Car Chat

[giant_mtb]

Or a city with a good public transit system.  But you generally need pretty high density to support that.  Such systems lose cost efficiency with sprawl

Public transit would be insane if nobody had cars. It would be just as bad, traffic-wise.

[giant_mtb]

Speaking of traffic.  They're putting a couple roundabouts in at one of the busiest areas of the county, so, construction.  Traffic is a nightmare...backups for 3+ miles, hour+ wait.  So now everybody suddenly knows what the backroads are, so those are all clogged up...and I always take the back roads because fuck the highway.  But not anymore.  It's at the point where it'll be easier to take the damn ORV trail to get to Walmart.

(it'll be nice when it's done, though)

[NomisR]

Speaking of traffic.  They're putting a couple roundabouts in at one of the busiest areas of the county, so, construction.  Traffic is a nightmare...backups for 3+ miles, hour+ wait.  So now everybody suddenly knows what the backroads are, so those are all clogged up...and I always take the back roads because fuck the highway.  But not anymore.  It's at the point where it'll be easier to take the damn ORV trail to get to Walmart.

(it'll be nice when it's done, though)

There'll be massive traffic jams at the traffic circle because people don't know how to use them or properly signal. 

[12,000 RPM]

Speaking of traffic.  They're putting a couple roundabouts in at one of the busiest areas of the county, so, construction.  Traffic is a nightmare...backups for 3+ miles, hour+ wait.  So now everybody suddenly knows what the backroads are, so those are all clogged up...and I always take the back roads because fuck the highway.  But not anymore.  It's at the point where it'll be easier to take the damn ORV trail to get to Walmart.

(it'll be nice when it's done, though)

There is a big intersection near us that is begging for a roundabout, but they would damn near have to make a side road through someone's private wooded lot to make it. There are other ways around though. I'd much prefer the roundabout vs the light they are planning.

[giant_mtb]

There'll be massive traffic jams at the traffic circle because people don't know how to use them or properly signal. 

There are four roundabouts in this area now (soon to be 6), all within the last 4-5 years, and they've worked wonders for the intersections they replaced.  BUT, yeah, you still have to deal with fucktards.  I'd say about 50% of the time I go through one, somebody is doing something wrong/stupid.  I'm okay with people being cautious with them - as annoying as it may be - but some people just simply don't understand the flow and fuck it up.  I am always glad I have a dash cam when I approach.

I hate Marquette (the "big city") more and more all the time, when it comes to driving.  I much prefer cruising through the woods with a Busch Latte in my hand.

[Laconian]

Public transit would be insane if nobody had cars. It would be just as bad, traffic-wise.

Tokyo at rush hour is a marvel. Super crowded, still moves fluidly.

[NomisR]

Tokyo at rush hour is a marvel. Super crowded, still moves fluidly.

Unless you have kids.  Young kids is not compatible with big city life in general.

[giant_mtb]

Unless you have kids.  Young kids is not compatible with big city life in general.

Young kids are not compatible with anything.

[NomisR]

Young kids are not compatible with anything.

Yeah, you can at least do it better with a car.  Or slower pace small town life, big cities trying to get them into a subway in places like Tokyo, good luck.

[giant_mtb]

Yeah, you can at least do it better with a car.  Or slower pace small town life, big cities trying to get them into a subway in places like Tokyo, good luck.

Life is just way easier and simpler in a small town.  I don't know how people deal with city life.  But I'm not an "energy" kind of person, and to each their own.

[CaminoRacer]

There'll be massive traffic jams at the traffic circle because people don't know how to use them or properly signal. 

Americans constantly say that but I've never seen drivers have problems with roundabouts.

[giant_mtb]

Americans constantly say that but I've never seen drivers have problems with roundabouts.

It's usually just small problems, just like any intersection.  Somebody hesitates when they could've/should've gone, etc.

[NomisR]

Americans constantly say that but I've never seen drivers have problems with roundabouts.

There's not that many around here, most are small and people have small problems with those but could get buy.  I found one in the city of Long Beach, that's 4 lanes with 6 streets going into it, and I know people that avoid it because they're scared of it.  When I was looking for an apartment in that area, the apartment managers specifically mentioned that I may go through the traffic circled in case I want to avoid it saying it's a problem with a lot of people.

[Soup DeVille]

Americans constantly say that but I've never seen drivers have problems with roundabouts.

Except nobody signals at them.

[giant_mtb]

Except nobody signals at them.

That's the biggest thing.  Signaling your intended path helps a lot with flow, so long as others are paying attention to it.

[CaminoRacer]

Except nobody signals at them.

And I've never seen that to cause much problem. Obviously it's nice when Europeans signal, but American roundabouts are normally placed in different locations than European roundabouts and they're not nearly as busy, so signalling isn't as big of a deal.

[Soup DeVille]

And I've never seen that to cause much problem. Obviously it's nice when Europeans signal, but American roundabouts are normally placed in different locations than European roundabouts and they're not nearly as busy, so signalling isn't as big of a deal.

I've seen occasional near-misses.

[12,000 RPM]

I think one lane roundabouts can work in the US. Anything beyond that, forget about it.

They work really well here. I shudder to think what all the roundabouts would be like as traffic lights.

[Laconian]

We have two-lane roundabouts in the countryside and they work fine. There are big painted diagrams on the road indicating which exits can be accessed by the outer radius, and which exits can be accessed by the inner radius.

[HurricaneSteve]

In other news VW is apparently retracting the 6 year/72K warranty starting 2020. Instead it'll be 5 years plus 2 free years of maintenance.

[Galaxy]

In other news VW is apparently retracting the 6 year/72K warranty starting 2020. Instead it'll be 5 years plus 2 free years of maintenance.

