Car Chat

[r0tor]

Most definitely.

It's a computer game... BeamNG

Basically an automotive sandbox game.  You can pretty much do anything you want - everything from racing to offroading, stunt shit, running from cops, or just crashing stuff for fun.

[Raza]

BMWs in 10 years:

"Buy the Ultimate Driving Machine! Just get in the car, put on your seatbelt, put it in drive mode, and start texting to your heart's delight!"

I understand that this is the market and we're being told that no one wants manuals anymore, yet as someone who is actively searching for a manual car on the used market, I've put in 8 calls on recently listed manual 3 series and S4s only to find out they've had a deposit put on them either that day or the day before, within 24 hours of being listed. And these manual cars that are a generation old are commanding the same price or more than comparable, newer cars of the newer generation.

[CaminoRacer]

I saw a G20 3 series like mine yesterday with some really nice metallic green paint. I really wanted to give him a thumbs up or something, but figured he would just think I was saying "hey nice car we match" instead of "that green paint is fantastic"

[r0tor]

Another one bites the dust

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-volvo-s60-sedan-is-dead/

[Morris Minor]

Another one bites the dust

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-volvo-s60-sedan-is-dead/

You would have thought, in these emissions-conscious times, that sedans would be back in vogue: slipping through the air more efficiently than brick-shaped SUVs.
But no.

[r0tor]

You would have thought, in these emissions-conscious times, that sedans would be back in vogue: slipping through the air more efficiently than brick-shaped SUVs.
But no.

Agreed...

I'm driving around as a loaner a PHEV small ass CUV and it can't match the size or fuel efficiency of my basic ICE sedan just because it's an aero brick

[AutobahnSHO]

Here's the current state of cars in America. Four different bands parked in front of my college last night.

You cannot view this attachment.

[FoMoJo]

^^Large, Medium, Small and Petite. 

[Morris Minor]

It's not unusual for my G37 to be the only sedan in any given row of parked vehicles.

[CaminoRacer]

Agreed...

I'm driving around as a loaner a PHEV small ass CUV and it can't match the size or fuel efficiency of my basic ICE sedan just because it's an aero brick

Yep. Hybrid Rav-4 I rented got similar mileage as my 330i.

[MrH]

Mazda has been vaguebooking about a 35th anniversary edition of the Miata.  Something about gold going well with it and nostalgia.  Two of the better guesses from the miata forum: either black with gold wheels with red interior (throw back to an old NA special edition), or dark green with gold wheels.

[AutobahnSHO]

^^Large, Medium, Small and Petite. 

And all the same color?!?!

[SJ_GTI]

And all the same color?!?!

Those are clearly different colors. Obsidian black, midnight black, onyx black, and pitch black.

[Madman]

Another one bites the dust

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-volvo-s60-sedan-is-dead/

Volvo stopped being Volvo when they started caring more about style than substance.

I'll never forget when the S60 was first introduced.  I was working at a Volvo dealership at the time and all the marketing blather rambled on about aesthetics, style, and the S60's "coupe-like roofline."  Nothing about practicality or function.

Well, that "coupe-like roofline" meant the designers had to push the back seat forward so that nobody with legs or a head could even sit back there!  I can't speak for anyone else but, personally, I don't know very many sedan owners who regularly transport legless and headless torsos in their back seats.  And because the C-pillar dropped so sharply, sticking a child seat back there put the parent at risk of giving themselves a concussion when the backs of their heads inevitably hit the roof!

I'm not joking when I say I swear the smaller Mark I S40's back seat felt roomier than the S60.  Long-time Volvo owners looking to trade out of their old 850s and S70s were bewildered as to why Volvo would replace the spacious S70 with a car so cramped and so inappropriate for families.  Even those who were cross-shopping the S60 against it's most likely competitors remarked how claustrophobic the S60 felt inside compared to it's rivals.

Sacrificing function for the dubious whims of fashion was the antithesis of everything Volvo had built their reputation upon.  It was at that point I realised Volvo was changing, and NOT for the better!

Today's Volvo is a company I don't even recognise anymore.  I haven't even looked at a new Volvo ever since the Chinese took over, so I can't say I'll miss the S60.  I guess you can count me in among the increasing number of people who are no longer interested in new cars because the industry is hell-bent on only producing the sort of cars I do not want.

[Raza]

You would have thought, in these emissions-conscious times, that sedans would be back in vogue: slipping through the air more efficiently than brick-shaped SUVs.
But no.

It's the shrinking middle class, I think. More and more families can only afford to have one car or split enough family duties that every car has to be capable of fulfilling all their family's needs. Gone are the days that the dad drives the sedan to work, maybe has a sporty thing on the side, and the mom drives the minivan on the day to day. Since minivans are largely passe now unless you have a large family and really need the minivan's more clever and efficient packaging, you see the proliferation of SUVs in different size classes taking on those needs.

