I'm trying to talk myself into buying a CTS-V, either a '14 wagon (~560hp) or a '16 sedan (640hp). Currently in a '16 Vette. I love the wagon, but it'll be a DD and the infotainment system in that generation of CTS-Vs is abysmal. The current-generation CTS-V (the '16) has a much better system in it, plus it's a decent deal more powerful. Both are aronud the same cost, as the wagons carry a pretty significant premium. Decisions decisions.
We’re overdue for another automotive thread.
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Tantalum
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San_Diego_Pilot
YES! He's the best.. the production quality of his videos is properly professional and he doesn't fill his videos with annoying thumbnails and "SMASH THE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE BUTTON" nonsense
I also like Regular Car Reviews... he's, umm, different:
AND.. he did one on a Piper PA28 and also on a Sailplane
denverpilot
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Ahh yes. RCR. I used to watch more of him but he (like Sg) got a bit repetitive.
Still funny though.
zaitcev
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Pete Zaitcev
Yuri and Jakub are okay. They didn't invent the formula of 2 guys in 1 car, but they polished it enough that everyone else does it now. And the review of Enstrom helicopter was lulz. That said, they still have their bad spots. The obsession with the looks, and things like the review of Evoque that has a title "one of the best luxury SUV" and then reveals what a dumpster fire it really is.
Tantalum
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And he's not as good.. still good at times, but it somehow missed its "I'm just a random dude making YouTube car videos" feel.. he hasn't sold his soul yet like others, but the videos haven't been the same since around 2018
denverpilot
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I think he’s mentioned in his Q&As that he’s pretty tired of it. It’s kinda like TV shows that run a season or two last when they were good to fill timeslots.
You can tell SG is trying to change things to keep that from happening but too early to say if he will have a “win” from stuff like the Miata thing that’s paying the bills right now but has to kinda be a manufacturer shill. He can hint at the current Miata being a safety culture total fat ass, but he can’t say it in those words when they’re paying the bills. Ha.
The realization that he and Demuro documented recently that you need a million people not just watching but subscribed to get a car maker to loan you a car to review is depressing. The entire point of the platform is NOT to watch Road and Track but someone with an opinion other than the masses. Sigh.
Oh well. There’s always Deboss Garage for mechanical insanity!
His recent stuff getting old construction equipment running has been fun, especially when he drives over other vehicles on the way from the yard to the shop. Ha.
zaitcev
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It's a lie as usual with DeMuro. And if someone calls him out on it, he'll say that it was a joke. Dozens of smaller channels have no trouble getting cars. Alex Dykes, for example, has 320k subs and pulls about 70k views give or take.
denverpilot
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Well it was about the C8. Not just an econobox someone was trying to shill. If GM was hard up for orders they’d have the thing on every YT channel of any size.
You can tell what the makers want to push by how many channels get invited to the early release where they don’t get to borrow the cars, and then how fast all of them get the cars as press cars within sometimes a month or so.
(It’s funny watching them all drive the same cars around the same curated test track like the Subaru 2020 thing. If they’re not careful they’ll catch the guys from another channel in the background as they climb the tiny little mud hill. Ha.)
The number of channels that had Gladiator videos in the first two months of release was insane. I got to the point of just skipping those entirely. FCA handed those things out like candy.
The number of channels who’ve gotten the Ranger are weirdly scattered over time and not pushed hard at all after the initial “come drive them around the block” videos. Something’s gone weird with that launch at Ford. Been weird for a long time. Same with the never appearing Bronco.
With less and less to differentiate the regular people cars, the stupid tech becomes front and center and the cars become more boring. So I think that’s why people want to see reviews of stuff like the C8, but they aren’t going to BUY them. And manufacturers have probably figured that out. Why bother with the YouTube crowd if it doesn’t turn a sale?
