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(Un?)Popular Automobile Opinions.

Started by kenarmy, August 08, 2022, 09:25:25 PM

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TheHighwayMan3561

#25
Quote from: Bruce on August 09, 2022, 04:48:53 PM
Quote from: thspfc on August 09, 2022, 08:06:05 AM
Seems like a lot of people hate on touchscreens in cars. I disagree, I much prefer a touchscreen to an assortment of knobs and buttons.

Much like the old T9 phones of days long past, physical knobs and buttons are easier to manipulate without looking and are thus safer. Touchscreens are good for media and maps, but for climate control and driving-related functions it should be banned. Been in multiple cars (a Tesla, a Jeep, and a Honda) where the touchscreen crashed and thus made me unable to change the AC or even see my speed in the Tesla's case.

My Jeep has both a touchscreen and knobs. The biggest problem is the tuner knob is on the passenger side of the center console, which to me makes it practically useless for scrolling. At least I do have a tuner button on the steering wheel.

One feature I do wish my car had is the automatic radio seek option that lets you listen to 5-7 seconds of a station before scrolling to the next frequency if it's not what you want to listen to.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running


triplemultiplex

All cars look like identical pods now.

Loud exhaust is for stupid attention-whores.

Motorcycles are death traps and anyone who likes them is wrong.

The bigger the pick-up truck, the more insecure the driver is about the size of his johnson.
Extra small-dick cred if it's a diesel.

Cars are now life-style accessories first and transportation second.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

zachary_amaryllis

Quote from: triplemultiplex on August 10, 2022, 05:21:48 PM
All cars look like identical pods now.

Loud exhaust is for stupid attention-whores.

Motorcycles are death traps and anyone who likes them is wrong.

The bigger the pick-up truck, the more insecure the driver is about the size of his johnson.
Extra small-dick cred if it's a diesel.

Cars are now life-style accessories first and transportation second.

To me, they're either: little sporty cars with the ass end all up in your face, those crossovers that all look like tennis shoes, or giant trucks.

The diesel thing is hotly debated around here. I get it, if you need a big truck for whatever your reason is. But when it's jacked up, has little rubber band tires on giant rims and has an exhaust the size of a toilet seat, yeah, that's not your work truck, or your dragging-the-family-toys-around truck.

My own car choices are more practical than stylish. I drive a 99 Camry, which is an utterly generic car. There's a bazillion of these on the road, and the car feels largely indestructible to me. I frankly don't have the cash flow that the pimpmobile would require.

I'd like something that's new, or at least new-er, and my goals include that. Would I get another Camry? Probably. Or, a used Prius if one can be had at a decent price that's in decent shape. 50mpg is quite enticing.
clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)

cu2010

Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 09, 2022, 09:59:33 AM
Buying a used car for certain reasons.

There's a lot of good reasons to buy a used car. One I never liked is because "new cars lose 10% of their value the moment you drive it off the lot".  It's not that it lost its value. Its because a car dealer isn't going to take it back and give you 100% of what you paid for it. They will have to check it out and clean it, no matter how long you had it or drove it. That costs money.
I'm pretty sure a used car salesperson came up with this excuse.

But, and this is my point...if you bought a used car, and returned it, you also wouldn't get 100% of what you paid back either. They would still take 10% or so of the value off your return, because they will need to check it out and clean it too!

(And yeah, I know there's some places that say you can return a car in X days or X miles...there's little gimmicks that they use that may or may not really work in your favor.)

In today's crazy market, used vehicle prices seem to be artificially inflated due to a lack of supply of vehicles in general.  I purchased a brand new vehicle in May. 9 miles on the odometer (of which 6 was from when I test drove it). About $33000. Current KBB value is about $37000...and used models of the exact same car are selling for about that.
This is cu2010, reminding you, help control the ugly sign population, don't have your shields spayed or neutered.

index

#29
Quote from: 7/8 on August 08, 2022, 11:06:51 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 08, 2022, 09:34:09 PM
Unpopular among this crowd I suppose:

Trucks are way too damn big. I, a fully grown adult man, should be fully visible when crossing the street in front of a truck, not hidden behind the hood.

