Car Chat

[cawimmer430]

If you're lucky, you might get it by Christmas .

Well the salesman told me the car is actually arriving tomorrow (Friday) in the late afternoon. But the registration office will be closed and they also don't work on Saturday, so the car can only be registered on Monday.

I am currently not in Munich, but if I am back on Saturday I may visit the dealership just to see my new baby and take some snapshots. 

[cawimmer430]

You can now configure the A35 AMG 4Matic on the German Mercedes website. Instead I decided to configure two cars without the AMG Line body kit. Add these lovely 19" 5-Spoke wheels and wow, what a difference! 

[giant_mtb]

I wish all truck offroady tests were done with the same tires.  Stock sizes, but same model/tread.

[12,000 RPM]

Most car track tests run what ya brung. I only see control tires in motorcycle track tests.

[BimmerM3]

I wish all truck offroady tests were done with the same tires.  Stock sizes, but same model/tread.

I wish they'd do that for cars too. I'm sure cost is a large part of why they don't, plus it'd probably be hard to find a single model that's available in all sizes, especially for the really wide tires on higher end sports cars.

[12,000 RPM]

Most high end cars use the same tires so that's rarely an issue. Plus some work with tire manufacturers on car specific compounds. So it's a mixed bag. Thinking more about it I'd want to know how the car performs off the dealership floor.

[giant_mtb]

Most high end cars use the same tires so that's rarely an issue. Plus some work with tire manufacturers on car specific compounds. So it's a mixed bag. Thinking more about it I'd want to know how the car performs off the dealership floor.

Yeah, I guess it's a mixed bag. If somebody is really going to "use" their vehicle, they'll likely change tires anyway, whether it's for street or offroad.  Except for the high-enders that do come with hi-po street/offroad tires.

Which still, in some way, furthers my point...I think?

[BimmerM3]

Thinking more about it I'd want to know how the car performs off the dealership floor.

Nah, not even close for me. I want to know how the vehicle that costs tens of thousands of dollars performs, not a wear item that can be replaced for a few hundred bucks.

[12,000 RPM]

Nah, not even close for me. I want to know how the vehicle that costs tens of thousands of dollars performs, not a wear item that can be replaced for a few hundred bucks.

I mean, how far does that rabbithole go.... you can replace brakes, suspension, air filter etc...

Most people aren't gonna do that. Look how angry the 'SPIN gets when mods are brought up.

[Laconian]

During thanksgiving my parents were SO STOKED about their upcoming 3. My parents are ascetics by choice, always saving, never indulging. The 3's creature comforts and driving abilities are dazzling to them. My dad's wondering aloud when he'll never need "all that torque" (lol).

They'll take delivery of it today.

[93JC]

Zoom-zoom.

[Laconian]

Jinba ittai!

[FoMoJo]

During thanksgiving my parents were SO STOKED about their upcoming 3. My parents are ascetics by choice, always saving, never indulging. The 3's creature comforts and driving abilities are dazzling to them. My dad's wondering aloud when he'll never need "all that torque" (lol).

They'll take delivery of it today.

I wish them much excitement and happiness with their new wheels .

[68_427]

Can you get a Mazda 3 or even cx3 with cooled or ventilated seats?

[Laconian]

Nay.

[68_427]

Ah.  My mom hasn't bought a brand new car since her Vega in the 70's and she wants to splurge with something like a Mazda 3 or other compact hatch 😂.

Maybe they'll be added with the new generation.

[12,000 RPM]

If only the Civic weren't hideous.............................................

[cawimmer430]

If you love Star Wars this intro will make you smile. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZa9Vc7xBps

[BimmerM3]

I mean, how far does that rabbithole go.... you can replace brakes, suspension, air filter etc...

Most people aren't gonna do that. Look how angry the 'SPIN gets when mods are brought up.

"Most people" also don't read reviews where the cars are driven hard enough for tires to matter. Brakes and air filters honestly wouldn't be a bad idea either, though it seems like they'd have a smaller impact on overall performance numbers. 

Suspension mods are not even close to the same thing.

[68_427]

If only the Civic weren't hideous.............................................

That's literally the only compact hatch she's never even mentioned or said anything about.

[12,000 RPM]

"Most people" also don't read reviews where the cars are driven hard enough for tires to matter. Brakes and air filters honestly wouldn't be a bad idea either, though it seems like they'd have a smaller impact on overall performance numbers. 

Suspension mods are not even close to the same thing.

How are suspension mods not the same thing? Shocks are wear items too.

[BimmerM3]

How are suspension mods not the same thing? Shocks are wear items too.

Suspension mods more significantly change the way a car feels and are largely done (or not done) for subjective reasons on street cars. For the most part, these differences between cars are already captured well enough by the review itself.

Tires and brakes obviously do have some effect on subjective feel, but in general, they have a bigger effect on raw performance numbers - a Miata is gonna be fun whether it's on crappy or great tires, but it'll have a big difference on the skidpad. Plus, I think it's more likely that people will go for non-stock tires than non-stock suspension components when it's time to replace them.

So standardized tires would make it easier to accurately compare performance numbers without having as much effect on the subjective side.

