The Car Thread ... !

[A.Goldberg]

Was this recent or months ago? I recall you saying a driver totaled her previous RAV 4. The new RAV 4s are lovely looking cars and they're the perfect compact SUV size.

Yes. She had a 2014 RAV4, now has a 2016. Basically the same car, just a facelift and a few extra gadgets for the newer model year. It would be nice if they brought back the V6. There is the hybrid version with a tiny bit more oomph (1sec faster to 60) but when push comes to shove apparently the dealers want $5k more despite $700 difference in mrsp listings which otherwise isn't worth it. It would be an ever better package than it already is. For just above $30k you get a lot of car.

Why?

Because (most) men don't have man purses to put all our keyfobs in our slim fit Jcrew 451 cut trousers.

 

[2298754]

Because (most) men don't have man purses to put all our keyfobs in our slim fit Jcrew 451 cut trousers.

Lies, you have a man purse.

 

[D.T.]

re: detailing products

I used to be a Zaino fanatic, it had that boutique-y vibe with direct sales only, and the [likely unnecessarily] complex application with a pre-polish, polish, finisher. I've found that most of the modern products from all of the usual suspects are pretty outstanding, easy to apply, and reasonably inexpensive. Currently using hand applied Meguiar's Ultimate, plus Griot's Complete Compound where needed, with Ultimate Quik Detailer in between, and the assumed mix of high quality applicators, micro fiber, Gold Class car wash, etc. etc.

The current ride is my 4th black car, and it's as glorious and painful and I've come to expect

 

[iLog.Genius]

re: detailing products

I used to be a Zaino fanatic, it had that boutique-y vibe with direct sales only, and the [likely unnecessarily] complex application with a pre-polish, polish, finisher. I've found that most of the modern products from all of the usual suspects are pretty outstanding, easy to apply, and reasonably inexpensive. Currently using hand applied Meguiar's Ultimate, plus Griot's Complete Compound where needed, with Ultimate Quik Detailer in between, and the assumed mix of high quality applicators, micro fiber, Gold Class car wash, etc. etc.

The current ride is my 4th black car, and it's as glorious and painful and I've come to expect

I agree. Before trying my hand at detailing, I throughly read all the threads about it over at Bimmerpost and the overwhelming majority only used high-end detailing products. As a first time DIY-er, I wasn't going to shell out hundreds of dollars on detailing products. Went to the closest store that had detailing products and picked up the the appropriate products from Meguiars and it did well for the job and at the price.

Though I don't exactly share your enthusiasm with black paint/car . I have Jet Black, never again will I buy a black car. It looks amazing when its perfect but it picks up scratches and defects like nothing. I can breathe on it and it will pick up a defect (I don't have acid breath, or at least I don't think I do...).

 

[A.Goldberg]

re: detailing products

I used to be a Zaino fanatic, it had that boutique-y vibe with direct sales only, and the [likely unnecessarily] complex application with a pre-polish, polish, finisher. I've found that most of the modern products from all of the usual suspects are pretty outstanding, easy to apply, and reasonably inexpensive. Currently using hand applied Meguiar's Ultimate, plus Griot's Complete Compound where needed, with Ultimate Quik Detailer in between, and the assumed mix of high quality applicators, micro fiber, Gold Class car wash, etc. etc.

The current ride is my 4th black car, and it's as glorious and painful and I've come to expect

"My car is spotless, excellent condition, zero cosmetic issues. I never clean it though. There is no point, it's just going to get dirty again anyways" #@AutoUnion39 #Daewoo4Life

 

[0388631]

Sounds like my younger brother when he got his first car. Didn't wash it for four years straight. Mind you, we were rather shocked when we discovered the car was white and not silver. We'd somehow forgotten his car was white.

Then again, in those days, white paint turned yellow-ish regardless of the auto maker. It was an imported white Alfa something. Probably the only one that never had electrical issues, a rare feat coming from Alfa. Since then, the only other Alfa I've ever seen of that era was a mint condition black one parked on the opposite street of a previous residence in the late 1990s. It was rather gorgeous. Black with dark gray and leather/ette seats, four or five speed tranny. Gorgeously maintained car. Prior to that, I hadn't seen an Alfa up close in a couple decades.

