Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[MoneyGuy]

Any advice on how to get a good deal on a brand new Toyota hybrid RAV4 or similar Lexus without going through a dealer? I hate buying cars and am not good at it. It’d be brand new because we keep our cars for many years; it won’t be financed. Years ago I used a service where for a fee they find the vehicle you want at a dealer. I just went in and picked it up. I enjoyed that. I realize that delivery of a hybrid would take at least a year. (Odd or not odd that as I type this a Lexus ad is on the bottom of my iPad screen.)

[Sliver]

Got the summer wheels on my G80. Niche Essen M147. There are soooo few options for wheels that work with this car it's unbelievable. Most tire shops just gave up and were like: here's three super lame options, now GTFO. Tire Pirates came through and found these, which I really like. Ordered them in and test fitted them before mounting the tires so make sure I'd be happy.

Big improvement over the factory wheels IMO. Love how concaved the rears are in particular. I know black wheels are played out for so many people, but I've been making my wheels black long before it was in style. First car I did was my '84 Pontiac Acadien back in 1992 - took the wheels off and spray bombed them black. This is a look I can't not love:









Update on owning a Genesis for those curious: still can't believe all this car has to offer. Occasionally, I've thought it would have been fun to have gone to a smaller car like the S3 or a MK7.5 Golf R, but 80% of the time this is the car I want to be in. The comfort is so rad and every time I drive a car without rear steering I get pissed off now. That feature is so damn awesome for low-speed maneuverability. I don't notice it as much at high speeds TBH.

Self-driving tech is still amazing. I can just lean back and smoke my fake cigarette all the way home. I don't care if traffic sucks. The car handles it all for me.

[photon]

Very nice. Yeah the backs have a really nice concave to them, I love that look.

[Erick Estrada]

Genesis North finally has their own facility attached to Country Hills Hyundai. Much nicer service when dropping of your Genesis. They actually gave me a new G60 EV loaner while the GV70 was being serviced and I was quite surprised by how much I liked it.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Genesis North finally has their own facility attached to Country Hills Hyundai. Much nicer service when dropping of your Genesis. They actually gave me a new G60 EV loaner while the GV70 was being serviced and I was quite surprised by how much I liked it.

Sweet, my car is due for service in 1000kms. I still have concierge service for another couple years, so I probably won't set foot in there, but hopefully they drop off an EV for me to try out in a month or two when they have my car.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Sweet, my car is due for service in 1000kms. I still have concierge service for another couple years, so I probably won't set foot in there, but hopefully they drop off an EV for me to try out in a month or two when they have my car.

We have that as well but I always ask for a loaner as I don't want a dealership schmuck driving our vehicle across the city. I'm perfectly fine driving around a new loaner for a day.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

We have that as well but I always ask for a loaner as I don't want a dealership schmuck driving our vehicle across the city. I'm perfectly fine driving around a new loaner for a day.

Fair enough.

I feel like such a big shot when they come pick up my car and drop a new one off. Doesn't bother me. I do make sure they don't wash it, though. Have a dash cam, too, in case I suspect shenanigans.

[photon]

Lol would a 5 year old Maserati Ghibli be the worst idea? Like money pit bad?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by photon

Lol would a 5 year old Maserati Ghibli be the worst idea? Like money pit bad?

Probably. I don't know how different it is from the older Quattroporte in terms of reliability and repair costs but I've been contemplating a Quattroporte for many years now but I'm afraid of going broke owning it. YouTube has scared me away from the car but my heart says that I need it.

[photon]

I just put new front breaks and control arms onto my 2011 CTS Coupe, last year had a misfire issue and a few other things.. starting to cost 2-3k a year so starting to think about how long I want to keep it.

I just like having cars that are a little less common and the Ghibli looks really cool.

Though I guess you could argue you could take a more common car and make it less common with paint and wheels and such, but I'm a fan of stock/understated.

Maybe I'll just wait until Sliver is ready to swap out his G80 (though doesn't really scratch the less common itch as much).