Demuro has his moments. Like when he was nerdy enough to point out that the silly Raptor is the Ford that holds value the best. I hadn’t even thought of it. He’s a spreadsheet nerd and caught that. If you want a Ford truck you’re going to sell, Raptor will depreciate the slowest. Ford should kiss him for that one. Nobody was talking about that when he aired that video. But he also makes fun of trucks in general so I can see why they’d shy away.
And then there’s the small helping the small like SG and the Mazda CX-30. I wouldn’t know the thing existed from online or TV ads. It’s almost as invisible as the Buick TourX. Mazda just doesn’t have the ad budget. All Christmas car season long on TV all we’ve seen over and over is the skinny Toyota chick who’s been around forever. Selling none of their great vehicles. Hardly selling a specific vehicle at all. Not a TRD Pro or regular 4Runner in sight on most of their commercials. None of the trucks really. So weird. I know they’re clearing end of model year stock but sedans and nothing but sedans on expensive TV time?
I guess the ad makers want to push brand over features these days or GM and their silly JD Power “awards” that SG likes to make fun of.
We should list our favorite fake JD Power and Associates award. Mine is “initial quality”.
“That thing was perfect the second it rolled off the line. After that it was a total POS!” LOL.
rpadula
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Ooh don't get me started. I was car shopping a year ago. Went to a Carmax to sit in one of everything to see what I liked. -- Actually, per your other thread, have you done that?
One (I think it was a Lexus NX200) looked the designers had vomited every possible button, knob, slider, touchpad, etc. all over the center stack! About the only thing I didn't see was a joystick! Too frigging distracting. Fail.
bnt83
Final Approach
Damn right it does, and cooler to boot!
If I had a good place to put it I'd be looking at a 76 Chrysler NewYorker nearby, it in almost as good a shape as my 1979 3/4 ton Dodge. If it was legal to dive a golf cars / ATV to work I wouldn't have any cars anymore.
The 98 Chevy Lumina just turned 170k miles, its never let me down. It has let the previous owner down a couple times no start due to junky faulty antitheft passlock system.
One other Lumina repair was a coil pack had a corroded terminal and started misfiring on one cylinder. Stupid easy and inexpensive fix.
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Local fellow here has a 1970 New Yorker for sale . It looks like new , He bought it new kept it all these years garaged , drives it a bit now and then , puts it away . It has 70,000 miles , one owner , Maroon . Beautiful.
Wants the sticker price he paid for it. $7000.
Edit: No rust , never driven in a salt state . Put away before Montana started using that "It's not salt " stuff on the roads.
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Why does one need 560 hp in a station wagon?????? Or for that matter 640 hp in a sedan?? Outside of a drag strip, how can you even use that kind of power?
DaleB
Final Approach
Having driven a 500+ HP / 600+ lb-ft torque sedan for the better part of the past year... I can answer that. One does not NEED it, any more than one NEEDS an airplane or a pilot's license or golf clubs or a boat or whatever else you have outside of the most basic requirements for life. But having it is simply awesome. Passing on two-lane roads is not a chore, it's a joy. And while it's true that we don't have unlimited speeds here in the US, there are still stretches of road where one can, shall we say, fully enjoy the capabilities of a well engineered, powerful car without worry or undue risk.
denverpilot
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It’s never needed. But it’s fun on highway on ramps. If some moron doesn’t stop at the end of one or not understand how to accelerate.
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SoonerAviator
As others mentioned, it isn't "needed". If we're being honest, there really isn't much "need" for most vehicles to have more than 200HP, even full size trucks/SUVs. However, it's nice to have that power on tap when you desire. Highway on ramps, short passing zones on a 2-lane road, flat out exhilarating acceleration at any speed for no reason at all. Some vehicles can pin you back in the seat on a 0-60mph run, few can pin you back in the seat the same way when already at 60mph. That's where having 500+HP is fun. The 0-60mph stuff is pretty well traction limited, so having 600HP doesn't do you much good any more than 400HP does, but once traction is less of a factor (it's always still a factor) then the higher HP can make the middle/upper part of the speedometer just as accessible. I mean, I've been in a 1990 Pontiac Grand Am with a 4-banger on a 0-100mph run . . . it's fun (as a 15yr old passenger), but it takes a long time to get there (measured closer to minutes lol) and there's no white-knuckle driving. Do the same run in a modern Mustang Cobra (or whatever) and the run from 0-100 takes about 10 seconds. No need, just desire.
denverpilot
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I had a 90s vintage Mercury Tracer (the Ford Escort copy) at 95 once in Montana. Was pretty sure we were about to die. LOL.
