Toshi's thread
- Thread starter Toshi
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Toshi,This is awesome:
http://www.mercedes-g-entdecker.com/test/ENTDECKER.pdf
G-wagen, but not the foofed out USDM spec: European military spec, 3.0 CDI turbodiesel netting 17 mpg (14 l/100 km). 17 mpg isn't a killer when it can carry just shy of 61 (!) US gallons of diesel onboard for a range of 1500 km! 2 speed transfer case and 3 electrically locking diffs. Literal ton of extra touches that all seem well thought out, see the PDF if you're morbidly curious as to what crazy Germans/Swiss/South Africans have come up with.
I'll be damned if it's even a penny under 6 figures, though.Actually, when looking into it a bit further, it looks like it goes for about 50,000 GBP in South Africa, so under $100k USD.
I wonder if one could even legally import one into the US, however: The G-Wagen itself (in rap-star gaudy trim) is imported and federalized. The 3.0 CDI powertrain is in many federalized M-B products. I doubt this trim is crash tested or emissions tested, so probably just as much of a non-starter as importing cars from Japan, etc.
I took this picture at Pedros' fest a couple of years ago.
Ran on Bio, and had 6 Batteries that those solar cells charge.
and Note the beer Taps too!
http://www.insideline.com/porsche/911/2010/2010-porsche-997-vs-1994-porsche-993.html
Note the more upright windshield, slimmer A- and B-pillars, and lower beltline on the 1994 (993) on the left compared to the 2010 (997) on the right. Some things haven't gotten better with time, and outwards visibility is one of these things.
Consumer Reports' car reviews are generally ignored by young males 
but my old-man interests apparently align with theirs, assuming that rear blindspots are a decent proxy for all-direction visibility:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/car-safety/car-safety-reviews/mind-that-blind-spot-1005/best-and-worst/0304bli0_best-and-worst-rear-blind-zones.htm
There's lots of overlap between segments, however: the "best" in one category may be average or even the "worst" in another.
(Can you tell I'm bored at work? I'll be on call and things will probably pick up a bit once call starts, but my 8-4 regular shift is quiet. Very quiet.)
but my old-man interests apparently align with theirs, assuming that rear blindspots are a decent proxy for all-direction visibility:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/car-safety/car-safety-reviews/mind-that-blind-spot-1005/best-and-worst/0304bli0_best-and-worst-rear-blind-zones.htm
There's lots of overlap between segments, however: the "best" in one category may be average or even the "worst" in another.
(Can you tell I'm bored at work?
I'll be on call and things will probably pick up a bit once call starts, but my 8-4 regular shift is quiet. Very quiet.)
35 minutes from me. Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out this weekend if the local dealer 5 minutes down the block also turns out to be staffed with a bunch of schmucks. (We didn't go there in the first place since we were down on the south shore already for the Lexus dealer.) I don't think I'm going to be able to convince my wife to come along. She's thoroughly sick of dealerships already.
Cars that I'd like to test drive (projected time frame for actual purchase: 2014+, probably as a CPO from a 2011ish model year). Sorting is via ascending lbs/hp ratio. I figure that it will be impossible for someone of my age to get a test drive prior to 2014 in everything faster than a 370Z
Cars/crossovers that Jessica wants to test drive (projected time frame 2013, CPO vs. new). Sorting is via ascending vehicle height, as she decided that she likes to be able to see over the top of the vehicle, at least on tiptoes. She's 5'4", or something like that , so anything over 65" will be a stretch, literally. The other selection criteria for her are that it has 35"+ rear legroom for future rear-facing child seats, has AWD if not a Prius (not hard and fast), has heated seats and other tech-junk like that, and doesn't look hideous inside or out.
I've decided that I don't really trust magazine reviews or other peoples' opinions, as both mostly suck and they weight/value different things that my wife or I may or may not agree with. In other words, down with "magazine racing." Test driving as many of these vehicles as I can while we're in the New York area with its many dealerships should keep me entertained, at least for a while, and will let me sort out what I like and don't like.
On the other hand, as I note above, I probably will be only able to test drive the "slow" vehicles on my own personal list due to my age and the fact that I'm just window shopping. Oh well, there's still plenty there to keep me busy. First up will be the Miata. It's too bad that Zipcar doesn't have them any longer else I'd just have checked one out for a weekend day.
Cars/crossovers that Jessica wants to test drive (projected time frame 2013, CPO vs. new). Sorting is via ascending vehicle height, as she decided that she likes to be able to see over the top of the vehicle, at least on tiptoes. She's 5'4", or something like that
, so anything over 65" will be a stretch, literally. The other selection criteria for her are that it has 35"+ rear legroom for future rear-facing child seats, has AWD if not a Prius (not hard and fast), has heated seats and other tech-junk like that, and doesn't look hideous inside or out.
I've decided that I don't really trust magazine reviews or other peoples' opinions, as both mostly suck and they weight/value different things that my wife or I may or may not agree with. In other words, down with "magazine racing." Test driving as many of these vehicles as I can while we're in the New York area with its many dealerships should keep me entertained, at least for a while, and will let me sort out what I like and don't like.
On the other hand, as I note above, I probably will be only able to test drive the "slow" vehicles on my own personal list due to my age and the fact that I'm just window shopping. Oh well, there's still plenty there to keep me busy. First up will be the Miata. It's too bad that Zipcar doesn't have them any longer else I'd just have checked one out for a weekend day.
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Oldie but goodie. I wonder how many of these drivers were drunk off their asses and how many were just inattentive. It makes me see the value of crumple zones, auto insurance, and health insurance. That said, I'm still happily riding my red, reflective-clad beast. I enjoy my commute much, much more when I'm on the bike splitting traffic than when stuck like everyone else in it.
This deal turns out to not quite be the peach that I was hoping for: 4 hours time (unless the 6 PM - 9 AM "date night" shift is picked, and I don't want to drive it at night), and only 60 miles are provided! Extra miles are $1.50/mile in advance, $3/mile if not pre-booked. I'm going to still go through with it and get enough miles to get to Bear Mountain and back, but I'm very glad it was not full price. $150 for 4 hours and 60 miles seems too rich, but $59 for the same is merely passable.Totally relevant to this last post: I just signed up for a groupon NYC-region deal to rent a Porsche 996 for half a day for $59 (marked down from $150, iirc). I'm psyched, even if it's "just" the unloved 996 generation.
In two-wheel news, I signed up just now for a Lee Parks Total Control class, their stage I class. Having gone through the MSF BRC twice (by choice, several years apart) and the MSF Dirtbikeschool I'm really eager to learn more advanced techniques and up my skills/confidence.
