July 24, 2020 at 12:00 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Something Old Something New
July 24, 2020 at 10:20 am
Steve,
I agree with you that today's cars have a certain blandness about them. There are a few iconic cars that are recognizable, Corvette, Mustang, Camaro, and Beetle. In high school, I drove a 66 Ford Mustang, which was replaced with a 66 Chevy El Camino that I continued to drive through college. I would like to own both again. My current car is the 2011 Chevy HHR. I like the retro look and it has enough cargo capacity for me.
My bucket list car is the Corvette. I'm excited about the new mid-engine Corvette; even with the engine behind the driver, the bones of the car still say that it's a Corvette.
July 24, 2020 at 12:17 pm
Designers hands are tied today. CAFE standards force designers to make a vehicle go through the wind tunnel with the least amount of drag. That is why every car and SUV looks nearly identical. Throw into that mix all of the different crash requirements of crumple zones and the 6-8 airbags that must be designed into the vehicle and it really limits the lines of the vehicle. All vehicles that have been redesigned in the last handful of years have very thick roof pillars for rollover issues as well.
July 24, 2020 at 2:24 pm
It isn't capitalism for companies to do something that suits them and not the customer.
Capitalism is where someone starts a company that DOES excite the customer, we all buy their stuff instead, and older companies either adapt or fail. Smartphones came from capitalism. We got years and years of boring flip phones, until someone visionary gave us an iPhone and everything changed. Don't blame capitalism; stop buying cars you don't like. Vote with your dollars.
July 24, 2020 at 3:31 pm
Aside from the candidates already mentioned (Corvette, etc.) I haven't been excited about American cars for years. And what do the "exciting" American cars have in common: muscle.
I've owned an Acura RL for 11 years now. The styling, comfort, performance and amenities are wonderful. I am eyeing a Genesis as my next car. Once again, looking to Asia rather than Detroit.
Trying to figure out the world of SQL as marketing consultant for SQL Solutions Group https://sqlsolutionsgroup.com/
July 24, 2020 at 5:03 pm
If you would drive a Dodge Hellcat Charger, Challenger, or a 700HP Jeep Grand Cherokee you would be shocked how much fun those are to drive. Any Challenger is a blast, I have an RT with a manual transmission. A buddy of mine bought a Hellcat Charger and threw me the keys and said take it for a drive and have FUN. I mean what a blast it was with 707 Supercharged HP tucked under the hood. That thing got to 60mph with a light touch to the pedal and it didn't take any effort for the engine at all. That thing is a wonderful machine. I saw last week that Jeep teased a 6.4 liter Wrangler. They did it to the Durango so it would not surprise me at all if the Wrangler gets a high HP version as well.
July 24, 2020 at 5:14 pm
If what you wanted was a highly custom vehicle, you could have had one years ago with the Jeep Wrangler. The maker has options of its own, but the aftermarket is HUGE. I think more Wranglers have some degree of customization than are running stock. If you want to go all out, you can send a Wrangler off to shops that offer complete custom builds and options galore. (It's not cheap, and I would expect the same to be true of the Bronco.)
Honestly I am not trying to fan the flames for a Wrangler vs Bronco flamewar - there is plenty of that on the net already if one is interested. But Ford did not take a page from the web (sorry for the pun). They are after Jeep Wrangler sales, and have made no bones about saying so.
Disclaimer: yes, I own an entry-level Jeep Wrangler.
July 24, 2020 at 6:16 pm
Never been a big Corvette person, at least not since the late 50s, but I did see a new one recently that looked slick.
My wife is more interested in Toyota for her next car, and she gets the next one. I would prefer to get something older, and I'm hoping for something I can drive most of the year in CO. A 2000-2004 TT is on my list for now. AWD and manual stick.
July 24, 2020 at 6:18 pm
I did always want a Jeep, ever since I spent a summer with a few friends that had CJ-7s.
However, I rented a Wrangler with my son and we drove from Orlando to Cape Canaveral to visit the space center and watch the first SpaceX landing of a rocket. Amazing trip, but after about 5 minutes, the Wrangler wasn't fun to drive or ride in. I guess my memory of it is better than the experience.
July 24, 2020 at 7:32 pm
I have to agree about Jeeps. After all these years I traded in my soccer mom car (traverse - yes I did have a soccer player for over 10 years) and bought a Jeep Wrangler Sahara. I love it and I became the cool mom again. There are so many aftermarket products. I can't wait to add on to my stock jeep. And yes, Ford is going directly after Jeep with the Bronco.
July 28, 2020 at 8:48 pm
My daughter just spent a day at BIR with a friend who is getting his SCCA license. He drove both the short and long tracks. I owned a 1967 Z/28 in high school that raced in Trans Am series before I owned it. His new wide body Charger, although much more refined than my old car was, had a best lap about the same as the old Z. That car was fun - but crude. Manual transmission, manual steering ( was the special quick ratio, 2.9 turns lock to lock ), and springs with such a high rate it would skip hitting the expansion cracks when going around a clover leaf. Pushing it for 500 miles around that course would be punishing.
I like his car for the refinements and comfort, but just think of how much more fun it could be on a 1500 lb diet.
One of the things with the new Bronco is you can get a rock crawling gear. 1000 rpm, 1 mph. Interesting to see how many actually use this. Seeing the numerous mishaps rock crawling, and the results, would doubt I’d ever be brave enough to try it. Unless I won the lottery.
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