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The Car Thread ... !
- Thread starter D.T.
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There's a large-ish Toyota dealership up the road from my parents house. I remember them leasing space in the parking lot of a nearby business just to have space to store all the cars while they "processed" and junked them.
Several years later, as I've hunted on and off for a 90s Chevy 1500(I still need to by the Suburban from the guy at work, although I think that's a 2500 chassis rather than a 1500) I've realized just HOW many of those trucks went to their grave during that program. The price of a 20-30 year old truck that was made in huge numbers is eye-popping.
It is pretty mind boggling how many perfectly good cars and car parts went to waste from that silly program. The consensus of the retrospective analyses is pretty negative. $3B is a lot of money to spend to only require at most a 4mpg gain, only increased car purchases slightly that would have been purchased anyways, and jack up the price of used vehicles (detrimental to those who cannot afford new cars).
A lot of energy goes into building a car. I did not like that they destroyed them. I guess many people are still driving even older cars. Some might be more efficient but less safe.
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Speaking of cars, part of the security system of my (sadly destroyed) 2015 Honda Fit was the fact every time you pressed the unlock and lock buttons on the fob, the code changes. That makes it a bit (pun unintended!) more difficult to steal the code.
As for my current Scion iM, I finally replaced the 9012 halogen lights with its LED equivalent from Headlight Experts. It wasn't cheap, but it works and at night, the difference is very dramatic--same beam pattern, but everything I see is MUCH clearer.
As for my current Scion iM, I finally replaced the 9012 halogen lights with its LED equivalent from Headlight Experts. It wasn't cheap, but it works and at night, the difference is very dramatic--same beam pattern, but everything I see is MUCH clearer.
Stoked about the N.Y. Auto-show coming this week, but one interesting possibility, is that it’s rumored Ford Will debut an ‘entry-level Mustang’ for 2020. Speculation is all over the place on this, but curious to see what this is about. But I’m guessing this has to be more in line with the eco-boost/four-cylinder with different package options with power upgrades (But at what price point....) But interesting to see Ford expanding the Mustang line up, if it indeed happens.
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/04/05/2020-ford-mustang-entry-level-performance-model/
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/04/05/2020-ford-mustang-entry-level-performance-model/
That should be good for Europe.
But the design does not seem pretty like 20 years ago, but generic.
EDIT: I thought it looked a bit better around then. I see it disappointingly followed the trend many times.
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The S550 design seems to follow more of the European trend in design and symmetry. If you look at Mustangs prior to the 2015 year, you will see more of the ‘muscle car’ with a bulk look. I personally like certain things about the S550 design and there certain elements that I don’t like.
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The problem is that again it seems it looks more like a Japanese car than a Mustang.
I don’t understand, what’s the problem? I don’t see any Japanese trends with the Mustang. If anything, you can see the trend with European flow with the lines and accent points on the car. I don’t think the S550 is the ‘true pinnacle’ of a muscle car, but it’s a combination of both European and American function, but Ford made it work.
With the current design it seems you could just buy some other similar car for 2 liters.
It was probably one of the worst programs ever conceived. Not only were some of the new offerings worse and more basic than what went in, it completely destroyed the 2nd hand market. So when the economy got really bad, those who didn't make enough were screwed even more.
It completely destroyed engines so whatever was left in junkyards went up in price. And you couldn't repair those worthless engines either. And, I suspect the transmissions were also messed up due to the method in which the engines were destroyed. That and ever increasing smog requirements for older vehicles is going to change the car landscape in another decade.
The program was easily abused by unscrupulous individuals which weren't caught and probably destroyed a sizeable portion of more unique vehicles produced in low numbers.
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I must have missed the post you made, but what happened to your Honda?
I got that much, but wasn't sure. I think most people who haven't really been exposed to Americans think anyone who lives in a metropolis-less area is like or is a peckerwood. Generally, when someone continues to make sweeping generalizations over and over despite being proven otherwise, they tend to be very narrow minded themselves.