Yes! So many people say you have a better view from up high, but it just makes your blindspots bigger (not to mention higher hoods are more dangerous for others in a collision).



And people want to blame rising pedestrian deaths on pedestrians. These things should be required to have frontal blind spot cameras whenever the driver is stopped or coming off of a stop.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

1995hoo

^^^^^

The local NBC affiliate here did a story about that recently. It was pretty interesting to see how many kids they could seat in a row without the driver seeing them:

https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/blumenthal-letter-frontover-crash-blind-zones/3126149/

My wife's Acura sedan has what the automakers call "proximity sensors" (I just call it "parking sonar"). It certainly helps with that sort of thing, though it's not perfect.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

JREwing78

Quote from: Henry on August 09, 2022, 12:45:56 PM
Quote from: kenarmy on August 08, 2022, 09:25:25 PM
- BUICK should've been discontinued a while ago. It's lineup is a disgrace now.
- ^Pontiac def. should've been kept instead.
I can do one better with one that will really rile them up:

Get rid of Cadillac, and bring back Oldsmobile.

The former is because it's not anything like it used to be. Sure, change will happen from time to time, but the former Standard of the World has changed too much to keep up with its German and Japanese rivals. As for the latter, I was such a huge fan of that brand because it once was an innovator in many ways (first automatic transmission in the late 1930s, first muscle car with the Rocket 88, first turbocharged model with the Jetfire, and ushering in a new wave of front-wheel drive with the Toronado), and I also have fond memories of riding in my dad's 442 convertible, then driving my Calais after I got my first license. I definitely felt a big loss when GM discontinued it in 2004.

GM ruined Cadillac by chasing sales volume and invading the traditional Buick/Oldsmobile sales territory. All of the front-drive Cadillacs after the '79-85 E-Body were just cheap knockoffs (though the '92 and later Seville STS and Eldorado ETC were decently competitive with the Japanese and Europeans).

Slowly, painfully, Cadillac cars have returned to competence, though GM keeps kneecapping them with dumb decision making. The CT6 is a phenomenal sedan and, with the Blackwing V8, actually had a credible claim at "Standard of the World" status. I don't care if they weren't moving many of them - it should've remained in production. And, don't get me started on dumping hundreds of millions into an engine that went into fewer than 1,000 vehicles. Dumbasses!

But GM keeps chasing volume with mostly cheap knockoff crossovers in the Cadillac lineup. The XT4 and XT5 have no business in the Cadillac lineup. The XT6 would've been a solid vehicle in 2012; in 2022 it's outclassed. Only the Escalade really seems to get the point of the old-school Cadillac brand.

Electrification may be the key to bringing Cadillac back to its former glory. There's no emissions regulations or such to force sharing of powertrains. They're not stuck with having to fancy up a bunch of commoner chassis to fill up the dealerships. They can tech out to their heart's content.  But GM can just as easily lose the plot - again, by chasing volume over exclusivity.

Scott5114

^ I mean, I kinda feel like GM is going to do what makes them the most money...if they sell more cars and make more money than they would making Cadillacs fancier and selling fewer of them, then they're going to say to hell with "exclusivity".
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

skluth

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 13, 2022, 06:13:43 PM
^ I mean, I kinda feel like GM is going to do what makes them the most money...if they sell more cars and make more money than they would making Cadillacs fancier and selling fewer of them, then they're going to say to hell with "exclusivity".

It's the capitalist MBA curse. There's too many bureaucrats in most large businesses today who are so focused on short term profit that they can't see the big picture. Cadillac was once a prestige brand. It might be possible to bring that back. Yes, the sales of Caddies wouldn't be as great. But there's a trickle-down effect where people buy into the brand because they see the excellence at the top and hope in a future purchase to reach it. More people will buy other GM vehicles in the meantime.

It's how my dad looked at it; he started with Chevys in his teens, then bought Buicks starting in his late-30s, and he'd have eventually bought a Cadillac had he lived past 47 because that was the cream of the GM lineup. There was also a trickle down effect in car technology as new features would first be introduced in Cadillacs (and sometimes Buicks) before eventually filtering down to the Pontiac and Chevrolet lines. The watering down of Cadillac eventually has watered down the entire GM lineup as it's no longer that special. Toyota took the opposite approach and successfully expanded into the luxury market with Lexus. And lots of people own Toyotas (my last three vehicles were all Toyotas) because of their perceived excellent reputation which includes the Lexus brand.

