Pulled the trigger on an EV. Should take delivery next week. Not one that had been in my cross-hairs.
Better half says I can’t get something very small. That knocked out the BMWi4 and that plus the price knocked out the Porsche Taycan. I want to see some evidence that the company is succeeding, and Lucid has put in a service center at King of Prussia PA, but no showroom. That makes my #1 choice, the Lucid Air a non-starter.
My Bro also points out that younger is what I’m not getting any, so even though I’m just fine with getting in and out of a low car, and using a trunk, I should really think that something easy to get in and out of with a liftgate isn’t a bad thought. F him and his bad knee.
I gave up on getting a sedan. Liked the Hyundai Ionic 6 which is actually really nice. For a very middlebrow Hyundai. Good competition for a Tesla 3. Oh speaking of Tesla - I think Elon should stick to SpaceX and keep his mouth shut. And not test driving modes on customers. So no Tesla.
So, can ya’all figure out what a crotchety old geezer like me actually pulled the trigger on?
Ever been to one of those steakhouses where everything is unbundled? That’s what Porsche is like. Sure other manufacturers do that too, but Porche has it down to a science. 3 or 4 levels of paint. Plus extra for black out trim. Several audio choices, including $9K for a Burmeister audio. Seats? You want seats with that? Some of the leather options only come with the 27 way adjustable seats, eschewing the 12 way adjustable mid-level choices. Just crazy. An upper $80K “base” vehicle is over $167K nicely optioned. So no, I did not go Porsche
I like the retro, but prefer to have at least the option of riding in an enclosed vehicle. I don’t think my wife would want to have to wear dusters to go to the grocery store.
Nope, not a Mustang E. I test drove one, and it seemed disappointing, although it was not the top end model.
Agreed. Ditto Corvette E-ray. Really hoping I don’t have to live through E-GTOs, E-Challengers, E-'Cudas, E-Chevelles, E-Birds … Nothing is sacred anymore.
Maybe the “middlebrow Hyundai” comment was a red herring. Kia EV-6?
One of my clients has the top of the line Mustang E. If you think of it as what the Mustang originally was and call it a Falcon E, it’s not nearly as bad. Nope, not a steal me with a USB Kia. The Hyundai Ionic 6 is actually nice, I think the Kia EV-6 is the same as the Hyundai Ionic 5.
My first 911 (a 996C4S Cab) was a surprise … no … that’s not the right word … a shock in that regard. The stock interior was shockingly plasticky (ANY random BMW since 1984 used better plastics/composites). The carpet seemed like it had escaped from 1968. The “leather” was thin, and, well, if I didn’t know better I’d say it was “dog leather”.
The 997s were a marked step forward in terms of stock-interior.
But, still, things that have essentially no incremental cost to make vs. the stock parts cost hundreds of dollars more. Yellow seat-belts instead of black? $385. Each. Porsche-logo wheel-centers (they’re just plastic, printed, snap-ins)? $275 a set.
The list goes on.
Easily doubled the base price by the time the obvious, non-exotic, options were applied.
It drives really well … but … it’s not just telephone-number pricing …
It’s the look.
I mean, it’s not Cayenne or Panamera bad … but it is SO close to GREAT it’s a damn shame they butchered it so. The front-end screams for 911-style frog-lights. And … FOUR doors? I mean yeah … sure … as an option … but TWO would have been better.
It could have been an all-electric 911 in all-but-name … but, instead, it’s a Taycan.
Oh, and it’s needs about 150 miles more REAL WORLD range.
A week, or so, ago, I decided to write an updated, proper, version of “The Oregon Trail” for the Atari 8-bit computers. They only ever got a variation of the 1971 version, not the most-widely-known Apple II version from 1985 (that’s the one that generated all the “dysentery” memes, and has the most referenced graphics/iconography).
Anyway … no doubt a result of a recent, concentrated, bout of retro-computing/gaming, I dreamt I started writing an “epic”, or what I thought was “epic”, Atari 8-bit port of the 1985 Apple II version of “The Oregon Trail”.