4/17/11 in Poughkeepsie, details here if you want to join in:
http://ckskickstart.com/arc_courses.php
Yesterday marked the first time I shot photos in earnest since RSNA and Chicago back in November/December.
providence - march 5
A few highlights:
Jessica seeing if she can see over the top of a CR-V. (She could, barely, so it passes her test.)
"Love is strong as death" is the caption above the doorway on the Carrie tower on Brown's campus
Shutterbugs involved in their machines' machinations. Ian, at left, was carrying around a Canon Rebel T2i, too, but apparently thought whipping out the iPhone 4 was easier.
Finally, not an artsy shot by any stretch: our Prius continues to soldier away, validating its EPA advertised 45 mpg highway rating even with low energy content/high ethanol winter gas.
providence - march 5
A few highlights:
Jessica seeing if she can see over the top of a CR-V. (She could, barely, so it passes her test.)
"Love is strong as death" is the caption above the doorway on the Carrie tower on Brown's campus
Shutterbugs involved in their machines' machinations. Ian, at left, was carrying around a Canon Rebel T2i, too, but apparently thought whipping out the iPhone 4 was easier.
Finally, not an artsy shot by any stretch: our Prius continues to soldier away, validating its EPA advertised 45 mpg highway rating even with low energy content/high ethanol winter gas.
I test drove three very different cars today. I loved one, was unimpressed with another, and ran a third out of gas. Read on to see which car netted each fate:
Mazda MX-5 Miata
I love Miatas, I really do. They and their owners tear it up in racing, from autocross to Spec Miata. On paper they're the perfect, reliable, modern realization of the old British sports car ideal: you, the road, a manual transmission, a convertible top, and not much else besides that.
Unfortunately, I'm too tall for a Miata. Say what, you ask?
Yes, it's true: although I am all of 5' 8" when not slouching my head is in contact with the headliner (soft top and PRHT alike) when in a comfortable driving position. This lack of clearance was further confirmed when I gave my noggin a fair whack while lowering the soft top into place. Who did you design this car for, Mazda? At my sub-American-average height and with a relatively normal/proportionate leg length and wingspan I shouldn't have trouble fitting in cars. To add insult to injury, the top of the windshield frame with its associated sunshades is subjectively too low, just above my field of view, right where I'd normally be looking for stop lights and other such necessary road cues.
Once wedged into the car and successfully past the row of parked cars the Miata was engaging: it felt very light, with good steering feedback, well controlled body motions, and adequate power. Well, the power was adequate until the car that I was test driving ran out of gas, that is. I ended up walking the better part of a mile back to the dealership in the rain with the chastised salesman as our efforts to call anyone there and have them bring by a jug of fuel were in vain. It was probably good for me to get some exercise today, anyway, and I had already made up my mind about the car.
Verdict: Off the list (of cars for me, as opposed to the distinct and very different list of cars for my wife). Windshield frame in field of view is merely annoying but the lack of headroom is a complete deal killer. It's too bad, as it's the cheapest of the cars that I fancy by far
Lexus LS 460
After walking back in the rain from the stranded, fuel-less MX-5 to the Mazda dealership I traveled both physically and mentally to the polar opposite of the automotive spectrum, test driving a Lexus LS 460.
I loved it, and can now see why Consumer Reports rated it 99/100, higher than any other vehicle they've tested. Here's why: The interior was fantastic. Materials, textures, and sheer spaciousness were all top notch. Even the little controls, such as for the seat heaters, had a good appearance and a well-damped motion, and there are all sorts of extra cosseting gizmos ranging from cooled seats to a heated steering wheel. Outward visibility--an often overlooked (underlooked?) aspect--is excellent, with lots of glass space, well defined hood corners, and a driving position that's neither too low nor too high. The V8/8-speed automatic powertrain begs for the appropriate superlative, as it is as unobtrusive and smooth as any hybrid in electric mode, only it remains that way all the time. (The Prius becomes a bit raucous, albeit nothing like our Fit, when the gas engine kicks in such as when merging.) The engineers seem to have had the last say in every detail: the drivers' side windshield wiper pivots with a parallelogram mechanism, presumably to eke out a few more square inches of swept (wiped?) area, cost be damned. Finally, road noise and motion are very well damped.
The LS is not a car that provides driving excitement (Pontiac), is not the heartbeat of America in any sense (Chevy), and certainly isn't the ultimate driving machine (BMW). However, even though Lexus seems to have decided to shy away from their original slogan of "the relentless pursuit of perfection" (not to mention that BMW has shied away from their former slogan both literally and in their machines' execution!) I feel that the original sentiment is apt: the LS really does feel like a very well-developed vehicle, one in which all design elements serve to provide the highest degree of isolation from the outside world. Given that my wife is happy with the similarly-isolated driving dynamics of her Prius, an LS makes perverse sense as a successor vehicle when viewed in a certain way.
Verdict: Definitely staying on the list of vehicles for my wife. Although she may decide ultimately to stick with a Prius or Prius-variant or may decide to climb the lofty seat of a crossover SUV, I think that she might just end up liking the LS as much as I do.
Infiniti M37
My final stop of the day was at the Infiniti dealer, strategically located just a few blocks down the street from Lexus. Their M37 lines up on paper with the LS and Consumer Reports likes it almost as much (92/100), but reality bore a different tale.
First off was the interior and dealer experience. I group these things because I had plenty of time to sit in the front and back seats of half the vehicles in the Infiniti showroom before anyone acknowledged my presence. Contrast this to Lexus, where a receptionist at the front immediately had me helped by a salesman before I had taken two steps in from the rain. The interior of the M37, in any case, was a bit underwhelming. Knee room for me was tight--odd for such a large car--and the rear seat, while nice, didn't have the capacious feel of the LS. The steering wheel and control binnacle also felt very plastic and somewhat out of place.
The driving experience was very different, albeit certainly not bad in any absolute sense. The M37 feels much smaller than the LS and is more taut: in steering, in suspension, and in throttle calibration. Also present, surely by design/intent, is engine noise. In other words, Infiniti tried to make their biggest sedan feel like a smaller sports coupe. In that sense, they succeeded. However, I think they failed in making it feel like a big sedan: the overall impression was not nearly as relaxing as that in the LS, and the general tactile sensation of the steering wheel and controls (those same heated seat switches, for example) was of a lower line of car. I was underwhelmed, in other words.