Scott5114

I also don't know that there's much of a consumer mindset of working their way up the marque ladder like that anymore. The last few times we've bought cars, we've basically gone online and done a search for cars available between $X and $Y. Whatever we find, we take a look at the reviews and such for, then do test drives and pick which one we like the best. The last time my wife bought a car, we ended up looking at a Dodge Avenger and some sort of Buick before we ended up buying a Honda Civic. Not even remotely the same classes of cars or even the same manufacturers.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

skluth

Brand loyalty isn't as strong today, but it still exists. While I did try out a few other car brands before my last two purchases, I stuck with Toyota because of their reputation. (I seriously considered a Hyundai but really disliked the Hyundai salesman who alternated extolling the Hyundai with complaints about his ex-wife during my test drive.) It's not hard to find people loyal to a brand; just go to any car show or auto race and the loyalty of Ford F-150 truck owners is a class unto itself.

Ted$8roadFan

Given the popularity of trucks/SUVs now, it's a little sad no one in recent years has made a reliable compact truck that doesn't rival a mid-sized BMW in price.

Regardless of the benefits, only the wealthy or highly altruistic types will buy an electric vehicle for many years to come. The price has to come (wayyyyy) down, and charging stations will need to be as ubiquitous and easy to use as gas stations are now. We've got a ways to go.

When vehicle shopping, drivers should forget about everything else about a vehicle until they can answer one crucial question: "can I get and out without twisting myself into knots" . It will likely be an unpleasant surprise, esp. if money is an object.

Can GM be saved? It seems like they've never recovered from the oil shocks of the 1970s or the mismanagement of the 19i0s, and are still behind foreign automakers in terms of reliability and innovation. And I speak as someone who drove GM vehicles into the 90s.







J N Winkler

As this is a thread for potentially unpopular opinions, I'm going to frame these with a bit less nuance than usual.

*  RV owners who keep their RVs parked at a single campground for the majority of the time they are away from home would generally be better off, in terms both of finances and comfort, if they bought a second home and tent-camped for brief excursions.

*  The only acceptable amount of oil consumption for a gasoline engine in normal service is zero.  Any automaker who claims otherwise (i.e., most if not all of them) is trying to manage liability for progressive oil consumption resulting from various types of design compromises.

*  If a car is reliable and handles well, keep it until it stops running, even if that takes decades.  (I'm actually glad this is an unpopular opinion--if everyone thought the same way, it would be like living in East Germany in the 1970's.)
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Ned Weasel

Quote from: J N Winkler on August 14, 2022, 02:10:25 PM
*  If a car is reliable and handles well, keep it until it stops running, even if that takes decades.  (I'm actually glad this is an unpopular opinion--if everyone thought the same way, it would be like living in East Germany in the 1970's.)

That's what I'm trying to do with my current car, despite my list of things about it that disappoint me (bad mid-range acceleration, awkward center console, broken power locks making me lock the doors manually, fussy turn signal lever, and the oh-so-boring color [silver]).  Compared to other cars I've driven, it's built like a tank (of course, it kind of drives like one, too, but fortunately, the gas mileage is pretty decent).
"I was raised by a cup of coffee." - Strong Bad imitating Homsar

Disclaimer: Views I express are my own and don't reflect any employer or associated entity.

CtrlAltDel

Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

Bruce

Speaking of, full-size RVs should require a special license with strict and rigorous testing. Your grandparents should not be driving around a huge RV around every little backroad without further training and competency tests every year.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Bruce on August 15, 2022, 02:44:07 AM
Speaking of, full-size RVs should require a special license with strict and rigorous testing. Your grandparents should not be driving around a huge RV around every little backroad without further training and competency tests every year.

I would prefer having regular physical competency tests for being able to drive in general.  A 3-5 interval would be my preference and would include a physical.  The most gruesome automobile accident I witnessed involved a 92 year old man who wasn't fit to drive accidentally running over his wife twice with a Lincoln Town Car.  Generally things like MHE require someone to obtain a new license every couple years for similar reason. 

