The Car Thread ... !

[bunnspecial]

The 300 is a nice car, but way back in 2005/2006 when they were first coming out, I called it that they would become the hoodrat drug dealer car of choice right behind the Escalade due to the Bentley-esque front end - and I was right (sorry but the truth hurts). With Chrysler's crap resale it only took 2-3 years before you saw them beat up and blinged out. The SRT 300 is great, but it's a really, really, really hard sell against the German competition for a fast sedan.

Funny enough, I had the same thought at the time.

The have sort of the same "slab side" look of the RR Phantom(which I do NOT like) combined with a Bentley-like front end. Sure enough, I've seen plenty on the west end of Louisville, and more than I care to count with some sort of Betley-esque logo slapped(crudely) on it. I've also seen more than I care to count with 22"+ rims...

 

[D.T.]

My good friend just scored a '16 blue (Laguna Metallic I believe) C7 Vette, PDR/camera package (which is slick as _hell_), Z51 _ going to go abuse it in the near future.

 

[puma1552]

My good friend just scored a '16 blue (Laguna Metallic I believe) C7 Vette, PDR/camera package (which is slick as _hell_), Z51 _ going to go abuse it in the near future.

dear lawd i need a laguna blue c7 in my life

bout the only car id give up my 5.0 for in an instant

 

[AustinIllini]

I require more discretionary funds to buy C7 Corvette

 

[iLog.Genius]

When you get the chance, check out the Porsche Macan. Even in base form without PASM, PTV, or air suspension, it absolutely dances on the backroads. Something that heavy shouldn't drive that well!

The twin-turbo V6 with PDK put a huge grin on my face

Been wanting to test drive a Macan. Its the only car in this segment I really want other than the X3. The Q5 and GLK (now GLC) just don't do it for me in terms of driving, though they're very competent as an overall SUV. The Macan was something I always wished the Cayenne to look like with the 911-inspired tails which look amazing on the Macan. From reading the reviews, I don't doubt the Macan and its driving capabilities!

 

[puma1552]

I require more discretionary funds to buy C7 Corvette

join the club

EDIT: i also need less hair

 

[A.Goldberg]

Been wanting to test drive a Macan. Its the only car in this segment I really want other than the X3. The Q5 and GLK (now GLC) just don't do it for me in terms of driving, though they're very competent as an overall SUV. The Macan was something I always wished the Cayenne to look like with the 911-inspired tails which look amazing on the Macan. From reading the reviews, I don't doubt the Macan and its driving capabilities!

To be completely honest, I've seen more Macan's pulled over on the side of the road by cops than driving down the road at this point. I think that is a true testament to their driving abilities.

 

[2298754]

To be completely honest, I've seen more Macan's pulled over on the side of the road by cops than driving down the road at this point. I think that is a true testament to their driving abilities.

Haha, this couldn't have come at a more ironic time.

This guy was blowing right through Copley. Got pulled over on Stuart St a few seconds after I took the picture.

Beautiful color though!

 

[D.T.]

dear lawd i need a laguna blue c7 in my life

bout the only car id give up my 5.0 for in an instant

Funny, he actually traded his '11 5.0 convertible He offered it to me for a good price - especially if you factored in the goodies (extra wheels, exhaust, tune, intake) - and he was the original owner, meticulously cared for, just a little too much mileage for me (not high, I've just only had super low mileage cars, kind of a thing with me), plus I have a different car destiny (see avatar). He wound up getting a good deal on the new car, the trade, and I definitely don't blame him for the "no hassle" option of trading (not sure if he was going to swap out the stock parts).

We're crossing car use cases - I want to get a 4-seater so I can more use out of my car, and originally his wife didn't care what he owned as long as the whole family could ride in it. She's a real sweetheart, so that was probably not even a real requirement. Basically she said, "Get a Vette while it's an option", super cool. My wife is actually the same, she'd probably be OK with me getting another Vette, but I really do want a 4 (really 3 ) seater for the Fall - I have this scenario in my head of picking up our Toots from school for dance class in a convertible, dropping her off, cruising down the beach to Sunset for a beer and [the worlds best] fish sandwich

 

[D.T.]

