Cars: Search & Destroy

I read that MB has screwed themselves by differentiating their brand and their price points so readily. To the effect of I think ten years ago there were 3 lines and now there are god knows how many. And the dealerships are hurting bc they have such a wide range of people with different expectations coming through their doors and they don't know how to cater to them. Plus, the product has gone down-hill. However, the 70s Mercedes has the Euopean art film cachet. Think of all the MB sedans pulling up in the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

I've seen a lot of the new Jettas on the road. They are not that bad, but I wonder why they had to make the Jetta so much bigger. Maybe they will introduce a cute, pre-Jetta like car?

Ideal car @ this moment = the same thing, but new, or maybe one of those benz vito vans.

http://imgs.idnes.cz/ak_aktual/A040108_SAM_1024PEUGEOT407ELIXIR01_N.JPG

too bad i dont have a drivers license, or money

So I can't find anyplace else to put this -- over the weekend I went home to Carmel to visit my folks as well as my aunt and uncle, who had come out for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, aka old fancy cars galore that sell for millions. I didn't go on Sunday to the event itself but on Thursday I found myself at a couple of side events and while I'm obviously not a car freak per se, I figured folks would like to see some of what was on offer -- Duesenbergs, Bugattis, Aston-Martins, etc. etc.. Look through my Flickr set and go nuts.

So I can't find anyplace else to put this

I Love Cars?

I've been to both the classic car races at Laguna Seca and the Pebble Beach Concours about a half dozen or so times over the years. (my mom hasn't missed it in 25 years) It's gotten much more expensive to go now, but I like dropping in now and then

The other big event at Monterey is the Christie's auction on Thursday night. The big story out of that was Steve McQueen's Ferrari 250 GT Lusso selling for 2.3 million

Higher than I'd heard estimated. Nice.

And thanks for all the IDing, of course -- will update the captions accordingly.

along these lines, I'll get around to organizing that FAP to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar one of these days(has a car collection but the musical instruments look even cooler). Huell Howser made it look boffo but then he tends to do that.

Um, can anyone tell me about frame damage? I took my car to Carmax and they told me it had frame damage and would therefore offer me $8500. Its blue book value is like $14,000. Before, I took it to the dealer I bought it from and he told me he would give me $8500-10,000, possibly $10,950. I had body work done after I lost control on ice (had a back door replaced) but neither the dude who fixed my car nor my insurance told me there was frame damge. There was $5,000 work done on it. What should I do? If I offer this car for a private sale, what should I divulge? I don't want to screw anyone over, but I feel like the car is worth at least $12,000, but maybe there is frame damage and it is a piece of junk? Should I just try to get as much as I can from the orginal dealer?

No advice for me? I put it on Craigslist for a little under what I think it's worth--waiting to see if anything happens.

Can you take it back to the repair shop and say "hey, you missed the frame damage"? Do they have a frame machine that could straighten it out?

I just checked my report from the repair shop, and they do list "frame work" as one (of many) of the repairs. The frame is apparently fixed, but now the car is tainted and its value considerably reduced.

We drive one of these, but black and three door rather than five:

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop-460x345/micra40_ew.jpg

It's alright; economical, nippy, easy to park, comfortable, etc., but not very exciting. I'm not really into exciting, though.

This is my dream 'normal' car, I think:

http://www.analogstereo.com/images/om/volkswagen_polo.jpg

Can't really afford /justify one now, but in a couple of years we'd love to get one. It just seems like the perfect small car, the platonic essence of small carness. I always think when I see one "why would you want to drive anything else?" Apart from maybe, if money was even less of an object (ditto practicality):

http://www.autobytel.com/images/2007/Volkswagen/EOS_Staff/400/07_VW_EOS_07.jpg

If money was no object, though...

http://theaviator.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/aston_martin_vanquish_01.jpg

The best car in the universe is the Mach 6 by Racer Motors:

http://blogs.cars.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/14/mach5500.jpg

It's powered by a Bernoulli engine.

Whoops. That's the Mach 5.

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/images/2008/04/17/sr1864660.jpg

i want a smart car or a mini. or a fiat!

http://www.classicaldrives.com/50226711/new_fiat500.jpg

car sharing, people

NB - i am an employee of a chicagoland car sharing company

i think i'd look pretty silly driving an element, so i guess i would like a 1986 accord or, especially if road noise is a problem, a 1988 legend

I drive past a '75 or '76 BMW 2002 every day and I swear that if it ever goes up for sale...

It looks kinda like this:

http://www.theresearchsource.net/images/2002.h3.jpg

I had a 1990 V6 Legend for a long time. My Acura mechanic drives a 1988 Legend.

The Legend was one of the best cars ever built IMO. I drive a newer Acura but I think the Legend was better. If you can find one that's never been in a major collision you should get one.

I drove an Oldsmobile Alero (2001) for 6 years without a problem, then it just DIED. No little, fixable problem, it needed a new everything, which would have cost more than the car was worth. Now I drive a Mini Cooper S, and it's the bestest ever. You can fit a lot more than you'd think inside, and it's fast and fuel efficient.

I can fix a lot of things but when the electrical harness starts to go, you're car's telling you it's about to break your heart.

2002s are great. chris what do you think of that new BMW 1-series, it's got a major 2002 throwback thing going on.

if i actually bought a car, in the absence of knowledge of any kind, i'm kinda guessing i would put branding aside and get an un-sporty camry or toyota hybrid. the one brand i would D is mercedes.

felicity i will challenge your mach 6 with the mazda furai:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/mazdafuraiconceptmazdafurai04500img.thumbnail.jpg

S/D of cars we use; my main criteria here, tbh, is the ease with which I can transport a bike in the back, which is basically what i do all day. mega bonus points for not having to take the wheel off.

