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The front looks like some unholy marriage between a Toyota 2000GT and an early Volvo 200 series.
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Apr 1, 2010 03:37
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grover posted:Why don't they offer a 300-400hp engine? Why put 189hp when they could be going even faster still? Would jump from being practically a supercar to actually being an affordable supercar. I don't know how much more power they can get out of the Toyota four-cylinder reliably. As it is, the Exige can be had with up to 260-270hp, and adding weight to an Exige or Elise is just...wrong.
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Apr 2, 2010 00:16
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grover posted:I think there is a happy medium here with a reasonably bigger engine. On one hand I disagree, because the Elise / Exige simply was never meant to go toe to toe with a 911 Turbo or a Z06 in the straightaways - it's meant to decimate them in the corners, largely by being a featherweight with excellent balance. On the other hand, that's not a very AI answer and everyone's got a little Clarkson in 'em. I do agree that the car would probably be insane with another 100-150hp or so, but I don't know what options exist that Lotus could put out in a production-capable form (so no race-gas-only fully forged monster motor), that wouldn't add too much weight. Besides, there is the Evora now.
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Apr 12, 2010 07:13
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A5H posted:Did they ever do a TVR? They did, but the reviewer died when the car caught fire. Seriouspost, biased or not, it probably shouldn't be that easy to make a Lexus GX look as rear end-happy as the RUF Yellowbird just by lifting off of the throttle.
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Apr 14, 2010 18:20
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The guy in charge of things at Hyundai is a loving genius (emphasis mine):Autoblog posted:The iPad will also have an application that allows owners to schedule service appointments. When the appointed time arrives, Hyundai will send a driver to the Equus owner's home or office with a loaner, and then return the Equus when the work is done. As Krafcik sees it, other luxury automakers have spent millions of dollars to gussy up their dealerships – building things like coffee bars, fancy seating areas and water features. Problem is, nobody really wants to visit their dealer even with those added niceties, so Hyundai plans to remove it from the equation with its pick-up and delivery service. In other words, the ultimate luxury is never having to take your car to the dealer at all. Fair enough. Link That's just loving brilliant, and it's the kind of thing that Hyundai needs to do if they want to shake up the luxury market today with the Equus the way Lexus did 20 years ago with the LS400. I'm starting to root for Hyundai to be successful with this, it's huge shakeups that make the market better for everyone. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Jun 15, 2010 |
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Jun 15, 2010 20:59
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MikeyTsi posted:It's a good idea, but they need to put at least SOME money in to the dealerships to attract the bigger dollar clients. They do need to go to a dealer at least ONCE, right? Sure, and I doubt they're going to be doing it at the exclusion of dealership improvements - they'd be foolish not to, but if you ask me this really does trump every service waiting area ever.
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Jun 15, 2010 22:04
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el topo posted:Given that he could have created a Genesis premium brand and decided not to do so, I would disagree... calling the Equus a Hyundai just creates a brand image problem that could have been done away with very easily. Yes and no - creating Genesis or Equus as a premium brand means new dealership franchises / agreements, and if the brand falls flat on its face they're hosed. They do have to fight the existing public image on the Hyundai name, but then again, they've been doing that ever since the Excel, and they're getting really good at that. As a bonus, if the Equus does manage to do well, it boosts brand image across the whole range. Also, I just thought of one other angle...something that the domestics have struggled with is supporting very expensive cars through cheap-car dealerships (Corvettes through Chevrolet - hell, even the XLR through Cadillac, GT500s and GTs through Ford, Vipers through Dodge). If they keep the customer away from it when they can and keep the whole Equus 'experience' completely segregated from the rest of the dealership, it means that in an ideal world, an Equus owner doesn't need to worry about the kid getting paid $8/hr doing burnouts in the back lot after hours just because he was bored.
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Jun 16, 2010 01:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Tire compound would be my guess. Yup, nine times out of ten, when a car has a seemingly arbitrarily low speed limiter, it's because OEM spec tires only are rated to that speed or slightly above. Hell, back in the day if you bought a fourth-gen Camaro Z28 but didn't tick the Z-rated tire option box, you got a speed limiter on a car that was otherwise identical in every way.
