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[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022122]In theory, Saab isn't exactly dead, they still sell the Saab Gripen.
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen[/url]
...which can still taxi down a highway if you so choose so.[/QUOTE]
Yes, but try writing it in, with Lt. Nark arriving at a crime scene. It doesn't really quite work so well...
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022125]Yes, but try writing it in, with Lt. Nark arriving at a crime scene. It doesn't really quite work so well...[/QUOTE]
You'd get so many bonus points if you show up at Radwood in a Saab Viggen though...
Well...
[IMG]https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,pg_1,q_80,w_800/18qtp67ibksu9jpg.jpg[/IMG]
It is not a 37, but it is a 93.
Couple things to bring up in this thread.
Hertz, one of the largest rental car companies in the US is dead. No surprise. No travel from airports = no one renting cars.
Honda also cut back on a lot of their cooler offerings. The Honda Fit, Civic coupe and manual versions of the Accord 1.5 and 2.0 turbo are gone.
I'm not surprised, but disappointed as I wanted to get one of Honda's more recent offerings with a stick. Right now I might end up with a manual Subaru, but we'll see. Haven't gotten paid yet so I'm holding back on a purchase.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022129]Well...
It is not a 37, but it is a 93.[/QUOTE]
Haha, Saab was so quirky and cool back then, even under GM ownership.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022153]Couple things to bring up in this thread.
Hertz, one of the largest rental car companies in the US is dead. No surprise. No travel from airports = no one renting cars.
Honda also cut back on a lot of their cooler offerings. The Honda Fit, Civic coupe and manual versions of the Accord 1.5 and 2.0 turbo are gone.
I'm not surprised, but disappointed as I wanted to get one of Honda's more recent offerings with a stick. Right now I might end up with a manual Subaru, but we'll see. Haven't gotten paid yet so I'm holding back on a purchase.[/QUOTE]
Well the Jazz is still available here but only as a Hybrid. I was never too interested in it.
I like the concept of the Civic Type R SportLine or whatever is called, you know the one with the smaller wing, higher profile tyres and more sound insulation. It still too boy racer for me, but a step in the right direction nontheless.
We won't get it, but the Honda e looks great. I think it's probably the best interior that I've seen in years.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022162]We won't get it, but the Honda e looks great. I think it's probably the best interior that I've seen in years.[/QUOTE]
Man is drinking the Sochiro Kool Aid.
Yeah it's a cool little car. Hopefully we keep the Fit in the great white north it's been good to family and friends.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022158]Well the Jazz is still available here but only as a Hybrid. I was never too interested in it.
I like the concept of the Civic Type R SportLine or whatever is called, you know the one with the smaller wing, higher profile tyres and more sound insulation. It still too boy racer for me, but a step in the right direction nontheless.[/QUOTE]
Strange it's hybrid only, seems like other variations would make more sense- petrol or diesel. Does Spain get kei cars too? I feel like it would be helpful in narrow streets.
The Civic Type R Sport Line doesn't exist here, it would be nice. Restraint is not one of its strong points.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022162]We won't get it, but the Honda e looks great. I think it's probably the best interior that I've seen in years.[/QUOTE]
I think one of the many reasons why the Honda e isn't here (crash regulations, power, charging infrastructure, price, etc.) is that it has cameras for mirrors, which is a major issue for federalization. From what I remember, side view mirrors [I]must[/I] be mirrors.
Mirrors aside, I don't see why it can't be a regular mirror. Must be super expensive to replace. Heavy too.
[QUOTE=Kitdy;1022163]Man is drinking the Sochiro Kool Aid.
Yeah it's a cool little car. Hopefully we keep the Fit in the great white north it's been good to family and friends.[/QUOTE]
I'm trying to weigh my choices now again, as I may finally be able to get a car.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022162]We won't get it, but the Honda e looks great. I think it's probably the best interior that I've seen in years.[/QUOTE]
Love the e, but it is far too expensive.
It is probably the iPhone of cars.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022164]Strange it's hybrid only, seems like other variations would make more sense- petrol or diesel. Does Spain get kei cars too? I feel like it would be helpful in narrow streets.[/QUOTE]
Nope, no kei cars for us. They are too small an underpowered. Even for Europe!
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022207]Love the e, but it is far too expensive.
It is probably the iPhone of cars.
Nope, no kei cars for us. They are too small an underpowered. Even for Europe![/QUOTE]
Funny you should say that, BMW made the Isetta which is far smaller than any kei car and that was ok? I'd feel safer being in a crash while driving a kei car than any Isetta.
Yes well... we have [I]progressed some[/I] since the war...
