picture of your car

[FadeToBlack]

1989 Shelby CSX-VNT #153

Love it! Back when I first got my license (about 7 years ago), I got really big into the FWD Mopars. I can't remember the specs on your particular car, but I know it's definitely quick.

I had an '86 Dodge Aries as my first car, then my Mom had a '92 Sundance. It was just a base model, though. Both of those had the normally-aspirated 2.2. (Only about 96 horsepower, I believe) Not very quick at all, but I still liked 'em.

Oh yeah, my Dad also had an '85 or so Dodge 600 Turbo. It was the 2.2 w/ 146hp. I was gonna try to talk him into giving it to me when I got my license, but he ended up wrecking it.

 

[macquariumguy]

Mo pics? Sure!

 

[ryannel2003]

I've seen a few edges around. They look like a Murano crossed with an early 90's boxy hatchback. I don't really like them that much, I think the grill is really what hurts it styling.

I saw a new 2008 Escape while driving today. I must say it caught my eye. I think it is significantly better looking than the last version.

I agree about the Escape. They are very nice looking vehicles, but from what I have heard the driving dynamics aren't up to that of the new CR-V, Equinox (and Torrent), and the others in the class.

 

[TequilaBoobs]

heres my arctic blue 2004 acura tsx taken with my blackbook. the angles are bad cuz it's dang hard to take pictures with a notebook.

 

[TequilaBoobs]

heres my arctic blue 2004 acura tsx taken with my blackbook. the angles are bad cuz it's dang hard to take pictures with a notebook.

 

[ErikCLDR]

I HATE summer for this very reason:

(you should see my windshield too, its almost hard to see out of)


I am going to get the Chrome (nonrustable) A-Frame brush guard and some Hella's pretty soon. It will look like this...

 

[FadeToBlack]

Man, I'm diggin' the Discovery. The visibility out of that looks GREAT! Wow. I've always thought they looked cool, too.

And I'm not usually an SUV kinda guy.

 

[E36 Pilot]

I guess I'll play...

My Daily Driver: 1995 BMW M3

1960 Austin Healey Sprite Mk. I AKA "Bugeye"

1999 Porsche 996 Carrera

2000 BMW 323i Sport Touring

Not pictured: 1990 BMW 325i Coupe, 2006 Nissan Xterra

 

[mfacey]

I guess I'll play...

My Daily Driver: 1995 BMW M3

1960 Austin Healey Sprite Mk. I AKA "Bugeye"

1999 Porsche 996 Carrera

2000 BMW 323i Sport Touring

Not pictured: 1990 BMW 325i Coupe, 2006 Nissan Xterra

May I ask why you drive an old M3 daily if you have a 911 Carrera at your disposal?

Love the Sprite btw. You don't see too many of those across the pond.

 

[E36 Pilot]

mfacey,

The M3 is a better all-around driver. It's easy to drive, easy to park, still fun and I don't have to worry about it. Plus, I have a boring 30 minute highway commute, and I'd rather just keep the miles off the 996.

 

[mfacey]

mfacey,

The M3 is a better all-around driver. It's easy to drive, easy to park, still fun and I don't have to worry about it. Plus, I have a boring 30 minute highway commute, and I'd rather just keep the miles off the 996.

I can see your point. It must be difficult to resist the temptation though!

 

[E36 Pilot]

There really isn't any temptation. When I want to drive it, I do. =)

The real temptation is the Healey. I have classic car insurance which limits my yearly mileage to under 1000 miles. I have to carefully pick when and how far I drive it.

 

[Airforce]

Don't feel like getting out the camera, but just got this little sucker for long trips. 2007 Honda Fit Sport

For only having 109hp/105tq it really doesn't seem all that sluggish compared to our 2005 Accord. The Camaro is a different story, but the Accord...it's right on par.

 

[ErikCLDR]

Man, I'm diggin' the Discovery. The visibility out of that looks GREAT! Wow. I've always thought they looked cool, too.

And I'm not usually an SUV kinda guy.

Haha thanks.

Visibility is very good in this car (infact probably the best compared to any ther car I have driven), aside from the rear columns to the left and right of the rear window are a little thick. Sitting in it you feel very high. The window isn't particularly tall but its flat and the pillars for it are very thin. The side windows are almost down to your thighs when sitting. Its also really cool how the car is designed, you almost never have to use the window visor. The sun is rarely in your eyes. Its neat. Seriously, after driving Land Rovers, driving another SUV (and cars) you will feel so low and your visibility will feel blocked.

This is the best I could do for a view of the road while driving...

 

[FadeToBlack]

Haha thanks.

