O/T: Talking Cars Tuesday: What are cars missing?
I'm currently in the process of replacing my Five Hundred. She's been a good car but has gone critical in the past 3 months; AWD failing; major rust holes showing up like sink holes appearing; and now the steering rack is going bad. 13 years and 200K are enough.
This has led me to test drive alot of different cars. I'd like a Taurus but they are a bear to find up here. The 300 is nice, and may be my next car, but the trunk is a bit small. I've test driven and/or sat in Kias, Fusions, Toyotas....
And honestly I'm 'Meh'.
What I want is a car with decent power, good comfort, decent mileage, and a ton of room. I don't like SUV's anymore, and no amount of infotainment can replace a comfortable driving position.
For me what's missing is the basics all in one package: Good road feel; easy to read informative gauges; lots of passenger and trunk room. But I realize I'm an outlier, or they'd make me a car I like (maybe a new 500 with 300hp...).
So, in this platinum age of autos, what is missing for you, if anything? What is one thing you wish automakers would do better? Interior design? Styling? Handling? Lightness? What?
What does Ed Cooley drive?
Tits
And tails
Oh, one more thing that is missing: hinges that don't intrude into the trunk. External trunk hinges that use gas struts are simple, reliable, and free up tons of space. Goosenecks are trash.
All this talk about trunk size is really giving off a Dennis Reynolds "I have to have my tools" vibe.
Four words:wagon queen family truckster.
Cup holders and bubbles, what every car needs more of.
Excuse me but WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ED COOLEY?
Cars need Cooley-ant.
shut 'er down, this is it!!!
The ability to fly. Back To The Future was all lies man! Where is my hovering skateboard while I'm at it?
The tried and true, Pontiac Ed Cooley
Plymouth Cooley Breeze
Check out the Mazda 6. Friend has one and it has plenty of room.
Try a Chevy Impala. I know they stopped making them but the LT with the V6 is a great car and there should be some 2019s out there if you want new.
Agree with this ...... I've rented two 2018 LT models. One of them I drove from Atlanta to Miami. Roomy, comfortable for 6 foot + men, huge trunk, great mileage - in the 28 city - 35 Hwy range.
Take a look at the resale options from Enterprise (and others). The majors usually get rid of their rental cars every 18-24 months. Used car prices are at an all-time high right now, so shop wisely. A new one may be your best bet if you can work a deal and there are lots of on-line resources to help you do that.
Volkswagen Passat. Lots of room, fun to drive. I had a 2000 Manual, which I loved and then a 2006 (then wife did not drive stick) and finally a 2013 Diesel (wife's commuting car), which Volkswagen bought back for a price we literally could not refuse.
Just got a 2016 Passat with the VR6. To your point, lots of room in the front plus a rear seating area and trunk that rival full-size sedans. Comfortable leather seats, lots of tech but also plenty of physical buttons/knobs. No thank you on the everything being controlled via touchscreen.
As for the "fun to drive" part ... holy shit, yeah. The VR6 goes. Very different from my old Accord four-banger.
Full size cars are my bag. So I want better gas mileage out of a full size. And definitely more full size options.
Just a bit of advice: get a car with push to start, and the sensor on the handle to unlock automatically. Never having to take my keys out of my pocket again has been the best part of my newer car, hands down (2017 Taurus Limited). It's a burden you didn't even know you had.
I'd love a Taurus limited if I could find one.
I had that in a Fusion we test drove. I liked the Fusion the most of the midsize cars; even over the Accord, which is a hell of a car. but I couldn't get comfortable in the Fusion, so maybe a trip down state is required.
I haven't been in the driver seat of a new Fusion in 3-4 years, but I feel your pain. Midsize cars are just a touch too small. Not to the point where I couldn't drive it, but I always feel like I could use another inch here or there and then I'd be fine (TWSS). With rear view cams and blind spot monitoring getting better, the rear windows and back seat side windows seem to be getting smaller and smaller (and higher). I just feel claustrophobic trying to check blind spots manually in a midsize.