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022215]Funny you should say that, BMW made the Isetta which is far smaller than any kei car and that was ok? I'd feel safer being in a crash while driving a kei car than any Isetta.[/QUOTE]
The Mini (the small one) was in part a reaction to those "bubble cars" (very different than the Japanese bubble-era cars...) whose popularity increased following the fuel shortages caused by an Anglo-French proxy war fought by the Israelis in Egypt... The Mini successfully showed that foul, two-stroke greenhouses-on-wheels were not the only way of cheaply perambulating. You could squish yourself, your spouse, and your legless children into a Mini with a modest amount of luggage while still achieving commendable mileage and driving dynamics, no thanks to the hoary and senile Austin A-series engine. Anyway... Minis, Golfs, and a whole load of intermediate rubbish later convinced the Yurps that they "needed" real cars (not [I]real[/I] cars: those have V8s, carburetors, and an aging Boomer behind the wheel) and their growing prosperity, as the war years faded to memory, allowed them to indulge this "need".
The Japanese, with their government subsidies and minimizing tendencies, continued in the vein of the [I]keijidosha[/I] to the present day. To my knowledge, the only foreign car to meet the requirements was a version of the Smart ForTwo sold nowhere else in the world.
I hope you've enjoyed my history of why Europeans drive real cars, but not [I]real[/I] cars, and why the Japanese do not.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022220]Yes well... we have [I]progressed some[/I] since the war...[/QUOTE]
I disagree; I can find no evidence suggesting that the Ford Ecosport was sold to the European public in 1945. It is now, [I]ipso facto[/I] Europe has regressed.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022224]I disagree; I can find no evidence suggesting that the Ford Ecosport was sold to the European public in 1945. It is now, [I]ipso facto[/I] Europe has regressed.[/QUOTE]
Meh, we all hated that so we got the Puma in exchange exclusively for ourselves.
What did you get in exchange? A front wheel drive retro-styled CUV which pillages Ford's nostalgia back-catalogue?
I have little idea what Ford sells here beyond the Mustang and F-Series... Maybe the aforementioned Mercury Sable.
Mustang, F-150... and Mercury Sable would be quite lineup for Ford.
We should lobby them to cancel everything else they make.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022230]I have little idea what Ford sells here beyond the Mustang and F-Series... Maybe the aforementioned Mercury Sable.[/QUOTE]
Have you seen the EcoSport?!
Wow!
Worse, we get to have the Mustang Mach-e electric crossover. It's like the forum's least favorite things mashed together.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022231]Mustang, F-150... and Mercury Sable would be quite lineup for Ford.
We should lobby them to cancel everything else they make.[/QUOTE]
It covers all their bases: trucks, vee-eight modors, and loopy Ontarians.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022235]Worse, we get to have the Mustang Mach-e electric crossover. It's like the forum's least favorite things mashed together.[/QUOTE]
I am trying to think of a more cynical car on sale and I cannot. Maybe if Great Wall or someone made a copy of the Mach-e that would unseat it.
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022236]It covers all their bases: trucks, vee-eight modors, and loopy Ontarians.
I am trying to think of a more cynical car on sale and I cannot. Maybe if Great Wall or someone made a copy of the Mach-e that would unseat it.[/QUOTE]
You know, even the iconic V8 I think is only in the Mustang. Everything else is Ecoboost V6 and I4. Ford is quickly turning into Mitsubishi. I can't name more than 5 of their offerings off the top of my head if you kill off the sedans.
Escape, F-150, Explorer, Mustang...?
[QUOTE=f6fhellcat13;1022236]It covers all their bases: trucks, vee-eight modors, and loopy Ontarians.[/QUOTE]
Why, though?
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022238]You know, even the iconic V8 I think is only in the Mustang. Everything else is Ecoboost V6 and I4. Ford is quickly turning into Mitsubishi. I can't name more than 5 of their offerings off the top of my head if you kill off the sedans.
Escape, F-150, Explorer, Mustang...?[/QUOTE]
This thread made me think a lot about Ford's lineup; I even went to their website.
To quote a wise man: Not good!
Then I was like, its OK, they are a conglomerate. They have... Lincoln.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]437038[/ATTACH]
Oh. Stagnation.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022238]You know, even the iconic V8 I think is only in the Mustang. Everything else is Ecoboost V6 and I4. Ford is quickly turning into Mitsubishi. I can't name more than 5 of their offerings off the top of my head if you kill off the sedans. [/QUOTE]
There are still V8s in tthe F-Series. Maybe not on the 150 but on the others. In fact Ford makes a 445 cubic inch big block V8 for the Super Duty. I wonder if it fits under the bonnet of the Mustang...
[QUOTE=Kitdy;1022239]This thread made me think a lot about Ford's lineup; I even went to their website.
To quote a wise man: Not good!
Then I was like, its OK, they are a conglomerate. They have... Lincoln.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]437038[/ATTACH]
Oh. Stagnation.[/QUOTE]
The European Ford lineup is the one you want. You get all of the American Fords you want (i.e. the Mustang), with none of the ones you don't want (i.e. all of the others).