Verdict: Off the list, even with the upcoming 2012 M Hybrid model. The salesman had driven that at an internal Infiniti event and said it felt the same, only with an engine that occasionally wasn't audible (since it was off).
Conclusions
Test driving cars is something I used to enjoy doing, and I'm enjoying it once again. Although sitting through sales spiels is dry, it's entertaining both to experience the cars themselves but also try on a new identity, an hour at a time. I portray myself in a different light when I'm cajoling a Mazda salesman to hand me the keys to an MX-5 than when I'm explaining in half-truths to the commission-eager Lexus salesman about how we're considering a Lexus LS. Neither version of me is entirely authentic or entirely a fabrication, and similarly my own vehicle (as opposed to one that I project that my wife would enjoy) will probably lie somewhere between the two extremes that I sampled today.
Mazda MX-5 Miata
I love Miatas, I really do. They and their owners tear it up in racing, from autocross to Spec Miata. On paper they're the perfect, reliable, modern realization of the old British sports car ideal: you, the road, a manual transmission, a convertible top, and not much else besides that.
Unfortunately, I'm too tall for a Miata. Say what, you ask?
Yes, it's true: although I am all of 5' 8" when not slouching my head is in contact with the headliner (soft top and PRHT alike) when in a comfortable driving position. This lack of clearance was further confirmed when I gave my noggin a fair whack while lowering the soft top into place. Who did you design this car for, Mazda? At my sub-American-average height and with a relatively normal/proportionate leg length and wingspan I shouldn't have trouble fitting in cars. To add insult to injury, the top of the windshield frame with its associated sunshades is subjectively too low, just above my field of view, right where I'd normally be looking for stop lights and other such necessary road cues.
Once wedged into the car and successfully past the row of parked cars the Miata was engaging: it felt very light, with good steering feedback, well controlled body motions, and adequate power. Well, the power was adequate until the car that I was test driving ran out of gas, that is. I ended up walking the better part of a mile back to the dealership in the rain with the chastised salesman as our efforts to call anyone there and have them bring by a jug of fuel were in vain. It was probably good for me to get some exercise today, anyway, and I had already made up my mind about the car.
Verdict: Off the list (of cars for me, as opposed to the distinct and very different list of cars for my wife). Windshield frame in field of view is merely annoying but the lack of headroom is a complete deal killer. It's too bad, as it's the cheapest of the cars that I fancy by far
Lexus LS 460
After walking back in the rain from the stranded, fuel-less MX-5 to the Mazda dealership I traveled both physically and mentally to the polar opposite of the automotive spectrum, test driving a Lexus LS 460.
I loved it, and can now see why Consumer Reports rated it 99/100, higher than any other vehicle they've tested. Here's why: The interior was fantastic. Materials, textures, and sheer spaciousness were all top notch. Even the little controls, such as for the seat heaters, had a good appearance and a well-damped motion, and there are all sorts of extra cosseting gizmos ranging from cooled seats to a heated steering wheel. Outward visibility--an often overlooked (underlooked?) aspect--is excellent, with lots of glass space, well defined hood corners, and a driving position that's neither too low nor too high. The V8/8-speed automatic powertrain begs for the appropriate superlative, as it is as unobtrusive and smooth as any hybrid in electric mode, only it remains that way all the time. (The Prius becomes a bit raucous, albeit nothing like our Fit, when the gas engine kicks in such as when merging.) The engineers seem to have had the last say in every detail: the drivers' side windshield wiper pivots with a parallelogram mechanism, presumably to eke out a few more square inches of swept (wiped?) area, cost be damned. Finally, road noise and motion are very well damped.
The LS is not a car that provides driving excitement (Pontiac), is not the heartbeat of America in any sense (Chevy), and certainly isn't the ultimate driving machine (BMW). However, even though Lexus seems to have decided to shy away from their original slogan of "the relentless pursuit of perfection" (not to mention that BMW has shied away from their former slogan both literally and in their machines' execution!) I feel that the original sentiment is apt: the LS really does feel like a very well-developed vehicle, one in which all design elements serve to provide the highest degree of isolation from the outside world. Given that my wife is happy with the similarly-isolated driving dynamics of her Prius, an LS makes perverse sense as a successor vehicle when viewed in a certain way.
Verdict: Definitely staying on the list of vehicles for my wife. Although she may decide ultimately to stick with a Prius or Prius-variant or may decide to climb the lofty seat of a crossover SUV, I think that she might just end up liking the LS as much as I do.
Infiniti M37
My final stop of the day was at the Infiniti dealer, strategically located just a few blocks down the street from Lexus. Their M37 lines up on paper with the LS and Consumer Reports likes it almost as much (92/100), but reality bore a different tale.
First off was the interior and dealer experience. I group these things because I had plenty of time to sit in the front and back seats of half the vehicles in the Infiniti showroom before anyone acknowledged my presence. Contrast this to Lexus, where a receptionist at the front immediately had me helped by a salesman before I had taken two steps in from the rain. The interior of the M37, in any case, was a bit underwhelming. Knee room for me was tight--odd for such a large car--and the rear seat, while nice, didn't have the capacious feel of the LS. The steering wheel and control binnacle also felt very plastic and somewhat out of place.
The driving experience was very different, albeit certainly not bad in any absolute sense. The M37 feels much smaller than the LS and is more taut: in steering, in suspension, and in throttle calibration. Also present, surely by design/intent, is engine noise. In other words, Infiniti tried to make their biggest sedan feel like a smaller sports coupe. In that sense, they succeeded. However, I think they failed in making it feel like a big sedan: the overall impression was not nearly as relaxing as that in the LS, and the general tactile sensation of the steering wheel and controls (those same heated seat switches, for example) was of a lower line of car. I was underwhelmed, in other words.
Verdict: Off the list, even with the upcoming 2012 M Hybrid model. The salesman had driven that at an internal Infiniti event and said it felt the same, only with an engine that occasionally wasn't audible (since it was off).
Conclusions
Test driving cars is something I used to enjoy doing, and I'm enjoying it once again. Although sitting through sales spiels is dry, it's entertaining both to experience the cars themselves but also try on a new identity, an hour at a time. I portray myself in a different light when I'm cajoling a Mazda salesman to hand me the keys to an MX-5 than when I'm explaining in half-truths to the commission-eager Lexus salesman about how we're considering a Lexus LS. Neither version of me is entirely authentic or entirely a fabrication, and similarly my own vehicle (as opposed to one that I project that my wife would enjoy) will probably lie somewhere between the two extremes that I sampled today.