SP Cook

- Basing public policy on technology that does not yet exist is always a bad idea.  Electric cars in 10 years are just as likely to have all the technological limitations they have today as they are to have advanced to be more mainstream acceptable.

- The GPS that can navigate better than me with a free map from the state or a R-M has not yet been made. 

- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

- Where the long dead founder was born is not determinative of whether a car is "American"  or not.  A Toyota Tundra is among the most American vehicles made.

- GM, Ford, and Mopar are incapable of making a quality product.  They just don't care.

- There is no such thing as a "demonstrator" .  Its a used car.

- Most people with more than 3 bumper stickers, no matter the subject and no matter which side of said subject they are on, are to be avoided.

- People tha pay for a personalized plate, and then cover half of it with the dealer's ad frame, are dopes.

- Car dealers are not your friend.


formulanone

#43
Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
- There is no such thing as a "demonstrator" .  Its a used car.

It depends on the state's disclosure laws how it was sold; was it registered with the state or not. Sometimes it's a relief to know it wasn't repossessed or a buy-back (potential lemon or extremely picky customer). There also may be more items and services covered by warranty if the vehicle did not have a previous owner.

It's basically a lower-mileage used vehicle or worse yet, a former loaner car. I would avoid a demo with 12,000 miles on it, it's probably a former loaner or courtesy car, and customers typically treat them worse than their own vehicles. Many of my customers (as well as some sales/service personnel) were wont to take out their dealer/life-induced frustrations upon these vehicles.

Whenever I see someone cutting off others in traffic, I feel there's a 10% chance it has a "courtesy car" or "loaner car" decal on the back windshield. It's probably a greater chance that guest would also look in your medicine cabinet and desk drawers for "no reason".

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
- The GPS that can navigate better than me with a free map from the state or a R-M has not yet been made. 

- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

- Most people with more than 3 bumper stickers, no matter the subject and no matter which side of said subject they are on, are to be avoided.

- People tha pay for a personalized plate, and then cover half of it with the dealer's ad frame, are dopes.

- Car dealers are not your friend.

Judging other people harshly, but never himself: SP Cook in a nutshell.
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

1995hoo

Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
....

- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

....

I would distinguish between the person who does this for navigation reasons–in which case I tend to agree with your assessment–and the person whose device is able to download traffic information and recommend alternate routings that might save time if there is an accident or something else messing up the most direct route. In the latter scenario, I don't see any reason why someone should not go ahead and set the device when leaving.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

JayhawkCO

Quote from: 1995hoo on August 15, 2022, 02:03:50 PM
Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
....

- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

....

I would distinguish between the person who does this for navigation reasons–in which case I tend to agree with your assessment–and the person whose device is able to download traffic information and recommend alternate routings that might save time if there is an accident or something else messing up the most direct route. In the latter scenario, I don't see any reason why someone should not go ahead and set the device when leaving.

100%. Every time I need to drive somewhere near downtown, I map it since it's quickest to go one of three ways, and depending on traffic, it might make a 20 minute difference. I also map every time I drive into the mountains since, if there's an accident somewhere, there are very limited detour paths you can take. Crappy traffic on I-70 yesterday was mildly abated by taking a 10 minute detour that I wouldn't have known I needed to take unless I was using software.

Bruce

Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

Get burned by unexpected traffic and construction detours and you too will auto-set GPS. Heck, I have to check before I leave the house even on weekends because I-5 gets backed up from random crashes.

Ted$8roadFan

Quote from: Bruce on August 15, 2022, 07:12:09 PM
Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2022, 08:51:21 AM
- If you have been somewhere more than twice and you still set your GPS when you leave, you are a dope.

Get burned by unexpected traffic and construction detours and you too will auto-set GPS. Heck, I have to check before I leave the house even on weekends because I-5 gets backed up from random crashes.

Yes, indeed. As a resident of New England, where traffic jams can happen at any time for any reason even on familiar routes, using a GPS to get out of it is necessary for preserving sanity if nothing else.

bulldog1979

I also set my GPS for directions regardless of the many times I've driven between two points, if only to get my ETA and distance left.



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