Visibility is very good in this car (infact probably the best compared to any ther car I have driven), aside from the rear columns to the left and right of the rear window are a little thick. Sitting in it you feel very high. The window isn't particularly tall but its flat and the pillars for it are very thin. The side windows are almost down to your thighs when sitting. Its also really cool how the car is designed, you almost never have to use the window visor. The sun is rarely in your eyes. Its neat. Seriously, after driving Land Rovers, driving another SUV (and cars) you will feel so low and your visibility will feel blocked.

This is the best I could do for a view of the road while driving...

Man, that's an awesome view. Something like that would actually be ideal for me, since I'm only around 5'5."

I love my car, though, even if the visibility isn't as good. I may end up getting something like that Discovery one day, though. Ya never know.

 

[E36 Pilot]

Haha thanks.

Visibility is very good in this car (infact probably the best compared to any ther car I have driven), aside from the rear columns to the left and right of the rear window are a little thick. Sitting in it you feel very high. The window isn't particularly tall but its flat and the pillars for it are very thin. The side windows are almost down to your thighs when sitting. Its also really cool how the car is designed, you almost never have to use the window visor. The sun is rarely in your eyes. Its neat. Seriously, after driving Land Rovers, driving another SUV (and cars) you will feel so low and your visibility will feel blocked.

This is the best I could do for a view of the road while driving...

Have you had any troubles with your Discovery? I had a Discovery SE7 with a manual transmission (super rare) and I liked it for all the reasons you mention but after just 2 years of ownership it needed over $4K worth of repairs. I just cleaned it up and traded it.

 

[ErikCLDR]

Have you had any troubles with your Discovery? I had a Discovery SE7 with a manual transmission (super rare) and I liked it for all the reasons you mention but after just 2 years of ownership it needed over $4K worth of repairs. I just cleaned it up and traded it.

What years was yours?

I've had mine for 2,000 miles now. The only thing that has gone wrong was that the panhard rod (?) had to be tightend. So my dad got under it with a wrench and fixed it.

My dad has a 2003 SE-7 with like 8x,000 miles on it. Its a DiscoII so its a little different. It's a little longer, has a more comfortable suspension, refined interior, climate control, usable cupholders, traction control, and down hill decent control, 2 jump seats, the optional Air suspension, and since its and 03/04 model it has the 4.6 v8 (compared to my miniscule 4.0 v8). We've bought it new and its had its share of issues- windows, door locks, sunroofs, etc the typical land rover stuff. Also the air suspension popped and one time the control unit that levels it broke. The worst was when the onboard computer fried- I think the dealer charged thousands for it. I can assure you way beyond $4000- but my dad loves it, as do I.

I have the full maintenance records of my car and not much has been done to it in terms of unexpected repairs. The thing that seems to be apparent with Land Rovers is that you either get a reliable one or an unreliable one. Our neighbors across the street have an '03 SE had they've had very few problems with their discovery and it has 7x,000 if I remember correctly.

You've got to admit, if you get a Land Rover with air suspension, you're just asking for trouble.

Anyone see that new LR3 vs. Hyundai Tuscon (I think) advertisement? I saw it on TV in a bagel shop this morning. I didn't know whether to be shocked that hyundai would compare themselves to a Land Rover (I do think hyundai will be the next acura someday, once the chinese cars come out and some time passes) or whether to laugh.

 

[FadeToBlack]

Anyone see that new LR3 vs. Hyundai Tuscon (I think) advertisement? I saw it on TV in a bagel shop this morning. I didn't know whether to be shocked that hyundai would compare themselves to a Land Rover (I do think hyundai will be the next acura someday, once the chinese cars come out and some time passes) or whether to laugh.

I haven't seen the ad you're talking about, but I doubt they were comparing the Tucson. It was probably the new Veracruz. I've read a a couple of articles in both Motor Trend and Car and Driver and they both compared the Veracruz to a Lexus, saying that the quality was just as good.

Hyundai has came a long way. I have a 2002 Elantra GT with 84k on it and it seems to be holding up great, except for a bit of paint chips and some wear on the side bolster on the driver's side seat. Just normal wear and tear and the hatch rattles a bit, but that's most likely an easy fix. I love my car.

Here are a few pics of it. I posted 'em earlier on in the thread, but I might as well post 'em again.

 

[E36 Pilot]

My Discovery was a '96 or a '97 Series I. I can't remember the exact year. It was generally reliable (never left me stranded) but when I took it in for the 60K service, the independent mechanic told me about all the things that needed to be replaced. I was a little suspicious so I had those issues validated by an inspection from another independent.

I think you're right about reliability with a LR; you get one with only a few problems, or a ton of them. For that reason, I don't think I'll ever buy another LR, save for maybe the 2004 Range Rover, which had the BMW 4.4L M62 and plenty of other BMW goodies.