Back before I bought my RX-8 I also test drove NC-gen Miatas, and noticed the same thing, so at least I'm consistent over a period of several years.
I don't think my torso is that long--and even if proportionally long I'm overall short
--so it must be some driving position thing: when set up in the way that I like it my head is placed on a collision course with the headliner.Also/possibly stupid question: the top was down when you drove the Miata, right?
Back before I bought my RX-8 I also test drove NC-gen Miatas, and noticed the same thing, so at least I'm consistent over a period of several years.
I don't think my torso is that long--and even if proportionally long I'm overall short
Also/possibly stupid question: the top was down when you drove the Miata, right?
I'm imagining a person with really stubby arms driving with the backrest perfectly vertical.
Heh. My wingspan is actually 69.5" iirc, so I'm no T-rex. My wife is somewhat of a T-rex, however, as her wingspan is an inch or two shorter than her height. I'm not sitting all small-Asian-lady right off the steering wheel, either.
Upper body/lower body ratio looks more or less normal in this photo, no?
No, I wasn't just sticking my head out the top.
I've got really long arms (~4" longer wingspan than my height) so I think it might just be that I had the backrest reclined a bunch in order to make the reach to the wheel reasonable, which got my head low enough.
Apart from your stubby arms ending at the height of your lower ribs.Upper body/lower body ratio looks more or less normal in this photo, no?
#12 Rt33 into West Virginia is a nice road but if you like lots of tight mountain roads rte 250 from Staunton to all points west is mindblowing.
Care to critique my parking-lot-circle form? Right turns are tougher for me, not so much as for the throttle as Lee Parks says but because I find clutch modulation with my "high" hand strange feeling.
Note pavement nap at end. I was tired, still leaned over, and grabbed too much front brake. Whoops. No harm to the bike besides a little scuff on the handguard, and no harm to me, of course.
Note pavement nap at end. I was tired, still leaned over, and grabbed too much front brake. Whoops. No harm to the bike besides a little scuff on the handguard, and no harm to me, of course.
This is pretty cool, an American designed and made sport-tourer:
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/motus-mst-launch/
1645 cc aluminum block direct injected V-4 developed by Pratt & Miller (as in C5R race car among many, many other things) making 161 hp, 500 lbs dry weight, and what looks like comfy ergonomics. I like that it doesn't look excessively plastic-clad as compared to, say, an FJR or a Connie.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/motus-mst-launch/
1645 cc aluminum block direct injected V-4 developed by Pratt & Miller (as in C5R race car among many, many other things) making 161 hp, 500 lbs dry weight, and what looks like comfy ergonomics. I like that it doesn't look excessively plastic-clad as compared to, say, an FJR or a Connie.
I rode around Long Island for about 6 hours today on my motorcycle, seeking out test-drives of various and sundry vehicles. Just in case you're tuning in for the first time we're not actually in the market to buy anything at all imminently, but might be in 2013 (potential-future-family friendly vehicle for my wife) and 2014+ (driver-friendly vehicle for me). Note that in addition to the cars below I also tried to drive a BMW X3, Ford Mustang, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution but was thwarted due to their unavailability at their respective dealers.
Without further ado, the cars that I drove today:
Nissan 370Z
My first real car was a Z32-generation Nissan 300ZX. Low, sleek, and reasonably quick, it was quite the car to have as a high schooler. It did have a few shortcomings, namely reliability (it ate the variable cam timing sensors and thereafter ate the camshafts on one of its banks of cylinders--not cheap to fix!) and horrid rear visibility. Fast forward to today and at least this last trait is shared by the modern Z: I simply can't see out of the back of it. If I were to drive this car daily I would insist on having a backup camera lest I run over some hapless toddler or whack an unseen pole.
Rear visibility aside, the Z is great. It fits like a glove, as it should at its diminutive height of 51.8" (one inch shorter than my old RX-8!), and I have adequate head room. Forward and side visibility is fine despite a high beltline, and the A-pillars are suitably lithe so as to not block one's view of the road. The feelings of all the controls are solid, the V6 responsive throughout its rev range, and apart from clutch takeup oddly high in its travel I felt immediately right at home with the car. It just felt good.
Doing up the numbers for the car tempered my enthusiasm, however: to get navi and a rear-view/backup camera along with the fancy automatic rev-matching system for the 6-speed gearbox leads to a pretty hefty bottom line, at least considering how focused this car is: 2 tight front seats and a laughably shallow cargo tray out back. It's basically as practical as a MX-5 Miata, for better or worse. Additionally, the car really is drawn tight around the occupants, and I'm not sure that that's what I want. It's not as claustrophobic as the MX-5 with the top up, but when I sat in the dealership's display model Nissan GT-R I found its slightly roomier cabin a much more pleasant place to be... (I didn't get to test drive the GT-R, of course, as I'd have to be a professional con man to convince the dealer I was serious about purchasing one at its $90k showroom floor price tag!)
Even if it might mean waiting an extra year or two to gather up the funds for a GT-R instead of a 370Z (both lightly used 2011-2012 models in this hypothetical ~2014-2015 situation) I'd rather have the former. It comes down to that I like the 370Z but don't love it for one reason or another. For something as deliberately frivolous as a sports car I think one should swoon at the thought of it, and this take on the modern Z just doesn't do that for me.
Verdict: Off my list. While the list is in constant flux as ideas come and go, it currently stands as follows: GT-R; Mustang Boss 302; Porsches of various flavors (997, Boxster Spyder/Cayman R, 993); NSX; Evo X. I might be able to test drive a non-Boss 302 Mustang tomorrow and I'll get a half-day's worth of seat time in a Porsche 996 Cabriolet on April 2, but the others will probably remain un-test-driveable for the foreseeable future.
Acura RDX and Honda CR-V
After tooling around in the 51.8" height 370Z I drove the 65.2" Acura RDX and its cousin-car, the 66.1" Honda CR-V, two vehicles clearly from my wife's list rather than mine. Let's start with the latter: I was not at all impressed with the Honda. Its engine note is agricultural, the power underwhelming, and the interior done in the same, cheap-feeling plasticky vein as the 2nd-gen Honda Fit. For a $30k vehicle (with navi and leather) I expect more, so the CR-V was an easy choice to axe.
