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Thread: The State of The Car

  1. #241
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    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    Another issue I see with cars is with touchscreens taking over normal operations. I want buttons goddamnit! Touchscreens make you take your eyes off the road because that screen could be anything.
    A myriad of buttons can be dangerous too, especially if they are too small, are too far away or there are too many to remember what they all do.
    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    I don't think the Charger you can get with a manual, most certainly not with the biggest engine. The Challenger is way too big.

    I want a 4 door GT86/BR-Z. Preferably as a hatchback. Is that too much to ask?

    If Toyota made one and called it the Corolla, that'd be pretty awesome. It's a shame that the Corolla has been FWD for over 20 years, there are a whole generation of people that don't even know the Corolla was a pretty sporting vehicle.

    But going back to RWD sedans, that's also why I have a particular fondness for 1st generation IS300s. It was one of the few sedans that came with a straight 6 powering the rear wheels that wasn't a BMW.
    You are right, there's no manual Charger and it probably does not handle as well as a C-Class Merc (nevermind the 3 Series, to win customers back from Audi, BMW has decided to ruin the handling of all of their cars). So four cylinder C-Class it is, altough it still doesn't come cheap. It starts at 33 thousand €.

    The four door GT86/BRZ you mentioned earlier is gone forever. There was a time when rear wheel drive was bread and butter but not any more. Those days are gone and next are normally aspirated engines, manual gearbox... and in the end we will all be driving Leafs...

    Time to go and buy a GT86/BRZ then!
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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  2. #242
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    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    Another issue I see with cars is with touchscreens taking over normal operations. I want buttons goddamnit! Touchscreens make you take your eyes off the road because that screen could be anything.
    Same is true of buttons in any car till you get used to them

    Touch screens are interim.

    Expect gestures to do the job Or Siri in the new iCar as Apple post Jobs decide to diversify !!!!
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  3. #243
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    I find the state of the car quite pathetic at the moment.

    The global recession we are so tired of hearing about has prompted a competitive fervour amongst companies trying to gain a competitive edge. Thus, the feature content of more plebian automobiles has approached that of the premium marques.

    The premium marques have thus found themselves in a conundrum of being much less able to compete on feature content. Why spend then extre 8K euros on an Audi when for less money you could have a VW with the same feature content and the same, if not better, driving dynamics than its more expensive brother?

    On the plus side, the same pressure for innovation has brought some good new models to market. The demand for smaller cars is seeing much smarter use of space and some cars which carry the same cargo and passenger count in a yet smaller package than ever before, with the attendant better FE of a more compact, lighter-weight package.

    In all the auto industry has seen a more vibrant place for day-to-day cars and a tougher place for premium marques to compete.

    And that's not even counting the styling abuses taking place...
    Last edited by jcp123; 02-16-2013 at 03:48 PM.
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  4. #244
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    Driving in the R Class shuttle every day has made me realize how maddening most luxury features are. About the extent of luxury I would want in a car would be blue tooth phone connectivity, heated and cooled seats, and a semirational system to select music/podcasts from said phone.

    I do not want a 8.7 inch screen. It is massively distracting. GPS if needed (which I don't like using) can be done via phone. 2 cupholders will do. A good auto/manual/DSG is sufficient (depending on application), along with a manual handbrake. I'd much rather have excellent seats and interior materials than any kind of electronic infotainment, lane departure, digital screens, etc, etc.

  5. #245
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy View Post
    Driving in the R Class shuttle every day has made me realize how maddening most luxury features are. About the extent of luxury I would want in a car would be blue tooth phone connectivity, heated and cooled seats, and a semirational system to select music/podcasts from said phone.

    I do not want a 8.7 inch screen. It is massively distracting. GPS if needed (which I don't like using) can be done via phone. 2 cupholders will do. A good auto/manual/DSG is sufficient (depending on application), along with a manual handbrake. I'd much rather have excellent seats and interior materials than any kind of electronic infotainment, lane departure, digital screens, etc, etc.
    You kind of sound like the first stages of where I have been for a decade. Nevermind the gadgets, let's get the basics right before we explore the edges of the galaxy.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

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  6. #246
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcp123 View Post
    You kind of sound like the first stages of where I have been for a decade. Nevermind the gadgets, let's get the basics right before we explore the edges of the galaxy.
    It's been a long time brewing, but I have not actually had much interaction wich such sophisto cars before. The 3 cars I have driven most are now a 1993 Plymouth Voyager, 2007 City Golf (MkIV Canadian only), and this Bluetec refreshed R.

    It is one thing to feel this way and read about it, it is another to experience the crap firsthand. I have also been more increasingly drawn to regaining my focus lost likely to internet related ADD. Focus - not multitasking - yields impressive results.

