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Dead of winter, 20°F out, but the pavement is clear. Found myself in my G, stopped in traffic next to a perfectly clean, brand new BMW M4 Vert (hard-top up, duh). Odd car to see in the winter. Not a car that I want, but still... beautiful.
A few minutes later I'm on the highway slowly passing traffic around 65 in a 55, and drove by a Tesla Model 3. A moment after it fell past my line of sight he burst forward and took off like a slingshot, silently and without any effort. Just pure acceleration without any drama.
Wow.
Anyway, it made me think about the crazy performance of electric cars like that, and I've come to realize something. I actually like the drama. I like the noise and the grunt.
This is exactly my problem with the Tesla and pretty much any electric car in general. I couple years ago I was actually considering buying a used Model S, so I test drove a P90D model and although the acceleration off the line took your breath away I still came away from the test drive feeling extremely bored. Almost like the car was driving me and not the other way around. I drive because I enjoy it and to really enjoy it I need that visceral feeling that you just don't get out of an electric car. Things like intake & exhaust noise, hard up-shifts, a little throttle blip on downshifts make a car worth driving for me...That said, if I was buying a car purely for transportation purposes then I would highly consider a the new Porsche Taycan or Tesla Model S (possibly the Model 3 if I could get over the economy car looks and terrible interior ).
Some of the rumors I have been reading seem to indicate it won't be a massive overhaul but rather an incremental one, which imo would be kind of disappointing. If that's the case I would expect it to be like what they did to the GT-R and overhauled the interior and front/rear end but left all the sheet metal the same. Probably that, coupled with the red sport motor.
At this point anything is possible, but that would seem strange. The 350Z came out in 2003 and the 370Z came out in 2009 and the 370Z was completely different after only 6 years. I think Nissan would have some pretty disappointed customers if they made us wait 11 years for just a mid-cycle refresh.
Originally Posted by RobC7
I wouldn't say the underlying issue is dumb kinds but it definitely doesn't help it's case.
Which year did you have? I enjoyed flogging them around whenever I had a chance to but each time I kept wanting more. More power, more sideways action, more refinement.
The last Subaru I bought new was an '09 STI. It was a great car and finally handled well after I literally replaced every single bushing in the suspension and steering, but I agree that it is wholly outclassed by much more basic cars today. The problem with that car is that it still has essentially the exact same engine and tech. it had when it debuted 16 years ago... Talk about long in the tooth.
Originally Posted by Rochester
Anyway, it made me think about the crazy performance of electric cars like that, and I've come to realize something. I actually like the drama. I like the noise and the grunt.
I thought the same thing when I had a Nissan Leaf. It was much faster than you would expect, but it lacked noise and involvement. I keep hearing about auto companies working with stereo companies to try to make performance cars that sound good, but I think it will be a while before that disconnect between sound and action gets tightened up.
Originally Posted by TheDevilsG
Teslas are quick but i just find them so bland to look at. I could never do it. I really dislike those cars. The only tesla i ever liked was that first roadster (in 2008 i think?) It looked cool, the front almost looked like a shrunken down Nsx and the rear kind of like a Lotus exige. I got to walk around one in a parking lot back then and talked to the owner. It was a unique little car.
The original Tesla started life as a Lotus Elise so you are dead on with your thoughts about the rear styling.
Originally Posted by RobC7
After picking up the G37S I got the sudden urge to own a e90 m3 with a 6 speed. If the G37S is good, how much fun would a 4 door e90 with a v8 must be? I wish the newer models were still available with a v8.
I cross shopped an E90 M3 with the 6spd. when I got the G37, but oddly you need to rev the snot out of that car to make it go anywhere. The V8 sounds great, but it really lacks torque. I had an E46 M3 and the E90 just felt slow and heavy until you revved it to within an inch of its life. Also the rod bearings go out on that car so be prepared to spend $1,500+ right after getting it.
That is my favorite M5 and the exterior styling has aged extremely well like the E46 M3. The interior is pretty dated now, but it is still a really fun car to drive around town. The last one we had at my store a few years ago felt a lot like driving my car with all of the mods. It just goes to show you how far ahead of its time this car was. I think you remember the comparison in Road & Track between this series of M5 and the Chevrolet SS.
I'm really considering going back to the E39 world. Man, I miss that car so much. I'd LS or 2JZ swap an E39 for reliability purposes. Was a perfect car, no BMW made after it drives as good or handles as good that and the E38/E46 in my opinion.