Been organizing some photos from an old drive, stumbled on this. Pretty cool, it's a mod (of sorts), but decided to post it in this thread.

Smart solution to an old problem - at car shows, it's cool to leave your door open to let folks check out the interior, but when things are tight, someone/something (wind, which I've seen) can blow the doors open all the way and ding cars, and another [slightly less frequent] issue, is you may want people to look in, but _probably_ don't want them climbing in all the way.

So these bars have ends that lock into the door and the receiver on the car side (the factory locations), take 15-20 seconds to install, you can lock your door (since they engage the latch correctly), it holds the door solidly, open just enough, you can't really get into the car - forgot how much I paid, but they were well worth it.

 

[MatthewLTL]

Oh. My. God.

Can we please stop talking about Daewoo? It's gone and it's never coming back.

It's alive and welll.... under different badges........

http://9to5mac.com/2015/07/30/volkswagen-carplay-vw-carplay/

I thought this was pretty cool. VW is the first OEM to really push CarPlay out to every model in their lineup. 2016 cars are already trickling into dealerships right now!

Now if Google added Maps support to CarPlay, there's no reason to get OEM navigation on any car from now on!

I'd never relay on any OEM GPS anyway. Not only do they cost $200+ to have it added in, but when the manufacturer no longer provides map updates after 5 years your ****ed. Not to mention the small fortune the map software costs. I'll take a Garmin with lifetime updates over a mediocre OEM system any day.

With all of you hounding me for disabling relivively worthless features TO ME.... than DO tell me what you all think on the usefullness of DRLs?

This website goes on about how DRLs are a bad thing when I find a bit of the info inaccurate.

Inaccuracies in this site:

1. GM has the DRLs shut off with the car is in park, VW shuts them off if the Ebrake is on.
2. You don't need your headlights on for the taillights to work, just parking lights.
3. DRLs are automatic, so the tail lights will automatically come on in low-light conditions.*
4. DRLs being the High beams on at 50% power is actually true whereas this site says it's false.*

*= dependant on automaker. Some GMs use Highbeams at 50% some use turn signal DRLs. Some cars (Such as the 1998 Chevy S10) have ALATT (All lights, all the time) meaning the head and taillights are on all the time.

 

[MatthewLTL]

And their short term too

Dodge and Chrysler could fall off the face of the earth and no one would notice. No one wants a 300 or a Dart or a Caravan. I think it's time to reinvent themselves.

Are you kidding man? You see more Caravan's on the road than every other van. I see AT LEAST 1 caravan on every city block, atleast a dozen in parking lots, and probably 3 dozen a day. 300s I see to but not as frequent, but I do see them atleast once a week.

 

[A.Goldberg]

Are you kidding man? You see more Caravan's on the road than every other van. I see AT LEAST 1 caravan on every city block, atleast a dozen in parking lots, and probably 3 dozen a day. 300s I see to but not as frequent, but I do see them atleast once a week.

So that explains why Dodge/Chyslers sales are dismal and why Dodge is killing the caravan this year?

 

[MatthewLTL]

So that explains why Dodge/Chyslers sales are dismal and why Dodge is killing the caravan this year?

When I stated "Caravan" I meant it in the broader sense. I was meaning all equivlents too, Voyager, Town & Country, Grand Caravan, Grand Voyager.

Caravan's are the number 1 van used in Transport (ex. R&S Transport). Caravan's are the most common and most frequently used vans used by handicapped people as they seem to be easier (or cheaper) to convert for Wheelchair or hospital bed transport. I have yet to see a Handicapped-equiped Venture, AstroVan, Quest, Villiager, etc..........

 

[A.Goldberg]

When I stated "Caravan" I meant it in the broader sense. I was meaning all equivlents too, Voyager, Town & Country, Grand Caravan, Grand Voyager.

Caravan's are the number 1 van used in Transport (ex. R&S Transport). Caravan's are the most common and most frequently used vans used by handicapped people as they seem to be easier (or cheaper) to convert for Wheelchair or hospital bed transport. I have yet to see a Handicapped-equiped Venture, AstroVan, Quest, Villiager, etc..........

