Why did you pick your current car?

[zoiks]

About 4-5 years back I was in the market for a bigger car than my 240sx since my parents were going to visit me and I needed a 4door. I went to the local auction here since I was interested in the Acura TL's they had. It was actually nice since I was able to check out all the different kinds of cars there from Mercedes, various BMW's to about anything else. I checked out the TL and decided it was too plain for me. I eyed this 2003 G35 sedan and sat in it. First thing I noticed was how heavy the doors were compared to other manufacturers. I really liked the inside and when I started the engine, I was sold. I loved the growl of the engine.
That hasn't been lost on me. After the G35, I bought a G37 coupe and love driving it everyday.

 

[exdeath]

AT Garage (not including myself) would totally expect that to happen. Remember how I said I expect my car to be able to handle shit like towing a trailer full of rocks up a hill and my argument was that the transmission should be able to deal with 100% of the engine's full power output for an indefinite period of time. Those weren't my exact words but that's basically what I said. ATG thought that was absolutely retarded and that it's perfectly reasonable to pair a 130HP engine with a transmission that can only handle that much power for an extremely short period of time.

Now you're totally blown away by the fact that a company would put in an AWD system that will break if it kicks in more than once every full moon. I totally understand your pain. If they put shit in a car, it should be able to run 100% of the time without screwing up.

As an electrical engineer, I would immediately be fired if I tried to incorrectly pair things like put a 100A fuse on a wire that only supports 50A, then blame the user when the thing starts on fire.

Then there is the real world. My car is supercharged, and despite have to pass a 300 hour dyno test at max power before being validated, should I expect it to handle that kind of heat and stress 24/7 at idle, cruising, etc, in a real car? Hell no. The engine may be built, but in the real world there is only so much radiator and coolant capacity, only so much fuel tank, etc. Why shouldnt the engine be made to last under those conditions every second of its life? Well for starters, in the REAL WORLD the 13 or so gallons of fuel would be gone in less than 2 minutes, so it's pointless to assume it wil ever even see those conditions in real life for more than a brief instant.

Likewise with the transmission. The cooling system for that car is not designed for towing 4000 lbs uphill all day, its designed intentionally for its intended use as a commuter car, which include periodic bursts of acceleration, not sustained heat soak.

Where did you get your engineering degree? You sound like a typical minimum educated academic who can't fathom that "negating wind resistance" and "non frictionless surfaces" mess things up in the real world.

 

[amdhunter]

I wanted something fun with a nice punch that looks good. RX-8.

 

[sdifox]

AT Garage (not including myself) would totally expect that to happen. Remember how I said I expect my car to be able to handle shit like towing a trailer full of rocks up a hill and my argument was that the transmission should be able to deal with 100% of the engine's full power output for an indefinite period of time. Those weren't my exact words but that's basically what I said. ATG thought that was absolutely retarded and that it's perfectly reasonable to pair a 130HP engine with a transmission that can only handle that much power for an extremely short period of time.

Now you're totally blown away by the fact that a company would put in an AWD system that will break if it kicks in more than once every full moon. I totally understand your pain. If they put shit in a car, it should be able to run 100% of the time without screwing up.

As an electrical engineer, I would immediately be fired if I tried to incorrectly pair things like put a 100A fuse on a wire that only supports 50A, then blame the user when the thing starts on fire.

Err, your problem is very distinct from mine. Please do not confuse the two.

 

[vshah]

2007 civic Si

reliable
<22k OTD when I got it, with summer tires and navigation
34mpg highway
fun to drive
seats 5
seats fold flat and i can squeeze in all possessions (-furniture) when i have to move.

46k miles on it now, still look forward to driving it every weekend.

 

[FeuerFrei]

1993 Toyota Corolla

It was 1997 and I had never owned a car before. I wanted a reliable, quality product with low cost of ownership with room for potential family. The paint color sealed the deal. I could not have picked a better car. So glad I didn't spring for a Tercel.

 

[Zap]

Simple question. There are lots of cars similar to yours, so why did you pick yours? Was it the transmission? The brand name? The look?

Major considerations:
power/performance
manual transmission
4-door sedan

Minor considerations:
AWD
understated look (few people want to race me, cops don't give undeserved attention)

Because people leave me alone for the same reason small animals don't try to intimidate bigger animals.

Oh, I don't know. My wife commented about people (usually some ricer) always wanting to race her when she's driving her 2011 WRX.

For her, she wanted something to replace her Mazda 3s that was more powerful, had a manual transmission and AWD, yet retained the small car feel (light/nimble). WRX was on the short list.

So glad I didn't spring for a Tercel.