[veeman]

I think the big preference of SUVs over sedans is due to:

1) in the U.S. gas is cheap compared with most of the rest of the world

2) roads are wide compared with most of the rest of the world

3) parking spots are wide compared with most of the rest of the world

4) speed limits are low

5) all else being equal, the heavier and larger car is usually safer to travel in

6) they can carry more stuff

7 AWD is more often available

8) as a generalization Americans  are large people and like large things

9) there are no state or federal financial penalties for driving a larger less fuel efficient car

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah but the minivan is still "better".

I saw a Mazda MPV in remarkably great shape a few weeks back. No bigger than the medium SUVs but infinitely more space.

I saw the back of a Cherokee Thursday- barely any room for groceries!!!

[veeman]

I think the big preference of SUVs over sedans is due to:

1) in the U.S. gas is cheap compared with most of the rest of the world

2) roads are wide compared with most of the rest of the world

3) parking spots are wide compared with most of the rest of the world

4) speed limits are low

5) all else being equal, the heavier and larger car is usually safer to travel in

6) they can carry more stuff

7 AWD is more often available

8) as a generalization Americans  are large people and like large things

9) there are no state or federal financial penalties for driving a larger less fuel efficient car

Also sight lines are usually better and getting in and out of the car is easier for older people.

[veeman]

Yeah but the minivan is still "better".

I saw a Mazda MPV in remarkably great shape a few weeks back. No bigger than the medium SUVs but infinitely more space.

I saw the back of a Cherokee Thursday- barely any room for groceries!!!

Just like wagons are better than sedans. 

Especially for personal transportation vehicles, aesthetics trump functionality for the majority of people.

Just like  it does for clothing/shoes.

[AutobahnSHO]

Especially for personal transportation vehicles, aesthetics trump functionality for the majority of people.

True true. I wouldn't have bought my cars if I found them ugly. I've researched the Frontier since they changed it from all cheap looking.

[AutobahnSHO]

About time on this one. Needed very much for full autonomous driving!

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/someone-patented-a-super-advanced-waze-replacement-that-wouldn-t-require-any-user-action-236005.html

[FoMoJo]

About time on this one. Needed very much for full autonomous driving!

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/someone-patented-a-super-advanced-waze-replacement-that-wouldn-t-require-any-user-action-236005.html

Sounds good.  It will work much better as long as there is no human intervention.

[AutobahnSHO]

As I looked at the row of full-size trucks used as commuter cars every day, i had a funny thought:

"Commuting in a pickup just shows you can't afford another car to drive to work"   

[giant_mtb]

As I looked at the row of full-size trucks used as commuter cars every day, i had a funny thought:

"Commuting in a pickup just shows you can't afford another car to drive to work"   

Or the wife commutes in/uses the other car, which is usually the case IME. Husband drives the truck, wife drives the CUV/Jeep/van/whatever the smaller vehicle is.

[AutobahnSHO]

Or the wife commutes in/uses the other car, which is usually the case IME. Husband drives the truck, wife drives the CUV/Jeep/van/whatever the smaller vehicle is.

Yeah, my thought was pretty dumb as most people don't have THREE cars... but it made me kinda chuckle

[giant_mtb]

Yeah, my thought was pretty dumb as most people don't have THREE cars... but it made me kinda chuckle

Oh I hear ya.  I make a living detailing many, many a commuter truck. 

What makes me chuckle (or cry) is when I detail a full-size truck with a V8 and the average fuel economy it gets is over 20mpg while my Taco will never get more than 17-18mpg in day-to-day driving.

[giant_mtb]

Though I will also say, people use their trucks for truck things around here.  Yes, many of them are commuter trucks, but they get used 'round these parts.

[veeman]

About time on this one. Needed very much for full autonomous driving!

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/someone-patented-a-super-advanced-waze-replacement-that-wouldn-t-require-any-user-action-236005.html

A big highlight of Waze for me is user based indication of where law enforcement is located and speed/red light cameras. This super advanced Waze wouldn't have any of that so I'd prefer the status quo.

[FoMoJo]

Excellent video...

I appreciate restorers who do not disfigure classics.

[MrH]

A big highlight of Waze for me is user based indication of where law enforcement is located and speed/red light cameras. This super advanced Waze wouldn't have any of that so I'd prefer the status quo.

I've been converted to Apple Maps I think. It's more accurate than Waze with time estimates and traffic rerouting, much better UI. They have speed trap warnings on Apple Maps now. Much less garbage info coming at you though.