The Chevy Venture & AstroVan, and Mercury Villager are no longer made. Hell, Mercury is no longer in business. Cars for handicapped drivers is not by any means a substantial market. The Minivan is a dying market in the US. SUV's are what buyers are flocking towards. Minivans are no longer "cool" and SUV's are becoming more functional with seating, storage arrangements, and gas mileage.

While Dodge/Chrysler has always has a strong hold on the Minivan market, they have gone from controlling the marketshare to sharing it quite equally with Honda and Toyota. GM, Ford, and others have all withdrawn from the market.

In 2000, the peak of Minivans (God, I remember all of my friends mom's had those things), 1.9 million Minivans (all brands) were sold. In 2014 430,000 were sold. Minivans make up 3% of cars sold.

 

[AustinIllini]

The Chevy Venture & AstroVan, and Mercury Villager are no longer made. Hell, Mercury is no longer in business. Cars for handicapped drivers is not by any means a substantial market. The Minivan is a dying market in the US. SUV's are what buyers are flocking towards.

While Dodge/Chrysler has always has a strong hold on the Minivan market, they have gone from controlling the marketshare to sharing it quite equally with Honda and Toyota. Kia, GM, Ford, have all withdrawn from the market.

The Japanese offerings are just a ton better. The T&C and Dodge Caravan look and feel like they were designed for people who don't care what the drive and have just given up and bought a van. Toyota and Honda offerings look like one of their CUVs with all the bells and whistles.

Chrysler and Dodge are just poison at this point.

 

[A.Goldberg]

The Japanese offerings are just a ton better. The T&C and Dodge Caravan look and feel like they were designed for people who don't care what the drive and have just given up and bought a van. Toyota and Honda offerings look like one of their CUVs with all the bells and whistles.

Chrysler and Dodge are just poison at this point.

It has always surprised me that despite the success of the Chrysler minivan lineup (Caravan, T&C, Voyager, etc), there have only been a few major versions of the vehicle and very little evolution. I've been in Honda and Toyota vans, and I have to say they are far nicer than what Dodge/Chrysler is putting out.

I'm not sure why we're even talking about this. Here we are again talking about the world as if it's 2003. Minivans are a dead market in the US. They might not disappear entirely as they are practical vehicles and have popularity in other countries, but I wouldn't be surprised see them fall into basically commercial use only.

 

[2298754]

The Japanese offerings are just a ton better. The T&C and Dodge Caravan look and feel like they were designed for people who don't care what the drive and have just given up and bought a van. Toyota and Honda offerings look like one of their CUVs with all the bells and whistles.

Chrysler and Dodge are just poison at this point.

It's not even close. The Sienna and Odyssey are on another level. Also I find it funny that you can get a FCA minivan for like low $20k with most options, but the Japanese offerings cost significantly more and hold their value like nothing else.

 

[MatthewLTL]

The Chevy Venture & AstroVan, and Mercury Villager are no longer made. Hell, Mercury is no longer in business. Cars for handicapped drivers is not by any means a substantial market. The Minivan is a dying market in the US. SUV's are what buyers are flocking towards. Minivans are no longer "cool" and SUV's are becoming more functional with seating, storage arrangements, and gas mileage.

While Dodge/Chrysler has always has a strong hold on the Minivan market, they have gone from controlling the marketshare to sharing it quite equally with Honda and Toyota. GM, Ford, and others have all withdrawn from the market.

In 2000, the peak of Minivans (God, I remember all of my friends mom's had those things), 1.9 million Minivans (all brands) were sold. In 2014 430,000 were sold. Minivans make up 3% of cars sold.

