General Auto Chat

Discussion in 'Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes Talk' started by Maxvla, Sep 26, 2015.

  1. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Also the Golf Alltrack!
     
  2. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I'm too fat, hairy, not bald, hate europop, and hate Heineken to drive a Golf.
     
  3. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    My son has a Mazda cx 30 that he likes quite a bit. Kinda boring, but effective and pretty economical. I think he found a 2020 w/ less than 1k miles, awd, about $18k.
     
  4. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    LOL, this side jaunt is quickly turning into "suggest a car for someone who wants to drive a cardboard box". Do try to get a test drive in the CX-30 that @Senorx12562 suggests. A friend of mine picked one of these up for his wife and it's a fun little crossover. It's obvious that it comes from the same company that sells the Miata - driving feel is actually pretty engaging. Or, another completely left field suggestion, the Ford Maverick in a base XL trim. It's basically an Escape with a bigger trunk and the 2L Ecoboost is a hoot for $23k.
     
  5. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    For some (indeed probably most) a car is simply an appliance that moves them from place to place. Sure, when people tell me their biggest concern is cargo capacity, I try to point them to a sporty handling car with good cargo capacity, but usually they think I just don't get it. If the actual driving experience is not a priority from the beginning, it will probably never be.
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    That sentiment reminds me of one of Chris Bangle's defenses of his design choices while at BMW: a car is your avatar; it's the clothes you wear when driving. Some people don't want to be burdened by the stereotypes of certain marques, brands, or nationalities when they just want reliable inexpensive transportation.
     
  7. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I've owned a couple Bangle designs. I owned them because I liked the driving dynamics the best out of their peers. Could have owned Audi, MB, Infinity or whatever. All fine looking cars (suits?). I'll still take the suit that fits better over the one that looks better, but that is just me.

    I'm not one to concern myself with stereotypes, but yeah if all you want is an appliance there is no need to put up with that for sure.
     
  8. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I sometimes forget that not everyone can just fix their car. ALL of my friends are car guys (guys that rebuild engines and swap transmissions, not bolt on an exhaust tip, tint the windows and call it a BUILD), so it's like second nature for me. A head gasket on that car would probably cost like $100 in parts. Full gasket kits are around $70 and a set of fel-pro head bolts is $25.
     
  9. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I used to love working on cars as a teenager. I'm happy to be in a place where I don't have to fix my car anymore, but I'm still happy to help friends and neighbors with theirs any time. That said, it is a huge advantage to owning an older car if you can fix it yourself. If you have to pay people then it mostly does not matter what you drive.
     
  10. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    It depends on the repair whether I do it myself or have someone else do it. New driveshaft on my 300? Dealership. No chance I'm gonna be wrestling the giant exhaust off on jack-stands to get to the driveshaft. Full brake job or suspension rehab? I can knock that out in a day without too much fuss. Also cost is a huge factor. The driveshaft was only 2 hours of labor on an $800 part that would be a huge pain in my ass. Dealers/mechanics jack the price of brake parts to the moon. It would probably cost me $1500 to have all the brakes done on my 300, or $500 to do it myself.

    And my Polara? 54 years is too old for 99% of mechanic shops, they won't even look at it. Plus working on that car is half the fun.
     
  11. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Cars from the 60's like that Polara are pretty easy to work on. Lots of room to get at things and no electronics.
     
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  12. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    The engine can be run with a battery and 3-4 wires, entirely analog. Big pos wire to starter, small pos wire to ballast > ignition coil, negative to engine block and points.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2022
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Toyota. Inline 4-banger. 1992 MY. Easy.
     
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  14. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    My problems with Manzas is their terrible blind spots on the back pillars on their crossovers, including their CX-30. That design choice turned me off from Manzas since if I can't figure out my surrounds (which was a problem when I was in the CX-30, then I will not buy it).

    Maverick is a cool little truck, but I don't need a truck.

    Since a car is just to get to point a to point b. I don't care for sporty handling cars, I like my car to be boring to drive.

    I know right, but with the other issues it is time to move on from the Celica, sadly.
     
  15. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    My son's at least, has a wide-angle backup camera. C-pillars are a non-issue.
     
  16. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    It is a problem: What happens if the camera breaks?

    I don’t even use the camera that is standard in my car, I still do stuff the old way: Turn my head.
     
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  17. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    There is no valid defense of Bangle's design choices. Or of any other choices made since BMW's last good-looking car: https://www.google.com/search?q=bmw+e24&tbm=isch

    Thank you for explaining this:
    [​IMG]

    For those people, there's always the Camry or F-150 (or Prius or Tesla in this part of the world). Characterless, anonymous appliances that say loud and clear that your car is the least interesting thing about you.

    But I remember when there were cars that transcended class and wealth without being bland. The original VW bug was driven by rich people and poor people, hippies and cops, artists and lawyers, single people and families, etc. Jeeps, too, didn't say anything about their owners except that they liked freedom and the wind in their hair, and/or sometimes needed to drive off-road. Are there any cars like that now?
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2022
  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Nissan Kicks. Starts at $20k.

    Honda Civic hatch. Within a couple cuft. of the storage space (seats up and down) as the Fit.
     
  19. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    Minis are the closest thing that comes to mind.
     
  20. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    You guys are jelly that I can live free with my body hair. I heard in California they ban drivers who drive shirtless with tons of body hair.

    Already asking some of the dealers in the North Florida area, and as expected they are asking closer to $30k out of the door for a base Kicks with no extra add-ons.

    I actually like the new gen Honda Civic hatch that just came out (the last gen Civics were ugly as f**k). I asked some of the local dealership and since the 2023s are too new they can't get any yet.

    One of my local dealerships did have a 2023 HRV Sport in stock, which I will test drive tomorrow. I of course will not buy it since I was quoted $37.5k for that sucker out of the door. Dealership even told me we really can't give discounts and we have to have high mark ups to stay in business. LOL, they want more for that than most Subarus.

    Speaking of Subarus, I just found out that my local Subaru dealership only sells MSRP, $650 dealer fee, and no other BS. They recommend factory order so you can get the car that you really want. Might do a Subaru this time around since it is retarted to pay close $30k-$35k for smallish crossovers like the HRV, Kicks, Kona, Rios when for a little extra you get a much bigger vehicle with a higher trim on a Subaru.

    This market is ffuuuccccckkkkkkeeeeed.
     

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