The cars and bikes thread!

[Samanator]

Imagine getting a check engine light and lifting the hood to find this under the hood. I would never go in the garage or the car again.



https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/10...-south-florida

[mlcor]

Imagine getting a check engine light and lifting the hood to find this under the hood. I would never go in the garage or the car again.



https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/10...-south-florida

I hate it when that happens.


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[Strela167]

https://www.ajsmotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycles

[geoffbot]

https://www.ajsmotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycles

Go on...

[Strela167]

https://www.astonmartin.com/en-gb/ou...rough-superior

[crownpuller]

https://www.astonmartin.com/en-gb/ou...rough-superior

1,000 bhp per tonne ! Better hold on tight.
Is it weird that the first thing that came to my mind was Robocop & ED 209 ?

[geoffbot]

1,000 bhp per tonne ! Better hold on tight.
Is it weird that the first thing that came to my mind was Robocop & ED 209 ?

Most modern superbikes (1000cc sports) have similar power to weight ratios - mine has 199bhp and weighs 202kg so pretty close. All unnecessarily fast!

[93EXCivic]

https://youtu.be/32I0Qso4sDg

862hp active aero Subaru going full ham in Annapolis.

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[Samanator]

https://youtu.be/32I0Qso4sDg

862hp active aero Subaru going full ham in Annapolis.

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I lived there for about 30 years ago so this was pretty cool to watch.

[Samanator]

I think Ford has gone off the deep end with the pricing on the new Bronco and the subsequent price increases every time they correct things on the Build and Price tool. I still have my reservation, but I'm evaluating if I'm going to turn it into and order. I've started to look at alternatives. In order to get all the safety technology that many vehicles have standard even in $20K vehicles you must have the highest option package only available in higher model levels (Outerbanks, Badland and Wildtrack). I can see this as a mid $40K vehicle possibly $50K, but not the $60K-$62K these are pricing in at. Granted you can price a Jeep Rubicon over $60K, but the dealers here regularly have those discounted $10K or more without even starting to negotiate. I think they are using Jeeps retail prices as their pricing model and not looking at the reality of the market.

I saw the announcement for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and saw one at the Orlando car show when I went up to see the Bronco in the steel. I was impressed with the 392, but all online sites have these being marked up to nearly $90K. End of that conversation after a call to the local high volume Jeep dealer confirmed this. This kind of killed my last hope of a topless off roader.

This started a look for alternatives. I wen't and drove the Lexus GX460 last week and was shocked how smooth and quiet it is. It was actually scary quite to the point i would have like to have an ambulance, fire truck or police car come up with the siren on to see if I could hear it. Yes it has it oddities like the swinging gate hatch, lightly updated old tech, Fairly useless third row and needing premium fuel in a 4.6 liter V8 that makes only 301Hp but these are proven to be bullet proof. Add it is pricing out nearly $11K less than the Bronco which further makes the Jeep and Bronco look even more ridiculous price wise. These are basically upgraded Toyota Landcruisers with much better suspensions for on and off road. Yes they don't have the approach and departure angles of a Jeep, Bronco or Defender but I don't need a rock crawler in Florida. Water fording is far more critical here along with the ability to deal with various packings of wet and dry sand. I have no doubt it would have any problem crawling over a fallen tree during a hurricane. It can also tow 7000 lbs which is a big plus.

I said when I placed the Bronco reservation if it did not work out I would buy a Subaru Outback. I drove the XT touring last Sunday after the GX, and was actually impressed with the new turbo in it and the Ascent. I really don't drive much so I'm questioning spending a lot of money for something that sits 5 days a week in the garage. I drove the Outback a few years ago before the redesign to the new chassis and the addition of the 2.4 turbo. They did a lot to quiet the Outback down, and they are nicer inside than several luxury vehicles I've looked at. It has a really good ride, is very quite (not as quite as the GX460), seems to have more room inside than the GX and reasonably quick with the 2.4 turbo. I only looked at the Ascent since it has 5000 lbs towing capacity versus the Outback 3500 towing capacity (Which matches the Bronco and the Jeep's 3500). The Outback has a built in roof rack with cross bars that fold out to allow hauling our paddle board and kayak. An added feature is high 20's combined milage figure with highway over 30mpg on regular gas. About 10mpg more than the GX with better performance numbers. Strangely the GX looks so much bigger yet is only one inch longer than the Outback though much taller, but nearly the same ground clearance.


