Posts

@kleptomage  
I’m going to an auto show next month, I’m most excited to see the Rams and the Jeeps, but really the Lexus cars will be fun to play around with considering they have that weird joystick thing
 
hm, what do you think had the best seat (in terms of comfort) at your auto show?
 

 
@BarryFromMars  
wow, that’s insane. I am not shocked, people back in the day had lots of pride. nobody would buy a car that looked so dangerous that you had to be restrained. (but they were!) if you think of it, a belt is a very strange concept… humans relied only on visual appearance

@BarryFromMars  
Wow, that’s the same guy who made the one I was thinking of, but actually not the same car. Looks like it wasn’t a just one-off after all! Now, all I need to do is amass a hundred fifty grand of disposable income…
 
 
@kleptomage  
I just saw an article today that Consumer Reports is going to start dinging cars with poorly designed shifters. No idea why so many car companies suddenly decided to reinvent the wheel with those. PRNDL with physical movement of the shifter works perfectly, and everyone understands it.

@RainbowDash69  
The Lexus joystick and BMW knob were pretty straightforward but that was just me playing with them for a couple minutes. I can’t say how well they would work while you’re trying to drive.
 
I’ll always prefer the mechanical nature of regular shift levers. Full forward to park and full back to drive - so simple you never have to think about it. With some of these electronic shifters even though they may look like a lever you have to push a button to park or take your eyes off the road to see what button you’re pressing. It’s bad design. If the shift lever must go to make room, it can be mounted on the steering column or be a rotary knob with a good detent like Ram does it.

@Flying Pancake
 
Wow, I wasn’t expecting pivoting headlights to be a thing. Sounds cool, thanks.
 
I did a little search for a replica and found the Tucker Replica which I expect you were talking about, the one with the body made out of strong plastic?
 
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/ida-automotive-new-tucker-48-specialty-file
 
@RainbowDash69
 
I expect a lot of people don’t know what it is. It’s seen some footage, driving included, at Jay Leno’s Garage though. Linked to 10:27, they talk about it there and there are some clips of it to 11:52; some of those are repeated after 13:56, ends at 16:41. Looks like I was a little wrong on subject of the seat belts, they didn’t have them because “it would imply cars are unsafe” which they are if you crash so what was all the commotion about?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPSA6FBdYk&feature=youtu.be&t=627

@kleptomage  
for the Lexus and Mercedes, it would be cool to see if you could figure out how to use the infotainment screens… just to see how quickly you could learn the completely different control knobs
 
you know, shift levers are at risk of extinction. I know the buttons would be disabled when the car is moving, so that isn’t an issue. I do agree all the buttons look the same in a luxury car layout. very easy to be confused
 
 
@SeraphimDawn  
2015 is nice for sure, it looks more like an LS back a few years ago. I can see why you like Infiniti so much, you are more of a fan of reserved styling. :) Lexus is good at both reserved and ostentatious styling. They just need to determine which car is appropriate for such insane designs

What were the difference between the Hyundai Genesis and the Hyundai Equus? And their respective successor models G80 and G90?
 
They seem like same cars.

@kleptomage  
I don’t like what Lexus has done with their exteriors. The oversized mesh makes the car appear flimsy to me. nd those FREAKING HEADLIGHTS!
 
I prefer the 2015 GS 350’s styling better.  

 
Why did Buick discontinue their Verano compacts? I thought those were selling well in their line up.

@SeraphimDawn  
Lexus’ exterior styling is too weird for the sake of being weird but their interiors are fine.
 
Most don’t drive Cameros. I’ve only ever seen about five out and about. Mustangs are much more common and for good reason.
 
If you ignore the badge, the LaCrosse is actually a solid value.
 
I’ve heard Hyundai’s new twin-turbo V6 can hustle the Genesis G90 at a good clip and that’s a seriously heavy car at about 4,700 lbs. It will be exciting to see how that engine trickles down into Hyundai’s lineup.

@kleptomage  
Mustang has been an American favourite for decades.
 
I love Lexus’s interiors. They have the most comfortable seats.
 
How do people drive Camaros?
 
Almost no one drives Avalon and LaCrosse for some reason. They look like decent cars.
 
Hyundai seems to be inching closer to a midlux tier brand. They probably are in some part.

I went to the Milwaukee auto show today and checked out all the interesting cars I could. I’ll give my impressions of the interiors. Keep in mind I’m 6’ 2”.
 
Acura’s button shifting array looks weird and like it would be hard to shift quickly.
 
The second car I checked out was a Lexus GS 350 F Sport and it was very nice inside. The seats were comfy red leather with mild bolsters, there was adequate space, and the mouse control for the screen was easy to use.
 
The Mercedes S550 had the best interior of any car I saw at the show. Really classy. It was better than the BMW 7 series and Audi A7.
 
The CUE interface for Cadillac looks and feels so cheap in person. It’s chintzy black plastic and gives when you push the “buttons.” The only Cadillac interior I liked was the CT6.
 
I think it would be too easy to hit the shift buttons in a Lincoln while you’re reaching for the touchscreen.
 