Still better then most of their competition (I think Kia/Hyundai are the only ones who have more) still, one can not help but think that this decision was based on them being shocked at how expensive it is to keep their cars on the road.   

[MX793]

Still better then most of their competition (I think Kia/Hyundai are the only ones who have more) still, one can not help but think that this decision was based on them being shocked at how expensive it is to keep their cars on the road.   

Considering my car doesn't have 80K on it and the interior is completely falling apart (and some of the exterior, though being a regular resident at the airport parking lot the past few months hasn't helped).  The glass on my passenger's wing mirror fell out a few weeks ago.  Like seemingly every other adhesive on the car, it just came unstuck.  Slapped it back on with some Gorilla glue.

[cawimmer430]

First reviews of the new A45S AMG are coming in.

The verdict? AMAZING. Especially when compared to the last A45 AMG. That interior comparison alone for example demonstrates how much the new A-Class has improved and has a more premium feel and personality.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjnaC361API

[HurricaneSteve]

Wow that's quite terrible and I wouldn't be surprised if even little things like that are still a problem. I've been looking at a more powerful replacement for the Mazda 2 and a local VW dealer was offering a 2018 Golf TSI 5MT for under 17K since it's one of the shortest cars in its class and is supposedly high quality throughout but I just couldn't get comfortable (not enough seat adjustment) and the only reason why I entertained the Golf was because of the warranty. Seems like VW hasn't changed one bit and even though it was a base trim, the interior wasn't anything to write home about, particularly the cloth seat material.

Considering my car doesn't have 80K on it and the interior is completely falling apart (and some of the exterior, though being a regular resident at the airport parking lot the past few months hasn't helped).  The glass on my passenger's wing mirror fell out a few weeks ago.  Like seemingly every other adhesive on the car, it just came unstuck.  Slapped it back on with some Gorilla glue.

[HurricaneSteve]

On paper yes but I was under the impression that VW had improved its quality so that trips to the dealership would be less frequent. If consumers are still having to use the warranty that much then nothing has changed--in the US at least it's still a brand that one is better off leasing or getting rid of just as the warranty expires.

Still better then most of their competition (I think Kia/Hyundai are the only ones who have more) still, one can not help but think that this decision was based on them being shocked at how expensive it is to keep their cars on the road.   

[cawimmer430]

Toyota Supra Vs. BMW Z4 M40i Comparison Tries To Settle The Discussion For Good

Leaving aside discussions or rather, criticism about the Toyota Supra being nothing more than a retuned, rebadged and repackaged BMW Z4, the Japanese coupe has proven to be quite a revelation in reviews — including our own.

But what is the Supra like to drive when compared with its platform sibling, the BMW Z4? The guys from Throttle House wanted to find out and reviewed the two sports cars in detail to see which is the one to have.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvE1GCXcOTs

Obviously, they did not choose any Z4 for the job and went for the range-topping M40i version which uses the same 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six as the Supra. Despite the difference in power (the North American-market BMW has 47 horsepower more than the Toyota), the cars feel equally agile and fast. Actually, the Supra beat the Z4 in the 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) tests, albeit by a tiny margin.

The Toyota also has the edge over the BMW when it comes to driver engagement: the exhaust sound is more exciting and loud, and the added stiffness of the coupe body style makes it a bit more agile and lively in corners. The BMW Z4 M40i is more of grand tourer type of vehicle and it does that really well for a roadster. It also has a better, more modern interior — and less claustrophobic too, even with the roof up.

Unfortunately, the video does not feature the two sports car on the track but driving them on public roads was enough for the reviewers to reach an unanimous conclusion. Head over to the video to find out which car is the winner.


Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2019/08/toyota-supra-vs-bmw-z4-m40i-comparison-tries-to-settle-the-discussion-for-good/

[cawimmer430]

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Y2MsCDHUg

[SJ_GTI]

I like the older, horizontal grill better. But everything else does seem nicer on the newer A45.

[cawimmer430]

I like the older, horizontal grill better. But everything else does seem nicer on the newer A45.

I think the new A45 AMG is obviously awesome, insane and impressive, but in terms of visual style it's too gaudy for me. The regular A35 AMG looks better IMO.







And maybe I am biased, but I think the fake exhaust design looks better on the AMG Line package than on the circular fake exhausts on the  A35 AMG.

[Raza]

My car is very similar to the Armada.  I've driven both my QX56, now called the QX80, and the much smaller 3 row SUV, the QX60, as a loaner a bunch of times long distance.  There's not as much space inside based on how it looks because the seats are so damn thick. It's almost impossible to feel cramped however in the captain chairs of the first and second row and the greenhouse is very tall.  Ergonomically the only issue I've ever had is that it's a long reach to turn the radio channel.  I'm not that tall or lanky however and can do it pretty easily.  It does drive like a potato with the smaller SUV being significantly more agile.  Parking is a breeze due to surround vision. 

I'm pretty sure the Armada is smaller than a quad cab pickup so everything is relative

I drive a Z4.  The Armada is an actual armada compared to it.  Without the surround camera, I would have had a hell of a time parking it in my hotel parking lot. 

There were 6 of us on that vacation, otherwise we would have gotten something smaller.  I do like the idea of an SUV and there were some things that were nice about having a truck that big.  In downtown Napa, people were scared of it; they got out of your way because it was so much bigger than most of the cars there.  But trying to drive that thing at night on winding, unlit Napa Valley roads at 50-60mph (the speed limit on those two lane roads) was kind of nerve-wracking, especially if you've had a glass of wine or two.  It felt and handled like a big truck and visibility was poor because there were no other light sources (also, I was there during the huge fire, so visibility was already poor).