What is your daily and how do you like it?

[JohnCh]

Wow, I thought this would be the one place where I wouldn't feel like an anachronism, but I was wrong. All the modern conveniences are nice, but for me, they detract from the experience of...well...driving. Even in the slog of commuting, or a long freeway trip, I don't wish to dilute that experience. At some point there will be a corner preceded by a break in traffic. When that happens, I want to be ready. And when that happens, the trip will no longer seem so bad. At least, that's how I view things.

 

My daily drivers depend on the weather, but go between my track prepped '91 Miata with no options other than those supplied by Flyin Miata, and my "luxurious" '95 Porsche 993 C2. Its leather seats, power windows, power door locks, power sunroof, and AC is about all I desire. I also have a beater '06 Outback used for dog runs to the vet, picking up large items from Home Depot, and dealing with snow on those rare occasions it sticks and I really need to be somewhere. Until I bought it, my only vehicle with cupholders was my riding lawnmower (which is still the only one without a clutch).

 

We recently bought my wife a '21 Hyundai Palisade Limited, which is ludicrously feature rich; heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated seats, lane assistance, cameras that display your blind spots in the dash when the turn signal is engaged, heads up navigation, voice control, rear hatch that opens when sensing your presence out back, parking lot sensors, an overhead video of the car generated from the various front & side cameras. The list goes on. I hate to think what it will be like to repair down the road. Gotta love Hyundai's ridiculously long warranty though. Yes, it's a very nice beast of a vehicle; It comforts and cossets, but as my wife recently said, "it almost drives itself." She meant it as a compliment. I considered it a statement of damnation. Now where is that rock I just crawled out from under?

 

-John

[Kitcat]

Papak: So a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension and cop shocks? He must have been on a mission from God(if you catch my reference:)).

Edited February 1, 2021 by Kitcat

[Vovchandr]

Papac: So a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension and cop shocks? He must have been on a mission from God(if you catch my reference:)).

 

Fix the cigarette lighter.

 

One of my all favorite movies for no particularly good reason.

[papak]

One year we all towed from central Connecticut to St. Jovite for the first PCA Club Race up there. Lynn was ahead of us by an hour or so in the cop car. We passed through a construction zone and the cop regulating traffic said that a fellow officer had passed through an hour previously and they just stopped construction to let him through! When we met up in Canada that night, he said he was averaging 80 all the way. Maybe he’s on to something.

[Croc]

What are your thoughts on the new Defender?

 

I have crawled all over and inside one but not had the opportunity to drive one. They are quite big. Like the styling. Heavy little thing - think 6000 pounds. Not sure that the inline turbo 4 option will be enough to move that hunk. The 6 cyl turbo option is probably the only one. Inside has a lot of cheap looking plastic. Usual explanation given is that it is durable but it looks cheap and nasty. I have chatted with an auto journalist friend who did drive it, that it was a squeak fest inside when driving. I have reservations over the build quality. I have owned several old Range Rovers in the past (actually still do own one now that I think about it) and they are not the most reliable of things....

 

The biggest killer is price. Spec it up to the level of my current BMW X5 and it is $20k MORE than the equivalent BMW.

[linenoise]

2014 Audi R8 V10 Spyder - to/from work and occasional top-down road trips with the wife, pre-kiddo. DCT transmission and frankly a bit boring after a while, which motivated me to buy a couple toys with manual transmissions (2002 Beck 550 Spyder and a 2000 Caterham 7). Currently @ 42500 miles with a 10 year 120k mile aftermarket warranty... try getting that on a Huracan.

 

2012 Land Rover LR4 - the defacto kid mobile. Generally I really like it, but the maintenance costs are absurd if you take it to a dealership. I wish they still made them, I would buy a new one. Not a fan of the new Discovery.

[Vovchandr]

Relevant articles

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a32034437/computer-chips-in-cars/

 

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/11/car-electronics-cost-semiconductor-chips/

 

40% of a new car's cost is electronic systems

 

That's up from 18 percent in 2000.

 

 

Also a recent semiconductor shortage is causing manufacturers to limit the amount of cars they can make.

 

 

 

A40% of a new car's cost is electronic systems

[fatallightning]

2001 Jaguar XKR. The Birkin was a bit gnarly for the kind of casual cruises upstate I like to do with the wife, and I'm a big open air motoring fan. I was originally looking for an E36 vert or Z3 but the market is overpriced for those at the moment, at least IMO. It's been a good GT car, but I miss dailying something a bit more light footed and agile, and stick.

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

I'm not driving much these days but enjoy getting out when I can.

 

My daily is an inka orange '72 BMW 2002. It's well built/reliable enough to drive everyday and I prefer the styling to more modern cars. While the power is decent for getting around town, I can't help but compare it to a seven and would love to have more power to make it a little more fun to drive. Can't decide if I should build the engine or wait to buy the mk1 escort I've always wanted.

 

 

We have a 2019 e-golf we bought for ~$12k brand new (with rebates). It's an incredible car for what we paid for it. Great for errands and taking the kids to school. My wife loves it and drives it most of the time.

 

Our 2014 Acura MDX does tow duty and family trips beyond the range of the e-golf. Lately it isn't seeing much use.

Edited February 3, 2021 by TheDingo8MyBaby

[Croc]

Holy hell! how did you buy an e-golf for $12K? Thats a deal and a half. I thought they were $30k after rebates?

