Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[Table 5]

Not sure if it was ever recalled for rust, but the Mercedes Sprinter sure should've been. The white commercial-spec vans especially have had some pretty massive corrosion issues.

[Brendone]

Originally Posted by D as in David

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who evaluates the vehicles before deciding which lane to use.

I don’t typically pick and choose my lanes, as it doesn’t usually gain you much, but there are certain vehicles I will go out of my way to not be behind. Toyotas are worth the effort. Either terrified to be on the road, or “my turns in 5k, so no point racing to get up to speed.”

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by D as in David

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who evaluates the vehicles before deciding which lane to use.

I avoid being behind Corollas wherever possible. Nothing against the cars themselves but their target demographics are very conservative drivers, a lot of them older folks who sloth around corners.

Camrys are for Corolla drivers who have a few more coins to rub together.

[Table 5]

Always gotta look out for the "Camry dent", and give those cars a wide berth.

Same thing with Toyota Echo drivers, dent or no dent.

[Sliver]

I avoid any small Chev SUV product...Trax, Equinox...like, whatever weird small thing is their latest attempt at competing against actual good vehicles. People who buy those DGAF.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

"Goddamn ####in' ####ty Japanese steel!" is the one phrase I remember from that effort.

If you want this to be even funnier, imagine it being said in the voice of the City Wok guy from South Park.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

I avoid being behind Corollas wherever possible. Nothing against the cars themselves but their target demographics are very conservative drivers, a lot of them older folks who sloth around corners.

Camrys are for Corolla drivers who have a few more coins to rub together.

Walking into a Toyota dealership at times can be akin to walking into an old folks home. Those elderly drivers probably played a large role in the Camry Dent/Camry Corner phenomenon. I imagine a lot of seniors were crushed a few years back when Toyota finally discontinued offering beige paint.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

If you want this to be even funnier, imagine it being said in the voice of the City Wok guy from South Park.

He's also the mechanic that left me with this pearl of automotive wisdom, as he tried to perform an alignment on a 70's Porsche. "####in' Porsches! Nothing but a glorified Volkswagen!"

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Brendone

I don’t typically pick and choose my lanes, as it doesn’t usually gain you much, but there are certain vehicles I will go out of my way to not be behind. Toyotas are worth the effort. Either terrified to be on the road, or “my turns in 5k, so no point racing to get up to speed.”

I just bought a Toyota and was shocked at how many had rear end accident damage on the carfax reports.
Highlander drivers get rear ended a lot apparently.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Walking into a Toyota dealership at times can be akin to walking into an old folks home. Those elderly drivers probably played a large role in the Camry Dent/Camry Corner phenomenon. I imagine a lot of seniors were crushed a few years back when Toyota finally discontinued offering beige paint.

I think Lexus is way worse. At least with Toyota there's the Tacoma, 86, Supra, Sienna, etc. that attract younger buyers so it's a bit more of a youthful feel in the showrooms. Plus there are many nice Toyota dealerships in Calgary.

Walking into Lexus is crazy. The cars are so out of date, the showroom looks like a Hyundai dealership from 1998 and the salespeople just look deflated. It gave me the heebee jeebies.

I know some people like Lexus, but at my size none of them fit and I just think they're so blah. As soon as I'm around them I just start feeling sleepy.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Ha ha. I actually knew about that but it slipped my mind. Japanese in general have always struggled a bit more with rust especially compared to the German vehicles.

I think there was something around tighter environmental controls on paint in Japan that caused automakers there to struggle a bit.

But the steel - holy hell. Our Japanese car dents if you look at it. Our German car can take a thwack that leaves you fearing the damage, only to see that it's fine.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think Lexus is way worse. At least with Toyota there's the Tacoma, 86, Supra, Sienna, etc. that attract younger buyers so it's a bit more of a youthful feel in the showrooms. Plus there are many nice Toyota dealerships in Calgary.

Walking into Lexus is crazy. The cars are so out of date, the showroom looks like a Hyundai dealership from 1998 and the salespeople just look deflated. It gave me the heebee jeebies.

I know some people like Lexus, but at my size none of them fit and I just think they're so blah. As soon as I'm around them I just start feeling sleepy.

I've always been a Toyota fan (those 90s MR2s, Previas and 4Runners left an impression), but was never a huge fan of the Lexus for much of the same reason's you mentioned. Then I bought my LX470, and I gotta say, I get the appeal now. Maybe it's because I'm past 40 now and getting softer (and all my other cars tend to be sporty enthusiast cars that often have issues to be sorted), but there's something really nice about having a car that's relatively luxurious, well built, and that you can fully rely on. My LX is 21 years old, still feels more solid than most new cars I try, and I have no hesitation driving this thing across the country tomorrow.