Plus you get all of the Fords you want, you know the ones with handling and whatnot.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022241]There are still V8s in tthe F-Series. Maybe not on the 150 but on the others. In fact Ford makes a 445 cubic inch big block V8 for the Super Duty. I wonder if it fits under the bonnet of the Mustang...[/quote]Or the EcoSport...
[quote]The European Ford lineup is the one you want. You get all of the American Fords you want (i.e. the Mustang), with none of the ones you don't want (i.e. all of the others).[/QUOTE]
Yeah the Euro lineup is enviably well balanced. I'd say we actually had a better lineup than you folks a few years ago, just in the breadth of choice, but not no more.
[QUOTE=Kitdy;1022239]This thread made me think a lot about Ford's lineup; I even went to their website.
To quote a wise man: Not good!
Then I was like, its OK, they are a conglomerate. They have... Lincoln.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]437038[/ATTACH]
Oh. Stagnation.[/QUOTE]
Ford US has relied on only one model at a time for a while; the idea of a "lineup" seems anathema to the numbers creeps at corporate headquarters. Going back through my lifetime, those cars are:
Taurus
Explorer (one of my least-favorite vehicles ever made)
F-150
They have, in that time, also done well with fleets with the Crown Vic joining the cars above and the Fusion supplanting the Taurus at some stage and then back to the Taurus. The last five years, before the Great Purge/liquidation-of-everything-that-isn't-an-SUV, were the closest they got to an actual lineup. They had small cars that were about the equal of the Japanese and Koreans, medium sedans that were leagues better than their American competition and not much worse than the imports, the Taurus for those without taste that must buy bad cars, a host of forgettable, but cheap, SUVs catering towards the previous audience, and the evergreen F-Series selling 4.5 quintillion units per annum to the hat-but-no-cattle crowd.
Oh look, all those cars were made available immediately prior to the 2013 peak in the stock... After allowing its models to rot on the vine for the last half-dozen years, so too the stock has withered.
Less the F-150, I don't think the SUVs or the fleet sales are enough to keep them afloat. I also don't think the Bronco will make as big of a splash as they hope. I see it more like the Mustang; good for their public image and always in the black, but not contributing greatly to their bottom line. This doesn't seem like the healthiest place to be, no wonder their stock is doing poorly.
Also: apparently the EcoSport is sold here? What the **** is that about? Why is there no Lincoln EcoLTD Mk.IX?
As an unrelated aside, why are all of the European-designed vans that we get made of such flimsy steel? I've seen three and four-year-old Transits and Sprinters at home (bone-dry Southern California) with holes rusted into them. Do they degrade like that in Europe? Is there some Chicken Tax-style regulation that states imported commercial vehicles must be bodied in cheese?
[QUOTE=Kitdy;1022239]Why, though?
This thread made me think a lot about Ford's lineup; I even went to their website.
To quote a wise man: Not good!
Then I was like, its OK, they are a conglomerate. They have... Lincoln.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]437038[/ATTACH]
Oh. Stagnation.[/QUOTE]
I completely forgot about the pickups!
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022241]There are still V8s in tthe F-Series. Maybe not on the 150 but on the others. In fact Ford makes a 445 cubic inch big block V8 for the Super Duty. I wonder if it fits under the bonnet of the Mustang...
The European Ford lineup is the one you want. You get all of the American Fords you want (i.e. the Mustang), with none of the ones you don't want (i.e. all of the others).
Plus you get all of the Fords you want, you know the ones with handling and whatnot.[/QUOTE]
Repeat, I completely forgot about the pick ups! That's how many F's I give about pickups. When they look like tractor trailers parked next to my small crossover, you know they're way, way too big.
Stagnation for sure! The EDM Ford lineup is infinitely more interesting than the American one. I really liked having the Focus RS here on this side and now we have nothing. It was nice to have the Golf R, WRX STi and the Focus RS duking it out.
Ford is financially the most sound US automaker, but is that solely because of the F150? I hope they have some other cars to sell when the market gets saturated with SUVs and pickups and the economy is bad.
Wait what, they cancelled all their cars? Oops.
Well, you still have the Mondeo... although I think it is on its way out soon. I suppose this also means no more Mondeo for us either...
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022250]Well, you still have the Mondeo... although I think it is on its way out soon. I suppose this also means no more Mondeo for us either...[/QUOTE]
Is the Mondeo the Fusion? That stops production this year.
Yes, I think they are the same car, except that we don't get any of the powerful engines, have diesels and a 5 door liftback and estate model.
Ours is built in Valencia, I think.
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022263]Yes, I think they are the same car, except that we don't get any of the powerful engines, have diesels and a 5 door liftback and estate model.
Ours is built in Valencia, I think.[/QUOTE]
Good to know.