Goldy, I can't say I like those flat keys. I feel they'd snap easily, unless they were metal unibody. The Phaeton had such a key, didn't it? The seats in a Phaeton are gloriously comfortable.

 

[D.T.]

Got some hood struts on the way! These are aftermarket parts that replace the factory hood prop - much better solution, particularly if you're tinkering around under the hood, and they're a little more aesthetically pleasing for shows. Simple DIY, no permanent changes, had them on my previous ride - great brand too, lifetime warranty, progressive lift.

Though I don't exactly share your enthusiasm with black paint/car . I have Jet Black, never again will I buy a black car. It looks amazing when its perfect but it picks up scratches and defects like nothing. I can breathe on it and it will pick up a defect (I don't have acid breath, or at least I don't think I do...).

Yeah, that's what I said after the first, no never, then I bought a second black car, that is _it_, I'd be crazy to buy another ... ooops ...

The upside for me is it's not a DD, so it sits in the garage (where it still somehow gets dirty ...), and if I'm taking a little break, I can pop out and hit it up with some quick detailer.

 

[quagmire]

I love black cars. I started the black car trend with my Saturn. Then my mom got her 2013 Equinox in black granite, then the 2014 ATS in black raven, and now the 2016 Suburban is also black. A complete pain the ass to upkeep them due to black showing dirt, scratches, etc. But when they are clean, they do look amazing.

Though I will probably be the first to break my families color trend with the Camaro. Not that mosaic black is out of the running, but I am leaning towards nightfall gray. I am also considering hyper blue, but my concern is it being a fad color of sorts. I love it now, but will I still love it 5 years from now?

 

[A.Goldberg]

Lies, you have a man purse.

Jeeze man how did you know. But I'll have you, it's a "satchel", Indiana Jones wears one.

Goldy, I can't say I like those flat keys. I feel they'd snap easily, unless they were metal unibody. The Phaeton had such a key, didn't it? The seats in a Phaeton are gloriously comfortable.

The point is in cars with keyless entry/start you keep the credit card sized key in your wallet. And it lives there. That way as long as you have your wallet you have your key, you don't have to carry around a comparably bulky fob.

I have no problem carrying a single fob, but once you have 2+ it begins to get a little annoying.

 

[bunnspecial]

I've used some more "up market" "boutique" type detailing products, but honestly keep coming back to Meguirs stuff. I think they overall have a solid product line up, are reasonably priced and don't leave the sticky shiny plastic feel on everything like Armor All. I feel like a lot of their products give just the "right" amount of shine to plastic-i.e. you can tell that it's taken care of, but the sun reflection off of it doesn't blind you. Also, one big consideration is the fact that if I run low/out of something I can generally get it at Autozone or Walmart. I know that's enough to turn up the nose of a lot of snobs , but it IS actually a consideration-especially in the middle of a job. Sometimes, you need the stuff NOW and not in a couple of days.

I did break down and buy a can of "snake oil" chrome polish the other day, and it should be here today. We'll see if it does what's promised, but Jay Leno likes it at least. A $20 can of polish-if it works-beats $300(if not more) in chrome plating.

 

[0388631]

Snake Oil... I know I've seen it mentioned recently, but I can't recall what it does. I don't mind brands much. Though if you're going to go down the common brand route, you ought to buy from Autogeek. I should note I have zero financial investment into that company, but simply prefer them because they vet products before selling it to their members. As for Armor All, I don't use it. I see no need. There are better trim and tire dressing compounds that will last up to a year in direct sun, even if the application surface was worn out due to elements and UV rays. They're also not tinctures. As such, there's no mess involved.