The RDX shares the CR-V's platform but has a turbo variant of the same 4-cylinder engine, fancy torque-vectoring AWD setup as opposed to a FWD-biased Haldex system, and a much nicer interior. These differences seem small when staring at a spec sheet but in reailty the impression created by driving each vehicle was distinctly different. The RDX was very pleasant to drive, even entertaining: the turbo 4 has good midrange punch, the stiffer suspension and all singing-and-dancing AWD system encouraged spirited on-ramp cornering, and the nicer interior accoutrements seem worth the price of admission.
If my wife decides she does want an SUV or crossover after all (as opposed to a big sedan like the fantastic Lexus LS sedan that I test drove last weekend) then she could do far worse than an RDX. As it felt smaller and more nimble than the Lexus RXh I'd have to give it the nod, not to mention that the Acura's OTD price is probably $15k cheaper...
Verdicts: CR-V gets voted off the island while its cousin, the RDX, keeps its spot on the list.
Subaru Forester and Outback
Subarus are not exciting vehicles, aside from the boy-racer STI, I suppose. The Outback, after its recent homely and big-boned makeover as above, is definitely not a vehicle that stirs the soul. However, I found out today that it's executed pretty solidly. First I sat in a Forester, and marveled at its huge greenhouse: low beltline, high roof, and lots of glass all around made for excellent visibility on par with my Honda Fit. The interior looked cheap, though, and the powertrain options for the Forester are still stuck in 2002, so I took the keys of the Outback instead.
The Outback has been receiving the bulk of Subaru's development money, apparently. Although its pulled-back headlight-eyes and macho-man fender flares create a visage that only its mother could love, it's actually very nice inside. Rear legroom, in particular, is very good. Outside visibility is better than average, too--not as good as the Forester but better than, say, that CR-V or the RXh that we tested the other day. Add in a smooth and quiet H-6 drivetrain, a driving position that's not too tall at all (very similar to that of the RDX, in fact), and the usual amenities such as a backup camera on a large, in-dash navi unit and you have the makings of a contender.
Many have decried the Outback's transition from a raised wagon to a smallish SUV. I'm not one of these people: the old Outback would have sucked horribly at an autocross anyway, so what's the loss with making it bigger for more practicality (see: rear legroom) and softer around the edges? It's not a wallowing beast by any means, and the other nice things that go with the package such as the H-6 and a trick AWD system comparable to Acura's make it competitive with its peers.
Verdicts: Forester is out barring a major refresh with new engines and transmissions (WRX-era turbo-4 and a 4-speed automatic are passé). Outback is in for the moment, much to my surprise.
Hyundai Genesis 4.6 sedan
The final vehicle that I test-drove today was a Hyundai Genesis sedan with the 4.6 liter V8. (Did I mention that today was a long day of test-drives? I wasn't kidding!)
Ostensibly, the Genesis sedan is a direct competitor to the Lexus LS 460 and Infiniti M37. On paper the comparison is apt, with the Genesis having every bit as long a spec sheet and boasting even more interior volume. In practice I wasn't convinced: the Genesis's interior, in particular, seems as if Hyundai put it together working off of a photo of the Lexus's interior rather than feeling the actual materials used.
Textures are just off (headliner, dashboard, leather-wrapped steering wheel come immediately to mind), and some pieces, such as the inner part of the steering wheel that contains the audio buttons, are clearly sourced from the Korean econocar parts-bin. The dashboard, while lighting up in a fancy "floating" manner, uses oddly small gauges that I imagine were what Hyundai's suppliers could readily supply rather than what the engineers dictated. In short, the Genesis interior gave the impression that it was put together by a team working to check off a list of items (fancy stereo? check; stitched leather insert on dashboard? check...) without perfecting each piece.
The car did drive well, however. Even with "just" a 6-speed automatic, the V8 moved the car around nicely with little drama and little strum und drang. On top of its undeniable mechanical competence is a fantastic pricetag: I was quoted $37k OTD for a fully-loaded Genesis 4.6 sedan (marked down from a MSRP of about $43k). The base model Lexus LS 460 starts at $66k, for comparison, and it requires optioning-up to achieve feature parity.
Is a half-price luxury sedan worth it if it doesn't really match up in execution and feel? That's a question for the market and for the individual. I personally rank the car above the Infiniti M37 but definitely below the Lexus LS 460. Furthermore, just as how the 370Z was competent and impressive without stealing my heart in the end, as it were, the Genesis is undeniably competent and a good deal but doesn't ooze polish as does the LS.
Verdict: Should my wife decide to go the big-sedan route then I'd encourage her to pick a CPO LS 460 over a new Genesis. Therefore the Genesis is out, joining the Infiniti M37 in the pasture.
Conclusions from a long day at the dealerships
I really outdid myself this time. Not only did I drive so many vehicles today that probably no one will read this post in its entirety, but I also wore myself out: 6 hours off and on the motorcycle when I probably should have been catching up on sleep during my night float week. (Also, what was I thinking when I decided to take the motorcycle in the first place? Clutch modulation in motorcycle boots isn't the easiest thing to do, it turns out!)
It's what I wanted to do today, though: to get out in the fresh air on the motorcycle and continue to waste the time of commission-eager salesmen by pretending that we'll be in the market in a few months. If only this were actually the case, that I was nearly done with residency, or, better yet, fellowship... Although I can't speed up time or advance myself through residency any quicker than, well, anyone, I can at least continue to dream my boyish dreams and drive other peoples' cars for free.
Without further ado, the cars that I drove today:
Nissan 370Z
My first real car was a Z32-generation Nissan 300ZX. Low, sleek, and reasonably quick, it was quite the car to have as a high schooler. It did have a few shortcomings, namely reliability (it ate the variable cam timing sensors and thereafter ate the camshafts on one of its banks of cylinders--not cheap to fix!) and horrid rear visibility. Fast forward to today and at least this last trait is shared by the modern Z: I simply can't see out of the back of it. If I were to drive this car daily I would insist on having a backup camera lest I run over some hapless toddler or whack an unseen pole.
Rear visibility aside, the Z is great. It fits like a glove, as it should at its diminutive height of 51.8" (one inch shorter than my old RX-8!), and I have adequate head room. Forward and side visibility is fine despite a high beltline, and the A-pillars are suitably lithe so as to not block one's view of the road. The feelings of all the controls are solid, the V6 responsive throughout its rev range, and apart from clutch takeup oddly high in its travel I felt immediately right at home with the car. It just felt good.