  7. #247
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy View Post
    Focus - not multitasking - yields impressive results.
    Something I have been saying for years. Focus on a market segment, get good at it, and you will prosper.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

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  8. #248
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcp123 View Post
    I find the state of the car quite pathetic at the moment.

    The global recession we are so tired of hearing about has prompted a competitive fervour amongst companies trying to gain a competitive edge. Thus, the feature content of more plebian automobiles has approached that of the premium marques.

    The premium marques have thus found themselves in a conundrum of being much less able to compete on feature content. Why spend then extre 8K euros on an Audi when for less money you could have a VW with the same feature content and the same, if not better, driving dynamics than its more expensive brother?
    It's actually the other way round, premium brand are descending into segments they had never bothered to compete before and therefore are eating into the traditional generalist manufacturers strangeholds...

    The rarionale goes like this, if I can have prestigious badge in my bonnet/key, I might be inclined to spend a little be more for a small hatchback, reather have a bread and butter car even if it brings me better value for money.
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  9. #249
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    I don't disagree with that. Either way though, I think the value and premium segments have been brough tinto competition with each other in ways they have not been before
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

  10. #250
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    When I was referring to focus vs multitasking, I was thinking about that on an individual level. Driver and car. Person and cell phone. Friends at a table with iPhones. The TV and computer on at the same time.

  11. #251
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy View Post
    When I was referring to focus vs multitasking, I was thinking about that on an individual level. Driver and car. Person and cell phone. Friends at a table with iPhones. The TV and computer on at the same time.
    Can't disagree with that either.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

  12. #252
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy View Post
    Driving in the R Class shuttle every day has made me realize how maddening most luxury features are. About the extent of luxury I would want in a car would be blue tooth phone connectivity, heated and cooled seats, and a semirational system to select music/podcasts from said phone.

    I do not want a 8.7 inch screen. It is massively distracting. GPS if needed (which I don't like using) can be done via phone. 2 cupholders will do. A good auto/manual/DSG is sufficient (depending on application), along with a manual handbrake. I'd much rather have excellent seats and interior materials than any kind of electronic infotainment, lane departure, digital screens, etc, etc.
    I've been saying that for years too. Heck, I'm all for crank windows if it makes cars simpler and cheaper. It was hilarious when my 5 year old cousin sat in the 1983 Accord. He asked me how am I supposed to open the window?

    Personally, I don't like touchscreens but I can see that as the next wave in cars, replacing buttons in large swathes. Button placement I still think you can memorize. A touchscreen computer can possibly be reprogrammed, I don't think it helps. At the very least it slows you down because settings can be buried in menus.

    Edit- jcp123- I think Ford is the worst of the luxury marques- Lincoln thinks they can get away with selling slightly twisted Fords for their luxury vehicles. Honda's not much better, but at least there is a slight noticeable difference.

  13. #253
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    Yeah I have driven a Lincoln MKZ when I was employed by a rental car company. It was honestly not very impressive. It really did feel like the gussied-up Ford Fusion that it was. the fusion is a nice car for its own class, but doesn't work for me converted into a luxury role. Likewise with the late Town Car - I had always thought I would like this car more than I did, though I'll admit it was a much better car at what it was intended to be than the MKZ was.

    As for touchscreens, I have not spent much time with them but judging from what I know using an iPhone which is almost entirely touchscreen, the loss of the tactile sense is a surprisingly glaring problem when trying to manipulate controls while occupied with a task requiring most or all of your attention - such as driving.

    I also like a basic car. Cheaper, lighter, probably more reliable and definitely cheaper to repair when things go wrong. Sportscars could benefit from this visceral return to simplicity, as Lotus has amply demonstrated. I am almost horrified by the level of technological insulation between drivers and the actual experience - sure, a lot of the gadgets sportscars are equipped with now do make for a faster car round the track, but I can't help but feel you lose something by allowing the electronics to do the hard work for you. Meanwhile the more plebecite automobiles could probably stand to benefit a little from this as they could then advertise an attractively low price to get you into the dealership and upsell customers to the cars they actually want. LOL
    Last edited by jcp123; 02-17-2013 at 03:13 PM.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

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  14. #254
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    Agreed!

    Tactile feedback is what I want. That's why I've kept my 5 year old phone.

    Just curious, do you use a smart phone?

    I've kept my dumb phone and use my android phone as an iPod touch, as I have no data plan. I prefer it that way, my dumb phone gets better battery life anyway. Through use, I can dial away without even looking at my phone.

  15. #255
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    I do have an iPhone, but I swap now and then for my $20 Huawei cheapie. It's pretty much an unabashed ripoff of Nokia brick phones from early-mid 2000s.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

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