I'd say good value for money would be Griot's. Once a year, I'll Zaino my car and it'll look gorgeous. Then it'll look terrible the next week. Simply claying your car a few times a year will allow the paint to last longer. I tend to stock up when there's a clay sale going on. One of the great things about auto products is you can use them around the house. Clay is useful to get hard to scrub scum off of marble/granite/quarts/concrete countertops, polishes work fantastically to bring the new countertop luster back, upholstery cleaner works on carpeted areas far better than any home product. Plus, they're safer than the home variants too.

The point is in cars with keyless entry/start you keep the credit card sized key in your wallet. And it lives there. That way as long as you have your wallet you have your key, you don't have to carry around a comparably bulky fob.

I have no problem carrying a single fob, but once you have 2+ it begins to get a little annoying.

Why would you carry two car fobs? Or do you mean a fob to the medical cage at work?

 

[A.Goldberg]

Why would you carry two car fobs? Or do you mean a fob to the medical cage at work?

My car and the GF's car. It becomes more of a a necessity when your apartment's parking garage includes 2 tandem spaces, creating a constant need to switch places with each other. Unfortunately the luxury of of smart keys for me becomes highly impressioned. I expect all doors to automatically regardless of whether or not I have the fob or even if the door is equipped (yes, even traditional door knobs).

But yeah, our next place as a prerequisite will not have tandem parking. I knew it would be a PITA but after a couple years it gets more and more frustrating. Luckily I think most residential parking garages around here do not tandem spaces. That said it's pretty common place for outdoor off street parking. Another reason for me to buy a house.

 

[0388631]

My car and the GF's car. It becomes more of a a necessity when your apartment's parking garage includes 2 tandem spaces, creating a constant need to switch places with each other. Unfortunately the luxury of of smart keys for me becomes highly impressioned. I expect all doors to automatically regardless of whether or not I have the fob or even if the door is equipped (yes, even traditional door knobs).

But yeah, our next place as a prerequisite will not have tandem parking. I knew it would be a PITA but after a couple years it gets more and more frustrating. Luckily I think most residential parking garages around here do not tandem spaces. That said it's pretty common place for outdoor off street parking. Another reason for me to buy a house.

Makes sense. Yes, an eight bedroom house in the country for you and the juniors and juniorettes to come!

Your post did remind me of my Lexus perusing experience from the other day. New Lexus (Lexi?) come with that auto unlocking via RF if you get close to the car. Works well when it's at waist level near the car's door. You get close and it'll open the driver's side door only, hit the small sensor with your thumb and it'll unlock all the doors. Very neat. Unfortunately, the salesman then chose to show it to me as if he were an owner who kept the fob in their pocket. The RF strength of these fobs isn't strong enough to bypass woolen pants, apparently. Or it was interfering with his iPhone. Suffice to say, the driver's door did unlock, but apart from air-humping the door to get the touch button to register with the RF key, it wasn't working well. Don't know what caused that to happen.

Unfortunately, it seems a lot of car companies have omitted the backup ignition system for their cars with keyless start. You used to be able to find it somewhere on the steering column or just under that area towards the pedals.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

View attachment 659646 View attachment 659646

Historically Japanese/Asian vehicles have gone for a softer, happier, less aggressive styling versus the Americans and to some degree the Europeans. It's seems the pendulum of styling is heading to aggressive.



Rodeo drifting in an Accord.. or any FWD car. Jeeze. I can see why your parents got you and your brother a beater police interceptor to tool around with. Reminder to self: never buy an offlease car. You never know where it's been

I have never found the rear rests of the Gen 1 Range Rover Sport to be amazingly cushy. They are certainly firm, which I believe is designed to go along with then "sport" designation. The big daddy Range has much more comfortable seats. I have a screwed up back so I don't find the seats the bestbin the sport but most people find them supportive. The older Acura MDX IMO based on my back issues has one of the worst driving rear seats in terms of comfort for me- I think it has something to do with the angle.


Haven driven a similar accord I never found the suspension that soft. It certainly has a lot of body roll but the bumps weren't mitigated as well as something like the Camry. The steering was good (but who knows how it is now, I assume they're using electronic PS which tends to not be great). Accerslltion with the V6 was still like 7sec which isn't particularly good these days. Overall I felt it was sloppy with the suspension, prone to lots of road noise, and just not as quick as the completion. Overall not a bad family sedan, and styling wise way better than the Camry.

