Unpopular Opinions- Cars in General

  • Thread starter Turbo
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Sounds more like a theory than an unpopular opinion. Regardless, why not efini? :confused:
ɛ̃fini, unlike Amati, never had any plans of launching in the United States. Furthermore, Efini models sold in Japan in the early 1990s were the same as Mazda badged vehicles in the United States, while the proposed Amati brand would feature different models (ɛ̃fini MS6= same as Mazda 626, ɛ̃fini MS9= same as 929, ɛ̃fini MPV and RX-7, same as Mazda MPV and RX-7).
 
I know what it is, I was just suggesting it since it seems like a good fit to me if the Cosmo somehow can't be a Mazda in name.
 
I can't wait for the similar unpopular opinion that BMW may have intended to make an M version of the 8 Series.
 
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It seems easier in the car world to like something everyone hates, but still harder.
 
:lol:

I meant for it to be adapted to cars, but well done.
I know. I just had more than an inkling that the first thing that popped into my head wouldn't be viewed favorably (though I was surprised by how unfavorably) and I wanted to follow through with it.

:P
 
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It seems easier in the car world to like something everyone hates, but still harder.
Not so hard, at least for me.

Acura ZDX
Cadillac XLR-V
Chrysler Crossfire
Dodge Caliber SRT4
Infiniti G37 IPL
Isuzu VehiCross
Lexus SC430
Subaru Baja
 
OK I'll try again:

Infiniti M37 & M37L / Q70 - Not so much as un-liked (though I don't think I've read any particular praise for it), but almost completely unknown. I think it's the closest car in production to the original Jaguar ethos of "Grace, Space, Pace" - a modern(ish) XJ. It's a big car, but it looks far more athletic than others in it's class but also without looking like it's trying too hard. I also argue that the interior is quite elegant/graceful, despite being tragically outdated - but that was kind of the British /Jaguar way as well! Bonus points for a separate long-wheelbase model (Vanden Plas anyone?) and an optional/hilariously rare V8. How many long-wheelbase 5.6L M37/Q70s can there possibly be out there? Probably less than 1000.

I think I'm still doing this wrong, but at least it's in the spirit of the post.
 
I like crossovers, if not some of the popular executions of the concept. Something with (legit) AWD, extra cargo/passenger space, and useful ground clearance that still drives and feels like a car is a very appealing jack-of-all-trades. The unappealing crossovers, IMO, are the ones that shortchange any of those qualities.

Another that has come to my attention lately -- I prefer a map or printed directions for navigation. It boggles me to see this on "Remember When That Was a Thing??" posts -- what's so bloody difficult or antiquated about reading a map? It's so easy, straightforward, and dependable in ways that electronics are not.
 
Have you ever tried to read a map or directions while navigating something like downtown Chicago? I mean you can do it, but I feel like it's needlessly distracting when you should probably keep your eyes on the road. SatNav has made getting around so much easier, not to mention safer since I can just set it up before setting off and it will tell me where to go and when to turn. If you use something like Google Maps it even tells you which lane to be in so you're not swerving across three lanes of traffic at the last minute.

I agree having a map in the glovebox is a decent idea though as a just in case, but if you're so lost you need a map you probably don't know where you are on it anyways. Seems simpler just to download various cached data from Google Maps to your phone.
 
When on road trips, I've appreciated a physical map while stopped to grab a bite for example. Actually I think stopping has been in no small part motivated by the need to geat bearings; I don't think trips aided by electronic navigation have been interrupted as much, and I kind of miss that.
 
Maps don't tell you on the map where you are if you get lost. Navigation systems do. I frequently get lost.
Anywhere I go, there's such-and-such highway to my north, such-and-such highway to my south, a river to my west...on the map, that tells me where I am, and allows me to trace where I ended up and how to get back on track.