You don't make many points with this post.
1. Venture replaced AstroVan i believe, that replace the Lumina Van (I think), the Uplander has replaced the Venture.
1.5. That is only partually true. The Mercury Villager is and was just a Ford badged Nissan Quest. It was part of a partnership with Ford and Nissan, Ford provided Nissan with the Pathfinder (which is a rebadged Explorer) and Nissan provided Ford with the Nissan Quest to be sold as the Mercury Villager.
2. Don't surprise me, Mercury was alway garbage. My ex-neighbor has a Mercury minivan, nothing but problem after problem after problem. And you people say my Daewoo is ****. HA! This model van is way worse. Ford's in general are usually garbage. Another ex-next door neighbor, had a Ford SUV (Can't remember the model) and it never started, every single day in the 2013-2014 Winter season they needed to jumpstart it, NO EXAGERATION, LITERALLY every single day.
3. Don't mean much, hell, the 3rd brake light on cars only has a 4% safety factor, yet they are provided on every vehicle. If you have a burnt out 3rd brake light, not only would it be legal, cops wouldn't bother to stop you for it. NO ONE, not even LE, cares about a third brake light that NO LONGER provides the safety it initally did back in 1986 when it was mandated.

It has always surprised me that despite the success of the Chrysler minivan lineup (Caravan, T&C, Voyager, etc), there have only been a few major versions of the vehicle and very little evolution. I've been in Honda and Toyota vans, and I have to say they are far nicer than what Dodge/Chrysler is putting out.

I'm not sure why we're even talking about this. Here we are again talking about the world as if it's 2003. Minivans are a dead market in the US. They might not disappear entirely as they are practical vehicles and have popularity in other countries, but I wouldn't be surprised see them fall into basically commercial use only.

You act like that's a bad thing. Lots of people would rather prefer something simple. Chrysler has it right, Don't fix what aint broken, there was never anything wrong with the Caravan series of vans, so why change anything?

Not everyone on the face of the earth travels, why would they want GPS as standard equipment? Not everyone on the face of the earth has a iPod or an iPhone, why would those people want a car that has that compatibility? Infotainment Systems are nothing but distractions behind the wheel.

EDIT: I just saw my friend the other day, the one with the 2014 RAV4, gotta say, after taking a more in depth look at the thing, I gotta say, not a fan, Infotainment system seems complicated not to mention the RAV4 lack all of the features they advertised in the commercial, no Blind Spot warning system, no HomeLink, No Sunroof, all it seems is a more modern version of my Daewoo with a Infotainment System and power Windows, that's about it. It is otherwise, just as basic as my Daewoo.

 

[yg17]

not to mention the RAV4 lack all of the features they advertised in the commercial, no Blind Spot warning system, no HomeLink, No Sunroof, all it seems is a more modern version of my Daewoo with a Infotainment System and power Windows, that's about it. It is otherwise, just as basic as my Daewoo.

Toyota never said those features were standard. They said they're available, and they are, if you want to pay more. That's how buying a car works.

 

[bunnspecial]

1. Venture replaced AstroVan i believe, that replace the Lumina Van (I think), the Uplander has replaced the Venture.

The Astro/Safari was always a separate product. It's rear wheel drive and larger than the Lumina and successors. My uncle had an '88 Astro that he kept for years, and it was a great traveling vehicle. I also spent two weeks putting a bunch of miles on a '96 Astro a couple of years ago during a summer camp job, and it functioned superbly-it could haul a bunch of people or a bunch of stuff.

1.5. That is only partually true. The Mercury Villager is and was just a Ford badged Nissan Quest. It was part of a partnership with Ford and Nissan, Ford provided Nissan with the Pathfinder (which is a rebadged Explorer) and Nissan provided Ford with the Nissan Quest to be sold as the Mercury Villager.

Where do you get this stuff? The Pathfinder and Explorer are totally separate-abeit competitive-products. When the Pathfinder first came out, it was intended to compete with the Bronco II and the like(the BII was effectively replaced by the Explorer in 1990). The second gen Pathfinder(1995) was unibody, while the Explorer remained body on frame through 2010. With the current generation they are once again competitive as both are FWD unibody "Crossovers."

Yes, the Quest and Villager were the same product for a few years, but that's the extent of the Ford/Nissan relationship as far as I know.

2. Don't surprise me, Mercury was alway garbage. My ex-neighbor has a Mercury minivan, nothing but problem after problem after problem. And you people say my Daewoo is ****. HA! This model van is way worse. Ford's in general are usually garbage. Another ex-next door neighbor, had a Ford SUV (Can't remember the model) and it never started, every single day in the 2013-2014 Winter season they needed to jumpstart it, NO EXAGERATION, LITERALLY every single day.