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Jul 2, 2010 20:08
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Yeah, they're just purposely obscuring the lines.
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Jul 15, 2010 16:35
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Well, it does and it doesn't. A test mule, likely as not, doesn't have the "final" version of whatever bodywork is being hidden, and I think manufacturers want to prevent incorrect images getting out as much as anything else.
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Jul 24, 2010 16:23
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The lease term is 350/mo 36 months, 2500 down plus associated fees due at signing. That seems like a much better proposition on a totally new design, provided you get in under the mileage limit. Irony is it's a car that only makes fiscal sense if you are racking up a shitload of miles.
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Jul 29, 2010 16:29
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ozziegt posted:Only if you are doing it less than 40 miles at a time. Or in chunks close to it. My daily commute would put me running on fuel for the last ten miles or so into home, which for the sake of avoiding having year-old fuel in the tank, would probably not be terrible. Speaking of which, I wonder if a bottle of fuel stabilizer will become regular maintenance on a Volt?
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Jul 29, 2010 22:11
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KozmoNaut posted:*With the optional 100-gallon fuel tank No poo poo; we could do Phoenix to LA in our Suburban, generally flogging the hell out of the 350 most of the way, without a single fuel stop. It had nothing to do with the absurdly dismal mileage and everything to do with a 40 gallon tank. I can't do the same in a Camry or my Mazdaspeed3, just because they carry about a third of the fuel.
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Sep 3, 2010 17:53
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MrKatharsis posted:My Camry has a 17 gallon tank, and I've eked 500 miles out of the thing between road trip fillups. It was my mother-in-law's Camry, with a V6, my lead foot, and I'm sure the thing is still rolling on original sparkplugs (and probably still had the original gear oil in the transmission at the time, too).
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Sep 3, 2010 18:27
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Sir Tonk posted:Yeah, this. I never thought Ford would even try to sell the RS in the states. I'd like a smaller efficient car that's still comfortable to ride in, so the Fiesta is a great candidate, but if the RS is coming then hell with it I'll buy that and sell the Mustang. Well if you really want to complicate things: 2012 Fiesta ST  I would buy this so hard to put in the driveway next to my MS3. Doubly so if they sell it as a Mazdaspeed2.
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Sep 21, 2010 19:17
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oxbrain posted:That will never be sold in the US. The best we can hope for is a 5 door hatch with "sport suspension" and maybe some seats with more bolstering. I can dream  I love my MS3 but would love a version of it about 1000lb lighter, which the Fiesta / Mazda2 already are...but not that far down on power.
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Sep 21, 2010 19:27
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:The Focus ST is coming, EcoBoost, Recaros and all, and since everyone covering the Fiesta said that it was going to get an EcoBoost version I don't think the Fiesta ST coming here is that out of the realm of possibility. Since we're back on the topic, I just realized last night - I'm essentially hoping for something along the lines of a Mini Cooper S, or the Fiat 500 Abarth, except without the long-term ownership costs of a BMW or an Italian car. Not that there's any solid news on how the hell the US Fiat 500 Abarth will be priced or configured anyway.
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Sep 30, 2010 01:50
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oxbrain posted:Ford will find a way to gently caress over the focus ST and make sure it doesn't compete with the mustang. I don't think they need to - one, the two cater to different markets, and two, even the High School Girl Special has 60hp more than the ST does. Some people will cross-shop hot hatches to musclecars, sure...but if you're Ford, and you have the single best muscle car out there, and arguably you have one of the best hot hatches out there, why not make customers decide which Ford they want, instead of Mustang vs GTI or STi or Evo?