LOL!

 

[HybridSquirrel]

How are those spiders treating your mazda6?

 

[Zap]

How are those spiders treating your mazda6?

Don't have any. It is a Mazdaspeed 6, which were made in 2006 and 2007 only. () Not part of the recall.

 

[jlee]

AT Garage (not including myself) would totally expect that to happen. Remember how I said I expect my car to be able to handle shit like towing a trailer full of rocks up a hill and my argument was that the transmission should be able to deal with 100% of the engine's full power output for an indefinite period of time. Those weren't my exact words but that's basically what I said. ATG thought that was absolutely retarded and that it's perfectly reasonable to pair a 130HP engine with a transmission that can only handle that much power for an extremely short period of time.

Now you're totally blown away by the fact that a company would put in an AWD system that will break if it kicks in more than once every full moon. I totally understand your pain. If they put shit in a car, it should be able to run 100% of the time without screwing up.

As an electrical engineer, I would immediately be fired if I tried to incorrectly pair things like put a 100A fuse on a wire that only supports 50A, then blame the user when the thing starts on fire.

Shens.

Tell me about 12V power
There's a lot of cool shit to plug into these 12V slots. Right now there's a sale on heated car seats and they are only $9 each at a local store. I would like to get 2 of them but my Corolla says it can only do a maximum of 120W from ALL outlets. What happens if I go past that? Does it just blow a 10A fuse or does it cause much more significant damage?

Assume I bypass that limitation and put a 20A fuse where the 10A should go. Does this go way beyond the car's abilities or just a little beyond? Would Toyota use ridiculously small wires that just barely can handle 10A or would the wires likely be oversized and could easily handle 20A?

Would it be easy to resize the stuff for more power or would it be a complicated mess?

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Don't have any. It is a Mazdaspeed 6, which were made in 2006 and 2007 only. () Not part of the recall.

ohhh...the spiders just want you to think that.

 

[ShawnD1]

Shens.

Joke's on you. The fuse actually did blow in that Corolla. When I took a look at the electrical panel, I saw that it uses a 25 amp fuse. I was considering using a 20A fuse in that thread, and the Toyota guys were already two steps ahead of me by using a 25A fuse.
You own a toyota of your own, so you can easily check this. On the electrical layout, your 12V adapter is the one labeled "ACC-B" and it's a 25A fuse.

Feel free to look at my other post history. I've also posted long essays about 3 phase motors, power distribution, autocad, and traffic signaling.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Ohmmmmmmmmmmm Ohmmmmmmmmm

 

[Lakedaimon]

Daily driver is an 04 Taurus with 108k on the clock. Was dirt cheap at the time as Ford was clearing them out prior to launching the new 500, and I got A Plan.

Weekend car is a Challenger R/T. Of all the cars out there it was the one I really wanted the most, so I made it happen.

 

[Fenixgoon]

2010 hyundai genesis coupe 2.0T R-spec. had looks/handling/performance/price i wanted. someone at my work got a brand new genesis coupe track in the same color as me though (another person has blue which i don't mind, plus it's a base model )

 

[HybridSquirrel]

2010 hyundai genesis coupe 2.0T R-spec. had looks/handling/performance/price i wanted. someone at my work got a brand new genesis coupe track in the same color as me though (another person has blue which i don't mind, plus it's a base model )

didnt pony up for the 3.7l? I wasn't impressed by the 2.0t to be honest....glad you like it though.

 

[DominionSeraph]

As an electrical engineer, I would immediately be fired if I tried to incorrectly pair things like put a 100A fuse on a wire that only supports 50A,

Ah, but slow blow fuses exist. If the circuit can handle 80A surge and I put a 50A slow blow because 50A is all the circuit can handle continuously, are you right to complain that pulling 80A continuous will break the circuit?

 

[Asharus]

Oh, I don't know. My wife commented about people (usually some ricer) always wanting to race her when she's driving her 2011 WRX.

For her, she wanted something to replace her Mazda 3s that was more powerful, had a manual transmission and AWD, yet retained the small car feel (light/nimble). WRX was on the short list.

LOL!

How does your wife like the WRX? I just picked one up myself. What other cars did she consider? I love the damn thing, coming from a 2001 BMW 540i/6.

 

[shortylickens]

2003 S-10 ZR2.
Mostly cuz I didnt want something as fragile as my previous Protege 5 hatchback, which was decimated when a V-10 Econoline hit me at 10 MPH.
Say what you will about small pickups, mine has already taken much more abuse in the form of accidents and offroad bumping than the Protege, and survived with minor damage.