Doing up the numbers for the car tempered my enthusiasm, however: to get navi and a rear-view/backup camera along with the fancy automatic rev-matching system for the 6-speed gearbox leads to a pretty hefty bottom line, at least considering how focused this car is: 2 tight front seats and a laughably shallow cargo tray out back. It's basically as practical as a MX-5 Miata, for better or worse. Additionally, the car really is drawn tight around the occupants, and I'm not sure that that's what I want. It's not as claustrophobic as the MX-5 with the top up, but when I sat in the dealership's display model Nissan GT-R I found its slightly roomier cabin a much more pleasant place to be... (I didn't get to test drive the GT-R, of course, as I'd have to be a professional con man to convince the dealer I was serious about purchasing one at its $90k showroom floor price tag!)
Even if it might mean waiting an extra year or two to gather up the funds for a GT-R instead of a 370Z (both lightly used 2011-2012 models in this hypothetical ~2014-2015 situation) I'd rather have the former. It comes down to that I like the 370Z but don't love it for one reason or another. For something as deliberately frivolous as a sports car I think one should swoon at the thought of it, and this take on the modern Z just doesn't do that for me.
Verdict: Off my list. While the list is in constant flux as ideas come and go, it currently stands as follows: GT-R; Mustang Boss 302; Porsches of various flavors (997, Boxster Spyder/Cayman R, 993); NSX; Evo X. I might be able to test drive a non-Boss 302 Mustang tomorrow and I'll get a half-day's worth of seat time in a Porsche 996 Cabriolet on April 2, but the others will probably remain un-test-driveable for the foreseeable future.
Acura RDX and Honda CR-V
After tooling around in the 51.8" height 370Z I drove the 65.2" Acura RDX and its cousin-car, the 66.1" Honda CR-V, two vehicles clearly from my wife's list rather than mine. Let's start with the latter: I was not at all impressed with the Honda. Its engine note is agricultural, the power underwhelming, and the interior done in the same, cheap-feeling plasticky vein as the 2nd-gen Honda Fit. For a $30k vehicle (with navi and leather) I expect more, so the CR-V was an easy choice to axe.
The RDX shares the CR-V's platform but has a turbo variant of the same 4-cylinder engine, fancy torque-vectoring AWD setup as opposed to a FWD-biased Haldex system, and a much nicer interior. These differences seem small when staring at a spec sheet but in reailty the impression created by driving each vehicle was distinctly different. The RDX was very pleasant to drive, even entertaining: the turbo 4 has good midrange punch, the stiffer suspension and all singing-and-dancing AWD system encouraged spirited on-ramp cornering, and the nicer interior accoutrements seem worth the price of admission.
If my wife decides she does want an SUV or crossover after all (as opposed to a big sedan like the fantastic Lexus LS sedan that I test drove last weekend) then she could do far worse than an RDX. As it felt smaller and more nimble than the Lexus RXh I'd have to give it the nod, not to mention that the Acura's OTD price is probably $15k cheaper...
Verdicts: CR-V gets voted off the island while its cousin, the RDX, keeps its spot on the list.
Subaru Forester and Outback
Subarus are not exciting vehicles, aside from the boy-racer STI, I suppose. The Outback, after its recent homely and big-boned makeover as above, is definitely not a vehicle that stirs the soul. However, I found out today that it's executed pretty solidly. First I sat in a Forester, and marveled at its huge greenhouse: low beltline, high roof, and lots of glass all around made for excellent visibility on par with my Honda Fit. The interior looked cheap, though, and the powertrain options for the Forester are still stuck in 2002, so I took the keys of the Outback instead.
The Outback has been receiving the bulk of Subaru's development money, apparently. Although its pulled-back headlight-eyes and macho-man fender flares create a visage that only its mother could love, it's actually very nice inside. Rear legroom, in particular, is very good. Outside visibility is better than average, too--not as good as the Forester but better than, say, that CR-V or the RXh that we tested the other day. Add in a smooth and quiet H-6 drivetrain, a driving position that's not too tall at all (very similar to that of the RDX, in fact), and the usual amenities such as a backup camera on a large, in-dash navi unit and you have the makings of a contender.
Many have decried the Outback's transition from a raised wagon to a smallish SUV. I'm not one of these people: the old Outback would have sucked horribly at an autocross anyway, so what's the loss with making it bigger for more practicality (see: rear legroom) and softer around the edges? It's not a wallowing beast by any means, and the other nice things that go with the package such as the H-6 and a trick AWD system comparable to Acura's make it competitive with its peers.
Verdicts: Forester is out barring a major refresh with new engines and transmissions (WRX-era turbo-4 and a 4-speed automatic are passé). Outback is in for the moment, much to my surprise.
Hyundai Genesis 4.6 sedan
The final vehicle that I test-drove today was a Hyundai Genesis sedan with the 4.6 liter V8. (Did I mention that today was a long day of test-drives? I wasn't kidding!)
Ostensibly, the Genesis sedan is a direct competitor to the Lexus LS 460 and Infiniti M37. On paper the comparison is apt, with the Genesis having every bit as long a spec sheet and boasting even more interior volume. In practice I wasn't convinced: the Genesis's interior, in particular, seems as if Hyundai put it together working off of a photo of the Lexus's interior rather than feeling the actual materials used.
Textures are just off (headliner, dashboard, leather-wrapped steering wheel come immediately to mind), and some pieces, such as the inner part of the steering wheel that contains the audio buttons, are clearly sourced from the Korean econocar parts-bin. The dashboard, while lighting up in a fancy "floating" manner, uses oddly small gauges that I imagine were what Hyundai's suppliers could readily supply rather than what the engineers dictated. In short, the Genesis interior gave the impression that it was put together by a team working to check off a list of items (fancy stereo? check; stitched leather insert on dashboard? check...) without perfecting each piece.
The car did drive well, however. Even with "just" a 6-speed automatic, the V8 moved the car around nicely with little drama and little strum und drang. On top of its undeniable mechanical competence is a fantastic pricetag: I was quoted $37k OTD for a fully-loaded Genesis 4.6 sedan (marked down from a MSRP of about $43k). The base model Lexus LS 460 starts at $66k, for comparison, and it requires optioning-up to achieve feature parity.
Is a half-price luxury sedan worth it if it doesn't really match up in execution and feel? That's a question for the market and for the individual. I personally rank the car above the Infiniti M37 but definitely below the Lexus LS 460. Furthermore, just as how the 370Z was competent and impressive without stealing my heart in the end, as it were, the Genesis is undeniably competent and a good deal but doesn't ooze polish as does the LS.
Verdict: Should my wife decide to go the big-sedan route then I'd encourage her to pick a CPO LS 460 over a new Genesis. Therefore the Genesis is out, joining the Infiniti M37 in the pasture.
