Cars We Drive!



suited said:

There's always the Lexus RX 350. It's not a BMW or Mercedes, but it has had solid reviews forever.

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There's also the F Sport version this for a little snarl.

The new Vette's really caught my attention until I loaded up the specs and read leaf spring rear suspension.

Come on, like you could really tell the difference or even take it to that limit.

People don't understand that the leaf spring (yes, there's only 1 on the whole car) in a Corvette is worlds beyond the creaky old things you see under trucks. Wikipedia has a really good article with plenty of good illustrations of the Corvette's leaf spring:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette_leaf_spring

There are very good performance reasons to use a leaf spring with weight savings being its biggest advantage. Maybe OP will next discover that the Chevy V8 uses pushrods and only has 2 valves per cylinder.



Find Finn said:

The X6 is one of the fugliest cars made in this century.

The new X3 is much better looking than the first rendition and the glk isn't bad looking in AMG trim.

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Completely disagree. Well, actually I think the front end could use some work. Too much **** going on in the bumper.

Back looks fantastic to me.

A Y said:

People don't understand that the leaf spring (yes, there's only 1 on the whole car) in a Corvette is worlds beyond the creaky old things you see under trucks. Wikipedia has a really good article with plenty of good illustrations of the Corvette's leaf spring:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette_leaf_spring

There are very good performance reasons to use a leaf spring with weight savings being its biggest advantage. Maybe OP will next discover that the Chevy V8 uses pushrods and only has 2 valves per cylinder.

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As much as I'm a suspension geek I'd entirely overlooked it., thanks.
So that's the only spring in the rear suspension and then just vertical dampers interesting.

I'm more familiar with the engines, and yes still pushrod (though more sophisticated than the name suggests) and 2 valves for maximum single area. Not to say the vette' folks don't love their 'it's always been that way' like the criticism over the exposed headlights on the C6 not seen since the first gen. I read 'All corvettes are red' the book on the design of the C5 it was an interesting read.

Friend has a 63 split window that cleans up with the awards at Carlisle.

Thanks for help guys. Seems my wife decided on the GLK, so off to the races tomorrow. I selflessly suggested a diesel pickup but that idea didn't get off the ground, lol.



SkinnyGoomba said:

Thanks for help guys. Seems my wife decided on the GLK, so off to the races tomorrow. I selflessly suggested a diesel pickup but that idea didn't get off the ground, lol.

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Good choice, IMO. I've driven the GLK several times and have been impressed each time. An ugly duckling of sorts, but handles and rides very well.



SkinnyGoomba said:

Thanks for help guys. Seems my wife decided on the GLK, so off to the races tomorrow. I selflessly suggested a diesel pickup but that idea didn't get off the ground, lol.

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Was the Evoque ever thrown in the mix?

So when is it a good time to ditch an older car? My 2000 Mitsubishi Galant just came home after $1100 in repairs (mostly to replace a bumper which was my fault and replace the driver side window regulator which was partly down to wear and tear) which is roughly 1/3 the cars value. Mechanic I've used for many years (and I feel is trust worthy), is now saying I need to replace 4 engine mounts for another $800. There is significant rattling around the engine bay when the car is in idle that he says is down to the 4 rubber mounts that link the engine to the chassis being worn out.

Now, I have no interest in dropping $1900 on a 14 year old car within a 6 month period. However, I'm not really in the position to buy a new[er] car and I still somewhat need this one (I drive to class and it greatly helps visits to my family in the 'burbs). Was considering treating myself to something sometime after grad school graduation in May but really was expecting waiting 1-2 years.

That's always a tough question to answer. Mine has always been "when I get fed up", but obviously that's a subjective criteria. Also I have probably sunk more money in repairs/maintenance on my oldest car in the last two years than the thing is worth.

If I am reading your situation correctly, you're unable or unwilling to buy a new car (and presumably a car note), but still need a car to get around. So I don't see you having a choice but to keep the current car.

Why not ditch the repairs, sell the car at a discount, and buy a used honda civic (late 90s) for $500-$1000 on Craigslist?



SkinnyGoomba said:

Thanks for help guys. Seems my wife decided on the GLK, so off to the races tomorrow. I selflessly suggested a diesel pickup but that idea didn't get off the ground, lol.

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have you considered the Porsche Maccan?

Not that into Porsche aside from the top models.

We decided against the GLK after a test drive, going with an ML350.

My wife loves Mercedes, they don't do much for me but I'm happy with how the ML drives.



SkinnyGoomba said:

Not that into Porsche aside from the top models.

We decided against the GLK after a test drive, going with an ML350.

My wife loves Mercedes, they don't do much for me but I'm happy with how the ML drives.

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My wife had back to back MLs and she was pretty happy with them. We went with an RX350 F-sport this time around as the lease was nearly 40% less.