Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[terrytek]

2 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

Yeah but the demand isn't large enough to justify the cost of getting them cleared for import and sale.

but toyota and nissan and even honda have manufacturing plants here. they could do some R&D and maybe make an american friendly wagon that they can sell here.

[chaozbandit]

12 minutes ago, terrytek said:

but i still think car manufacturers can make money selling wagons in america. they are still very practical here.

 

10 minutes ago, terrytek said:

convince the people that wagons are good and practical. i mean you've got ads you can use to spread the word that wagons are good.

 

They may be practical, but theres no sense in dumping money into a segment where you're likely to become a loss leader due to a lack of demand. Not taking the second-hand market and imports into consideration, let's look at what the market is actually buying (as of April 2016)

 

 

As you can see, most people still prefer the good ol' sedan, van or SUV (or truck), with the crossover market showing healthy growth. This is no doubt a result of the trend that cars like the XV Crosstrek started, and more recently the growth that Porsche saw following the launch of the Macan in that all the other manufacturers saw global demand for that area, and are now tailoring their product lines to better suit that trend (as well as applying refreshed corporate updates to their existing product)

 

Of course there are many other factors to look at when it comes to buying new, but an accumulated list made for the case of a new wagon would struggle to get it greenlighted - let alone make it a volume mover.

 

At least, not in the face of the recent boom in hot hatches.

[terrytek]

1 minute ago, vinyldash303 said:

What do they have to offer the market over Volvo and Scoobaru?

they're more practical and they're known for excellent reliablity.

[AlwaysFSX]

3 minutes ago, terrytek said:

convince the people that wagons are good and practical. i mean you've got ads you can use to spread the word that wagons are good.

Nah. Y'all want to complain about trucks being impractical for most people but the same goes for wagons. Not the best for handling based on wheel location, you can't put a ton of stuff in them, and they're large and take up space. One of the reasons why CUVs got so popular is because they aren't annoyingly long, and this is completely ignoring hatchbacks.

 

If you want one, import one.

[terrytek]

man i kinda wish there was a reversing trend and people actually start to see the good in a wagon. in a perfect world, it could happen. but maybe idk wait 20-30 years it could happen. i mean look at crossovers. 20 years ago, they were terribly bland and underpowered. now they still are (to me), but everybody seems to be buying one.

[chaozbandit]

4 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Nah. Y'all want to complain about trucks being impractical for most people but the same goes for wagons. Not the best for handling based on wheel location, you can't put a ton of stuff in them, and they're large and take up space. One of the reasons why CUVs got so popular is because they aren't annoyingly long, and this is completely ignoring hatchbacks.

 

If you want one, import one.

You know, I had actually completely glossed over the fact that Mitsubishi made wagons until I saw one in person last year. Granted, the base car is still a MY08-ish Lancer but still - was pretty neat.

 

But yeah speaking of wagons versus crossovers, if you compare the sales of the 3-series touring versus the X1 - I'm guessing the X1 moved more units. And having spent two years with an X1 x28i (through a close friend), I can honestly say it accomplishes most of the stuff a wagon would, while being relatively fun to drive, and having decent ground clearance (minus a bit of cargo volume).

[chaozbandit]

Speaking of X1s, for some reason I thought nobody would bother stancing it. Then again, I've met a guy who dropped $80K for a custom SQ5 (ordered direct from Germany) then dropped another 20K on custom paint, wheels, and suspension so what do I know.

 

[terrytek]

4 minutes ago, chaozbandit said:

You know, I had actually completely glossed over the fact that Mitsubishi made wagons until I saw one in person last year. Granted, the base car is still a MY08-ish Lancer but still - was pretty neat.

 

But yeah speaking of wagons versus crossovers, if you compare the sales of the 3-series touring versus the X1 - I'm guessing the X1 moved more units. And having spent two years with an X1 x28i (through a close friend), I can honestly say it accomplishes most of the stuff a wagon would, while being relatively fun to drive, and having decent ground clearance (minus a bit of cargo volume).

ugh i guess it looks like wagons are sticking to the luxury segment, and even those are far and few. the only luxury sports wagon seems to be the mercedes e63 wagon. bmw hasn't put an m5 wagon stateside since the e34. the e39 m5 wagon was a concept that never made it to production, and the e60 m5 wagon never made it here. and the audi rs6 never made it stateside, though the s4 and s6 did come as wagons in america, for like 3 years.

[chaozbandit]

Also here's a trailer for the new Captain America movie that is cleverly disguised as an ad campaign for the new 2017 Audi Q7. I had to tell you beforehand, because there was no way you could tell it was a car ad from the start. /s

 

 

 

On a side note, Black Panther seems pretty neat.

[AlwaysFSX]

[terrytek]

3 minutes ago, chaozbandit said:

Also here's a trailer for the new Captain America movie that is cleverly disguised as an ad campaign for the new 2017 Audi Q7. I had to tell you beforehand, because there was no way you could tell it was a car ad from the start. /s

 

 

 

On a side note, Black Panther seems pretty neat.

man why is it every country except america gets good car ads? all the car ads here in america suck ,especially nissan. they're so fucking unrealistic. its like the advertising department is so uncreative.