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Sep 30, 2010 22:27
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Muffinpox posted:Let me take a wild guess, you haven't sat in or driven a new mustang. All of your opinions are formed from either pictures and you probably haven't sat in or driven an si either. So...have you sat in a Ford... Lately? [img-YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH]
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Oct 14, 2010 00:31
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Throatwarbler posted:I don't know if anyone else caught this on Autoline's interview with Scion's head honcho, but Scion sales has completely fallen off a cliff since 2008 and while most other car brands including Toyota have stabilized/recovered somewhat, Scion was still down something like 20%-30% from 2009. Reason? Scion was overwhelmingly marketed to the 18-under 30 demographic. Unemployment among 18-30 year olds in the US is >20%, and the near term prospects for young people in America look awful (see every third D&D thread). It's the same for stuff like the Yaris, while sales of the Camry and Prius are doing OK. If Toyota was GM they should be thinking of shuttering the brand, not adding more products to it. Yeah, but I'm pretty sure the biggest demographic actually buying xBs is the 40-50 year old range. Beyond marketing, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with products that aren't really compelling. You can't keep selling on "WE'RE UNIQUE" once you've sold a fuckload and you see your exact car all over the place.
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Oct 15, 2010 20:43
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Seat Safety Switch posted:
I would buy either of the Mazda2 concepts they threw out there in a loving heartbeat, especially if they throw a bit more power underhood. The stock 2 is a riot (but a bit of a slug on the freeway) with 100hp, something with 140hp-200hp would be perfect.
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Nov 3, 2010 18:52
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Those engine internals won't be cheap either, nor is the labor to put them in if you're not building the engine yourself.
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Nov 3, 2010 19:36
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2ndclasscitizen posted:Since the old Fiesta ST is no more why they haven't shoe-horned a 2-litre in the front of the 2 is a mystery to me. No kidding. The lunatic in me would love the 2.3 turbo MZR from the MS3, but I know that's all but certainly a pipe dream. I suspect even the base 2.0 MZR from practically every other non-RX8 in the lineup would be a goddamn riot in a hypothetical MS2.
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Nov 4, 2010 01:32
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2ndclasscitizen posted:If they got a 200hp 2 litre in it, why would you buy a Clio Sport? Well living in the US, a Clio Sport isn't exactly an option since we ran all those drat Frenchie cars off of our soil decades ago  Mazda could make a MS2 a direct competitor to whatever hopped up Fiat 500 they bring to the US, and/or a Mini Cooper S, without the ridiculous purchase and ongoing maintenance costs of either.
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Nov 4, 2010 02:02
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That's the best way to describe the 2. On paper, it comes up short all over the place even compared to its platform mate, the Fiesta; but it's just fun. If they ever slap a turbo on it, or even a 2.0/2.3 NA, I'd loving buy it in a heartbeat.
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Jan 10, 2011 18:54
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Left Ventricle posted:Guys, I don't know how to feel about this: Watch your mouth, next thing you know they'll put a turbo on it and for the first time ever there will be a Si with torque steer.
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Feb 2, 2011 19:31
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Throatwarbler posted:ONCE AGAIN CHRYSLER LEAPFROGS COMPETITION IN FWD TRANSAXLE TECHNOLOGY! It's not a Chrysler FWD if it doesn't ratchet like hell every time you stop! angryhampster posted:Agreed. The new Durangos are also gorgeous, inside and out. Really is. We had one for a rental this past summer and it was really a very nice vehicle to get five tall guys around in.
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Dec 8, 2011 21:27
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Also, I just dug through the spec sheets on Mazda's Japanese site - that 1.3L Skyactiv is only good for 62 kW (about 83hp). The current US-market 2 has 100hp, and while I think it's a riot, I also think there needs to be a hot hatch version with more power, not less. No matter the fuel economy, an 83hp hatch will be an extremely hard sell in the US; I think as it is the US 2 is one of the lowest-horsepower vehicles for sale today in the states. The Smart ForTwo makes less but look how well that piece of poo poo sells.