Conclusions from a long day at the dealerships
I really outdid myself this time. Not only did I drive so many vehicles today that probably no one will read this post in its entirety, but I also wore myself out: 6 hours off and on the motorcycle when I probably should have been catching up on sleep during my night float week. (Also, what was I thinking when I decided to take the motorcycle in the first place? Clutch modulation in motorcycle boots isn't the easiest thing to do, it turns out!)
It's what I wanted to do today, though: to get out in the fresh air on the motorcycle and continue to waste the time of commission-eager salesmen by pretending that we'll be in the market in a few months. If only this were actually the case, that I was nearly done with residency, or, better yet, fellowship... Although I can't speed up time or advance myself through residency any quicker than, well, anyone, I can at least continue to dream my boyish dreams and drive other peoples' cars for free.
Visibility diagram for a 1991-era Honda Prelude:
Do manufacturers even publish these data anymore? Do they care about it? At least I know that fellow cranks also complain about this issue, so it's not just me and my wife: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/01/ask-the-best-and-brightest-what-happened-to-visibility/ .
Do manufacturers even publish these data anymore? Do they care about it? At least I know that fellow cranks also complain about this issue, so it's not just me and my wife: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/01/ask-the-best-and-brightest-what-happened-to-visibility/ .
I came to the rather belated realization today that I'm just as superficial as anyone else. This is only a surprise because I didn't realize this years ago.
I deliberately am "anti-image" in most things: I choose to not wear brand name clothing, eyeglasses, or footwear. I don't covet fancy watches or suits, and am underdressed by preference for any given occasion. I even chose to have my Monettes made with a raw brass finish rather than gold plate so as to lead audience members to assume I'm just playing on some random old horn. Sure, I carry around the usual Apple iGadgets, but that's pretty much par for the middle-class American course these days and is not a sign of ostentation, in my opinion.
My rationale for all these choices above is that I prefer to quietly and modestly have nice things whose merits I can appreciate independent from outside laudation rather than portray a flashy outward image.
Cars--and what else could it be, after all?--are what have shown me the truth that lies behind my facade. In particular, while test-driving a 2012 Ford Mustang today I realized what I'm really looking for in a car is for it to make me feel special, and that this desire is equally as shallow as those who derive the same feeling from a Breitling or TAG Heuer.
With this in mind it suddenly makes more sense why I'm not bowled over by the 370Z, Mustang, or most of the other "fun" cars I've driven: I chose to look at them based on their "sportiness", thinking that that would be a good proxy for how much I'd enjoy driving them based on my past auto-racing dreams, but ended up judging them on something else entirely: how they moved or didn't move my own little reptilian brain.
I think I covet exclusivity, and the 370Z, Mustang, and their ilk are simply too plebian. Back in high school I loved my 300ZX, but part of that, in retrospect, was because it was a nicer breed of car than most everyone else at my modest high school drove--this wasn't in Beverly Hills, mind you! Fast forward to today and the equivalent "unattainable" cars that don't set off my conscious-brain anti-ostentation alarm bells are the stealthy-luxury Lexus LS and the boy-racer-fantasy-car Nissan GT-R. (Note that the alarm bells go off loudly enough to stanch any desire of mine for something not only exclusive but also overtly gaudy/ostentatious such as a Ferrari or AMG Mercedes. It's a fine line I walk inside this head of mine.)
In short, I'm just like everyone else, only I've repressed this tendency consciously such that it only peeks through at the edges.
Hmph.
So what to do with this realization? I'm not sure. In fact, now that I realize my probable motivations, my conscious brain may yet whittle down my desire for a GT-R out of some latent Japanese cultural guilt or the like. At a rational level, I'm also not so sure that looking to inanimate things for anything other than strict functionality is healthy, either. Then again I'm hardly alone in this particular vice: people don't call it "America's love affair with the car" for nothing, and I'm not substituting material things for anything lacking in my own (quite fine, thank you) outside/"real" life.
In any case, I did test-drive a Mustang today, so here are my impressions of it for the record:
2012 Ford Mustang
I test drove a slushbox V6 Mustang, but the powertrain isn't central: while driving I realized that I'd feel the same way about the car whether it wheelied and ran a 10 second quarter mile when the gas pedal was floored or whether it'd whimper down the street anemically.
Ergonomically the car was fine, quite good for a sporty car, in fact. Headroom was adequate, the cowl height not overly tall, the seat and steering wheel easily adjustable. Outward visibility was good to the front, decent to the back, and not bad to the side: I'd give it an outright "good" except the roofline and headliner dipped down a bit heading forward. The interior itself was bland: retro was what the designers were probably going for, but I'm not old enough to recall such old designs with any fondness. Even with the Premium interior trim I was decidedly unimpressed, and the combination of the car's retro looks and retro interior just sealed it: the Mustang did not make me feel special. Ergo, the car failed me.
I was especially nonplussed after hearing from the dealer's manager that the special, fast model, the Boss 302, would probably go for at least $5k over MSRP due to limited availability of 2 (!) per dealer. Apparently other people do not share my attitude about this car, and covet it righteously. Good for them--may it bring them lasting fulfillment, or at least a brief flash of something.
I deliberately am "anti-image" in most things: I choose to not wear brand name clothing, eyeglasses, or footwear. I don't covet fancy watches or suits, and am underdressed by preference for any given occasion. I even chose to have my Monettes made with a raw brass finish rather than gold plate so as to lead audience members to assume I'm just playing on some random old horn. Sure, I carry around the usual Apple iGadgets, but that's pretty much par for the middle-class American course these days and is not a sign of ostentation, in my opinion.
My rationale for all these choices above is that I prefer to quietly and modestly have nice things whose merits I can appreciate independent from outside laudation rather than portray a flashy outward image.
Cars--and what else could it be, after all?--are what have shown me the truth that lies behind my facade. In particular, while test-driving a 2012 Ford Mustang today I realized what I'm really looking for in a car is for it to make me feel special, and that this desire is equally as shallow as those who derive the same feeling from a Breitling or TAG Heuer.
With this in mind it suddenly makes more sense why I'm not bowled over by the 370Z, Mustang, or most of the other "fun" cars I've driven: I chose to look at them based on their "sportiness", thinking that that would be a good proxy for how much I'd enjoy driving them based on my past auto-racing dreams, but ended up judging them on something else entirely: how they moved or didn't move my own little reptilian brain.
