Thoughts on cars you might never own....

[rx7]

My friend and I like to go around to various dealers and check out the local offerings near where we live. He is a car freak and I'm learning a lot by him. He's on youtube at NECarReviews, BTW-he likes to video review cars.

All these are from personal opinions only.

Cadillac CTS-nice, but I wouldn't want to own one. The radio controls are relatively uncomplicated... I imagine they wouldn't get much ground clearance in the snow.

Toyota RAV4-for me it was an instant cargasm! I love them, sat in one with a rare 3rd row seat and I wanted it! Sometime in the future I will get one!

Lexus SC 430-Hammond wasn't thrilled with it and neither was I. Where on earth do they get off putting a backseat in what is supposed to be a sporty coupe? I tripped over the raised up kick panel trying to get out, the interior was a horrid mustard color that looks like my dog's.. leavings... UGH!

Buick Park Avenue-What a shame about the demise of big sedans. I currently have a LeSabre and it's really stable in the snow. Buick put a couch in the plans and built a car around it. My backseat is really comfortable! The series 2 3.8 engines are great and the cars had no problem with accelerations. The big sedans like the Pontiac Bonneville, Ford Crown Vic, the Park Avenue, the Grand Marquis, and my LeSabre average around 26-maybe 27 mpg which is very good.

Jaguar XJS-One of the new ones. My first impression was wow, so much needless luxury! I'm a basics kind of lady, FYI. The shifter rises out of the center console once you put the key in but I still wasn't impressed. I thought I needed to be wearing boatloads of jewelry just to sit in the car. Built like a tank and probably only gets relatively decent mileage.

2012 Land Rover-Feels like a bus, no question about it. Eh, not bad but I wouldn't want one.

Infiniti convertible(don't remember which one)-Infiniti is all about the luxury in cars but the convertible doesn't measure up in my opinion. The windshield came so far back(it had sun visors on it) that I nearly got my head taken off when I got into it. Ugh, they could have done better!

Ford Mustang(sedan and convertible)-artistically in the interior it was a nightmare. The sedan was all right, but the convertible looked like a dungeon. One of the cardinal rules of colors is to choose one color for the interior, use a small amount of another for detail accents and that's it. The Mustang had at least 4 different colors which made it visually distracting and it looked like a backwards Picasso. The paneling was too dark and everything looked mismatched.

Ford Fusion-a very good car, very basic, keypad entry brought back by popular demand. Useless mood lighting on the cupholder front but other than that the car rode well and had a good fit and finish to it. It comes in my favorite color blue, is uncomplicated and easy to drive.

Toyota Corolla-Brand new, has very basic elements of a car, no senseless ultra luxury like the Jag. I didn't like the 2 glove compartments in it, very useless but everything else was great.

Toyota 4Runner-My dad has one and the new ones were hideous. I didn't like them putting the controls for the windows up nearly directly beside the windows themselves. All the cars nowadays are bigger which I didn't like one bit.

ALL quadcab trucks-A truck is meant to be a truck not a family hauler in my opinion. Quadcabs stink, they don't get good mileage, and if you want a truck, you should get a 1991 Ford F-150 like my family has. That's a basic truck.

Mazda 3-Very nice little car, yet Mazdas always have a rough ride.

Audi A6-Through personal experience driving one, it's a great car to have. Handles well, responsive, very good trunk space and the fit and finish was very good on it. My mother had one with a rare blue interior and it was wonderful to ride in and drive.

Audi A4-My mom and my brother have one each, different years, but lots of fun to drive! The turbo was a fun addition and it was very quick to respond when I drove one. Because I dislike luxury, I hated the heated seats and other options it had but it rode very well.

Porsche Panamera-I didn't get to sit in it or drive it, but it looked complicated from just staring into the car's interior. I thought it looked horrendous with a backseat, as sports cars are not meant to have one(see Lexus SC 430).

That's my list so far. My friend insisted I see the Infinitis close up which I did, the Fusion was excellent, though it was also part of a BMW dealership which I didn't get a chance to see yet. I plan to hit Mazda soon.