I'm really considering going back to the E39 world. Man, I miss that car so much. I'd LS or 2JZ swap an E39 for reliability purposes. Was a perfect car, no BMW made after it drives as good or handles as good that and the E38/E46 in my opinion.
Were the vanos issues with that M5's V8 as easy to fix as the E46 M3 or did it have other issues?
I'm pretty sure those V8s still had tons of issues. I knew a guy who had 2 of them at one point and every other week he was telling me about how he had to replace this, fix that, etc.
Were the vanos issues with that M5's V8 as easy to fix as the E46 M3 or did it have other issues?
Takes the same amount of time with both. I believe even the trims below the M5 and M3 were still hard to repair. There's a lot of services that repair vanos for a much lower price now, since resources are plentiful. You can even ship them to folks now who will fix it along the pixelated odometer messages. If you want a trouble-free E39 M5, there are people who had theirs tuned and built by DINAN and had no issues whatsoever even with vanos. They used to put on superchargers on M5s, and made about 620 hp with 502 ft/lb of torque. Bullet-proof cars that would match the reliability of the Japanese. Don't know if they'll still work on E39s today, the company is still around but went underground back in the early 2010s. Not popular with the new kids who only care about M, M, and M.
Originally Posted by TheDevilsG
Those old 850s were cool too. V12, 6spd, and pop up headlights
Very sexy cars. Especially in black. Just wish they made more power. Even when they came out it wasn't enough compared to rivals at the time. Still would love to own one.
Very sexy cars. Especially in black. Just wish they made more power. Even when they came out it wasn't enough compared to rivals at the time. Still would love to own one.
The 2020 does it justice in my oppinion.
I wish the New G looked more like this. Make the headlights vertical, slap an infiniti logo on it and call it a day!
I have been thinking about the Audi RS3 lately and if I could manage to give up the manual for a DSG, incredible acceleration, AWD, fold down rear seat, etc. Still seems like a compromise.
Anyway, I remember a while ago APR mentioned bringing out a stage 2 and stage 3 tune in the future. I checked their website today and stages 2 and 3 have been released and stage 3 produces 740 hp!?! I don't know that I would ever take it that far, but holy sh*t, 9 second quarter miles!?! Definitely one more thing to add to the "plus column" for the Audi RS3 list. https://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_u...ea855_evo.html
This is exactly how I would get an RS3- red with the black optic package.
The interior with the red stitching and carbon trim on the dash is not a bad place to be.
Dropping into the Mid $40s now for used 2018 models. If anyone was interested in a GTR but was unable to buy due to the price; or didn't want to shell out a small fortune for a ten year old model with 70k+ miles, the RS3 has got to be the closest to it in terms of performance for the dollar.
You really like the color red 4DRZ, like with the ATS-V. I don't blame you. If the paint is done right, red is stellar. Not many companies have good red colors from factory, best to see one in person.
Dropping into the Mid $40s now for used 2018 models. If anyone was interested in a GTR but was unable to buy due to the price; or didn't want to shell out a small fortune for a ten year old model with 70k+ miles, the RS3 has got to be the closest to it in terms of performance for the dollar.
My thoughts exactly about the RS3 being a nice replacement for the GT-R, but with newer tech, fit/finish, etc. 4 doors and a fold down rear seat is definitely a plus for me. I'll wait to see the next gen RS3 to be sure and hopefully they improve the handling too. But it already looks like a good buy on the used car market.
Originally Posted by Joyryde
You really like the color red 4DRZ, like with the ATS-V. I don't blame you. If the paint is done right, red is stellar. Not many companies have good red colors from factory, best to see one in person.
You got me! And I have only owned 1 red car before. I like black a bit better on the ATS-V and the dark blue on the M3. Sometimes green looks rad, but that is pretty rare. I also like black on the RS3, but it took a while to narrow it down to red with the black optic package because I also think the standard brushed aluminum looks cool too. Who knows? Ask me tomorrow and my answers will probably be slightly different.
Talking about all of these 4 doors reminds me of a question I have been meaning to ask all of you parents- How old do your kids have to be before you consider a coupe again instead of a 4 dr? I would definitely wait until my daughter can climb into my car and into her car seat, which is probably not too far off since she is walking quite a bit now, but I don't know if it is still a huge pain to buckle them into a coupe.
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