I think I covet exclusivity, and the 370Z, Mustang, and their ilk are simply too plebian. Back in high school I loved my 300ZX, but part of that, in retrospect, was because it was a nicer breed of car than most everyone else at my modest high school drove--this wasn't in Beverly Hills, mind you! Fast forward to today and the equivalent "unattainable" cars that don't set off my conscious-brain anti-ostentation alarm bells are the stealthy-luxury Lexus LS and the boy-racer-fantasy-car Nissan GT-R. (Note that the alarm bells go off loudly enough to stanch any desire of mine for something not only exclusive but also overtly gaudy/ostentatious such as a Ferrari or AMG Mercedes. It's a fine line I walk inside this head of mine.)
In short, I'm just like everyone else, only I've repressed this tendency consciously such that it only peeks through at the edges.
Hmph.
So what to do with this realization? I'm not sure. In fact, now that I realize my probable motivations, my conscious brain may yet whittle down my desire for a GT-R out of some latent Japanese cultural guilt or the like. At a rational level, I'm also not so sure that looking to inanimate things for anything other than strict functionality is healthy, either. Then again I'm hardly alone in this particular vice: people don't call it "America's love affair with the car" for nothing, and I'm not substituting material things for anything lacking in my own (quite fine, thank you) outside/"real" life.
In any case, I did test-drive a Mustang today, so here are my impressions of it for the record:
2012 Ford Mustang
I test drove a slushbox V6 Mustang, but the powertrain isn't central: while driving I realized that I'd feel the same way about the car whether it wheelied and ran a 10 second quarter mile when the gas pedal was floored or whether it'd whimper down the street anemically.
Ergonomically the car was fine, quite good for a sporty car, in fact. Headroom was adequate, the cowl height not overly tall, the seat and steering wheel easily adjustable. Outward visibility was good to the front, decent to the back, and not bad to the side: I'd give it an outright "good" except the roofline and headliner dipped down a bit heading forward. The interior itself was bland: retro was what the designers were probably going for, but I'm not old enough to recall such old designs with any fondness. Even with the Premium interior trim I was decidedly unimpressed, and the combination of the car's retro looks and retro interior just sealed it: the Mustang did not make me feel special. Ergo, the car failed me.
I was especially nonplussed after hearing from the dealer's manager that the special, fast model, the Boss 302, would probably go for at least $5k over MSRP due to limited availability of 2 (!) per dealer. Apparently other people do not share my attitude about this car, and covet it righteously. Good for them--may it bring them lasting fulfillment, or at least a brief flash of something.
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I wish I could like this car. Actually, it's the previous generation I wish I could like. I am one of those who is not a fan of the upsizing, being in the quaint, niche market of someone who wants a small, simple AWD wagon. The Outback should be a perfect fit, but it isn't because of it's shoddy feel. The cheap fit and finish, clunky trans, wallow-y steering and doors that close like a cheap storm doors thwarted all my efforts to want to own this car. And even if those problems have been addressed in the new version (which sounds like no, from your methodical analysis), it now looks like one of those not-quite-car, not-quite-suv, weird, bad-70s-sci-fi vehicles driven by guys with sideburns and v neck leisure suits across apocalyptic wastelands that look eerily of Utah high country that I dislike immensely.Subaru Forester and Outback
Anyway, I drive a Jetta wagon now, which I almost like a lot except that it's an auto (I know it sounds crazy, living in the land of parking lot highways that I want a stick) and it kinda sucks on gas way more than it should. It comes off lease next year at which point I am considering buying something used. I'd consider another Jetta wagon, but diesel (and with a stick) and recently drove a friend's xc70, which I kind of didn't hate, and beyond that, not sure what else to look at. Basically, I need an Outback built by Germans.
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There's the Suzuki SX4… Small, AWD, and simple, but of course it will feel much shoddier yet!
I was with you with regard to not liking the embiggening of the Outback until I saw that the previous generation Outback, no small vehicle itself, only had 33.9" of rear legroom. All that length was going to the hatch area, I guess. That's under our target for rear legroom for a family-type vehicle due to rear facing carseats and our desire to avoid having the backs of our seats kicked incessantly.
I actually was pretty impressed by the fit and finish on the new Outback. The only real downside is that it's pretty much hideous on the outside. The H-6 with the slushbox was competent and non-clunky, and the interior finish in the top leather-bound trim was far better than any other Subaru I've experienced.
The Jetta TDI SportWagen (with a 6-speed manual! praise be teh FSM) is one vehicle that I tried to get my wife interested in, to tell you the truth. She has bought into the brainwashing, however, and wants either a sedan, hatchback a la Prius, or a crossover, but not a wagon that'd combine the benefits of each… Oh, on top of that I have trained her too well and she refuses to look at VWAG products due to reliability concerns. Smart girl.
I was with you with regard to not liking the embiggening of the Outback until I saw that the previous generation Outback, no small vehicle itself, only had 33.9" of rear legroom. All that length was going to the hatch area, I guess. That's under our target for rear legroom for a family-type vehicle due to rear facing carseats and our desire to avoid having the backs of our seats kicked incessantly.
I actually was pretty impressed by the fit and finish on the new Outback. The only real downside is that it's pretty much hideous on the outside. The H-6 with the slushbox was competent and non-clunky, and the interior finish in the top leather-bound trim was far better than any other Subaru I've experienced.
The Jetta TDI SportWagen (with a 6-speed manual! praise be teh FSM) is one vehicle that I tried to get my wife interested in, to tell you the truth. She has bought into the brainwashing, however, and wants either a sedan, hatchback a la Prius, or a crossover, but not a wagon that'd combine the benefits of each… Oh, on top of that I have trained her too well and she refuses to look at VWAG products due to reliability concerns. Smart girl.
I've never had any reliability concerns with the new-model VW products I've had. Maybe I just don't keep 'em long enough, and definitely don't put enough miles on. A car for me is a luxury. Mine sits all week on the streets in my neighborhood in varying degrees of proximity to my apartment as parking allows. I've put gas in it twice this year.
Hell you would be better off selling the car and just renting one on the rare occasions you need one.
My diagnosis is that you have yet to shed your "carbon guilt." Perhaps you never will, and more power to you in that case. I'll be ready to accept you into my cult when/if you come around, of those who acknowledge the reality of what we're doing and yet accept the futility of our actions.
Is Zipcar too overbooked in your neck of the woods? I can't even fathom having a car in an alternate-side-of-street region of the metro area.
/me looks out on the free, unrestricted street parking and driveway large enough to fit 4 cars that leads to a single car attached garage. Suburbia is hell in many ways, except that it's made to a T for the purpose of accommodating cars.