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The Car Thread ... !
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So I attended an investor Seminar yesterday, And Post-seminar, Toyota was allowing test rides in their new Prius yesterday as part of this ‘green initiative’.
Anyways, this is my second time in a Prius, the last time I was in a Prius was back in 2009 with the second GEN.
The Reality is, I’ve always been known to drive ‘gas guzzlers’/a.k.a. high-performance cars, but it really got me thinking in terms of the savings would be significant in fuel/maintenance. Now, the time is not right now for me to want to devote myself to full electric, however; I think within five years, I suspect my new ‘daily’ will probably be a full EV vehicle, maybe once it continues to mature, But my point is, it really left me thinking about how impressed I was with the Prius With the embedded technology and how much it’s matured over all these years, and the ‘impact of cause’ it has in terms of cost savings. It’s definitely not how these vehicles perform, but what they give you back in return with money in your wallet.
Anyways, this is my second time in a Prius, the last time I was in a Prius was back in 2009 with the second GEN.
The Reality is, I’ve always been known to drive ‘gas guzzlers’/a.k.a. high-performance cars, but it really got me thinking in terms of the savings would be significant in fuel/maintenance. Now, the time is not right now for me to want to devote myself to full electric, however; I think within five years, I suspect my new ‘daily’ will probably be a full EV vehicle, maybe once it continues to mature, But my point is, it really left me thinking about how impressed I was with the Prius With the embedded technology and how much it’s matured over all these years, and the ‘impact of cause’ it has in terms of cost savings. It’s definitely not how these vehicles perform, but what they give you back in return with money in your wallet.
I saw some fuzzy pics of a white one recently. Got a Defender vibe from those. Not so much these clearer photos.
Going from memory because I can't find where I read it, they estimate around 330 HP for the R and over 400 HP for a n R+/R Plus variant.
To clarify, those are photos of the Bronco Sport, the smaller, lower priced, unibody based option.
The full sized Bronco is BOF construction (like a "real truck"), and will have both 4 and 2 door options, removable roof like a Jeep - the 2-door is hot, now __that's__ a Bronco.
Hopefully there will be an ST flavor with the the 400HP 3.0L TT motor from the ST Explorer. Of course, a 3rg Gen Coyote would be spectacular, but that's not going to happen ...
Toyota is coming on the market with the Yaris Gazoo Racing (GR). A three cilinder engine with 261 hp. Out of a 1.6l. Interesting pocket rocket.
I'm a big fan of the Yaris (I've got a 2013). We never get any of the awesome iterations here in the USA.
True, though like many of the high[er] performance cars we don't get, this one is also kind of silly expensive (Motor1 reporting "regular" flavor at ~$37K USD equiv., special 1st Edition for ~$42K).
Basically Toyota's version of something like the Focus RS (so if you want to spend $45,000 on a compact, high performance hatch, there's always that option
)
Basically Toyota's version of something like the Focus RS (so if you want to spend $45,000 on a compact, high performance hatch, there's always that option
)True, though like many of the high[er] performance cars we don't get, this one is also kind of silly expensive (Motor1 reporting "regular" flavor at ~$37K USD equiv., special 1st Edition for ~$42K).
Basically Toyota's version of something like the Focus RS (so if you want to spend $45,000 on a compact, high performance hatch, there's always that option
It would be nice to have the option. Yeah, it's costly but having just a few around would be better than none. They alienate people like myself who stare and frown at these new vehicles that are getting to the size of buses. I'm in Texas but bigger isn't my style with tiny parking garages.
Edit: Ford, never. I'm Toyota all the way. My husband has an older Ford that has a new problem every day.
My dad swears by fords. Says they are easy to work on. I say that’s all you have to do with them!
I’m VW all the way.
I don't really sweat it, there was nothing in my buying segment that was near the mix of performance/looks/features/price as my GT convertible, I'll own it for a few years, try something else. Last one was absolutely solid, one major AC fix done under warranty - and I don't even concern myself that much over the warranty, since I usually mod my cars (I'm currently running an ethanol tune on mine
)I don't buy brands, so much as I buy vehicles that match my current desires/preferences. Like our DD/RT, I cross shopped some other options, but my buyers list included: performance, towing, passenger space, features, across multiple brands (re-shopped another Toyota since we were coming from a T4R, it was a bust ...), nothing checked off as many boxes (and we lease the family car, so in a year, still fully under maintenance/warranty, we'll simply hand over the keys and shop again
)
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No not at all! The Focus RS is just a Focus with a bigger engine and some extra trim.
The GR shares very little with a normal Yaris, completely different base, 4WD, 2 doors, etc...
Better analogy would be the Clio2-V6 which also did cost 2-3 times of a normal one at the time.
And it was purposed build for racing just like the GR and the only reason you will be able to drive a GR on the street is that Toyota needs to sell a certain number to have it qualify for the WRC.
Hahaha, well, the RS is a bit more than just a "Focus with a bigger engine", it has a unique AWD system with torque vectoring and driver slip/bias control, big Brembos with monoblock 4 piston config, unique suspension, special aero, extra coolers, a unique 6-speed with model specific ratios, etc., etc. Sure it's built on the same platform, but it's a pretty special model variant.