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Dec 9, 2011 23:48
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Better intake manifold was the stock LS6 piece. It actually also had to do with the fact that '01-'02 F-car LS1s actually have a smaller cam than the '98-'00 cars, but that smaller cam allowed them to eliminate EGR. The LS6 intake manifold went on because it already had the EGR port removed, plus making up the power lost by the smaller cam. The goal of 'limiting' power on the F-car was also pushed because the fourthgen wasn't much fatter than a C4 or C5 Corvette. Times have changed, though. The fifthgen is a lot fatter than a C6. Ford is doing all sorts of obscene and amazing things to the S197. GM does keep the LS9 exclusive to the ZR1, but now there's no problem with putting the LSA in the CTS-V or ZL1. I do wish the LS7 had shown up in places other than the Z06, though. 7.0L 
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Dec 10, 2011 02:28
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Throatwarbler posted:It looks like the 2.0l is the only one that will have a manual option. I would have thought the V6 should have a manual too. Pretty sure the 3 series has MT available across the board (except for the convertibles maybe but who cares). Not in the USA. The 335d is automatic only here.
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Jan 9, 2012 15:45
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PT6A posted:Forgive me for possibly being ignorant, but..,why would a turbo 4/6 cost more to insure than an NA 6/8 with more power in each case? I think he's probably using the same logic that claims "911s still keep back seats because four seaters are cheaper to insure!"
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Jan 11, 2012 00:00
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Viper915 posted:I don't know about the first gen ones, but the second gen MS3 you can click the dimmer adjustment like it was the trip odometer and it will cancel the dimming. Then you click it again and it goes back to your dim setting! First gen has it too, I use it religiously 
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Feb 2, 2012 15:32
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LTBS posted:I just have a problem with my MS3 auto lights turning off while it's raining. I don't like that. Daytime rain is pretty much the only condition I have to manually turn mine on for, because it's still juuust light enough out to tell the sensor not to. Headlights in the rain are more to be seen, not for helping you see, anyway.
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Feb 2, 2012 22:05
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I would expect not, since there's mechanical popup headlights like the Opel GT (though those almost certainly stay where they're put). I don't remember seeing that feature on an AE86 I drove either unless I was especially thick that day. The GT is actually supposed to turn the lights on when you flip them over. However, the switches and wiring for it are fiddly and rarely survive, so most owners install a separate switch.
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Feb 3, 2012 03:00
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Pseudonym posted:The 3 still has the 2.5L on their higher-end models, right, or is Mazda planning to phase them out with the next generation? If not, I don't see why there'd only be the one engine available for the 6. I hope, anyway. Yeah, they still offer the 2.5L, but the correct engine is the 2.3L turbo anyway. 
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Jul 25, 2012 20:25
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Warcabbit posted:Both are still better than the rear of the '74 911 I grew up in. Talk about 'a very uncomfortable place'. Worse than a VW Bug. Ha, are you my brother? You know the back seat is small when a fourthgen Camaro feels downright roomy by comparison.
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Jul 28, 2012 16:49
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Devyl posted:And without the sway bar up front, I wouldn't be doing any slalom courses anytime soon. I just wish they would've dropped the compression ratio a bit from 13:1 to something lower like 10.5:1 on the LS7 and thrown on Whipple's 5.0 twin-screw. Now THAT would be impressive. They're building these strictly for NHRA drag strip use and classifications. Turns are only taken while being pulled through the staging lanes or after a run, and the brakes are only there to slow down after the traps.
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Aug 17, 2012 16:57
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I do hope it comes since that's probably the closest I'll get to a Mazdaspeed2.
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Aug 21, 2012 19:52
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jvick posted:Is that standard practice for them before a model change? Probably; Bowling Green is very 'fan friendly', and the level of access Joe Tour Visitor gets means there's no way they'd be able to keep the C7 hush-hush anymore. Q_res posted:I wonder how hard it would be to fit the Skyactiv 2.0 in the 2. Seems like that, plus a sportier suspension setup would make for a hell of a MS2. I'd have a deposit down for one yesterday if they'd build that. Probably better mileage than the base engine, too.
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Aug 23, 2012 00:20
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Cocoa Crispies posted:I went on a tour of it back in the '90s and when your tour group got to right the part of the line, somebody'd get to start a newer-than-new unfinished Corvette for the first time. I didn't know they did that for everyone. I did it, but it was the Corvette my dad had already bought and ordered and basically spent the day walking after it in the factory. The only missed bit of awesomeness is that production for the day (a Friday) ended with about four cars in front of it at the end of the line, so he missed being able to drive it directly off of the line.
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Aug 23, 2012 21:08
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