[flatin5th - Knight of the NC]

I don't think me and you are going to get on! We have far too different tastes in cars!

;D ;D ;D ;D

But a classic RX7 will always be a great car! (even though they do use a lot of oil )

[Vivienne]

he Hey Flat what do you think of the new camaro. I think it looks like crap and there are a bunch on the road. They love to get the noise out of the turbos.Too square. Old ones were much better. I think I might test drive the Nissan Juke since it is such a weird looking car.

[eolise]

I probably wont own any car ever sadly...

I especially am fond of old American cars. Cadillacs, Buicks, Jaaaaags, Chevy's etc. The bigger, the better.
I also am fond of a couple of sportscars, but especially Dodge Viper.

My fave brands are Audi, Cadillac, Merc and Jaaaaag.
Flat, you think we could get along well?

[rx7]

What are your tastes in cars, Flat? I do love Lexus apart from the 430.

My mom has a second generation RX-7-it's loud, it brakes like a bus, there's vibration, but you know it's coming and it's got attitude! The poor man's Porsche as my mom says. The car loves it when you abuse it.

[FizzyLogician]

I've owned both a 1st and 2nd generation RAV-4, and I've liked each successive generation a little less. Like Vivienne's Camaro example, the car companies should have left a good thing alone.

[rx7]

I know, right? I always thought the 3rd row was unnecessary.

[ElerVim]

I have a Rav 4 and I really wanted the earlier model. Having room for an extra seat is silly. The passengers appreciate the extra foot room up front, though.

[Wyvern]

I had a look at the CTS a few years ago for one of my university projects, and one of the things I liked about it was that the controls were well laid out (that was the basis of the paper I was writing). I spent a whole day trawling dealerships for cars I'd never own to have a look at the different ways the dashes were laid out, and how the integrated control systems (where fitted) worked, and how much they included.

My favourite was the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, which was so simple and clean, and rather than having lots of complicated integrated systems, it just did away with most of the altogether. I also had great fun when I explained what I needed to the nice lady in the Bentley showroom and she pointed out that there was a Bugatti Veyron in the back of the showroom if I wanted to have a look. That was really gorgeous

[rx7]

Great! I'm dyin' to have a look at the GTR but it's a special order only thing. They'd never have a car like that out in the lot. I also want to look at a Mazda RX-8

[FizzyLogician]

Rx, there are usually dealers in N.E. With GT-R's in stock, although maybe not this time of year. Look and ye shall find.

[rx7]

So here's the newest cars I've seen just yesterday-here's a bit of interesting dialogue:

Friend: "You've never sat in a Lexus?!"
Me: "No."
Friend: "Get in the car!"

Thus was his reaction when I told him I'd never been in an Infiniti either.

Lexus 350 sedan: Beautiful! Those cars look like fun to drive and I bet they are. Some interior styling is way too Picasso-ish and it's too distracting. The dash is uncomplicated and without those dorky paddle shifters.

The Lexus version of a Prius(which I don't know the name of) is very nice but I do not like the roof pillars on the interior, as I felt like my head was gonna get cut off when I got into it.

I'll be off soon to try to find a Nissan GTR and a Mazda RX-8. Fortunately up east here we have the Prime motors group which are a really great bunch of people-can't be said for the jerks at Bill Dodge, etc.

[Vivienne]

I want to test drive the Nissan Juke and I will this week. It is so pathetically ugly.

[FizzyLogician]

RX7, unfortunately you missed a good opportunity to see a lot of cars this weekend. The N.E. International Auto Show was in Boston at the Convention Center in the seaport. Hundreds of cars (no GTR or even a 370Z) but they did have an RX8, the Juke (beyond pathetically ugly), a bunch of Lexuses (?Lexi) including an LFA, and numerous Infinitis. [Prime Mazda in Saco has an RX8 listed in their inventory.]

[rx7]

Boston! Oh crud, I do miss the good stuff! I can't afford to travel much though.

My friend just txted me the cars we checked out yesterday-
Lexus ES350, RX350, LS460, CT hybrid, and ES350 ultra luxury.