The auto press was not exaggerating about the Camero having poor visibility. It’s like being inside a tank turret.
 
My eyes are level with the top of the windshield in a Corvette.
 
I literally could not get into a Subaru BRZ without crawling into that tiny baby car.
 
I could only drive a Miata with the top down and with goggles to keep bugs out of my eyes.
 
The Fiat Abarth is surprisingly spacious but the plastic body color dash looks terribly cheap.
 
The Golf GTI was a pleasant surprise. It has a very nice interior for an economy car and space is not an issue.
 
Hyundai has improved the Sonata by leaps and bounds in 10 years.
 
All the full size pickups are absolutely huge inside. I could fit two six packs in the center storage and wear a cowboy hat in those beasts.
 
The Toyota Avalon and Buick LaCrosse are honestly not bad inside. They would be great road trip cars, unlike the Chrysler 300 which for all its size lacks headroom.
 
There was a blue Kia Stinger up on a turntable. Looks sharp in person but I wish there had been one on the floor to check out.
 
The Mustang GT was my favorite car of the show. Man, that is a sweet ride. The cockpit is well put together, the visibility is fine, and the seats are comfortable and supportive without having aggressive bolsters. I only imagine how well it drives.

@SeraphimDawn  
hm I think Infiniti could pull of an extreme sleeper car, a lot like the Chevy SS is
 
their brand isn’t really recognized for being fast anyway

@SeraphimDawn  
a lot of cars look like a good 3-series alternative, but it has to exceed in driving characteristics (as well as space inside, perhaps)
 
I love the new IS, the 2016 looked strange, but I believe the 2017 is a bit nicer  

 
Lexus is being pretty crazy with the grille design, too. it all seems to work very nicely in terms of beauty and polarizing design

@RainbowDash69  
It’s a well rounded car! Not to mention affordable. A sleeper luxury.
 
Infiniti actually has good ratings on reliability in the luxury department.
 
Their Q50 looks like a great BMW 3 alternative.  

 
I don’t like what Lexus did to the headlights on their IS250 this generation. I hope they fix it, so it doesn’t look like something with down syndrome.

@SeraphimDawn  
Heh I actually just watched that one a few minutes ago. I want it too… a nice coupe with a sunroof! Low key but kinda fun? It’s a good idea and I bet the seats are very luxurious for such a “nice” feel :)

@BarryFromMars  
That looks sweet. Certainly an understated part of car history now. It must be quite expensive to make all those parts when nobody cared about safety.

2013 Infiniti G37xS: Regular Car Reviews
 
I want one…

@BarryFromMars  
Pivoting headlights actually started showing up in cars again a few years back. They’re mainly a luxury car thing, though, and I’m not sure which ones specifically have them.
 
The Tucker is an awesome car. I keep hoping someone will make a replicar/  
kit car of it someday; imagine that car with a modern Porsche or Subaru flat-six and a conventional transmission. Beyond a one-off from a couple years ago that’s probably a pipe dream, but still, I can hope.

@RainbowDash69
 
It’s real in most of the films I mentioned. The first one I linked however (“Blood on the Windscreen”) is painted on; I suppose it’s for emphasizing dramatic effect. “Wheels of Tragedy” has acting in it also.
 
Thinking of this I wonder what the head-on collision my Grandfather went through was like; he was riding an early 60s Pontiac Grand Prix back then and it was probably totaled. I’m guessing it was under 35 MPH since he lived through it, maybe he hopped in the back seat?
 
@RainbowDash69
 
@Prince Artemis
 
Talking about this, what say you to…
 

 
The Tucker 48? This is a rare (50 or 51 made depending on how you look at it though 47 or 48 of them still exist last I heard) and particularly celebrated car for its time, the later 1940s; although it has no engine in the front it was designed to be safer in a time when safety standards were nil. It had all disc brakes, a windshield that popped out in a collision, a padded dashboard, seat belts, fuel injection and the middle headlight turned with the direction of the steering wheel!
 
The story goes that although Preston Tucker, head of the company was visionary (and which of the then advanced safety features in this car aren’t in cars today anyway other than the rotating headlight?) the company had a real tough time assembling anything. There’s a recreational movie about it as well, great film although I do wonder if it’s accurate to history or if there’s a little of a misunderstanding in it?

@kleptomage  
The classiest way to rack up a Death Race high score!
 
Though realistically, if I’m getting hit by that land barge, the slightly pointier part destroying my shins isn’t the first thing I’m worried about.

@RainbowDash69  
Its more like now they have to pretend to be decant.

@kleptomage  
Hm that would hurt… makes me wonder how painful the Mercedes Benz hood ornament would be
 
At least Rolls Royce has a hood onrmanrt that retracts when you touch it

@Prince Artemis  
They are now thanks to National Institute of Highway Safety

@Flying Pancake  
Dagmar bumpers too, for when you want to look cool and impale pedestrians.
 

@RainbowDash69  
Company CEOs are not decant humans though.

@Flying Pancake  
I wish to know what they were thinking… any decent human would’ve realized the issue after the first crash.