 

[ErikCLDR]

My Discovery was a '96 or a '97 Series I. I can't remember the exact year. It was generally reliable (never left me stranded) but when I took it in for the 60K service, the independent mechanic told me about all the things that needed to be replaced. I was a little suspicious so I had those issues validated by an inspection from another independent.

I think you're right about reliability with a LR; you get one with only a few problems, or a ton of them. For that reason, I don't think I'll ever buy another LR, save for maybe the 2004 Range Rover, which had the BMW 4.4L M62 and plenty of other BMW goodies.

The BMW V8 was in the Range Rover from 2003 to 2005. My neighbor has a 2005 HSE and its beautiful. Every day I see it elegantly stroll my up street.

Anyways in this Hyundai vs. LR3 commercial the Hyundai is said to have better acceleration, braking, and handling. Hmmm.. maybe thats because the Land Rover is a 6,000lb tank and the Hyundai probably weighs half of that being a crossover. At the end of the commercial they joke the only thing that makes the LR3 better is the number of cupholders. Edmunds says it only is expected to get 12/18mpg, which isn't very good at all. Is a nav. system even available on this thing? Uhhh I hate marketing. Land Rover should come up with a commercial bashing the Hyundai.

 

[E36 Pilot]

The BMW V8 was in the Range Rover from 2003 to 2005. My neighbor has a 2005 HSE and its beautiful. Every day I see it elegantly stroll my up street.

You're right. I just try not to buy the first year of a model (my current lineup is an exception) and in my opinion 2005s are still crazy money for what you get. Cheers on some excellent Rover info.

 

[ErikCLDR]

You're right. I just try not to buy the first year of a model (my current lineup is an exception) and in my opinion 2005s are still crazy money for what you get. Cheers on some excellent Rover info.

I would never buy a range rover new. Seriously new they are $80,000, put 20k on them and they are down to $60,000. The 2005 also have the nice little thing built into the Nav LCD that tells you info about the 4wd system and where the wheels are and how articulated they are.

2006-present has the 4.4 Jaguar V8 or the 4.2 Supercharged.

2007 models have "terrain response" and an ever so slightly redesigned interior.

I absolutely love them. Most stylish SUV on the road, if not one of the most stylish automobiles. I also think it has the best interior of pretty much any vehicle.

 

[amd4me]

My Discovery was a '96 or a '97 Series I. I can't remember the exact year. It was generally reliable (never left me stranded) but when I took it in for the 60K service, the independent mechanic told me about all the things that needed to be replaced. I was a little suspicious so I had those issues validated by an inspection from another independent.

I think you're right about reliability with a LR; you get one with only a few problems, or a ton of them. For that reason, I don't think I'll ever buy another LR, save for maybe the 2004 Range Rover, which had the BMW 4.4L M62 and plenty of other BMW goodies.

Only the 2004 had those goodies?

 

[KatmanDu]

2006 Mustang GT and 2003 Suzuki Bandit 1200S

One of the Mustang taking a break at Suches:

 

[ITASOR]

Right now I am really disappointed in Jeep. They are seriously going down the drain fast.

- Wrangler- I don't like the new style as much as the old in that they are very plasticy in the front, but the 4 door version I must say is pretty cool
- Grand Cherokee right now is OK. They drive better than the old ones, but they're interiors are not great and their styling is controversial
- Commander's I don't believe sell very well since I don't see a lot of them. They are VERY poorly designed inside and have absolutely no trunk with the 3rd row deployed
- Compass is hideous and car based and I don't think has the full heart of jeep in it
- The Patriot I think is decent looking, but again I think its not a "real" jeep. Also with a price difference of like $1000, whats the difference between that and the Compass other than styling?
- Liberty..... I never liked it, but cannot believe what Chrysler is doing. They're ruining jeep and are just turning into another fake profit point

2008 Liberty:

Looks very similar to the Nitro

Whats next... A jeep branded Dodge Magnum
------

I think I've figured out a reason why American cars don't sell. Honestly I think most American cars are ugly. They try to go off and look unique while the Europeans and Japanese come out with the real stylish cars. Seriously they should take the Hyundai approach and copy all styles of luxury cars that cost 4x as much.

I love that thing that hangs down in the front of the new Liberty. Try going over a curb or rock that's higher than 4" with that...you'll destroy the whole front end. Must be trail rated. Wow.

Jeep should just make the Cherokee again...people will buy it, just put the new Wrangler engine in it if you're worried about gas mileage.

All Jeep's vehicles suck right now except for the Wrangler, and the current Liberty is decent. I really like the new style Wrangler, but the interior is TERRIBLE, the front seat in the 2DR doesn't even slide forward enough to attempt to get into the back.