If those aren't good enough reasons, then just go with "that's what I arbitrarily decided."

[Soup DeVille]

Yes, let's do comparison tests for new cars on spec tires and custom suspensions; because that's the sort of information a guy wants to know when he buys a new car: gee, I wonder how this will handle if I replace the factory bits with a bunch of random aftermarket parts.

[cawimmer430]

Dafuq!? 1979 Chevrolet Citation tested by a German car magazine Autotest. Interesting because to my knowledge the Citation was never officially sold in Europe.

Watching it now. This Citation is in Germany. A few features broke or failed during the test and some of the interior trim bits are already falling off. 


www.youtube.com/watch?v=GANcs2sxcH8

[Eye of the Tiger]

Dafuq!? 1979 Chevrolet Citation tested by a German car magazine Autotest. Interesting because to my knowledge the Citation was never officially sold in Europe.

Watching it now. This Citation is in Germany. A few features broke or failed during the test and some of the interior trim bits are already falling off. 


www.youtube.com/watch?v=GANcs2sxcH8

I like how thorough that test was. They really beat the crap out of that Citation. I don't speak German, but it sounds like they hated it and all American cars. It is slow, the doors are sagging already, and the hubcaps fall off all the time ... but fuel economy is okay.

[cawimmer430]

I like how thorough that test was. They really beat the crap out of that Citation. I don't speak German, but it sounds like they hated it and all American cars. It is slow, the doors are sagging already, and the hubcaps fall off all the time ... but fuel economy is okay.

They praised the innovation (transverse engine, FWD), the comfort, the interior and boot space. This Citation was powered by the 2.8 V6, which they liked. They said it was relatively peppy, but when you accelerated and turned on the A/C the car would take 15 seconds to reach 100 km/h instead of 13 seconds.

They also liked the value-for-money. A big car with decent features for little money. Fuel economy was respectable and perfectly fine, except in the city (duh!).

This Citation with only 6,000 km, had some interior trim fall off. The drive belt of the alternator broke and the mechanism to release the foot-operated parking brake snapped preventing the release of the parking brake. They said refueling the Citation takes a long time because there is no "air vent" system in the fuel tank. The automatic transmission was both praised and criticized. Praised for being quiet, but criticized for sometimes downshifting while cruising at 120 km/h on the Autobahn.

Reading through the comments, one guy claimed these were sold in Europe, but mainly in Switzerland. That makes sense since Switzerland always had a unique car market compared to the rest of Europe.

[CaminoRacer]

Suspension mods more significantly change the way a car feels and are largely done (or not done) for subjective reasons on street cars. For the most part, these differences between cars are already captured well enough by the review itself.

Tires and brakes obviously do have some effect on subjective feel, but in general, they have a bigger effect on raw performance numbers - a Miata is gonna be fun whether it's on crappy or great tires, but it'll have a big difference on the skidpad. Plus, I think it's more likely that people will go for non-stock tires than non-stock suspension components when it's time to replace them.

So standardized tires would make it easier to accurately compare performance numbers without having as much effect on the subjective side.

If those aren't good enough reasons, then just go with "that's what I arbitrarily decided."

I base it on SCCA rules. Street/stock class allows tire changes and no one would show up with factory tires and expect to win. It's the very first thing you do to prep. You're allowed to change pads and shocks (but not upgrade to coilovers), but those are further down the priority list. Tires are cheap and easy. It's like what color shirt you wear.

In comparison tests, I'm interested in knowing what cars are gonna be the best when an owner brings it to an autox or track day with minimal prep. AKA bringing appropriate tires and that's about it.

[93JC]

Dafuq!? 1979 Chevrolet Citation tested by a German car magazine Autotest. Interesting because to my knowledge the Citation was never officially sold in Europe.

The taillights on the one in the video are different; it looks like this was a European-market car...

[Eye of the Tiger]

They praised the innovation (transverse engine, FWD), the comfort, the interior and boot space. This Citation was powered by the 2.8 V6, which they liked. They said it was relatively peppy, but when you accelerated and turned on the A/C the car would take 15 seconds to reach 100 km/h instead of 13 seconds.

They also liked the value-for-money. A big car with decent features for little money. Fuel economy was respectable and perfectly fine, except in the city (duh!).

This Citation with only 6,000 km, had some interior trim fall off. The drive belt of the alternator broke and the mechanism to release the foot-operated parking brake snapped preventing the release of the parking brake. They said refueling the Citation takes a long time because there is no "air vent" system in the fuel tank. The automatic transmission was both praised and criticized. Praised for being quiet, but criticized for sometimes downshifting while cruising at 120 km/h on the Autobahn.

Reading through the comments, one guy claimed these were sold in Europe, but mainly in Switzerland. That makes sense since Switzerland always had a unique car market compared to the rest of Europe.

These problems should have been expected when driving the Citation past where the numbers turn red on the speedometer.

[Soup DeVille]

These problems should have been expected when driving the Citation past where the numbers turn red on the speedometer.

Yeah; why they do that?

I'd figure the Europeans were immune from the 85 MPH speedostupidity.