And way too many buttons.

Yeah, Japanese cars certainly are shifting in design sense. Maybe they're still fun and cutesy in Japan, but we're definitely seeing aggressive styling right now, in America. I'm personally for it - I think the new Corolla, for instance, actually looks good. I admire its new-age dashboard as well. The only bold and aggressive designs I'm hating are that of the new Prius and that new Mirai *shudders*.


xD It was pretty wild taking that Honda on a rodeo. We obviously couldn't do real drifting, so we relied on the handbrake. The car never overheated or anything, thankfully. The only damage we sustained was more loss of that stupid plastic underneath that always gets torn off from dips in the road. Upon entering the dry lake bed a second time, my dad took a wrong turn and we ended up going down a rugged dirt bike trail! Felt bad for the poor car after tearing it up; but, luckily, it held up. (And, yes, the Crown Vic is solely a drifting car, but my brother and I became attached to it as a city driver. I love its driving style. I had the impression that it would handle like a boat, but it was surprisingly nimble. Why should I have, though? It's a cop car after all.)

The larger Range Rovers are cushier. I went and saw new one at the dealer recently; it was not only a big-daddy Range Rover, it was also extra stretched. In fact, the rear doors looked slightly longer than the front doors. It was totally a limo back there.

Interesting thoughts on the Honda Accord suspension... it wasn't GREAT, but I thought that it cancelled out a good bit more road noise than things like the Honda Civic. In fact, I rode in a new Civic today, and the level of noise from within the cabin was greater than how it was within our 2012 Honda Accord. Of course, the Civic is the lower-end car... but the model I rode in was about four years newer than our Accord. That being said, it had a lesser package. I don't know if it's safe to assume this, but I feel as though certain interior packages/trims can render a car's interior quieter than those with lower-end packages. I definitely hear more rattling in the lower-end ones. I actually rode in two different Sonatas this week; one being a base model and the other a higher-end model with leather interior. Granted, the higher-end model was a hybrid, but its interior still felt quieter and less hollow. Still, however, the suspension was lacking. But, anyway, I shouldn't praise the Honda's suspension too much, but I felt it to be a little more cushy than that of a comparable Camry. Being on the freeway with a period Camry wasn't too pleasant in my experience. While the Honda would dip more than I'd like it to, it at least felt relatively solid and comfy enough. Additionally, the rear seats were squishy and plush for what they were.
[doublepost=1474926109][/doublepost]I just found out that we're picking up a 2016 Suburban LTZ tomorrow... (2016 because it's have clearance sales.) Well, I am not home to see it right now. Will have to wait a couple months before I'm home - then I'll give my two cents.

However, I did mention earlier that we test drove one, and I found the seats to be very comfortable (albeit small in surface area). The drive felt very smooth, and the shocks did a good job with dampening. In fact, I found out that these new Chevys use 'magnetic ride control suspension' now, which makes for a much nicer ride. The previous generation was great, but these things are a huge improvement. If these new ones weren't so much nicer, we'd have gotten the previous generation again. (We had a lease for one in 2007.) Additionally, our previous one was RWD, while this new one is AWD & with 20-inch wheels.

I'm really looking forward to driving it. Chevy makes such a proper full-size SUV. My only gripe with it is the fact that it's smaller in interior volume than those of the previous generation. Not exactly a hauler, but still certainly spacious.

 

[D.T.]

Though I will probably be the first to break my families color trend with the Camaro. Not that mosaic black is out of the running, but I am leaning towards nightfall gray. I am also considering hyper blue, but my concern is it being a fad color of sorts. I love it now, but will I still love it 5 years from now?