My family has been a dyed in the wool Ford family for many years. Looking at my extended family, we've had multiple Rangers, Escorts, Explorers(across several generations), Tauruses(again, several generations), Focuses, Grand Marquis, Continentals, Town Cars, and even my much beloved LS. No one has had any abnormal trouble, but then my family believes in something called preventative maintenance.

Ford has really ramped up their quality in the past few years, and has been near the top-if not at the top-of reliability lists for probably the last few years.

The past few days I've been looking at an '01 Jaguar XK8(I've talked to Ari a fair bit about it). The XK8/XKR was the first completely new Jaguar model after Ford bought them. Reviews of the early 2000s XKs have consistently praised the reliability of them-something that's pretty much unheard of in a Jaguar. I think that in 2001, JD Power ranked Jaguar #1 in reliability. For a company with a horrible reliability reputation, that's impressive and pretty much everyone "in the know" credits it to the Ford takeover.

 

[2298754]

Not everyone on the face of the earth travels, why would they want GPS as standard equipment? Not everyone on the face of the earth has a iPod or an iPhone, why would those people want a car that has that compatibility? Infotainment Systems are nothing but distractions behind the wheel.

People aren't stuck back in 2000 like you. If people didn't want any of those features, they wouldn't be offered.

People would still be carrying around Walkmans and flip phones. We'd also be reading paper maps.

As times change, people have to also. Just because you don't like infotainment systems doesn't mean they are distractions. Audi MMI/BMW iDrive are some of the best pieces of technology out there. They work great and improve the driving experience IMO.

EDIT: I just saw my friend the other day, the one with the 2014 RAV4, gotta say, after taking a more in depth look at the thing, I gotta say, not a fan, Infotainment system seems complicated not to mention the RAV4 lack all of the features they advertised in the commercial, no Blind Spot warning system, no HomeLink, No Sunroof, all it seems is a more modern version of my Daewoo with a Infotainment System and power Windows, that's about it. It is otherwise, just as basic as my Daewoo.

What? The Toyota Entune system is one of the most idiot-proof systems out there. If my 60-year old father can pick it up in a week, you know it's easy to use...

Just because the commercials say it comes with those features doesn't mean they all do. In 2015, cars have trim levels. Your friend bought a base-model RAV4. He shouldn't be expecting leather, NAV, sunroof, etc. If he wants that, he's gotta pay for it.

 

[2298754]

You act like that's a bad thing. Lots of people would rather prefer something simple. Chrysler has it right, Don't fix what aint broken, there was never anything wrong with the Caravan series of vans, so why change anything?

Because you have to adapt to competition.

If you sit around and stay complacent, you end up like Dodge/Chrysler.

Not everyone on the face of the earth travels, why would they want GPS as standard equipment?

You don't need to travel to use GPS. I know the roads, yet I still use Google Maps/Waze on my iPhone. Why? Changing road conditions. Blocked streets, construction, traffic, etc.

 

[bunnspecial]

You don't need to travel to use GPS. I know the roads, yet I still use Google Maps/Waze on my iPhone. Why? Changing road conditions. Blocked streets, construction, traffic, etc.

Even if I know exactly where I'm going, I still like to use the GPS when I'm traveling for ETA and other information.

Plus, as you said, it can be a huge help when navigating around a familiar area if there's a traffic back-up or whatever else. I know alternate routes in downtown Louisville pretty well, but with ongoing major construction I often find myself twisted around in all manner of ways with things like closed on-ramps and underpasses. Not too long ago, I was trying to get on I-65N at about 4:00 in the morning(start of a road trip). Because a lot of construction is done overnight, I found 3 on ramps in a row which I would have normally used closed-GPS saved my rear end.

 

[A.Goldberg]

You don't make many points with this post.

What is the point you're trying to make here? Let's just clarify that.

My point was that Chrysler/Dodge with a few exceptions has a lot of difficulty selling most of their vehicles. You responded that you see tons of Caravans and equivalents. Just because a bunch of people have a decade old Minivans in your neighborhood doesn't mean they're selling new ones. I'm saying minivans are not a particularly profitable market reflected by plummeting sales. Overall, the Chrysler and Dodge brands sell very few cars compared to their competition (<10% of the domestic car market).