Have a 17' 300s..best feature is the keeyless entry lock and start..feels odd using keys anymore
Whenever I drive my fiancé's Escape, I get in and sit there for a second like "okay, how do I start this thing again?". Then it's even a bigger pain to get your keys out while sitting down. So frustrating!
How do you like your 300?
I'm looking at a '16, which is nice. But old Uconnect without Carplay is just kind of... meh.
It's an s, so the 300hp and sport mode is a hoot.
Fart expulsion system.
I'm the guy that shuts the window
"what is missing for you, if anything?"
A price that's about 50% less.
And wind wings.
Laser beams.
Frickin' laser beams?
Breathalyzers.
I can highly recommend the 2018 and onward Honda Accord 2.0T. There is tons of room for all passengers and the trunk is huge. It's also got plenty of power, but also really great gas mileage (30+ on highway). For the value and the tech you get, its one of the best buys. The only thing I hated was all the chrome, but I purchased chrome-delete vinyls on amazon and it ended up looking quite well.
Before & after here: https://imgur.com/a/ccUeXY6
I didn't think the original panels were all that bad, but those new ones are a really nice upgrade.
I was looking at Honda Accords last year (specifically the Sport and the Touring), and wound up getting into an Acura TLX ASpec (w/ tech) for less somehow.
I'd say the cars are fairly equal, with the Acura having a slight edge in overall fun factor.
I recognize the Accord as an awesome car, i just couldn't get comfortable in it.
Cloth seats. I don't know who decided leather would be just so luxurious it would have to go in everything, but cloth seats don't sizzle in the summer, freeze in the winter, they don't crack, and they're almost always comfier than a similar leather counterpart (given equal amounts of stuffing.) Seats are incredibly pricy pieces of the car these days, and they don't have to be.
Children and pets. Leather is actually easier (in my experience) to clean for spills and stains.
One word: Velour.
I'm betting that car has dingle balls and static strips. Probably pillows in the back too.
Some old Chryslers came with Velour throw pillows.
While they weren't hot like leather in the sun, I do remember sweating my ass off in them when the AC failed. And in our cars, the AC always failed at some point.
newer diesel passat - big enough, extremely well made, capable of 55 mpg on local highways. used ones are cheap. i have a friend here in town who wants to sell one and if you're serious i'd hook you two up. if i didn't already have one i'd buy his. and best of all...its dark blue.
F250/350 super duty. get it used. i have a '14 crew and it is the nicest driver's position i have ever sat in. absolutely perfect. plenty of room for anything else, especially if you get the crew cab.
I love truck seating. It's the most comfortable I've been in. I'm still blown away by how much room a full size cab has.
Soundproof dividers between driver and everyone else in the vehicle, including the passenger seat.
An air vent under the steering column to blow cold air up my shorts in the summer. My wife's range rover had that. It was awesome.
I LOVED THAT! I totally miss it from my old XJ. I don't know why they don't have that anymore, but it was fantastic. Heating and cooling the team instantly. I'd trade heated seats for one.
Physical stereo volume knobs that are very apparent and large.
As someone who rents a lot of cars (are therefore deals with a lot of different driver interfaces), interior designers are getting way too clever with making the center console designs. I understand modern cars are essentially equipped with computers, but if I have to take my eyes off the road to figure out how to turn volume up/down, then it's not a good design.
I'm 100% on board with this. One of the things we liked about the 300 (and the fusion, for that matter) was the duplication of simple radio and HVAC controls. Screens suck.
I rented a car (i want to say Kia Optima, but honestly can't remember at the moment) and I turned the car down and the volume was blasting. I couldn't figure out how to turn it down, even using the knob. Hertz employee came over, he couldn't figure it out. Finally, I figured out that because the screen was on the GPS "page", the volume knob only controlled the volume of the GPS voice. I had to go into the menu, select "Audio" and only then could I turn down the stereo.
That's like 3-5 steps to simply turn down the radio.
That's ridiculous. Some engineer should have his fingers broken.
The first time I was in a Prius it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the thing moving. I am a fan of knobs too!