I will be going to Prime soon-a little shameless flirting with a cute salesman does work...

[Wyvern]

I drove a Lexus recently - it was quite a surreal experience. Not really my cup of tea - all a bit too dignified and subtle - but the weird thing was there were three of us in the car and we automatically found we were speaking in hushed voices because the car was so quiet. It was very comfortable, but the thing that really freaked me out was that the guy asked me to park it in a tiny space. This being a car that was worth several times my salary, I was quite keen not to risk it, but it was all a ruse to demonstrate the self-park function.

Which was horrible. I might not be the world's most confident parker (I don't really need to drive much, so I don't get a lot of practice), but I would much rather park myself than put a little box in a gap on a screen and let the car park itself. It's a very strange feeling.

When I looked at the Juke, I rather liked the styling, but I don't think I'd have one (I've not driven it) - if only because the boot is just too small!

The most entertaining car I've driven in the last few months is by and away the Fiat 500 Twinair, which is the most characterful modern car I've ever driven. If I was in the market for a new car, of all the things I've driven lately, that would be the one I would have (with honourable mentions to the Citroen DS3, but not with the gutless eco-engine that was in the one I drove, and the Toyota iQ) ;D

[rx7]

I know what you mean. I have wanted to test drive cars(which they have to card me for nowadays) but I'm too timid to take a car I will not buy and drive it around.

It might be silly because I drive a Buick currently which is as long as an Escalade, but it's my car and I know how it'll behave. One of these days I'll test drive the newer VW beetle...

I did really enjoy driving my dad's Toyota 4Runner, which was very nice and comfortable.

[FizzyLogician]

RX7, if you're going to go to the trouble of driving to the dealership, and possibly flirting with the salesman, you MUST get a test drive out of it. That's like a rule or something. Read up about the car first, then you'll know enough so the salesperson thinks you're seriously interested, then go for it. Test-driving sports cars is one of my hobbies. ;D

We were looking at a new Beetle at the car show this weekend and one of my friends informed me that it had been redesigned to appeal to male buyers. Huh.
www.autoweek.com/article/20110718/CARNEWS/110719899

[Wyvern]

Jan 21, 2012 1:09:26 GMT FizzyLogician said:

We were looking at a new Beetle at the car show this weekend and one of my friends informed me that it had been redesigned to appeal to male buyers. Huh.
www.autoweek.com/article/20110718/CARNEWS/110719899

I don't know if it's more masculine, but it definitely looks better than the 'triple bubble' body shape of the previous version to me. I still wouldn't want one, but I think this version looks more true to the smoother tail of the old Beetle (the rear wheel arches always looked disproportionate to me in the previous version).

www.worldofstock.com/stock_photos/TRC2799.php

^^^A classic Beetle - see how the line of the rear wheel arches doesn't disrupt the smooth curve of the back end? That's what I mean

[Vivienne]

uk.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9144329.htm

You can go to this place in the UK and drive cars.

[rx7]

Got any of those places in Portland, Maine, where I live? Anyway, I agree, I should be test driving those cars! I'd have to get carded by the salespeople which is completely ludicrous as I am a very good driver. I see their point though.

I have checked out the new Beetle and it's less bubblecar, more masculine. I do like it, more roomy and very much more comfortable than the predecessor.

[FizzyLogician]

Jan 28, 2012 15:37:14 GMT Vivienne said:

uk.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9144329.htm

You can go to this place in the UK and drive cars.

There's a similar place in Vegas, and a lot of other places here in the States where you can do driver training in their cars.

[rx7]

4 new cars!

Mazda RX-8-very nice, but nobody here in Maine has bought any! Not very surprising considering, but when they get the model back in stock (the RX-8 was loaned out to a different location when I came in), I would love to be able just to sit in it. I love the way it looks, runs on premium, and that'd be part of my fantasy car team.

Mazda MX-5 (called a Miata here in the states)-I want one! My mom has the RX-7 as her summer roadster, it'd be great if I could get a Miata for the summertime. I've seen a few here in the wintertime and I know I wouldn't be able to drive it in the winter-a car like that is for summer only. It's been around for a long time and I still love them.