[bcredeur97]

28 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

Take the old one out and put the new one in

Gosh I wish things were that easy.

[chaozbandit]

3 minutes ago, terrytek said:

ugh i guess it looks like wagons are sticking to the luxury segment, and even those are far and few. the only luxury sports wagon seems to be the mercedes e63 wagon. bmw hasn't put an m5 wagon stateside since the e34. the e39 m5 wagon was a concept that never made it to production, and the e60 m5 wagon never made it here. and the audi rs6 never made it stateside, though the s4 and s6 did come as wagons in america, for like 3 years.

I don't know about the states, but Mercedes-Benz Canada is launching the W205 C-Class Wagon this year. Still its only available in a C300d trim (diesel, 200hp, 370 torque) but its AWD and gets air suspension as an optional upgrade. I really liked it when I sat in it, but its no doubt a move to try and combat BMW with their 328xi Touring (which I also sat in, and liked).

 

 

Buuuuut they're not cheap. Then again, nothing in Canada is.

[terrytek]

1 minute ago, chaozbandit said:

I don't know about the states, but Mercedes-Benz Canada is launching the W205 C-Class Wagon this year. Still its only available in a C300d trim (diesel, 200hp, 370 torque) but its AWD and gets air suspension as an optional upgrade. I really liked it when I sat in it, but its no doubt a move to try and combat BMW with their 328xi Touring (which I also sat in, and liked).

 

 

Buuuuut they're not cheap. Then again, nothing in Canada is.

nope. apparently america hates diesels in anything other than a lifted truck.  oh  and i did forget about the 328xi estate. i forgot they sold that in america too.

[vetali]

6 hours ago, FuzzyYellow said:

the FR-S really should've come with the 2GR-FSE instead of the boxer. 

Lol that motor would be insane in that car. Shame that its stuck with a subaru motor. 

[terrytek]

1 minute ago, vetali said:

Lol that motor would be insane in that car. Shame that its stuck with a subaru motor. 

yeah, but do you want to be stuck with a fwd car? because most, if not, all, of toyota's motors are built for fwd/4wd applications.

[vetali]

2 minutes ago, terrytek said:

yeah, but do you want to be stuck with a fwd car? because most, if not, all, of toyota's motors are built for fwd/4wd applications.

Hmm, yeah I'd take a FWD vehicle over a subaru motor if forced. I wouldn't even think much about the BRZ/FRS now with the ND out if I was in the market for that type of car. 

[AlwaysFSX]

My mom once had an 1100cc bike, omfg.

[FuzzyYellow]

12 minutes ago, terrytek said:

yeah, but do you want to be stuck with a fwd car? because most, if not, all, of toyota's motors are built for fwd/4wd applications.

the 2GR-FSE is for RWD cars. the 2GR-FE is the FWD/AWD version.

 

the GR line is the successor to the MZ, JZ, and VZ 6 cylinder motors according to wikipedia.

[terrytek]

8 minutes ago, FuzzyYellow said:

the 2GR-FSE is for RWD cars. the 2GR-FE is the FWD/AWD version.

 

the GR line is the successor to the MZ, JZ, and VZ 6 cylinder motors according to wikipedia.

really? that's the successor to the legendary jz? i'm quite unimpressed. as much as v6s are pretty cool in their own way. i feel like toyota should have continued the trend with the straight 6 tbh.

[chaozbandit]

Watching this vid makes me happy. Cant wait to go back to my home track next month (first visit of the season).

 

 

[FuzzyYellow]

12 minutes ago, terrytek said:

really? that's the successor to the legendary jz? i'm quite unimpressed. as much as v6s are pretty cool in their own way. i feel like toyota should have continued the trend with the straight 6 tbh.

you do realize that a supercharged 2GR is used in the Lotus Evora right? It is one of the most underrated engines in production currently IMO.

[vetali]

13 minutes ago, terrytek said:

really? that's the successor to the legendary jz? i'm quite unimpressed. as much as v6s are pretty cool in their own way. i feel like toyota should have continued the trend with the straight 6 tbh.

It has more power than an NA 2j. Its one of the smoother revving v6s out there if you're worried about that as well. 

[FuzzyYellow]

5 minutes ago, vetali said:

It has more power than an NA 2j. Its one of the smoother revving v6s out there if you're worried about that as well. 

also better fuel economy and torque as well. 

[terrytek]

22 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

I really like straight 6s but packaging gets to be a bit of a consern length wise

but i actually really like cars with long noses. the bmw e39. even though the m5, which i dearly love, has the v8, the 530 and below get the straight 6, and the proportions just look right.

 

11 minutes ago, vetali said:

It has more power than an NA 2j. Its one of the smoother revving v6s out there if you're worried about that as well. 

ok maybe it's i'm just used to the v6 in my minivan, which does feel like crap, and i keep assuming every v6 out there is trash. i assume v6s have improved massively over the years. since the v6s of 10-20 years ago were seriously anemic.