My $0.02

Black is black, if you don't mind the upkeep, it's fantastic. I think you need a little color on the interior, otherwise "How much more black can it be? The answer is none ... none more black"

The dark [metallic] grays are also pretty amazing, I've had three cars with a variant of it, see my previous T4R photo for one (so direct experience) and was even considering it this time around. If you like darker colors, it gives you that, it's less "plasticky" than brighter, non-gray scale colors. Also, it gives the illusion of being cleaner longer, and since it's not black - depending on the exact shade - it let's you use black as a contrasting color for things like badges. I don't like the flatter gray, it needs a little metallic sheen to avoid being drab.

Blue, you really have to be a blue car fan. I've never liked it too much outside of BMW and Audi, and a few classics like the Shelby AC Cobra (blue with white stripes please) We had a Z3, in blue, saddle interior, that worked I don't think brighter colors have as long of a life cycle, they kind of go in trends vs. the classics like black and silver.

My one "wild" color deviation was yellow, the shade on the Z06 was just about perfect, not too lemony, not too orange, a little tint in the clearcoat, and it wound up being an amazing "highlight color" for things like seats, calipers, etc.

 

[determined09]

Personally I think GM should have dropped the Buick line years ago when they were dropping brands like Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn. No matter how great a Buick is, even if on par with Lexus, let's face it no under the age of 70 has any interest in a Buick in the US.

The best thing the could have done IMO was drop the Buick name and reinvent a new brand geared more towards the younger generations. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have played a similar game creating spin off luxury brands. And now Hyundai is playing it smart, isolating their Genisis and Equis premium vehicles into their own brand to dissociate themselves from a cheaper line.

And frankly I think the same could be said for Lincoln. Let go of the nostalgia and go for actually attracting buyers.

The American concept of brand rebadging while a sensible business tactic has become a disproven method. Remarketing the same car with a similar appearance under 12 different price points and dealers does not seem to be viable.

Cadillac IMO has been holding on by the skin of its teeth, but needs to go further in keeping their models relevant. Usually that lies in the little details and improving things customers see fit. I think GM in particular likes to cut corners following the following forumula: cut $1 here, sell 1m cars, save $1m dollars. To all extent companies work this way, but I think GM is notorious for this. In premium level cars people expect attention to detail, not renaming, repurposing, corner cutting, and brand dilution.

This may sound silly and something Jonny Ive would say, but even as something basic as they key I think is important. It's usually the first part of the car people come in contact with, it's almost a peice of jewelry give how much time it spends on the owner. When a luxury brand repurposed their cheap keyfob for lowend models in cars that cost 3x as much, it seems silly. Or even between brands.

Which reminds me I never liked the key on my E60, found on other models too. Chinsy plastic, no meaningful heft, what does the BMW logo have to do with locking the car, if anything I would think BMW would mean unlock. But that's what the up arrow key is for, or is that a down arrow. BMW's new smart key in the 7 is far more ridiculous, with the brick phone sized remote. Does anyone know if Lexus still makes that credit card sized wallet smart key transmitter. Aside from the understandable lack of buttons, that was a great idea.

Yes, Lexus still does have the Lexus credit card smart key. But the Parts Department said that it is only for the LX SUV and LS sedan.

 

[D.T.]

Huh, I was just thinking about colors, I guess I've covered most options (some multiple times): white, silver, black, gray, red, yellow, blue - guess I've never done any kind of green or orange.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

I can concur that credit-card-style keys would be nice. I personally don't like having fat key wads/fobs in my pocket. In fact, having a phone in the pocket is enough to annoy me. Then again, I still rock an iPhone 4s, so that might explain it.

BTW, how come fobs are becoming so ugly nowadays? Just saw a fob for a modern Ford (I think Escape or something), and it looked like it had no particular design ethic - it was just an awkward, unnatural-looking blob of plastic. They used to look ergonomic. Even a classic chirper looks better.


(I think this is what the Ford ones I saw looked like. They are bigger - and worse - in person.)

IMO, key fobs are more gimmicky than they are convenient.