1. Venture replaced AstroVan i believe, that replace the Lumina Van (I think), the Uplander has replaced the Venture.
1.5. That is only partually true. The Mercury Villager is and was just a Ford badged Nissan Quest. It was part of a partnership with Ford and Nissan, Ford provided Nissan with the Pathfinder (which is a rebadged Explorer) and Nissan provided Ford with the Nissan Quest to be sold as the Mercury Villager.
2. Don't surprise me, Mercury was alway garbage. My ex-neighbor has a Mercury minivan, nothing but problem after problem after problem. And you people say my Daewoo is ****. HA! This model van is way worse. Ford's in general are usually garbage. Another ex-next door neighbor, had a Ford SUV (Can't remember the model) and it never started, every single day in the 2013-2014 Winter season they needed to jumpstart it, NO EXAGERATION, LITERALLY every single day.
3. Don't mean much, hell, the 3rd brake light on cars only has a 4% safety factor, yet they are provided on every vehicle. If you have a burnt out 3rd brake light, not only would it be legal, cops wouldn't bother to stop you for it. NO ONE, not even LE, cares about a third brake light that NO LONGER provides the safety it initally did back in 1986 when it was mandated.

1. Chevy no longer makes minivans. Why? Probably because people aren't buying them
2. Mercury is no longer in business. Yes, it was rebadged, but Mercury and Nissan are still two separate entities. Mercury dropped the Villiger long before they went out of business. Ford also made their vans Windstar and Aerostar, also now extinct (because they couldn't sell them). The current Quest is not the same vehicle as the Villiger in any way at this point. *The Nissan Pathfinder and Ford Explorer have never been related. The Pathfinder was built off their pickup platform. The Explorer was built off the Bronco II/Ranger platform. Neither the Nissan or Ford products here are related.
3. You clearly have no understanding of statistics or economics. Explain to me what a 4% safety factor is. What is the 4% in reference to. Where are these numbers being generated and who is doing it. What year was this calculated? And what does brake lights have to do with selling minivans? If 4% refers to 4% of all car accidents are caused by burt out 3rd brake lights, that's a big number considering the implications of severely injuring or killing someone and the negligible cost of an extra light bulb. 3% of minivans means that they're unpopular, you're not going to sell a lot of cars and you are unlikely to make a high margin of sales. When a business sees the demand of other styles, they'll put their effort into that.

You act like that's a bad thing. Lots of people would rather prefer something simple. Chrysler has it right, Don't fix what aint broken, there was never anything wrong with the Caravan series of vans, so why change anything?

The point was the Honda and Toyota competition is lightyears ahead of the Caravan.

Not everyone on the face of the earth travels, why would they want GPS as standard equipment? Not everyone on the face of the earth has a iPod or an iPhone, why would those people want a car that has that compatibility? Infotainment Systems are nothing but distractions behind the wheel.

I'm not sure what this has to do with anything. I'd prefer to use my iPhone connected to a CarPlay like system or in-dash Google Maps that uses regularly updated maps via cellular internet connection that do not require discs, software updates, or downloads to give me up to date road changes, and changing conditions like traffic, detours, and such. The problem here is simple. Either don't buy a car with a GPS or don't use it.

EDIT: I just saw my friend the other day, the one with the 2014 RAV4, gotta say, after taking a more in depth look at the thing, I gotta say, not a fan, Infotainment system seems complicated not to mention the RAV4 lack all of the features they advertised in the commercial, no Blind Spot warning system, no HomeLink, No Sunroof, all it seems is a more modern version of my Daewoo with a Infotainment System and power Windows, that's about it. It is otherwise, just as basic as my Daewoo.

Are you not aware that cars come in multiple trim levels? For example, The Rav4 Limited comes with all the features you mentioned. The LE is the base model with none of that. The XLE is the inbetween. Often within trim levels are other options. Some brands get complicated with options like BMW, others keep it very simple like Acura (technology package or no technology package).