the lifetime energy requirement of a Hummer as $1.90 a mile; the lifetime energy requirement of a Prius as $2.86 a mile.
CNW found wide differences, however, within classes of vehicles. For 18 models of luxury cars, the average energy cost is $4.45. Yet the best of these luxury cars are superior, in lifetime energy use, to hybrids.
The luxury cars that rival hybrids: Lincoln's Town Car, $2.66; Acura's RL, $2.80; Cadillac's CTS, $3.19; BMW's 5 Series, $3.19; Mercedes-Benz's E-Class, $3.48; Toyota Land Cruiser 80 series, $3.49; Cadillac's STS (Seville), $3.56; Cadillac's DTS (DeVille), $3.65.
Toyota says that CNW credited Prius with only half its 200,000 lifetime miles. CNW says that Prius owners drive less than 7,500 miles a year - meaning that these cars will be scrapped long before they use their expected lifetime mileage (in 26 years). CNW says that hybrids fare poorly because of increased complexity. Honda's conventional Accord gets rated at $2.18; its Accord Hybrid gets rated at $3.29 - an environmental cost 50 per cent higher.
Take the batteries, for example. Toyota buys 1,000 tonnes of nickel a year from Ontario (mined and smelted in Sudbury). This nickel gets shipped to Wales for refining, then to China, for further processing, and then to Toyota's battery plant in Tokyo - a 10,000-mile trip, mostly by petrol-gulping container ships and diesel-powered locomotives.
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There is certainly no better compliment than imitation. Kudos for BMW.
EDMUNDS BLOG
TM
TM
TagMan :shades:
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TagMan
I hope it ends up looking like the illustration... I like it a lot.
TagMan
Porsche has not even begun doing hybrids and already Toyota will have a hard time catching up to them. Talk about a David and Goliath story. So much for Toyota's almost 10 years of hybrid experience. :sick:
Porsche has not even begun doing hybrids and already Toyota with almost 10 years more hybrid experience will have a hard time catching up.
Sure looks that way! And we're talking 26.8 mpg!
I wonder how long the batteries will hold 70 mph?
TagMan
However, it does not take a brain surgeon to figure out that, in most cases, it is virtually impossible to recoup your initial investment in a hybrid vehicle. Good info.
I am not strongly for or against hybrids but to me they just do not make economic sense. When and if they do I will become a fan.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
DrFill
Whenever I go to some other forums (the ones I am still not yet banned from), they usually have around 20 of these and I find them so deliciously insane; I always crack up laughing! I do believe they help create a friendlier, livelier, less droll tone of debate.
Thanks for posting a few of them and again, for cracking me up!
PS: I wouldn't use them unless they were officially brought here, but it is good to know they are available on free sites.
PS - Seems to me Pat gave the A.OK., so we're clear for takeoff.
TagMan
I must admit that I like it's styling much better than the Q7.
TagMan
So... I extrapolate from this that if Honda engineers can deliver a hon-hybrid that gets 55 mpg, then it stands to reason that their next hybrid car is going to get some serious gas mileage... probably kick the Prius in the ---.
Of course, we can expect the next Prius to do better as well.
"Hybrid wars!"... a term for the future, but now here in the present.
TagMan
DrFill
TM
Went by today for the oil service....I didn`t make any requests or anything, just showed up as to the appointment...Good News, a new service manager named Bill has taken over...A personable people kind of guy, and he just did what I would expect..Whipped up a loaner, and just did all that was supposed to be done..Very profesional....I also spoke with Norman the sales guy, and his biggest beef is they don`t have very many cars in stock...2 Q and 2a8 and a few others...But they were marked down...this is the best visit so far---now remember we have a bmw also and that (according to my wife) has been a good experience....Mary Claire is the saleslady , and she is good, although it is still hard to buy...Hpowders is the man to ask about how to lease for bmw....Personally I find it difficult to bargain if you have to order a car the way you want it...Just think if it isn`t there all they say to you is `we`l build it if you want` if not o.k...Hopeless Tony
Tahoe Hybrid increases efficency 40% (up from 25% last week).
Bluetecs are supposed to go 650+ miles before a fillup.
I'm not big on the hype machines. Especially if you don't have a track record
DrFill
TagMan
#2: Without the Lithium battery, I would expect Toyota to be conservative, especially with the Prius as a brand potentially.
Also considering the fact that two years from now there will be many owners looking to upgrade to the next model.
What the next Prius will offer in technology is full of wild speculation, and you won't get an answer from Toyopta until probably the 2009 NAIAS. Solar power and plug-in capability may help.
If Prius went up another 25%, toward 60MPG, it's success will be assured. I think these 80-100MPG estimates are National Enquirer in value.
I want a 60MPG average. I'd be happy with that. :shades:
I, personally, would have a full electric power mode up to a certain speed, 20 or 25 MPH. And a cruise mode for more pure electric power on the highway. I don't see a need for the ICE to be used under cruise control.
The perfect storm would be:
Battery power up to 20MPH
Engine power beyond that
Battery power under set speed conditions
Regenerative braking
Solar power, to assist with high speed cruising
DrFill
I'll bet this one is closer to reality than you might presently think.
TagMan
Pretty much all of the recent luxury car control systems are at least "inspired by" iDrive. Even touch screen holdout Lexus may be finally giving in, the sketches for the '09 RX seem to indicate some kind of knob\wheel based system similar to Acura's.
Interesting. It's more angular than the curvy Infiniti, but it has that sloped rear glass that Infiniti likes to use.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460