The Car Thread ... !

[bunnspecial]

Anyway I would rather see a debadged car than a 320i rebadged as a M3.... Now those are the real douchebags.

I saw a 328i M-sport at the grocery store the other day. In and of itself, that's not a bad car(I'd rather have an M3, but there are practical arguments for getting an M-sport), but they'd put a ton of aftermarket M badging on it that just looked stupid.

The real kicker for me, though, was aftermarket "inserts" in the grille in the light blue/dark blue/red colors of an M car...

 

[americafirst]

The basic block is the 4.6L modular, which is an OHC engine that was used for a REALLY long time across a wide range of vehicles.

Most Panther cars(Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, Town Car) got the 16 valve SOHC version, which is basically bullet proof.

The Marauder was the only Panther to get the 4.6L DOHC 32-valve version. Lincoln branded this as the "Intech" engine and they were the heaviest users of it(like I said, Mark VIII, Continental, Aviator) but it also showed up in some Shelby Mustangs. The DOHC version has a reputation for being a bit more cantankerous than the SOHC, whether in 16V or 24V form(yes, 24 valves, or 3 per cylinder, was a thing).

Thanks I wasn't aware of the difference

Anyway I would rather see a debadged car than a 320i rebadged as a M3.... Now those are the real douchebags.

I see that a lot or Mercedes-Benz with AMG badges that aren't an AMG

 

[Apple fanboy]

In a VW Golf thread I read, they not only de badge their car, but remove the rear wiper for a cleaner look. You can buy a kit robing up the hole.

Weird!

 

[D.T.]

I'm about to de-badge one item on the rear of the RT, but it's really a de-emphasizing, the R/T model has all black badges, but the big D O D G E across the rear deck is craptacular, remove it, and you still have very subtle recessed letter outlines that should nicely match the rest of the vehicle.

... or looking at it now, maybe not, hahaha.

I actually __added__ a few badges too

 

[quagmire]

Just insane....

 

[americafirst]

Just insane....

Which camera or app is that

 

[D.T.]

Just insane....

JFC, new record by almost a **minute** !!

 

[44267547]

I would call it generic rather than cleaner.

I would rather have less a cluttered look with some badges removed. Some badges I want displayed, like ‘5.0’ or ‘SHO’, which might represent that specific model if it were the higher or more premium trim. But the Porsche I saw yesterday looked rather bland without the ‘Porsche’ insignia, even though I can see why some might opt for the ‘Blank’ look.

But as someone else alluded to, I’m not interested (Or paying for a vehicle) in advertising/marketing the dealership through stickers, license plate brackets, where I purchased the car from. Those are the first to be removed off my vehicle.

But for Sports cars, quite a few owners remove badges for their own reasons. But one vehicle that’s excessive in decals /emblems is the Ford Raptor, not my style, even though I can look past it with the T.T. Ecoboost, its still a menacing looking truck. [It would be even better with a 7.0 L, hopefully].

 

[0388631]

@D.T. Didn't Dodge used to have some weird kerning issues back in the day when they opted for the spaced out lettering look?

 

[americafirst]

Does anyone here have a Toyota 4Runner? I saw a TRD Off-Road on my drive home this morning and like it! How is the durability and how does it handle off road? I looked online and it appears the 4Runner doesn't h ave Android Auto or CarPlay is this correct? I will start looking at new cars this week to replace my current car

 

[AustinIllini]

Does anyone here have a Toyota 4Runner? I saw a TRD Off-Road on my drive home this morning and like it! How is the durability and how does it handle off road? I looked online and it appears the 4Runner doesn't h ave Android Auto or CarPlay is this correct? I will start looking at new cars this week to replace my current car

Toyota has trailed on the Apple Carplay.

But your user name makes me think you shouldn't go 4Runner anyway.

 

[0388631]

Insert callous laughter here.

But for Sports cars, quite a few owners remove badges for their own reasons. But one vehicle that’s excessive in decals /emblems is the Ford Raptor, not my style, even though I can look past it with the T.T. Ecoboost, its still a menacing looking truck. [It would be even better with a 7.0 L, hopefully].

Is this the Raptor with the small 4 cyl. engine they plan on introducing?

Also, it's fine if you don't follow Porsche. Most car people seem to not care and it is somewhat difficult to follow them if you don't know the build codes. I like them, but I'm not a huge fan of them like AU is. I just know that my tall frame can sit in a 911 very comfortably with headroom to spare.

The 911 is the definition of timeless. To the unknowing, a 20 year old model in good shape looks like a brand new one. That, my friend, is classic engineering and design.

