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Detroit, 6:12 AM
Fri Dec 11
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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02/23/09
02/23/09
Look at it as an evolution. Station wagons, SUVs and minivans were all products of automotive evolutions.
02/23/09
02/23/09
THANKS.
02/23/09
Believe me, these trips are like pulling fingernails. Hours and hours of time wasted on planes and in airports which I don't get paid for, getting the schmaltzy sweet pitch from polished PR men, ridiculously expensive digs and meals all in a lead up to something as silly as driving a car. It's obnoxious. Liken it to a chef in a restaurant serving every dish with frois gras, shaved black truffles and delicate gold leaf. It's a bribe trying to influence you're opinion.
I'd much rather stay in my very comfortable apartment, near to my very nice girlfriend, and get an RX parked in my driveway for a week for a real review. In the 28 hours I was in Georgia, the RX was made available for driving for about 4 hours.
It may sound like we're bragging but we're not. Junkets are obnoxious and part of the way the old boys club worked/works. We go on them because that's the way the business still operates, but they provide access to the cars. All the other stuff which goes along with it is plain baloney. If I could sweep it all aside right now, I would do so happily; It would save us time, it would save automakers giant wads of cash, and it would make my life easier, but we aren't the ones with the cars, so we don't make the rules.
02/23/09
P.S. Did you go near Sea Island? I went there last summer, and I recognize that bridge.
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It's a competent, boring mom-mobile. But they do have good dealer service (at least from our experience)
02/23/09
The RX is not a drivers car, but at least it does not pretend to be one, unlike other cars in the same segment that are much worse to drive than the RX... I've tried them all, and for me the RX was by far the best compromise.
A compromise because I really wanted a nice luxury wagon, that is reliable as a Lexus, comfortable as a Lexus, advanced as a Lexus and has the price of a Lexus.. if only VW or Audi would build one...
The first drive impression is far from complete, the Hybrid offer some interesting new technologies, again many years ahead of the competition.
I'm not so fond of the new styling, but it makes sense, just as all the other improvements/refinements make sense.
I know I'm not going to convert the haters, nor do I care. I understand their point of view, well from those few that have at least tried to drive a RX, but there is just no point in expecting to drive a muscle car while sitting in a Lexus... both have the right to exist, both have their share of the market...
if only it was a wagon...
02/23/09
You got it right. The RX is probably the gold standard in Nice, Comfortable transportation.
As long as you didn't do this:
...then to thine own self thou art true.
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02/23/09
A little extra cushion on a woman I might find appetizing, but on a car? It looks like it would have trouble getting out of its own way.
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02/23/09
However, I must admit to liking my wife's '02 RX300. No, it's not particularly quick. It handles well enough for what it is. Yes, the vehicle-skid-control starts doing weird things when I know what I want the vehicle to do.
With all these minuses, the car rocks for daily commuting or long-distance travel. The seats are chair-like, the OEM stereo is still pretty jammin' (remember, I'm talking an '02 here, so it doesn't have 3K watts at 10% distortion), the feedback through the controls is just enough to keep you from dozing off, and it's pretty remarkable off-road.
I've had it in a spot which had opposite tires off the ground, yet the auto-traction bit kicked in, which I did not feel one bit, and we just motored on. Lexus dealers around the country cringed at having a luxury car taxed in such a way, but I know if we'd been in the "real" 4wd we had at the time, I'd have been out stacking rocks under a tire because of not having lockers on at least one axle.
Finally, after having a second-gen as a loaner while Lexus looked at what I consider a transmission defect, both my wife and I said, "man, this new one is a cheap piece of crap."
Said piece of crap had the same transmission problem, at 18K miles, which my wife's hadn't developed until 65K miles. There is a hesitation when putting it in gear, if you're going from Park to Drive, but only if you don't use Reverse, first. It's like a partial engagement before full-engagement. Feels like it's shifting into gear twice.
Of course, there's nothing "wrong" with it. So I change the never-have-to-change it synthetic trans fluid every 20K miles and hope for the best.
Oh, and why does my wife, the wife of a gearhead, have one? The seat height is perfect to slide-in/slide-out. Hobbies, the fun ones, can tear up your body pretty good if you're near the edge....
She thinks I'm kidding when I tell her it's the last vehicle she's going to own. That car will be with us until 400K miles, if I have my way.
02/23/09
Admire your style ;)
02/23/09
Personally, I find station wagons to be horrendous abominations, clinging to life long after their heyday in the National Lampoons series ended.
Additionally, 5-door hatchbacks don't quite fit the hauling capacity some folks need, but those same people have no need for a wasteful, inefficient, oversized, and gluttonous SUV or truck. Those same people are like myself.
I want something that handles decent, produces decent fuel economy for its size, offers at least the option of helping during a move or carpool (some things my 4-door Saturn coupe fails miserably at), and won't bottom-out in 6-inch Chicago snowfall. Crossovers sound like they fit the bill perfectly for me. I'm not looking to hit the track or perform donuts in the Best Buy parking lot.
I heard rumors that crossovers don't handle as well as their influential parents, namely large sedans and SUVs, but that's to be expected from a "hybrid" vehicle. Are there any other VALID reasons why a crossover should be avoided, other than the biased ramblings of semi-elitist car enthusiasts (no offense, Ben), who have their own notions about what cars should be produced and which shouldn't, that don't necessarily gel with what the industry's and public's demand is at the time?
02/23/09
"I find station wagons to be horrendous abominations, clinging to life long after their heyday in the National Lampoons series ended.
I'm sorry you can't seem to get over yourself, because wagons offer all the benefits of a car, and most of the benefits of an SUV.
Crossovers are wagons for people with identity issues.
02/23/09
Only joking,the only redeeming features i can find are...
It has round wheels,useful for moving
The windscreen is clear glass,ideal for seeing out of
It has a steering wheel,great for steering
err....
No,that's it really.
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Tom
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02/23/09
F*cking airbags.
02/23/09
I think it is another way of planning obsolescence.
02/23/09