N.Y.A.S 2020-
Mustang 2.3 High Performance debut:
Ford totally went ‘Auto-cross’ in mind with this upgrade, so the details:
Thoughts:
This new 2.3 High Performance Mustang has an extreme amount of potential, which doesn’t include aftermarket modifications/tunes to increase the HP even more. If I was in the market for a performance four-cylinder turbo charged vehicle, this is would be at the top.
The only thing I don’t like, is the ‘California-Style’ grill that they’re using, it’s a similar grill that I had on my 14 GT that I deleted. And they added a faux gas cap on the back of the deck lid. Recaro seats are also an option.
Available in the fall/no pricing options as of yet.
https://www.cars.com/articles/2020-...erformance-pack-fantastic-four-1420757840340/
Mustang 2.3 High Performance debut:
Ford totally went ‘Auto-cross’ in mind with this upgrade, so the details:
- Available in Coupe/Vert
- Available in 10 speed/6 speed
- 2.3 L (Focus Engine based)
- 5% Larger turbo (63mm)/larger radiator
- 330 HP/6000 RPM
- Top Speed 155
- Various handling upgrades
Thoughts:
This new 2.3 High Performance Mustang has an extreme amount of potential, which doesn’t include aftermarket modifications/tunes to increase the HP even more. If I was in the market for a performance four-cylinder turbo charged vehicle, this is would be at the top.
The only thing I don’t like, is the ‘California-Style’ grill that they’re using, it’s a similar grill that I had on my 14 GT that I deleted. And they added a faux gas cap on the back of the deck lid. Recaro seats are also an option.
Available in the fall/no pricing options as of yet.
https://www.cars.com/articles/2020-...erformance-pack-fantastic-four-1420757840340/
Interesting specs on that 4 cyl.! Not liking the grill either, bud. I think a classic honeycomb would have been far nicer and keep to the aggressive styling of the Mustang. Though Ford has to do something weird or dull to differentiate their low tier 'Stangs from the higher models.
Yeah, nice but.......
Why would I buy a Mustang when it's not V8?
But you need to be a 100% (car)nut to buy a V8 in europe.
-> will remain a novelty car despite the fact that you can now buy them at normal Ford dealerships.
It'll be a decent purchase for those in more restrictive European states. The Dutch pay out the nose for vehicles so the 4 pot isn't a bad choice if they want some American spirit. As do others. Though at the end of the day, I still question why you would want to purchase such a vehicle as I presume the insurance premium would far exceed any other conventional vehicle available for sale.
Does not cumpute
The base Mustang starts at 39900€ (42400€ for the automatic), a M140i at 47750€.
No question which 2 door RWD performance sedan I would buy (even if it means getting one that is slightly used).
Does not cumpute
The base Mustang starts at 39900€ (42400€ for the automatic), a M140i at 47750€.
No question which 2 door RWD performance sedan I would buy (even if it means getting one that is slightly used).
Yeah, the BMW is the better buy for me as well. The old E87 coupes were briefly sold in the US, with the 135i variant holding its values decently until today. I can't remember if the 1M was sold here. Might have been Europe only. That said I've seen less than a handful on the road. I believe the 2nd iteration for the last couple of model years used the improved N55 engine which avoided the pitfalls the N54 had.
It's a little tough to compare the BMW to the Mustang. From a size, power and utility standpoint, the BMW does win hands down.
I already own a Mustang GT, so I get the ‘whole V8 argument’. But in respect to how far four-cylinder turbo charged cars have come, they have a lot of potential in the aftermarket sector with tuning. I mean, even the base Mustang eco-boost turbo charged four-cylinder actually has a decent amount of pep to it with 310 HP stock (That doesn’t even include what a tune can supplement, not to mention, no one keeps a Mustang stock), which with this new 2.3L ‘Performance model’, they made some changes in the right area’s [i.e handling/performance gains] that will draw attention to the right demographic. I personally think Ford made some stellar changes with this new 2.3 L drivetrain.
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Because when they switch again to a more classic design it could look nice and iconic.