It certainly isn't always that easy in certain pockets of the country, but anywhere I've been, from here to Montreal to New Orleans to Colorado Springs, everything is marked well enough that I sometimes don't even bring directions for a multi-hour drive (or I don't read them if I do). I review the route before I leave, and if there's anything tricky I sometimes jot down those parts or sketch a simplified close-up. Adventure! :)

Google Maps is useful, but I usually just glance at the destination on my laptop before I head out (although the directions tool generates a decently accurate ETA). In the cities around us, just give me the street name and let me see a nearby intersection and that's probably all I need. The only thing a device can do better is live information, like road closures. But that can also be found on the laptop once it's posted. :indiff:
 
Have you ever tried to read a map or directions while navigating something like downtown Chicago? I mean you can do it, but I feel like it's needlessly distracting when you should probably keep your eyes on the road. SatNav has made getting around so much easier, not to mention safer since I can just set it up before setting off and it will tell me where to go and when to turn. If you use something like Google Maps it even tells you which lane to be in so you're not swerving across three lanes of traffic at the last minute.

I agree having a map in the glovebox is a decent idea though as a just in case, but if you're so lost you need a map you probably don't know where you are on it anyways. Seems simpler just to download various cached data from Google Maps to your phone.
For smartphones, I thought Waze was a lot more useful than Google Maps, since it has voice navigation and tells a lot about current traffic situations in several areas, therefore avoiding traffic prone routes, not to mention giving other crucial information needed during trips as well but of course, it needs internet for the application to operate. So it may not be that useful in some areas where signals aren't that significant.
 
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On our family vacation last week to Michigan's upper peninsula, we got to go back to the old way of getting around. My mom didn't print off any directions, thinking we would get enough service with our phones. That wasn't the case, so we got around via state road maps and an ancient Michigan road atlas. It was actually really nice to disconnect and not rely on our phones so much, but to observe the world around us far more to find landmarks and poorly marked roads that told us where we were on the map. That's something we hadn't done in years.
 
Anywhere I go, there's such-and-such highway to my north, such-and-such highway to my south, a river to my west...on the map, that tells me where I am, and allows me to trace where I ended up and how to get back on track.

It certainly isn't always that easy in certain pockets of the country, but anywhere I've been, from here to Montreal to New Orleans to Colorado Springs, everything is marked well enough that I sometimes don't even bring directions for a multi-hour drive (or I don't read them if I do). I review the route before I leave, and if there's anything tricky I sometimes jot down those parts or sketch a simplified close-up. Adventure! :)

Google Maps is useful, but I usually just glance at the destination on my laptop before I head out (although the directions tool generates a decently accurate ETA). In the cities around us, just give me the street name and let me see a nearby intersection and that's probably all I need. The only thing a device can do better is live information, like road closures. But that can also be found on the laptop once it's posted. :indiff:
And that's great that that works for you, but it absolutely does not and never has for me. Hence making sure every car I've bought has had or has provisions to fairly easily install a nav system.
 
Porsche 911 FTW. There is no better looking car than the 911 (at least some of the 911's). Not even the stupid looking Cayman.
 
Sure there is, the Porsche 901! :D
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It's still a "911". But 901s were the first 82 "911s" built.
Indeed. The 901 is a 911. Peugeot wasn't too happy with the "0" between the "9" and the "1", so Porsche changed 901 into 911 but the car was still the same.
 
901 was a chassis code for 911 models even after they were established as 911s. It was also part of an engine code referring to the 2-liter sixes in the associated chassis, and it was part of a gearbox code referring to 4- and 5-speed units beginning with the first 901 chassis and being used all the way through 914 production. At a certain point it was used exclusively in the 914...after the 911 no longer received the 2.2L if I'm not mistaken.
 
I prefer '80s-'00s Japanese sports cars stock. I think they look great unmodified and it's fun to enjoy the vehicle as is. Besides, they appreciate in value more when left alone. If I ever owned something like a 3000GT, Celica, Impreza, Supra, Integra, Skyline, 300zx, NSX, etc. I would never modify it.
 
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