Cars We Drive!

[sugarbutch]

We all know that's @sugarbutch's old car. His new one is much more eco friendly.

View attachment 2096437

Make America great again: Buy German cars!

 

[greekgeek]

Finally got around to dropping the Rav4 off for a new front door and spray. Took the shop an extra week to get it done, but you can tell by the extra paint on the door edge and the fresh ding above the door handle they included (no extra charge!), it was totally worth the wait.

 

[Tim Apple]

We got our EV because the economics were so obviously in favor of it (leased really well and save ~$100 per month on gas) but also because it was a better choice for us. And better for the erf (which greatly pleases my young children).

I understand the POV that they are "soulless appliances" but most modern cars are as well. Lotus' and other sports cars are severe outliers. For many people, EVs are the enthusiast choice given the comparable vehicles. We moved from a ~3900lb gas CUV to a ~4600lb EV CUV. Same brand, same audience. The EV is significantly slower on paper (more than 2 seconds slower to 60) but feels like it has more pickup when we need it. Handling is quite good due to the low center of gravity, helped by the fact that the suspension is pretty well resolved so we aren't crashing over every road imperfection.

Straight up, we are having more fun driving the new car than the old car. The EV powertrain may not have a "soul" but it has tangible benefits and I love not having a transmission with the occasional clunks.

I think the anti-appliance brigade is really just anti practical vehicles. The vast majority of them, whether ICE or EV, are soulless by design. I don't take issue with Tim Apple preferring his car to my car because I don't make my decisions based on how they will be received here.

Oh also, we are still futzing around with lease-end BS. I still don't have my lease-end statement from MB, so I called for a second time yesterday and learned that they charged me in full for huge miles overage (which the dealer said would be waived) and charged me for a final payment late fee (because the dealer paid late) but didn't charge me for the overdue service or the tire replacement (both of which were within their rights). Looks like I will get my full deposit back (except for the $24 late fee which isn't worth fighting about) but still annoying to have to chase people for it.

You read me like a book! Yes, I do have the same viewpoints about a lot of modern ICE cars as well. There's been a slow death of exciting cars, leaving very few left. The whole auto industry to me has been sad to watch as creativity, emotion, and passion has been swept away by the homogenized soulless, boring, appliance like cars/SUV's/trucks.

I was driving a short time ago and came to a stop light next to a Lamborghini SUV. A Lambo SUV! I rolled down my window as I always do next to a nice Italian car and listened to the engine. It had a nice, sweet hum to it, but it was attached to a huge monstrosity of an SUV body. It did nothing to me. It was so weird, looking at this brand new Lambo and feeling nothing. Were I to win this SUV for free, I'd just take it and sell it. Wouldn't even drive it. I rent an SUV when I take my son to and from his college dorm on move in/out days. I can't stand the experience. I'm visibly uncomfortable driving such a big vehicle. The gas consumption is amazingly poor.

I don't even like my 330i that much. I only got that for the wife. I'd have a 2 series BMW if it were up to me, or a Z4. Or maybe go back to driving a GTI. I've always been a hot hatch driver up until recently. This 330i is my first ever sedan. Again, the wife wants me to have a more "adult" car. I drive just shy of 40,000 miles a year so my view should have prevailed! Maybe next time.

 

[jbarwick]

You read me like a book! Yes, I do have the same viewpoints about a lot of modern ICE cars as well. There's been a slow death of exciting cars, leaving very few left. The whole auto industry to me has been sad to watch as creativity, emotion, and passion has been swept away by the homogenized soulless, boring, appliance like cars/SUV's/trucks.

I was driving a short time ago and came to a stop light next to a Lamborghini SUV. A Lambo SUV! I rolled down my window as I always do next to a nice Italian car and listened to the engine. It had a nice, sweet hum to it, but it was attached to a huge monstrosity of an SUV body. It did nothing to me. It was so weird, looking at this brand new Lambo and feeling nothing. Were I to win this SUV for free, I'd just take it and sell it. Wouldn't even drive it. I rent an SUV when I take my son to and from his college dorm on move in/out days. I can't stand the experience. I'm visibly uncomfortable driving such a big vehicle. The gas consumption is amazingly poor.