Also I thought I would be camping and such a lot more often than I actually did. Living in Oregon you would think I'd enjoy the countryside. No such luck. My job made me tired and miserable and I never camped, only went to the beach once or twice, and didnt really enjoy the 4 wheel drive so much. In snow its useless because of the poor traction. By the time I got chains the winter was over.

I did manage to use it a couple times in Virginia (Reddish Knob for camping) but the road trip is so long and the fuel economy is so crummy it costs me over a hundred bucks just to get out and back.

Will be turning it in one day for a small efficient Japanese car, and pray I dont get hit again.
But I need money and/or job to get a loan, which I dont have right now.

 

[Zap]

didnt pony up for the 3.7l? I wasn't impressed by the 2.0t to be honest....glad you like it though.

I think the intent with the 2.0t was for the tuner crowd.

How does your wife like the WRX? I just picked one up myself. What other cars did she consider? I love the damn thing, coming from a 2001 BMW 540i/6.

She loves it. Alternates were cars like the Forester XT, BMW 328ix, Audi A3.

This coming Thursday I'm bringing it in to the dealer to install the subwoofer. it is a dealer installed option that wasn't available when we got the car.

Can't wait to switch out the snow tires for the original ones soon. We haven't even driven it on the original ones. It was snowing on the day we took delivery and we brought a set of four snow tires mounted on aftermarket wheels to have installed before driving with Summer tires on the snow (turned out to barely be enough snow to stick, but better safe than sorry).

 

[RU482]

2004 Chevy Impala. Bought in september 2007 for $4500. Prior salvage but good condition, right color, moonroof, sport appearance package, ~42k miles. Too cheap to pass up.

Judging by what non-refurb 03-05 impalas are selling for locally, I could probably sell it today for just a little less than what I bought it for, with (now) 85k on the clicker.

It's been paid off so long, it's hard to part with.

 

[BabaBooey]

Because I wanted a dodge ram 4x4 pickup and I had enough money in my hand to buy it and now the vandals will not fuck with it and do not have to worry about dents or someone wanting to steal it....like my last 3 vehicles.....

I love my old ram 4x4 just not digging the $3.90 / gal thing now.....

I got 3.91 gal. for $20 tonight.....

 

[herm0016]

09 gmc 1/2 ton

i like to explore and i have a pickup truck camper. i like the looks and interior quality of the GMC the best out of the other 1/2 ton trucks. very solid drive train and a good price. I get pretty good mileage and have good off road capability with the camper installed. I only wish i had the 6 speed auto instead of the 4 speed. ohwell... i just spend $77 to fill it up today. boo.

 

[Aikouka]

I was looking for a car that had decent comfort and also a bit of balls for a good price. Not exactly something you tend to find together . I considered some of the higher-end WRX STis, but I'd end up paying close to $40k, and I was hoping for closer to $30k.

I ended up with an '07 Nissan Altima 3.5SL, which was the first year of the new redesign. I wasn't (and still am not) a fan of the headlights and taillights on the sedan (the coupe looks fine), but meh... it wasn't enough to make me not buy the car.

I believe in '08 is when they redesigned the Maxima, and frankly... it actually looks really nice. That and the fact that newer Altimas have an option for a factory installed HDD-based music system (mine is disc-based)... it's always a bummer when you find your car is out of date .

 

[cherrytwist]

Needed a car by the end of the month. Mine needed some work and it was more beneficial to buy new (especially at these interest rates) or I wouldn't have even considered a new (to me) car.

Was driving a 2003 VW GTI 20TH AE 6-spd, 1.8T until Thursday (which I hated to part with). I decided on an A4 2.0T after test driving half a dozen models.

My wife drives a convertible and had driven a sedan for years prior, so it was my turn to get a sedan. I wanted something that had decent performance and between $20-$25k, yet still comfortably would seat 4 adults, possibly 5.

I was reluctant after driving a 2009 GTI 5-door 2.0T. It was a lot of fun to drive, but lacked the fit and finish of the Audi. Not to mention, size was a factor and it didn't have a lot of features (paddle shifters, leather, sports suspension) the A4 has. Same with the 2010 Accord, 2011 Jetta TDI. Also drove the CC and Passat, but still none of the cars compared to the Audi (for the money). Same could be said for the 2009 Acura TSX.

The car just has the right "feel" and I'm excited about the potential after a few minor upgrades (tuning program, wheels and tires, possibly brakes and struts).

The only thing I'm dead set on is tint and the tuning program, at this point. The fact that it is tunable was definitely a selling point. It had been something I'd wanted to do with the 1.8T but never did due to the hassle. Things have changed a lot in the auto world in 8 years...