In my dream, it looked … amazing. Essentially it used every trick and feature described in De-Re Atari (I almost had that memorized as a child), Compute’s Books of Atari Graphics Volumes 1 & 2, and other resources I do not currently recall.
In fact, it used so many low-level features and tricks that, when I had finished with the title and travel screen, I had no more energy and didn’t implement the game beyond a nicely scrolling prompt …
“Press [START] to die of dysentery”.
You can read about that here … and if you have actual Atari 8-bit hardware, or suitable emulators on hand (Atari800/Altirra), run the current state of the thing.
Toyota and Honda engage in as bad or worse aggression against those who demand to be fleeced per terminal indulgence and statusitis. Their buyers can’t afford Porsche prices, and probably ruin the household budget in the process.
The dash, controls, and fabrics are junk on many base models. Apply the “Lexus” or “Acura” badge and the materials are suddenly decent. But, the corporate accountants know their buyers’ blind spots and what matters to a brand loyalist.
Years ago I test drove the Lexus IS 350 F – their so-called sport-tuned…Camry…? While it looked sporty and was very fast in a straight line, its marshmallow suspension was pulled from a 1972 Cadillac land yacht. There was NO WAY to keep the wheels planted with so much power. The Toyota salesman struggled to stay positive.
I think the Lexus Camry is the ES, which is the only Lexus sedan that is FWD. The RWD IS has no Toyota counterpart to my knowledge. But yeah, they all seem too soft to me as well.
It shouldn’t be that difficult. My 25-year-old grocery-getter 323i still feels better than anything new I’ve driven since I got it. That’s one of the reasons I’m staying retro on cars from here on out. Something with 8 cylinders and a manual transmission should work.
I’m not burning up my last guess on @pennstac’s new BEV. Somebody else needs to take some shots at that first.
It’s all about use case, I went from n Manual E46 M3 to an Automatic Acura when my commute went from 5 miles a day to 100 in traffic. I loved the M3, but dealing with the clutch and transmission for 90 minutes much of it in stop and go traffic wasn’t going to happen.
I did go back to a manual Z4M after that though.
I swapped that for a Range Rover again after my commute changed, and that for an Audi S6 because my wife got sick and had issues with the step up into the Range Rover.
Cars are just a lot of things to people, I like fast, light agile cars, but I don’t track my cars anymore and it’s not like I get to drive them aggressively most of the time.
Yes in general, but not with regard to the IS 350 F. The suspension was so so so so so so soft that it’d crash, wander, and chatter like a Corolla. The salesman was stunned too, and admitted as much. There are plenty of Grand Touring cars that ride well and have a sporty edge. They have automatics, compliant (moderate) suspensions, seat heaters, sunroofs, etc. etc. etc. I’d venture that many brands fall in that middle category today, but maybe not Lexus or Buick.
Well I took delivery today, and drove the 135 miles or so from Lancaster to State College PA, where the house my wife inherited stands. And where my Mom still is, and we have some relatives. Sunday, we have a day visit to Upper Nowheresville PA, and I’m not taking the new car.
Roads are rough, problematical, sometimes gravel, and you’d have better luck charging a horse than an EV in those environs.
I verified that Apple CarPlay works well, did not listen to music, was mostly getting used to the vehicle. It’s quiet, and I’m sure that the 19 speaker AKG audio should be up to the task of some music. Since I was traveling with my Mac, I had the Mac and ROON turned off, so couldn’t try ROON ARC, which is fine on the head unit I installed on the 2001 Grand Vitara.
Maybe during the OnStar trial period, I can plug the Mac into the household AC in the rear seat, and connect to the wi-fi hotspot that the car makes. Then the phone or perhaps even the car stereo could use ROON direct as it’s an app in the Google Play store.
NOW, do you all have enough hints to guess the EV?
knocked out the Porsche Taycan. I want to see some evidence that the company is succeeding, and Lucid has put in a service center at King of Prussia PA, but no showroom. That makes my #1 choice, the Lucid Air a non-starter.
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