I don't even like my 330i that much. I only got that for the wife. I'd have a 2 series BMW if it were up to me, or a Z4. Or maybe go back to driving a GTI. I've always been a hot hatch driver up until recently. This 330i is my first ever sedan. Again, the wife wants me to have a more "adult" car. I drive just shy of 40,000 miles a year so my view should have prevailed! Maybe next time.

Maybe I missed this but what car do you have that would be comfortable for 40K miles a year on and not be an appliance? The 2 buddies I have who drive a lot have an Audi A4 or big diesel truck as they haul for their business.

 

[Tim Apple]

Maybe I missed this but what car do you have that would be comfortable for 40K miles a year on and not be an appliance? The 2 buddies I have who drive a lot have an Audi A4 or big diesel truck as they haul for their business.

I have a BMW 330i. Way too big for me, but it has a manual transmission so fits my #1 requirement for any car.

 

[RedLantern]

Tim, no offense, but you seem like an insufferable prick. Merry xmas though.

 

[UnFacconable]

The turn-in experience on my XC 90 at the dealership was for shyte but Volvo Financial did not charge for anything and their turn in fee was just $350. I will admit I was pretty pleased as there was a chunk out of one of the rims from a big stone another vehicle kicked up. I was figuring getting dinged for a rim replacement.

To be fair, our sales dude has been great. I think this is just an admin snafu and the dealer has been solid in acknowledging they will pay for the overage. They definitely lost money on the trade, in addition to giving us a banging deal on the lease (with no negotiation - I just accepted their initial offer).

You read me like a book! Yes, I do have the same viewpoints about a lot of modern ICE cars as well. There's been a slow death of exciting cars, leaving very few left. The whole auto industry to me has been sad to watch as creativity, emotion, and passion has been swept away by the homogenized soulless, boring, appliance like cars/SUV's/trucks.

I think this is called "business." Most people aren't car enthusiasts and it turns out that catering to people's practical concerns is a much better business for most companies than catering to enthusiasts. Porsche is an obvious exception to the rule but perhaps BMW is the best example. They used to be more enthusiast oriented but their sales have grown as they have become less enthusiast-oriented.

I can't point to an exact reason for the trend but my guess is that the modern world has given people more enthusiast activities than were available decades ago. With the internet, it's become easier to find niches that you enjoy whereas in the dark ages of the like 50's-80's, cars were more novel and fed into a whole spirit that existed post-WWII.

I see it in myself as well. I became a car enthusiast as a kid and assumed I would eventually have a sweet quiver of performance vehicles, etc. as an adult. It turns out that I have other speed/performance oriented hobbies that I prefer to driving so my car purchases have focused on practicality, while trying a little bit to avoid the most boring cars. I daresay in the future if finances and available parking space dictate, I would love to get one or more enthusiast vehicles, but I don't foresee myself going for long weekend drives or anything like that given the other activities I like to engage in.

So while I would love to get a p-car or f-car to hammer during my free time, when given the choice I realize that I would end up doing other things first. As I begin to age out of some of my hobbies, I suppose that my change but for now I definitely have almost no ragrets.

I do enjoy reading about and seeing performance cars and I support the hobbyists who keep those dreams alive.

 

[Tim Apple]

Tim, no offense, but you seem like an insufferable prick. Merry xmas though.

Yeah, no offense. Right. The above line just shows what a mental midget you are. My track record working with people is of such a high calibre that I have scored not one, but FOUR International expatriate assignments, working across the globe to help build up the companies I've worked for at their foreign locations. Why? Because I have a well established reputation for team building and interacting across diverse cultures. I'm back based in the US these days but still hit 135,000 miles on Delta this year and have almost 8,000 miles booked for 3 weeks of January.

