myzmak
Advocatus Douchebagus. Sex Marxist.
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Drives: Lucy.
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Canada
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Garage List
2015 F80 M3[10.00]
2013 MB E350 Wagon[10.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz
My brother had an e63 wagon that he kindly lent to me whenever I visited him in a toronto (including some DEs). Cool car but definitely tough to fully max out.
Im not really going to do highway pulls to triple digits with my family and dog in the car, and would prefer to drive a more focused sports car if it’s a solo drive or track day, so e63 is sort of in a no man’s land for me.
After my brother’s ownership, a good friend bought the e63 and modded it to 700hp and he recently sold it (replaced with fast EV) since he never had enough chances to unleash the horsepower either.
The family hauler I am really interested in is the Lincoln aviator. Great towing specs and amazing mid century modern style interior. 400hp is enough for a family hauler, and competent but not sporty handling is ok.
Towing aside, I do like the size of the f31, and it’s 40mpg on the freeway (with awd) with “good enough” power. If the steering feeling was improved it would get pretty close to “perfect family hauling commuter” in my eyes.
Wait, are you saying I don't *NEED* a 600 hp grocery getter/hockey practice transport? 
Yeah, it is 100% ridiculous.
....which, of course, only makes me want it that much more 
Our E350 has been great for that. Has more than enough power to get us around with our gear at whatever speed I need to go. Frankly, unless you do serious tracking, nothing in the M / AMG / RS class is really necessary (or able to be fully tapped in any civilian scenario) but...I guess that is why most of us chumps spend our bucks on these cars. The illusion (delusion?) that, if I really ever needed to go 225 kph, I could. easily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcades
I think my issue with wagons is actually rather simple. I'm used to smaller cars. While I'm sure I can always get used to it but... I mean you don't see any young 30 year olds generally driving a car like a Panny (Panamera...) I don't think I can ever see myself in a RS6 Advant, no matter how much I like the styling.
I been saying I feel older now that I don't mind Audi styling as much unlike before. Hell, I even gotten used to seeing those damn Lexus running around.
I don't mind driving SUVs actually because after having a lowered car, it's almost heaven in able to just f*cking drive over everything instead of SLOWWLY angling into everything. >.>
I still see most SUV's on the road ahead of me studiously avoid every manhole cover on the road (dude: the ad that sold you that f*cking pathfinder showed it driving up a mountain and you are worried about a f*cking manhole?)
Proving my 100% absolute hypocrisy when compared to the reply I made just above to Nicknaz, one of the reasons I dislike SUVs is because there is a 0% chance that 99% of SUV owners actually use them for any of the offroading capabilities they are built/marketed to have. Nobody is fording any G.D. streams on their way into the office from suburban Atlanta.....
so the only real advantage they have is cargo capacity which, in most cases, a good wagon will meet/exceed.
Plus the SUVs drive like poop so, again, i'll take a wagon every time.
....I know i'm in the minority there...a passionate minority (as the Audi decision to bring the RS6 Avant over here shows) but definitely a minority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ntgarage44
Sounds to me like a Pontiac revival, kind of what Dodge is trying to turn itself into. Pontiacs used to cost more than Chevys, would be a pretty good opportunity to bring the brand back.
Interesting idea.
I wonder, though, if GM did too much damage to the Pontiac brand? By the end, Pontiacs and Chevys were literally just rebadged versions of the same cars with Pontiacs being *mildly* more interesting to look at but often somehow feeling just a little cheaper too....
I actually think to do it GM would need a whole new performance/premium brand. After 70 years, all their other brands are too entrenched.
Saturn was a go at a new brand - and it almost worked (a few of the cars, especially at the end, were more interesting to look at) but it still suffered from a general view of "GM cheapness".
To do it right, GM would have to make the cars not cheap. No plasticky parts, no 'good enough' compromises. But make them seriously high end. If that means they cost pretty much what the germans cost, so be it. But, as I said before, low prices usually suggest (to consumers) a compromise on quality. And if you want to establish a premium brand, cheap isn't how to do it.
(good examples of car companies doing this right are Toyota/Lexus and even Hyundai/Gensisis. I can't stand Lexi or Genises (to invent new ways of pluralizing them....) but I concede that nobody is going to think either of those is anything other than a premium brand now - and they did it building OFF existing brands and by not compromising on quality and, if they had to, charging for it)
The problem with the Detroit Troika is they still want to try to make their premium cars for everyman so to achieve that price point they sacrifice too much quality, and everybody knows it.
AND to circle back: if they try to do this in an existing brand (Pontiac), well, everyone associates it with cheapness so who wants to pay german prices for a 'cheap' brand?
(case in point: as I mentioned a few posts ago, we used to have a Passat W8 wagon. 8 cylinders of fun for a LOT less than what it would cost for a BMW / Merc / Audi. BUT relative to VWs? The W8 was expensive. So it flopped. As did the Phaeton. As a co-worker/buddy of mine used to say to periodically cut me down at work: "Myz, you have a $70,000 Volkswagen...." - and there was no replying to that because nobody CARED that it was a helluva deal for what it was. The brand image of VW wouldn't support it)
Anyway, what I am saying is if any car companies want to hire a middle aged corporate litigator to re-direct his career into criticizing their branding efforts, I can be reached at......
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Drivin' Lucy
