That's interesting because I have been trying to justify a new Z in my garage too since I could keep the G as my daily driver/kid hauler, my wife could still have her Rogue, and the 3rd spot in the garage would be for the Z. It seems to make more and more sense to me. Unfortunately, I fear my somewhat practical side may win out and I end up getting something to replace the G that is entirely in another performance category, but still every day useable like a new CT4-V Blackwing, next gen STI, next gen RS3, next gen M2, etc, etc. I am really looking forward to the releases of all of these cars as well as some others. Did VW officially release the new Golf R yet? It was originally supposed to debut at the Goodwood festival of speed, but I don't think it was even though the event was delayed a few months.

 

I've long been on a 3rd car plan, and honestly, even a 370Z has some appeal.

Officially, no, but most of the specs have been leaked. 306 hp, DSG only.

 

Saw and rode in a nicely kept FX35 the other day - that would seem to fit the bill. Shame they quit making it, and what Infiniti makes now doesn't have the same panache as the early 2k cars.

 

I love the FX, particularly with a V8 under the hood. Rare as hens' teeth, though.

 

As rare as a G37 6MT sedan?

 

I'm thinking more rare than that.

https://carbuzz.com/news/the-v8-powe...iti-ever-built

Interesting. I didn't know about the FX50.

 

Having this week off has given me plenty of time to watch every worthwhile episode of Motortrend's Ignition and Head 2 Head. Lots of cool cars to consider for a next vehicle, but I was reminded of just how good the original M2 was. Surprisingly, it seems to have better steering, turbo feel, and exhaust compared to the newer competition model. Great news since it will always be less expensive. Motortrend actually likes the car better than the M3/M4 and the performance numbers are very similar to the ATS-V. Hmmm... how interesting. The only real complaints seem to be a tight suspension and for me maybe the lack of back doors. However, I think it will probably ride no worse than my current set up and I remember there being a shocking amount of room in the back seat for me. My daughter would just need to be old enough to climb in.

Anyway, this has led me down an M2 research wormhole reading every road test, build sheet options list for every year, and performance upgrades from all of the tuning companies. (I now consider myself an expert if you have any M2 questions. ) If the rear seat is ok for my daughter to get into, I think this car could be a real contender for me. Has anyone else had this issue with coupe back seats and how old do your kids generally need to be to climb in? My daughter just turned 2 and climbs all over everything so we cannot be too far off.

All this being said, I am still going to try to wait for the next gen M2, CT4-V Blackwing, STI, Golf R, Z, RS3, and maybe that mid-engine Hyundai to be released. Not to say I would not be temped if the right M2 came along. I also just noticed that Sparco makes seat rails for this car so the Sparco seats in my G37S would bolt right up. Nice!

 

You guys know that I like the Alfa Stelvio, (against my better judgement, mind you). In that theme of luxury crossovers, you know what made me sit up and take notice this morning?

This guy... from Genesis. Wow.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...gv70-revealed/

 

Looks good and all, but it says it's built off the G70 platform, so why not just go for the better handling car version?

I guess this means your off the Jaguar F-Type kick?

 

LOL, Lego. This is going to sound really lame, but... I turn 57 in a few months, and I'm really feeling it. As much as the heart wants the Jag, these old bones would rather sit in luxury and space.

Either could happen, really. Here's more back-story: my wife and I had the "next car" discussion recently, and we both agreed that since I'm barely driving the G, and since it's a damn near perfect car according to my stated values and the modifications I've done to it, and (this one is big) since both girls will be in college next year... it's likely I'll be keeping the G for at least 3 or 4 more years.

We have less than a year before her Subby is paid off, and will still have 50k miles left on the 10/100 warranty, so that added to a keep-the-G policy would mean zero car payments while paying for University. It's hard to argue with the math.

 

Then you can really splurge on your 60th!

 

That doesn't sound lame at all. You're a decade ahead of me on both age and having 2 kids in college, so I totally understand the changing priorities. That's why I'm moving the pieces I am now to setup a 3rd car, cause I bet the math will be pretty similar for me in 10-12 years. Besides, as was already mentioned, there is always your 60th

 

I think that is going to be a very interesting car indeed. I just got the brochure on this on Tuesday and the amount of features is surprisingly good.

 

You know, with the disappearing manuals and the numbing-down of most vehicles... an argument to keep your G is not a bad one.

If creature comforts and tech matter more than performance, then that is a different argument. I can see both sides.

Luckily (sadly? Not sure) my kiddo has another 10 years before college, which puts me at 58 when she goes off to school - I'm not sure I can keep the G in good shape that long. Especially with my work travel - seems recently I've been driving all over the darn state for work at least 2x a week. Making up for not starting it at all between March - May, I guess.

Hard to guess where I'll be when the G is worn out, financially and otherwise. I should have a company car next year so that will cut the mileage on it quite a bit, assuming changes to the legal landscape don't put us out of business altogether.

But my track history says I'll be driving the G to her graduation. Except for the car immediately before the G (which was an emergency-$2500-need-car-now buy) I've kept my previous cars 8-10 years each.

 

Luckily, Nissan put the 3.7 in everything for almost a decade; so picking up a replacement motor and keeping the party going with the G37 isn't a crazy option.