Nissan GTR-The salesperson told me one guy who owned one lost about 30 grand on it in 1 month. Supercar yes, practical no. There has to be a GTR certified mechanic to work on it and they're not widespread, the two front tires are different sizes than the back, brakes are extremely expensive, and I could go on. I have a brochure and I figure that's the only thing related to the car I could afford to have!

Nissan 370Z-A much more practical alternative than the GTR. The headlights are so funny looking it's very odd to me.

I didn't get a chance to see any of these cars in person other than the Miata, though I am determined to own one of those someday! I like chatting to the salespeople but I use private sales and local classifieds first.

I found out Buick LaCrosse means something pretty dirty *smirk* check wikipedia to find out what I mean. Nice car, replaced the LeSabre.

[rx7]

Test drove an Avalon today-it rides like my old Buick and you barely feel the bumps! The seats were wonderful.
Test drove one of the new VW Beetles-I can't wait to see what our TG boys think about it. I put it through some paces and burned a bit of rubber.
The issue for me was I found the seats uncomfortable and the vibration is noticeable even though it wasn't turbo. Ride comfort was an issue.

[mayb]

Me and OH always fight over cars. Mainly because he wants to buy sensible, stupid ones like the one we have now

The VW Golf Variant IV SDI (I even have trouble writing it down...)

which are no fun to drive at all
Most of the time I sit in it screaming like the well-known Jeremy C. : "COME ONNNNN!!!" as it takes over 20 seconds to go from 0-60 mph/100 kmh.
It is not that I am a speed-devil, but... if I have the feeling that going by bike is (almost) faster.... you get the point.

The other car we have is a 1994 Mazda 121, which top-speed is around 80 mph/130 kmh if it is not too windy. Terrible suspension and although the thing is reliable, sometimes I really hate the bloody thing. Driving 80 mph on a German motorway just is not a good idea, sometimes.

I like fast cars. I like big cars. I like heavy cars, I like cars that say: I AM A CAR. Not a tin opener.
Sadly, living in Germany means I am constantly surrounded by BMW's and Merc's, which I find "not that pleasant to look at" most of the time. Oh, and do not forget Audi, of course.

I - like any other I think - just love the Bugatti Veyron, but no chance I will ever own one, I have a small model of it in my living room, but that will be it then The Bugatti is just a dream car, the impossible thing. I love the sound, the way it looks, the fact you can drive it on a normal road ánd at normal speed as well... Oh well, you get my point

I really like the new Vauxhall / Opel Astra GTC 1.4 Turbo as well.
I saw a picture of it and I thought *nice car*. A few weeks back I saw it in real life and I thought *woooooowww*
My dad was with me and I pointed at the Astra and said to him: "Now dad, THAT would be a great car, now wouldn't it?" And he said: "You are so right there, but I think that when I'd buy one, everyone would say: look, there's grandpa, trying to look young again" ;D ( My dad is 78 years old )

[rx7]

Fantasy car lineup-add yours in here!
Mine would be
Nissan GT-R
Mazda RX-8
Audi R8
I'm sure there's others but I can't think of any right now. Hopefully my friend and I (partner in crime or PIC on my blog) are going to check out Prime Mazda soon.

[Vivienne]

This is the second time I've seen this kind of car only this time I got the back end with the Aston Martin wings and Genesis. Anybody know this car? I couldn't get my picture in car sightings and didn't see the front of the car. Hope someone recognizes this.

Attachments:

[FizzyLogician]

That is a Hyundai Genesis coupe.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6l9hfr-J64
At 1:19, you can see the badge, sans oval. Apparently, rebadging a Genesis is a popular pastime, because I found a bunch of similar YouTubes.

[Vivienne]

Thanks, I finally found what you did. I'm surprised Aston Martin don't say something as it's quite close to their wings!

[FizzyLogician]

I gather that Hyundai uses some sort of a wing emblem in their Korean market.