For me 5K-6K miles a year are high milage years for the last eight years. One year I drove less that 3K miles. I sold my LC500 since I was not driving it, and I had an offer since it was 1 of 100 that was hard to pass on. Since it left we have been trying the one car thing. For the most part it works, but when it doesn't I don't know if it is worth it so that is why I'm looking. We still have the XK8 also, but I really don't count it and it is more of a tinker piece so I can justify keeping my Snap-on rolling tool box to my wife. We did a top down ride in it on Christmas day which was nice and it was then washed the next day and back under the cover. It's mechanically solid now that I would have no issue running it down to the Keys. It took a while to get it to that point mostly having to replace all the things that break down with age. Lisa and I have agreed to use half of what I got for the LC for the new car. Key roll of the car is weekend trips to the beach hauling a kayak and a paddle board on the roof and a set of beach chairs in back. After that hauling dog food and weekly groceries. Third I want something I can take off-road since I like doing that and was reminded how much I miss doing it going out on some trails upstate over a year ago. Thus the reason i was following the Bronco.

I went to the Genesis dealer also last Sunday. I was interested until they showed me the sticker markup of $5000 for market adjustment on the GV80 SUV. It was too late to take it out that night, and I don't think I'll be going back since that is an instant turn off. I expect under retail so it's not a conversation worth having. It was above my price limit, but the warranty could make it justifiable. The Genesis has no real off-road intentions which is something I do want in my next vehicle.

I like the looks of new Land Rover Defender, but don't want to beta test the new inline six for them. The turbo four was gutless in the Jaguar XE so I don't see it working in something that weighs a lot more which leaves then the I-6. I'm looking for something that will be around a while and every magazine has had three or four things wrong with their Defender test vehicles. Not a good way to start. I want something that I don't have to have such a good relationship with a mechanic to own. I like to tinker with cars, but I want to be able to jump in my vehicle to run to the Florida Keys or up to the lake and not have to worry about it. I'm afraid to test drive it since I don't want to be tempted. Also it's pricing above my target price even going very lean on options.

Last I may look at a Toyota FourRunner. I'm split between the Limited or the TRD Pro there in 4WD. Price wise its not much cheaper than the GX460 and it really does not get much better milage than the Lexus though it has a V6. It also matches the Ascent's 5000lbs towing, but 2000lbs shy of the Lexus. It has a normal hatch unlike the strange GX (Jeep and Bronco) swinging gate and flip up window. I had a 2nd generation FourRunner back in 1990 when they first had the solid roof and this does not look all that much different inside except it has a screen. They are consider bullet proof and the TRD Pro is well equipped for trails if you can find one. At this point the only option there would be ordering one.

If your wondering why no pickup trucks? I would get one in a heartbeat, but all the current crop of crew cab trucks are too big to fit in my garage. Our vehicles never sit outside at night at our house as a rule. I had the best (IMO)of the mid sized the Honda Ridgeline, but my wife hated driving it. She said it was too big, which I admit the narrow parking spaces at the store where a bit hard to navigate out of with a 210 inch truck. A fulls size truck are all about 233 inches. The Ford, Chevy and Toyota midsize offerings are all much smaller inside than the Honda, and no where as flexible as the Ridgeline storing things. With the drainable storage compartment in the bed, and speakers built into the bed walls it is the Swiss army knife of vehicles. It did really good running off road in the Everglades in loose sand and rutted trails. They updated them this year, but the 2021updated models are not available yet. Lisa may be open to trying one since they did address some of the things she did not like inside. All of the SUV I'm looking at are shorter than her 195" long Lexus by a few inches(Except the Genesis which is 1 inch longer). This way too long cannot be an issue.