Might have been Idaho.
Whichever one got away with “no speed limit during daylight hours” on their interstates until the federales decided they wouldn’t give them any more money if they didn’t put a limit back up.
95 was floored. Wind kept us from going any faster. LOL.
Might have been Idaho.
Whichever one got away with “no speed limit during daylight hours” on their interstates until the federales decided they wouldn’t give them any more money if they didn’t put a limit back up.
95 was floored. Wind kept us from going any faster. LOL.
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The Grand Am I was riding in was a friend who had just received his drivers license and we were on a rural road about 6 miles long at 11:30p when he decided to see if it could hit 100mph. That little 4-cylinder was screaming (around 110HP I think) and right as we hit 100mph . . . Lights and sirens! Pulled over for going 100 in a 40mph zone. Gave him a stern talk about hitting a deer and such, then let him off with a warning.
Funniest part about it, was he had a stereo system with dual 12” subs which were pumping Beastie Boys at the time of the speed run. Friend flipped it over to some classical music station when the LEO walked up to the window, like he was going to believe we were listening to Chopin while doing his best John Force impression! Those subs were still vibrating the car with that classical music, so it was even more ridiculous. One of my favorite memories from my teen years.
Cop called his mom and let her know what happened but didn’t tell us his plan. So when his mom asked what we’d been doing, he just played dumb and made up a story. Mom lit into him big time and I thought it was a good time to call it a night!
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SG, B is for Build, Cleetus McFarland, Regular Reviews, Shmee150, StreetSpeed717, Roadkill.... maybe a few more
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Anyone up for a...
Steam powered Lada?
Steam powered Lada?
NJP_MAN
Pattern Altitude
I would argue that's not enough power. I have a 750 HP daily driver and I'm thinking I need to push it up to 900-1000. It becomes less of a daily at that point because currently it's about 9.5 MPG on ethanol. That's the only thing keeping me from taking the leap to the 1000+ HP club.
BrianNC
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It shows how out of touch they are. Doug has over 3 mil subscribers, and a video on the new 'Vette easily gets over 1 million eye-on views. He has videos with up to 11 mil views. How stupid can you be?
Not that they'd have any trouble selling them though. I think I read the 'Vette is sold out already. As a matter of fact I think it was a thread here.
Ghery
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We've got a 2013 Escape. The MyTouch works reasonably well. Occasionally the radio controls on the main panel quit, but I can still change the volume with the buttons on the steering wheel. Ford got me thoroughly ****ed off when they killed the ability to check engine parameters on-line. They claimed that they didn't have the technology to keep it up. BS. If I have the technology to send them the data, they have the technology to let me see it on my computer. It's a minor point, but it's enough to make me consider buying something else next time. Thank goodness the HVAC system has it's controls duplicated on the panel. If I could only use the MyTouch interface I'm not sure my response to Ford would be suitable for polite company. Now, if I just didn't have to get around the transmission selector for some of the controls.
denverpilot
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Saw Ford v Ferrari tonight. Well worth it.
SoCal RV Flyer
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Mark Donohue's anwer:
"No, it will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear. Too much power is never enough. We're far from having too much horsepower...my definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear."
FormerHangie
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Mark Donohue's anwer:
"No, it will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear. Too much power is never enough. We're far from having too much horsepower...my definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear."
He was referring to a race car on a race track. Street driving is an entirely different thing. I drive one of the slower cars on the road and it's a very rare occasion I can get the throttle a quarter open.