[woob]

When do we get the Sliver Rascal with blacked out wheels picture?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by woob

When do we get the Sliver Rascal with blacked out wheels picture?

Dude, I just picked up a dual motor belt driven skateboard. Each motor is 850 watts, so a total of 1700 watts of power on a 20lbs skateboard.

It has four speed levels and I haven't even been able to get it off the second level. I was getting speed wobbles, but I picked up some harder truck bushings last night, so hopefully that'll help smooth it out. It's a fricken rocket.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Dude, I just picked up a dual motor belt driven skateboard. Each motor is 850 watts, so a total of 1700 watts of power on a 20lbs skateboard.

It has four speed levels and I haven't even been able to get it off the second level. I was getting speed wobbles, but I picked up some harder truck bushings last night, so hopefully that'll help smooth it out. It's a fricken rocket.

Maybe there are some downsides to universal healthcare...

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Dude, I just picked up a dual motor belt driven skateboard. Each motor is 850 watts, so a total of 1700 watts of power on a 20lbs skateboard.

It has four speed levels and I haven't even been able to get it off the second level. I was getting speed wobbles, but I picked up some harder truck bushings last night, so hopefully that'll help smooth it out. It's a fricken rocket.

A guy I know has one and he says it goes 35km/hr. That sounds ridiculously fast (and fun as long as you don't crash!).

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Slava

A guy I know has one and he says it goes 35km/hr. That sounds ridiculously fast (and fun as long as you don't crash!).

This one does 52, but I can change a setting to go 60. That's bananas fast and I'll never do it. I mostly want the torque for going up steep hills (like Banff up to Tunnel campground or whatever). I also want to see if it'll do this super steep hill out of Fish Creek Park. If it can do that I'll be amazed.

I'm def not too cool for a helmet, but please keep me in your prayers.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Dude, I just picked up a dual motor belt driven skateboard. Each motor is 850 watts, so a total of 1700 watts of power on a 20lbs skateboard.

It has four speed levels and I haven't even been able to get it off the second level. I was getting speed wobbles, but I picked up some harder truck bushings last night, so hopefully that'll help smooth it out. It's a fricken rocket.

Originally Posted by Slava

A guy I know has one and he says it goes 35km/hr. That sounds ridiculously fast (and fun as long as you don't crash!).

My teenage son has a long board with hub drive motors. It can top 35km/hr. He's eaten #### a few times already, but thankfully wears his helmet and the knee/elbow/wrist pads he got for Christmas. He also has headlights and flashing red rear lights that double as actual brake lights (decelerometer sensors).

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Sliver

This one does 52, but I can change a setting to go 60. That's bananas fast and I'll never do it. I mostly want the torque for going up steep hills (like Banff up to Tunnel campground or whatever). I also want to see if it'll do this super steep hill out of Fish Creek Park. If it can do that I'll be amazed.

I'm def not too cool for a helmet, but please keep me in your prayers.

haha, 60km/hr is hilarious! Really though, how is that even legal? That's just asking for trouble.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Slava

haha, 60km/hr is hilarious! Really though, how is that even legal? That's just asking for trouble.

It's preposterous. I was playing with it tonight. I set it to maximum without anybody on it. I floored it and it did a big burn out then a bunch of donuts. It's totally unsafe. I can't imagine it's legal. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. I got up to 28 tonight as I'm getting more comfortable. Going twice that fast seems like a really bad idea.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Sliver

It's preposterous. I was playing with it tonight. I set it to maximum without anybody on it. I floored it and it did a big burn out then a bunch of donuts. It's totally unsafe. I can't imagine it's legal. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. I got up to 28 tonight as I'm getting more comfortable. Going twice that fast seems like a really bad idea.

Some of the numbers I've seen of people doing long boarding down a hill in like shorts and t-shirt are eye watering. At least your thing I think there's an easier way to stop. I have no clue how someone would stop a long board on a hill going 80+ kmph.

[Bill Bumface]

I find 50 km/h on a mountain bike utterly terrifying, and that's with full suspension and wheels like 100 times larger in radius. That thing is one unexpected crack in the road from a life altering injury.