 

[A.Goldberg]

View attachment 659646 View attachment 659646


Yeah, Japanese cars certainly are shifting in design sense. Maybe they're still fun and cutesy in Japan, but we're definitely seeing aggressive styling right now, in America. I'm personally for it - I think the new Corolla, for instance, actually looks good. I admire its new-age dashboard as well. The only bold and aggressive designs I'm hating are that of the new Prius and that new Mirai *shudders*.


xD It was pretty wild taking that Honda on a rodeo. We obviously couldn't do real drifting, so we relied on the handbrake. The car never overheated or anything, thankfully. The only damage we sustained was more loss of that stupid plastic underneath that always gets torn off from dips in the road. Upon entering the dry lake bed a second time, my dad took a wrong turn and we ended up going down a rugged dirt bike trail! Felt bad for the poor car after tearing it up; but, luckily, it held up. (And, yes, the Crown Vic is solely a drifting car, but my brother and I became attached to it as a city driver. I love its driving style. I had the impression that it would handle like a boat, but it was surprisingly nimble. Why should I have, though? It's a cop car after all.)

The larger Range Rovers are cushier. I went and saw new one at the dealer recently; it was not only a big-daddy Range Rover, it was also extra stretched. In fact, the rear doors looked slightly longer than the front doors. It was totally a limo back there.

Interesting thoughts on the Honda Accord suspension... it wasn't GREAT, but I thought that it cancelled out a good bit more road noise than things like the Honda Civic. In fact, I rode in a new Civic today, and the level of noise from within the cabin was greater than how it was within our 2012 Honda Accord. Of course, the Civic is the lower-end car... but the model I rode in was about four years newer than our Accord. That being said, it had a lesser package. I don't know if it's safe to assume this, but I feel as though certain interior packages/trims can render a car's interior quieter than those with lower-end packages. I definitely hear more rattling in the lower-end ones. I actually rode in two different Sonatas this week; one being a base model and the other a higher-end model with leather interior. Granted, the higher-end model was a hybrid, but its interior still felt quieter and less hollow. Still, however, the suspension was lacking. But, anyway, I shouldn't praise the Honda's suspension too much, but I felt it to be a little more cushy than that of a comparable Camry. Being on the freeway with a period Camry wasn't too pleasant in my experience. While the Honda would dip more than I'd like it to, it at least felt relatively solid and comfy enough. Additionally, the rear seats were squishy and plush for what they were.
[doublepost=1474926109][/doublepost]I just found out that we're picking up a 2016 Suburban LTZ tomorrow... (2016 because it's have clearance sales.) Well, I am not home to see it right now. Will have to wait a couple months before I'm home - then I'll give my two cents.

However, I did mention earlier that we test drove one, and I found the seats to be very comfortable (albeit small in surface area). The drive felt very smooth, and the shocks did a good job with dampening. In fact, I found out that these new Chevys use 'magnetic ride control suspension' now, which makes for a much nicer ride. The previous generation was great, but these things are a huge improvement. If these new ones weren't so much nicer, we'd have gotten the previous generation again. (We had a lease for one in 2007.) Additionally, our previous one was RWD, while this new one is AWD & 20-inch wheels.

I'm really looking forward to driving it. Chevy makes such a proper full-size SUV. My only gripe with it is the fact that it's smaller in interior volume than those of the previous generation. Not exactly a hauler, but still certainly spacious.

I don't really see the new Corolla has being that aggressive compared to the outgoing model. Sportier grill. Sportier headlight design common with the trend. The interior is a step up but largely due to their pleather "shelf" dashboard and replacement of a standard looking radio with a touch unit. Don't get me wrong it's a much better looking car but I still see very much of the old 'rolla underneath.

Tearing up the underpanneling isn't a good idea. Good thing it was there so the parts it was covering didn't get torn up. I know a few people who have had those plastic dislodge due to poor design/mechanic's work on the highway and cause substantial damage to their car.

The Range Rover has always taken a design oriented towards a softer ride over the Range Rover Sport. The Range Rover is comfort oriented, the RR Sport is more like an X5 or Cayenne competitor. I presume you're talking about the Range Rover LWB (long wheel base), a fairly standard feature of flagship sedans (A8 vs A8L, 750i vs 750iL) and theoretically many SUVs (Yukon vs. Yukon XL, Navigator vs Navigator L).