It's not an enthusiast brand by any means, but it does have its bright spots. You can still get a NA 8-cylinder in the IS, the new GX looks great (although not loving the turbo 6), and driving the Lexus LC500 left enough of an impression that I considered selling my 911 for one (if it had a stick, I would've done it too)...it's still in my top 5 cars to own one day.

Yeah it's driven by old people and real estate agents...but compared to MB and their cheeseball screens and purple lights, or BMW and they're ugly-everything, I'll take a Lexus.

Oh, and Lexus salespeople are not deflated...it's almost the opposite, they are too confident. They know that there is an unending line of people who will buy their cars, so they don't really have to try. As long as Lexus doesn't screw up their formula, they'll keep coming too.

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I avoid any small Chev SUV product...Trax, Equinox...like, whatever weird small thing is their latest attempt at competing against actual good vehicles. People who buy those DGAF.

Oh yeah, Pontiac Sunfires get a wiiiiiide berth from me. They have negative value so another scrape along the side is probably adding value, like Gerry Cheevers drawing another line on his mask.

[Table 5]

Are there even any Pontiac Sunfires left? I remember every college-aged girl used to have them back in the day..but can't recall seeing many these days. They were some of the ugliest cars of that era...especially in that ugly burn-orange color GM used to love in the early 2000s.

[BloodFetish]

I still see the occasional Sunfire on the road. Maybe this is another BC coast thing, where General Winter hasn't killed them all off.

[Table 5]

They may still be around here too...perhaps I just blocked them out.

[photon]

My first new car was a nice bright red Pontiac Sunfire GT! Channeling my inner college girl.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I've always been a Toyota fan (those 90s MR2s, Previas and 4Runners left an impression), but was never a huge fan of the Lexus for much of the same reason's you mentioned. Then I bought my LX470, and I gotta say, I get the appeal now. Maybe it's because I'm past 40 now and getting softer (and all my other cars tend to be sporty enthusiast cars that often have issues to be sorted), but there's something really nice about having a car that's relatively luxurious, well built, and that you can fully rely on. My LX is 21 years old, still feels more solid than most new cars I try, and I have no hesitation driving this thing across the country tomorrow.

It's not an enthusiast brand by any means, but it does have its bright spots. You can still get a NA 8-cylinder in the IS, the new GX looks great (although not loving the turbo 6), and driving the Lexus LC500 left enough of an impression that I considered selling my 911 for one (if it had a stick, I would've done it too)...it's still in my top 5 cars to own one day.

Yeah it's driven by old people and real estate agents...but compared to MB and their cheeseball screens and purple lights, or BMW and they're ugly-everything, I'll take a Lexus.

Oh, and Lexus salespeople are not deflated...it's almost the opposite, they are too confident. They know that there is an unending line of people who will buy their cars, so they don't really have to try. As long as Lexus doesn't screw up their formula, they'll keep coming too.

I hate the brand. Largely because I'm too large for them. My dad bought a 1997 LX450 new and I recall being outraged the seat didn't go back far enough for me to be comfortable enough to drive. Like...Chevettes have more room. Lexus has carried on that tradition of being too small for decades. Fk that ####ty company hah.

But yeah, Mercedes and BMW are temporarily dead to me since I don't like sitting in a disco ball. You'd think I would, come to think of it, since my garage is basically set up like that with lasers, LEDs, fog machine, strobe, literal disco ball, etc. As it turns out that vibe doesn't translate well to the interior of a vehicle for me.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think Lexus is way worse. At least with Toyota there's the Tacoma, 86, Supra, Sienna, etc. that attract younger buyers so it's a bit more of a youthful feel in the showrooms. Plus there are many nice Toyota dealerships in Calgary.

Walking into Lexus is crazy. The cars are so out of date, the showroom looks like a Hyundai dealership from 1998 and the salespeople just look deflated. It gave me the heebee jeebies.

I know some people like Lexus, but at my size none of them fit and I just think they're so blah. As soon as I'm around them I just start feeling sleepy.

The two cars currently on my will buy list if I ever win the the lottery are both Lexus

The new gx550 over trail +, and the LC500. And if I can get those I might be lucky enough to get on the list for the new LFA replacement.

I love those two or 3 Lexus models. They deserve more attention.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by dammage79

The two cars currently on my will buy list if I ever win the the lottery are both Lexus

The new gx550 over trail +, and the LC500. And if I can get those I might be lucky enough to get on the list for the new LFA replacement.

I love those two or 3 Lexus models. They deserve more attention.

You could just get a 4Runner instead of the GX. Same thing, no lottery required.