 

[Matz]

Not that there is anything wrong with this, but:

You know when you park your sports car in a parking lot that’s fairly large away from others [As in no where near where others are], because you don’t really want anyone else parking next to you in the sense of trying to avoid having door dings or for those who are simply negligent around others vehicles? (That’s Me) But then, there is that *one* other sports car That Will park their car all the way out by yours just to show you what type of car they have in comparison to yours? Yeah, that’s this Porsche

I too park away from others whenever conditions permit, whether it’s my personal car or company car, to avoid door dings. Whenever someone with a nice or nicer ride parks near me, I assume they are simply doing so for the same reasons I do.

And if there’s no other space available, I’ll always park near a nicer car because I figure the person driving that car is less likely to ding mine, and I’d hope they’d assume the same of me.

 

[D.T.]

Does anyone here have a Toyota 4Runner? I saw a TRD Off-Road on my drive home this morning and like it! How is the durability and how does it handle off road? I looked online and it appears the 4Runner doesn't h ave Android Auto or CarPlay is this correct? I will start looking at new cars this week to replace my current car

A 4Runner is one of the most capable off-road vehicles ever built - with the TRD package even more so, but keep in mind there's $5K+ in that package, that if you're really not hardcore off roading, is kind of wasted.

At one point you mentioned an X3, vs. a T4R, opposite ends of the SUV spectrum. We didn't buy another T4R, the tranny and electronics are behind, and while I also love the TRD package, it's a bit posery of you're not trail climbing in the mountains We had a loaded Limited, AWD/V8, it was pretty solid, had the X-REAS shock system that failed, OEM replacement would've been $2K, we switched over to better Bilsteins, had one major service, one major AC issue, went through some serious **** (beach, snow, towing, floods) and was mostly very reliable.

 

[Gutwrench]

I had a CJ5 when I was 19 and loved it! There’s was a place called 1000 Acres devoted to off-roading with several creeks to go mudding. I’d put on the bikini top in Feb or April and put the soft top back on at first snow. Thank god they had great heaters because the soft top in sub-zero weather was sometimes a challenge. One cold January night (after closing up a bar) I was sitting in it warming it up when a coworker walking past tapped on the plastic back window shouting good night and it shattered. I couldn’t afford to replace the top so I had to live with it. I never got a ticket or arrested in it but raised quite a bit of hell.

 

[0388631]

I never had a CJ/Wrangler/Whatever. Almost everyone I knew back in the day had one. Even the new ones with the all black edition look pretty rad with a LED light-bar setup, maybe some spacers. Saw a 4-door version a few years ago that I really loved. Black with the black OEM wheels, a little lowered, mild spacing on the wheels, great lights setup, gradient smoked tint. It was beautiful and it would look tacky on any other car, but my god, it was gorgeous to me on that Wrangler.
[doublepost=1530393444][/doublepost]

At one point you mentioned an X3, vs. a T4R, opposite ends of the SUV spectrum. We didn't buy another T4R, the tranny and electronics are behind, and while I also love the TRD package, it's a bit posery of you're not trail climbing in the mountains We had a loaded Limited, AWD/V8, it was pretty solid, had the X-REAS shock system that failed, OEM replacement would've been $2K, we switched over to better Bilsteins, had one major service, one major AC issue, went through some serious **** (beach, snow, towing, floods) and was mostly very reliable.

Yeah. It's meant for off road because that thing is excess for the pavement. If I had a choice right now between the two, the X3 M40i would be what I get. Small enough but big enough for a Costco haul, and you could stick on a Berger kit if you wanted to. Provided you can send it to yourself across state lines.

 

[americafirst]

Toyota has trailed on the Apple Carplay.

That's what I gathered from Toyota's site

But your user name makes me think you shouldn't go 4Runner anyway.

Why

A 4Runner is one of the most capable off-road vehicles ever built - with the TRD package even more so, but keep in mind there's $5K+ in that package, that if you're really not hardcore off roading, is kind of wasted.

I won't be taking it hardcore off roading but I do go on some trails when I hunt and shoot

At one point you mentioned an X3, vs. a T4R, opposite ends of the SUV spectrum. We didn't buy another T4R, the tranny and electronics are behind, and while I also love the TRD package, it's a bit posery of you're not trail climbing in the mountains We had a loaded Limited, AWD/V8, it was pretty solid, had the X-REAS shock system that failed, OEM replacement would've been $2K, we switched over to better Bilsteins, had one major service, one major AC issue, went through some serious **** (beach, snow, towing, floods) and was mostly very reliable.