If I come across people who have differing opinions than I have, I don't call them pricks or verbally assault them as a few others have done here (luddite, boomer etc). No, I am not threatened by different opinions. I don't need to put down others simply because they have the audacity to not conform to my righteous beliefs. Try it sometimes.

 

[Tim Apple]

To be fair, our sales dude has been great. I think this is just an admin snafu and the dealer has been solid in acknowledging they will pay for the overage. They definitely lost money on the trade, in addition to giving us a banging deal on the lease (with no negotiation - I just accepted their initial offer).


I think this is called "business." Most people aren't car enthusiasts and it turns out that catering to people's practical concerns is a much better business for most companies than catering to enthusiasts. Porsche is an obvious exception to the rule but perhaps BMW is the best example. They used to be more enthusiast oriented but their sales have grown as they have become less enthusiast-oriented.

I can't point to an exact reason for the trend but my guess is that the modern world has given people more enthusiast activities than were available decades ago. With the internet, it's become easier to find niches that you enjoy whereas in the dark ages of the like 50's-80's, cars were more novel and fed into a whole spirit that existed post-WWII.

I see it in myself as well. I became a car enthusiast as a kid and assumed I would eventually have a sweet quiver of performance vehicles, etc. as an adult. It turns out that I have other speed/performance oriented hobbies that I prefer to driving so my car purchases have focused on practicality, while trying a little bit to avoid the most boring cars. I daresay in the future if finances and available parking space dictate, I would love to get one or more enthusiast vehicles, but I don't foresee myself going for long weekend drives or anything like that given the other activities I like to engage in.

So while I would love to get a p-car or f-car to hammer during my free time, when given the choice I realize that I would end up doing other things first. As I begin to age out of some of my hobbies, I suppose that my change but for now I definitely have almost no ragrets.

I do enjoy reading about and seeing performance cars and I support the hobbyists who keep those dreams alive.

You are correct, BMW is much less performance oriented but selling far more cars these days. Their SUV sales I'm sure are much higher than their cars. My last boss had an XM 40i competition and that thing really hauled ass in a straight line. But god help you when it came time to corner that behemoth. 4,000 pounds does not like to change directions.

At least my boss' car had some semblance of performance. The regular X3's and X'4s are nowhere near what is traditionally called an enthusiast vehicle. Still, they sell a boat load of them.

 

[greekgeek]

Man, the closer I look at this thing, the worse it gets. Bunch of nibs in the clear.

Check out this gnarly overspray.

Perhaps most puzzling is that they hand caulked the front of the door skin seam. Now why on earth would they do that for a new OEM door shell??

Am I just paranoid or did they maybe just repair the existing door instead of replacement? If so, that "thick paint" might actually be a bend in the metal of the door skin on the opposite side, which remains factory caulked.

Oh, and the bumper is misaligned, yay.

Gotta compartmentalize this ish for a week or so, this is annoying.

 

[Piobaire]

Yeah, no offense. Right. The above line just shows what a mental midget you are. My track record working with people is of such a high calibre that I have scored not one, but FOUR International expatriate assignments, working across the globe to help build up the companies I've worked for at their foreign locations. Why? Because I have a well established reputation for team building and interacting across diverse cultures. I'm back based in the US these days but still hit 135,000 miles on Delta this year and have almost 8,000 miles booked for 3 weeks of January.

If I come across people who have differing opinions than I have, I don't call them pricks or verbally assault them as a few others have done here (luddite, boomer etc). No, I am not threatened by different opinions. I don't need to put down others simply because they have the audacity to not conform to my righteous beliefs. Try it sometimes.

Okay, I was wondering, but thanks for this post to confirm: this is a parody account, right?

Btw, is there a different type of expatriate assignment than an international one?

 

[HRoi]

Man, the closer I look at this thing, the worse it gets.

all the stuff you point out is terrible, but the fact that they delivered the car with a ding right in your sightline tells you all you need to know about the standard of quality that shop has, and the (lack of) pride they have in their workmanship

 

[sugarbutch]

To be fair, our sales dude has been great. I think this is just an admin snafu and the dealer has been solid in acknowledging they will pay for the overage. They definitely lost money on the trade, in addition to giving us a banging deal on the lease (with no negotiation - I just accepted their initial offer).