At any rate, the context of my comment was as a buyer in the US, the RS is a car you can actually buy here (Clio isn't sold here either ...) with the same general ownership experience in terms of performance, AWD, size / general design (i.e., a "rally inspired hot hatch"), in the same price range ($40k-50K USD), and not really an assessment of the actual underlying platforms or homologation rules for including a car in a racing series
That's the RS all day.
BTW, have you ever driven one? I mean, I'm not a buyer, but they're a HOOT! I wasn't in a place where I could go all Ken Block and really test out the slip/bias control, but just the general vehicle dynamics are fantastic. It's very tight, kinetic, it turns on a dime, the suspension stays very sorted out even on so-so roads, the boost comes on low and hard, and it has a few seconds where it can overboost and generate extra torque, so it pulls really hard out of turns - again, wasn't my car and on the street, so I was limited, but I'd like to drive on on track, a small circuit like Roebling.
Ah the one that really was a Sierra in Escort-clothes, kinda brings us back the that Yaris GR
This is by no means a ‘bragging point’, but I thought it be interesting to share the fuel economy in my area due to C/19. A year ago, fuel was ~$3.30 for premium, it’s currently ~$1.68 (For 87 Oct). To fill my Scat pack with 91 octane as of last summer of 2019, it was ~$53-ish with an almost empty tank, as of yesterday to refuel with 91 Oct, it was ~$30.61. [I average just under 18 MPG with the Scat in the city.]
The weather has turned really nice in my area {68°}, so I suspect I’ll be driving the Scat more often, usually it’s not out of the garage until May due to weather, but with the cost savings this year for fuel alone is huge due to the economy, but as always, it’s ‘smiles per gallon‘😁, not MPG.
The weather has turned really nice in my area {68°}, so I suspect I’ll be driving the Scat more often, usually it’s not out of the garage until May due to weather, but with the cost savings this year for fuel alone is huge due to the economy, but as always, it’s ‘smiles per gallon‘😁, not MPG.
One member Referred to as ‘The great White North’, I refer it to as.. ’Where you freeze your *** off.😁
On Monday I put down a deposit at National Speed in Richmond for my Whipple Stage 2 supercharger install. Three weeks to build and deliver the supercharger, and one week to install and tune.
Just in time for spring!
Oh my, how things have changed. A week after placing the order, they told me they’d start work on the car on April 24, as the SC order time had increased to eight weeks. That seemed like forever.
Now I’m thinking not for a much longer time, if ever.
Funny thing is, even with everything that’s going on, I’d still rather have them do the install than return my deposit.
Hopefully they won‘t go out of business and keep my deposit.
So, as Mike Oldfield says, only time will tell.
Truly, a first-world problem.
Good news/bad news for those of us that like to drive:
The good:
The bad:
Enjoy, but be careful out there.
The good:
Gas is cheap
Traffic is reduced
Speed limit enforcement appears to be much more relaxed
The bad:
A higher percentage of those other folks on the road are stressed, distracted, or both.
Enjoy, but be careful out there.
Strategy moving forward for the SHO/Raptor Purchase:
I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I plan on using the C/19 situation to my advantage:
Now, in my state, we have a ‘safety lockdown’, where only obviously ‘essential businesses‘ can practice, non-essential have to deactivate any/all sales. That said, all dealerships are closed, With the exception of providing vehicle maintenance.
So, both the 18’ Raptor and 19‘ SHO are still available on both lots that I’m considering. Obviously they won’t sell, because of the lockdown won’t end until May 1. (Which in all reality, could extend beyond May 1, but it all depends on if there’s any type of improvement.)
So what I’m thinking I’m going to do, is on May 1, have my decision made of which vehicle I want, walk-in on ‘day one’ when the dealership opens, Negotiate, and I guarantee they will bend over backwards to sell cars, because of the Loss of sales, plus the time both of those vehicles have already been sitting on their lot for at least 6 weeks .
That all said, with the vehicle market on the decline and dealerships wanting to create a sale, I should be able to capitalize on scoring A decent discount on either one of these vehicles so they can move them off the lot.
Patience is a virtue.😁
I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I plan on using the C/19 situation to my advantage:
Now, in my state, we have a ‘safety lockdown’, where only obviously ‘essential businesses‘ can practice, non-essential have to deactivate any/all sales. That said, all dealerships are closed, With the exception of providing vehicle maintenance.
So, both the 18’ Raptor and 19‘ SHO are still available on both lots that I’m considering. Obviously they won’t sell, because of the lockdown won’t end until May 1. (Which in all reality, could extend beyond May 1, but it all depends on if there’s any type of improvement.)
So what I’m thinking I’m going to do, is on May 1, have my decision made of which vehicle I want, walk-in on ‘day one’ when the dealership opens, Negotiate, and I guarantee they will bend over backwards to sell cars, because of the Loss of sales, plus the time both of those vehicles have already been sitting on their lot for at least 6 weeks .
That all said, with the vehicle market on the decline and dealerships wanting to create a sale, I should be able to capitalize on scoring A decent discount on either one of these vehicles so they can move them off the lot.
Patience is a virtue.😁
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