Search:

* Priuses: "cool," nice control layout, surprisingly peppy, very capacious (seats fold FLAT, bike goes in whole!), MPG, good visibility when you back up and stuff, easy to estimate where the snub nose is at any given time, ditto the rear bumper: there's basically a window right there
* Honda Fits: tiny on the outside, massive on the inside. like, hueg. once again, there is a very clever folding system that allows the seats to lie totally flat on the inside. boxy shape means you can fit a ton of shit inside. guaranteed that most of my band's equipment (minus drums) could manage. sporty shifting, if you're into that.
* Toyota Matrix: like the Fit, but bigger and faster. again, seats fold flat (no wheels off) AND they are lined with plastic on the back, so you don't have to worry about fucking up the seats. beefier than the Fits

D:

* Hybrid Honda Civic. Fuck this piece of shit. Terrible pickup, long snout is hard to judge, and AND AND the lot we've got DONT LET YOU FOLD DOWN THE BACKSEAT. <---- WTF. Moreover, the trunk is fucking tiny (smaller than the standard model, don't ask me why), which means that a bike cannot fit unless I take off all the wheels. so i say fuck it, and throw the bitch in the backseat, which means you sit on bike grease when i'm done.

* Honda Element. Spacious, yeah, but only if you hang up the rear seats, which is onerous in comparison to the way cars do it, AND it obliterates most of your rear visibility. they've fallen apart more quickly than anything else, and the low end models are all kind of plasticky.

2002s are great. chris what do you think of that new BMW 1-series, it's got a major 2002 throwback thing going on.

I like the 1-series a lot. I finally got to see one last week and it's much better looking in person than the foreshortened weirdo in the photographs. The 135i basically makes the 335i (if not the entire 3-series outside of the M3) irrelevant unless you absolutely have to have four doors and if that's the case, I'd opt for a Mercedes C300 with the six-speed. The big downside is that the 1-series is still freaking expensive, especially after factoring in insurance and servicing costs. Wait a couple years and I'm sure there will be sufficient quantities of low-mileage ones sitting in the pre-owned lot.

I gotta admit though, the turbo Volvo C30 is a potentially good alternate (a Volvo!?). You're either on board with the looks or not (I like the look) but the ride is much nicer than the Mini or with a lot more usable space.

Oooh, concept.
The Furai sounds sensational at full cry. As we exited Turn 11 onto the main straight with the sound of the rotary exhaust reverberating off the concrete pit wall, the effect was not of a lone car, but instead an entire field of endurance racers. With the Furai, Mazda is suggesting that this aural deception will soon become a reality as it moves to join Acura and Porsche in an assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

haitch, since the Mach 6 has never touched the asphalt of a real course, I graciously concede.

I drive past a '75 or '76 BMW 2002 every day and I swear that if it ever goes up for sale...

love those cars.

This is my car, only with four doors:

http://www.edmunds.com/media/reviews/top10/06.least.expensive.cars.to.insure/06.vw.gti.500.jpg

Pros:
- AN AWESOME CAR TO DRIVE - quick, fast, awesome handling
- Love the way it looks
- Surprisingly spacious
- Pretty good gas mileage for a sport tuned car (Over 30 on the highway)

Cons:
- Low-profile rims seem to not get along with pot holes AT ALL. I've had to replace two tires already in order to avoid potential blow-outs.
- Premium fuel be expensive, yo. This is somewhat mitigated by the good gas mileage.

I would buy it again, but might consider the not-so-low pro rims.

So anyway the Concours d'Elegance is just around the corner again and once again I'm going home to Carmel for a few days here -- not really for the cars but since other family always visit around that time it's good for a reunion.

And like last year, I'll take photos galore -- here's that 2007 set again. A couple of my favorites:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1361/1192838309_de2dab4f2e.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1300/1192584593_64ad92487c.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1322/1193419974_6f7eb34cc5.jpg

NY Times story on the auction market, news of new auctions planned via the LA Times, etc. etc.

But what I want to know is 1) what's your ride, 2) what's your ideal ride, and 3) ...um... your favorite car movie. Yeah, that's the ticket.

1) Saab 9-3, bitches
2) 80's convertible Saab 900
3) Can't think of any

Lately I am in love with late 80s ferrari 400 series

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0x8ultyPy1qbcfrco1_500.jpg
http://www.cannillomotorsports.com/pastinventory/86fer412/42.jpg

And also with early to mid 90s lexus SCs, which I think have something in common with the ferraris

http://autodata.ibsrv.net/images/?IMG=U4LEGEA4.jpg&WIDTH=425

Have you seen 'Electroma'? The 400 is aka the Daft Punk car now.

i used 2 have those micro machines i think

Electroma is actually where I first saw and liked the car, so yeah. Unoriginal of me I guess.

Totally original! Have been trying to find this one picture I recall of a red one, shot from the rear, in front of a modern house.

Maybe it's just the adjustment, but I had to take a rental for a few days and it's a Honda Fit and so far I fucking HATE driving this thing. Weird ass hatchback rear view, strange shape, handles weird, cannot get my spatial bearings whatsoever, driver seat sits uncomfortably. I feel like this thing was just invented to convince people to pay for the more expensive rental next time. I want my bougie accord back.

Should I buy a used Honda CR-V, a used Subaru Forester, or option C ___?

C = used 1994 Volvo 240 with 250,000 miles, Vermont plates, and dancing bear bumper sticker.

ime subarus and hondas are both reliable vehicles, but I'd give the edge to subarus