Maybe Infiniti will start offering the 400Z's 6MT in the Q50 as an option?

 

Isn't msrp on the current q50 400 hp something like $55-60K ? Seems over priced.

While I still love the MT, driving one in this area is just annoying. I had the sonata on a fairly long test drive on surface streets, including a little stop and go. It was quite smooth for a dct. That's kind of the best of both worlds. If this was a more open area then mt by all means.

 

If anything, then the Q60, not the Q50. But I wouldn't hold your breath for that to happen.

Might as well ask yourself why Infiniti never put the rev-matching shifter from the Z in the G 6MT. Some questions have no answers.

 

I'll admit, I don't even know what the difference is between the Q50/60 anymore. Haven't bothered to keep up with it lol

 

50 = sedan, 60 = coupe

 

The Sonata N line is a fun car, but being FWD with all that torque it is very easy to light up one tire, especially with anything even remotely resembling dust or rain on the road. But a very fun daily driver if that is your goal. If you don't mind driving up to WI we have discounted every N line we have had and guarantee our price to be the lowest in our 75 mile region, even 7 days after you buy the car. The only issue is inventory. We literally have less than 1/10th of the cars we usually have.

On a Hyundai related note, I just won the Hyundai National Walkaround Championships for the new Tucson and now I apparently get flown to Seoul, South Korea to represent the United States in the Global Championship. Crazy!

 

Congrats 4DRZ! Let me know how you get past the 14 day mandatory quarantine for SK.

 

I keep hearing about a rwd mazda 6 with an inline 6. Unclear if it'll be NA or blown. That should be an interesting vehicle. Some reports say late 2022.

I do hope mazda changes the interior a bit for the taller driver (6'). I can't sit comfortable in any of their current vehicles (cx5, cx9, 6). Same issue in all. My right knee is practically in the start button/center console. The older cars (pre 2017) didn't have as wide center consoles, also they didn't stick out as much either. So maybe this kia/hyundai inflated pricing is a blessing in disguise.

Re sonata vs k5. Reviewing the specs carefully, the kia seems more appealing. I absolutely hate the push button shifter on the sonata while the k5 retains a traditional lever. No leather seats, no 360 camera. Some other tidbits differ too.

 

Mazda6 with I6 news dropped around April of last year, and I don't see much on the interwebs after that. That Car & Driver article cited 2022, but then another article in November of last year said maybe by 2026. I think the car crisis of last year (and most of this one) probably delayed those plans, if not shelving them altogether. Shame too.

 

I thought you were making some kind of nuanced joke, but googled it anyway.

Wow. Congrats! My girls would kill someone for a trip to Seoul.

 

Lots of books I guess??? This could be an interesting trip... My guess is that the U.S. side of this competition did not read the fine print and it will end up being virtual like the first 4 rounds.

 

The whole international travel vax/no vax/pre-departure test/in-country test/mandatory quarantine anyway mess is keeping from making plans too. We'd like to go abroad late next year maybe... sigh.

I wanted to go to Tokyo Auto Salon this winter but looks like it will probably be cancelled or virtual only again. Got a friend I need to show some temples and a bunch of UpGarages around Tokyo to hit...

 

Was the Tokyo trip part of Road and Track? I saw they have an event planned there in Oct, but I believe the date was changing.

 

No. I first learned about it from Super Street back in the late 90s, and have kept an eye on it ever since. Neither time nor money to go, usually. Got over there during the 2007 one but couldn't get tickets (was there for something else, so no real loss, but still was bummed).

TAS is always in January. The R&T thing looks like it was mostly around Hiroshima and Aichi prefecture (Toyota City) culminating in the Japanese Grand Prix.

I might try to go with a car group or magazine group - however, most of those are package deals and really I only need a ticket to TAS. I know where to stay in Tokyo, how to get around, for damn sure how to eat, and many of the non-car cool stuff around Tokyo to do/see.

I've got a good friend and racing partner that has only been abroad to the middle east and we both finally have the scratch to go... not sure about the domestic credit (Bye honey, I'm going to Japan for a week! Have fun being a single mom for that long!) but that's a discussion that can be had.

Guessing 2023 at this point, given Japan's current issues with Covid, I don't see them welcoming tens of thousands of gaikokujin in prime flu season to their capital city.

 

That sounds like a fun trip, especially since you already know your way around the city. I would be lost especially since I don't speak Japanese. I picked up a lot of German and Italian for my European vacation 2 years ago so maybe Japanese is not so bad to learn? I focused on German since I figured it was very different from English and Italian seemed similar to Spanish which I can speak decently. So of course I later learned that nearly everyone in Germany speaks English, but hardly anyone in Italy does.

To get back on topic, the new Audi RS3 debuted and there was not much in the car world about it. I am curious about the new differentials and stability control to try to mitigate the fact that it has less than ideal weight distribution. One article I read said it would only be available in green or gray. I hope not.