What's a Spaniard (Catalonian?)'s view on Seat? Right now I just see it as an appendage to VW, but did it ever make bespoke cars at the beginning?
Seat made Fiats under license from the beginning and they only made one "bespoke" car in the impasse between Fiat and Volkswagen, the Mk1 Ibiza (which was anyway based on the Ritmo floorpan).
As for their reputation? Affordable family car with a small twist on sportiness, and usually regarded as something Spanish chavs/rednecks would drive in the case of FR and Cupra versions (although the latest Cupras are far too expensive for that...)
[QUOTE=Ferrer;1022268]Seat made Fiats under license from the beginning and they only made one "bespoke" car in the impasse between Fiat and Volkswagen, the Mk1 Ibiza (which was anyway based on the Ritmo floorpan).
As for their reputation? Affordable family car with a small twist on sportiness, and usually regarded as something Spanish chavs/rednecks would drive in the case of FR and Cupra versions (although the latest Cupras are far too expensive for that...)[/QUOTE]
Interesting... reminds me of offshoots of GM, maybe Oldsmobile or Pontiac. Started off with a few bespoke models and then became a shell of itself, maybe earlier.
Harry Metcalfe has an obvious concern about the all electric X5. Range anxiety.
[url]https://youtu.be/k15n6QAe8cE[/url]
I could have told you that based on the review he had earlier.
California moves to ban internal combustion engine cars by 2035.
[url]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/climate/california-ban-gas-cars.html[/url]
Seems like California has bigger fish to fry, like the pandemic and the fires, but sure, let's go ban cars by 2035 with no real change in alternative fuel infrastructure.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022382]California moves to ban internal combustion engine cars by 2035.
[url]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/climate/california-ban-gas-cars.html[/url]
Seems like California has bigger fish to fry[URL="https://farmvillefreak.com/mass-effect-andromeda-mods/"],[/URL] like the pandemic and the fires[URL="https://farmvillefreak.com/alternatives-to-rabbit/"],[/URL] but sure[URL="https://iriveramerica.com/best-nfl-streaming-sites/"],[/URL] let's go ban cars by 2035 with no real change in alternative fuel infrastructure.[/QUOTE]
I think this is great step by California Governor Gavin Newsom toward environment friendly usage of vehicles. I really appreciate[URL="https://farmvillefreak.com/best-fallout-4-weapon-mods/"].[/URL].[URL="https://androidcompare.com/the-sims-4-challenges/"].[/URL].
With the way cars are dying and moving to SUVs, I fail to see the attractiveness of an EV Hummer.
[url]https://youtu.be/YvvWHDsIQ-c[/url]
I can't wait to lose charge in the middle of nowhere. For all intents and purposes, this is a gussied up mall cruiser.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022469]With the way cars are dying and moving to SUVs, I fail to see the attractiveness of an EV Hummer.
I can't wait to lose charge in the middle of nowhere. For all intents and purposes, this is a gussied up mall cruiser.[/QUOTE]
Ditto... can't wait for it to be embraced as a clean Brodozer, 'cause, you know,[I] Bros[/I]. All for electric trucks but even [I]saying[/I] EV Hummer feels like an oxymoron.
[QUOTE=csl177;1022470]Ditto... can't wait for it to be embraced as a clean Brodozer, 'cause, you know,[I] Bros[/I]. All for electric trucks but even [I]saying[/I] EV Hummer feels like an oxymoron.[/QUOTE]
The ultimate flex for the people who want to drive an anti-coal roller. It's kind of funny actually. For those who want to save the world but find a vehicle that is not meant to be aerodynamic.
Anyone have any thoughts on the SSC Tuatara and the supposed top speed of 331 mph? I think it's a fake as if they were really serious about it, they would have released GPS telemetry data like Koenigsegg did when they went 300 mph. They're a less established car company and really need that extra publicity especially during times of a recession. I would have posted it in the SSC Tuatara thread but the forum thread searcher can't find it. I swear there was a thread on it made already.
Any thoughts on the UK banning gasoline powered cars by 2030?
I think it's incredibly short sighted, but hey what do I know.
[QUOTE=NSXType-R;1022592]Any thoughts on the UK banning gasoline powered cars by 2030?
I think it's incredibly short sighted, but hey what do I know.[/QUOTE]
Isn't that just banning the purchase of new gasoline powered cars?
Anyone following the Stellantis merger? Fiat with Chrysler and Peugeot? Sounds like Malaise era part 2 cars. More like merde honestly.
Personally, although I hate for storied car brands to die, it doesn't make sense to badge engineer unless you're only selling one version of it per country introduced.
No surprises here- the SSC Tuatara actually only made it to 282 mph, not the 331 that they claimed.
[url]https://jalopnik.com/ssc-tuatara-took-another-pass-at-the-top-speed-record-a-1846141653[/url]