The Automobile Thread

UPSed said:
I was more of a motorcycle guy than a car guy but I've had a couple of "sports cars". My first was a 3rd gen '93 RX-7 R1. That thing was a rocketship! Many a time a Mustang or other American muscle car would pull up and tell me how my car sounded funny only to have their doors blown off when the light turned green. Top speed was pretty fast too.
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Right now I have a '13 Scion FR-S that I bought mainly for commuting. It's no slouch but it's no RX-7 either. It does get over 40mpg on the highway though and handles rather well so overall it's a great car.
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Nice, Ed. I've never driven one, but the FR-S/BRZ look like really fun cars.
 
buggravy said:
Nice, Ed. I've never driven one, but the FR-S/BRZ look like really fun cars.
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Like I said it's no RX-7, at least out of the box, but from what I've read the boxer motor is built to handle 450hp with no internal modifications. As is it puts out 200hp but you have to put your foot to the floor several times before it unleashes it. I'm guessing the computer adapts to your driving style to get the most mileage it can. I have the 6-speed automatic and in eco mode it's in 4th gear by the time it hits 25mph. Thankfully it has a sport mode that will hold the gears like a manual under acceleration and it actually blips the throttle when it's downshifting.
 
Got my baby all put back to stock. Felt all kinds of wrong, and I had a lot of pangs of regret this week while she was under the knife. My wife rolls her eyes at the sentimental attachment I get to inanimate things, but this car has a lot of energy and relationships rolled up in it as well. End of an era in a way. Or maybe I’m just being melodramatic again. Either way, if you know of someone that could give a low mileage well cared for super quick compact SUV a home, holla.

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herzalot said:
Bring it on Saturday. We'll swap. I want to keep my tires and wheels, my rack, my sound system and my trailer hitch. Let's do this! :eek: :thumbsup:
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Haha, barring something unforeseen I will no longer own it by that point. Not getting a lot of bites for a private sale, so it will go to Vroom.com by the end of the week if a better offer doesn't present itself. Murphy's law, I had it listed for sale with all the mods for over a month, and not so much as a nibble. Got it put back to stock and had 3 separate people contact me at the end of the week saying they were very interested in the car with all the mods.
 
My new ride made me smile this weekend. Solid 34+ MPGs (CC set at 70) for the drive to and from the Central Coast. I am digging the adaptive cruise control, too.

I really need to get a tow hitch receiver for it though. Pulling the front wheel of my bike off to put it inside is a real drag. I have a set of splash guards for it now which I may install this morning.
 
SnakeCharmer said:
My new ride made me smile this weekend. Solid 34+ MPGs (CC set at 70) for the drive to and from the Central Coast. I am digging the adaptive cruise control, too.

I really need to get a tow hitch receiver for it though. Pulling the front wheel of my bike off to put it inside is a real drag. I have a set of splash guards for it now which I may install this morning.
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Yeah, adaptive cruise is SO nice for burning up the highway. We had it on a Subaru Outback, and it was a fantastic system. I actually have it on my Tacoma as well, but it feels like a much more ham-fisted system. Still nice, but it does behave weirdly at times. Glad to hear you're enjoying the ride. Re: trailer hitches, U-haul will install them fairly inexpensively. I used them for my Outback and I was happy with the hitch. If you don't want the visible U-Haul logo, I'm pretty sure their hitches are just rebranded Draw-Tite, which you could probably get installed for about the same price.
 
buggravy said:
Yeah, adaptive cruise is SO nice for burning up the highway. We had it on a Subaru Outback, and it was a fantastic system. I actually have it on my Tacoma as well, but it feels like a much more ham-fisted system. Still nice, but it does behave weirdly at times. Glad to hear you're enjoying the ride. Re: trailer hitches, U-haul will install them fairly inexpensively. I used them for my Outback and I was happy with the hitch. If you don't want the visible U-Haul logo, I'm pretty sure their hitches are just rebranded Draw-Tite, which you could probably get installed for about the same price.
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Thanks. I will likely order a receiver from ebay and install it myself or have my mechanic do it.
 
The talk about adaptive cruise control got me thinking about my wife's car. It is a loaded 2006 Avalon and has lots of bells and whistles, including adaptive cruise. What it does not have is bluetooth for hands free phone calls. Do any of you have experience with aftermarket bluetooth systems?
 
tick said:
i test drove one. It sucked all joy from my soul. No amount of fuel efficiency is worth the joyless driving experience of a Prius.

