The Automobile Thread

When I bought a TJ Rubicon I shopped for a while until I found one that was built up exactly as I would do it--4 inch lift, 35's, antirock sway bar, winch, all the armor, etc. That jeep was such a beast offroad, but it was brutal driving it to the trails! By the time I got home from driving it to and from Big Bear and spending the day on the trails, I was beat up. My body is too wrecked for that vehicle so I sold it during covid for more than I paid. Built up my Tundra which I've been able to take on some great trails in CA and Utah, but the wheelbase is too long for many jeep trails. I had a Bronco reservation but after driving a few couldn't wrap my brain around how much they cost. I know 60-80K+ is the new norm for SUVs and p/u trucks, but I'd rather save the $ and retire earlier so I can mtnb more!

 

The JL is definitely a much more "refined" 4x4. It is still a Jeep, it will never be a smooth rolling SUV, but it is very easy to drive (in stock form at least).

And I do love how it is a convertible. I was driving it recently and the weather was reasonable. I was expecting rain but there wasn't any when I clocked out. Half way home at a red light I popped the top open and enjoyed the open air the rest of the way.

 

I’m happy with the hard top, i can’t just pop the top at a red light, but the removable panels have been a reasonable compromise. I saw that bestop has a mini-ragtop for just the front seats. Yet another accessory…Jeep is just the best at the accessory game.

 

In the market for a new car and found this on bringatrailer.com
I’m being hopeful but pretty sure it will go above my budget. 6 days left on the auction and it’s only at 20K. I’m guessing 80-90K

 

"They don't write songs about Volvos..."




When you left this town, with your windows down
And the wilderness inside
Let the exits pass, all the tar and glass
'Til the road and sky align
The strangers in this town
They raise you up just to cut you down
Oh Angela it's a long time coming
And your Volvo lights lit up green and white
With the cities on the signs...

 

They're boxy, but they're good


All hail the prancing moose!

 

Their sedans haven't been "boxy" since 2000 when the S60 and then S40 were introduced with contemporary styling. When the S60 first came out, I considered it one of the most aesthetically pleasing sedans on the market - rivaling the BMWs of the era. We bought an S60R in 2006 - fast, but for some reason the turning radius seemed to lack a full rotation, making three point turns into parking spaces damn near mandatory. Unacceptable - so we traded it for an XC70 wagon - to this date, one of the best vehicles we ever owned.

 

You'll have to forgive the obscure Crazy People reference, given the movie was in 1990 it was pretty much on the money at the time!

I'm a bit of a closet Volvo fanboi. Something like this P1800 with modern Volvo running gear is close to perfection for me.


I got to visit Volvo in Gothenburg once for my old job. Their cars are like the city, hewn out of rock.

 

Fantastic on that P1800

 

edit: nvm, I see that's actually the exact car you posted. carry on.

For a mere $750K you can have just that.

 

That road looks familiar.

 

I loved the 850 wagon we had!!

 

I was puzzled by why it needs 39 pounds of boost to make 420 (flywheel?)hp. Then after scrolling...and scrolling....and scrolling to the bottom of Cyan's endless announcement for the car, saw that it has direct injection. That makes me suspect that both the engine's power and rev ceiling is fuel system-limited. Not what I would expect for three quarters of a million dollars.

GDI technology at this point is limited by how much fuel can be pushed through a GDI injector during the injection window and how well it can be finely sprayed. There is really only 180° of crank rotation time available out of 720 (so ~25% duty cycle) and that time shrinks rapidly as RPM climbs. Ye olde port injection has no concrete injection window. It allows for throwing fuel on the back of an open or closed valve and holding the injector open 100% of the time. It's a bad idea to exceed ~85%, but 100 is totally possible.

 

Time to unload our 2021 Atlas - purchased in July 2020. We tried. We really tried.

The Atlas has THE BEST interior I've ever had in a car both in terms of functionality and comfort. Throw in looks too - brown and black leather. However, our 2021 has had at least 7 recalls and there is a new warning light or malfunction almost every day. Currently, my air conditioning has failed. It's full on heat on the driver's side, but the passenger side works. At first they said it's a programming problem. Really? How is that possible? Was it programmed to fail after warranty? But sure, OK $250. Yeah - well, no. Not fixed. So we brought it back. Now it's $3000 to replace the whole unit. And now the brakes are shuddering badly at speed. We've had the car in to the (horrible) VW dealer shop about a dozen times.