 

Difficult choice - 2002 or Mk1 Escort? The Escort is the better handler but depends on the engine you get with it. Whats your ideal spec?

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

It was ~$32.5k before rebates. $10.5k off from VW, $7.5k federal, $2.5k state. This was back in September 2019. I think our power company also gave us an $800 rebate for buying an electric car. That being said, I know where all these "rebates" come from. There was also the added benefit of using the carpool lane, but that isn't quite as valuable as it once was.

 

I'd spec my Mk1 escort with either a Duratec or a BDA (if not my daily) and a CR Type 9 5 speed. Steel Bubble arches, 13x8 wheels (or the 13x7 campagnolos on my 2002 now), LSD, Full Suspension, Quick Rack, etc. I've been wanting to import one for years, but california air resources board makes importing cars from 1968-1975 difficult, even though they are smog exempt.

[CarlB]

I have one other toy car. A 06 R-53 MINI JCW. A really fun point and shoot car. The suspension is all tricked out and I use to autocross it. All the stuff Croc was saying about BMWs and newer cars in general I agree with. They are turning all of them into appliances. Most new BMWs feel like Cadillacs. They use to have great steering. My wife has a 2020 four door MINI and it has been turned into a BMW. All the raw feeling from the R-53 is gone. As the country song says "I like my Truck" (I like my bar to) I have a 2019 Chevy Colorado. For driving into town it is smaller than the huge generation of pickups. I think it is as big as what full size trucks were 20 years ago. It is comfortable doesn't mind the DC pot holes and has a big back seat. I use the box to carry stuff all the time.

[Vovchandr]

I have a 2019 Chevy Colorado. For driving into town it is smaller than the huge generation of pickups. I think it is as big as what full size trucks were 20 years ago.

 

You're not far off

 

 

 

https://blog.consumerguide.com/pickups-steroids-1990-silverado-versus-2015-colorado/

[fastg]

Carl, you right about the R53, I have driven all the later Cooper S models, they are faster but just don't have the agile direct steering of the R53. This one is actually my second I had one when they first came out but sold it when I went to work for Toyota. I was looking for a fun go to work car and did not expect to buy another R53, I found a one owner 04 with 75K, always genuine BMW dealer maintained with just a stack of paperwork for 5K. I love the car.

 

My tow vehicle is a 97 Cherokee XJ, 179K miles runs and drives perfectly. But 20 years living in Chicago is bad on the steel it's just exploding with rust, so I am starting to look for it's replacement.

 

The wife drives a 19 GTI so that's another fun car in the house.

 

Graham

[Kitcat]

My DD is a VW Touareg. It has a footprint and overall size that approximates a Honda Accord(tho it is much taller). And it has a tow package rated at 7,700 lbs, or about the same as a standard, but much larger, pickup. So, basically it drives like a car and tows like a truck. It has hauled my se7ens to tracks all over the eastern US.

[BlueBDA]

@Vovchandr Wow 2644 lb for a 1990 Chevy S-10. Can you imagine any 2021 truck weighing that?

[Vovchandr]

@Vovchandr Wow 2644 lb for a 1990 Chevy S-10. Can you imagine any 2021 truck weighing that?

 

I'd be impressed if any 2021 car weighed that. Trucks have a semi decent excuse of weight helping with towing.

[CarlB]

I love my R-53. I bought a 05 R-53 and my wife said she wouldn't drive it because she wouldn't feel safe. After the first month she was asking to use it. When it was time for her to get a new car, she wanted my Purple Haze MINI. I looked at new R-56 MINIs but didn't like the car (loved the engine). It took some time but I got a 06 JCW without a sun roof. At the same time we also had a 530 wagon. It is a big comfortable boat but it still steered like a BMW and handled well for its size.

[escondidoron]

@Vovchandr Wow 2644 lb for a 1990 Chevy S-10. Can you imagine any 2021 truck weighing that?

 

 

I'd be impressed if my '86 S10 short bed with 2.5L Iron Duke 4-cyl 5-speed weighed that little! I've had it weighed many times after dropping off material at the various local land fills and it comes in reliably between 3000 and 3050 lbs empty with fuel after removing my personal 200 lbs.

[Vovchandr]

I have crawled all over and inside one but not had the opportunity to drive one. They are quite big. Like the styling. Heavy little thing - think 6000 pounds. Not sure that the inline turbo 4 option will be enough to move that hunk. The 6 cyl turbo option is probably the only one. Inside has a lot of cheap looking plastic. Usual explanation given is that it is durable but it looks cheap and nasty. I have chatted with an auto journalist friend who did drive it, that it was a squeak fest inside when driving. I have reservations over the build quality. I have owned several old Range Rovers in the past (actually still do own one now that I think about it) and they are not the most reliable of things....

 

The biggest killer is price. Spec it up to the level of my current BMW X5 and it is $20k MORE than the equivalent BMW.

 

Thanks for that. I'm looking forward to seeing how reliability will be for these in ~5 years from now and how much depreciation will hit and debating on buying/finding a CPO one with likely some kind of warranty. On paper it hits all the right notes with me. Just enough tech to keep it a pleasant DD (auto cruise control etc), just utilitarian enough to keep me happy (I can't have "nice" interiors long term), just different enough for me to like it and it will be able to tow the trailer without an issue.

 

The price right now is indeed crazy. I'd be hoping to see them in at ~$30k or so in the future, which I have no doubt they will hit justified or not.