My list right now is the BMW X3 M40i Lexus GX 460 Dodge Durango R/T AWD and now the Toyota 4Runner. At this point I am not sure what I will get since I use my Ford Explorer g ride most of the time and my POV will only be used during the weekends and the monthly commute for BA weekend so it won't get driven much but my current car is to the point it is getting expensive to keep. Why do you think the X3 and 4Runner are at opposite ends of the SUV spectrum

 

[quagmire]

Why do you think the X3 and 4Runner are at opposite ends of the SUV spectrum

X3 is a luxury soccer mom crossover that is just a jacked up 3 series wagon essentially. Not meant for any amount of off roading, but the highways and parking lots of the US. 4Runner is a body on frame SUV that is very capable to go off road. They are vehicles not normally cross shopped. It would almost be like cross shopping a Prius with a Corvette.

 

[0388631]

And it sounds ****ing gorgeous.

 

[Gutwrench]

I never had a CJ/Wrangler/Whatever. Almost everyone I knew back in the day had one. Even the new ones with the all black edition look pretty rad with a LED light-bar setup, maybe some spacers. Saw a 4-door version a few years ago that I really loved. Black with the black OEM wheels, a little lowered, mild spacing on the wheels, great lights setup, gradient smoked tint. It was beautiful and it would look tacky on any other car, but my god, it was gorgeous to me on that Wrangler.

The rich guy (his wife was a nurse) had a gold CJ7 Golden Eagle and it was beautiful. But he pampered it, understandably, and rarely climbed or went 4 wheeling.

There were four of us who were pretty close and raised quite a bit of hell in the bars and street/off road area afterwards. They were a tough group actually but I was the reasonable one. One guy, a former Marine MP and close friend then, went to federal prison; another guy was shot to death; one guy I lost track of; and my best friend Kelsey (big tough sob who saved my ass a few times because of my mouth) died of cancer. I made it out of there and became one of the “good guys” lol.

 

[0388631]

The rich guy (his wife was a nurse) had a gold CJ7 Golden Eagle and it was beautiful. But he pampered it, understandably, and rarely climbed or went 4 wheeling.

There were four of us who were pretty close and raised quite a bit of hell in the bars and street/off road area afterwards. They were a tough group actually but I was the reasonable one. One guy, a former Marine MP and close friend then, went to federal prison; another guy was shot to death; one guy I lost track of; and my best friend Kelsey (big tough sob who saved my ass a few times because of my mouth) died of cancer. I made it out of there and became one of the “good guys” lol.

Echoing the word of a professor I had. He was from the midwest too. Said you had three choices in life then. Go to the military and expose yourself to different cultures, stay there and die, or end up somewhere hellish. Nowadays, people just move to the coast. This was a long time ago, but I'd bet the words still hold true today. The midwest has been battling a brain drain of sorts for a variety of reasons for a long time. You see this abroad, too.


Edit: I want to say Wyoming. Grew up on a farm, too. The discussion was a one-on-one after he overheard some of my less than humane views I held at the time. Years later I chalked it up to being less open minded than the people he knew back home. Which says a lot about me then.

 

[Gutwrench]

Echoing the word of a professor I had. He was from the midwest too. Said you had three choices in life then. Go to the military and expose yourself to different cultures, stay there and die, or end up somewhere hellish. Nowadays, people just move to the coast. This was a long time ago, but I'd bet the words still hold true today. The midwest has been battling a brain drain of sorts for a variety of reasons for a long time. You see this abroad, too.


Edit: I want to say Wyoming. Grew up on a farm, too. The discussion was a one-on-one after he overheard some of my less than humane views I held at the time. Years later I chalked it up to being less open minded than the people he knew back home. Which says a lot about me then.

All of this is nicely said. We have to be patient with ourself. We’ll come around eventually....after trying everything else first. (Stolen from Churchill.)

 

[D.T.]

X3 is a luxury soccer mom crossover that is just a jacked up 3 series wagon essentially. Not meant for any amount of off roading, but the highways and parking lots of the US. 4Runner is a body on frame SUV that is very capable to go off road. They are vehicles not normally cross shopped. It would almost be like cross shopping a Prius with a Corvette.

Outstanding, I couldn’t have put it any better.

 

[Gutwrench]

Are corvettes still popular?

 

[americafirst]

X3 is a luxury soccer mom crossover that is just a jacked up 3 series wagon essentially. Not meant for any amount of off roading, but the highways and parking lots of the US. 4Runner is a body on frame SUV that is very capable to go off road. They are vehicles not normally cross shopped. It would almost be like cross shopping a Prius with a Corvette.

That makes sense thanks

Are corvettes still popular?

I don't see many newer ones on the road