It has 57,000 miles.

What a pity. I can fit in the third row. It's AWD. It swallows up gear like a U-Haul truck - 96.7 cubic feet with all seats stowed compared to 69' on the comparably-sized Audi Q 7. How is that mathematically possible when the cars are nearly identical in length, width and height? Heated and cooled front seats. Heated rear seats. Heated steering wheel. Captains chairs in second row. Fender sound system. Shiiiiit!



To those who I convinced to consider an Atlas - I hope yours is better than our lemon. And no - it doesn't meet lemon law protection.

So what's next? We think we want a 3rd row - but our daughter and her friends are now full-sized humans, so that means a mini van or a huge SUV. Do we really need to be the shuttle vehicle? We rarely take more than one or two of her friends anywhere.

I want a Q8. I am in love with that car. My wife says, "Just give me my Toyota Sienna back. That car did everything and was easier to drive than the Atlas."

Stay tuned.

Anyone want my top of the line Atlas SEL AWD? I'll give you an IMTB special of $25k. You fix problems. I'll throw in the roof rack. It has a 2" receiver hitch.

 

Run it through Carmax and see what they will give your for it. Most likely more than it's worth. We just got $9000 for a 2016 Hyundai Elantra with 85k miles, ripped driver seat and failing clearcoat. They dinged us for signs of sludge in the oil(was in need of an oil change).

 

This should be interesting. It's been really fun so far. Bought it while I was in Texas and drove it home with one stop. Then I had the front windows tinted and added Wildpeak tires. Later, my son and I lifted the front 1.5" and the rear .75", ceramic coated it, added a Lincoln engine cover, hydraulic struts to the tailgate and hood, black lettering on the tailgate, etc.

 

This, for sure. They seem to have streamlined their process as well. If I'm ever having trouble closing a deal because of our trade valuation I'll often do an online Carmax quote for the customer while they're at my desk, send them down to sell their car, and I Uber them back. They're usually back in a couple hours, and I haven't have had a quote get adjusted after they arrived yet.

 

Given that the warranty expired recently, and that you've had so much trouble with the car, I'd push hard for a good will repair of the AC. That is, if you don't just dump the car without repairing.

 

I really like those and yours looks so cool. My ‘11 4Runner only has 96k miles so just getting broken in. If I could convince the wife to takeover the 4Runner as the daily kid hauler I’d be all over a Maverick.

12yr old 4Runner:

 

The hits keep coming... https://jalopnik.com/vw-atlas-recall-143000-faulty-sensor-passenger-seat-1850302354

 

I can't help but wonder why the absence of a passenger would deactivate airbag deployment in the first place. It used to be that you, the driver, had to very deliberately turn it off.

 

your recommendation was the reason we looked at and bought our atlas

2021 but we haven’t had any real problems with it. coming up on 30,000 miles now. Dam right shot how comfortable it is. Long drives are actually somewhat comfortable. Hopefully continues without issue

 

Just checked our VIN online, no recalls
Phew

 

Just checked mine on there and got offer for the same amount, 2016 Elantra

 

I received my 'order form' from Ford for the F-150 lightning. I had already cancelled my Bronco order after 2 years of delays, and then not being overly impressed with the final product after taking one for a drive. I've driven pick-ups forever, and since I have solar and previously owned an electric car, I was initially excited about the Lightning. Ford is not making the 'pro' (basic) level available to consumers, so the XLT model starts at 64k. Add the extended range battery, and in typical Ford fashion that requires adding a bunch of packages I don't want and the price jumps to 81k. 81 thousand dollars for a pick-up truck with cloth seats and no tow package (that's extra off course). No thanks, Ford.

 

But they're saving the planet!!!

/s

 

Apparently by keeping people from buying other things cause ford took all the money.

 

What are you getting for the extra $17K? It seems like you would have a loaded truck for that kind of money.

 

It's actually 17.5k to be exact. They add a bunch of crap I don't want like 20inch wheels, power tailgate, power on board, etc. The standard range on electric vehicles are almost always overstated, so it doesn't make sense for me to get the standard range. They did the same thing with the Broncos. If you want to add something you want--like power seats--it means getting an entire package that costs thousands. Not a Ford fan after all this nonsense.