I think this is called "business." Most people aren't car enthusiasts and it turns out that catering to people's practical concerns is a much better business for most companies than catering to enthusiasts. Porsche is an obvious exception to the rule but perhaps BMW is the best example. They used to be more enthusiast oriented but their sales have grown as they have become less enthusiast-oriented.

I can't point to an exact reason for the trend but my guess is that the modern world has given people more enthusiast activities than were available decades ago. With the internet, it's become easier to find niches that you enjoy whereas in the dark ages of the like 50's-80's, cars were more novel and fed into a whole spirit that existed post-WWII.

I see it in myself as well. I became a car enthusiast as a kid and assumed I would eventually have a sweet quiver of performance vehicles, etc. as an adult. It turns out that I have other speed/performance oriented hobbies that I prefer to driving so my car purchases have focused on practicality, while trying a little bit to avoid the most boring cars. I daresay in the future if finances and available parking space dictate, I would love to get one or more enthusiast vehicles, but I don't foresee myself going for long weekend drives or anything like that given the other activities I like to engage in.

So while I would love to get a p-car or f-car to hammer during my free time, when given the choice I realize that I would end up doing other things first. As I begin to age out of some of my hobbies, I suppose that my change but for now I definitely have almost no ragrets.

I do enjoy reading about and seeing performance cars and I support the hobbyists who keep those dreams alive.

I didn't realize this would be a side effect when I started, but racing cars has pretty much killed my desire to own a performance car for the street. For me, YMMV, IMO, yada yada, once you know what driving at the actual limit feels like, you realize that getting anywhere near it on public roads is reckless and dangerous. Once that's off the table, the feel of "spirited" driving at 7/10 or 8/10 in a performance car doesn't feel that special. I think it's more fun to drive some little Italian sh!tbox from the early '70s on tall, skinny tires at what feels like warp speed but is actually 25 mph.

For context, I'm the sort of person who bought a minivan with a stick despite living at the top of a steep hill in San Francisco because I preferred the connection it gave me. Now, though, I just want a quiet, comfortable car for trips to LA and a little car for driving around town. My i3 occupies the latter spot, but I don't have room in the garage for the LS450 that I want for mindless highway miles.

 

[RedLantern]

Yeah, no offense. Right. The above line just shows what a mental midget you are. My track record working with people is of such a high calibre that I have scored not one, but FOUR International expatriate assignments, working across the globe to help build up the companies I've worked for at their foreign locations. Why? Because I have a well established reputation for team building and interacting across diverse cultures. I'm back based in the US these days but still hit 135,000 miles on Delta this year and have almost 8,000 miles booked for 3 weeks of January.

If I come across people who have differing opinions than I have, I don't call them pricks or verbally assault them as a few others have done here (luddite, boomer etc). No, I am not threatened by different opinions. I don't need to put down others simply because they have the audacity to not conform to my righteous beliefs. Try it sometimes.

Unfortunately for you Tim, it's not the opinions that are turning people off.

 

[greekgeek]

all the stuff you point out is terrible, but the fact that they delivered the car with a ding right in your sightline tells you all you need to know about the standard of quality that shop has, and the (lack of) pride they have in their workmanship

Yeah, this is hot garbage. Should have been a slam dunk since they didn't even need to skin the door, just paint the shell and blend it in. Did I mention any time the doors are closed the cabin reeks of solvent? Even after leaving the windows down overnight.

I'm really not looking forward to getting this to resolution between the shop and insurance. Trying to stay positive but I am not expecting a smooth experience, my expectation is they will want the same shop to rework it.

Sad thing is I checked around and this shop was highly recommended and great online reviews. I even drove an extra distance to take it there.

Seems to be a bit of a bait and switch, they have two locations close to one a other. One is for "insurance work". Another, the main one, for everyone else. They don't tell you that on the website...