When riding road, I always get nervous when I see a Prius, knowing that the person in the front left seat is thinking about everything but driving. It never fails, a Prius turning right will pull out in front of you every time.
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Gonna resurrect this, as I just spent a week in a rented Prius, and did not hate it. the rental car spec was cheap, and the armrest wasn’t in the right place, but 58.4 mpg over a week, and the acceleration was better in this updated model. I don’t like the looks, and gas was $2.20/gallon in the south, but it did all the car things well enough.

And I spotted a couple pre-production Tesla Model Ys in a parking lot. One had a pitot tube on the hood. They look better in person than in photos.
 
Lots of exciting stuff coming out of press days at the LA Autoshow. Think I'm going to head over there Sunday morning. One month of life with an EV has proven to be quite pleasurable. I still wouldn't want to be without a gas powered car for road trips, but I'm sure the "fueling" infrastructure is going to explode over the next couple of years, and hopefully the ability to quick charge will also.

Got the e-tron personalized a bit, but not much else that can be done via after market at the moment. There is a module that's available to further lower the air suspension, which is tempting, but with the car weighing a very portly 5,700 lbs I worry a bit about the stress that would put on the bags.

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buggravy said:
Lots of exciting stuff coming out of press days at the LA Autoshow. Think I'm going to head over there Sunday morning. One month of life with an EV has proven to be quite pleasurable. I still wouldn't want to be without a gas powered car for road trips, but I'm sure the "fueling" infrastructure is going to explode over the next couple of years, and hopefully the ability to quick charge will also.

Got the e-tron personalized a bit, but not much else that can be done via after market at the moment. There is a module that's available to further lower the air suspension, which is tempting, but with the car weighing a very portly 5,700 lbs I worry a bit about the stress that would put on the bags.

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Lowering your suspension on any vehicle (except maybe a track racing car) is like riding your bike without tires. Stupid. Ride quality suffers, traction suffers and it does absolutely nothing for performance. It's a SoCal fashion.
 
herzalot said:
Lowering your suspension on any vehicle (except maybe a track racing car) is like riding your bike without tires. Stupid. Ride quality suffers, traction suffers and it does absolutely nothing for performance. It's a SoCal fashion.
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Depends on how you lower it. I get what you’re saying. Lots of folks just throw shorter springs on stock dampers that are then operating out of spec, and yeah, it rides like hell. I lowered my SQ5 2” using properly matched springs and shocks and while the ride was more firm in a sporty way, it was also better damped and less jarring than the stock ride. Lower center of gravity, less body roll, meant it handled like a sport sedan instead of an SUV. Trade offs, sure, but definitely more than a fashion statement if done properly. With an EV there may be some nominal efficiency gain at highway speeds as well.
 
Correct on that herz, SUVs aren’t really bought for ground clearance for most people these days (esp in SoCal), they are really CSUVs (crossover SUVs). My wife drives her sporty SUV for the extra cargo, rear gate rather than trunk style. My 4Runner is what we drive in snow and when we will be doing any off-roading.
 
herzalot said:
Thanks for that @buggravy - but still don't get why someone buys an SUV for the height and ground clearance advantage and then lowers it. I guess most in SoCal don't buy SUVs for those advantages, they buy them for the grocery/Costco carrying capacity?
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I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that wagons don't sell well in the US market, so most manufacturers don't offer them here when they do in other parts of the world. So a lowered SUV can provide the utility of an SUV/wagon with the driving dynamics of a car. Certain SUVs definitely lend themselves to it much more than others though, and yeah, the concept can seem ill conceived on the wrong vehicle. In the case of the e-Tron (and an increasing number of other SUVs/CUVs) they actually come with an adjustable air suspension so you can get the advantage of clearance when needed, but also enjoy the better driving dynamics of a lower COG when the clearance isn't necessary, which is really the vast majority of the time. Because of the entrance to my driveway, and clearance issues therein, I'm limited in the types of cars I can own, so a lowered SUV that still has more clearance than a sedan or sports car is really the only way to get a sporty ride and still be able to park in my garage. The modded SQ5 was so perfect for that. I'd have a Golf R if I could get it in my driveway, but alas.......
 
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