FormerHangie
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It's difficult to use that much power on most race tracks, if you are running street tires. On the street, yeah, maybe you can use all of it for a few second at a time, unless you live out in the desert and have flat, open, empty roads.
Power is for people who can't drive corners.
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SoonerAviator
Not a problem on the newest model Explorer/Escape, gear selector is a rotary dial. Not sure how many people desire to check their vehicle parameters online, so I can understand an automaker's reluctance to try and maintain servers/access to that data. Maybe it wasn't so much about "not having technology" as it is about not wanting to pay for server space, maintenance, and IT requests to handle customers when they have difficulty reaching the online data.
Ghery
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The only way I have to know when the car thinks it's time for an oil change now is to wait for the idiot light to come on. When the on-line system (that they sold me on when I bought the car!) worked it would tell me what percentage of the life of the oil remained. Now it's wait for the idiot light or trust the sticker from Jiffy Lube. I have no sympathy for Ford and the "problems" the older system may have created for them. If it was a problem, don't sell it as part of the car. Just don't unilaterally take it away later on.
Besides, I'm an engineer. We like to have all the bells and whistles do their thing correctly.
Grum.Man
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idk if they still use it but Mercedes Benz has the best gear selector on the market. It's a little stalk off the steering column that you can just flick with your fingers. It really annoys me that all the trucks and SUV's are going away from the column shifter.
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Why would it be necessary to have the column shifter at all? Most aren't even mechanically shifting anything any longer, so the rotary dial or push-button interfaces are fine.
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I dunno, I guess I just keep mental tabs on when the oil change is due. Oil change interval every 5K miles? Ok, if I'm at 51K miles, I know the next oil change is at 55K miles. Same goes for 7,500mi intervals, or 10K mile intervals, it's just math. I don't rely on the car to tell me when the oil change is due. I can see you point, though, if you made some part of your purchasing decision on the ability to track vehicle stuff online.
SoCal RV Flyer
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The column shift just seems ergonomically right. Drop your hand from the "2" position on the wheel and it's right there...very little wasted motion. Drove a Dodge Tradesman van decades ago for a private mail delivery company, and loved the column-shift setup.
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I agree with that, my only issue with rotary dial shifters is that they are harder to deal with by feel. I guess you get used to them. But in any case, a console mounted shift lever is pointless on an automatic. I'd rather have the space for an extra beer.
gkainz
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Push button shifters - new and novel.
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More natural than it being at your right hand when you lay your arm on the center console? I get the preference for a column shifter versus a console shifter from the point of space efficiency/dash ergonomics, but the rotary dial/push button is better than both. No wasted motion when it’s a flick of your wrist rather than moving the entire arm. Column/console shifters will disappear soon enough, for better or worse.
CharlieD3
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Had one! On my 1963Dodge Custom 880 (first car).Push button shifters - new and novel.
Chrysler trans, back then... You could throw them in reverse at speed, and they would not disintegrate themselves.
Did it once... Trying to make a "power off" descent into my aunt and uncle's house...
Going 45-50 down a long hill. Put it in neutral, was going to try to coast all the way down the hill, around the corner, 4 or 5 driveways on the side street... Almost made it.... About 2 driveways away, the back end started chirping and hopping.... I was going about 7mph... I didn't hit the neutral button, but reverse! Realized what I had done put it in drive, and made it to their house... Did not hurt the car. Drove it for several more years....
denverpilot
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SG put up a new video on the Nissan Versa. And because he actually bothers to do normal car reviews, I watched it. LOL.
Kinda impressive what 15K will get you if you just need wheels. Thing is a hell of a lot nicer than my first cars.
Kinda impressive what 15K will get you if you just need wheels. Thing is a hell of a lot nicer than my first cars.
denverpilot
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Subaru oopsie... LOL!
https://news.yahoo.com/subaru-apolo...customized-kit-special-edition-162119485.html
https://news.yahoo.com/subaru-apolo...customized-kit-special-edition-162119485.html