The newest civic I've been in was a 2013, and was one of the worst cars I've ever driven. It's slow, lots of road noise, lots of wind noise, lots of rain noise- sounding like pebbles on a tin roof, engine sounds like a chain saw, uncomfortable seats, bad ride, and horrid aesthetics. To some degree the very short wheel base limits the comfort you can achieve. Not a comfortable car at all. Super slow. Electronic power steering feels like Apple sauce with practically zero feedback. I'm actually astonished they sell as many of these as they do, reliability and cost of ownership are probably the only redeeming factors.

The Accord is a much better and premium car in every way. That said in terms of comfort and dynamics I think there are still better sedans out there in the "family sedan" class if that's what you're looking for.

Generally good dynamics and a soft comfortable ride are opposing engineering concepts, simply speaking. In many cases, without getting too technically crazy or expensive (adaptive suspension components (air/magnetic suspension, hydraulic swaybars, adaptive seats, adjustable steering systems, etc), you sacrifice one for the other. So it's all about finding a balance and designing ways to mitigate negative aspects of each.

 

[quagmire]

My $0.02

Black is black, if you don't mind the upkeep, it's fantastic. I think you need a little color on the interior, otherwise "How much more black can it be? The answer is none ... none more black"

The dark [metallic] grays are also pretty amazing, I've had three cars with a variant of it, see my previous T4R photo for one (so direct experience) and was even considering it this time around. If you like darker colors, it gives you that, it's less "plasticky" than brighter, non-gray scale colors. Also, it gives the illusion of being cleaner longer, and since it's not black - depending on the exact shade - it let's you use black as a contrasting color for things like badges. I don't like the flatter gray, it needs a little metallic sheen to avoid being drab.

Blue, you really have to be a blue car fan. I've never liked it too much outside of BMW and Audi, and a few classics like the Shelby AC Cobra (blue with white stripes please) We had a Z3, in blue, saddle interior, that worked I don't think brighter colors have as long of a life cycle, they kind of go in trends vs. the classics like black and silver.

My one "wild" color deviation was yellow, the shade on the Z06 was just about perfect, not too lemony, not too orange, a little tint in the clearcoat, and it wound up being an amazing "highlight color" for things like seats, calipers, etc.

Both the mosaic black and nightfall gray are metallic paints. The hyper blue is a distant 3rd in considerations. I love how the Camaro looks with it, but as you said, I don't think it will have a long life cycle and would get tired/sick of it 5 years from now. If I was going to go in today to order the car, it would be in nightfall gray. Black is fantastic and it makes the Camaro look so menacing, but after 10 years of upkeep of my Aura, I cry when I see the scratches on it. Still like dark colors on cars, but would definitely like something that would hide the battle scars a bit.

Speaking of green.... Looks like GM will be putting krypton green into production for a short period in the spring for the Camaro.....

I would be able to troll all the Prius fanboys out there.....

 

[2298754]

That is god awful.

 

[senseless]

For black cars, Turtle wax makes a wax called "Color Magic" that will fill in tiny dings and scratches and shines like a mirror. Black needs a little more attention. I'm amazed at how many people spend $30,000 plus for a new car and can't be bothered waxing ever. The Glo-Wax at the car wash provides no protection.

 

[quagmire]

That is god awful.

Agreed. But I do see some 5th gens with the synergy green paint so I bet people will pick up the krypton green 6th gen. People have weird taste....

 

[D.T.]

That is god awful.

You have to "rate" to get away with that color, i.e., it works like this:

Holy ****, I LOVE that GT3 color that's like a light purple ...

[doublepost=1474931225][/doublepost]

I don't think it will have a long life cycle and would get tired/sick of it 5 years from now.

It's probably smart if you're planning to keep a car 5 years to go with a color option that will be, umm, I guess call it "relevant", that far down the road.

Personally, I'd get the color I liked, and worry about the future later

 

[0388631]

It's still an awful color for a GT3, never mind the more expensive RS variant.